The times., 1897-08-01

1<tte 1tlul6tfItes &t Tie Nd hidi hSe \ nc
ater one morning. The price OF adinis
sion was $50 according to the announce
nientsl, and the audience comprised four
dcadheads. Mr.. Davis appeared as Capt.
Halliwell. Mr.. Barrie fearlessly doubled the
role OF old Lord RintouI and snecky Hobart,
and Mrs. carrie was Eabbie, the gypsy
heroine. Some Of the Characters We're as
signed to e.;tors who Will take parts in
the play WHEN it Is actually produced in
the autumn. Copyright performances
like this obey the letter but not the spirit
OF the English law, which provides that
copyright on a play can only be secured
hy public representation. The public is
invariably excluded and the piece is siru
ply ratified through. without scenery or
effects.
The news OF Mark Twain is simply that
there is 10 news-at least, so one reads In
the Telegraph.
The Nassng of Henri Meilhac removes
another from that notable circleof FIR ench-
men, which included Offenbach, Herve, Le-
cocq. Sarcy. Prudhomme, and Haleyy, who
was his chief collaboration. Meilhac never
rose above highly respectable level of
bright comedy. When he attempted more
serious work he failed. He never had Il
success outside of collaboration, but he did
well in harness with another. His last
moments w.re embittered by the refusal
OF the reading committee OF the CoInedie
Francaise to mount his recent production.
In opera houffe he was II past master,
and SO long as 0ffenbach' IS name is reme1n-
hercd so long will be Meilhac's.
Personally, Meilhac was one of the
most taciturn and uninteresting of men.
Chateaubriandis said hardly TO hav eopened
his mouth for the last four years OF his
life. In this respect, the late NJ. Meilhac
reseinbled him, If in no other The deceased
drainatist rarely received any but few
very intimate friendsin his own apartment,
but nearly every dag he could be seen
lunching and dining at Durand S, the fash
ionable restaurant which occupies the
ground floor OF the house in the Place de la
Madeleine. where he lived. AS a rule,
Aurehen Scholi, Who enjoys the reputa-
ton OF being the witties5 OF Parsians, sat
opposite to MIN One should not he sur
prised to hear that many of Meilhac's
| good things came from Schon, or were
| originally suggested byhin. Quietly MUNICH
ing his food, Meilhac would sill throughout
! the meal, uttering not a word. Scholl, on
| the contrary, would keep up continuous
| fire of anecGote and witticiSfn. his face
/ beaming with fun and laughter; while
| tliat of his opposite neighbor remained
perfectly expressionless and impassive.
| This almost sulien reserve grew on him
and was more and more characteristic
| toward tile close of his life, and may have
! been symptom of the disease which ulti-
rnatelv carried him off.
| After his paral ytic seizure a few weeks
! ago he suffered from sort of aphasia COM
I bined with loss of memory. 81 have Just
| been able to recall my own name again, -
| he said, pathetically, to his friend, Gan
/ derax, two days before his death. but
| nobody else had forgotten IT. was the re-
/ ply. "Yes, had; and that was enough. ;"
/ This was MeiiEae's last ton mot. Ganderax x,
| the friend who attended him faithfully in
his last Illness, inhertts the whole OF his
/ fortune. and is librettist OF some talent
| Meilhac died worth about a quarter or a
million francs (S50, 600, deposited with
! MessTs. Rothschild, and his authors rights
/ bring in about $4,000 a year. He also
leaves behind him very valuable dra-
matte library. All literary and artistic
| Paris attended his funeral, which took place
| from the Madeleine, which Is opposite his
/ windows, and whence his friend and neigh
Dor, Jules Simon, was also buried just d
| year ago.
Meilhac was a typical Partisan of the
olG-fash.oned sort. 1t used to be said that
brchanteau, in Gondinets comedy, ''Un
/ PaI!sen,'' was suggested by Meilhac. Bri-
chanteau never went beyond the fortinca-
| ticns." The bouievards were his world.
| The bigo1ed Par.sa1 OF this type still exists
! numerously. He is always a confirmed the
| atergoer among the best theaters OF the
world, though his Judgment in matters OF
| theatrical and musical art has often been
| at fault He Is bon vivant and gossip
| about Paris and things Parisan NOTHING &
exists for him beyond Paris. Yet even the
bigoted Partisan will in time surrender TO
| modern ideas and become a traveller and
citizen of the world. He no longer stays
| within the fortifications; he knows Nice,
Monte Carlo, Venice, Dieppe, if not Lon
don or Berlin He is developing, and his
| beloved! Paris, by the way, is not quite
| what it WAS in relation to the rest of civ
| iliZation.