Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1896-08-20
DICKENS NERVOUSNESS.
Was Afraid to Go to See His PLAY
Produced in Paris.

Produced in Paris.
| Jules Claretie, who visited Lon
don, has this to say in the Paris
Figaro Of Charles Dickens and Dick
ems play that was produced in
Paris:
i still see him as on a certain
summer evening he sat at one of the
tables in front Of the cafe, which in
the Place de Ia Bourss was then
hard by the Vaudeville theatef, now,
alas, demolished-where Sardou had
his debut, where Dumas brought out
Ia Dame aug Ca9slias, where
Farguel for 20 Years was 50 dramat-
ic and 50 fine. The vaudeville Of the
Place de la Bourse was giving on
this particular evening a piece bvv
Charles Dickens, which he had had
pl;agyea in his 2yn house with q few
Trends, among whom was Wilkie
Collins, the author Of The Woman
n N1lte. - Paris the piece VAS Vas
called IAbime, Charles Dickens
had taken the trip from England to
Paris for the express purpose -
ing present at the represe- : De.
his work before the ~ 1tatlon OF
There he sat il lench public.
1sbila tha = 'front.' of his table,
niahts .out Paris of the first
was entering the theater,
IA passing by this man in gray
hat, with the superb head, the long
hair and the little twisted tuft of a
beard, little imagining that there
was in Paris that summer evening
one of the master novelists, the
most original of writer's, one of the
geniuses of the nineteenth century.
AS for him. he looked at the people
as they entered, but did not go in
himself
Speaking to a friend, Dickens
said: I am waiting for the first
act to be played. Besides, it is SO
pleasant in Paris in the evening.
How can one shut himself up in
theater?' The truth is, he was afraid
of the result Of the evening. He
dreaded the Partisan public. 1t
seemed to hinl that he had become
the little unfortunate reporter of
former days, the little Boz, but now
inimitahle He was seeking a pretext
for not facing a French house. This
man was afraid of nothing, who
managed to finish piece while talk
ing te the workmen, smeared with
coal dust, about pity, about duty,
about resignation, about the smiles
Of babies and about consultations of
the stars, as in Hard Times this
man, who braved the mob, and
whose utterances were a charm,
trembled before dozen Partisan
critics and public Of Partisan
ladies.
"'Coine, let US go to Mabile, said
he to his friend. I viii come back
to know the result when the fate of
''L'Abime" is sealed. So there he
was finally at Mabile But in pres
enee of the danseuses, then famous,
he thought of nothing else but
'L'Abime, his ancestors and the
vaudeville. The time drew near
when the play must have either tri-
umphed or gone down. Charles
Dickens takes a carriage and filings
an address to the driver: Theatre du
Vaudeville, Place de la Bourse, but
between the Champs Elysees and
the Place de la Bourse, the peculiar
field that agitates the author of
David Copperfield, that fear of the
Partisan, which is all to the credit of
his modesty, increases, and he sud
denly exclaims, after having looked
at his watch: No, cabmau, drive
to the Northern railway station, we
shall have time TO catch the
Boulogne train And he took it,
after having urged his friend to send
him a telegram Immediately, an
nouncing the result of the repre-
sentation Of 'L'Abime It was
from Boulogne-sur- Mer that Charles
Dickens thanked the successful ac-
tors of his piece. players whom he
did not know in French play, that
he never saw.