New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1895-04-29

art, should be so far behind England In its
mounting OF plays The French VIII ho' peheve
you if You tell them so-it is an arucle Vi pd'riot-
ism to disbelieve everything which Is not 70 the
glory Of France. or Stendhal sala' everything
which shocks the national vanity. bul Ii Is so.
At the Theatre Francois, scenery and decoration
are sometimes elaborate and fine. At the Grand
Opera they are still finer and more elaoorate'
Nowhere else in Paris are they so nluch az sec
ond-rate, If judged by the siandard no" pre-
vailing in England.
The stage Of the Renaissance Ihea're' "here
Nine Sarah now acts. Is too small for the
effective presentation Of such plays as the pres
ent but she has done much, now as formerly 10
improve the usual method Of mounting p'coeS'
She attends to details. bat she would be the
first to disc!aim any serious rivalry win s"ch
house as the Lyceum in London, where Mr.. Irving
SPENDS perhaps $4,000 on scenery and costumes
before the curtain goes UP on a new piece
French manager who spent as many francs
would think himself on the road to ruin. Tbs
excellence Of English scenery and It's superiority
to the French are of modern date, and are duc
more to Mr. Irving than to any other one man
ager. He has set the fashion, others have fol-
lowed: and there arc several theatres in Lon
don where a drawing room on the stage is FUR
nishcd as carefully as in a private mouse. Even
of the Theatre Francois that cannot be SAID
But when II comes to dresses and TO the art of
wearing dresses-an art which no dressmaker
can mpart-the natural genius of the French
woman asserts itself. and the English actress
will be wise if she does not press the COM
parisOn.
No more than the strange medley called 'lzeyI
is the "Princesse Loirtaine' a part from Which a
stranger would be likely to form an adequate
notion of Nine. Sarah Bornhardts genius. II IL
nevertheless a part of which none but a great
actress would make anything at all, and her
rendering of II has a kind Of merit which i'm
Plies the possession IF qualities for the iuil uls-
play of which this one evening affords no scope.
When she chooses. she thrills her audience. But
what she has aimed ut throughout Is not 50
much 20 electrify the house to make her i'm
Dossible Princess possible and conceivable. The
effort is as began to saw a moment ago. In
tellectual and ina ginatiVe All the resources OF
her art are put at the service Of conception
which carries her far outside the limits OF what
IS merely dramatic You have to consider not
50 much this or that particular effect or sp'eh-
did outburst Of passion as the composition OF an
individuality or the pre.entaton OF a whoe
character and the orderly. complete development
of a single motive. If the impression OF the best
scenes is less than in many another piece win
which her name is forever associated That oi Tie
whole is deeper. and the appeal to the intcHl-
Cence Of the spectator was never MADE more
definitely The impression becomes deeper as
| YOU reflect on 1t than II was at the time During
| tho performance the audience may seem cold
II is next day and for days after that the pulse
ouickens as your memory rcproduces TINS won
derful face and the wonderful tones Of the N'ic'
and the vivid rendering of personasc perhaps
! no more Of any time than Of our time mat Is
| probably the kind Of testimony when Nine
| sarah herself would think the highest form OF
| homage w. "