The morning call., 1893-12-03
\ PARISIAN PLAY.
1t Was Written for Sarah
Bernhardt.
NOT A DECIDED SUCCESS.
An Outline of "Les Rois," in Which
the Great Actress Recently
Appeared.
Correspondence of THE MORNING CALL.

Certainly, lies Ros." produced last
night at the Renaissance Theater, is not
great artistic success. but in financial
sense, author, manager and actors will
have no disappointment.
Like all of Jules Lemaitre's plays. Lies
R0is" is an exact reflection Of his hesita-
tion between good and bad, the real and
the false. between anarchy and despotism,
fidelity to old traditions and faith in
modern revolutions. Christian XVI, King
OF Albania. decides to abdicate in favor of
his son. Prince Hermann. Although Her
mann is learned, just and loyal, he has no
faith in the divine right OF kings" As
he receives homage from his subjects.
Hermann considers himself no more than
an ordinary man. but the proud Princess
Wilhelmina, his wife, believes king to be
almost god, and is astOnished at her hus-
bands philosophy. The old King is hor-
rifed, because so many concessions are
now asked from sovereigns, because he
feels that around him monarchies are
crumbling. undermined by those who
should have been their guardians, because
princes renounce the glorious perils of
their trust, imperial heirs pledge the
scepters of their ancestors, and royal races
luou tOWdlu tuC dOy WuCtSs Will tidCs
disappear men, institutions and civlliZa-
| tiOns. He hopes that young king may
retard the decisive cataStrOphes. and that
is his reason for abdicating in favor of his
| eldest son.
The only person who understands Prince
Hermann is Frida de Thalberg, grand
daughter of a nihilist; be shares her
ardent devotion for the people. her hatred
and contempt for ''old traditions" her
| faith in the equal destinieS of humanity.
At last, Frida is named maid of honor to
Princess Wilheimina. and Prince Hermann
is entirely occupied with his mystic love;
he asks Frida to place herself under the
| protection Of the old gamekeeper Gotlieb.
who has little house. hidden in the
wood, and thither he will go as soOE as he
can absent himself from duty.
The second act is the great one OF the
play. Here Hermann dreams of justice,
and shows pity toward the humble. He
begins great reforms; he realizes that the
people suffer and are right in complaining.
popular manifestation is announced. but
| the councillors of the Prince Insist that it
be not permitted.
Hermann gives his permission for the
| manifesto ton, he wishes to know the sor-
| rows of his subjects. and he has faith in
the people. By his order, even the gates
Uf the palace are opened. but the populace,
| intoxicated with liberty, attacks the royal
dwelling. the manifestation becomes dis
| turbance, the soldiers are thrown from
their horses, and Hermann finds himself
| forced to fire upon his subjects.
| At the first sign OF danger Wihelmina
rusheS to her husband, whom she really
| adores, but they have been separated by a
difference in their ideas, and Hermann
repulses with horror this woman who
shows her love, only when it is watered
| with the blood of the people
Hermann considers that he has CON-
| mltted crime In firing on his people, and
he seeks repose beside his Egeria. Frida
| fills the rooms with flowers and tries to
make Hermann forget his remorse. In
the meantime, Hermann's brother, Otto,
| tells Wilhelmina that her husband is false
to her, and guided by Otto she goes to the
game keepers cottage, where she sees and
| hears the lovers. A revolver has been left
| on the table by Andota Latanieff, nihil-
ist, who has told Frida that the only way
to save the kingdom of Albania is to kill
Hermann.
When Wilhelmina hears Frida urge
Hermann to resign his power, flee from
his kingdom and live with the woman of
! his choice, she becomes enraged. As
Frida knows that Hermann has been con-
demned by the revolutionary party she
feels that flight alone can save his life.
| Wilhelmlna sees that Hermann is going to
yield and fires. She wishes to strike Frida,
| but Hermann falls dead. Frida browns
| herself in the neghbOring pond.
Princess Wilhelmina fees without being
seen by any one, and King Christian, who
| has resumed his power, sends for the
| gamekeeper and his daughter, the only
| human beings who lived with Frida in the
cottage. Gotlieb Acknowledges that Prince
Otto was taken by him for a thief and
killed by him in the wood, and the game
keepers daughter recognizes Princess
| Wiihelmina to be the woman who entered
the cottage few moments before the
ri M hn hoD D~s.
make her confession, and she says that she
was crazed with anguish and wished only
to shoot Frida. HeartbTOken, King Chris
tian proclaims Princess Wilhelmina regent
and goes away to mourn over the death of
his two sons. Wilhelmina affirms that she
killed not her unfaithful husband, but the
King, who would have been unfaithful to
his crown. The termination is more TO-
mantle than philosophical. but Nine.
Sarah Bernhardt in the av0wal scene is
marvelously dramatic In reality the role
of Princess Wilhelmina is not adapted to
the great power of the actress, but her
wonderful talent overcomes all obstacles
of detail. and last night great was the en-
thusiasm of the audience.
Among the first to congratulate Nine.
Bernhardt were the Grand Duke and
Duchess vladimir, who found her even
more charming than before her numerous
| Journeys to America. The French critics
lost mucn in diction and manner since she
has spent so much time in the land of dol
lars. Some of them 60 so far as to say that
her exquisite voix dor has been replaced
by an Objectionable twang. But the
French are Jealous and wish to keep their
favorites for themselves alone.
Some of Nine. Beruhardt's costumes
| were designed by Louise Abbema. the
artist. In the first act she wears gown of
white and gold brocade. trimmed with
Venetian lace. The sleeves are of satin,
embroidered with turQuoises. opals and
topaZes. The gown in the second act is of
Sevres blue satin, with Louis XIII en-
broidery. The front is formed of rose
coiored satin panel. covered with ecru
guipure. and the sleeves are of rose-colored
satin covered with the same lace.
In the third act her costume is of
sapphre-blue satin bordered with Japan
ese embroidery; the gown is concealed by
cloak of black lace embroidered with Jet