The Montgomery advertiser., 1909-10-31

ing rsoourss to Mattsrlincl. one phrase seemed to me so rcugh. another retarded the drama, . third impeded
 the action. spoilt the vigor of the play. until soon the ma rSins of my copy wore covered with notes; and Maetsr- iinck. after endeavorfng to improve upon Victor Hugo's text was not slew in recognising that the work must be done afresh from beginning to end.
 He resolutsly undertook to make . new translattons In which tho rhythm.
 the lit. the movement tho color tho
 accent and above all the sesnic Quali- ties of ShakespeaYe's text (hitharto neglected by all the translatcrS)s should
 be reproduced As faithfully as possible. Then began for me delight which never hoped for nor expected. IL was the revelation Of Shakespeare. Unac- Quainted with ,the English language,
 hitherto I had known the great poet
 only through his translators and had
 often asked myself why the poets of all ages bowed before him as before the uncontested sovereign. Now des-
 tiny answered my question with a strange eloquence. Shakespeare was revealed to me in an unequalled fash ion. more mysteriouss more immense than if had been reading him direct in the original text.
 We worked day by day in the mar vicious peacerof the forest of St Wan drilie. First, Matterlinck reads
 phrase, constructing 1t according to the French form. Then he repeats 1t. tearing away the French garb which did not suit; and already it makes me start. It hardly appears. yet 1t ape pears, beyond the form. on the other
 side. as 1t were, of the world! And once
 again he repeats 1t, disjointing more and more the first sense that had pre- scented itself. Then above heap of words that fall clattering like so many empty shells, the real thought of the poet looms enormous. immense. untranslatable and stands before my eyes as 1t must have arisen in the mind that gave 1t birth halfway between
 thought and shape, infinite because not yet expressed and bound in words.
 A little later. one of the actors could not be found. at the last moment; the poor fellow had lost his way in the underground passages. Another was locke in a double door. And, lastly, my lamp, Lady Macbeth's lamp flared up in my hand just as I was about to walk in my sleep. I put 1t out and, fortunately. found a candle end, which I hurriediy fitted to the tip of the lamp. but the flame had set
 fire to the curtain behind which was hiding!. At the same moment at the other end of the hall. at distance of sixty yards, appeared the doctor of physic and the waiting gentiewoman. While speaking their parts, they walk ed towards the audience, who were seated under the gallery along which was to pass. A words cry, sig nal. and the alarm would have been given and the whole evening spoilt! The curtain of light canvas. con- tinued to burn by my side. had but one idea; to close the door giving acc cess to the gallery. The door was wooden one and 1t was dangerous step; but could not see beyond the present. In a second should be walking above the onlookers. they would raise their heads and. if the door was not closed. they would see the great unusual light. Evsry- thing passed accordingly. II shut in the fire behind me and began my scene.
 I have since thought with terror of what might have happened if the draft from the passage had not driven the flames against the stone wall until the canvas curtain was burnt.
 For my humble part, can loudly admit that never until that evening naQ Iclt SO pcEIcCt n CotilHiuutOh tV exist between myself and those who listened to me. Certainly. the most absolute realty confined and facilitat- cd our movements, magnified and re- stricted them by turns. but without ever hampering them; for its orders were necessar rily logical And are, we to believe that this reality dispelied the illusion? Because the illusion had adopted a new form. was 1t therefore wiped out7
 I believe that 1t was all the stronger inasmuch as 1t was most cunning. At the theatre. 1t is there, before us. be- hind the curtain; 1t attacks us face to face; 1t has no secret left for all of us who expect 1t and admit 1t in advance appeared, no curtain can we'll 1t or re- veal 1t to our senses, 1t no longer has its fixed place; and for this very req son, 1t is thought no longer to exist What a mistakei It is everywhere, on the contrary; 1t attacks us so treacherously, from every side. that we are all steeped in 1t. players and audience alike. ..
 It has only lost the appearance which centuries of habit had lent 1t; and we are powerless against 1t, be- cause we do not know where 1t is. II possesses us, guides ,us,- dominates us; 1t niingIes with reality untfl we are driven to recognize that they are now not at all hostile and that master piece can sometimes unite them. The performance of Macbeth" at Saint Wandriie has signed a treaty of peace