The record-union. [volume] (Sacramento, Calif.) 1891-1903, 1899-07-02


eagerness which you may note in very
sensitive people while a thunderstorm
is mutteringly waiting to break out in
its full fury. Morton sat back IN shad-
ow, inscrutable. Mr.. de Sartory's hag-
the effect produced.
HE stepped little forward and
said: I shall now venture to show you
something Of the Spirit that Denies.
He spoke the cords with an absolutely
icy clearness, and he trembled slightly,
as though the iciness of his tone were
caught from some atmosphere enveiop-
ing him; but I noted one drop OF sweat
on his forehead He shook himself to-
Eether SO swiftly that this action and
the previous tremulousness seemed
blended together, and continued: Mes
| sieurs, la derniere scene de "Faust
Ah!' he went on, with gesture winch
seemed meant to reassure nlmselI
rather than the spectators, All! non pas
celle de Barlioz. Ca Serait trop ter
rible. Non,' he went on In a sort purr-
| ing voice, nous bornerons Poeuvre DE
| notre cher ct bon Gounod.' 1t certainly
struck me that to represent that last
scene of La Damnation de Fausl
! (Which it has always been my secret
ambition to put worthily on the oper-
attic stage, with it's Internal chorus OF
! Swedenborgian fiends, would be try
ing undertaking ever for Mr.. de Sar-
torys, while at the. same moment l re-
f1ected that to compass the last scene
of Gounod's opera was an extraordinary
adventure enough.
"But the impression was a very fleet
ing one, for the aspect of Mr. de Sar-
torys caught irresistibly the best part
of my attention. I perceived again tnat
marked sweeping look round Whlch
had before noticed, and in it there
seemed to me to be a combination OF
COMPREHENSION comprehension OF
something unseen to us-and of appre-
hension. The sudden drop into French
the sudden change in his <lode or al
dress, had been ominous; but there was
now something in his aspect far beyond
such accidents something that came
from the mans Utmost SOUL mes
sieurs,' he said, again, 'l'E prit qu Me:
and he now spoke the words with all
his old air of dignity, mixed with a
new expression of exaltation. yer as
observed him I knew, as wei as know
that / am speaking to you now, that
was looking on a. doomed mana man
doomed by his own excess ana price
of will The scene changed sudGenly
to Margaret's prison, with all the IA
miliar stage arrangement as to detaEs,
but with what difference in the whole
effect.-the difference between the
perfect illusion and the most damn!n3
reality. The figure and face OF Mar
garet We're beautiful exceedingly, ana
charged with a weight of tragic pas
sion that seemed as if it must crush
the frail form into nothingness: the APP
pearance of Mr.. de Sartorys as Faust
was the utmost expression of desperate
and helpless love; the vIst and forpla-
ding walls and pillars of che prison
filled ones very soul with gloom ana
horror.
But how shall I try to describe the
terrible Mephistopheles who stood be-
fore US? Theophile Gautier has descrle-
ed something like it in his 'Deux Ac-
teurs pour I'm Role; but the Mephls-
topheles in that did not assume the al
most Satanic grandeur that this APP
pearance carried, in addition to the
fiendish and oveImastering malice DIS
cerned in his least looks, his least ges-
lures. I can but attempt to convey
something of the impression produced
by telling you that, while I could not
take my eyes off what was passing IN
front of me, felt that the others were
like myself-I confess it-shuddering.
Them began the final Terzetto. l do
not care to tell you how many great
singers and actors I have seen and
heard in this scene-for it might give
YOU a clewz to the secret of my age
but this I do tell you, that have never
heard that wonderful music so sung be-
fore and never can hear it so sung
again. The invisible orchestra respond
ed to every beat, every CULVER of pas
sion. And for the acting!-I must not
call it acting; the thing was too real,
too poignant. And through all the
glory and beauty of the music that in
explicable Figure of Dread dominated
the whole scene with a nameless sense
of terror.
"By the time When the end of the
scene was reached we were worked up
to a very madness of excitement. The
final chorus was omitted. Margaret
did not fall dead, but seemed absorb
ed into a sunbeam that shot suddenly
through the narrow window high up in
the massive WALL Then this disappeared
and the two remaining figures were
seen only by the dim light of the prison
lamp. Thereupon Mephistopheles adj
vanced to Faust, and silently wrapped
the red mantle around him. AS he did
so the mantle burst into a. sheet of
white fiame-so dazzling in it's bril-
liancy that, had its overpowering radi-
ance lasted more than the fraction Of
.{o1 n ~.
dured those scorching beams. Then all
was dark, and we heard the sound OF a
heavy fall Mantis, snatchlng lamp
from a bracket. seized me by the arm,
and without uttering word we. rush
ed together into the further room. The
others followed US. I need not tell
you," Peregrine went on, dropping into
a dry tone, that We found no one there
k -