The Lebanon express. (Lebanon, Linn County, Or.) 1887-1898, 1891-11-13
"MAN Or DEMON

was Aocking to see Frederic Lemaitre in
certain grisly melodrama bearing the
above title Partisan dranatists have
always had leaning to the ghastly IN
lnelodrama, and parisian audiences have
encouraged that inclination. as witness
fla Tour de Nesle, IL Hotel do la Tete
Noire. and good many other plays Of
the grisly order; but this psychological
mystery called MAN or Demon" was a
new departure in the morbid and the
ghastly. and the auditorium OF the Am
bigu Comique thrilled and shuddered as
one man at the performance Of the great
Frederic There was touch OF the su
pernaturai in the play. The damatist
and the actor had adapted the old ma
chinery Of lies Pilules du Diable" to
tragical uses.
The story o. the play was simple; the
plot turned upon one ghastly pivot--de
moniac possession. A physician, man
Of science and enlightenment, refined, in
tellectual, OF blameless life and gracious
bearing. beloved and respected by the
world he adorned, was possessed by dev
lis. In the broad light Of day. in the ex
ercise Of his profession, In society, he was
his own man, all went well with him.
but with night and solitude the demon
came and took possession Of his victim.
and impelled him to deeds Of blood.
Through the darkened theatre there
thrilled silent horror that held the
crowded audience spellbound. as the man
Of science flung handful Of powder into
his crucible, and, in the lurid light that
rose around him. was seen the awful
change from man to monster The tall,
slim figure Of the physician, graceful and
elegant in his neat evening dress. swelled
TO gigantic dimensions. brawny. muscu
lar. the form OF savage Hercules, while
the fashionable modern dress changed 10
the blue blouse and blood red cap of the
sanseulotte The face changed, too; the
pale. refined features thickened. the
brows grew penthouse.like above the
lurid CLEAN Of the malignant eyes; while
!. with cry that had nothing in it Of
humanity, the transformed creature rush
ed forth to revel In rapine and murder.
Needless to expatiate upon the actor
Of the play. The later scenes reeked witt
blood. the whole scheme Of the drama wa
baseless and wild; but the glamour o
Lemaitre's genius held the audience in 1
state Of breathless interest, which flagge,
not till the fall of the curtain The pla,
4 was the greatest success the Ambigu has
! known for many years.
One fact gave an add ional and ex
\ traneous interest to the performance
Those who knew the celebrities of th,
Q city were able to recognize the curion
s and startling likeness which Lemaitre. il
i his make up as the physician, had con
: triyed to present to one Of the princes o
+ modern science. Marc Avalon, the cele
e brated chemists man who, at something
q less than 40 years Of age, had reached tb'
v very pinnacle Of professional success. VIII
: had given laws to science. and had mad
: discoveries which had advanced the prog
: ress Of chemical experiment further il
his twenty years Of labor than his pre-
:, decessors had done within century. s
q striking was the resemblance as to be q
Z once perceived and remarked upon, bot
r at the first performance Of the play an
10 in the public press It was even though
/, that Marc Avalon would take offense q
N this appropriation Of his outward sem
] blance and possibly make Il the subiec
!. Of a lawsuit: but the great chemis
! seemed amused and even battered whe
/ he read tbe comments Of the critics uno
this particular feature of Lemaitre's cbal
acterization. He went 10 see the play-
was interested: went aeain-saw lena
y ire in his dressing room. and made yariou
V suggestions which intensified the gri,
i realism Of the scene in the laboratory
O. II was observed by and by that Ayalo
= was present nearly every night durin
!. some period of TIE performance. Il
=. generally occupied one particular ava,
u Scene and kept himself perdu. but tho.
y few persons who were able to see lis fac,
y as he sat in the shadow Of the curtai,
Is remarked upon its intent expression al
rt the keen deligllt he seemed 10 deri,
IN from tbe actors mastery embodiment F.,
ia a most unreal character
n ii was during the run Of this play th,
Ia Paris was startled by series Of mnrdcl
n !, more hideous than any crime that la
y shocked society during The reign Of ii
er ,.t... M, =. ,s,,,an,.. ,,.l,.L 49, -