New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1910-07-09
ROBERT MkCAiRE"
Recollections of Frederick Lee
maitre and His Great Part.
Percy Fitz Gerald, in The Pail Mall Ga
Zette

Percy Fitz Gerald. in The Pail Mall Ga
zette.
The criticisms on Frederic Lenaitre's
great creation of Robert Macaire-Which
at one time drew all Paris-show a slight
misunderstanding of the situation which
the play created. l think l am entitled
to say something on the matter, as l am
| one Of the few living 'playmongeTs" who
/ have seen Lenaitre act. though not in
! this character. But when l saw him I
/ quite understood his method in this part
| The piece dts name l have forgotten
was concerned with an adoring husband
| who after his wife's death finds certain
compromising letters which prove that
! she has been deceiYing him all her life.
! l shall never forget his display OF fury;
at times he danced and sang wild ditties.
I saw in him clearly what his MaCaire
was. The notion of Macaire being a
mere buffooning parsonage kicking and
J slapping his follower, is quite foreign TO
the great players art. The late Sir
| Henry Irving also knew little of the
inner meaning of the part. I say this,
though l myself contributed some odd
| ''wheeZes" 10 the character His appear
ance. however, and general fashion"
much recalled Lenaftre. Macaire was
really a tragic character. In it there is
! the double intention-twO charac ters in
| one. the INSCRIPTIONS villain carrying
! 1t off" with a sort Of jOvial or sardonic
! humOr. The figure was intended TO be
/ like one Of CallOt's fantastic sketches.
! The man felt he was doomed to perish at
/ the hands of the gendarmes, but he
would be gay and reckless TO the last.
/ The relations between him and his man
| were those of Don Quixote and his San
| cho. Strop was deeply attached to him,
| lending pathos inconsistent with the
general pummelling and kicking upstairs
which Sir Henry introduced.
| Mr.. H. B. Irving, who is a really clever
| performer of the French school, must
| have known the history of the piece and
/ its curious connection with Louis Phi
I lppe. If he recalls that episode he VIII
/ see what q deeper gravity lies below the
whole piece. Robert Macaire was being
acted in London just as 'Pickwick'' was
coming out and, il is clear. furnished
hints to Boz In Jingle and his follow
er. Job TrOtter. who cannot recognize
1 the tragic mixture Of gTotesqueness with
intensity or sardonic humoT. Sir Henry
| Irving, had he followed his better judg
ment would have imported the weird
ness of Matthias into Robert Macaire''
with a certain madness or diablerie su-
| peradded.
| In Daumier's clever caricatures we
find MaCaire and his follower in all
/ kinds Of grotesque political situations.
| There is q suggestion even of Mephis-
topheies's saTdonic gayety, all OF which
proves that the whole basis of the char
acter IS serious under a veil Of sarcasm.
| MT. irving 3 dress Seems, also, QuItt LOC
respectful bic. There is hardly enough of
patches and tatters It should be
strangely grotesque combination Nor
/ DO his dancing movements seem appro-
pirate. Jingle had more of the genuine
shabby genteel. Jingle believed in him
self and inspired others with this be-
| lief. and in a certain fashion he dom
mated. Macaire was a desperate, reck-
! less fellow and should dominate Fur
Their. all the minor characters were too
comic" and showed no real belief in the
situations. And as they certainly cared
| little about this dangerous ruffian who
was among them. the audience naturally
! took ii as a sort of pantomime.
! Many will recall the morning per-
/ Torrance at which Irving and his friend
/ Toole took the leading characters In
one sense il was rather q painful spec
tacle as jacques StrCp engrossed the
whole. gagged" d outrance and scarcely
gave his companion a chance. But 'rien
| nest sacTG pour un sapeur." The idea
OF acting TWO characters or phases of
character al the same moment hardly
! seems feasible to the English player. He
can be the jealous husband or the af-
fectionate husband-eaCh by itself. or by
turns. but not both Yet in daily life
such are often found together Johnson
acute in omnibus-summed up the
whole art Of acting in his short criticism
90 Garricl1. VINO vas playing a gentleman
/ disguised AS a footman: NO. sir; he
/ does not act ii wclI-he does not let the
gentleman break through the f0otman."
| "Maceire." then, acted in a literal way
! becomes quite unmeaning-as unmean-
ing and even nonsensical as the old mel
odrama. The Miller and His Men," to
which l was taken by Boz as a spe-
cial feast. both looking forward TO a re-
newal Of old childish enjoym ent II
proved q burlesque. as no one knew the
traditions. or the audience had outgrown
them. Even r. L. Stevenson was drawn
To ''Macaire" by the underlying tragedy
and superficial grotesqueness. and with
his friend Henley furnished very pow
erful piece.
Further. those wonderful pantoni-
mists. Paul Martinetti and his family,
/ gave q grewsome but highly dramatic
representation of Robert Macaire," into
which a sort of weird or denoniac at
mosphere was infused. I still see him
and his picture-