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mencement.

CCLXXXV. VOLTAIRE'S MARIANNE. Voltaire's Marianne was at first only once acted. It is said, that the public being divided as to the merit of the work, the question was oddly settled. The farce, which happened to be played that evening, was entitled, "The Mourning:" "For the deceased play, I suppose," said a critic in the pit; and this decided the fate of the piece.

CCLXXXVI. DESESSARTS.

Desessarts, a very able actor, in the company of the Hague, having one day been caught hunting, within the preserves of the Stadtholder, escaped from this scrape by a judicious application of his dramatic powers. never seen this actor except in the part of princes, came up to him, and asked by what right he came to hunt there. The actor, without appearing in the least disconcerted, turned to the guard with a tragic gesture, and exclaimed,

One of the guards, who had

"Du droit qu'un esprit vaste et ferme en ses desseins A sur l'esprit grossier des vulgaires humains."*

The guard, confounded at the pomp and dignity of this speech, drew back immediately, saying, “Ah! that is another thing: I beg pardon, sir-I was not aware of that.”

CCLXXXVII. VALUE OF A VOICE.

A leading actor at the opera having fallen sick, the first night of the representation of a new play, an inferior one was chosen to supply his place. He sang, and was hissed; but, without being discon

By the right which a vast and resolute mind has ovor the grovelling minds of the vulgar.

certed, he looked steadfastly at the pit and said, "Gentlemen, I don't understand this: Do you think that for 600 livres per annum, which I receive, I can afford to give you a 2000 crowns' voice?" The public were so pleased with the sally, that the actor was allowed to proceed with great applause.

CCLXXXVIII. MONTFLEURE.

Montfleure, who appeared on the French stage before Baron, died in 1667, of the violent efforts he made in playing Orestes, in Racine's Andromache. Guerin, in his Parnassus Reformed, makes the actor say, "If any one wishes to know what I died of, I can tell him it was neither of a fever, nor dropsy, nor gout, but of an Andromache."

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CCLXXXIX. BEAUBOURG.

The actor Beaubourg, who was extremely ugly, playing the part of Mithridates, in Racine's play, Madame Leconvreur, who played that of Monime, said, "Ah, sire, you change countenance;" a wag in the pit exclaimed, “Let him do so-don't stop him."

CCXC. MADEMOISELLE RAUCOURT.

When Mademoiselle Raucourt made her first appearance at the Théâtre Français, in 1772, Mademoiselle Vestris stirred up a powerful cabal against this actress, who was a performer of very considerable talent. During the representation of Cinna, a cat, which had somehow got into the theatre, commenced mewing at a dreadful rate during the performance of Mademoiselle Raucourt.—“ I will wager anything," said one of the audience, "that that cat belongs to Mademoiselle Vestris."

CCXCI. DUFRESNI.

Dufresni composed at first his comedy of the

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Disguised Lover in three acts: the players made him reduce it to one. Those which he wrote in five acts, were uniformly cut down to three. "What!" said he, one day, in a rage, "shall I never succeed in having a five-act play performed?" "Pardon me,” replied the Abbé Pellegrin, "the true way is to write a play in eleven acts; the players will cut off six, but you will still have five left."

CCXCII. DUFRESNE.

Dufresne, a celebrated actor, playing in tragedy, and speaking in too low a tone, one of the spectators called out, “ Speak louder ;" the actor proudly replied," Speak lower." The house, indignant at this spirited reply, hissed the actor off the stage. The police took up the matter, and obliged Dufresne to make an apology to the public. The actor reluctantly obeyed, and, coming forward, commenced his speech thus, "Gentlemen, I never was so sensible of the degraded nature of my situation, as I am from the appearance I am now compelled to make." The public here interrupted him by applauses, and put an end to this act of humiliation.

CCXCIII. ANTIPATER AND THE BARMACIDES.

Never was a tragedy announced with more eclat than the Antipater of Portelance, and never was any more abundantly hissed. For twenty years afterwards, whenever a piece failed, people would say, "It was hissed like Antipater."

macides of La Harpe came in its place.

CCXCIV. CONSOLATION.

The Bar

A bad actor, who had been accustomed to be hissed in every town he played in, finding himself one day even worse treated than usual, turned quietly round as he made his exit, and said to the

pit, "Gentlemen, you will tire by and by, as others have." The coolness and naïveté of the remark occasioned a laugh, and the actor in future was favourably received.

CCXCV. AN EVERLASTING WARDROBE.

In a provincial town an actor, who probably felt considerable difficulty in providing the necessary funds for stage dresses, or even clean linen, was playing the part of Arbate in Racine's Mithridates; when Mithridates appears in the third scene of the second act, and says to his confidant,

"Enfin, après un an, je te revois, Arbate,"

a wag in the pit stood up on the seat, and continued the speech,

"Avec les mêmes bas et la même cravate,” †

which produced a roar of laughter in the house.

CCXCVI. THE GASCON AND THE SINGER.

During the performance of the opera of Aricia, in 1697, an impudent fellow kept singing in the pit, and so loudly that he annoyed all his neighbours. One of them, a Gascon, less patient than the rest, stood up and exclaimed, "Turn out the fool-the wretched singer-the noisy blockhead;" and so on. "Is it to me, sir," said the singer, turning to him, "that you speak ?" "Oh, not at all," said the Gascon, "it is to these rascally singers on the stage, who won't let us hear you.'

* After a year's absence, I see you again, Arbate. + With the same stockings, and that everlasting cravat.

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VOLTAIRIANA.

CCXCVII.

THE ABBE DE VOISENON.

The Abbé de Voisenon was one day in company with Racine the younger, at the house of Voltaire, who was reading to them his tragedy of Alzire. Racine, thinking he recognised one of his own verses, kept repeating between his teeth, "That verse is mine." The Abbé, growing impatient at this continued murmur, went up to Voltaire and said, "Give him his verse, and let him go."

CCXCVIII.

VOLTAIRE AND THE ENGLISHMAN.

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An Englishman who stopped at Ferney, in hist way to Italy, offered to Voltaire to bring him from Rome whatever he desired. "Good," said the philosopher, bring me the ears of the grand Inquisitor." The Englishman, in the course of a familiar conversation with Clement XIV., related to him this piece of pleasantry. "Tell Voltaire from me," answered the Pope, laughing, " that our Inquisitor is no longer possessed of ears."

CCXCIX. IRENE.

Voltaire, the last time he was in Paris in 1778, wholly engrossed with bringing out his tragedy of Irene, had settled the distribution of the parts, and superintended all the other arrangements for the performance. With the prompter's copy in his

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