The evening world., 1894-03-28
MOI NI3T-StLLl.

The French t~lgolian, Mounet-Sullr,
has come t. us with a biz reputation
acquired IN France. II an American ira
Gcdlan won't to Paris with "A big rcuuta-
tiun acquired In America he might or he
might not wish that he had never been
born. Americans. however. Ike to have
questions solved FOR them. and that's
why thoy nearly always ln1orse foreign
successes, | will Venture TO say that
n Muunct-Sully played in English, and
dropped the Mounot. he would be sheer
iuEly set down rs Il sccnc-chcwer by a
good many OF the humbugs who sat at
Abbcy's Theatre last night not under
standing IA single word they heard. but
apparently lost In admiration OF the
Frcnchmun. AS II ia, We must gush over
him. don you knov'.
Mounet-Sully has a singulnrly uupre-
possessing appearance. His face. which
he evidently won't make up. Is the color
OF an asphalt pavcm"nt-a Soilnd gray
and he wears a little tangled growth OF
brown beard II whiskors. His cyc9
have q very sinister appearance, and
across his face not the ghost Of n vary
ing expression ever fits. lie Is agrees
sIvcly melancholy. one of those TRACE
dams who would be tragic when asleep.
His voice Is pleasing. but monotonous,
aud when his role calls for no violence Of
emotion his words are uttered IN a sort
of "A sIng-song manner that IL almost n
lullaby. But when Mounet-Sully gets
rilod-as the saying is-he f. very bois-
ferrous. He roars. lie bellows. lie
rants. and he INDUCES in moat peculiar
gestures. There is no shading to his
tcmpests. They are all pitched in the
violent key.
If we had never seen n tragcaian in
our lives we might get Il little bit en-
thusiastIc over Mounet-Sully. We have
seen so many, however, and such good
ones. Those who do not understand the
French language will, OF course. find
many beauties In this French work, be-
cause they have so much time to spend
on details. not having to bother their
heads about the meaning OF what they
are looking at. We have seen Irving
and Booth. and having seen them, let
us be glad for our English language to
say-inclegantly-that Mounet-Sully sim
ply isn't in It. He has power. his poses
are artistic. he Is deeply in earnest, and
80 " 'N'''''"'t'S 'ieililNh' i'lt u hb
need to go any further. Let us be hum
bugs when the occasion demands 1t, IL
you will. The occasion does not demand
1t just now.
The play last night was Jules Lacroix' 3
version of Sophocles's tragedy called
"Oedipe Rot" n CHASTITY and inhuman
affair for the stage. If poor Ibsen had
written 1t the gentlemen who run around
crying out hat they are so awfully pure
would have its-the neat little men fer
whom everything sexual Is criminal
would faint away. But SophoCles Is n
classic. Generations less stupid than the
present have made him immortal, and he
must simply not be questioned. Therefore
not "A neat little man ran out of the
theatre laS night at the sight OF n hero
who married his own mother. Nobody
was scared. Oedipus was tolerated, and
J%ocasta, the mother-wife, was not hooted.
People read their librettos very care
fully.
The company did good work. NJ.
SECOND modelled himself somewhat upon
Mounet-Sully, and Nine. Dorlia was very
Impressive. Tonight the tragedian will
appear as Dor R%odrigue In Corncille's
tragedy, lie CID" ALAN DALE.