The Montgomery advertiser., 1909-10-31

death kner of the unhappy Duncan. We are now on the terrace of saint wandriile, or rather on the terrace of
 Macbeth's castle of Inverness: for by this time the real performances has joined hands with my dream and the two are blended in my thought. Seen through the branches of the trees, torches strew stars in the forest; one guesses the presence of cavalcade de- scending the hillside. Lady Macbeth | stands motionless on the threshold :.
 And this walt. made tenfold as vivid by reality, becomes . formidable thing. The sound of the horses hoofs ap- breaches. the flames of the torches
 come slowly down the hill. The shouts
 of the cfansmen grow more distinct. That simple event. the meeting of two
 human beings, Is about to take place
 here 1t assumes such proportions that think of the vision which great Shak-
 speare can have had when he wrote
 this scene. Could the sight that he be- held in the splendor of his imagination exceed the extraordinary picture that
 now rivets me to the entrance-ga
 of Saint-wandriile? Did he dream of a collaboration more infinite than that of the night, the cold night that makes the metal of the voices ring. the threat ening night that speaks in the cry of
 the owls and of all the mysterious den- izens of the woods. the immense night that magnifies the rhythm of his
 thoughtf et8
 But here comes the procession
 emerging from the forest It 10 now marching over the grass, towards the river which bounds the courtyard be-
 yond the three great abbey buildings. The king crosses the bridge. The breath of the spring shrouds him in . mist; and. as he Is surrounded by light, the swallows. misled by this false glow, dart from their nests and
 whirl around the court uttering anx- ious cries; bat fits across my brow !: . dog bays in the distance; the bell of the neighboring church slowly tells Its nine strokes. Lady Macbeth has well comed Duncan in strained words. She now keeps silence; and. while he climbs the steps of the terrace. I thank the accident which allows me to kneel during one of the fairtst moments of my artistic life.
 The next scene passes in the same setting. The spectators remain at the windows of the courtyard. As soon as Duncan enters the castle. the banquet begins; music Is heard within the room; and the tall stained windows cast rays of precious color outside. Then Macbeth steals Into the court and, in a low voice, breathes his doubts. casts an anxious eye at the lighted windows, fears lest a traitor should be spying on him. leans on the coping of a well. toys careiessly with his knife; and we hear the sound of the blade against the stone.
 The following scenes, those bearing upon the murder of Duncan, takes place in one spot, the great hall. high as a church-nave, which was once the monks refractory. This hall. which occupies the center of the abbey. leads into most of the rooms. several of which must be crossed to reach the kings chamber. Therefore. when the murder is discovered, footsteps, shouts cries of distress will echo from vault to vault fom gallery to gallery. be- fore the spectators become aware of what is happening.
 On the day of the discovery. I con- tinued my walk not wholly without dread; for I constantly feared lest some invincible obstacle might arise that should destroy everything. But. to the end. the scenes unfolded them selves in the same perfect order and tions. the spectres, Lady Macbeth's sleep walking scene everything seemed possibie; and I could not take my fill of realizing the perfect concord that reigned between the site and the trag- edy of Macbeth" in which nature, the woods. the waters. the plants. the ami mals and the mysterious forces of life play & predominating part and form chorus that surpasses in horror and in- tensity the chorus of the Aesohylea furiea.4s Iseven found curious links be- tween the blood stained tragedy and the monkish peace of the abbey in which the story of Saint Wandrille slumbers. superb, dramatic, enthrall- Ing, as In an eyry of religious feudal- ism.
 With it's overpowering silence, it's enormous walls, the top of which still shows traces of a round walk, It's sub terranean passages that lose them selves In the darknes. its endless white passages and its dflapidated cathedral. it combines the characteris- tics of the Gothic fortress and the con- vent. the palace and the monkish bar rack house, the monastery, the char ter-house and the ruined basilica. Nothing short of the terrible drama of Macbeth could live at ease in this terrifying framework. ... Mac beth, then," was the tragedy chosen as representing the very place where the poet has conceived 1t.
 Meanwhile, one important question had not been solved: That of the trans lation. While working with the text of Victor Hugo, I was constantly haY-