Daily inter mountain. [volume] (Butte, Mont.) 1881-1901, 1900-12-01
ANOTHER FRENCH
DEMONSTRA TON
Tremendous Vp5eaval IN MarseiHe>s Be
cause the Singers Did Not Please
tie People
the People

There is something strangely incon-
gruous in the hysterical homage paid 10
Mr.. Kruger by the nation that gave the
world the Dreyfus case. 1t takes but
little to throw the French nation into
a CONFUSION, which may last a day or
"a month, and in the present instance,
everybod understands that it is the
hereditary hatred of the French for
England that is back of the demonstra-
tion.
Just before Mr.. Kruger landed at
Narseilles, there was u tremendous up
heaval, into which the whole town
threw itself with wild enthusiasm. 1t
was interesting as showing the import
ance to be ttached to a French dem
Cnstration. A correspondent of the New
York sun, who CHANGED TO be present,
gives this vivid feature of the scene:
instead Of Il revolt against their rulers
the Marseillais nave rebelled against
their, local opera company. No one
knew there WAS to be a revolt. Nobody
expected it, and it burst forth into a
wild and fierce flame like u prairie fire.
uncontrollable, unilnpeded and carrying
everything before it. The management
of the Municipal theater, Which is sub
sidized by the authorities, as well as
supported BY subscriptions, had an
nounced for last Tuesday evening the
performance of 'Sigurd.' On the pre-
liminary bills there appeared the name
of a visiting tenor from Paris and a
new basso. A new barytone and prima
donna had also been announced. The
house was crowded and the people APP
parently good natured, as French audi
ences usually are.
The curtain rose on a sylvan scene
made up of parts of interiors and weird
backgrounds patched together in that
happy-go-lucIy manne which is the
heritage of Continental stage managers.
The chorus was grouped p~icturC<luely
around pillars of Carrara marble, and
against a siivery river flowing perpen-
dicularly from the flies. This chorus
was composed of stout middle-aged men
and elderly ladies of detected mien. The
conductor raised his baton and the cho-
rus sans three or four bars. Suddenly
from one corner of the stalls there arose
a chorus of OUTLAWS. The AGED ladies
of the chorus stumbled in their song.
The outlaws from the stalls grew into
a loud roar Of dcrisive laughter, inter-
lardcd with cries of "A has lensrmhlc!
A bas rensemble.' The balcony and
Siiltt { y uD lIlt tlI'p, anu III WV
minute the vast house was in a state
of indescribablc uproar. The barytone
OF whom Marseilles is tired, a maj of
gigantic stature and indomitable cour-
age, stallted to the footljghts and sang.
He was Kissed to a standstiIl. Then
camc the hated and unrcDlaced basso
with lungs Of leather. and he actually
sans down the house until it Was per-
fectly quiet.
The contraito. a lady Of years and
weight, started her song, but Narseil.es
would not listen to her and jaercd her,
so that the poor thing turned aside and
went bitterly. The act was actually
fought out and the curtain bumped it's
heavy way to the stage.
Then came a scene worth SONG miles
to see. Marseilles jumped on its opera
seats and hoWled. The men. with eyes
popping out of their heads, their hands
clutching the air and their bodies sway
ing to and fro, the women looking
sleefu'ly on and kissing with the best of
them, presented a picture that one sees
over the title TIL Fall of the Bastile,'
or The Vendee Massacres," A wild
eyed, gray-haired man of fifty sprang
up on the rail dividing the stalls from
the pit and held up his hands praying
for silence. 1t came, and he shrieked
out: Il am a Marseiilais, I am a Mar
seillais.' This confession created a
turmoil. After another utburst he
howled:
lie us have the Regisseur. A bas!
a bas. a bas!'
The tornado now became a veritable
cyclone of cries for the poor stage man-