New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1899-05-28

lived by rule. How could they ever have been
/ expected to admire one anothers plays! Some
desire there was amongst Frenchmen to eniiven
: the stately horizon OF their stage but II they
went to any aliens for inspiration II was 70 the
Spaniards especially to Lope de vega ana hol
/ 10 sbakesneare Routrou and Quinault, with
several others had yearnings for something
more elastic than was allowed by French ira
dtion. But tradition was triumphant anu ID
NJ Jusserand puts 1t, The stage. propery
speaking. once conquered. became Immediately
a hallowed place. Tragedy Is capable OF ruies'
and the taste for rules is in the air; tragedy
shall. therefore. be regular The mere fact OF
being regular almost insures success; and this
| Is so true that Scudery to secure the favor OF
| the nublic talks of the rules that he follows in
his unruly romances. The whole nation. chiefs
and ALL thirsted for regularity and good order.
Corneile still longing for freedom, produced
the Cid" and by the sheer power OF his genius
constrained his countrymen to applaud him, out
his victory was not followed up by others III
the same field; he returned to the rules 10 the
unities and came to regret his romantic IN
discretions The great thing in the time OF
Louis Quatorze was to be dignified and NOBLE
A parsonage on the stage had to practise
measured gait, and II he had something OF the
grand air" so much the better. There Is
story of the actress Duclos playing in Les
! Horaces" Toward the end of her imprecdIlohs
she has to go away in 4 passion, as everybody
knows: she got entangIed in the folds Of her
train which was a very long one. and fell. The
audience saw thereupon the actor who played
the part of Horace take off his hat courteousy
with one hand, offer the other to the actress
lead her off TO the cOulisse, and then, putting
on his hat again with great dignity Kill her
according to the book" This incident is elo-
ouent of the atmosphere which presided over the
French stage during the old regime. II was
expected of every man that he should preserve
his dignity under all circumstances. This was
after all. to do no more than reflect the tone
of French life in general. The dresses worn
under Louis QuatorZe scarcely allowed their
wearers to roll the grass, 10 fall PROSTATE
! on carpets or even, In the agones or remorse' on
the steps of a church" The Court dictated GER
tain rules in dress and in manners, ana the
| Academy banished from its dictionary all WORDS
that seemed to threaten the stateliness anu
purity of the language. What place could oe
found in the favor Of public thus Formed
asks NJ Jusserand for author who accepts
| words Of all sorts, old or new, iewd' techh1ca7
choleric or learned every sentiment and every
idea and far from alternating them IN oroer
to keep them within the bounds Of nobleness
and decorum carries them to extremes with
the view of rendering his contrasts as decided
as possible: an author who falls into the NEST
execrably bad taste reaches the oftiest heights
Of sublimity, writes plays with or without he
roes plays with whole legons OF perSonases'
among which he admits not only the WhlstLhg
valet and the swearing drunkard descrled as III
a nightmare by pessimst La Bruyere. but even
dogs. and even a bear exit pursued by pearl
an incommensurable dramatiSt now fuii OF teaaS
lafu Hy fin
now Of jokes, who watches the maruets ny TN
the middle Of a tragedy. wonders whether the
crfckets are listening CYond crickets shai' not
hear it, sings the sweetest love songs 'he
world has ever heard, divines all our joys weeps
for all our sorrows; coarse teyond endur-
ance lyrical beyond all possibility OF adequate
| praise: in a word. what place was there Tor
Shakespeare in the France Of Louis Quatorze!
Truly. the question is answered in the asking
Tbero coud he no place for Shakespeare, and
! no place ever MADE
! Even those Frenchmen who thought they ap-
rraciated him were far from grasping his full
s;gnifcance Clement, the librarian Of the king.
ir a note discovered by M. Jusserand some
vaars ago remarked that the English dramatist
lad a ia ther fine imagination, that he thought
naturally and expressed himself with skill; Out
his merits were obscured. according to our man
of books. "by the filth he introduced into ms
comedies" Voltalre, who lattered himself to the
day he died that he had done more than any
other man to make Shakespeare known u
France was nevertheless incapable Of any real
understanding of the poet. Admitting that he
/ had "a genius full of strength and fecundlty. OF
naturalness and sublimty.' he went on to de-
clare cat the time of his first Introduction TO
the plays that he HID not the least spark