New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1888-10-28
SHAKESPEARE IN FRANCE.
COMMENT ON THE UNWILLING OF THE
POETS STATUE IN PARIS

lrRoM THE REGULAR CORRESPONDENT TRrBUgg.l
Paris. October IL,
The statue Of Shakespeare, presented by Mr..
Knighton to the city OF Paris. will be unveiled
on Sunday. It will stand on the open place where
the Avenue dc Mcssine running down from the
lovely Mcnceaux Park. abuts on the Boulevard
Haussmann. The Gazette de France with
that narrowness which distinguishes all mixtures
in this country Of Roman Catholicism and political
conservatism, protests against this tribute TO
the foreigner France it says, I" does too
much for this Engshman, who did such an i'll
service to Joan OF Arc. whose memory Is kept
alive only by that wretched equestrian statue
worthy Of being done in zinc) of the Place Of
Pyramids"
lie Paris an Opportunist journal, replying
to the organ of the throne and altar, admits that
Shakespeare certainly was an Englishman. =" But
where it proudly asks, did Shakespcare's writ
ings receive their greatest consecration2 Why, in
Paris. whose mark the works Of genius Of other
great cities must receive before they can be re-
garded as circulating medium Because the French
capital did far more than London TO secure celeb
rity TO Shakespeare Mr. KnightOn presented MS
statue to the Municipal Council, which is setting
it up in q quarter affected by English and Ameri-
cans who come to live here
in reference to the theatrical criticisms here on
/" The Tanning of the Shrew,' as played by the
DAILY Company: What scaled book the works
Of Shakespeare are TO the French, and, on the
other hand. how completely out OF touch all
English writer's and play-goers are VITA kacine'
CorneilIc. and even with Moliere.' This is true
I cannot help thinking that most OF the lesser
writer's about Shakespeare have not so mucn
cot into his brain as into the orains
OF few great authors who wrote about him, ana
especially into Voltaires, who did justice 10 the
prodig.ous originality, scope and power OF
Shalespeare's genius, but was constantly irrltatcd
by what, in his eyes, were sins against gentle
manly taste, and by such Din his mind vulgar
trivialities Of expression as the mot
mouse stirring" in Hamlet, The TRANSACTIONS
of Shakespeare made for the French stage in the
eighteenth century were rather adaptations in Al
exandrine verse, very conventional, very stlted.
quite correct in short, fruit culled on the
Shakespearian trees made into a sweet and tooth
some jam, in which nature was lost sight Of in
the evidences given OF the cooks skill. Glizot
set up to translate Shakespeare, and so did Fran
co.'s Victor Hugo-one of the reasons why his
illustrious father, who was ignorant Of English,
raved about the Divine William
The Frncbnan who best uni, rstood Shakes
peare old Dumas, who mastered English to
read him and Scott and was emancipated from
the trammels of the old conventional rules %
French literature by reading these two authors
They both gave some of their sacred fire to old
Alexander Dumas. At any rate, they encour-
aged him by the freedom Of spirit evinced in what
they wrote to be guided by his own inner Light
and go ahead
Lord Lytton was asked, both as the English
Ambassador and as a poet, TO attend the unveil-
ing of the Shakespeare statue. He declined on ths
score of the rigid observance Of Sunday which
is expected of him by certain class Of his
countrymen and countrywomen The custom of
the British Embassy is that the Ambassador goes
to church and nowhere else on the first day Of
the week. He is always absent from Sunday
reviews and from races for the Grand Prix de
Paris. This custom used to apply 10 the Queens
sons when they were young. But in 1s67 both
the Prince of Wales and the Duke of Edinburgh
went to Longchamps and Chantilly to see the
Grand Prix and Derby run for. They were hidden
away behind muslin curtains at the back Of the
Imperial stand.
knew Geffcken when he was representative
here Of the Hanseatic towns. Bismarck does not
seem disposed to admit the plea that he is out
of his mind, which his wife and children urge.
He was very judicious person, and the long
dipping nose pointed to Semitic blood though
in some respects the physognomy was German
He wrote good deal for papers and reviews
but colorless writer, and there NOT
much body in his articles. In politics he was
doctrnaire, and rather pedantic. The first char
acteristic was common to him, the Crown Prince
and the Prince Consort, who really was the man
who sletched out the Imperial plan which Fritz
! realized at Versailles. Z. Z.