{"numero_id": "bm-bmtnaau-1924-04-01", "volume": "bmtnaau_1924-04_01", "ocr_sha256": "4a2d832ed4725237f90af6d48298409eb5aefcc5c1726e031077104644da5633", "source_tei": "https://github.com/Princeton-CDH/bluemountain-transcriptions/blob/main/periodicals/bmtnaau/issues/1924/04_01/bmtnaau_1924-04_01.tei.xml", "source_mets": "https://github.com/pulibrary/BlueMountain/blob/main/metadata/periodicals/bmtnaau/issues/1924/04_01/bmtnaau_1924-04_01.mets.xml", "url_numero": "https://bluemountain.princeton.edu/bluemtn/?a=d&d=bmtnaau192404-01", "articles": [{"article_id": "bm-bmtnaau-1924-04-01-c001", "article_bluemountain": "bmtnaau_1924-04_01#c001", "volume": "bmtnaau_1924-04_01", "ocr_source": "OCR Blue Mountain (ALTO), transcription TEI : lignes lb/@facs", "texte_sans_correction": true, "page_debut": "[46]", "page_fin": "[46]", "image_debut": 2, "image_fin": 2, "pages_selon": "pagination imprimée relevée dans le METS Blue Mountain (ORDERLABEL) ; [n] = page sans folio restituée", "url_article": "https://bluemountain.princeton.edu/bluemtn/?a=d&d=bmtnaau192404-01.2.1", "titre_corps": "Spèculateur Dramatique", "titre_sommaire": "Spèculateur Dramatique", "signature_source": "DAUMIER AND PHILIPON", "controle": "bornes données par la structure logique METS/ALTO de Blue Mountain (blocs ALTO de chaque constituant)", "pages": [{"page_pdf": 2, "page_imprimee": "[46]", "url_page": "https://bluemountain.princeton.edu/bluemtn/?a=d&d=bmtnaau192404-01.1.2", "debut_caractere": 0, "fin_caractere_exclue": 335, "texte": "FROM A LITHOGRAPH BY DAUMIER AND PHILIPON. MAY 1837. LA CHARIVARI.\nSpèculateur Dramatique\n\"Votre ouvrage est assez BONNE.... la ferai recevoir, je ferai copier le manuscript et\nvous ne me donnarez Pour cela que les trois quarts du droit mais une\nà la quelle je tiens. c'est que ie sois seul en nom, c'est une condition Sine qua NONNE!\""}]}, {"article_id": "bm-bmtnaau-1924-04-01-c002", "article_bluemountain": "bmtnaau_1924-04_01#c002", "volume": "bmtnaau_1924-04_01", "ocr_source": "OCR Blue Mountain (ALTO), transcription TEI : lignes lb/@facs", "texte_sans_correction": true, "page_debut": "47", "page_fin": "48", "image_debut": 3, "image_fin": 4, "pages_selon": "pagination imprimée relevée dans le METS Blue Mountain (ORDERLABEL) ; [n] = page sans folio restituée", "url_article": "https://bluemountain.princeton.edu/bluemtn/?a=d&d=bmtnaau192404-01.2.2", "titre_corps": "DRAMA AND PLAY", "titre_sommaire": "DRAMA AND PLAY", "signature_source": "J. S", "controle": "bornes données par la structure logique METS/ALTO de Blue Mountain (blocs ALTO de chaque constituant)", "pages": [{"page_pdf": 3, "page_imprimee": "47", "url_page": "https://bluemountain.princeton.edu/bluemtn/?a=d&d=bmtnaau192404-01.1.3", "debut_caractere": 20, "fin_caractere_exclue": 1306, "texte": "DRAMA AND PLAY\n\nIT has been lately rather aggressively asserted that scenic artists have\nhad or claimed rather too much attention for their work.\nIf it were so it were a grievous fault. But is it so?\nEspecially unfortunate would it be if by paying a little too much\nattention to sceneries people were to be distracted from the plays. —\nBut is it so?\nWe have always stood out against such attempts to push forward\nthis or that part of the Theatre and to push back some other part\nof it.\nFor us it seems that, while the whole Theatre as instrument, is worth\nfull attention, any one bit of it alone and separated from the other\nbits was barely worth anything.\nIt is through this Instrument that the Drama comes, and Drama\ncannot exactly be called one of the parts of the instrument itself.\nThe Play is one of the most popular things and anything but disre-\ngarded today.\nThe Records of the Lord Chamberlain's Offices proves how popular.\nThousands of plays have been written, passed by the Censor and\nperformed these last fifty years, though to hear the cry raised only last\nyear at the audacity of the scenic men having a little look in,one would\nhave supposed plays were being rejected by the thousand, and Drama writers\n\n(1) We hope that their scenes have in no way thinned the receipts."}, {"page_pdf": 4, "page_imprimee": "48", "url_page": "https://bluemountain.princeton.edu/bluemtn/?a=d&d=bmtnaau192404-01.1.4", "debut_caractere": 0, "fin_caractere_exclue": 1994, "texte": "the most put-upon men. There is no set of men in the Theatre better\noff than the play writers; they make their regular nightly percentage of\nfrom two to twenty pounds sterling, according to the size of the playhouses.\nAnd if a playwriter have one or another play of his being performed\nin five or six different theatres in Great Britain and in four or five Ame-\nrican theatres and in three or four Continental theatres during one week,\nthat means that he is receiving at the very least twelve fees that week,\ntwelve five pound notes (let us keep the average low) to sum up sixty\npounds.\nWe have been to Sweden, Germany, Holland, Russia, Denmark,\nFrance, Italy and America, and believe that in all these places we have\nseen the plays by our English playwriters.\nAnd besides these wideworld sources of income there are others as\nN\nwidely spread about. The plays are in book form or in magazines,\nand in most lands one comes across them.\nThen the cinematograph rights!\nSo let no one therefore pity the poor popular playwriter: let us rather\ncheer him up under so much prosperity and tell him that all's well and\nthat adversity, though it have its sweet side, has a bitter one too like\nprosperity.\nThree publishers last Christmas were offering six and nine and twenty-\nfive plays apiece for the public's delight and the playwright's pros-\nperity. As for books on the playwrights and play writing, they too were\nquite numerous last year, and a good thing too.\nIt is one of the now rather famous misrepresentations made about\n\" The Mask \" that it utterly disregards the play and the playwriter.\n\" The Mask \" has a duty to perform, and part of this certainly is\nto respect and consider with pride the work of the best dramatists; but its\ngreater duty is to see that other work and other workers are not pushed\naside, though of course it cannot do anything to secure for these\nother workers the nice fat incomes which many a more admirable,\npushful and topical playwriter has assured himself of.\n\nJ. S."}]}, {"article_id": "bm-bmtnaau-1924-04-01-c004", "article_bluemountain": "bmtnaau_1924-04_01#c004", "volume": "bmtnaau_1924-04_01", "ocr_source": "OCR Blue Mountain (ALTO), transcription TEI : lignes lb/@facs", "texte_sans_correction": true, "page_debut": "49", "page_fin": "49", "image_debut": 5, "image_fin": 5, "pages_selon": "pagination imprimée relevée dans le METS Blue Mountain (ORDERLABEL) ; [n] = page sans folio restituée", "url_article": "https://bluemountain.princeton.edu/bluemtn/?a=d&d=bmtnaau192404-01.2.3", "titre_corps": "A PORTRAIT OF LODOVICO ARIOSTO", "titre_sommaire": "A PORTRAIT OF LODOVICO ARIOSTO", "signature_source": "", "controle": "bornes données par la structure logique METS/ALTO de Blue Mountain (blocs ALTO de chaque constituant)", "pages": [{"page_pdf": 5, "page_imprimee": "49", "url_page": "https://bluemountain.princeton.edu/bluemtn/?a=d&d=bmtnaau192404-01.1.5", "debut_caractere": 0, "fin_caractere_exclue": 121, "texte": "A PORTRAIT OF LODOVICO ARIOSTO. 1474-1533.\nFrom the woodcut after Titian's design in the \"Orlando Furioso”, Ferrara 1532."}]}, {"article_id": "bm-bmtnaau-1924-04-01-c005", "article_bluemountain": "bmtnaau_1924-04_01#c005", "volume": "bmtnaau_1924-04_01", "ocr_source": "OCR Blue Mountain (ALTO), transcription TEI : lignes lb/@facs", "texte_sans_correction": true, "page_debut": "51", "page_fin": "51", "image_debut": 7, "image_fin": 7, "pages_selon": "pagination imprimée relevée dans le METS Blue Mountain (ORDERLABEL) ; [n] = page sans folio restituée", "url_article": "https://bluemountain.princeton.edu/bluemtn/?a=d&d=bmtnaau192404-01.2.4", "titre_corps": "THE DECREE OF MOSCOW : TRANSLATED FROM THE FRENCH BY PIERRE RAMES, AND WITH FOREWORD, COMMENTS AND NOTES BY JOHN BALANCE", "titre_sommaire": "THE DECREE OF MOSCOW : TRANSLATED FROM THE FRENCH BY PIERRE RAMES, AND WITH FOREWORD, COMMENTS AND NOTES BY JOHN BALANCE", "signature_source": "", "controle": "bornes données par la structure logique METS/ALTO de Blue Mountain (blocs ALTO de chaque constituant)", "pages": [{"page_pdf": 7, "page_imprimee": "51", "url_page": "https://bluemountain.princeton.edu/bluemtn/?a=d&d=bmtnaau192404-01.1.7", "debut_caractere": 0, "fin_caractere_exclue": 1164, "texte": "THE DECREE OF MOSCOW.\nTRANSLATED FROM THE FRENCH BY PIERRE RAMES, AND\nWITH FOREWORD, COMMENTS AND NOTES BY JOHN BALANCE.\nTO discipline ourselves, to put\nin order our English Play-\nhouse so that it may be fit\nto receive and to interpret\nthe Dramatic masterpieces of the\nPoets or whatever of value we may\nin time come to create, some Rules\nother than those dictated by the com-\nmercial sense of the day are necessary.\nThere seems no reason why we\nshould wait to have imposed upon\nour House conditions which, by use\nof a little common-sense, we could\nourselves draw up.\nTo this end some study of the\nDecree of Moscow may not be\nwithout its uses.\nNapoleon was a practical being\nwith his ideals fixed ; one of these\nwas for a better Theatre.\nIn his Decree, which today re-\nmains as valuable to the\nFrancaise as it was in 1812, he\n> 7 .\nhas shown his good sense for the\nplayhouse, and we might profit\nby it.\nIn the Decree we find no super-\nfluous expression of ideals, no noble\nsentiments, nothing but downright\ncommon-sense: but the common-\nsense is not common in the sense\nof being at all mean. It is no shop-\nkeeper's estimate ; it is a states-\nman's sensible decree."}]}, {"article_id": "bm-bmtnaau-1924-04-01-c006", "article_bluemountain": "bmtnaau_1924-04_01#c006", "volume": "bmtnaau_1924-04_01", "ocr_source": "OCR Blue Mountain (ALTO), transcription TEI : lignes lb/@facs", "texte_sans_correction": true, "page_debut": "51", "page_fin": "53", "image_debut": 7, "image_fin": 9, "pages_selon": "pagination imprimée relevée dans le METS Blue Mountain (ORDERLABEL) ; [n] = page sans folio restituée", "url_article": "https://bluemountain.princeton.edu/bluemtn/?a=d&d=bmtnaau192404-01.2.5", "titre_corps": "NAPOLEON AND THE THEATRE", "titre_sommaire": "NAPOLEON AND THE THEATRE", "signature_source": "", "controle": "bornes données par la structure logique METS/ALTO de Blue Mountain (blocs ALTO de chaque constituant)", "pages": [{"page_pdf": 7, "page_imprimee": "51", "url_page": "https://bluemountain.princeton.edu/bluemtn/?a=d&d=bmtnaau192404-01.1.7", "debut_caractere": 1166, "fin_caractere_exclue": 2471, "texte": "NAPOLEON\nAND THE THEATRE.\nNAPOLEON from the beginning of his\ncareer to the end of it valued the\nTheatre, made use of it, honoured its\nmembers and kept it fit.\nFrom the first he was often in the\ncompany of the actor Talma. When in\n1796 he married Josephine, it was from\nRue Chantereine N. 6, the house which had\nbelonged to Julie Carreau, the first wife of\nTalma ; she had been there six months ;\nfrom October of 1795 to March 9th\n1796, the day that Bonaparte and she\nwere united. Only a coincidence.\nWhen in 1799 he is setting out for\nEgypt it is one of his orders as Consul\nthat a troupe of actors and dancers shall\nbe rapidly brought together and sent there.\nThe boats were ready to leave when the\norder was given out in November. The\nactors wishing to go were to apply to the\nTheatre de la Republique, Rue de la\nLoi, giving their names, ages, and stating\nwhat they could do. Laplace, minister\nof the Interior, was to see to it: he em-\nploys Maherault who was the governmen-\ntal commissioner, believing that all the ac-\ntors that were necessary would soon be\nsecured. Delorme was proposed as a di-\nrector by Monvel pere. Rebie the old\nimpresario of the theatres of Louvois and\nNicolet at Paris, and in 1 799 the director\nof the Grand Theatre at Brussels, offered\nhis services as organizer. Deschamps the"}, {"page_pdf": 8, "page_imprimee": "52", "url_page": "https://bluemountain.princeton.edu/bluemtn/?a=d&d=bmtnaau192404-01.1.8", "debut_caractere": 0, "fin_caractere_exclue": 3455, "texte": "director of the Jeunes-Artistes Salle Neuve\ndes Spectacles applied for the same post,\noffering his troupe, ready to leave at\nonce for Egypt, whom he guaranteed had\ngood will and first class memories and\ncould play 130 new pieces, for which\nhe had the parts, the music, costumes,\nand he awaited the honour of a reply....\nwith respect....\nBesides these wholesale dealers in\nTheatricals many a dancer, actor, stage-\nmanager and costumier applied, all of them\nunder thirty-nine years of age and most\nof them eighteen to twenty.\nIn the national archives of France we\ncan read their several applications. Among\nthem is one from a \" M. Brisse, ex-maire\nde la commune de Nancy, artiste au\ntheatre de Nantes, premiers roles \".\nHelas, poor M. Brisse the ex-maire\nof Nancy who wished to play premiers\nroles in a booth on the banks of the Nile\nwas destined to be disappointed : not one\nof the applicants but was destined to have\nhis hop es dashed ; for important M. Mahe-\nrault utterly failed to organize this very\nsimple affair.\nBonaparte, who has no time yet to\nshow the Maheraults of this world how\nto make an egg stand upright, leaves for\nEgypt without his actors. That the De-\ncree of Moscow was born of this failure\nof M. Maherault we can have little\ndoubt.\n§ A year later on December 22,\n1800 (or the year IX) Bonaparte writes\nto Chaptal the new minister of the Inte-\nrior to send a troupe of French actors to\nEgypt, and adds that though at first it\nseems futile, it is necessary, and he sug-\ngests how it should be done.\nIt was done ; off went a boat full of\nactors bound for Cairo; but in a few\nweeks back comes the news that the ship\nload has been seized by the English on\nthe night of the 18 th Pravial about a\ndozen leagues west of Alexandria.\nAfter some time they were rescued.\nTheir agent was paid 1 5,000 francs, and\nin all 60,000 francs went to the expense\nof this disastrous attempt to entertain the\narmy in Africa, for which First Consul\nBonaparte has estimated 40,000 francs as\nsufficient.\nWhether any French actors ever lan-\nded in Egypt in 1800 does not seem\nclear, though 1 always understood that\nsome company did get there and perform.\nThese failures doubtless strengthened\nBonaparte's determination, sooner or later,\nto organize the French Theatre beyond\nits power to fail.\nSo much for the beginning. And at\nthe end, during the Hundred Days, spite\nof the confusion which reigned, Napoleon\nissues his \" Instruction sur les Theatres \",\nMay 1815. It consists of 31 clauses ;\nand after the hundred days were over\nthe * Instruction ', though not bettered,,\nwas applied.\nWhen he becomes Emperor, Na-\npoleon does not seem to have been struck\nby any of the ideas which obtain today....\nthose ideas which Messrs Klaw and Er-\nlanger and others put to such good prac-\ntice (with such abominable results), and by\nwhich they held (and still hold for all I\nknow) control of some hundreds of thea-\ntres in America. The unbusinesslike me-\nthods of our day, whereby millions of\npounds are wasted on producing stuff no\none wants, and other millions wasted in\nmaking everyone come and see the stuff 0)\ndid not appeal to Napoleon.\nThese methods had however appealed?\n\n(1) t€ But they do want it \" howl the interested:\nhut that is only the worn-out of these same inte~~\nrested ones. For if the public wanted it, millions of\npounds would not have to be wasted in advertisement:\nthe public would rush to get what they Want, for this\nthey always do in sensible lands."}, {"page_pdf": 9, "page_imprimee": "53", "url_page": "https://bluemountain.princeton.edu/bluemtn/?a=d&d=bmtnaau192404-01.1.9", "debut_caractere": 0, "fin_caractere_exclue": 2734, "texte": "to the Parisians at the time of the Revo-\nlution, and even the Revolution and all its\nrighteousness failed to cure the trouble.\nTheatricals had become like a big swift-\ngrowing creeper ; the theatre had by 1 799\nspread wherever it wished ; it was beco-\nming a nuisance and killing itself by un-\ncontrolled overgrowth.\nIn 1807 Napoleon, always keen on\ngardening, turns his attention to this plant,\nand, like a wise husbandman, prunes the\ncreeper Theatricus Dramaticus.\nIn a few minutes the matter is settled\nand a new start is made, or rather in\nfourteen days.\nHe gave Paris fourteen days within\nwhich to close all its many hundred thea-\ntres, public and private. Eight theatres\nalone were to be allowed to develope,\nand the sappers of the strength of Dra-\nmatic Art and the Theatrical profession\nwere cut off.\nDo this in London in 1924 and you'll\nsee a vast improvement in Dramatic Art.\nThe three large Parisian Theatres which\nwere allowed to function were :\n1. L'Academie imperiale de Musique,\nie. the Opera.\n2. Le Theatre Frangais.\n3. Le Theatre de l'lmperatrice, ie.\ni'Odeon.\nTwo supplementary theatres annexed\nto these were also allowed to remain\nopen :\n4. Opera-Comique.\n5. Vaudeville.\nBesides these three inferior theatres,\nLes Varietes, La Gaite and L'Ambigu,\nwere to go on.\nAnd, lest his Parisians should doubt\nwhether • he was serious, he limited every\ntown in France to a theatre a-piece except\nthe towns of Lyons, Bordeaux, Marseille,\nNantes and Turin which were allowed to\nhave two. Of the two hundred and se-\nventy towns which were restricted to one\ntheatre each some were of considerable\nsize and importance. For example Nancy,\nDijon, Geneve, Chambery, Toulon, Li-\nmoges, Orleans, Tours, Caen, Amiens,\nDieppe, Versailles, Cologne, Aix-Ia-Cha-\npelle, Bruges, Mayence and Coblentz were\nin this list.\nOnly fourteen towns were allowed to\nhave permanent troupes, and the others\nmight only at most accomodate one or\ntwo troupes ambulantes.\nHaving done this excellent bit of pru-\nning the gardener allowed nature to do\nthe rest.\nAnd now for five years the theatre\nunder his supervision begins to show signs\nof great improvement; so at the end of\nthat time (in 181 2) he decides that it is\nworth while giving to it a whole day's\nattention.\nOn that day, October 15th, he is in\nMoscow, and there he signs the \" De-\ncret de Moscou \", held by everyone to-\nday to still be a masterpiece of theatrical\norganization. This plan, they say, was\nbegun upon March 22nd.\nNature, always fond of her joke, and\nto remind gardeners in the future that they\nare after all very little things, Nature on\nthat very day, March 22nd, shakes her-\nself gently in the south, causing part of\nthe Amphitheatrum Flavium, ie. the Colos-\nseum of Roma, to fall."}]}, {"article_id": "bm-bmtnaau-1924-04-01-c008", "article_bluemountain": "bmtnaau_1924-04_01#c008", "volume": "bmtnaau_1924-04_01", "ocr_source": "OCR Blue Mountain (ALTO), transcription TEI : lignes lb/@facs", "texte_sans_correction": true, "page_debut": "54", "page_fin": "64", "image_debut": 10, "image_fin": 20, "pages_selon": "pagination imprimée relevée dans le METS Blue Mountain (ORDERLABEL) ; [n] = page sans folio restituée", "url_article": "https://bluemountain.princeton.edu/bluemtn/?a=d&d=bmtnaau192404-01.2.6", "titre_corps": "DECRET RE MOSCOU", "titre_sommaire": "DECRET RE MOSCOU", "signature_source": "", "controle": "bornes données par la structure logique METS/ALTO de Blue Mountain (blocs ALTO de chaque constituant)", "pages": [{"page_pdf": 10, "page_imprimee": "54", "url_page": "https://bluemountain.princeton.edu/bluemtn/?a=d&d=bmtnaau192404-01.1.10", "debut_caractere": 0, "fin_caractere_exclue": 4636, "texte": "DECRET RE MOSCOU\nOttobre 15, 1812 (a).\n„,.0.. * i • . •\nOf the Superintendence, Administration,\nFinance, Police and Discipline of the\nTheatre-Francais.\nCLAUSE ONE.\nOF THE DIRECTION AND SUPERVISION OF\nTHE THEATRE FRANC AIS.\nArticle 1. — The Theatre-Frangais\nwill continue to be placed under the su-\npervision and direction of the superinten-\ndent of Our spectacles.\n2. —An imperial commissioner (c), to\nbe named by Ourself, will be charged\nwith the transmission to the actors of the\norders of the superintendent. He will\nsupervise all departments of the admini-\nstration and finance.\n3. — He will be charged, upon his\nown responsibility, with having carried\nout, in all their provisions, the regulations\norders of service of the superinten-\n| rp | • 1 i *|1 ii\ndent.— lo this end, he will personally\ngive the orders necessary (d).\n4. — In case of non-execution or vio-\nMon of regulationS) he wiU dmw\na written report> and transmit it to the\nsuperintendent.\nCLAUSE TWO.\nOF THE ASSOCIATION OF THE\nTHEATRE - FRANCAIS .\n5. — The actors (e) of Our Theatre-\nFrangais will continue to be united in a\nsociety, which will be administered accor-\nding to the following rules.\n6. — The proceeeds from the re-\nceipts, less all the expenses and outlays,\nwill be divided into twenty-four parts.\n7. — One of these parts will be set\nby in reserve, to be applied by the su-\nperintendent to unforeseen requirements ;\nif it be not employed in its entirety, the\nsurplus will be distributed at the end of\nthe year among the societaires.\n\n(a) On Oct. 15 1812 Napoleon was in the Kremlin in\nMoscow. By Dec. 18 he is back again in Paris with the rem-\nnants of his army. Banners tattered and trailing, veterans wound-\ned, and disaster: but he has kept our flag flying and embla-\nzoned it with his good sense, and we ought never to forget it.\n(b) Who the first 44 Surintendant des Spectacles \" was, I\ndo not think matters very much, more especially since I\ncannot find out. What is rather interesting is to note who\nthe Commissaire Imperial happened to be.\n(c) This 44 Commissaire Imperial\" is none other than the\nincompetent donkey Maherault who in 1799 failed so\nutterly to get ready in time the very first troupe of actors\never called for by Bonaparte and thus muddled the whole\nidea of ever getting French actors over to Alexandria.\nThat was 13 years ago : it is now 1812. The French\nDramatic Art is now on the highroad to success owing to\nthe personal attention given to it these past thirteen years\nby the First Consul and Emperor. And the man he se-\nlects to place in a position of \"responsibility\" over the\nTheatre is his old blunderer Maherault. Six months\nlater Maherault is replaced by M. Bernard. But he has\nhad his chance: first a chance to do something difficult,\nand had failed : now a chance to do something easy and\nhas failed again.\n(d) Thus authority, considered at that time as an\nessential, is established.\n(e) After the managers come the actors : not, we note\nwith some surprise, the Dramatists.\n(f) On arriving at this point, ie the actors, the first\nthought to come into the curious mind of this ogre from\nCorsica, is money. It is unaccountable but it is none the\nless here before us. And we may only hazard a guess\nthat it was because he had personally known actors and\nhad found them to be only too generous with their purse,\n— improvident, some call it, call it correctly so. So with\nNapoleon, after the word Actors he comes straight to\nmoney. I see in my mind's eye the good Talma, always\nextravagant, very solemnly reading the Decree aloud to a\ncircle of fellow actors. His brows work up and down as\nin 44 Cinna \". The heart of Mile. Mars is beating fast:\nMme. St. Huberty looks more and more like 4 Dido \\ and\nMile. George is proud of him. Duchesnois sniffs somewhat\ncritically recalling the 44 pi£ce de cinq francs \".\nIs Mile. Bourgoin present or not so well as could be\nhoped ? Poor Madame Contat is not there she is so ill;\nand the solemn Raucourt listens carefully.\nThey are all trying to think hard: to grasp the meaning\nof the words; the approval or disapproval shown by\nTalma's every inflection, every move of his mask, explains\nmore or less what they are to think. And Talma (except\nin 1815) is ever loyal and wise. What a pity that in 1816\nhe could come (with Mademoiselle Mars too) to accept\nfrom Louis XVI11 the yearly allowance of 30,000 francs.\nWell, Talma gives out Articles 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10 and 1 1\nin a voice which seems to say that he understands them\nperfectly. I wish I did : he wishes he did, but trust the\nGov'nor, it will be all right, and to deliver lines as\nthough he understood them is half Talma's business."}, {"page_pdf": 11, "page_imprimee": "55", "url_page": "https://bluemountain.princeton.edu/bluemtn/?a=d&d=bmtnaau192404-01.1.11", "debut_caractere": 0, "fin_caractere_exclue": 3417, "texte": "8. — One half part will be set aside\nin reserve to augment the pension fund of\nthe society.\n9. — One half part will be annually\nemployed in decorations, furnishings, cos-\ntumes of the wardrobe, repairs of loges,\nand upkeep of the house, according to\nthe orders of the superintendent. The\nreservations ordained by the articles 7, 8,\nand 9 will only take place successively\nand according as occasion arises,.\n10. — The twenty-two remaining parts\nwill continue to be apportioned among the\nactor-societaires; from one eighth of a\nshare to one whole share, which will be\nthe maximum.\n11. — The unappropriated shares or\nportions of shares will be accorded or di-\nstributed by the superintendent of Our spec-\ntacles.\nSECTION II\n(«) .\nOF THE RETIRING PENSIONS.\n§ 1st. Of the time necessary for an\nactor to obtain his pension, and of its quota.\n12. — Every member who shall be\nreceived shall enter into a contract to\nplay for twenty years ; and, after twenty\nyears of uninterrupted service, he shall be\nable to retire, unless the superintendent\nthinks well to retain him.\nThe twenty years shall date from the\nday of debut when this shall have been\nimmediately followed by admission on trial\nand then into the society\n13. — The member who shall re-\ntire after twenty years shall have the right:\n1st to a pension for life of two thousand\nfrancs from the funds destined to the\nTheatre-Frangais, by the decree of the\n13 th of Messidor, Year X; 2nd to a pen-\nsion of equal amount out of the funds of\nthe society of which mention is made in\narticle 8.\n14. — If the superintendent thinks\nwell to prolong the service of a member\nbeyond twenty years, there will be ad-\nded, when he shall retire, a further hun-\ndred francs per year to each of the pen-\nsions referred to in the preceeding ar-\nticle.\n15. — A member who, owing to an\naccident having as its immediate cause the\nservice of Our Theatre- Frangais or of the\ntheatres of Our palaces, shall be obliged\nto retire before having accomplished his\ntwenty years, will receive in full the pen-\nsions set down iji article 13.\n16. — In case of incapacity to serve\narising from any other cause than that\nstated in article 15, the member shall be\nable, even before completing his twenty\nyears of service, to be placed on the\nretired list by order of the superinten-\ndent.\nIn this case, and if he have more than\nten years of service, to his credit, he shall\nhave right to a pension out of the go-\nvernment fund, and one out of the\ntaires' fund : each of these pensions shall\nbe at the rate of a hundred francs for\neach year of service, if he was holding a\nfull share; of seventy-five francs, if he\nheld three-quarters (of a share), and so\n\n(g) Before passing on to Section II, I ought to explain\nthat, while I cannot grasp the full meaning of Section I,\nthere are plenty of people who can: and it is enough for\nme if I have brought this Decree once more before them.\nWhat I well understand is that the whole fabric is sound;\nthat authority is here, and, once that appears, the money\ndetails (to me at least) are stfrely the least important of all.\nSection II is, I see, concerned with more of these\nmoney matters. Well and good. I as a stage manager\nam more concerned with other sections.\n(h) This \" twenty years \" I comprehend well: —\ntwenty years: with enough time to develope my troupe,\nand they well paid and so well satisfied, what could .be\nbetter. Twenty years I... that's the style."}, {"page_pdf": 12, "page_imprimee": "56", "url_page": "https://bluemountain.princeton.edu/bluemtn/?a=d&d=bmtnaau192404-01.1.12", "debut_caractere": 0, "fin_caractere_exclue": 3489, "texte": "on in proportionate degree to his share in\nthe profits of the society W.\n17. — If the member have fulfilled\nless than ten years service, the superin-\ntendent shall be able to propose to Us the\npension that he shall hold fitting to ac-\ncord him, according to the services ren-\ndered to the society and the circumstan-\nces in which he shall be placed.\n18. — All these pensions shall be\naccorded by decisions issued in Our council\nof State, upon the judgment of the com-\nmittee, as has been ordained for Our im-\nperial academy of music by Our decree of\nJanuary 20th 1811.\n§ 2. Of the Method of paying the pensions.\n19. — The pensions chargeable upon\nthe fund of a hundred thousand francs of\nrevenue accorded by Us to Our Theatre-\nFrangais will be paid every three months,\nout of the funds which will be received\nfrom the sinking fund.\n20. — In case of insufficiency, pro-\nvision will be made from the part set by\nin reserve for unforeseen necessities.\n21. — To ensure the payment of the\npensions accorded upon the particular funds\nof the society, there will be deducted be-\nforehand, each year, and each month, out\nof the general receipts, a sum of fifty\nthousand francs G).\n22. — This sum will be paid into\nthe hands of the notary of the Theatre-\nFran$ais, and placed by him to the cre-\ndit of the society, according to the rules\nprescribed by article 32.\n23. — No societaire can pledge or\ntransfer to another the share for which\nhe contributes to this revenue.\n24. — On the retirement of each\ncietaire, or at his death, reimbursement of\ncapital from this reserved fund shall be\nmade to each member or to his heirs, in\nproportion to what he shall have contri-\nbuted.\n25. — Every member who shall quit\nthe theatre without having obtained the\npermission of the superintendent, shall for-\nfeit the sum which he shall have contri-\nbuted, and will not have a right to any\npension\n26. — Until such time as, by means\nof the above provisions, a revenue of fifty\nthousand francs be attained, the pensions\nof the society will be paid, in equal pro-\nportions, out of the interest of the reserve\nfunds and but of the general receipts of\neach month.\n27. — When the revenue shall be\nestablished, if there is any balance after\nthe annual payment of the pensions, it will\nbe disposed of for the benefit of the so-\nciety, with the authorization of the supe-\nrintendent 0.\nSECTION III.\nOF THE RETIREMENT OF THE SALARIED\nACTORS, AND EMPLOYES .\n28. — After twenty years or more\nof uninterrupted service on the part of a\nsalaried actor or actress, after only ten\nyears of service in case of infirmities, and,\nin case of accidents, as stated for the so-\ncietal! es, article 15, the su perintendent\n\n(i) More and more about francs and hundreds of\nfrancs.... and the more the better. The value of pensions\nto those actors who are no longer able to work quite as\nhard as before is never to be forgotten: an actor and\nactress sometimes cannot go on : cannot appear; with a\nstage manager it is different. A stage manager, if he have\nan ounce of imagination, ought surely to be able to live on\nthat imagination when he grows too tired to manage a stage.\n(j) I see still more mention of francs and thousands of\nfrancs. What a good Decree this is.\n(k) That is a nasty clause.... but what would you ?\nWould you expect to get many thousands of francs and\nnot be prepared to give at least obedience for these sums?\nIt is wisely nasty, this clause 25.\n(1) I see no possible escape for the actor : he cannot\navoid his pension."}, {"page_pdf": 13, "page_imprimee": "57", "url_page": "https://bluemountain.princeton.edu/bluemtn/?a=d&d=bmtnaau192404-01.1.13", "debut_caractere": 0, "fin_caractere_exclue": 3818, "texte": "shall be able to propose to Us to grant,\nhalf out of the fund of a hundred thou-\nsand francs, and half out of that of the\nsociety, a pension which, all included,\nshall not exceed the half of the salary\nwhich the actor or actress shall have\nenjoyed during the last three years of ser-\nvice\n29. — The imperial commissioner shall\nbe able also to obtain a retiring fund or\npension in accordance with the regulations\nestablished in article 28; but it will be\npaid in full out of the fund of a hun-\ndred thousand francs.\nCLAUSE THREE.\nSECTION I. OF THE ADMINISTRATION OF\nTHE INTERESTS OF THE SOCIETY.\n30. — A committee, composed of\nsix men, members of the society, presided\nover by the imperial commissioner, and\nhaving a secretary to keep the minutes of\nthe deliberations, will be charged with the\nmanagement and administration of the inte-\nrests of the society.\nThe superintendent will nominate, each\nyear, the members of this committee.\nThey will be indefinitely re-eligible.\nThree of these members will be char-\nged with the execution of its resolu-\ntions (n).\n31. The superintendent shall be able\nto revoke them and substitute them at will.\n32. — The particular functions of\nthis committee shall be :\n1st. — To draw up, each year, the\nbudget or presumed estimate of the expen-\nses of every kind, and to submit them to\nthe examination of the general assembly\nof the members and to the approval of the\nsuperintendent ;\n2nd. — To order and have dischar-\nged, within the limits contained in the\nbudget of each kind of expenses, those\nwhich shall be necessary for all depart-\nments of the service ; to which end one\nof its members will be designated for the\nsigning of orders for supplies or for work,\nand of orders for payment;\n3rd. — To draw up contracts for all\npurchases, undertakings of service, or acts\nfor the society ;\n4th. — To inspect, regulate and or-\nder in all the departments of the salle,\ntheatre, magazines, etc ;\n5th. — To verify the receipts, to ins-\npect the box office receipts, and to carry\nout the payment of the shares, salaries,\npensions or sums set in reserve, according\nto the present regulation ;\n6th. — To exercise in regard to all\npayments or in every other case, whether\nas claimant or defendant, all the acts and\nrights of the society, after having, howe-\nver, taken the advice of the general as-\nsembly, and the authorization of the su-\nperintendent.\n\n(m) I fancy that here I, the stage manager, the hum-\nblest of the employes, am about to be drawn into the net\n— the net in which I too shall profit.\n(n) This looks like work. If I am an actor I might\nbe inclined to ask \" What am I engaged to do —to act\nor to be an administrator ? \" But there again I hardly think\nI should feel very inclined to ask any question at all. Sup-\npose it involved me in some risk.... suppose — no, it is too\nhorrible to suppose I might lose.... 1 think, if I am an\nactor, I had better sit quiet and, if called upon, pretend\nto be an administrator and so act the real administrators\noff the stage. For the actor there is always this way out\nof every clause. That's what made Napoleon sigh at the\nmoment he penned Clause 30 that night in the Kremlin.\nM. de Spatz asked him at the time if he was at all troubled\nwith the cold and he put him off by pointing his pen at\nthe crimson sky : \" Rien — merely was I thinking how long\na time it will take to put out Moscow\n(o) The stage manager I see will be drawn into it —he\nwill assuredly become an administrator or something quite\nas hard worked in his off hours. I suppose then that he\nwould be forced to accept a pension. What a strange\nthing money is. It is of no good, and yet have it offered\nyou and try to refuse it: all the obligations in the world\nwont put you against it. That's why it's so awkward for\nthose who offer it you, if you have been happy without it."}, {"page_pdf": 14, "page_imprimee": "58", "url_page": "https://bluemountain.princeton.edu/bluemtn/?a=d&d=bmtnaau192404-01.1.14", "debut_caractere": 0, "fin_caractere_exclue": 3686, "texte": "SECTION II. OF THE EXPENSES, PAYMENTS,\nAND ACCOUNTING.\n33. — The cashier will be nomina-\nted by the committee, and submitted to\nthe approbation of the superintendent.\nHe will furnish in real estate (7m-\nmeuble) a security of sixty thousand francs,\nthe titles of which will be verified by the\nnotary of the theatre, who shall have all\nthe conservative acts drawn up in the\nname of the society.\n34. — At the end of each month\nthe statements of receipts and ex penditures\nwill be checked by the committee, and ap-\nproved by the imperial commissioner.\n35. — Following upon this checking\nand this approval there will be first de-\nducted from the receipts; 1st the au-\nthors rights ; then all the expenses : ie 1st,\nactors' salaries, payments of employes or su-\npernumeraries—( gagistes) ; 2nd the pre-\nscribed sum for the pension fund of the\nsociety ; 3nd the sum total of the bills,\nboth for the running expenses and extra-\nordinary items (ph\n36. — The rest will be divided\nconformably to the articles 6, 7, 8, 9\nand 10.\n37. — The cashier will receive every\nthree months, from the sinking fund, the\nquarter of the hundred thousand francs of\nrevenue destined for the Theatre-Frangais,\nand will liquidate with these twenty-five\nthousand francs, and, at need, with the\nproceeds of the share of which mention\nis made in article 7, in accordance with\nthe statements drawn up by the imperial\ncommissioner and checked by the supe-\nrintendent: 1st, the pensions of the retired\nactors or other pensioners ; 2nd the in-\ndemnities as supplement to the salaries ac-\ncorded to the actors ; 3rd the salary of\nthe imperial commissioner ; 4th the rent\nof the salle. f*)\n38. — At the end of each year the\ncashier will make out the statement of the\nreceipts and expenses, for the funds of the\nsociety.\n39. — This statement will be laid\nbefore the committee, which will examine\nit and give its opinion.\nIt will then be presented to the ge-\nneral assembly of the who shall\nhave the right to nominate a commission\nof three of its members to re-examine it\nand make observations regarding it if there\nbe occasion, in another general assembly.\nFinally, the account will be submitted\nto the superintendent, who will approve it\nif there be ground for so doing.\n40. — The cashier will also draw\nup the account of the hundred thousand\nfrancs accorded by the government,\nand of the shares put at the disposal of\nthe superintendent. This account will be\nviseed by the imperial commissioner, and\nchecked by the superintendent.\n41. — Out of the part reserved for\nunforeseen expenses there shall be able to\nbe accorded by the superintendent, to those\nactors or actresses who should find them-\nselves charged with over-heavy expenses\nfor costumes or toilettes, an authorization\nto have made by the wardrobe depart-\nment dresses in which to play one or se-\nveral roles.\n\n(p) It all sounds as though Napoleon was condensing\nand copying out in little what was writ in large as the way\nto manage the Empire.\n\" The Theatre being the world in little he mutters,\n\" why not go on copying out: more especially since they\nseem never going to put Moscow out and I have absolutely\nnothing to do *\\\n(q) On reaching this point I admit I began to break\ndown. This was the first time I had ever read the Decree.\nI had read of it: everyone said it was immense; but I\nhad no idea it was to prove as immense as it is now pro-\nving itself.\nThis is Clause 40, and from clause 5 until now the\njoke has not varied — the talk is still of hundreds and\nof thousands of francs. And I held the hope that ere\nthis the matter would have been settled and we should\nhave by now arrived at some question of the Drama.\n(*) The salle now belongs to the State,"}, {"page_pdf": 15, "page_imprimee": "59", "url_page": "https://bluemountain.princeton.edu/bluemtn/?a=d&d=bmtnaau192404-01.1.15", "debut_caractere": 0, "fin_caractere_exclue": 3700, "texte": "SECTION III. OF THE GENERAL ASSEMBLIES.\n42. — The general assembly of all\nthe societaires is necessarily convoked by\nthe committee, and is held for the follow-\ning objects :\n1st, At the latest in the last week of\nthe last month of the year, to examine and\ngive its opinion on the budget for the\nfollowing year, in conformance with the 1st\nparagraph of the 32nd article ;\n2nd. At the latest in the last week\nof the first month of each year to exa-\nmine the statement of accounts of the pre-\nceeding year, and then to hear the report of\nthe commission, if one has been nominated.\n43. — The general assembly must\nbe, moreover, convoked by the committee\nevery time that there is occasion for the\ninvestment of money ; actions to sustain,\neither as defendant or claimant; expendi-\nture to be made exceeding those expen-\nses authorized by the budget: cases in\nwhich the general assembly is to give its\nopinion, after which the superintendent de-\ncides, after having seen the opinion of the\ncouncil which is spoken of under Clause VII.\n44. — The general assembly can, in\naddition, be convoked by order of the\nsuperintendent when he deems it neces-\nsary to consult it, or with his authoriza-\ntion, if the committee demands it, for all\nextraordinary and unforeseen cases.\nCLAUSE IV.\nOF THE THEATRE ADMINISTRATION,\nSECTION I. GENERAL\n45. — The committee, established\nby article 30, shall be equally charged\nwith all which concerns the theatrical ad-\nministration, the formation of the reperto-\nries, the execution of the orders for debuts,\nthe reception of the new pieces, under the\nsupervision of the imperial commissioner and\nthe authority of the superintendent,\n§ 1st. Of the distribution of the parts.\n46. — The superintendent W will de-\ntermine, immediately on publication of the\npresent regulation, the exact distribution\nof the different parts.\nHe will consequently cause to be drawit\nup a general statement of all the pieces,\nwhether included in or to be added to\n{the repertoire), with the names of the\nactors and actresses among the societaires\nwho are to play, in first, second or third\nrank, the roles of each of these pieces,\naccording to their line of business and\ntheir seniority, to the end that there may\nbe no further controversy in this matter (sh\n47. — No actor or actress shall be\nable to hold the first rank for two diffe-\nrent lines of business without a special\nauthorization of the superintendent, who\nwill accord it but rarely and then only\nfor weighty reasons.\n48. — If an actor or actress, holding\npremier rank in one line of business wishes\nto play another ; if, for example, holding\na tragic part, he wishes to play in co-\nmedy, or if, playing the roles of jeune\npremier he wishes to play some other line,\nhe may not take precedence over him who\nheld the first rank in that line before, but\nwill take the second rank in the said line\nof business even should he be senior to\nhis comrade.\n\n(r) The Superintendent again. Yes, I think I should prefer\nto be the Superintendent. He has a great deal of respon-\nsibility, a very little work, is in no danger of losing his reason\nfrom hearing that jingling street cry of 44 Cent miile francs\n(s) So that they will know some twenty years in\nadvance what roles they have to prepare for: how excel-\nlent. Now if some writer in 44 The Mask \" had suggested ,\nthat it was desirable, possible, to decide so far in advance\nwhat actors were to prepare themselves for, Theatrical\nLondon would have protested that it was neither desirable\nnor practical. The writers for 44 The Mask \" have often been\npraised for being artists: they may be or may not be, but\nit would have been no loss to the British stage had they\nalso been appreciated as practical."}, {"page_pdf": 16, "page_imprimee": "60", "url_page": "https://bluemountain.princeton.edu/bluemtn/?a=d&d=bmtnaau192404-01.1.16", "debut_caractere": 0, "fin_caractere_exclue": 4219, "texte": "Our superintendent shall only be able\nto authorize him to play the roles of the\nhew line which he shall wish to assume\nalternatively with him who was playing\nthem en chef ou en premier; (ie, who\nwas already playing first lead in that par-\nticular line) W.\n§ 2. Of the formation of the Repertory.\n49. — The repertory will be drawn\nup in the committee established by arti-\ncle 30, to which will be added, for\nthis purpose alone, two women socie-\ntaires (u), in conformity with the decree\nof the council of December 9th 1780.\n50. — The repertories will be arran-\nged in such a manner that each role may\nhave a second or understudy designated,\nwho can play in default of the leading\nactor, if he have valid excuses, and with-\nout the piece being necessarily changed or\nits performance retarded owing to the ab-\nsense of one or more of the leading actors.\n51. — To supervise the performance\nof the repertory two societaires shall be\nadded to the committee under the title oi\nsemainiers (ie, on duty by the week) ;\neach societaire will be semainier in his\nturn (v).\n52. — If an understudy being charged\nwith a role in the repertory fall ill, the\nactor of first rank in that line, if he be well,\nwill be bound to play it on being notified\nby the semainier.\n53. — A leading actor may not refuse\nto play, nor wholly abandon to his un-\nderstudy, any of the premier roles of his\nown line of business ; he will play them,\ngood or bad, when called upon to do so\nby the repertory,\n54. — No leading actor shall be able\nto reserve exclusively for himself one or\nmore roles of his line of business. The\ncommittee will take the necessary measures\nso that the understudies may be heard by\nthe public in the principal roles of their\nrespective lines of business three or four\ntimes a month (w).\nThey will also be equally watchful to\nthe end that the acteurs a Vessais, (pro-\nbationers) may be afforded means of\nexercising their talents and of having their\nprogress adjudged.\nCLAUSE V.\nOF THE NEW PIECES AND OF THE AUTHORS.\n68. — The reading of the new pieces\nwill take place before a council com-\nposed of nine persons, chosen among the\nsenior societaires, by the superintendent,\nwho will nominate in addition three sub-\n\n(t) In brief, no soubrette may attempt 44 The Second\nMrs Tanqueray no tragic actress may be Lady Macbeth\ntoday and Judy tomorrow. The Ainley who plays Romeo,\nFantasio, Perdican must go on playing those parts, not\nsuddenly hope to snatch the part of Launce from the fin-\ngers of Mr Hay Petrie, who in his turn never attempt\nto play Shylock.\nYet 'tis not to crush but to control versatility that these\nclauses have been framed, for Clause 48 does permit Mr\nTree the fine comedian to attempt Shylock, but only side\nby side with Irving, the night after Irving has played it.\nThe odds therefore are against Mr Tree — but he may,\nif he like, risk it.\nSo it came out that Delauney went on playing the\nyoung lovers' roles until well past fifty-five I believe, for\nno one could ever play them better and he could not do\nmore than pretend to high tragedy.\nVersatility is a quality not encouraged or needed in a\narge group of actors for whom provision is made for more\nthan twenty years in advance. Besides, Versatility is rare,-\nand the Frederic Lemaitres and Garricks perhaps have no\nneed of the Frangaise or of Decrees either. They\nbelong to other spheres; they have their liberty and their ver-\nsatility as a lump sum down, to do with them what they\ncan. Rachel, Delauny, Kemble, Dugazon, Preville, Talma,\nDumesnill, Duchesnois, in fact the majority of great actors,,\nstand in the utmost need of this and like Decrees and Homes\nas well established as the Theatre Frangais.\n(u) Two, not six, not twelve ; a limited number,\n(v) Thus, while each actor is expected and obliged to\nkeep to his own line of part, every actor is expected and\nobliged to lend a hand for the good of all — to work as\noverseer at regular intervals.\n(w) This cuts both ways. The leading actor is obliged to\nrest, the lesser actor is obliged to keep ready and, who knows,\nby practice is enabled at last to do what he felt he never\ncould do, that is to say, play the leading role finally with\nimmense ability. Clauses 49 to 54 are indeed admirably framed."}, {"page_pdf": 17, "page_imprimee": "61", "url_page": "https://bluemountain.princeton.edu/bluemtn/?a=d&d=bmtnaau192404-01.1.17", "debut_caractere": 0, "fin_caractere_exclue": 3675, "texte": "stitutes, so that the number of the members\nof the committee may be always complete.\n69. — Acceptance will be decided\n*\nby the majority of the votes W.\n70. — If one part of the votes be\nin favour of return for correction, another\nballot shall be taken on the question of\nthe return, and votes cast as Yes or No.\n71. — If there are only four votes\nin favour of return for correction, the piece\nis accepted.\n72. — The author's part in the pro-\nceeds of the receipts, ie, in the third pre-\ndeducted for expenses, is one eighth for a\npiece in five or four acts ; one twelfth for\na piece in three acts, and one sixteenth\nfor a piece in one or two acts; the au-\nthors and actors may, however, make\nanother agreement at their mutual pleasure.\n73. — The author's returns commence\nfrom the moment when rehearsal of his\npiece begins and continue for three years\nafter the first representation in the case of\na work in five or four acts, two years in\nthe case of a work in three acts, one year\nin the case of a piece in one and two acts.\nThe author of two pieces in five and in four\nacts, or of three pieces in three acts, or of\nfour pieces in one act, which have been re-\ntained in the theatre, receives his income\nfrom them throughout his lifetime.\nCLAUSE VI.\nOF THE \"POLICE\" (DISCIPLINE).\n74. — The presidency and discipline\nof the assemblies, whether in general or\nof the various committees, is exercised by\nthe imperial commissioner.\n75. — Any person who fails in su-\nbordination towards his superiors ; who,\nwithout an excuse which is judged valid,\nbrings about the change of the spectacle\nindicated on the repertory or who refuses\nto play either a role of his own line of\nbusiness or another role which may be\ncast for him in the service of the theatres\nof Our palaces, or who causes the service\nto fail by not being at his post at the\nhour fixed, is condemned, according to the\ngravity of the case, to one of the follow-\ning penalties (y).\n76. — These penalties are fines, exclu-\nsion from the general assemblies of the\nsocietaires and from the committee of ad-\nministration, temporary or definitive expul-\nsion from the theatre, the loss of the pen-\nsion, and arrest.\nThe fines under twenty-five francs will\nbe inflicted by the committee presided\nover by the imperial commissioner.\nThe exclusion from the general assem-\nblies and from the committee of admini-\nstration may be inflicted in the same man-\nner ; but the imperial commissioner is bound\nto render an account of the reasons to the\nsuperintendent.\nThe imperial commissioner who shall\nhave requested the committee to inflict a\npenalty will, in case of refusal so to\ndo, inform the superintendent, who will\ndecide.\n78. — The fines over twenty-five\nfrancs and the other punishments are in-\nflicted by the superintendent upon the re-\nport, assigning the causes, of the imperial\ncommissioner.\n\n(x) Thus the play will be chosen by answering the\nquestion \" Can we nine actors all play these nine parts ? \"\nNot \"Is it a great play ? \" For who but the actors of it can\nsay \" this is a great play \". To make as sure as possible\nthat th?y will be capable of playing every play of great\nparts come Glauses 49 to 54, which provide incessant\npractice for the actors.\nWith incessant practice of actors united together in their\nown house, under a superintendent (clause I) and a corn-\nmissioner (clauses 2) all is possible.\n(y) Penalties. The penalties are too great today. The\nactor loses his engagement or is driven off the stage, or\nsome sort of injustice of the backwoods order is doled out\nto him. Here it is mainly fines.... forfeit of some of those\nfine, useful francs with which the first forty clauses jingled\nso incessantly."}, {"page_pdf": 18, "page_imprimee": "62", "url_page": "https://bluemountain.princeton.edu/bluemtn/?a=d&d=bmtnaau192404-01.1.18", "debut_caractere": 0, "fin_caractere_exclue": 3295, "texte": "Final expulsion will only take place in\ngrave cases and after the opinion of the\ncommittee has been taken.\n79. — No individual may absent him-\nself without the permission of the supe-\nrintendent.\n80. — Leaves of absense are given\nby the superintendent, who cannot accord\nmore than two at one time, nor for a\nlonger period than two months : they can-\nnot take place save after May 1st and be-\nfore November 1st.\nAny individual who, having obtained\na leave of absense, outstays the term, pays\na fine equal to the proceeds of his share\nduring all the time that he shall have been\nabsent from the theatre.\n82. — When an individual, after ten\nyears of service, shall have reiterated for\nthe space of a. year the application for\nhis retirement, and shall declare that\nhe has the intention of not performing\nany more in any theatre, either French\nor foreign, his retirement may not be\nrefused him ; but he will not have a\nright to any pension, nor to withdraw his\nshare of the annual fund of fifty thousand\nfrancs (zb\nCLAUSE VII.\nGENERAL DISPOSITIONS.\n83. — The -actors of the Theatre\nFrangais shall not be able to exempt\nthemselves from giving a performance every\nday without a special authorization of the\nsuperintendent, under pain of paying, for\neach closure, a sum of five hundred francs,\nwhich will be deposited in the coffer for\nthe poor at the disposal of the prefect of\npolice.\n84. — Each societaire having accom-\nplished thirty years of effective service\nshall be able to obtain a performance for\nhis benefit at the time of his retirement:\nthis performance shall not be able to\ntake place save in the Theatre-Frangais,\nin conformity with Our decree of July 29th\n1807.\n85. — Any individual who has re-\ntired from the Theatre-Francais shall not\n_>\nbe able to reappear in any theatre,\nwhether in Paris or the departments,\nwithout the permission of the superin-\ntendent (wwb\n86. — All matters of dispute shall\nbe submitted to the examination of a\ncouncil of lawyers, and no judicial pro-\nceedings shall be able to be taken in the\nname of the society without the opinion\nof the council having been taken.\nThis council will to be com-\nf v\nposed as it is at the present time, and\nwill be reduced in the future, by death\nor resignation, to the number of three\njurisconsults, two advocates, and. a notary\nof the theatre.\nIn case of vacancies the nomination\nwill be made by the committee with the\nagreement of the superintendent.\n87. — The superintendent will make\nsuch rules as he shall judge necessary for\nall departments of the interior admini-\nstration.\n88. — The decrees of the 29th July\nand 1st November 1807 are maintained\nin all which is not contrary to the above\ndisposition.\n\n(z) On receiving the first request the Committee and\nSuperintendant will encourage his understudy to make ef-\nforts so that at the end of the year if he still wish to go\n— which is very unlikely — the understudy will be almost\nable to fill the vacant place to perfection. And, what is\nmore, his share of the annual fund of 50,000 francs will\nstay in the Theatre coffers, and the poor-spirited fellow\nwill have caused the Theatre to become the richer,\n(ww) The very last thing any actors would have\nin their heads to do of course : but until a Decree like\nthis one be made, the very first thing they always have\ndone."}, {"page_pdf": 19, "page_imprimee": "63", "url_page": "https://bluemountain.princeton.edu/bluemtn/?a=d&d=bmtnaau192404-01.1.19", "debut_caractere": 0, "fin_caractere_exclue": 3997, "texte": "CLAUSE VIII.\nOF THE PUPILS OF THE THEATRE\nFRANC A IS (xx).\n§ 1st. Number,nomination,\nand maintenance of\n89. — There will be, at Our impe-\nrial Conservatory, eighteen pupils for Our\nTheatre-Fra ngais, nine of each sex.\n90. -— They will be designated by\nOur Minister of the Interior, they will be\naged less than fifteen years.\n91. — They will be treated at the\nConservatory like the other students who are\nadmitted there for singing and lyric tragedy.\n92. — They will be able to follow\nthe music classes ; but they will be more\nespecially applied to the art of declama-\ntion, and will follow punctually the cour-\nses of the professors, according to the\ngenre for which they shall be destined.\n93. — To this end, independently\nof the professors, there will be, for the\ndramatic art, two tutors of a different\nkind, who will cause the pupils to recite\nand work each day in the intervals of the\nclasses, at hours which will be fixed.\n94. — There will be, besides, a pro-\nfessor of grammar, of history and of\nmythology as applied to the dramatic art,\nwho will specially teach the pupils des-\ntined for the Theatre-Francais by).\n95. — The pupils, will be examined\nevery year by the professors and the direc-\ntor of the Conservatory; and a report of the\nresult will be given to Our Minister of\nthe Interior and to the superintendent of\nthe theatres.\n96. — The pupils who shall not raise\nhopes of themselves shall not continue their\ncourses, and will be replaced\n97. — Those who should not yet be\ncapable of making their debut in our\nTheatre-Frangais shall be able, with the\npermission of the superintendent, to engage\nthemselves for a time at the theatre de\nI'Odeon, or in the companies of the de-\npartments.\n98. — Those who shall be judged\ncapable of making their debut shall be\nable to receive from the superintendent an\nordre de debut,and to be, according to\ncustom, put on trial during at least a year,\nand subsequently admitted as as\nit is stated in article 67.\n§ 2. Of the expenditures for the pu-\npils of the dramatic\n99. — The expenditure for each of\nthe pupils is fixed at 1,100 francs. The\nsalary, for each of the tutors, at 2,200 francs.\nThe professor's salary at 3,000 francs.\n100. — In consequence, Our Minister\nof the Interior will dispense from the fund\n\n(xx) A school! What a notion ! Why a school ? And\nwhy only eighteen pupils ? — why not everyone who is\nready to pay the fees of the school ? Why under fifteen\nyears of age ?\nWhy a school ? Because no one but the carefully trained\nshall jolly his or her way on to the stage, elbowing past\ntheir betters.\nWhy only eighteen pupils ? Because that is the maximum\namount of talented plus disciplined debutants possible to be\nfound in the very largest city. Nowadays any one with\nbut the faintest amount of talent and sense of order is\nwelcomed as a god-send, and in a very few years, some-\ntimes months, is put into the first rank : praised beyond\nhis or her merits by the modern Clement Scott with his\n\" Oh, what divine talent ! \" and his \" Oh, how wonder-\nful I \" and our T heatre weakened in the process,\nWhy \" under fifteen years \" ? Ask the Navy. Does\nthe Navy attempt to begin the training of sailors, captains,\nadmirals after it be too late to teach discipline and everything\nelse that counts for strength and quality ?\n(yy) Why grammar ? why history ? why mythology ?\nasks an actor.\nBecause in those days dramas dealt with gods, heroes\nand historical persons and it was as well to pronounce the\nvowels exactly, the syllables distinctly, and to pay some\nattention to commas, colons, semicolons and full stops. Now-\nadays it does not matter, since the Gods are considered\nout of place, Heroes held to be non-existent, and History\nto be a matter of dead and gone things.\n(zz) Nowadays these hopeless pupils are encouraged\nand before long take leading positions in our theatres, re-\nplacing men and women of greater capacity. If besides\nbeing hopeless they are pushful, they come to dominate\nnicely and to satisfactorily ruin our stages."}, {"page_pdf": 20, "page_imprimee": "64", "url_page": "https://bluemountain.princeton.edu/bluemtn/?a=d&d=bmtnaau192404-01.1.20", "debut_caractere": 0, "fin_caractere_exclue": 3722, "texte": "for unforeseen expenses of his ministry,\n26,800 francs above that allowed for Our\nImperial Conservatory of music.\n101. — Our Ministers of the Police,\nof the Interior, of Finance, of the Trea-\nsury, and the Superintendant of Our Thea-\ntres are charged with the execution of the\npresent decree, which will be incorpora-\nted in the \" Bulletin de Lois \".\nSigned\nNAPOLEON.\nBy the Emperor\nThe Minister Secretary of State\nDUG DE CADORE.\nA FINAL WORD.\nSO ends the famous Decree which brought\ntogether, sealed and legalized all the re-\nforms attempted by Napoleon since 1802.\nAs Lecomte points out, it reconciled two\ncontrary principles, using the good that was\nin each: the principles of democracy, which\nwere represented by the Committee, and the\nmonarchic principle represented by the Sur-\nintendant.\nSince the Decree was created it has un-\ndergone only the very faintest revision, for\nwhenever its careful administrators attempted\nto alter a single essential they found themselves\nforced back upon the original document, which\nit was found impossible to improve on. Time\nand again the attempt to better the Decree\nwas tried and failed.\nWhen in 1814 Napoleon was beaten and\nobliged to abdicate, betrayed by many of\nthose men and women whose fortunes he had\nmade, the Come die Frangaise, perfect by\nnow in its grammar but slightly deficient still\nin History and Mythology (see Clause 94),\nthrew open its doors to welcome Louis XVIII.\nCaliban : *Ban, 'Ban, Ca-Caliban\nHas a new master—Get a new man.\nFreedom, hey-day ! hey-day, freedom ! free-\ndom, heyday, f r e edom !\nSiefano : O brave monster ! lead the way.\nAnd on the evening of April 2nd Talma,\nthe head of the Comedie, reads from the\nstage of the old playhouse verses crying down\nhis vanquished Emperor, benefactor and the\nFrench Theatre's truest friend.\nIt is said that the whole house compelled\nhim to do this.\nMadame Raucourt did better—she died.\nAnd for the others, they were proud to call\nthemselves Comediens ordinaires du Roi.\nTHEN the Hundred Days.\nReturning to Paris on the 17th of April\n1815 Napoleon established himself at the\nElysees: he attended two performances, one\non April 17th at the Opera and one at the\nTheatre Frangais on April 21st. He signi-\nfied to Talma, Lafon and Duchesnois his sa-\ntisfaction with the way in which they had\nplayed their parts.\nIt is not true, as some report, that the\nground opened beneath them. They had to\nsuffer where they stood. The benefits which\nhe had heaped on them became bearable.\nOn May 31st the Opera sends a gift of\n3000 francs to the Minister of the Interior\nand was held to be very patriotic for the\ndeed. When in the accounts we see that Na-\npoleon paid between March 20th and May\n30th 3,111 francs 10 centimes for his s\nwhich he used but once, the exact worth of\nthe patriotism becomes evident.\nThe Theatres at Lyons and Toulouse\nwished to hastily put on a vaudeville piece\n\" The Return of the Hero \", and a drama,\n\" The Triumph of Leon \", and Leon was to\nlook like Napoleon. The Emperor forbade\nboth productions.\nOn June 12th Napoleon leaves Paris for\nWaterloo. On June 18th he loses the battle\nof Waterloo, and Europe loses Napoleon.\nBUT ENLIGHTENED EUROPE IS NOT HAPPY.\nITS EXISTENCE IS A FEVER, WHICH IT\nCALLS PROGRESS. PROGRESS TO WHAT?\nAMID EMPIRES SHRIVELLED INTO DESERTS,\nAMID THE WRECKS OF GREAT CITIES, A\nSINGLE COLUMN OR OBELISK OF WHICH NA-\nTIONS IMPORT FOR THE PRIME ORNAMENT\nOF THEIR MUD-BUILT CAPITALS, AMID ARTS\nFORGOTTEN, COMMERCE ANNIHILATED,\nFRAGMENTARY LITERATURES AND POPULA-\nTIONS DESTROYED, THE EUROPEAN TALKS OF\nPROGRESS, BECAUSE, BY AN INGENIOUS APPLI-\nCATION OF SOME SCIENTIFIC ACQUIREMENTS,\nHE HAS ESTABLISHED A SOCIETY WHICH HAS\nMISTAKEN COMFORT FOR CIVILIZATION \".\nBENJAMEN DISRAELI."}]}, {"article_id": "bm-bmtnaau-1924-04-01-c009", "article_bluemountain": "bmtnaau_1924-04_01#c009", "volume": "bmtnaau_1924-04_01", "ocr_source": "OCR Blue Mountain (ALTO), transcription TEI : lignes lb/@facs", "texte_sans_correction": true, "page_debut": "65", "page_fin": "65", "image_debut": 21, "image_fin": 21, "pages_selon": "pagination imprimée relevée dans le METS Blue Mountain (ORDERLABEL) ; [n] = page sans folio restituée", "url_article": "https://bluemountain.princeton.edu/bluemtn/?a=d&d=bmtnaau192404-01.2.7", "titre_corps": "A LIST OF NAPOLEON'S FAVOURITE PIECES", "titre_sommaire": "A LIST OF NAPOLEON'S FAVOURITE PIECES", "signature_source": "J. B", "controle": "bornes données par la structure logique METS/ALTO de Blue Mountain (blocs ALTO de chaque constituant)", "pages": [{"page_pdf": 21, "page_imprimee": "65", "url_page": "https://bluemountain.princeton.edu/bluemtn/?a=d&d=bmtnaau192404-01.1.21", "debut_caractere": 0, "fin_caractere_exclue": 3517, "texte": "A LIST OF NAPOLEON'S\nFAVOURITE PIECES.\nJ. B.\nNAPOLEON was more fond of high tragedy\nthan of any other form of dramatic art, for\nto him \" tragedie echauffe l ame, eleve le\ncoeur, peut et doit creer des heros !\nAfter Tragedy, Italian music was his chief\ndelight, not Comedy.\n\" J'accepte \" he said \" {'admiration ge-\nnerale pour Moliere, mais je ne la partage\npas ; il a place ses personages dans des ca-\ndres ou je ne me suis jamais avise d'alier\nles regarder agir\nDrama, the ordinary dramas, he considered\nand called tragedies fit for \" femmes de cham-\nbres \" and good enough to last a few evenings.\nWhat he would have said had he come\nto London or Paris tonight and seen the fine\ndisplay of pieces fit for \" femmes de cham-\nbres \" and enjoyed by their betters or infe-\nriors or equals is of little importance. Not a\nman of many words at any time, it is what\nhe would have done that we may be left to\nponder. Swept the whole display away in\nten days, is what I guess. It took him only\nfifteen days to close the many hundred theatres\nof Paris, reducing them to eight. That was\nin 1807. Weeds grow quickly, and the dra-\nma in London and Paris is strangled by a\ntangle of theatrical weeds.\nBelow is given a short list of the trage-\ndies, Italian operas, comedies and ballets\nwhich pleased Napoleon most, and the num-\nber of times he witnessed each (a).\nq TRAGEDY. Andromaque, 9; Atha-\nlie, 5 ; Bajazet, 7 ; Le Cid, 8 ; Nicomede, 5 ;\nCinna, 12 ; Hector, 6 ; CEdipe, 9 ; Horace,\n5 ; Iphigenie en Aulide, 10; La Mort de\nCesar, 5 ; La Mort de Pompee, 5 ; Polyeute,\n6 ; Phaedre, 10.\nIn all he attended 177 performances of\ntragedy.\nq ITALIAN OPERA. Le Cantatrici\nVillane (Fioravanti), 10 ; Griselda, 7 ; II Ma-\ntrimonio Segreto (Cimarosa), 7 ; La Molinara\n(Paisiello, 8; Nina (Paisiello), 7 ; Romeo e\nGiulietta, (Zingarelli), 7 ; Lodoi'ska, 7 ; Sar -\ngino (Paer), 4 ; La Cosa Rara, 4.\n*\nIn all he attended 159 performances of\nItalian Opera.\nq COMEDY AND DRAMA. Le\nBarbier de Seville, 4 ; Le JBourru bien fai-\nsant, 4 ; Le Cercle, 5 ; L'Ecole des Bour-\ngeois, 4 ; L'Epreuve nouvelle, 7; Les Faus-\nses confidences, 6 ; Les Fausses infidelites, 4 ;\nLes Femmes Savantes, 4 ; La Gageure im-\nprevue, 8; L'Intrigue epistolaire, 4 ; Le Jeu\nde I' amour et du hasard, 6 ; La Jeunesse\nd'Henri V, 4 ; Le Legs, 7 ; Le parleur con-\ntrarie, 6; Les projects de mariage, 4; Le\nRevanche, 4; Le Secret du menage, 4;\nSuite d'un bal masque, 4 ; Tartuffe, 10;\nTheodore, ou les Deux Pages, 4.\nIn all he attended 143 performances of\nComedies and Dramas.\nq FRENCH OPERA. Alceste, 4;\nOssian, ou les Bardes, 4 ; Le Devin de vil-\nliage, 2.\nIn all he attended 38 performances of\nFrench opera.\n€J Some COMIC OPERAS he seems\nto have been partial to, were; Cherubini's\nLe Calife de Bagdad, 6; Le Prisonnier, 6 ;\nMa tante Aurore, 4 ; L'ami de la maison, 4.\nIn all he attended 112 performances of\ncomic operas.\n€J BALLETS. Le Jugement de Paris,\n4 ; La Rosiere, 4 ; Venus et Adonis, 3 ;\nTelemarque, 3 ; Le Retour de Zephire, 3 ;\nbut he only attended 34 performances of\nBallet.\nThese lists do not include the performan-\nces he attended in Italy, Austria, Germany\nor Russia, but are confined to those witnes-\nsed by him in his own Public Theatres of\nFrance or in the private Theatres of his Pa-\nm 11 \\ f\nlaces (b).\n(a) The following are not the only pieces seen by\nNapoleon, but his favourites.\n(b) For the design showing the interior of the Private\nTheatre built at Napoleon's orders by Fontaine (?) in\nthe Palais des Tuileries see \" The Mask \" Volume 8,\nPage 25."}]}, {"article_id": "bm-bmtnaau-1924-04-01-c011", "article_bluemountain": "bmtnaau_1924-04_01#c011", "volume": "bmtnaau_1924-04_01", "ocr_source": "OCR Blue Mountain (ALTO), transcription TEI : lignes lb/@facs", "texte_sans_correction": true, "page_debut": "66", "page_fin": "71", "image_debut": 22, "image_fin": 29, "pages_selon": "pagination imprimée relevée dans le METS Blue Mountain (ORDERLABEL) ; [n] = page sans folio restituée", "url_article": "https://bluemountain.princeton.edu/bluemtn/?a=d&d=bmtnaau192404-01.2.8", "titre_corps": "PLAYS OLD AND NEW", "titre_sommaire": "PLAYS OLD AND NEW", "signature_source": "HENRY GAY CALVIN", "controle": "bornes données par la structure logique METS/ALTO de Blue Mountain (blocs ALTO de chaque constituant)", "pages": [{"page_pdf": 22, "page_imprimee": "66", "url_page": "https://bluemountain.princeton.edu/bluemtn/?a=d&d=bmtnaau192404-01.1.22", "debut_caractere": 0, "fin_caractere_exclue": 4365, "texte": "PLAYS\nOLD AND NEW.\nBY HENRY GAY CALVIN\n\nWHEN I cannot go to a playhouse to see\na Drama performed I must needs sit\nand read it in an armchair.\nI have not been able to find a playhouse\nnear my part of the world where the 26 plays\nI am to write of were being performed, so I\nhave had the pleasure of reading them in the\nquiet of my room. While reading I have\ndone my best to visualize them; now as real\nhappenings, now as happening on a stage and\nquite in the glare of the footlights, or when\npossible as happening on a stage once known\nto us, without the glare or any accompani-\nment other than the straightforward excellent\nplaying of imagined actors.\nThese are the plays 1 have read these\npast weeks : — 1. The Agamemnon of TEs-\nchylus (458 B. C.) (Gilbert Murray). 2. A\nplay by Jacopone da Todi (c. 1280). 3. A\nfarce by Pierre Blanchet (c. 1 470). 4. A play\nby John Heywood (c. 1533). 5. A play by\nHans Sachs (c. 1520). 6. Shakespeare's\n\"The Tempest\" (1611). 7. A play by\nW. B. Yeats. (1892). 8. Two plays by John\nMasefield (c. 1900-1922). 9. Two plays by\nGordon Bottomley (1919). 10. Hassan by\nFlecker, (c. 1914). 11. Two plays by Lascel-\nles Abercrombie (1922-1923). 12. A play\nby Cheng-Chin-Hsiung. The Secret Life\nby H. G. Barker (1919-22). 14. Success\nby A. A. Milne (1923). 15. The Con-\nquering Hero by Alan Monkhouse (1923).\n16. Two plays by Pirandello (1923). 17. Three\nModern Japanese Plays (1923). 18. Confucius\nby Hartmann (1894-1922). 19. The Adding\nMachine by Rice (1923). 20. , A play by\nMoliere.\nTogether with these twenty-six plays I have\nbeen looking at \" The Life of Shakespeare \"\nby Adams, \" Restoration Drama \" by Nicoll,\n\" Shakespeare's Hand in the Play of 'Sir Tho-\nmas More ' all very enjoyable, very enjoya-\nble indeed. How the London audiences\nmust have applauded, laughed or wept.\nHow grateful they must be year in and year\nout to the managers of theatres for giving\nthem such a splendid selection of plays of\nall sorts. Big plays and little ones ; pleasant\nhomely trifles and profounder things.\nThis was my frame of mind after reading\nthe twenty-six plays, and I too began to bless\nthe managers, and to praise the critics, and\nto be proud of the fine English audiences\nwho packed the theatres to hear and see real\nliving dramas when I suddenly pulled up, rea-\nlizing that 1 was dreaming.\nI must be excused for dreaming this time.\nThe plays I had read had enchanted me.\nIt is still a practical word in daily life I sup-\npose, this word enchanted. I mean it in no\nfairy-glen sense. I was in no dreamy state.\nIf the Tempest and the Agamemnon do carry\none off one's feet at least ten other plays out\nof the above list soon put me back on them.\nNo, it was just the ordinary enchantment one\nfeels when one has been in the company of\nfirst-rate intelligences,—the best predomina-\nting, but even the least better company than\none expected.\nAnd realizing what a fine lot of fellows\n1 had been with, and what astonishing things\nthey had been showing me and saying, I\nbegan to dream that England was being al-\nlowed to share all this with me. That's where\n1 erred; that's where I was dreaming. And\nI became slowly aware that the managers\nwere not to be blessed, nor the critics praised,\nnor the English public bothered about, for only\nfour of these twenty-six plays had been shown\nto the English Public by managers, nor was the\nneed for their performance being advocated\nby critics—and now I am out of my dream.\n\" Hassan \" was acted and is being acted.\n\" Success \" was acted and is perhaps now\ntouring somewhere in the provinces. \" The\nTempest\" was acted a little while ago for a\nweek or so, but is not being done now.\nOne of Mr. Masefield's plays was on for a\nbrief spell but taken off, and one of Piran-\ndello's. The \" Gruach \" of Gordon Bot-\ntomley was given its second chance (a) last\n\n(a) Given its chance. I use the outrageous phrase,\nfor it is an outrageous one, not because I consider that a fine\nplay ever has a chance given to it. It is the insufferable\nidiots who tinker with the sale or \" presentation\" of\nworks of art who have the chance, and it is they who\nmiss the chance year in and year out. To tinker, to\ntimidly attempt to patch up the Dramatic Art and the\nTheatre by \" putting on \" this and \" taking off \" that ;\nto flutter around the stage, to keep at it to no end, to\npersist to no purpose, to courageously waste time and ano-"}, {"page_pdf": 25, "page_imprimee": "67", "url_page": "https://bluemountain.princeton.edu/bluemtn/?a=d&d=bmtnaau192404-01.1.25", "debut_caractere": 0, "fin_caractere_exclue": 4307, "texte": "December in Glasgow and Edinburgh, and\ndamned in London by superior ignoramuses.\n\" Hassan \", 1 can but admit, has been\nproperly handled. I do not speak of the pro-\nduction but solely of the magnitude of the\nundertaking; and \" Success \" evidently had\na like treatment; but none of the rest—and\nthe rest are the best.\nNow whose fault is this, that the best\nplays out of twenty-six are either not played\nat all, or, if played, are left to the merciless\namateur or semi-amateur?—whose fault?\nYou may say that some of the plays are\nnot quite as good as 1 take them to be; I\ncan only admit you may be right; but even\nthen how shall we judge if we never hear\nor see them?\nThe public is the best judge, you say.\nIt is and it isn't. Warmed up, it is ; frozen\nout, it isn't. Still, it cannot be all the fault\nof the playwriters or the cool-headed English\nspectator that we do not get a chance of\nseeing the good plays we already possess and\nhaving better ones written for us. Whose\nfault is it? I for one cannot fix the blame.\nAll I know is that night after night the\ncool-headed Englishman sits with his wife and\nfamily or with friends in stalls or circle, with\nhis hands folded and elbows on the two arms\nof the very comfortable seats, expectant, to-\nlerant, and ' quite good ' he murmurs as the\nlast curtain falls upon the inadequate. That\nI know: and that seems to me in its own\nway to be a remarkable performance. Here\nsits this Englishman, erect in the determina-\ntion to see play after play through, to tire out\nsameness ; and yet he only succeeds in evo-\nking sameness : yet he is firmly persuaded to\nremain firm: that is one of the heroic dramas\nof to-day.\nIf a play be an Eastern one, (by an\nEastern play I mean only one of those Bazaar\nplays like \" Kismit \", \" Chu-Chin-Chow \",\n\" Cairo \", or \" East of Suez \"), or a play\ndealing with English life, the same old phrases,\nsituations, complications come along to greet\nthis patient and unconquerable man in the stalls.\n€jf The curtain rises and discloses a room\nin Bagdad :\nDad. Allah abdulla al walla,\nBag. Why doth my lord sigh? Is the sun\nof my existence weary of his handmaiden ?\nOh speak.\nDad. What, Doe of the Wilderness, art thou\nsaying ?\nBag. Riff-raffi, the King's eunuch hath re-1\nvealed unto me the source of all woe and\nali joy. Shall I reveal the same unto my\nLord ?\nDad. Strangest of the strange sayings that are\nstranger than strange. At the Blue Posts\nnigh to Bany-al wisdom is not writ in\nwater. Go thence and purchase for eight\ndinars a stoup of the dew of Paradise.\nBag. I hear and I obey. Salem.\nCj} Or the curtain rings up and we see a\nLondon drawing-room:\nFrank. May I say—well—Oh Susan—can't\nyou guess ? I can stand it no longer.\nI must tell you.\nSusan. But I—I guessed twenty-eight years\nago, Frank.\nFrank. Did you ?—but you never showed me\nthat—that you guessed. How was I to—-\nto know ?... Oh Susan how could I know ?\nGod, what those years have been to me!\nSusan. And now ?\nFrank. Now?—now it's I who hardly dare\nto say I can guess.\nSusan. Be frank with me.\nFrank. I am—I have been—I always shall\nbe frank with you, Susan. But what—\nwhat shall I be without you....\n€]} And so it goes on and on and on, and\nthe cool-headed Englishman in the stalls hopes\non and on for the best—that best which\nis to come—that best which never comes ;\nand he continues to say \" Quite good \"....\n\" quite good \", and pays like a Briton.\nWhose fault is it ? No one knows ; the\njolly little catastrophe is now with us, and\nmay be it's too late to care who asked for it.\nWhat does it matter now ? The fine written\nDrama has been swept out of existence.\nThose who survived rode back, but these\nwere so dazed, nothing could they tell of what\nwent wrong,—maimed dramatists.... who obey-\ned the wrong word of command :—that is\nanother of the heroic dramas of the day.\n\niher £ 42 on expressing nothing, on bad acting and\nfeeble pottering in the provinces and in semi-private pro-\nductions, this it is to be an insufferable idiot, breaking up\nworks of genius even if paid £. 4000 a year to do it.\nIt reminds me of all those lovers of music who begin\nvamping on any piano they happen to come across saying\n** listen to this lovely song by Schubert \" and then ham-\nmer out some cinematographic bit of ladder music, trem-\nbling and terrific, and everyone so content."}, {"page_pdf": 26, "page_imprimee": "68", "url_page": "https://bluemountain.princeton.edu/bluemtn/?a=d&d=bmtnaau192404-01.1.26", "debut_caractere": 0, "fin_caractere_exclue": 4343, "texte": "This maimed regiment is with us now.\nThey still treasure their old beliefs but are\ndazed about everything ; and they treasure\ntheir old flag, and some day it will wave\nagain in its place and to old purposes; at\npresent it seems to decorate the walls of a\nfamous Hospital where the old pensioners tell\nand retell each other the same old story in\nquiet trembling voices shaken with affectio-\nnate remembrances, or in merry tones which\nbelie their feelings.\nYou'll admit that, before the jolly little\ncatastrophe, Drama was a powerful legion ;\nPowerful is the word, isn't it ? \" Steeped in\nsplendour \" says Gilbert Murray. Power was\nin its look, in its stride and in its attack.\nA glance or a word from one of its leaders\nwas a thing worth seeing and hearing.\n\" Winged words \" and wingless ones,\nbut never a mumbling. No trivial gestures\nand no posing or pottering. As they strode\nalong they cried out—clear voices in pro-\nphecy or in report, like bells, like flutes, like\ndrums; not for the high-browed or low-browed,\nbut for that quite unknown man in the street.\nWhen I read, as 1 am now doing, the Aga-\nmemnon by /Eschylus 0>), and realize that\nit was understood by the man in the Athe-\nneun street, what am I to think of our im-\nmensely celebrated man in the street, so fa-\nmous as to have sixty-three press agents, and\nyet so poorly considered that he is even\ndenied the power to comprehend anything\nbut sloppy stuff ?\nAnd until quite modern days, even the\ndays of Sheridan, it was still power which\ncommanded and which at that time again\nwon for the English Drama a great name.\nThis \" Agamemnon \", this immense crea-\ntion, this piling up of earth and fable, of law\nand men and women, like some pyramid in\nCambogia, overgrown by a tangle of up-\nreaching vegetation; what is in it and under\nit all ? Skeletons and mysteries and the rites\nof thousands of years? and a million cries\nnow muffled down, stamped down by time\ntill the sharp clear-cut facets of the tomb and\nthe temple be moulded to another shape\nand seem like a young mountain of mud,\nwith its tangle of trees through which only\nthe author can guide us in or out again; and\nthere deep in this dark jungle he puts back\na bush, a branch and shows to us one soli-\ntary silvery bone, some arm-like marble pillar,\nbroken but still uplifted, or there, lying fallen,\na grey granite slab, broken and down. So\nthis was the famous bath, and this too the\nseven-foot sarcofagus, and round it now fal-\nlen the crimson leaves ; these the tapestries,,\nthe tangled tangling robe, a nice net for a\nKing. And he, where is he ? And who\nwas he ? What was afoot and being done in\nthose days when this immense creation of a\ndramatic poet meant everything to all the men\nin every Hellenic street ?\n\" Its atmosphere is not quite of this world \"\nsays a scholar, and, this scholar being the\nworld-renowned Murray, he who has at last\ntranslated this immense thing (1920), who>\nshall question the truth of what he says ?\nNo, it is not quite, not quite of this\nWOrld,... this world.\nTo me it is without all significance....\neven a prophetic one. But I, though Iam\nblind to what others may see this night\nas clearly as at dawn tomorrow, I assuredly\nsee, am aware of, the presence of the power\nof /Eschylus. That is plain for all.\nTell me then how it is that this power,\nfelt and seen long after all else has faded or\nbecome obscure, how is it that all this has not\nbeen felt and seen by the Dramatists of this\nday ?\nYou answer that it has been seen by\nthem.\nI deny it. No man can be aware of it\nand not aim to achieve it; or, failing to\nachieve it, continue to crown his powerless\nbrow with preposterous chick-weed in place\nof the laurel.\nIf this ' Agamemnon ' be one of the stan-\ndards by which Dramatic art may be judged,\nwhat mean these Dramatists of our day by\ntheir denial that power is the first essential\nof a Drama ?\n\" No, no \", they answer, \" you do not un-\nderstand. Dramatic art has advanced since the\ndays of /Eschylus: even \", they add comi-\ncally, \" since the days of Shakespeare \".\n\"In power? \" I ask. \"No, no, you again\nmisunderstand \", comes the bland answer: —\n\"in subtlety\n\n(b) The Agamemnon, translated by Gilbert Murray.\n(George Allen & Unwin) 3/6. Just as good as a book\ncan possibly be. The play of plays, translated brilliantly,\na useful size, good print, well bound, a few useful\nnotes."}, {"page_pdf": 27, "page_imprimee": "69", "url_page": "https://bluemountain.princeton.edu/bluemtn/?a=d&d=bmtnaau192404-01.1.27", "debut_caractere": 0, "fin_caractere_exclue": 3966, "texte": "WHEN, as now, I am reading the ' Aga-\nmemnon ' and realize that it was un-\nderstood by the man in the street of his day,\nwhat am I to think of our poor man in the\nstreet of whom everyone cries out, \" He can\nunderstand nothing \",—even as they cry of\nme, \" He is only able to understand very\nplain things, the poor fellow; our subtlest\npieces are above his head\nnp SCHYLUS, Jacopone da Todi, Shake-\n/ I .ispeare. one ancient and two modern\npoets.\nIt is well if the dramatic poet be pos-\nsessed by an intense pity for Humanity or\nby a fabulous glory for God. One or the\nother.\nTHEY cry out again I am sure, my critics:\nthey cry out being out of the presence\nof these men.\nCome then into the presence of that fool\nJacopone in order to feel comfortable that the\nstandard has been lowered, and is now trai-\nling down Strand and up St Martin's Lane.\nINTO the presence of Jacopone da Todi\nfirst.\nWe find him singing aloud his Drama\nand his Faith in a latrine. Imprisoned there\nby his good friends the Franciscans so as to\ncure him of a most reprehensible and carnal\ndesire for liver. \" With sound good sense \"\nwrites I. A. Symonds, of this episode, \" they\nthen condemned him to imprisonment in the\ncommon privies; but he rejoiced in this pu-\nnishment, and composed one of his most im-\npassioned odes in that foul place \".\nLet us first be shocked : secondly \" as\nyou were bored. Dressed in our best, our\nhats in our hands, we advance to interview\na great dramatic writer of the thirteenth cen-\ntury, and we find him in a latrine. All he\ncan do on seeing us is to make faces and\nrun to the other end of the cellar. He re-\nfuses to give any reasonable answer to our\nboldest curiosity. Let us go out and let us\npick up some of his story.\nIt is new to us, although from time to\ntime an Englishman has dropped a word\nor two about this author of the most poignant\ndrama of the Italian school, and he the foun-\nder of the school and one of the founders of\nItalian literature.\n€J Jacomo de' Benedetti (later to be known\nas Jacopone in pity of his madness) was born\nin Todi about the year 1228. Todi lies in\nthe centre of Italy ; below it runs the river\nTevere; it stands between the towns of Or-\nvieto and Spoleto ; and here Jacomo de' Be-\nnedetti passed the first forty years of his life.\nThoroughly self-seeking years as befitted the\nson of one of the lords of the place, he found\ntime to take his degree as Doctor of Laws\nat the University of Bologna, the oldest Uni-\nversity of Europe (but young at that time,\n1250, for it had only been established in\nthe twelfth century).\nReturning to his native town with the\nhallmark of the Learned on him, he becomes\na lawyer more able than scrupulous: he be-\ncomes rich, he prospers. Some fifteen to seven-\nteen years later he determines to take a wife\nand decides upon the daughter of Messer\nBernardino de Guidone dei Conti di Coldi-\nmezzo. Her name was Vanna. She was\nboth virtuous and beautiful. They say that\nit was more to please her husband than from\nvanity or for any other reason that she dres-\nsed herself so very sumptuously and attended\nevery one of the social functions of the di-\nstrict and in the town of Todi. Jacomo\nde' Benedetti found this very well;—that is\nwhat Jacomo wanted in a wife,—a valuable\nasset to his business, a beautiful well-dressed\nsensible and above all useful wife was the\nvery thing. It occurred to him that it was\nthe ideal thing.\nMesser Jacomo was no fool. Let priests\nand the new-fangled brethren of St Francis (c)\nbe as fanatical as they wished ; he and his\nkind were not to be turned aside by their\ninterpretation of the word \" ideal \". On with\nbusiness; dress the part handsomely: trick\nevery jackass and fleece every lamb : make\nmoney and stand well with this world since\nno other world matters a fig. That was sound\nyoung Master Jacomo of 1267 ; no humbug\nabout him.\n\n(c) It was but a few miles from Todi and a few\nyears previously that St Francis had come on earth, foun-\nded the order and died."}, {"page_pdf": 28, "page_imprimee": "70", "url_page": "https://bluemountain.princeton.edu/bluemtn/?a=d&d=bmtnaau192404-01.1.28", "debut_caractere": 0, "fin_caractere_exclue": 4447, "texte": "But young Master Jacomo of 1268 was\nanother man. I suppose he was another man ;\nyet the only real change was in his name :\nit was the same body and brain which once\nswaggered around but now -is running half-\nnaked up and down the streets of Todi, and\nthe boys crying out after him \" Pazzo! Guarda\nJacopone\n\" Pazzo \" means madman ; \" God's fool \"\nhe called himself.\nNow if in 1268 he was mad, what on\nearth are we to call his state in 1267. Sane?\n(I suggest a thought here of London, and\nParis in 1924).\nThis is what they say happened in 1268\nto make him mad.\nIt was about'a year and a half after he had\nbeen married that he sent his wife, well capa-\nrisoned in silks and other fineries, to represent\nhim at a certain marriage feast. It was a\nvery proper affair and a spectacle of some\nkind had been provided by the host, plat-\nforms built and seats erected in the courtyard,\nwhich had been hung with the superb da-\nmasks we try nowadays in vain to find, and\nall very gay and enjoyable.\nIn the midst of the grand gaiety one of\nthe platforms gave way, spilling Donna Vanna\nand those near her on to the ground. No\none was seriously hurt but one,... and see,\nthis poor Donna Vanna is being tenderly car-\nried off to her home in a dying condition.\nHer husband is found and, running to his\nhouse, he begins to tear from her all the rich\nsuffocating silks and stuffs which keep her\nfrom breathing easily;—but she is gone.\nAs he tears off the last shred of her splen-\ndour a hair shirt is revealed to his amazed\neyes ; this she had worn for some time next\nher skin. That she should be like other wo-\nmen were, that she should revel in luxury\nand be worldly, was to be expected; but\nthat she should be thus, should have worn\nthis,... it strikes him and re- strikes him, and\nagain strikes him dumb. He looks at her\nface—to the hair shirt—to her face—not a word.\nHe can understand nothing: of what is\nsaid by others he hears nothing : he goes up\nand down, he runs here and there; they be-\ngin to whisper he has lost his reason. But to\nand fro he goes searching for his reason : and\nhe is to find it at last.\nMad ? May be this state of pause between\nnothing and everything can be so called ; but\nthat is not what the people of Todi meant. They\nmeant that he had lost his wits and was silly.\nHe grins and runs—and runs—out of the\ngates into the fields ; he falls clinging to a\ntree:—the busy market people have no time\nto waste on him.\nHis wife could have answered his que-\nstions.... the hundred questions—and why had\nshe worn?... but why then did you not...?\nHe is asking the tree all these half-framed\nquestions. No answer comes. He begins to\nask anew and now to answer. He is talking\nto himself aloud. Sane questions, mad re-\nplies, until in some days it is the answers\nwhich have become sane and the questions\ncrazy. Fierce happenings in the heart of a\nmere dramatist, one thinks. We see, thanks\nto many things, no modern dramatists today\nrunning up and down the Embankment crying\nout and rendering themselves ridiculous to all\npassers-by. And Jacopone is not yet a mere\ndramatist. He is nothing but a big lord\nfallen into a disgrazia, a sorrow. Misery and\nhe go home to the place he once called his\nhouse: they sell all the goods there or give\naway what cannot be sold quickly enough.\nWhat madness ! He keeps nothing and aims\nsolely to render the remnants of self that are left\nover after this cataclism, these rags, ridiculous\nand vile in the eyes of those men who are sane.\nHe puts on the skin of an ass or the\ntrappings, bridle and bit in mouth, saddle on\nback, and with straw in his mouth he comes\nwaggling before his friends. They are kind and\nintelligent towards him—but he does not re-\nspond to a single question—all suggestions\nare one to him—he only makes mouths and\nsits heavily in their midst.\n\" Poor fellow, he is mad \". But he is\nnot mad ; if there be mad people present it\nis, strangely enough, they who are mad.\nPresently he runs swiftly away.\nAt his brother's marriage he appears again\nsuddenly from nowhere, naked, smeared with\ntar and stuck all over with the feathers of a\nfowl. Some of the relatives and some of the\nguests cry out indignantly. ' See ' he answers,\n\" my brother ; he wishes to honour our house\nby his sfarzo, his pomp. I too by what I\nhave—my madness '. It is Luke Wadding\nthe Irish priest, the Franciscan of 1588-1657\nwho tells us these things.\nStrange that Jacopone does not see or\nhear what anyone is doing or saying."}, {"page_pdf": 29, "page_imprimee": "71", "url_page": "https://bluemountain.princeton.edu/bluemtn/?a=d&d=bmtnaau192404-01.1.29", "debut_caractere": 0, "fin_caractere_exclue": 2409, "texte": "They call after him, they deride him:\nhe neither sees nor hears or he might leap\non this one or on that and strike him| down;\nor he might run away and hide; he does\nnothing like this; he goes on searching to\nfind what he never had yet is now aware he\nhas lost,... something of value, something which\nmay elude him if he do not go straight on\nand quickly; it is on the tip of his tongue,\nthe missing word ; it is right before him, the\nlost something which has no name.\nHe drifts with good aim right into the\nhouse of the lowest order of Franciscans.\nPlaying at that old game he keeps calling out\nto himself, \" warmer—warmer—cool—colder\n—very cold—hot \" here he stands still\nas stone and grins.\nIt's not far from here, he knows, and\ncrying ' Warmer ' he walks at night in the\nNovember rain.\nTen years he stays with the Franciscans,\ngoing up and down for the Order; he is the\nvery least member of this the lowest division\nof the Order.\nThen without having any call from any\nAcademy, he suddenly becomes a poet.\n\" Burning \".\nAfter passing through the slow fire of a\nfirst conversion, a long but too swift journey,\nhe reaches the point where his journey begins.\nHe starts singing. Perfect is the sense, and\nperfect the song. The Order receives him into\nits fold on the strength of these songs and\nrecognizes his promise of an immense piety.\n€J And thus is planted by a swagger\nlawyer, a fellow once fond of cheating his\nclients, the seeds of Italian literature (<9.\nCjf But what can we think of a dramatist\nwho \"in a fury of love and believing that\nhe is embracing and clasping Jesus Christ\nflings his arms about a tree \" ?—No, no, that\nis too much. I cannot see any modern\ndramatists flinging their arm about even a\nsapling in St J ames's Park believing it to be\nanything but a bit of wood; and as for being\nin a fury of love,... this is 1924, not 1270,\nand it is a great advance we have all made\nsince 1270. In those dark ages anything was\npossible, even power in a Drama.\nAnd shall we take a look at this Drama\nby Jacopone, this drama which John Ad-\nding ton Symonds considers \" so important for\nthe history of Italian dramatic art \" ? The\nItalian alone is given here. Symonds at the\nclose of his translation writes, \" Here the mise-\nrable translation ends \", which I have always\nconsidered the finest line he ever penned.\n\n(d) \" II grande poeta umbro (dico grande senza nes-\nsuna riserva).../' Giuliotti, 1922."}]}, {"article_id": "bm-bmtnaau-1924-04-01-c012", "article_bluemountain": "bmtnaau_1924-04_01#c012", "volume": "bmtnaau_1924-04_01", "ocr_source": "OCR Blue Mountain (ALTO), transcription TEI : lignes lb/@facs", "texte_sans_correction": true, "page_debut": "n. p.", "page_fin": "n. p.", "image_debut": 23, "image_fin": 23, "pages_selon": "pagination imprimée relevée dans le METS Blue Mountain (ORDERLABEL) ; [n] = page sans folio restituée", "url_article": "https://bluemountain.princeton.edu/bluemtn/?a=d&d=bmtnaau192404-01.2.8.1", "titre_corps": "A PORTRAIT OF HANS SACHS IN HIS 81st YEAR", "titre_sommaire": "A PORTRAIT OF HANS SACHS IN HIS 81st YEAR", "signature_source": "", "controle": "bornes données par la structure logique METS/ALTO de Blue Mountain (blocs ALTO de chaque constituant)", "pages": [{"page_pdf": 23, "page_imprimee": "n. p.", "url_page": "https://bluemountain.princeton.edu/bluemtn/?a=d&d=bmtnaau192404-01.1.23", "debut_caractere": 0, "fin_caractere_exclue": 67, "texte": "A PORTRAIT OF HANS SACHS IN HIS 81st YEAR.\n(From a Print.)\nPlate 6."}]}, {"article_id": "bm-bmtnaau-1924-04-01-c013", "article_bluemountain": "bmtnaau_1924-04_01#c013", "volume": "bmtnaau_1924-04_01", "ocr_source": "OCR Blue Mountain (ALTO), transcription TEI : lignes lb/@facs", "texte_sans_correction": true, "page_debut": "71", "page_fin": "72", "image_debut": 29, "image_fin": 30, "pages_selon": "pagination imprimée relevée dans le METS Blue Mountain (ORDERLABEL) ; [n] = page sans folio restituée", "url_article": "https://bluemountain.princeton.edu/bluemtn/?a=d&d=bmtnaau192404-01.2.9", "titre_corps": "IL PIAN TO DELLA VERGINE : A DRAMA", "titre_sommaire": "IL PIAN TO DELLA VERGINE : A DRAMA", "signature_source": "JACOPONE DA TODI", "controle": "bornes données par la structure logique METS/ALTO de Blue Mountain (blocs ALTO de chaque constituant)", "pages": [{"page_pdf": 29, "page_imprimee": "71", "url_page": "https://bluemountain.princeton.edu/bluemtn/?a=d&d=bmtnaau192404-01.1.29", "debut_caractere": 2411, "fin_caractere_exclue": 3732, "texte": "IL PIAN TO\nDELLA VERGINE.\nA DRAMA\nBY JACOPONE DA TODI.\nDonna del Paradiso,\nlo tuo figliolo priso,\nJesu Cristo beaio.\nAccurre, donnae vide\nche la genie I'allide! 0)\nCredo che lo s'occide,\ntanto Von flagellato-\nCorn essere porria\nche non fece mai follia\nCristo, la speme mia,\nom' I'avesse pigliato ?\nMadonna, egli e traduto,\nJuda si I' ha venduto,\ntrenta denari ',\nfatto n ha gran mercato.\nSuccurri, Magdalena,\ngionta addosso !\nCristo figlio se mena\ncomo rri e annunziato.\nSuccurri, donna, aiuta\nch'al tuo figlio se sputa\ne la gente lo\nhanlo dato a Pilato.\nO Pilato, non fare\nlo figlio mio tormentare,\nch' io te posso mostrare\ncome a torto e accusato.\nCrucifige, crucifige !\nOmo che se fa rege,\nsecondo nostra lege,\ncontradice al senato.\nr> ■ L > t J t\nrnego che m emendate,\ni-J J i\nnet mio dolor pensate,\nr . ..\njorse mo ve mutate\nde quel ch'ete pensato.\nTraggon fuor li ladroni\nm'e che suoi compagrtoni:\nDe spine se coroni,\nche rege s e\nO figlio, figlio, figlio,\nfiglio, amoroso giglio,\nfiglio, chi da consiglio\na I mio core\n°\nocchi giocondi,\nfiglio, co' non respondi ?\nfiglio, perche t'ascondi\ndal petto o' se' lattato ?\nMadonna, ecco la cruce\nche la gente I'adduce,\nove la vera luce\ndeo'essere leVato.\nn z.\nU cruce che tarai ?\n• J\nel figlio mio torrai ?\nc t\ntL che ce aponerai,\nche non ha 'n se peccato ?\n\n(1) percuote."}, {"page_pdf": 30, "page_imprimee": "72", "url_page": "https://bluemountain.princeton.edu/bluemtn/?a=d&d=bmtnaau192404-01.1.30", "debut_caractere": 0, "fin_caractere_exclue": 2041, "texte": "Curri, piena de doglia,\nche 7 tuo figliol se spoglia ;\nla gente par che voglia\nche sia crucificato.\nSe 7 tollete el vestire,\nlassatemel vedire\ncome 7 crudel ferire\ntutto V ha 'nsanguinato.\nDonna, la man gli e presa\ne nella crocs stesa,\ncon un bollon gli e fesa,\ntanio ce Von ficcato!\nL'altra mano se prende,\nne la croce se stende\ne lo dolor saccende,\nche piu e multiplicato.\nDonna, li pie se prenno\ne chiavellanse al lenno,\nomne iontura aprenno\ntutto Von desnodato.\nEd io comencio 7 corrotto :\nFigliolo, mio deporto,\nfiglio, chi me ( ha morto,\nfiglio mio delicato ?\nMeglio averien fatto\nche 7 cor m'avesser tratto,\nche, ne la croce tratto,\nstare desciliato (2).\nMamma, ove sei oenuta?\nmortal me dai feruta,\nche 7 tuo pianger me sluta P)\nche 7 veggio si afferato.\nPiango che n ag anvito (4)\nfiglio, pate e marito,\nfiglio, chi ( ha ferito ?\nfiglio, chi t' ha spogliato ?\nMamma perche te lagni ?\nVoglio che tu remagni,\nche serve i miei compagni,\nch'al mondo agio aquistato.\nFiglio, questo non dire,\nvoglio teco morire,\nnon me voglio partire\nfin che mo m'esca 7 fiato.\nCKuna agiam sepoltura,\nfiglio de mamma scura ;\ntrovarse en affrantura\nmatre e figlio affogato\nMamma, col core afiflitlo,\nentro a le man te mitto\nde Joanne, mio eletto;\nsia 7 tuo figlio appellato.\nJoanne, esta mia mate\ntollela en caritate,\naggine pietate\nche lo core ha forato.\nFiglio, I'alma (\nfiglio de la smarrita,\nfiglio de la sparita,\nfiglio mio attossecato !\nFiglio bianco e vermiglio,\nfiglio senza simiglio,\nfiglio, a chi m ?\nFiglio, pur m hai lassato.\nO figlio bianco e biondo,\nfiglio, Volto iocondo,\nfiglio, perche t' el mondo,\nfiglio, cusi spreZzato?\nFiglio dolce e piacente,\nfiglio de la dolente,\nfiglio, hatte la gente\nmalamente trattato !\nJoanne, figlio novello,\nmorto e lo tuo fratello,\nsentito aggio 7 coltello\nche fa profetizzato.\nChe morto ha figlio e mate\nde dura morte afferrate;\ntrovarse abbraccecate\nmate e figlio a un cruciato (5)\n\n(2) maltrattato, martoriato.\n(3) mi spegne, mi uccide.\n(4) che n* ho invito, che n' ho ben\nd'onde.\n(5) in un solo tormento."}]}, {"article_id": "bm-bmtnaau-1924-04-01-c014", "article_bluemountain": "bmtnaau_1924-04_01#c014", "volume": "bmtnaau_1924-04_01", "ocr_source": "OCR Blue Mountain (ALTO), transcription TEI : lignes lb/@facs", "texte_sans_correction": true, "page_debut": "72", "page_fin": "77", "image_debut": 30, "image_fin": 35, "pages_selon": "pagination imprimée relevée dans le METS Blue Mountain (ORDERLABEL) ; [n] = page sans folio restituée", "url_article": "https://bluemountain.princeton.edu/bluemtn/?a=d&d=bmtnaau192404-01.2.10", "titre_corps": "[Sans titre]", "titre_sommaire": "[Sans titre]", "signature_source": "", "controle": "bornes données par la structure logique METS/ALTO de Blue Mountain (blocs ALTO de chaque constituant)", "pages": [{"page_pdf": 30, "page_imprimee": "72", "url_page": "https://bluemountain.princeton.edu/bluemtn/?a=d&d=bmtnaau192404-01.1.30", "debut_caractere": 2043, "fin_caractere_exclue": 3549, "texte": "SO much for an Italian as a beginning :—\nit only remains to say that the profession\nof dramatist had not yet developed.\nFrance with her *' Confreres de la Pas-\nsion \" in 1398, and other Mysteries and Mi-\nracles in other lands all make a good show:\nyet how can one take note of what they do\nor listen to the hundred voices with the voice\nof Jacopone still ringing clear as a bell; not\ndied away although by 1398 a hundred years\nbe gone.\nIt is another sort of cry which must catch\nup and carry on that voice as it dies away ;\n—it must be a laugh or nothing. And it is\nprecisely the laugh which does carry it on,\nand it is Pierre Blanchet who utters it, even\nif we have to wait until 1480 or later to\nhear it. Out he slides with his \" Maistre\nPierre Pathelin\nJacopone and Pierre, the two extremes:\nI am under the delusion that these meet.\nCJ And this would be History of the Thea-\ntre I am putting down, repeating it after the\nHistorians, were it not that to me the facts\nare alive. Even as Jacopone's \" Lament \" is\nalive; younger and more advanced than\nmost of our latest things, and younger and less\nadvanced than others, so it seems to me is\n\" Pathelin \" alive, as though created this\nspring; and both by the Grace of God\ntouched by the fine style,— a seeming impos-\nsibility this spring.\nAs for the rest, these myriad pieces of\nthe centuries, they all serve as bricks with\nwhich to build a strong Historical background\nbut no more. It is the rare things of each\nhundred years that stand out vividly alive,"}, {"page_pdf": 31, "page_imprimee": "73", "url_page": "https://bluemountain.princeton.edu/bluemtn/?a=d&d=bmtnaau192404-01.1.31", "debut_caractere": 0, "fin_caractere_exclue": 2881, "texte": "and still far ahead of our times as they must\nalways be. Pity it is the times will never\ncatch up with them, nor even try to.\nPerhaps a little lazy, may be in rather\ntoo well-feathered nests, the modern brothers\nof jacopone, of Blanchet, of Shakespeare and\nMoliere and of perhaps another thirty men\noften prefer to sell the old birthright and its\ncoat of arms for a safe percentage.\nMadonna, egli a traduto (betrayed)\nJuda si l'ha venduto (sold)\ntrenta (thirty) denari n'ha *vuto\nfato n'ha gran mercato (business).\nNo, after all it is \" not big business \",\nthirty bits of silver.\nMAISTRE Pierre Pathelin is the farce of\nfarces: not without some horseplay, with\nthe difference that 'tis a blood-horse who\nprances.\nThe theme is taken from the streets, and\nhas nothing celestial about it, except the touch\nof the dramatist: that is celestial enough.\nSay we do not care for all our plays to\ntreat of sacred things, say we do not mind\nwhat they treat of, and the good earth is large\nenough not to mind ; say it may treat of scien-\ntific things writ in baby talk ; we cannot say\nwe do not care how the plays are touched,\nby what hand, by what mind. Create lamb\nor create tiger, sugar sticks or problems, it\nmust be the same hand, the same mind which\ntouches them into life. All else is mere\nfabrique.\nVoices quarrel in the cities today about\nwhat does not concern mankind in the very\nleast. Show us shows of St. Michael and\nAll Angels, or of the Three Thieves of\nLyons, or Oliver Twist or Franz Schubert's\nstory, all's one what you show—but what\nmatters is how the shows are shown and\nhow the tale is told.\nIt has occurred to men to repeat this twice\nten thousand times before now; but no one\ntakes it for a very grave matter; and yet it\nis the first law of the realms of art. That\nit's the way a thing is done, not what is\ndone, which counts.\nAnd so Pathelin the farce and \" The\nLament of the Madonna \" are of a piece\nwith a Rolandson water-colour and \" Zuleika\nDobson \".\nBut for the life of me I cannot class with\nthese extremes anything by any celebrated\nnincompoops whose names I will not mention\nhere; since nearly all the London Journals\nprint them every week you can find them ;\nyou'll find them near Rolandson's name\nand Blanchet's: Blanchet once every fifteen\nyears may be, (any research worker with\ntime to waste might look for it); and even\nJacopone's once every thirty years,... possibly\nevery thirty years.\nAnd by Blanchet's name I would assu-\nredly place that of John Hey wood and old\nHans Sachs. Wagner has made this last\nname the most familiar to us, but only to\nremind us of boots.\nSo then we have an Italian, a Frenchman,\na German and an Englishman. Old Hans\nSachs and John Heywood are the German\nand English Blanchets of their time: Blan-\nchet 1459-1519. Sachs 1494-1576. Heywood\n1496-1578. When I think of Sachs it is\nalways to call up the sight of the priest issuing"}, {"page_pdf": 32, "page_imprimee": "74", "url_page": "https://bluemountain.princeton.edu/bluemtn/?a=d&d=bmtnaau192404-01.1.32", "debut_caractere": 0, "fin_caractere_exclue": 5038, "texte": "out of the oven looking like Satan, and the four\nfeet of the peasant and his wife up on the lad-\nder. When I think of Heywood it is to hear\nagain that devil of a fellow, John, I think his\nname was, saying he will ' bete her until she be\nbleu ' over and over again or some such ter-\nrible repetition, and to hear his soft-voiced\nwife murmuring in the dusky room with the\npriest as they sit side by side in audacity\ncooing loudly under the eyelids of a poor\nblind fool.\nI like these dramatists not a whit the less\nbecause they know their business and come\nto Hecuba without showing us a lot of fur-\nniture we have no wish to buy. I like them\nstill better because they are brief; if I had\nmy will Shakespeare would not be sometimes\nquite so long about his business, and even\nMoliere at times would stop in time. I could\nthen catch the boat.\nAs for our modern playwriters;... but in\ngood time.\nAnd what time is ever better than now ?\nAFTER reading a number of the best mo-\ndern plays, and re-reading the best of the\nlast fifteen years or so, I find that our modern\nPoets are ahead of all the other playwriters.\nThe Poets have some firm belief to begin\nwith,... a large one or a narrow one, but a\nbelief. And this gives them often a refresh-\ning style. Refreshing like a window open\ninto the fields. And it is on the fields their\neyes are fixed.\nNot of the soil, they anyway like to lean\nout of the window and look at it. Some-\ntimes they see Shakespearean characters there\nas on the morning of some modern Pageant\nwe can see Queen Eliza going down the\nroad to catch the bus, or in a motor car\nif the selected Queen be better off. These\nfigures are at any rate going to be Queens of\nthe May, Mother,... that's flat. They are\ngoing to have a merrie time. And even a\nmerrie time excludes all doubt.... if in the\nfresh open air.\nIt may bore me or you to see such revi-\nvals ; it's none the less honest enjoyment on\na small scale. Honest enjoyment on a small\nscale was exactly what Jacopone da Todi did\nnot pine for; he strove through fiercest suffe-\nring to find his idea of joy. But that's an\nold tale, and we have done with the great\nthings for a while: until we are allowed to\nreturn to them, or until we will have them\ncome back.\nOur British Poets, Mr Thomas Hardy (0,\nMr W. B. Yeats (§), Mr John Masefield 01),\nMr Gordon Bottomley ('), Mr Lascelles Aber-\ncrombie (i) Mr Laurence Binyon, and Lord\nDunsany who sings in prose, Ford Maddox\nHueffer (k), Lady Gregory are the finest dra-\nmatists we possess.\nThe only thing I will say against them,\nand this is not their fault, is that they are\nnot sufficiently exercised. It is the same fault\nas that which harrasses most artists today.\nThey are allowed to go idle. They may\nstay idling away their time with hard work,\nprovided they do not attempt to bring their\nplays on to the legitimate stage. If they make\nan attempt to come on to the stage they may\nonly do so provided the stage supply its own\nspecial nurse. Sometimes a Mr. Vezin or a\nMr. Dean is selected for this office; at other\n\n(f) Mr. Thomas Hardy needs only two words of\nabject apology, only I am not delegated by the Bri-\ntish Stage to offer him even two words. The effort made\nby Mr. Barker to present his 4 The Dynasts in 1913\nI believe, was courageous and made amends for the mo-\nment. But the duty of our Stage was to have come to\nknow its poets ; the duty of those men who had theatres\nwas to offer them continual space in which to exercise.\nIt is said very often that the fine writers are not interested\nin the Theatre : it is said that Byron and Goethe were\nnot interested ; that Stevenson was not, and many another.\nI only know how badly Goethe came to look upon the\nstage, and how badly the stage treated itself in not trou-\nbling to show Goethe what it really was made of. Byron?\n—I cannot tell. Stevenson—will not write a play for\nIrving or for the devil. There is a misunderstanding be-\ntween stage and poet. The poet must I think come towards-\nthe stage without his pen in his hand and the stage must\ntake its mask off in his presence.\nThe stage must remain master of itself ; it is the in-\nstrument ; and the poet cannot expect an instrument to\nquite entirely understand. The only way in which it could\nhave gained for England some Drama by Thomas Hardy\nwas to offer the writer its hospitality—to give him his\nplace in the house ; a little room had been enough,... a\nlittle room and a warm welcome always.\n_ The apology the stage owes to Mr Hardy is that\nsomehow it failed to think of this.\nAs for the stage saying who it considers dramatist and\nwho not, well, that's all secondary and it knows it. The\nmagic happens when the spirit is breathing on the face of\nthe waters—and the stage is even more solid than the\nwaters : and when Poets can be made welcome, made at\nhome in the Theatre, the magic will happen.\nBut the old spirit must return before this or anything\ncan ever happen worth happening.\n(g & h) See Book Reviews.\n(i) Mr Bottomley's Plays were spoken of in Volume 9\nof \" The Mask \".\n(j & k) See Book Reviews."}, {"page_pdf": 33, "page_imprimee": "75", "url_page": "https://bluemountain.princeton.edu/bluemtn/?a=d&d=bmtnaau192404-01.1.33", "debut_caractere": 0, "fin_caractere_exclue": 4522, "texte": "times someone else. There are very few\nwho will consent to bail the perambulator\nwith a poet tightly strapped down inside.\nI find it difficult to conceive anyone consen-\nting to accept any such ridiculous post. The\npoets are so full grown, can carry a score of\nsuch \" nurses \" under each arm, and so the\nspectacle of some complaisant theatre fellow\nattempting to handle these poets, to keep them\nin order, above all to silence them, is objec-\ntionable.\nAnd it is because of this farcical way of\napproaching the question \" should our best\ndramatists be allowed stages to play on ? \"\nthat we render both our stage and our drama\nridiculous and barren.\nThe chief hope for the British stage is to\ndo full honour to its dramatic poets : but to\ndo this the British stage must first change its\nmind, obliterate its vanity, sit upon its minors,\ndevelope its best powers, refuse to be cheated\nof true poetry by writers ready to supply false\nsentiment and clever plays in place of it.\nFor there is nothing which can replace\nthe mind and soul of the Poet. But until our\nstage is swept clean of the dust and the\nhumbug, it is not a fit place to receive our\nchief Guests, the Poet and his muse.\nBESIDES the Poets we have a number of\nskilful makers of play, of astounding tech-\nnical genius. This skill distances their imagina-\ntion. Had Mr Bernard Shaw been put to\nmaking automobiles instead of plays, he would\n<of sheer skill have beaten our best mechanics\nhollow. Sir James Barrie would have seen to\nit that no one put him second best had\nhe been given the same task. He would\nhave beaten Mr Shaw hollow, although some-\nhow we would always have been proud of\nour Shaw engines,... no worthier mecha-\nnism has ever been put on the market than\nthose stamped with the trade-mark G. B. S.\nThe Barrie build of the chassis is not\nwhere this firm leads: but there is not a bet-\nter bit of leather work being sold to the Pub-\nlic today than is to be found in the Barrie\nshowrooms; the seats are soft as swansdown.\nExpensive, I grant you,—very; but, Lord,\nhow soft!\nThe French critic Raymond Recouly prai-\nses Barrie as \" a great poet \" with \" an exquis-\nite Virgilian sensitiveness \" ;... \" a dramatist\nof the greatest skill and experience \" ; but\nhe adds this: \" I am practically certain that\n' Dear Brutus ' could not be produced in\nParis \". In other words, the Latin tempera-\nment likes its Virgil neat; any drowning of\nVirgil in moonshine and northern mysticism is\nnot liked; any \" Hush Hush Hush, it is\nthe Bogeyman \", spite of its being too utterly\nlovely to London, bores the southern people\nwho know their sun and moon so well.\nAllied to tragedy the ghostly seems fitting ;\nserving to act as an extra thrill in an ordinary\ndrama of everyday life nothings, it seems out\nof place. That Barrie is so very successful\nis not strange; he resembles Baife, and who\nwas more successful than the popular musi-\ncian who sang \" I dreamt that I dwelt in\nmarble Halls \" ? Barrie and Balfe together\ntoday would have done in a sweet melan-\ncholy way what Gilbert and Sullivan did\nmerrily. Instead of \" The Bohemian Girl \"\nit would have been \" The Girls on the\nIsland \". Delightful touching little dances in\nthe moon's rays would have brought a lump\nto our throats and brought down the house.\nBesides Shaw and Barrie, Pinero and\nJones of the slightly older times, and Gals-\nworthy, Sutro, Bennett, Maugham, McEvoy,\nDrinkwater, George Moore, Ervine, Chester-\nton, Milne (0, Flecker !m), Monkhouse (n) and\nof course Barker (°) of the slightly latert imes,\na host of other immensely able men, such as\nW. J. Turner and others, stand for all that is\ngood in the Dramatic literature of Great Britain.\nSir A. Pinero is too clever. It is rather too\nbad to single him out for this special brick,\nbut as he is also hard headed it cannot possi-\nbly harm him. Besides, he is sure to dodge.\nPinero is far too clever to write great\nplays. All the professional playwriters in Lon-\ndon are, in attempting to rival Sir A- W. Pi-\nnero in cleverness, (an abortive attempt any-\nhow), wasting their time. At many periods\nof the history of mankind this same terribly\nclever mistake has been made and the result\nhas been a plethora of clever plays.\nThese playwriters are so like Landseer\nand those other amazingly skilful painters\nwho in their day were very famous indeed,\nfamous for their intense agility of mind,\ncunning of hand. Landseer did just as Pi-\nnero does. He walks around his London\neyes and ears open, and with an open mind,\n\n(1, m, n, o) See under Book Reviews."}, {"page_pdf": 34, "page_imprimee": "76", "url_page": "https://bluemountain.princeton.edu/bluemtn/?a=d&d=bmtnaau192404-01.1.34", "debut_caractere": 0, "fin_caractere_exclue": 4546, "texte": "searching for popular subjects to paint, praying\nfor strength to paint every hair of every dog\nhe comes across, so long as it's tame; for\npatience to express every feather of every\nsparrow—provided it will eat out of his hand.\nTo paint what he saw, to make the natu-\nral natural, to do his level best.\nSeeing the sun blazing one day it occurs\nto him that, since he has seen it, he supposes\nhe had better paint it; but as he sighed (reali-\nzing the magnitude of the task) he remembe-\nred in time that Turner had just done it a few\nyears ago. \"He shall be the scapegoat\" says\nLandseer, and his eye, turning from the sun,\ncuriously enough, by aid of the mind's-eye\nalights upon a goat. He was just about to\nseize on the goat as a model when he re-\nmembered in time that the young man Hol-\nman Hunt was about to paint a goat better\nthan it would ever be painted again. Alto-\ngether Landseer seems to have been driven\naway from selecting what he would like to\nhave painted, and brought to paint what was\nleft over. And this he recorded with such\nwonderful precision that every hair on a dog's\ncoat, every blade in a tuft of grass was put\ndown by him without remorse, and almost\neveryone of the Public was pleased.\nIt is something like this that our modern\nDramatic writers have been obliged to do.\nThe old themes stood waiting for them\nto handle them in the old broad manner or\nin the old tight manner if they could manage\neither; but they, it seems, felt constrained to\nturn aside from these old themes more from\npoliteness than any other reason. Shake-\nspeare, /Eschylus, Euripides have all done\nit; it belongs to them. \"We really can't\nSo they turned to new themes of indiffe-\nrent value and treated these in a staggeringly\nclever topical manner.\nWhat could possibly be cleverer than the\ndexterity with which Pinero handles the\ntheme of \" The Second Mrs. Tanqueray \"?\nThe labour expended on this play seems to\nhave been immense, the struggle not to of-\nfend London must have been titanic. And\nhe succeded in fascinating where he might so\neasily have blundered. Can any praise be\ntoo great for achieving success in the teeth\nof such labyrinthine difficulties ? It is all very\nwell for critics to write today that they find\nthis which seemed so daring to them thirty\nyears ago quite mild kind of fare nowadays,,\nif the fare be neither daring nor mild; it is\nwhat it always was, ordinary good fare. It is\nno banquet like a Shakespearean feast, nor\nfood for the Gods such as came from Japan\nand Greece ; but it is a good plain plat-de-\njour well cooked, perfectly served, and rea-\nsonable.\nWhere I would, like a curmudgeon, find\nfault, is that it is all too reasonable.\nAnd the splendid little gentleman, Sir A.\nW. Pinero, must not parry my objectionable\nobjection with the reply which he would be\nsure to make, saying \" 1 am not Shakespeare\nor /Eschylus. I am only Pinero and doing\nmy best \". For no one in his senses could\nblame Pinero for what is certainly no fault oh\nhis. The fault is England's. England in;\n1855 was no less reasonable than it is today\nin 1924. You say it's gone crazy today: —\nyou point to the mad rush of things, to the\nover-swollen Press, to the political horizon,\nto the feminist movement, to the development\nof machinery, to the Soviatistic threat, to the\ntroubles with cocaine and anarchy, to Indus-\ntrialism, and ask if that's what I consider\nreasonable. That, I reply, is not England;\nit is all something on the surface, or Foreign :\n—it may be good or bad; it is not English;,\nit is the dust of the earth risen into the air,,\nblown our way, and catching the sun's rays,,\nand we take it for conflagration. \" England\nis on fire ! ! \" cry the agitators; to which we\ncan only echo, and Scotland's burning.... go.'\nfetch me some water \".\nNo, England is as reasonable as she al-\nways was; perhaps too reasonable : and Pinero\nis one of the ball-bearings of London—the hub '\nof England.\nThen what is there to complain of ?\nTo complain is out of the question, for\nPinero's dramas are written and played, and\nI hope that there will always be hundreds of\nactors with sufficient ability to play them for\na long time yet.\nBut it is a great pity that while we are\nappreciating such Dramas as those Pinero was\nable to give us, The Dramatic world seems\nas it were \" held up \" by its own delight\nin Pinero, Shaw and Barrie from daring to go\nfurther or to appreciate more.\nIt felt safe with Pinero and this group;\nwe were reasonable and they were like us :—\ngood, you stick to us, and we will stick\nto you \". I believe that an appreciation"}, {"page_pdf": 35, "page_imprimee": "77", "url_page": "https://bluemountain.princeton.edu/bluemtn/?a=d&d=bmtnaau192404-01.1.35", "debut_caractere": 0, "fin_caractere_exclue": 3918, "texte": "for that which is like us and which we\nfeel safe with, is possibly too paltry a basis\nfor a great Nation, a great Empire now, to\nsquat on. And we squat, and there an end.\nWe do not build on this basis ; we do\nnot adventure forward keeping this point mere-\nly as our base to return to and leave again\nand again; we squat. We squat like a hen\nsquats on a china egg ; we may lay ninety\neggs in the season; they all get taken and\nsold and the hen squats on.\nAFTER Pinero came the terrifying Shaw—\nWith a Programme.\nProgrammes in the house of the Drama\nare essential little scraps of paper: these really\nare only worth tearing up as a rule: but\nShaw's Programme is about three hundred\ntimes too large for its proper use; the only\nthing to do was to paper the walls with it.\nThis happened. He papered. The pattern\nis pure Morris; reasonable, pack full of de-\ntail, with birds half eating cherries, and creep-\ners carved and conventionalized.\nThe Programme of Shaw seen in the\nwhole is just the same pleasant conventional\npattern we loved in 1880. Just as reaso-\nnable as Pinero only not so quiet in tone.\nIf only the Grosvenor Gallery were still exis-\nting, and still just the independent unconven-\ntional revolutionary thing we prided ourselves\nit was in 1880, then Shaw would seem like\nsome giant come to sweep away what he\npossibly takes to be the puerilities of our\ngood Pinero. But there we are : is Pinero\npuerile ? is Shaw great ? both seem anyhow\nto be as reasonable as could possibly be wish-\ned or feared.\nThere are on the lists at least 4,000\nsuch reasonable dramatic writers.\nWhat is not reasonable is a man like\n/Eschylus or like Jacopone da Todi, or like\nShakespeare : and, to take lesser names, Blan-\nchet and Pleywood are not reasonable ; nei-\nther was Sheridan, nor Dumas pere, nor\nGoethe, Macchiavelli nor Voltaire, (though\nthe author of ' Candide * seems to have been\na thoroughly dull play writer). Nor is Moliere\nreasonable, or Racine or Cervantes. Calde-\nron and Lope de Vega are hardly reasona-\nble ; should we say Euripides orSopho-\ncles are ? Are our Poets and our few unac-\nted playwrights?\nWhat is a reasonable playwriter ?\nHe is a professional man who writes\nwell-made plays to suit the tastes of the rea-\nsonable public, the public with its mind made\nup, its ideas fixed and very limited in scope.\nIt is this public alone which is to blame for\nbeing so mighty reasonable as to dispossess\nitself of a mighty Drama it had a right to\ninherit, it is this Public which bas tricked\nmankind out of all which counts ; it is this\nPublic which I for one wish to see thrust\naside so that the rest of the world may come\ninto its own.\n\" OND a man who, totally destitute of genius,\n1 possesses nevertheless considerable talents; who\nhas official aptitude, a volubility of routine rheto-\nric, great perseverance, a love of affairs ; who,\nembarassed neither by the principles of the phi-\nlosopher nor by the prejudices of the bigot, can\nassume, with a cautious facility, the prevalent\ntone, and disembarrass himself of it with a dex-\nterous ambiguity, the moment it ceases to be\npredominant, recommending himself to the inno-\nvator by his approbation of change \"in the\nabstract \", and to the conservative by his pru-\ndential and practical respect for that which is\nestablished ; such a man, though he be one of\nan essentially small mind, though his intellectual\nqualities be less than moderate, with feeble po-\nwers of thought, no imagination, contracted sym-\npathies, and a most loose public morality ; — such\na man is the individual whom kings and parlia-\nments would select to govern the state or rule\nthe Church. Change, \" in the abstract \", is what\nis wanted by a people who are at the same time\ninquiring and wealthy. Instead of statesmen, they\ndesire shufflers ; and compromise in conduct and\nambiguity in speech are — though nobody will con-\nfess it — the public qualities now most in vogue *\\\nDISRAELI."}]}, {"article_id": "bm-bmtnaau-1924-04-01-c015", "article_bluemountain": "bmtnaau_1924-04_01#c015", "volume": "bmtnaau_1924-04_01", "ocr_source": "OCR Blue Mountain (ALTO), transcription TEI : lignes lb/@facs", "texte_sans_correction": true, "page_debut": "73", "page_fin": "73", "image_debut": 31, "image_fin": 31, "pages_selon": "pagination imprimée relevée dans le METS Blue Mountain (ORDERLABEL) ; [n] = page sans folio restituée", "url_article": "https://bluemountain.princeton.edu/bluemtn/?a=d&d=bmtnaau192404-01.2.10.1", "titre_corps": "JACOPONE DA TODI", "titre_sommaire": "JACOPONE DA TODI", "signature_source": "Francesco Bonaccorsi", "controle": "bornes données par la structure logique METS/ALTO de Blue Mountain (blocs ALTO de chaque constituant)", "pages": [{"page_pdf": 31, "page_imprimee": "73", "url_page": "https://bluemountain.princeton.edu/bluemtn/?a=d&d=bmtnaau192404-01.1.31", "debut_caractere": 2883, "fin_caractere_exclue": 2989, "texte": "JACOPONE DA TODI.\nA WOODCUT REPRODUCED FROM THE Laudi.\nFirenze, Francesco Bonaccorsi, 28 Sept. 1490, in-4."}]}, {"article_id": "bm-bmtnaau-1924-04-01-c018", "article_bluemountain": "bmtnaau_1924-04_01#c018", "volume": "bmtnaau_1924-04_01", "ocr_source": "OCR Blue Mountain (ALTO), transcription TEI : lignes lb/@facs", "texte_sans_correction": true, "page_debut": "78", "page_fin": "82", "image_debut": 36, "image_fin": 40, "pages_selon": "pagination imprimée relevée dans le METS Blue Mountain (ORDERLABEL) ; [n] = page sans folio restituée", "url_article": "https://bluemountain.princeton.edu/bluemtn/?a=d&d=bmtnaau192404-01.2.11", "titre_corps": "A PLEA FOR BREAKING THE ICE", "titre_sommaire": "A PLEA FOR BREAKING THE ICE", "signature_source": "C. G. SMITH", "controle": "bornes données par la structure logique METS/ALTO de Blue Mountain (blocs ALTO de chaque constituant)", "pages": [{"page_pdf": 36, "page_imprimee": "78", "url_page": "https://bluemountain.princeton.edu/bluemtn/?a=d&d=bmtnaau192404-01.1.36", "debut_caractere": 0, "fin_caractere_exclue": 4019, "texte": "A PLEA FOR\nBREAKING THE ICE.\nBY C. G. SMITH.\nTO begin with Mr Walkley: —\nAnd before him for a moment—myself.\nI was once acting nightly in a London\nTheatre. I rose, dressed, walked and sat,\ndined and thought and felt like an actor.\nThe square of the stage set with scenic pic-\ntures by Hawes Craven was to me my world :\nShakespeare and other creators of the charac-\nters I had to perform 1 looked on as so much\nmaterial, all to be useful to me as actor.\nOut of this egoism I managed to emerge\nlater. But this is how I felt, thought and\nsaw as an actor: and other actors—better\nactors—were the same in this.\nIrving, I remember, would listen to music;\nhe would often ask for it to be repeated ;\nand then, \" would do admirably for the last\nscene in ' Lear \" : or if he saw a picture\nin some gallery, \" good group for the dethrone-\nment of Richard II \" ; or if at a museum,\n\" Copy this dagger for me, will you, Arnott\n—for Richard II \".\nAnd when 1 read the notices in the pa-\npers of a performance my betters had given\nat the Lyceum Theatre (and I somewhere in\nthe cast) I did not pay much attention to\nwhat was written. If it said I was good I\nwas pleased ; if bad I was ashamed : if my\nbetters were blamed it struck me as merely\npreposterous.\nAnd there was one dramatic critic more\nintellectual than all the rest: Mr. A. B.\nWalkley.\nHis notices in the \" Times \" 1 never read.\nI would begin one and drop it. It seemed\nto me as though someone who was something\nelse than a dramatic critic was writing, wri-\nting to please himself, to please some friends\nand there an end.\nI escaped from this ignorance too later on.\nBut that was how I felt and what I thought\nwhen an actor.\nI saw no reason for Mr. Walkley in those\ndays.\nI was repelled by his superior way of\ntalking about other things than theatres.... his\nindifference, his, scholarly way, seemed cold.\nMr Clement Scott seemed glorious. You\nall remember Mr Clement Scott.... rather\ntheatrical, his criticism.\nI will not be so rude as to say that A.\nB. W., (if I may be allowed to at last re-\ncognize him), bored me—because at twenty-\nfive one is not indifferent—at least I was not.\nAnd to be so is only one degree worse than\npretending indifference. There is nothing ei-\nther in the pose or in the unfortunate blight\nitself.\n4.\nBut what a strange thing that I should\nhave once considered A. B. W's excellent\nwritings rather superior and dull.\nA. B. W. is a man of the world—all\nthe time he is trying to make us see that;\nnor an insular one either, he would be re-\nminding us.... all the time reminding us. He\nsays (not in so many words but all the time)\nI am a bon viveur— one who knows all about\nwines, cigars, (he may not smoke, still in\nhis pages twiddles a fine cigar) about all that\ncounts in the life of a man about town... a\ndistinguished elegant man who knows his\ntown be it Paris or London, Budapest or\nNapoli.\nNow we all know that Mr Walkley (not\nA. B. W.) was in the Department of the Post\nMaster General for quite a number of years.\nWhat a 1 come down as A. B. W. would\ncomma it.\nYet no come down at all; only cu-\nriously sad.\nTo enter into the whole question why it is\nsad for a man to feel he is forced to have two\nmasters would be too large a matter for me\nnow. Besides, may be it is the perfect so-\nlution to life. Have one master who pays\nyou regularly and to whom you give your\nwhole service, and a second whom you serve\nonly by suffrance, condescendingly, one you can\nleave at a moment's notice, whom you permit\nto print what you write, who is no master at\nall, but utterly under your thumb.\nThe having two such masters absolves\nyou from giving your service to any thing:\nArt, Letters, Science you cannot serve. The\nPost-Master General looms too large for that,\nand there is always the Editor of The Times\nas consolation. What the great master wont\nallow the little 'un has jolly well got to.\nWell, I find this no come down; but in\na way, as I say, I do find it rather sad.\nAnd this is what ! find Mr Walkley....\nThe sad man who puts on indifference and"}, {"page_pdf": 37, "page_imprimee": "79", "url_page": "https://bluemountain.princeton.edu/bluemtn/?a=d&d=bmtnaau192404-01.1.37", "debut_caractere": 0, "fin_caractere_exclue": 4353, "texte": "cloaks it with the pretence of being bon vi'\nveur, man of the world, in short, making the\nbest of it.\nAnd this is admirable and witty, only we\nall are the losers.\nFor it is also weak: ...The last thing\nwe can somehow imagine A. B. W. to be.\nNever is A. B. W. at a loss to know\nhow to do what he has put himself to do....\nnever is he awkward-... never thrown off his\nbalance. He is all that is first class.\nBut his weakness is one which affects the\nwhole Dramatic world, and because of this\nwe all are the losers.\nHe cannot play to the Gallery, and he\ncannot stop playing to a parterre of indiffe-\nrents who are absent. So when he comes\nto write of Shakespeare, of acting, of scene-\nries, of applause in a theatre, of Kean and\nDumas and of Drury Lane, he addresses no\none but a group of ghosts who are utterly\nindifferent to all that makes Theatre what it is.\nAnd these indifferents are not even in\nthe play-house. Their parterre may be in\nthe smoke of the smoke-room of a Club,—\nin the first class smoking compartments of all\nthe trains of England,—in the mists by the\nvillas down by the Thames,... visible there\nperhaps, but invisible in Theatres.\nTo presume from this that A. B. W.\ndetests the Theatre would be an error. But\nhe cannot like it—and since he cannot do\nthat—he will love it a little.\nAnd to love is the Theatre a little, is weak.\nIt is decidedly hedging.\nHere we have a queer ramshackle-looking\nplace called a playhouse.... and here a tor-\nrent of Dramatic stuff pouring out of it, in\nwhich flounder or splash, sink or swim a\nwhole world of figures.\nThis it is or it is nothing. The Drama-\ntic force is not a pretty little thing, nor is it\nrather interesting, or restrained ; and so any-\nthing at all approaching indifference in its\npresence is out of place. Before this parti-\ncular force we must be prepared with a quick\nYes or a No—and it's as well to say ' Yes'\nas a rule, for reasons.\nIt is all intellect, all passion, all sorrow\nand all happiness at spate.\nWe must go with it—so it were best g°\nwithout a murmur and enjoy it to the full.\nMr Walkley is rather irritated by this\nhaving to \" look slippy \". As \" Lear \" en-\nters raving mad he would like to argue each\npoint about the thunder which rumbles him in.\n\" Jane Austin \", he begins.... and at this the\nlightning leaves the English Stage and goes\nover to America or Japan, to any place how-\never inferior to London where, at any rate,\nthings are allowed to be what they are—\nliked for being as they are, even forked\nlightning; not asked to be something lite-\nrary, not compared ....measured ....not sized\nup—especially when their size is immeasurable.\nA. B. W. pretends to be bored very\noften. It were as good a pretence as any\nother were it out of a theatre.\nFor in a theatre it is (dare I say it to\nanyone so delightful and gallant as A. B. W.)\nrather bad manners for anyone to pretend\nexcept the actors.\nThis pretending, which some folk bring into\nthe stalls, boxes and dress circles is perhaps\nthe principal reason why our English stage\nhas grown dull. Acting set side by side\nwith acting is not seen. Put grey against\ngrey and all is lost: you must put grey against\nblack, or white and you get at least some\nthing.\nThe Dramatic art is a pretence.... a pre-\ntending ; a pretending to be life,— not real\nlife—and let it beware how it pretend to be\nthat. Being a pretence it will succeed the\nbetter when it does not slip back towards\nrealities.... even pretending these is dangerous.\nThen we get that drab thing Realism.\nThe Dramatic art in its pretence offers us\nall an escape from real life.... it is the might-\nhave-been—perhaps the was.... : futile it be-\ncomes when it pretends to be the is.\nThe escape offered us is from the myriad\ndetails of our real life which teaze us, and\nour Dramatic art releases us the more it swings\nfree of actualities and soars with music.\nYou welcome music without asking it to\nbe real; you do not call on it to utter little\nfacts about how such and such a family in\nsome provincial town found life a bore, and\nwhy; and what they said about it, how they\nlooked, sneezed even.\nYou welcome music just because it re-\nleases you from these tyrannical petty reali-\nties. Yet often enough when Shakespeare\nhas made it possible to soar very nearly off\nthe earth with music, as in \" The Tempest \",\ninstead of being happy about it, you find it\na bore."}, {"page_pdf": 38, "page_imprimee": "80", "url_page": "https://bluemountain.princeton.edu/bluemtn/?a=d&d=bmtnaau192404-01.1.38", "debut_caractere": 0, "fin_caractere_exclue": 4274, "texte": "A. B. W. did. (See his delightful book\n\" More Prejudice pgs. 21-25).\nProspero is a bore : \"I was glad when it\nwas over \" he says of \" The Tempest\nThe Ghost in \" Hamlet \" he finds a bore\ntoo; Launcelot Gobbo and Falstaff bore him ;\nthe spiritual and the clowns both bored him.\nNow for another passage from his lips\nand we will be getting to Hecuba :\n\" In the realm of Dramatic Art, where we\nare supposed to be under the spell of illu-\nsion, inhabitants for the time being an\nimaginary world \" (my italics) \" applause is\nan interruption, a rude reminder of reality\n— (again my italics).\nExcellent A. B. W.\nHe does not want to be aware of any\nreality—he wants to be in an imaginary world\nwith the Ghost he detests and the Tempest\nwhich he dislikes. And yet when he goes to\nthe International Theatre Exhibition at the\nVictoria and Albert Museum he begins \" ga-\nzing out of the windows at gardeners who\nwere planting geraniums from pots in an inner\ncourtyard \".\nA bad beginning—yet, to collect oneself\n—to put in order one's critical faculties a fine\nbeginning. Was it to do that A. B. W. leant\nout of window, gazed at gardeners at work ?\nWe shall see—he turns from the gar-\ndeners.... what to do? To pretend to blush—\nto pretend this because he is going to admit\nthat \" what chiefly delighted me there was a\nvitrine \" (he pretends it not to be a King's\nEnglish glass case) of marionnettes \".\nThere he lingers pretending to like these\nthings greatly—they are \" adorable \" he says.\nNext he turns to the model room, where\nhe searches for something to say about what\nis not there—the actors, and failing to say\nwhat is there, and why.\nAt last he arrives in a room where Ap-\npia and I have our designs for Scenes ; and,\nsaying gracefully that I am much more sane\nand moderate than the majority of my follo-\nwers, he looks at the Catalogue, quotes a\npassage from my Foreword, and goes down\ntown to the Garrick Club.\nAnd that is all.\nHe has feared to break the ice.\nIt may have occurred to him that the best\ntwo hundred designs at the Exhibition were\nall made so as to prevent the spectators being\n\" rudely reminded of reality to evoke \" the\nspell of illusion \", to make for the actors\n\" an imaginary world \".\nCJ We who give our whole life to the work\nof the Theatre, can expect criticism from men\nwhose whole life is given to studying the\ntheatre but we expect them first to study all\nits composite parts not forgetting the building\nitself.\nNow in this Exhibition visited by A. B.W.\nto look at gardeners potting, v/ere some twenty\nor so designs for Theatre, buildings by some\nof the very first architects of the time.\nNot one was mentioned by him: perhaps\nhe has not had the time to study (even ca-\nsually) this branch of the work.\nEven to study it casually awakens an in-\nterest.... that leads towards breaking the ice :\none warms, one feels young; one stops bo-\nthering one's head about realities ; one evolves\n' the spell of illusion ', and one enters ' the\nimaginary world '—and regards its construction\nin the cold light of day and reason.\nDoes A. B. W. ?\nOne asks oneself, why is this built so\nand so ? why this space shaped so ?—why\nthis other space otherwise shaped ? What is\nto be done in this building ? what are all\nthose things there ?... (one is drawn nearer\nthe design).... and these things here....\nAs one looks one comes to ask oneself\ntwenty, fifty, a hundred questions. The ans-\nwers are to be found by a further study of\ntheatre construction, if one has the time;\nand if one's life is solely devoted to the study\nof the Drama there surely should be time to\nstudy this branch and in time come to know\nthe answers to some of the questions.\nDoes A. B- W. ?\nAfter the building, the mise-en-scene ;\nwhich is not alone scenery but the putting on\nto the stage of a whole drama or part of a\ndrama.\nA thorough study of mise-en-scene is es-\nsential to the Dramatic critic.\nHas A. B. W. studied it ?\nIts past he has not studied quite long\nenough it would seem, for he has said of the\nbook by Mantzius that it is \" of the highest\ncritical and historical value \".\nOf value, of great value, especially to\nbeginners, is this History of Theatrical Art by\nMantzius : that it is \"of the highest critical\nand historical value \" to men who have read\nthe other books is not quite exact."}, {"page_pdf": 39, "page_imprimee": "81", "url_page": "https://bluemountain.princeton.edu/bluemtn/?a=d&d=bmtnaau192404-01.1.39", "debut_caractere": 0, "fin_caractere_exclue": 4349, "texte": "A dramatic critic should be able to find\ntime during the day to read the literature of\nthe Theatre, so that at last he can decide\nwhich ten or fifteen books are \" of the highest\ncritical and historical value\nThe books he could read include some\non the Architecture of Theatres, some on\nthe Mise-en scene ; Historical and Technical\nbooks ; books on Scene, Costuming, Schools,\nLighting, Machines,Voice, Gesture,the Actor;\nthe Dramatist, his Plays ; Marionnettes, and\nMasks ; the Greek, the Italian, the Japanese\nand the Chinese Theatres. Northern and\nSouthern endeavour contrasted, Eastern and\nWestern : the Theatre of the 15 th century\ncompared to that of the 20th century. The\nlist 1 could make you would fill two volumes\nof \" The Mask \".\nHas A. B. W. had time to think of all\nthis and to study it all ?\nIf not, with utmost respect for what he\nhas done (and he has written charming es-\nsays) 1 regret to say he has given too much\nof our time to the Post Office.\nYet he is on \" The ,Times our first\nof journals, one of the very first three or four\nin Europe or America.\nSuch a journal should demand as its Dra-\nmatic Critic the most well-informed man on\nthese matters and should ask for his whole time.\nDo the leading journals, \" The Times \",\n\" The Manchester Guardian \", \" The Tele-\ngraph employ men without information to\nwrite of stocks and shares, or of science... ?\nHow is it then that in our \" Times \" this\nadmirable essayist, this genial gentilhomme,\nis considered enough for the purpose of our\nDramatic Art ?\nI cannot say how it is: I do not know:\nbut it would seem from this that anyone will\ndo to write theatrical criticism.\nIn four words, the standard is down.\nAnd it is to some slight extent due to this\nfact that our English Stage is where it is\ntoday.\nOh, I do not bewail its state : the En-\nglish Stage will last, the Theatre of Eu-\nrope will hold it up when it droops : but for\nany locality to have a sound theatre of its\nown (I do not refer here to its Drama) we\nhave to be helped to understand what a thea-\ntre is and what are all the uses which can\nbe made of it.... and its critics are the men\nwho are responsible for telling us.\nA. B. W., our first Dramatic Critic, is\nto be held responsible for not having told us.\n\" What do you like me to say \"is what\nseems continually buzzing in his head, \" and\nhow shall I make what you'd like to hear\ndiverting ? I know that first of all you agree\nwith me and I with you as to not taking the\nstage too seriously ; after all, 4 tis but the en-\ntertainment of the half educated as I have\nsaid so often. It's a pretty thing in its way\n—but not like Letters for example: (of pain-\nting I know nothing). No, not like Letters.\nAnd here 1 am by fate cursed with having\nto write of this theatrical stuff, and you, mon\ncher, with having to read what I write.\nWhich is the more to be pitied, you or I ?\nwe need not postulate : let us split the diffe-\nrence and equally pity each other. There is\nscarcely a breath of poetry, of spirituality, in\nthe modern Theatre. There is no dignity,\nethical or artistic \".—and so on and on and\non; all this instead of explaining again and\nagain until it be quite clear what the theatre\nis, was and always will be.... how it is as old\nas the novel and as novel too.,., and that if we\nare to be so solemn about the one let us be\nas solemn about the other today, for today\nthe Theatre is of as much importance in\nevery way as is the novel.\nA. B. W. says precisely the reverse of\nthis, and he our first of Dramatic Critics.\nWhy has A. B. W. never yet seen that\nthe Theatre is a place for seeing shows ?\nIf he has seen it, why has he never told\nLondon all these years ? The English and\nalso the Londoners are not so stuck up that\nthey don t like a show; why this terror of\nshows in a Theatre, when that is the place\nfor 'em ? that is to say \" entertainment, for\nthe most part, of the half educated \" as\nA. B. W. says. For the most part of the\npublic is the very part we want if we are\nto keep our theatres open.\nBut all this is but' hopping around the\nquestion and about A. B. W. and annoying\nhim unnecessarily by reminding him of what\nhe has said.\nTo the point then.\nWe want critics to break the ice, for it\nis time.\nA double breaking of the ice it must be\nto break down the fearful hard cold barrier\nwhich prevents all progress toward a friend-\nlier mood among us all."}, {"page_pdf": 40, "page_imprimee": "82", "url_page": "https://bluemountain.princeton.edu/bluemtn/?a=d&d=bmtnaau192404-01.1.40", "debut_caractere": 0, "fin_caractere_exclue": 3561, "texte": "Actors and audiences alike sometimes\nget along, but too often not. Too often when\nthey meet the spectator drags on the per-\nformer. He has to thaw his audience slowly\n—if he blaze on 'em too suddenly they will\nbe offended.... so that quite often a whole\nAct is devoted to slowly thawing the ice.\nLet us break the ice*\nFirst of all in some of our reserves, not\nnecessarily valuable any more to us.\nWhy this reserve which drives us to look\nout of a window at geranium-potting because\na superb collection of things in a Museum\nhas depressed us ? Why this inability to look\nat a few examples of the collection of por-\ncelain or lacquer or furniture or steel work ?\nsurely we shall find one piece in the collec-\ntion which is above the entertainment of the\nhalf educated.\nWhen I was a boy I found a hundred\npieces, each piece a lovely thing: when I\nreached thirty I found as many; and now,\npast fifty, I still cannot be near cases of glo-\nrious handicraft and not stop to look at some\npieces. I don't need to be a collector of\nfaience or porcelain to know that a fine plate\nor a jug of the fourth or the fourteenth cen-\ntury is a delicious thing to look at.\nDoes it depress me to know nowadays\nsuch plates and jugs are not made ? Not\nfor long, for I know that they are or can be\nmade. All that depresses me is my own\ndreary mood, my own despair, my self.\nThe age is all right. Only one thing is\nwrong: — the indifference we show when we\nwrite or act or paint or build to please a\nlittle group of our own; when we are in-\nfluenced by the club,— by something, anything,\n-—all's the same.\nFor that means we are no longer alive\nto what we must be alive to, which is life,\nhowever, and wherever it reveal itself, —spi-\nritually, materially, every way.\nAlive to \" go and how be alive to\nthat until the ice is broken?\nHere in a day I come across these things :\nBreakfast; The Times; The Daily Mail\na pipe of tobacco; a taxi-cab; the bustle\nof Knightsbridge ; a cat; a glass case of Per-\nsian jugs; a book illustrated by Rolandson\nin a shop window; an English Hatter's\nshop-window in St James's; a heaped-up\nwaggon with vegetables slowly going towards\nCovent Garden Market; Seagulls flying at a\nriver's edge ; the Strand with its lights up ;\n\" The Graphic \" ; some etchings by Meyron\nand Callot; the noise of the traffic in Picca-\ndilly ; a cold lunch at the Art's Club, Do-\nver Street; another taxi; a friend—her friend;\na drawing by Orpen or by Sickert; a dan-\ncer at the Empire; a comic song sung by\nRavoul; the row of houses in Hampstead ;\na couple of horses; the moon coming up ;\na supper at home ; a cigar; bed.\nIf I be twenty years of age or fifty I am\na curmudgeon towards life if I fail to reco-\ngnize all the good stuff in each for what each\nis worth; the go in each.\n1 may have a special liking for hats and\nno special liking for seagulls ; then buy a hat\nand go and see what it is I miss in the gulls....\nbut don't buy a hat and tell the hatter that\nthe Ancient Mariner always seems a detesta-\nble poem to me because the poet has brought\na beastly bird .into it. Above all don't look\nout of a museum window at a pot of gera-\nniums because the exhibits are not perfect\npieces of Persian pottery for the entirely edu-\ncated, or the little scene models and the plans\nand elevations for new Theatres merely the\nbest that the young fellows of today can do\ntowards Dramatics for the half educated....\nCRITICISM WITHOUT ACCURATE SCIENCE\nOF THE THING CRITICISED CAN INDEED\nHAVE NO OTHER VALUE THAN MAY\nBELONG TO THE GENUINE REWARD\nOF A SPONTANEOUS IMPRESSION.\nSWINBURNE."}]}, {"article_id": "bm-bmtnaau-1924-04-01-c020", "article_bluemountain": "bmtnaau_1924-04_01#c020", "volume": "bmtnaau_1924-04_01", "ocr_source": "OCR Blue Mountain (ALTO), transcription TEI : lignes lb/@facs", "texte_sans_correction": true, "page_debut": "n. p.", "page_fin": "n. p.", "image_debut": 41, "image_fin": 41, "pages_selon": "pagination imprimée relevée dans le METS Blue Mountain (ORDERLABEL) ; [n] = page sans folio restituée", "url_article": "https://bluemountain.princeton.edu/bluemtn/?a=d&d=bmtnaau192404-01.2.12", "titre_corps": "THE WRITER", "titre_sommaire": "THE WRITER", "signature_source": "Pater Abraham van St. Clara ; J.le Long", "controle": "bornes données par la structure logique METS/ALTO de Blue Mountain (blocs ALTO de chaque constituant)", "pages": [{"page_pdf": 41, "page_imprimee": "n. p.", "url_page": "https://bluemountain.princeton.edu/bluemtn/?a=d&d=bmtnaau192404-01.1.41", "debut_caractere": 0, "fin_caractere_exclue": 265, "texte": "THE WRITER.\nFrom \"Iets Voor Allen, Zynde een Verhandeling En Verbeelding van allerhande, Standen,\nStudien, Konsten, Wetenschappen, Handwerken enz; Door den berugten Pater Abraham van St.\nClara. In't Nederduyts overgebragt Door J.le Long. t'Amsteldam, 1719.\nPlate 7."}]}, {"article_id": "bm-bmtnaau-1924-04-01-c021", "article_bluemountain": "bmtnaau_1924-04_01#c021", "volume": "bmtnaau_1924-04_01", "ocr_source": "OCR Blue Mountain (ALTO), transcription TEI : lignes lb/@facs", "texte_sans_correction": true, "page_debut": "83", "page_fin": "83", "image_debut": 43, "image_fin": 43, "pages_selon": "pagination imprimée relevée dans le METS Blue Mountain (ORDERLABEL) ; [n] = page sans folio restituée", "url_article": "https://bluemountain.princeton.edu/bluemtn/?a=d&d=bmtnaau192404-01.2.13", "titre_corps": "ON \"THE TEMPEST\"", "titre_sommaire": "ON \"THE TEMPEST\"", "signature_source": "E. GORDON CRAIG", "controle": "bornes données par la structure logique METS/ALTO de Blue Mountain (blocs ALTO de chaque constituant)", "pages": [{"page_pdf": 43, "page_imprimee": "83", "url_page": "https://bluemountain.princeton.edu/bluemtn/?a=d&d=bmtnaau192404-01.1.43", "debut_caractere": 0, "fin_caractere_exclue": 5978, "texte": "ON \"THE TEMPEST\".\nBY E. GORDON CRAIG.\n44 The dreary pans and interminable conspiracies of\nAlonzo and Gonzalo and Sebastian and Antonio and\nAdrian and Francisco and other shipwrecked noblemen\nLytton Strachey.\nIT is when a wise reader and a fine writer says such a\nthing as this that we sit musing awhile, wondering.\nI am wondering now whether Mr. Strachey is quite\nright. This scene of the puns and the conspiracies is the\nfirst in Act II of 4 The Tempest \\\nIs it so dull, this scene ? I have just re-read it and\nfind it, for all its length, curiously lively. Better than\nAct I, which, till Ferdinand's entrance, has been only\nstruggling to awake and then wakes suddenly at the cry\n44 cock-a-di-ddle-dow\nBut should these puns and conspiracy scenes prove to be\nreally dull, I also am wondering, would there be great harm\ndone if some inventive yet reverential stage-manager should\nexert some of his cunning and by means of scene, voice\nand movement, by all and every means do what little he\ncan to help Shakespeare out where he seems to be dreary,\nand thus quicken things a little ?\nYou wince ; you will have it that I am miching mal-\nlecho, that I mean mischief, ie. you frown with the wea-\nrisome thought of more red fire and another transforma-\ntion scene.\nLISTEN ; the dreary puns are issuing like bubbles from\nthe mouths of six drowned live men sunken to the bed\nof the sea and wearily talking in their deadly sleep,\nAlonzo, Antonio, and the others.\nSlowly they move, these deathly men, heavily like\ndivers in deep seas ; the sun pours through the pale blue-\ngreen water so that it seems more like gentle air than\ntons of water, and but for the coral around the sunken\nblocks of marble on which they sprawl, we should won-\nder whether we be i* the air or the earth.\nLazily these once perfect gentilomini stretch themselves\nand sprawl, burbling out their rubbish, for here things are\nnot going at breakneck speed as at Elsinore or Glamis :\nnor as in Milano : wrecked gentlemen with nothing to do\nare recovering some of their senses..,, they see a little.,.,\nhear and speak—that is about all.\nWere it not that one of these six men is bored I\nmight be bored too—but while Sebastian swings his foot,\n'sblood, I cannot close an eye, nor yawn. Here is some-\none I must watch: he was born to be remembered,\nyet for what I cannot say ; still, I cannot forget him. He\nnever stirs to any purpose; he is born and drown-\ned for us in a play. A man so greatly at his ease,\na born prince, one who refuses to stir even when he\nsuspects that he has somehow come into the wrong\nplay, into a magic island too ! His smile is not unlike the\none worn by Charles Stuart, our second Charles.\nThere lie these six, shifting and sprawling in a forum\nin ruins, on these fallen blocks of marble which once\nstood up a city, now buried beneath the waves ; slowly\ntheir wits return to them ; only to be dull, to loaf and\nto sleep, to loll, and, one of them, to actually conspire.\nA wonderful act of awakening.\nThis magical island is somewhat of a scenical place\nwith its songs and sprites and dancings and its quaint\nchildlike devices of the stage carpenter; and, remembe-\nring that it was Shakespeare who took the part of Pro-\nspero when it was performed at Whitehall in 161 1, (for\nso I believe was the case), and he seeing what he would\nhave to face if he performed another operatic delight of\nthis kind, it is not strange that when it was all over he\nslipped away after that Epilogue—you recall it—and much\nshaking of hands with sixty or seventy odd fish of all\nkinds, and, getting to Stratford safe and sound, swore to\nreturn no more to the purlieus of that accursed White-\nhall.\nYet if to some of us, as we read the play, the island\ndo never seem the gaudy coloured theatrical place I have\nspoken of, if it seem more than this, if one is able to\nread and see no glare of any red fire and no glitter of\nspangles, but still see a magic Island, what then ?\nA magic Island.\nWho has actually seen one, I or you or neither ?—\nyet an old and troubled mariner once came to me to tell\nof an island placed beneath the sea—a sunken island : I\nlistened and I could not laugh : he stuttered on confusedly:\nand on, saying how he had lived down there for seven\nyears; came back, he said, wearied with the * life, but\nhow came back no one could learn: 44 —then I came\nback \" : he kept repeating, and that was all.\nIn such an isle full fathoms five indeed our fathers lie.\nAnd he spoke too of bells—bells of coral under the\nsea ; 44 Hark, now I hear *em \" he would often say, and\nstop to listen—44 Ding... d ong.. bell *\\\n44 And what.... what did happen to you down there ? \"\n—I came as far as that one day with the old mad-man—\nthis odd mariner.\nHe looked at me and made that steady settling ges-\nture with his whole body which promises the beginning\nof a long tale, and his eye would open and he would\npause and draw the air slowly and slowly through his\nnostrils, hold it a second—two seconds, and then lower\nhis eyes and go away apparently eased of all his trouble\nat the perfect remembrance.\nBut leaving me very ill at ease.\nWhat was it he saw down there—what was it that\nhappened ? Something very beautiful to see and to hear\nmust have been going on. Dull fish with cold e)es and\nbubbles * issuing from their mouths, conspiring one with\nanother as though it were London or Milano, that were\nnot enough to charm this old man at the mere remem-\nbrance of them. Dead men and the wreckage of ships\nare nothing neither : something else was happening, some-\nthing he will never forget....\nWhat was it ?\nWhat happened under the sea in an island known\nto none but he, is what I should like to make visible in\n44 The Tempest \" upon a stage, were I happy to work to\nno purpose, to make what I fear would for ever fail to\nplease you, you who must perforce listen to 44 the dreary\npuns and interminable conspiracies of Alonzo and Gon-\nzalo and Sebastian and Antonio and Adrian and Fran-\ncisco and other shipwrecked noblemen"}]}, {"article_id": "bm-bmtnaau-1924-04-01-c023", "article_bluemountain": "bmtnaau_1924-04_01#c023", "volume": "bmtnaau_1924-04_01", "ocr_source": "OCR Blue Mountain (ALTO), transcription TEI : lignes lb/@facs", "texte_sans_correction": true, "page_debut": "84", "page_fin": "85", "image_debut": 44, "image_fin": 45, "pages_selon": "pagination imprimée relevée dans le METS Blue Mountain (ORDERLABEL) ; [n] = page sans folio restituée", "url_article": "https://bluemountain.princeton.edu/bluemtn/?a=d&d=bmtnaau192404-01.2.14", "titre_corps": "SOME BIBLIOGRAPHICAL NOTES : ON SOME OLD PLAYS AND WOOD CUTS", "titre_sommaire": "SOME BIBLIOGRAPHICAL NOTES : ON SOME OLD PLAYS AND WOOD CUTS", "signature_source": "FELIX URBAN", "controle": "bornes données par la structure logique METS/ALTO de Blue Mountain (blocs ALTO de chaque constituant)", "pages": [{"page_pdf": 44, "page_imprimee": "84", "url_page": "https://bluemountain.princeton.edu/bluemtn/?a=d&d=bmtnaau192404-01.1.44", "debut_caractere": 0, "fin_caractere_exclue": 76, "texte": "SOME BIBLIOGRAPHICAL NOTES.\nON SOME OLD PLAYS AND WOOD CUTS,\nBY FELIX URBAN."}, {"page_pdf": 44, "page_imprimee": "84", "url_page": "https://bluemountain.princeton.edu/bluemtn/?a=d&d=bmtnaau192404-01.1.44", "debut_caractere": 437, "fin_caractere_exclue": 3994, "texte": "THE SUPPOSITI OF ARIOSTO.\n0 SEE WOODCUT PAGE 85 O\nARIOSTO is supposed to have\nwritten the play in 1508. It\nwas first performed at Ferrara in 1509.\nIt was also performed in 1518-19\nbefore Pope Leo X at the Castel\nSant*Angelo (a), and Raffaello is said\nto have painted in perspective a scene\nfor it and a curtain.\nPauluzzi in his letter to the Duke\nof Ferrara says that on the curtain\nRaffaello had painted 4 Father Mariano\nwith a crowd of devils leaping around\nhim \\ The Pope seems to have ad-\nmired a certain sky which Raffaello\nhad constructed. Besides the curtain,\nthe sky and the scene, Raffaello seems\nto have designed the whole theatre.\nThis we learn was not a temporary\ntheatre (b), but was one of the first,\nif not the very first, permanent theatres\nto be built in Roma. (Fanelli. 1911). (c).\nThe artist took Vitruvius as his guide\nin designing it. (Bapst).\nHad Pope Leo so wished, the poet\nhimself could have made the Theatre\nfor him, for in 1528, or about that\ntime, Ariosto built for the Duke Alfonso\nd'Este at Ferrara a Theatre of wood,\ndesigning it, and seeing to its erection,\nand here his 44 Lena \" was performed.\nIn 1532 it was burnt on Decem-\nber 30th at 9 o'clock precisely;\n(others say on December 31st) ; and\nthe same night the poet became se-\nriously ill, dying on June 6th of the\nfollowing year, or, as some say, in July.\nThe play was translated into En-\nglish in 1566 and Shakespeare is said\nto have used some of its episodes in\nhis 44 Taming of the Shrew \".\n(a) The Vatican and the Caste I Sant\nAngelo were joined by a passage pas-\ning down the houses of the long street\nswhich divides them even as the Uffizi of\nFirenze is joined to the Palazzo Pitti ,\n(b) Fanelli states that the \" Suppo-\nsiti \" was performed, at the SanVAngela\ntheatre, of which Miss Campbell says'\n'' it seems, quite certain too, that Raf~\nfaello was responsible for the construc-\ntion of the tempoi ary theatre\n(c) The difference between the Vati-\ncan and the Campidoglio Theatres (there\nwere two) and the Theatre of SanVAn-\ngelo was that each of the former was i 4 una-\nsala qualsiasi, comunque magnificamente\narredata, serviva per lo spettacolo\nwhereas instead of this \" in castello vi\nsi rizzo un vero e proprio Teatro {net\ncof tile) che prende nonie dai Borgia, net\nquale furono recitati i Suppositi di Ario~\nsto le cui scene dipinse Raffaello {Fa-\nnelli, 1911).\nBapst says Raffaello built this theatre*\nand built it of wood.\n• (*) Referred to on page 73.\n\no THE FARCE OF o\nPIERRE PATHELIN a\nSEE TWO WOODCUTS PAGE 85*\n(I)\nTHE second scene of the Farce\nshowing Pathelin the advocate\n(standing) on his visit to his neighbour\nGuillaume Joceaume the cloth mer-\nchant, taking the cloth away for a\nnew suit of clothes and the merchant\nunable to prevent him.\nBy no clowning is this done, n®\nhorse play: all is done solely by the\nwoids and by the actor; so subtle is\nthe play, so delicate the development\none is set wondering what a comedy\nof that time was like if a farce can\nLe so exquisite in its workmanship.\nShould I ever have a Theatre of\nmy own it is one of the plays I shall\ntry to produce, I take it that some\neight months very hard work on this\nand nothing else might be well wasted,\nfor the Play belongs to Frenchmen,\nsinless some English Poet will rob\nFrance of it.\nWell, I will willingly act as Re-\nceiver of the goods.\n(2\nSHOWING the last scene of the\nfarce of Pierre Pathelin, with Pa-\nthelin who is defending the shepherd\nTvho has killed his master's sheep, the\nmaster being none other than the cloth\nmerchant from whom Pathelin has stolen\nthe cloth."}]}, {"article_id": "bm-bmtnaau-1924-04-01-c024", "article_bluemountain": "bmtnaau_1924-04_01#c024", "volume": "bmtnaau_1924-04_01", "ocr_source": "OCR Blue Mountain (ALTO), transcription TEI : lignes lb/@facs", "texte_sans_correction": true, "page_debut": "84", "page_fin": "84", "image_debut": 44, "image_fin": 44, "pages_selon": "pagination imprimée relevée dans le METS Blue Mountain (ORDERLABEL) ; [n] = page sans folio restituée", "url_article": "https://bluemountain.princeton.edu/bluemtn/?a=d&d=bmtnaau192404-01.2.14.1", "titre_corps": "THE SUPPOSITI OF ARIOSTO", "titre_sommaire": "THE SUPPOSITI OF ARIOSTO", "signature_source": "", "controle": "bornes données par la structure logique METS/ALTO de Blue Mountain (blocs ALTO de chaque constituant)", "pages": [{"page_pdf": 44, "page_imprimee": "84", "url_page": "https://bluemountain.princeton.edu/bluemtn/?a=d&d=bmtnaau192404-01.1.44", "debut_caractere": 437, "fin_caractere_exclue": 2891, "texte": "THE SUPPOSITI OF ARIOSTO.\n0 SEE WOODCUT PAGE 85 O\nARIOSTO is supposed to have\nwritten the play in 1508. It\nwas first performed at Ferrara in 1509.\nIt was also performed in 1518-19\nbefore Pope Leo X at the Castel\nSant*Angelo (a), and Raffaello is said\nto have painted in perspective a scene\nfor it and a curtain.\nPauluzzi in his letter to the Duke\nof Ferrara says that on the curtain\nRaffaello had painted 4 Father Mariano\nwith a crowd of devils leaping around\nhim \\ The Pope seems to have ad-\nmired a certain sky which Raffaello\nhad constructed. Besides the curtain,\nthe sky and the scene, Raffaello seems\nto have designed the whole theatre.\nThis we learn was not a temporary\ntheatre (b), but was one of the first,\nif not the very first, permanent theatres\nto be built in Roma. (Fanelli. 1911). (c).\nThe artist took Vitruvius as his guide\nin designing it. (Bapst).\nHad Pope Leo so wished, the poet\nhimself could have made the Theatre\nfor him, for in 1528, or about that\ntime, Ariosto built for the Duke Alfonso\nd'Este at Ferrara a Theatre of wood,\ndesigning it, and seeing to its erection,\nand here his 44 Lena \" was performed.\nIn 1532 it was burnt on Decem-\nber 30th at 9 o'clock precisely;\n(others say on December 31st) ; and\nthe same night the poet became se-\nriously ill, dying on June 6th of the\nfollowing year, or, as some say, in July.\nThe play was translated into En-\nglish in 1566 and Shakespeare is said\nto have used some of its episodes in\nhis 44 Taming of the Shrew \".\n(a) The Vatican and the Caste I Sant\nAngelo were joined by a passage pas-\ning down the houses of the long street\nswhich divides them even as the Uffizi of\nFirenze is joined to the Palazzo Pitti ,\n(b) Fanelli states that the \" Suppo-\nsiti \" was performed, at the SanVAngela\ntheatre, of which Miss Campbell says'\n'' it seems, quite certain too, that Raf~\nfaello was responsible for the construc-\ntion of the tempoi ary theatre\n(c) The difference between the Vati-\ncan and the Campidoglio Theatres (there\nwere two) and the Theatre of SanVAn-\ngelo was that each of the former was i 4 una-\nsala qualsiasi, comunque magnificamente\narredata, serviva per lo spettacolo\nwhereas instead of this \" in castello vi\nsi rizzo un vero e proprio Teatro {net\ncof tile) che prende nonie dai Borgia, net\nquale furono recitati i Suppositi di Ario~\nsto le cui scene dipinse Raffaello {Fa-\nnelli, 1911).\nBapst says Raffaello built this theatre*\nand built it of wood.\n• (*) Referred to on page 73."}]}, {"article_id": "bm-bmtnaau-1924-04-01-c025", "article_bluemountain": "bmtnaau_1924-04_01#c025", "volume": "bmtnaau_1924-04_01", "ocr_source": "OCR Blue Mountain (ALTO), transcription TEI : lignes lb/@facs", "texte_sans_correction": true, "page_debut": "84", "page_fin": "84", "image_debut": 44, "image_fin": 44, "pages_selon": "pagination imprimée relevée dans le METS Blue Mountain (ORDERLABEL) ; [n] = page sans folio restituée", "url_article": "https://bluemountain.princeton.edu/bluemtn/?a=d&d=bmtnaau192404-01.2.14.1.1", "titre_corps": "FLORIANA", "titre_sommaire": "FLORIANA", "signature_source": "", "controle": "bornes données par la structure logique METS/ALTO de Blue Mountain (blocs ALTO de chaque constituant)", "pages": [{"page_pdf": 44, "page_imprimee": "84", "url_page": "https://bluemountain.princeton.edu/bluemtn/?a=d&d=bmtnaau192404-01.1.44", "debut_caractere": 78, "fin_caractere_exclue": 435, "texte": "FLORI ANA\nA WOODCUT, 1 526.\nREPRODUCED FROM:\nComedia nobilis | sima et ridicu | losa\nchia | mata Flo | riana. | Novissimamente\nhistoriata et emendata | con l'esemplare\ndel pro | prio autore. | Stampata in\nVinegia per Giovannantonio e fratelli\nda Sabio, ad instanza di Nicolo Dome !\nnigo fratelli del Giesù, nell'anno di\nuo | stra salute M.DXXVI( 1526) in-8."}]}, {"article_id": "bm-bmtnaau-1924-04-01-c026", "article_bluemountain": "bmtnaau_1924-04_01#c026", "volume": "bmtnaau_1924-04_01", "ocr_source": "OCR Blue Mountain (ALTO), transcription TEI : lignes lb/@facs", "texte_sans_correction": true, "page_debut": "84", "page_fin": "84", "image_debut": 44, "image_fin": 44, "pages_selon": "pagination imprimée relevée dans le METS Blue Mountain (ORDERLABEL) ; [n] = page sans folio restituée", "url_article": "https://bluemountain.princeton.edu/bluemtn/?a=d&d=bmtnaau192404-01.2.14.2", "titre_corps": "THE FARCE OF PIERRE PATHELIN", "titre_sommaire": "THE FARCE OF PIERRE PATHELIN", "signature_source": "", "controle": "bornes données par la structure logique METS/ALTO de Blue Mountain (blocs ALTO de chaque constituant)", "pages": [{"page_pdf": 44, "page_imprimee": "84", "url_page": "https://bluemountain.princeton.edu/bluemtn/?a=d&d=bmtnaau192404-01.1.44", "debut_caractere": 2893, "fin_caractere_exclue": 3994, "texte": "o THE FARCE OF o\nPIERRE PATHELIN a\nSEE TWO WOODCUTS PAGE 85*\n(I)\nTHE second scene of the Farce\nshowing Pathelin the advocate\n(standing) on his visit to his neighbour\nGuillaume Joceaume the cloth mer-\nchant, taking the cloth away for a\nnew suit of clothes and the merchant\nunable to prevent him.\nBy no clowning is this done, n®\nhorse play: all is done solely by the\nwoids and by the actor; so subtle is\nthe play, so delicate the development\none is set wondering what a comedy\nof that time was like if a farce can\nLe so exquisite in its workmanship.\nShould I ever have a Theatre of\nmy own it is one of the plays I shall\ntry to produce, I take it that some\neight months very hard work on this\nand nothing else might be well wasted,\nfor the Play belongs to Frenchmen,\nsinless some English Poet will rob\nFrance of it.\nWell, I will willingly act as Re-\nceiver of the goods.\n(2\nSHOWING the last scene of the\nfarce of Pierre Pathelin, with Pa-\nthelin who is defending the shepherd\nTvho has killed his master's sheep, the\nmaster being none other than the cloth\nmerchant from whom Pathelin has stolen\nthe cloth."}]}, {"article_id": "bm-bmtnaau-1924-04-01-c027", "article_bluemountain": "bmtnaau_1924-04_01#c027", "volume": "bmtnaau_1924-04_01", "ocr_source": "OCR Blue Mountain (ALTO), transcription TEI : lignes lb/@facs", "texte_sans_correction": true, "page_debut": "84", "page_fin": "84", "image_debut": 44, "image_fin": 44, "pages_selon": "pagination imprimée relevée dans le METS Blue Mountain (ORDERLABEL) ; [n] = page sans folio restituée", "url_article": "https://bluemountain.princeton.edu/bluemtn/?a=d&d=bmtnaau192404-01.2.14.2.1", "titre_corps": "A WOODCUT, 1527", "titre_sommaire": "A WOODCUT, 1527", "signature_source": "", "controle": "bornes données par la structure logique METS/ALTO de Blue Mountain (blocs ALTO de chaque constituant)", "pages": [{"page_pdf": 44, "page_imprimee": "84", "url_page": "https://bluemountain.princeton.edu/bluemtn/?a=d&d=bmtnaau192404-01.1.44", "debut_caractere": 3996, "fin_caractere_exclue": 4221, "texte": "A WOODCUT, 1527.\nREPRODUCED FROM:\nComedia DI PUBLIO | PHILIPPO\nMANTO | VANO DETTA FORMICO-\nNE. NUO | VAMENTE H1STO | RIATA,\nStampata in Vinegia ad instantia di\nNicolò, | & Domenego Fratelli del\nGiesii. I M.DXXVII (1527) in-8."}]}, {"article_id": "bm-bmtnaau-1924-04-01-c028", "article_bluemountain": "bmtnaau_1924-04_01#c028", "volume": "bmtnaau_1924-04_01", "ocr_source": "OCR Blue Mountain (ALTO), transcription TEI : lignes lb/@facs", "texte_sans_correction": true, "page_debut": "85", "page_fin": "85", "image_debut": 45, "image_fin": 45, "pages_selon": "pagination imprimée relevée dans le METS Blue Mountain (ORDERLABEL) ; [n] = page sans folio restituée", "url_article": "https://bluemountain.princeton.edu/bluemtn/?a=d&d=bmtnaau192404-01.2.14.3", "titre_corps": "PIERRE PATHELIN AND THE CLOTH MERCHANT", "titre_sommaire": "PIERRE PATHELIN AND THE CLOTH MERCHANT", "signature_source": "", "controle": "bornes données par la structure logique METS/ALTO de Blue Mountain (blocs ALTO de chaque constituant)", "pages": [{"page_pdf": 45, "page_imprimee": "85", "url_page": "https://bluemountain.princeton.edu/bluemtn/?a=d&d=bmtnaau192404-01.1.45", "debut_caractere": 0, "fin_caractere_exclue": 114, "texte": "PIERRE PATHELIN AND THE\nCLOTH MERCHANT.\nFROM THE GOTHIC EDITION OF THE FARCE.\nPARIS, GERMAIN BENEAUT 1490, IN 4to."}]}, {"article_id": "bm-bmtnaau-1924-04-01-c029", "article_bluemountain": "bmtnaau_1924-04_01#c029", "volume": "bmtnaau_1924-04_01", "ocr_source": "OCR Blue Mountain (ALTO), transcription TEI : lignes lb/@facs", "texte_sans_correction": true, "page_debut": "85", "page_fin": "85", "image_debut": 45, "image_fin": 45, "pages_selon": "pagination imprimée relevée dans le METS Blue Mountain (ORDERLABEL) ; [n] = page sans folio restituée", "url_article": "https://bluemountain.princeton.edu/bluemtn/?a=d&d=bmtnaau192404-01.2.14.4", "titre_corps": "PIERRE PATHELIN AND THE SHEPHERD", "titre_sommaire": "PIERRE PATHELIN AND THE SHEPHERD", "signature_source": "", "controle": "bornes données par la structure logique METS/ALTO de Blue Mountain (blocs ALTO de chaque constituant)", "pages": [{"page_pdf": 45, "page_imprimee": "85", "url_page": "https://bluemountain.princeton.edu/bluemtn/?a=d&d=bmtnaau192404-01.1.45", "debut_caractere": 116, "fin_caractere_exclue": 224, "texte": "PIERRE PATHELIN AND THE\nSHEPHERD.\nFROM THE GOTHIC EDITION OF THE FARCE.\nPARIS, GERMAIN BENEAUT 1490, IN 4to."}]}, {"article_id": "bm-bmtnaau-1924-04-01-c030", "article_bluemountain": "bmtnaau_1924-04_01#c030", "volume": "bmtnaau_1924-04_01", "ocr_source": "OCR Blue Mountain (ALTO), transcription TEI : lignes lb/@facs", "texte_sans_correction": true, "page_debut": "85", "page_fin": "85", "image_debut": 45, "image_fin": 45, "pages_selon": "pagination imprimée relevée dans le METS Blue Mountain (ORDERLABEL) ; [n] = page sans folio restituée", "url_article": "https://bluemountain.princeton.edu/bluemtn/?a=d&d=bmtnaau192404-01.2.14.5", "titre_corps": "A SCENE FROM THE \"SUPPOSITI\" OF ARIOSTO", "titre_sommaire": "A SCENE FROM THE \"SUPPOSITI\" OF ARIOSTO", "signature_source": "", "controle": "bornes données par la structure logique METS/ALTO de Blue Mountain (blocs ALTO de chaque constituant)", "pages": [{"page_pdf": 45, "page_imprimee": "85", "url_page": "https://bluemountain.princeton.edu/bluemtn/?a=d&d=bmtnaau192404-01.1.45", "debut_caractere": 226, "fin_caractere_exclue": 308, "texte": "A SCENE FROM THE \"SUPPOSITI\"\nOF ARIOSTO.\nFROM THE EDITION PRINTED AT VENEZIA 1526."}]}, {"article_id": "bm-bmtnaau-1924-04-01-c031", "article_bluemountain": "bmtnaau_1924-04_01#c031", "volume": "bmtnaau_1924-04_01", "ocr_source": "OCR Blue Mountain (ALTO), transcription TEI : lignes lb/@facs", "texte_sans_correction": true, "page_debut": "87", "page_fin": "87", "image_debut": 47, "image_fin": 47, "pages_selon": "pagination imprimée relevée dans le METS Blue Mountain (ORDERLABEL) ; [n] = page sans folio restituée", "url_article": "https://bluemountain.princeton.edu/bluemtn/?a=d&d=bmtnaau192404-01.2.15", "titre_corps": "TODAY'S FARCES AND THE FUTURE", "titre_sommaire": "TODAY'S FARCES AND THE FUTURE", "signature_source": "", "controle": "bornes données par la structure logique METS/ALTO de Blue Mountain (blocs ALTO de chaque constituant)", "pages": [{"page_pdf": 47, "page_imprimee": "87", "url_page": "https://bluemountain.princeton.edu/bluemtn/?a=d&d=bmtnaau192404-01.1.47", "debut_caractere": 0, "fin_caractere_exclue": 1282, "texte": "TODAY'S FARCES\nAND THE FUTURE.\nTHERE is obviously someone living\nat this hour who is writing the Farces\nwhich alone can express for future ages\nthe fun of this age.\nI make this statement solely in the\ndark.... picking my way as best I can,\nin this probably one of the darkest\nand funniest ages which mankind has\never experienced, for I do not know\nwho is writing the farces.\n14 The world has experienced a pro-\nfound catastrophe, it is slowly recove-\nring itself \" ; this is what I hear : what\na theme for a farce ; not the catastro-\nphe but that \" slow recovery \".\nAnd how long do [you think it\nwill take to recover?\n\" Ah \", comes the long-drawn sigh,\n\" perhaps twenty, perhaps thirty years\n—may be it will even take longer \".\nThree times this month have three kinds\nof men echoed this to me :—what cha-\nracters for a second farce.... these three.\n\" What is it which delays the re-\ncovery of the world ? \" I asked.\n\" The delayed revival of British\nTrade \".\n\" The delayed revival of Russian and\nGerman Trade \".\n\" The delayed Revival of French\nTrade \".\n\" And who can revive trade and\nso save the world ? \"\n\" The Business People are the only\nPeople who can save the situation \"\nanswer Mr Edward Duveen, Sir Al-\nfred Mond and Mr Otto Kahn with\nquiet deliberation.\nIsn't it wonderful! !"}]}, {"article_id": "bm-bmtnaau-1924-04-01-c033", "article_bluemountain": "bmtnaau_1924-04_01#c033", "volume": "bmtnaau_1924-04_01", "ocr_source": "OCR Blue Mountain (ALTO), transcription TEI : lignes lb/@facs", "texte_sans_correction": true, "page_debut": "87", "page_fin": "87", "image_debut": 47, "image_fin": 47, "pages_selon": "pagination imprimée relevée dans le METS Blue Mountain (ORDERLABEL) ; [n] = page sans folio restituée", "url_article": "https://bluemountain.princeton.edu/bluemtn/?a=d&d=bmtnaau192404-01.2.16", "titre_corps": "LETTERS TO THE EDITOR APRIL 1924", "titre_sommaire": "LETTERS TO THE EDITOR APRIL 1924", "signature_source": "", "controle": "bornes données par la structure logique METS/ALTO de Blue Mountain (blocs ALTO de chaque constituant)", "pages": [{"page_pdf": 47, "page_imprimee": "87", "url_page": "https://bluemountain.princeton.edu/bluemtn/?a=d&d=bmtnaau192404-01.1.47", "debut_caractere": 1284, "fin_caractere_exclue": 3836, "texte": "LETTERS\nTO THE\nEDITOR\nAPRIL\n1924\n\n\" ACCA \" A NEW STAGE LANGUAGE.\nFaithfully,\nLilian Antler.\nSir.\nI was interested and amused by the article \" Acca for\nthat is just what we do seem to need,... a new lan-\nguage for the stage.\nWhen I go to hear some Russian or Italian play 1\nmust admit that I am very greatly refreshed by the sounds\nof these two languages, both of which are Greek to me.\nAnd indeed were it possible for us today to be taken\nback to the year 458 B. C. and be present at the first\nperformance of the \" Agamemnon\" there are two Greek\nwords we should all understand : \" Otototoi\", the sob of\nCassandra, and the\" I-£, IS\", the cry of fear of the\nchorus.\nI am no philologist, but it takes no study for a sound\nto reach my senses, and it seems to me that all the sounds\nand all the things seen on a stage should be so vivid and\npowerful that our senses can be immediately seized and\ninterested by them : for the brains are not given to us to\nbe quickly convinced by anything. It seems to me that\nthe brains are all for reasoning with.\nIf Drama would reason it must do so quickly, and I\nbelieve through other channels than those held by the citadel\nof our brains, and the senses, we have been told, are the\nright channels ; they lead to the heart.\nIn a Theatre, what the heart allows to pass, the brain\nwill hardly play the pedant over to the extent of becom-\n, ing a bore.\nSome of our modern plays seem to wish to make an\nappeal to the heart; but the truth is they never quite\nreach it. They touch us, but the touch is on the arm,\non our sleeve, where nowadays the Dramatist looks to find\na second • heart * being worn for convenience sake.\nOtototoi!\nLeeds.\n\nFaithfully.\nConrad Tower.\nSir:\nReading the article on \" Acca, A New Stage Lan-\nguage \" in your last number, reminds me of the lines\nof Lord Byron in \" Beppo, a Venetian story\", XLIV: —\nI love the language, that soft bastard Latin,\nWhich melts like £/sses from a female mouth,\nAnd sounds as if it should be writ on satin,\nWith syllables which breathe of the sweet South,\nAnd gentle liquids gliding all so pat in\nThat not a single accent seems uncouth,\nLike our harsh northern whistling, grunting, guttural,\nWhich we9 re obliged to hiss, and spit, and sputter all,\nHow Byron would have delighted in the development\nand extension of \" Acca \"; what dialogues he and its in-\nventor would have improvised ; and who knows that he\nwould not, had he not set out on his last journey a hun-\ndred years too soon, have given us some powerful drama\nin M Acca \", the new language for the stage !\nRoma"}]}, {"article_id": "bm-bmtnaau-1924-04-01-c035", "article_bluemountain": "bmtnaau_1924-04_01#c035", "volume": "bmtnaau_1924-04_01", "ocr_source": "OCR Blue Mountain (ALTO), transcription TEI : lignes lb/@facs", "texte_sans_correction": true, "page_debut": "87", "page_fin": "87", "image_debut": 47, "image_fin": 47, "pages_selon": "pagination imprimée relevée dans le METS Blue Mountain (ORDERLABEL) ; [n] = page sans folio restituée", "url_article": "https://bluemountain.princeton.edu/bluemtn/?a=d&d=bmtnaau192404-01.2.16.2", "titre_corps": "\"ACCA\" A NEW STAGE LANGUAGE", "titre_sommaire": "\"ACCA\" A NEW STAGE LANGUAGE", "signature_source": "Lilian Antler", "controle": "bornes données par la structure logique METS/ALTO de Blue Mountain (blocs ALTO de chaque constituant)", "pages": [{"page_pdf": 47, "page_imprimee": "87", "url_page": "https://bluemountain.princeton.edu/bluemtn/?a=d&d=bmtnaau192404-01.1.47", "debut_caractere": 1318, "fin_caractere_exclue": 2949, "texte": "\" ACCA \" A NEW STAGE LANGUAGE.\nFaithfully,\nLilian Antler.\nSir.\nI was interested and amused by the article \" Acca for\nthat is just what we do seem to need,... a new lan-\nguage for the stage.\nWhen I go to hear some Russian or Italian play 1\nmust admit that I am very greatly refreshed by the sounds\nof these two languages, both of which are Greek to me.\nAnd indeed were it possible for us today to be taken\nback to the year 458 B. C. and be present at the first\nperformance of the \" Agamemnon\" there are two Greek\nwords we should all understand : \" Otototoi\", the sob of\nCassandra, and the\" I-£, IS\", the cry of fear of the\nchorus.\nI am no philologist, but it takes no study for a sound\nto reach my senses, and it seems to me that all the sounds\nand all the things seen on a stage should be so vivid and\npowerful that our senses can be immediately seized and\ninterested by them : for the brains are not given to us to\nbe quickly convinced by anything. It seems to me that\nthe brains are all for reasoning with.\nIf Drama would reason it must do so quickly, and I\nbelieve through other channels than those held by the citadel\nof our brains, and the senses, we have been told, are the\nright channels ; they lead to the heart.\nIn a Theatre, what the heart allows to pass, the brain\nwill hardly play the pedant over to the extent of becom-\n, ing a bore.\nSome of our modern plays seem to wish to make an\nappeal to the heart; but the truth is they never quite\nreach it. They touch us, but the touch is on the arm,\non our sleeve, where nowadays the Dramatist looks to find\na second • heart * being worn for convenience sake.\nOtototoi!\nLeeds."}]}, {"article_id": "bm-bmtnaau-1924-04-01-c036", "article_bluemountain": "bmtnaau_1924-04_01#c036", "volume": "bmtnaau_1924-04_01", "ocr_source": "OCR Blue Mountain (ALTO), transcription TEI : lignes lb/@facs", "texte_sans_correction": true, "page_debut": "87", "page_fin": "87", "image_debut": 47, "image_fin": 47, "pages_selon": "pagination imprimée relevée dans le METS Blue Mountain (ORDERLABEL) ; [n] = page sans folio restituée", "url_article": "https://bluemountain.princeton.edu/bluemtn/?a=d&d=bmtnaau192404-01.2.16.3", "titre_corps": "[Sans titre]", "titre_sommaire": "[Sans titre]", "signature_source": "Conrad Tower", "controle": "bornes données par la structure logique METS/ALTO de Blue Mountain (blocs ALTO de chaque constituant)", "pages": [{"page_pdf": 47, "page_imprimee": "87", "url_page": "https://bluemountain.princeton.edu/bluemtn/?a=d&d=bmtnaau192404-01.1.47", "debut_caractere": 2951, "fin_caractere_exclue": 3836, "texte": "Faithfully.\nConrad Tower.\nSir:\nReading the article on \" Acca, A New Stage Lan-\nguage \" in your last number, reminds me of the lines\nof Lord Byron in \" Beppo, a Venetian story\", XLIV: —\nI love the language, that soft bastard Latin,\nWhich melts like £/sses from a female mouth,\nAnd sounds as if it should be writ on satin,\nWith syllables which breathe of the sweet South,\nAnd gentle liquids gliding all so pat in\nThat not a single accent seems uncouth,\nLike our harsh northern whistling, grunting, guttural,\nWhich we9 re obliged to hiss, and spit, and sputter all,\nHow Byron would have delighted in the development\nand extension of \" Acca \"; what dialogues he and its in-\nventor would have improvised ; and who knows that he\nwould not, had he not set out on his last journey a hun-\ndred years too soon, have given us some powerful drama\nin M Acca \", the new language for the stage !\nRoma"}]}, {"article_id": "bm-bmtnaau-1924-04-01-c038", "article_bluemountain": "bmtnaau_1924-04_01#c038", "volume": "bmtnaau_1924-04_01", "ocr_source": "OCR Blue Mountain (ALTO), transcription TEI : lignes lb/@facs", "texte_sans_correction": true, "page_debut": "88", "page_fin": "93", "image_debut": 48, "image_fin": 53, "pages_selon": "pagination imprimée relevée dans le METS Blue Mountain (ORDERLABEL) ; [n] = page sans folio restituée", "url_article": "https://bluemountain.princeton.edu/bluemtn/?a=d&d=bmtnaau192404-01.2.17", "titre_corps": "BOOK REVIEWS", "titre_sommaire": "BOOK REVIEWS", "signature_source": "", "controle": "bornes données par la structure logique METS/ALTO de Blue Mountain (blocs ALTO de chaque constituant)", "pages": [{"page_pdf": 48, "page_imprimee": "88", "url_page": "https://bluemountain.princeton.edu/bluemtn/?a=d&d=bmtnaau192404-01.1.48", "debut_caractere": 0, "fin_caractere_exclue": 6336, "texte": "BOOK REVIEWS.\n\nSIX BOOKS IN A SECOND\nCLASS COMPARTMENT,\nby François M. Florian.\n\nBeing fond of travelling ever since I\nwas a boy, I find I have actually\nbecome a traveller — that and nothing\nelse. Not in any very serious sense\nam I travelling; no one, to look at\nme, would take me for one of the\nLivingstones or the Cooks : but in the\nway of small trips I like to consider\nmyself to be one of the great travel-\nlers. Yet even there Iam not, I fear,\nquite genuine. I don't travel in any-\nthing. I mean that when I emerge\nfrom a station into a city, I am not\nseen to be carrying two sample bags\nof lace, stationary or scientific pearls.\nNeither a serious nor a genuine tra-\nveller, I am more like that lost tra-\nveller under the hill, and what I write\nof is but my dream.\nAnd like one who dreams I pass\nfrom one subject to another ; to be wri-\nting in the morning for 44 Le Soir \" of\na land where not a street is straight,\nwhere nothing is born but to bend,\nand to be writing ten hours later for\n4 Das Morgenstund \", of a land where\nall is flat and angular, is all in the day's\nwork for me. Being a traveller Iam\ndestined always to pass swiftly from\none extreme in nature to the other.\nInto sunshine, into mist and fog, up\ninto cold and down into damp and\nheat. I have grown to await all these\nflat contradictions of nature with equa-\nnimity; dare I confess I even love them\nand travel just to observe them.\nBut bpoks are my theme today, not\ntravels, and unfortunately time will not\nallow me to wait till I reach Brussels\nto unpack, have my bath, my dinner,\nmy stroll, and then settle down to write\nof the six\" books I undertook to review,\npromising the copy by February 24th.\nToday is Wednesday the 20th. Unless\n1 post these pages before eight this\nevening they will not be delivered for\ncertain, by eight o'clock Sunday morn-\ning. So there is nothing for it but\nto write here and now.\nI have read five of the six books,\nand now 1 see them all together in front\nof me.\nWhen last week in Milano I called\non my friend Commendatore Grimpuz-\nzone I was shown straight into his\nstudy. He was writing at his table\nand around him some thirty-six shelves\nof books all on the Risorgimento. The\nsubject does not interest me ; but, spite\nof this, I felt the seriousness of each\nbook and of the immense collection:\nwhereas on leaving Grimpuzzone's house\nI went into a little library in the Via\ndeirAnfiteatro and as suddenly went\nout again, so funny seemed its tumbled\ntogether crowd of volumes.\nLost travellers' dreams indeed.\nI mention these two experiences of\nmine of this single morning, to illustrate\nwhat 1 would put down as a theory ;\nwhich is, that when books are not all\nof one race, one blood, united in one\nexistence, making for one one\nOccident, they are apt all of them to\nbe a little comic.\nThey become odds and ends; they\nare indifferent one to another ; they\nsplit up; they are funny.\nI recall once having seen in Exeter\ntwo volumes of Henry Crabbe Robin-\nson's Diary flanked by Noverre's Trea-\ntise on the Dance and by Gilbert's\nBab Ballads. At the time I did not\nknow why it was that I felt so de-\npressed.... why I became serious and\nsaw nothing, looked no more at the\nshelves, but went out and walked\nround the Cathedral and, still out of\nsorts, had gone here and there and at\nlast taken a train up to London\nand then on to Dover, when I crossed\nover to Calais, staying four days (a long\ntime for me to stay anywhere) in that\nexcellent town enjoying my stay im-\nmensely.\nBut now I know that it was the fun-\nniness of the position of those three\nbooks which did it.\nNo book is exactly funny in 'itself,\nby itself, or among its friends. But\nunless it be in its right place it is\nstrange how it loses its worth. This\ncan be said of nearly all books: only\na few stand apart anywhere, hold their\nown, and are perfect, owing to their\nperfect style.\nThe six books which I have to write\nof have a very unfair chance. I selec-\nted them at random when I left Flo-\nrence and now here they are in a\nsecond class compartment.\nQ In a second class compartment of\na train we generally find a mixed lot\nof people; one who came early to\nthe terminus and took his corner facing\nthe engine may be a distinguished being:\na sleepy fellow is in another corner;\nhe too came for his place early: two\ncommonplace travellers are in the other\ncorners; a vivacious lady, may be, who\ncame late is in the centre, and a dan-\ngerous-looking customer who entered\nat the first stop is seated where once\nI sat.\nAnd so it is with these six books.\nLet me give their names and other facts\nabout them.\n1. Casanova in England. (Bleackley).\nJohn Lane.\n2. Ada. (Helen Granville Barker).\nChatto & IVindus.\n3. Antic Hay. (Aldous Huxley).\nChatto & IVindus.\n4. Forty Years in my Bookshop.\n(Spencer). Constable.\n5. More Prejudice. (A. B. Walkley).\nHeinemann.\n6. Mah-Jong. (Etienne). Methuen.\nWhat to make of them all together?\nLet us look at the facts.\nNo. 1 costs 15/—, weighs I lb : (a)\nhas 284 pages; is in blue cloth.\nNo. 2 costs 7/6, weighs 10 oz., has\n394 pages; also in blue ; charming to\nlook at.\nNo. 3 costs 7/6 net, weighs A/2 a lb.\nhas 328 pages; in yellow cloth and\nlabelled.\nNo. 4 costs 21/—, weighs 106. 12\noz; a little heavy ; has 284 pages; is\nin brown buckram.\nNo. 5 costs 7/6 ; weighs 12 oz.; has\n255 pages; and is in brown cloth:\nelegant.\nNo. 6 costs only 3/6, weighs only 4\noz., has only 55 pages, and is in a\npretty decorated white cover.\nThese six sit in the six places of the\ncompartment. I have gone out into\nthe corridor to make room : — No. 3,\nMr Huxley, leaped in so suddenly and\nlooked rather distracted, rather unlike\nhimself, so I thought I would give place.\nFrom the corridor I observe my six\nfellow travellers. Before long I see\nthat there is a tendency on the part of\nall these excellent people to enter into\nsome sort of friendly intercourse.\nIt is of course Mrs Barker who\nbreaks the ice. 44 Turning her head\nslightly she managed a stealthy peep\nout of the corner of her eyes, at a fat\nface, almost as profileless as a rag\ndoll's, and a mottled hand with a blue\nseal ring on it — This was as she\nsaw No. 4 on the seat facing her. For\nmy part I cannot say I saw any such\nman. Number 4, Mr Spencer, is not\nthin and his brown buckram suit does\n\n(a) The sorter in the Post Office com-\npartment of the train weighed them for\nme, and so I am exact."}, {"page_pdf": 49, "page_imprimee": "89", "url_page": "https://bluemountain.princeton.edu/bluemtn/?a=d&d=bmtnaau192404-01.1.49", "debut_caractere": 0, "fin_caractere_exclue": 6649, "texte": "not make him appear any thinner; but\nthe picture I have of him is of a man\nwho could not possibly have sat forty\nyears in any bookshop, but who rather\nsat all those years astride a fine roan\nhunter in the field. The genial portrait\nin his book is very like him.\nAnd indeed so genial, so gallant\nwas he at this very moment that, taking\nMrs Barker's ice-breaking wireless to\nbe anything but what it was, (for she\ndid not speak aloud), he graciously\npassed her a rare copy of \" Travels\nwith a Donkey \" in which was a\ndrawing by Walter Crane, and drew\nattention to the signature.\nThis was indeed a rarity. R. L. S's\nbook 1 knew, and that Crane had made\na drawing for it; ....but to see the\noriginal! I I\nEveryone looked with that unconcer-\nned air which begins to bespeak dawn in\na railway carriage—although the genia-\nlity of Mr Spencer was in mid-heaven\nand shedding beams all around him. And\nNo. 5, (Walkley) who was peeping\nin a distinguished way over No. 4's\nshoulder and wondering at the pre-\nciousness of the volume, said that to\nthink that Walter Crane had illustrated\nStevenson absolutely 44 floored \" him.\nI never had such a shock in my\nlife, That this gentleman, immaculate-\nly dressed in brown cloth (though\ndressed almost from the very pattern\nbook of Mr Max Beerbohm), as dis-\ntinguished in appearance as in man-\nner, should suddenly descend to slang,\nand, to make matters worse, to indi-\ncate by two flicks of his forefinger in\nthe air that he was adding inverted\ncommas, was a \" staggerer \" to me.\nI thought to myself, what will be-\ncome of the King's English if this\nsort of thing goes on.... and I then\nrecalled how the Fowlers, those two\nnurses of that same English, had some\nyears ago given six examples of just\nsuch slips as the gentleman had but\nnow made :—\" For all it was worth\n\" peters out \" bounder \" steep \"\n\" bang in the eye gets \" the boot\nthese were the six examples; and they\nhad added these awful words; \" the\neffect of using quotation marks with\nslang is merely to convert a mental\ninto a moral weakness \" (b),\nBut as I looked at the fine little\nhead in front of me (I refer to No. 5)\nI could not allow it capable of any\nmoral weakness.\nMr Walkley had no sooner uttered\nthis word \" floored \" than all the au-\nthors in this compartment were put en-\ntirely at their ease—all but one. This\none, No. 3, Mr Huxley, sat stiff and\nforbidding and critical, mixing a me-\ntaphor with which I could see he\nwas soon about to floor Mr Walkley.\nAnd then everyone began to talk :\nat least almost everyone; for little\nMiss Etienne in the corner, prim, an-\ngular and delightful, said nothing the\nwhole journey.\nThe cackle went on; slang whirled,\nmore slang whirled after it, and no-\nthing of any importance was said, and\nno one seemed to be anyone, until\nthere was left but one man speaking,\nand everyone else at attention: even\nHuxley warmed, beamed, chuckled....\nthe mariner hath his will.\nOr rather No. I, Chevalier de Sein-\ngalt, native of Venice, son of strolling\nplayers, GiacOmo Casanova, has the\nboard. And until we arrived at Brus-\nsels he held it, and held everyone,\nspellbound.\nWas he a writer ?, who knows;\nwas he inventing or telling historical\ntruths ?, who cares ? Where were we ?\nI was where I wanted to be, here,\nthere and everywhere following the\nChevalier.\nFor Casanova was just such a tra-\nveller in the imagination as I am in a\ntrain. He told of Venice, of Paris,\nof London, and of Spain, of Germany\nof everywhere.\nHe said he had done what most\nhave done and what others have fail-\ned to do; that he had been in love\nor been loved he never said, but he\ntold of amours. And everyone in the\ncarriage agreed that they would like\nto have been the Chevalier.... or Pau-\nline, because the Chevalier when he\ntold of these things told them like a\nVenetian. Of course no names, no\nreal names, and three quarters of the\nstory invention; but leave the Cheva-\nlier to know his audience.\nIt sat, as I say, spell-bound: spite\nof an immense capacity to answer back,\nnot & soul said a word. Were they\nsomehow carried off their feet? Well,\nit was amazing talk; \" but \" said\nWalkley as he got out at the end of\nthe journey, \" whether it would * print'\nis quite another * kettle of fish * \".\n\n(b)\\The King* s\\English : Oxford: Cla-\nrendon Press: 1908. (abridged edition),\n-Page 37.\n\nF. M. F.\n\nTHE TRAGED Y OF MR PUNCH:\nA Fantastic Play in Prologue and one\nAct by Russell Thorndike and Reginald\nArkdl. (Duckworth & Co.) 15/-.\nBUT that is not all : it has a num-\nber of highly finished colour plates,\nreproductions of drawings by Mr Arthur\nWatts.\nAnd more: it has an introductory\nessay by Mr. Max Beerbohm as wise\nand as well writ as every other essay\nby the same pen.\nAnd it seems that the Tragedy has\nbeen played by grown-ups, live actors.\nI hear it was a great success and that\nthere are hopes that it will be revived.\nFor my part I like Punch to remain\nwhat he always was; a wooden head,\na puppet in a booth. Punch in flesh-\nings does not convince me,\n\nTHE GOOD FAIRY.\nTHE LONDON REVIEW: A Mo-\nral Pantomime, by\\F. J. Harvey\nDarton. Designed by Albert Ruther~\nston. (Wells Gardner Darton & Co.\nLtd,) 2/-.\nEVERYBODY'S THEATRE by\nH. W. Whanslaw. (Wells Gardner\nDarton & Co. Ltd.) 5/-.\nTHREE small volumes: two plays\nand one of directions. The\nfirst two volumes are playful, the third\nis serious.\nCan one be serious about such a\nthing as a Toy Theatre ?\nTo judge from these three examples\nit is the serious book which conspires\nto help me when I want some fun ;\nwhereas the two playful volumes de-\nfeat me.\nThe serious directions in \" Every-\nbody's Theatre \" as to how to make\na real room, how to make a stencil\nknife to help make the room, how to\nuse a screw-driver and the rest are\nall delightful. Because these are things\none really doesn't know.\nAnd in telling us Mr Whanslaw\nnever gets jocular. He keeps grave\nand intent on his task and he takes\nyou on with him—at the end he tells\nyou there \"*is no finish \" for to reach\nthe end of the toy theatre means to\nreach the beginning of the larger, the\nreal theatre.\nAltogether is Mr Whanslaw free\nfrom playing with the theatre. And I\nlike his book because of that.\nHis designs are able and useful,\nnot so charming as are Mr Ruther-\nEton's, which are delightful fantasies.\nMr Edward Shanks, in a very able\nintroduction to Mr Whanslaw's book,\nmakes a very sound reference to \" The\nTempest\" and I hope that he will\nwrite the supplement which he tells us\n(to my regret) he just avoided in time.\nFor the other two volumes by Mr\nDarton I have nothing but praise,\nespecially for the gorgeous big plates\nby Mr Rutherston. They are perfectly\ndelightful; graceful and pretty pieces of\ndecoration."}, {"page_pdf": 50, "page_imprimee": "90", "url_page": "https://bluemountain.princeton.edu/bluemtn/?a=d&d=bmtnaau192404-01.1.50", "debut_caractere": 0, "fin_caractere_exclue": 155, "texte": "EIGHT REVIEWS.\nTHE FOLLOWING EIGHT REVIEWS\nARE OF PLAYS BY POETS & PLAY-\nWRIGHTS REFERRED TO IN THE\nARTICLE \" PLAYS OLD AND NEW \"\n& ARE BY THE SAME AUTHOR."}]}, {"article_id": "bm-bmtnaau-1924-04-01-c040", "article_bluemountain": "bmtnaau_1924-04_01#c040", "volume": "bmtnaau_1924-04_01", "ocr_source": "OCR Blue Mountain (ALTO), transcription TEI : lignes lb/@facs", "texte_sans_correction": true, "page_debut": "88", "page_fin": "89", "image_debut": 48, "image_fin": 49, "pages_selon": "pagination imprimée relevée dans le METS Blue Mountain (ORDERLABEL) ; [n] = page sans folio restituée", "url_article": "https://bluemountain.princeton.edu/bluemtn/?a=d&d=bmtnaau192404-01.2.17.2", "titre_corps": "SIX BOOKS IN A SECOND CLASS COMPARTMENT, by François M. Florian", "titre_sommaire": "SIX BOOKS IN A SECOND CLASS COMPARTMENT, by François M. Florian", "signature_source": "F. M. F", "controle": "bornes données par la structure logique METS/ALTO de Blue Mountain (blocs ALTO de chaque constituant)", "pages": [{"page_pdf": 48, "page_imprimee": "88", "url_page": "https://bluemountain.princeton.edu/bluemtn/?a=d&d=bmtnaau192404-01.1.48", "debut_caractere": 15, "fin_caractere_exclue": 6336, "texte": "SIX BOOKS IN A SECOND\nCLASS COMPARTMENT,\nby François M. Florian.\n\nBeing fond of travelling ever since I\nwas a boy, I find I have actually\nbecome a traveller — that and nothing\nelse. Not in any very serious sense\nam I travelling; no one, to look at\nme, would take me for one of the\nLivingstones or the Cooks : but in the\nway of small trips I like to consider\nmyself to be one of the great travel-\nlers. Yet even there Iam not, I fear,\nquite genuine. I don't travel in any-\nthing. I mean that when I emerge\nfrom a station into a city, I am not\nseen to be carrying two sample bags\nof lace, stationary or scientific pearls.\nNeither a serious nor a genuine tra-\nveller, I am more like that lost tra-\nveller under the hill, and what I write\nof is but my dream.\nAnd like one who dreams I pass\nfrom one subject to another ; to be wri-\nting in the morning for 44 Le Soir \" of\na land where not a street is straight,\nwhere nothing is born but to bend,\nand to be writing ten hours later for\n4 Das Morgenstund \", of a land where\nall is flat and angular, is all in the day's\nwork for me. Being a traveller Iam\ndestined always to pass swiftly from\none extreme in nature to the other.\nInto sunshine, into mist and fog, up\ninto cold and down into damp and\nheat. I have grown to await all these\nflat contradictions of nature with equa-\nnimity; dare I confess I even love them\nand travel just to observe them.\nBut bpoks are my theme today, not\ntravels, and unfortunately time will not\nallow me to wait till I reach Brussels\nto unpack, have my bath, my dinner,\nmy stroll, and then settle down to write\nof the six\" books I undertook to review,\npromising the copy by February 24th.\nToday is Wednesday the 20th. Unless\n1 post these pages before eight this\nevening they will not be delivered for\ncertain, by eight o'clock Sunday morn-\ning. So there is nothing for it but\nto write here and now.\nI have read five of the six books,\nand now 1 see them all together in front\nof me.\nWhen last week in Milano I called\non my friend Commendatore Grimpuz-\nzone I was shown straight into his\nstudy. He was writing at his table\nand around him some thirty-six shelves\nof books all on the Risorgimento. The\nsubject does not interest me ; but, spite\nof this, I felt the seriousness of each\nbook and of the immense collection:\nwhereas on leaving Grimpuzzone's house\nI went into a little library in the Via\ndeirAnfiteatro and as suddenly went\nout again, so funny seemed its tumbled\ntogether crowd of volumes.\nLost travellers' dreams indeed.\nI mention these two experiences of\nmine of this single morning, to illustrate\nwhat 1 would put down as a theory ;\nwhich is, that when books are not all\nof one race, one blood, united in one\nexistence, making for one one\nOccident, they are apt all of them to\nbe a little comic.\nThey become odds and ends; they\nare indifferent one to another ; they\nsplit up; they are funny.\nI recall once having seen in Exeter\ntwo volumes of Henry Crabbe Robin-\nson's Diary flanked by Noverre's Trea-\ntise on the Dance and by Gilbert's\nBab Ballads. At the time I did not\nknow why it was that I felt so de-\npressed.... why I became serious and\nsaw nothing, looked no more at the\nshelves, but went out and walked\nround the Cathedral and, still out of\nsorts, had gone here and there and at\nlast taken a train up to London\nand then on to Dover, when I crossed\nover to Calais, staying four days (a long\ntime for me to stay anywhere) in that\nexcellent town enjoying my stay im-\nmensely.\nBut now I know that it was the fun-\nniness of the position of those three\nbooks which did it.\nNo book is exactly funny in 'itself,\nby itself, or among its friends. But\nunless it be in its right place it is\nstrange how it loses its worth. This\ncan be said of nearly all books: only\na few stand apart anywhere, hold their\nown, and are perfect, owing to their\nperfect style.\nThe six books which I have to write\nof have a very unfair chance. I selec-\nted them at random when I left Flo-\nrence and now here they are in a\nsecond class compartment.\nQ In a second class compartment of\na train we generally find a mixed lot\nof people; one who came early to\nthe terminus and took his corner facing\nthe engine may be a distinguished being:\na sleepy fellow is in another corner;\nhe too came for his place early: two\ncommonplace travellers are in the other\ncorners; a vivacious lady, may be, who\ncame late is in the centre, and a dan-\ngerous-looking customer who entered\nat the first stop is seated where once\nI sat.\nAnd so it is with these six books.\nLet me give their names and other facts\nabout them.\n1. Casanova in England. (Bleackley).\nJohn Lane.\n2. Ada. (Helen Granville Barker).\nChatto & IVindus.\n3. Antic Hay. (Aldous Huxley).\nChatto & IVindus.\n4. Forty Years in my Bookshop.\n(Spencer). Constable.\n5. More Prejudice. (A. B. Walkley).\nHeinemann.\n6. Mah-Jong. (Etienne). Methuen.\nWhat to make of them all together?\nLet us look at the facts.\nNo. 1 costs 15/—, weighs I lb : (a)\nhas 284 pages; is in blue cloth.\nNo. 2 costs 7/6, weighs 10 oz., has\n394 pages; also in blue ; charming to\nlook at.\nNo. 3 costs 7/6 net, weighs A/2 a lb.\nhas 328 pages; in yellow cloth and\nlabelled.\nNo. 4 costs 21/—, weighs 106. 12\noz; a little heavy ; has 284 pages; is\nin brown buckram.\nNo. 5 costs 7/6 ; weighs 12 oz.; has\n255 pages; and is in brown cloth:\nelegant.\nNo. 6 costs only 3/6, weighs only 4\noz., has only 55 pages, and is in a\npretty decorated white cover.\nThese six sit in the six places of the\ncompartment. I have gone out into\nthe corridor to make room : — No. 3,\nMr Huxley, leaped in so suddenly and\nlooked rather distracted, rather unlike\nhimself, so I thought I would give place.\nFrom the corridor I observe my six\nfellow travellers. Before long I see\nthat there is a tendency on the part of\nall these excellent people to enter into\nsome sort of friendly intercourse.\nIt is of course Mrs Barker who\nbreaks the ice. 44 Turning her head\nslightly she managed a stealthy peep\nout of the corner of her eyes, at a fat\nface, almost as profileless as a rag\ndoll's, and a mottled hand with a blue\nseal ring on it — This was as she\nsaw No. 4 on the seat facing her. For\nmy part I cannot say I saw any such\nman. Number 4, Mr Spencer, is not\nthin and his brown buckram suit does\n\n(a) The sorter in the Post Office com-\npartment of the train weighed them for\nme, and so I am exact."}, {"page_pdf": 49, "page_imprimee": "89", "url_page": "https://bluemountain.princeton.edu/bluemtn/?a=d&d=bmtnaau192404-01.1.49", "debut_caractere": 0, "fin_caractere_exclue": 4305, "texte": "not make him appear any thinner; but\nthe picture I have of him is of a man\nwho could not possibly have sat forty\nyears in any bookshop, but who rather\nsat all those years astride a fine roan\nhunter in the field. The genial portrait\nin his book is very like him.\nAnd indeed so genial, so gallant\nwas he at this very moment that, taking\nMrs Barker's ice-breaking wireless to\nbe anything but what it was, (for she\ndid not speak aloud), he graciously\npassed her a rare copy of \" Travels\nwith a Donkey \" in which was a\ndrawing by Walter Crane, and drew\nattention to the signature.\nThis was indeed a rarity. R. L. S's\nbook 1 knew, and that Crane had made\na drawing for it; ....but to see the\noriginal! I I\nEveryone looked with that unconcer-\nned air which begins to bespeak dawn in\na railway carriage—although the genia-\nlity of Mr Spencer was in mid-heaven\nand shedding beams all around him. And\nNo. 5, (Walkley) who was peeping\nin a distinguished way over No. 4's\nshoulder and wondering at the pre-\nciousness of the volume, said that to\nthink that Walter Crane had illustrated\nStevenson absolutely 44 floored \" him.\nI never had such a shock in my\nlife, That this gentleman, immaculate-\nly dressed in brown cloth (though\ndressed almost from the very pattern\nbook of Mr Max Beerbohm), as dis-\ntinguished in appearance as in man-\nner, should suddenly descend to slang,\nand, to make matters worse, to indi-\ncate by two flicks of his forefinger in\nthe air that he was adding inverted\ncommas, was a \" staggerer \" to me.\nI thought to myself, what will be-\ncome of the King's English if this\nsort of thing goes on.... and I then\nrecalled how the Fowlers, those two\nnurses of that same English, had some\nyears ago given six examples of just\nsuch slips as the gentleman had but\nnow made :—\" For all it was worth\n\" peters out \" bounder \" steep \"\n\" bang in the eye gets \" the boot\nthese were the six examples; and they\nhad added these awful words; \" the\neffect of using quotation marks with\nslang is merely to convert a mental\ninto a moral weakness \" (b),\nBut as I looked at the fine little\nhead in front of me (I refer to No. 5)\nI could not allow it capable of any\nmoral weakness.\nMr Walkley had no sooner uttered\nthis word \" floored \" than all the au-\nthors in this compartment were put en-\ntirely at their ease—all but one. This\none, No. 3, Mr Huxley, sat stiff and\nforbidding and critical, mixing a me-\ntaphor with which I could see he\nwas soon about to floor Mr Walkley.\nAnd then everyone began to talk :\nat least almost everyone; for little\nMiss Etienne in the corner, prim, an-\ngular and delightful, said nothing the\nwhole journey.\nThe cackle went on; slang whirled,\nmore slang whirled after it, and no-\nthing of any importance was said, and\nno one seemed to be anyone, until\nthere was left but one man speaking,\nand everyone else at attention: even\nHuxley warmed, beamed, chuckled....\nthe mariner hath his will.\nOr rather No. I, Chevalier de Sein-\ngalt, native of Venice, son of strolling\nplayers, GiacOmo Casanova, has the\nboard. And until we arrived at Brus-\nsels he held it, and held everyone,\nspellbound.\nWas he a writer ?, who knows;\nwas he inventing or telling historical\ntruths ?, who cares ? Where were we ?\nI was where I wanted to be, here,\nthere and everywhere following the\nChevalier.\nFor Casanova was just such a tra-\nveller in the imagination as I am in a\ntrain. He told of Venice, of Paris,\nof London, and of Spain, of Germany\nof everywhere.\nHe said he had done what most\nhave done and what others have fail-\ned to do; that he had been in love\nor been loved he never said, but he\ntold of amours. And everyone in the\ncarriage agreed that they would like\nto have been the Chevalier.... or Pau-\nline, because the Chevalier when he\ntold of these things told them like a\nVenetian. Of course no names, no\nreal names, and three quarters of the\nstory invention; but leave the Cheva-\nlier to know his audience.\nIt sat, as I say, spell-bound: spite\nof an immense capacity to answer back,\nnot & soul said a word. Were they\nsomehow carried off their feet? Well,\nit was amazing talk; \" but \" said\nWalkley as he got out at the end of\nthe journey, \" whether it would * print'\nis quite another * kettle of fish * \".\n\n(b)\\The King* s\\English : Oxford: Cla-\nrendon Press: 1908. (abridged edition),\n-Page 37.\n\nF. M. F."}]}, {"article_id": "bm-bmtnaau-1924-04-01-c041", "article_bluemountain": "bmtnaau_1924-04_01#c041", "volume": "bmtnaau_1924-04_01", "ocr_source": "OCR Blue Mountain (ALTO), transcription TEI : lignes lb/@facs", "texte_sans_correction": true, "page_debut": "89", "page_fin": "89", "image_debut": 49, "image_fin": 49, "pages_selon": "pagination imprimée relevée dans le METS Blue Mountain (ORDERLABEL) ; [n] = page sans folio restituée", "url_article": "https://bluemountain.princeton.edu/bluemtn/?a=d&d=bmtnaau192404-01.2.17.3", "titre_corps": "THE TRAGEDY OF MR PUNCH by Russell Thorndike", "titre_sommaire": "THE TRAGEDY OF MR PUNCH by Russell Thorndike", "signature_source": "", "controle": "bornes données par la structure logique METS/ALTO de Blue Mountain (blocs ALTO de chaque constituant)", "pages": [{"page_pdf": 49, "page_imprimee": "89", "url_page": "https://bluemountain.princeton.edu/bluemtn/?a=d&d=bmtnaau192404-01.1.49", "debut_caractere": 4307, "fin_caractere_exclue": 4967, "texte": "THE TRAGED Y OF MR PUNCH:\nA Fantastic Play in Prologue and one\nAct by Russell Thorndike and Reginald\nArkdl. (Duckworth & Co.) 15/-.\nBUT that is not all : it has a num-\nber of highly finished colour plates,\nreproductions of drawings by Mr Arthur\nWatts.\nAnd more: it has an introductory\nessay by Mr. Max Beerbohm as wise\nand as well writ as every other essay\nby the same pen.\nAnd it seems that the Tragedy has\nbeen played by grown-ups, live actors.\nI hear it was a great success and that\nthere are hopes that it will be revived.\nFor my part I like Punch to remain\nwhat he always was; a wooden head,\na puppet in a booth. Punch in flesh-\nings does not convince me,"}]}, {"article_id": "bm-bmtnaau-1924-04-01-c042", "article_bluemountain": "bmtnaau_1924-04_01#c042", "volume": "bmtnaau_1924-04_01", "ocr_source": "OCR Blue Mountain (ALTO), transcription TEI : lignes lb/@facs", "texte_sans_correction": true, "page_debut": "89", "page_fin": "89", "image_debut": 49, "image_fin": 49, "pages_selon": "pagination imprimée relevée dans le METS Blue Mountain (ORDERLABEL) ; [n] = page sans folio restituée", "url_article": "https://bluemountain.princeton.edu/bluemtn/?a=d&d=bmtnaau192404-01.2.17.4", "titre_corps": "THE GOOD FAIRY by F.J. Harvey Darton", "titre_sommaire": "THE GOOD FAIRY by F.J. Harvey Darton", "signature_source": "", "controle": "bornes données par la structure logique METS/ALTO de Blue Mountain (blocs ALTO de chaque constituant)", "pages": [{"page_pdf": 49, "page_imprimee": "89", "url_page": "https://bluemountain.princeton.edu/bluemtn/?a=d&d=bmtnaau192404-01.1.49", "debut_caractere": 4969, "fin_caractere_exclue": 6649, "texte": "THE GOOD FAIRY.\nTHE LONDON REVIEW: A Mo-\nral Pantomime, by\\F. J. Harvey\nDarton. Designed by Albert Ruther~\nston. (Wells Gardner Darton & Co.\nLtd,) 2/-.\nEVERYBODY'S THEATRE by\nH. W. Whanslaw. (Wells Gardner\nDarton & Co. Ltd.) 5/-.\nTHREE small volumes: two plays\nand one of directions. The\nfirst two volumes are playful, the third\nis serious.\nCan one be serious about such a\nthing as a Toy Theatre ?\nTo judge from these three examples\nit is the serious book which conspires\nto help me when I want some fun ;\nwhereas the two playful volumes de-\nfeat me.\nThe serious directions in \" Every-\nbody's Theatre \" as to how to make\na real room, how to make a stencil\nknife to help make the room, how to\nuse a screw-driver and the rest are\nall delightful. Because these are things\none really doesn't know.\nAnd in telling us Mr Whanslaw\nnever gets jocular. He keeps grave\nand intent on his task and he takes\nyou on with him—at the end he tells\nyou there \"*is no finish \" for to reach\nthe end of the toy theatre means to\nreach the beginning of the larger, the\nreal theatre.\nAltogether is Mr Whanslaw free\nfrom playing with the theatre. And I\nlike his book because of that.\nHis designs are able and useful,\nnot so charming as are Mr Ruther-\nEton's, which are delightful fantasies.\nMr Edward Shanks, in a very able\nintroduction to Mr Whanslaw's book,\nmakes a very sound reference to \" The\nTempest\" and I hope that he will\nwrite the supplement which he tells us\n(to my regret) he just avoided in time.\nFor the other two volumes by Mr\nDarton I have nothing but praise,\nespecially for the gorgeous big plates\nby Mr Rutherston. They are perfectly\ndelightful; graceful and pretty pieces of\ndecoration."}]}, {"article_id": "bm-bmtnaau-1924-04-01-c043", "article_bluemountain": "bmtnaau_1924-04_01#c043", "volume": "bmtnaau_1924-04_01", "ocr_source": "OCR Blue Mountain (ALTO), transcription TEI : lignes lb/@facs", "texte_sans_correction": true, "page_debut": "90", "page_fin": "93", "image_debut": 50, "image_fin": 53, "pages_selon": "pagination imprimée relevée dans le METS Blue Mountain (ORDERLABEL) ; [n] = page sans folio restituée", "url_article": "https://bluemountain.princeton.edu/bluemtn/?a=d&d=bmtnaau192404-01.2.17.5", "titre_corps": "EIGHT REVIEWS. THE FOLLOWING EIGHT REVIEWS ARE OF PLAYS BY POETS & PLAYWRIGHTS REFERRED TO IN THE ARTICLE \" PLAYS OLD AND NEW \" & ARE BY THE SAME AUTHOR", "titre_sommaire": "EIGHT REVIEWS. THE FOLLOWING EIGHT REVIEWS ARE OF PLAYS BY POETS & PLAYWRIGHTS REFERRED TO IN THE ARTICLE \" PLAYS OLD AND NEW \" & ARE BY THE SAME AUTHOR", "signature_source": "", "controle": "bornes données par la structure logique METS/ALTO de Blue Mountain (blocs ALTO de chaque constituant)", "pages": [{"page_pdf": 50, "page_imprimee": "90", "url_page": "https://bluemountain.princeton.edu/bluemtn/?a=d&d=bmtnaau192404-01.1.50", "debut_caractere": 0, "fin_caractere_exclue": 155, "texte": "EIGHT REVIEWS.\nTHE FOLLOWING EIGHT REVIEWS\nARE OF PLAYS BY POETS & PLAY-\nWRIGHTS REFERRED TO IN THE\nARTICLE \" PLAYS OLD AND NEW \"\n& ARE BY THE SAME AUTHOR."}]}, {"article_id": "bm-bmtnaau-1924-04-01-c044", "article_bluemountain": "bmtnaau_1924-04_01#c044", "volume": "bmtnaau_1924-04_01", "ocr_source": "OCR Blue Mountain (ALTO), transcription TEI : lignes lb/@facs", "texte_sans_correction": true, "page_debut": "90", "page_fin": "90", "image_debut": 50, "image_fin": 50, "pages_selon": "pagination imprimée relevée dans le METS Blue Mountain (ORDERLABEL) ; [n] = page sans folio restituée", "url_article": "https://bluemountain.princeton.edu/bluemtn/?a=d&d=bmtnaau192404-01.2.17.5.1", "titre_corps": "PLAYS AND CONTROVERSIES by W.B. Yeats", "titre_sommaire": "PLAYS AND CONTROVERSIES by W.B. Yeats", "signature_source": "", "controle": "bornes données par la structure logique METS/ALTO de Blue Mountain (blocs ALTO de chaque constituant)", "pages": [{"page_pdf": 50, "page_imprimee": "90", "url_page": "https://bluemountain.princeton.edu/bluemtn/?a=d&d=bmtnaau192404-01.1.50", "debut_caractere": 157, "fin_caractere_exclue": 994, "texte": "PLAYS AND CONTROVER-\nSIES by W. B. Yeats. (Macmillan),\n/ 923, 10/6.\nTHE MASK has never been able\nproperly to write of Mr Yeats\nand his Dramas although it has often\ntried to express a firm admiration of\nhis genius.\nIn this new edition of his plays are\nsix plays, and all of them good, with\n218 pages about the Irish Dramatic\nMovement.\nI cannot pretend to admire Mr Yeats\nwhen he assumes the virtue of know-\ning all about the Theatre, for he is\nno better a dramatic poet for his little\nstage theories. If he only could laugh\nheartily at himself when he has put\nforth some trifling.... (and often incor-\nrect).... statement about the playhouse\nand its people. His power over ma-\ngical words no one can be slow to\nacknowledge.\nThis poet has suffered in having\nbeen born in a century when we had\nno Theatre to put at the service of\nthe poets."}]}, {"article_id": "bm-bmtnaau-1924-04-01-c045", "article_bluemountain": "bmtnaau_1924-04_01#c045", "volume": "bmtnaau_1924-04_01", "ocr_source": "OCR Blue Mountain (ALTO), transcription TEI : lignes lb/@facs", "texte_sans_correction": true, "page_debut": "90", "page_fin": "90", "image_debut": 50, "image_fin": 50, "pages_selon": "pagination imprimée relevée dans le METS Blue Mountain (ORDERLABEL) ; [n] = page sans folio restituée", "url_article": "https://bluemountain.princeton.edu/bluemtn/?a=d&d=bmtnaau192404-01.2.17.5.2", "titre_corps": "MELLONEY HOLTSPUR by John Masefield", "titre_sommaire": "MELLONEY HOLTSPUR by John Masefield", "signature_source": "", "controle": "bornes données par la structure logique METS/ALTO de Blue Mountain (blocs ALTO de chaque constituant)", "pages": [{"page_pdf": 50, "page_imprimee": "90", "url_page": "https://bluemountain.princeton.edu/bluemtn/?a=d&d=bmtnaau192404-01.1.50", "debut_caractere": 996, "fin_caractere_exclue": 1926, "texte": "MELLONEY HOLTSPUR\nby John Masefield (Heinemann),\n1922. 6/-\ni\nTHE obvious happened to this fine\nplay. It was put on to the stage\nin a manner which made it necessary\nto take it off again.\nThis in no way proves that it is\nnot dramatic. To hurriedly push on\nto the stage a noble and difficult play\nwithout the most searching preparation\nfor it is treating it worse than refusing\nto produce it at all.\nHow clear it becomes with every\nsuch false experiment that there is\nanother way to bring such plays and\nsuch dramatic poets into our Theatre.\n4 What way ? ' you ask.\nBut you know before you ask it.\nMasefield's 4 Pompey ' is a play\nworth putting on at least fifteen to\ntwenty nights each year: why is it\nnot done ?\nStill, let us pray that no one put\nit on if the present way of putting on\nfine plays in London is to remain the\nstandard.\nFirst let our standard be raised ;—\nthat means untold labour:—after that\n4 Pompey * and the rest."}]}, {"article_id": "bm-bmtnaau-1924-04-01-c046", "article_bluemountain": "bmtnaau_1924-04_01#c046", "volume": "bmtnaau_1924-04_01", "ocr_source": "OCR Blue Mountain (ALTO), transcription TEI : lignes lb/@facs", "texte_sans_correction": true, "page_debut": "90", "page_fin": "90", "image_debut": 50, "image_fin": 50, "pages_selon": "pagination imprimée relevée dans le METS Blue Mountain (ORDERLABEL) ; [n] = page sans folio restituée", "url_article": "https://bluemountain.princeton.edu/bluemtn/?a=d&d=bmtnaau192404-01.2.17.5.3", "titre_corps": "PHOENIX by Lascelles Ahercrombie", "titre_sommaire": "PHOENIX by Lascelles Ahercrombie", "signature_source": "", "controle": "bornes données par la structure logique METS/ALTO de Blue Mountain (blocs ALTO de chaque constituant)", "pages": [{"page_pdf": 50, "page_imprimee": "90", "url_page": "https://bluemountain.princeton.edu/bluemtn/?a=d&d=bmtnaau192404-01.1.50", "debut_caractere": 1928, "fin_caractere_exclue": 2975, "texte": "PHOENIX by Lascelles Ahercrombie.\n(Benn.)\nI feel about this play as* I felt about\n'The Deserter*, that with Mr Aber-\ncrombie we have a man with too much\nability: he is too good at it. In\n4 Phoenix' he treats seriously and in\nverse of a noble rhythm a thing which\nshould have been handled as a farce\nand in a jog-trot rhythm—neat distin-\nguished jog-trot....\nAnd this is the obvious remark that\nthe poet would have made to his muse\nhad the pair been in and out of the same\ntheatre (and at work in it) for a cou-\nple of years.\nIn 4 The Deserter * he again made\nan obvious error, easily remedied by\nlooking the obvious in the eye. His\npeasants talked the rustic-poetic with-\nout ceasing ; over-loaded phrases came\nout like thunder in June; no plain\nspeech, no suggestion of that tragic\nsemi-silent way of the English peasant;\nall as voluble as though in Ireland.\nTo be able to write such plays and\nyet not to be able to glean the six or\nseven obvious truths necessary for every\ndramatist to learn, is the pity of it.\nAnd that is not the Poet's fault."}]}, {"article_id": "bm-bmtnaau-1924-04-01-c047", "article_bluemountain": "bmtnaau_1924-04_01#c047", "volume": "bmtnaau_1924-04_01", "ocr_source": "OCR Blue Mountain (ALTO), transcription TEI : lignes lb/@facs", "texte_sans_correction": true, "page_debut": "90", "page_fin": "90", "image_debut": 50, "image_fin": 50, "pages_selon": "pagination imprimée relevée dans le METS Blue Mountain (ORDERLABEL) ; [n] = page sans folio restituée", "url_article": "https://bluemountain.princeton.edu/bluemtn/?a=d&d=bmtnaau192404-01.2.17.5.4", "titre_corps": "MISTER BOSHERUS AND THE MUSES by Ford Maddox Heuffer", "titre_sommaire": "MISTER BOSHERUS AND THE MUSES by Ford Maddox Heuffer", "signature_source": "", "controle": "bornes données par la structure logique METS/ALTO de Blue Mountain (blocs ALTO de chaque constituant)", "pages": [{"page_pdf": 50, "page_imprimee": "90", "url_page": "https://bluemountain.princeton.edu/bluemtn/?a=d&d=bmtnaau192404-01.1.50", "debut_caractere": 2977, "fin_caractere_exclue": 4291, "texte": "MISTER BOSHERUS AND\nTHE MUSES by Ford Maddox\nHueffer with Decorations by Paul\nNash. (Duckworth & Co.) 15/- net.\nHOW I wish that I had a theatre.\nNot to suggest to Mr Hueffer\nthat his Bospherus would be at all\npossible on my boards—that sounds\nfine, 44 my boards \"—but solely to see\nwhether or no I could make it pos-\nsible. Why not ? but I dread lest, in\nasking this, some ass who has boards\nwill be a silly ass, and, puffing him-\nself out till he swell to Mr Bospherus'\nmeasure, (I mean no rudeness F. M. H.)\nwill blurt out on his damnable boards\nthis excellent thing of shreds and\npatches.\nAnyhow, here's luck to Sussex 1892,\nand more to Tarascon 1923, and\nmost to anywhere else in 1924.\nMr Nash is a fine woodcutter and\nnever slips except when he isn't enjoy-\ning his work. His portrait of Mr Ben-\nnett eating his lunch on a bench out-\nside the British Museum is something\nevery admirer of Mr. Bennett will\ncollect and treasure. His portrait of\nHaldane Macfall in Westminster Abbey\nis better than a portrait of Macfall by\nLovat Fraser which I possess. Everyone\nwho cares for woodcuts should buy\nthis book.\nThe portrait of Maud Allen on the\ncover is lovely. Mr Nash has a ge-\nnius for portraiture ; and that on page\n35 is not the least attractive of the\nseries :—but I will leave the curious\nto guess who she is."}]}, {"article_id": "bm-bmtnaau-1924-04-01-c048", "article_bluemountain": "bmtnaau_1924-04_01#c048", "volume": "bmtnaau_1924-04_01", "ocr_source": "OCR Blue Mountain (ALTO), transcription TEI : lignes lb/@facs", "texte_sans_correction": true, "page_debut": "90", "page_fin": "90", "image_debut": 50, "image_fin": 50, "pages_selon": "pagination imprimée relevée dans le METS Blue Mountain (ORDERLABEL) ; [n] = page sans folio restituée", "url_article": "https://bluemountain.princeton.edu/bluemtn/?a=d&d=bmtnaau192404-01.2.17.5.5", "titre_corps": "SUCCESS by A. A: Milne", "titre_sommaire": "SUCCESS by A. A: Milne", "signature_source": "", "controle": "bornes données par la structure logique METS/ALTO de Blue Mountain (blocs ALTO de chaque constituant)", "pages": [{"page_pdf": 50, "page_imprimee": "90", "url_page": "https://bluemountain.princeton.edu/bluemtn/?a=d&d=bmtnaau192404-01.1.50", "debut_caractere": 4293, "fin_caractere_exclue": 5376, "texte": "SUCCESS by A. A: Milne. (Chatto\n& Windus). 51-net.\nA neat nicely printed little book,\nand a readable play which has\nobviously pleased thousands of people.\nIt offers pretty examples of the modern\ntype stage direction. Shakespeare one\nfeels ought to have had the notion.\nI allude to this kind :\nLady Jane. Dick ?... Oh, my hus-\nband, yes! Of course! (she smiles\npleasantly at him. After all, he is\ngoing to do the gardens at Drayton\nfor nothing, and [he may even be a\nconstituent).\nThis is on page 12 : and on pa-\nges 35 and 94 we have other excel-\nlent examples. The last is even twenty\nfive lines. It describes what is pas-\nsing in the mind of the principal figure\nin the play.\nNow if Shakespeare had done this\nat the end of Act II of Hamlet we\nshould have had a superb stage direc-\ntion. Unfortunately he made Hamlet\nspeak his thoughts aloud, thus clumsily\nletting us into the secret. Mr Milne\nof course has not so many secrets to\nlet out, but it is a play full of very\npretty surprises, and if you are always\nin London and can't get away you'll\nsee the whole world in 44 Success \"."}]}, {"article_id": "bm-bmtnaau-1924-04-01-c049", "article_bluemountain": "bmtnaau_1924-04_01#c049", "volume": "bmtnaau_1924-04_01", "ocr_source": "OCR Blue Mountain (ALTO), transcription TEI : lignes lb/@facs", "texte_sans_correction": true, "page_debut": "90", "page_fin": "90", "image_debut": 50, "image_fin": 50, "pages_selon": "pagination imprimée relevée dans le METS Blue Mountain (ORDERLABEL) ; [n] = page sans folio restituée", "url_article": "https://bluemountain.princeton.edu/bluemtn/?a=d&d=bmtnaau192404-01.2.17.5.6", "titre_corps": "HASSAN by James Elroy Flecker", "titre_sommaire": "HASSAN by James Elroy Flecker", "signature_source": "", "controle": "bornes données par la structure logique METS/ALTO de Blue Mountain (blocs ALTO de chaque constituant)", "pages": [{"page_pdf": 50, "page_imprimee": "90", "url_page": "https://bluemountain.princeton.edu/bluemtn/?a=d&d=bmtnaau192404-01.1.50", "debut_caractere": 5378, "fin_caractere_exclue": 6302, "texte": "HASSAN by James Elroy Flecker.\n(Heinemann). 6/-.\nA play which is clear from the first.\nAnd it's made up like an actor is,\nor like a cake is made ; well mixed,\nwell sugared, pack full of plums and\nspice. Quite all right and useful as\na good show.\n1 read it with two better plays, but\nI liked this best. Then it has the usual\nbedroom scene of the wild western\nworld, and there are references to\nmagic. I was able to stop and light\na pipe as I read. That's the best of\nit... no concentration is required ; it's\nall as easy reading, as the 44 Secret\nLife \" by Barker is hard reading. It is\ncomic and it is thrilling, but the two\nthings well mixed ; but when Ghosts\nbegin to come on at the end I want it\nall turned into a ballet opera ; and then\nI want the ghosts cut out; but then I\nwant the ghosts to get back into the\nbodies of the two massacred lovers;\nbut then I want the whole thing chan-\nged. Q, E. D. which is impossible,"}]}, {"article_id": "bm-bmtnaau-1924-04-01-c050", "article_bluemountain": "bmtnaau_1924-04_01#c050", "volume": "bmtnaau_1924-04_01", "ocr_source": "OCR Blue Mountain (ALTO), transcription TEI : lignes lb/@facs", "texte_sans_correction": true, "page_debut": "91", "page_fin": "91", "image_debut": 51, "image_fin": 51, "pages_selon": "pagination imprimée relevée dans le METS Blue Mountain (ORDERLABEL) ; [n] = page sans folio restituée", "url_article": "https://bluemountain.princeton.edu/bluemtn/?a=d&d=bmtnaau192404-01.2.17.5.7", "titre_corps": "THE CONQUERING HERO by Alan Monkhouse", "titre_sommaire": "THE CONQUERING HERO by Alan Monkhouse", "signature_source": "", "controle": "bornes données par la structure logique METS/ALTO de Blue Mountain (blocs ALTO de chaque constituant)", "pages": [{"page_pdf": 51, "page_imprimee": "91", "url_page": "https://bluemountain.princeton.edu/bluemtn/?a=d&d=bmtnaau192404-01.1.51", "debut_caractere": 0, "fin_caractere_exclue": 944, "texte": "THE CONQUERING HERO\nby Alan Monkhouse. {Ernest Benn).\n1923.\nAvery sincere little play which\nonly needs good acting to make\nit very touching. And, you say, from\nthat you gather I mean that without\ngood actors it would be ineffective.\nDoes any play play itself ? No in-\ndeed ; some plays positively cry aloud\nfor bad actors, I should rather say actors\nnot yet famous.\nThe characters in this play are\nmostly fine simple English types, grim\ncharacters too;—the ladies are cu-\nriously grim. I find the most subtle\nand terrible lines in the play to be\nthe last five lines uttered by Helen.\nThey are strange: they leave one un-\ncertain whether to shudder with laughter\nor ask if one can meet the author. Which\nshows me how powerfully he is able to\nwork upon the reader. A manager\nmight assuredly put this play on a stage.\nIt is not a realistic play.... nor a fan-\ntasy : it is just a well-balanced human\nlittle drama with a good last act for\nthe Hero."}]}, {"article_id": "bm-bmtnaau-1924-04-01-c051", "article_bluemountain": "bmtnaau_1924-04_01#c051", "volume": "bmtnaau_1924-04_01", "ocr_source": "OCR Blue Mountain (ALTO), transcription TEI : lignes lb/@facs", "texte_sans_correction": true, "page_debut": "91", "page_fin": "91", "image_debut": 51, "image_fin": 51, "pages_selon": "pagination imprimée relevée dans le METS Blue Mountain (ORDERLABEL) ; [n] = page sans folio restituée", "url_article": "https://bluemountain.princeton.edu/bluemtn/?a=d&d=bmtnaau192404-01.2.17.5.8", "titre_corps": "THE SECRET LIFE by Harley Granville Barker", "titre_sommaire": "THE SECRET LIFE by Harley Granville Barker", "signature_source": "", "controle": "bornes données par la structure logique METS/ALTO de Blue Mountain (blocs ALTO de chaque constituant)", "pages": [{"page_pdf": 51, "page_imprimee": "91", "url_page": "https://bluemountain.princeton.edu/bluemtn/?a=d&d=bmtnaau192404-01.1.51", "debut_caractere": 946, "fin_caractere_exclue": 3296, "texte": "THE SECRET LIFE by Harley\nGranville Barker. Chatto & Windus.\n1923. 6J~ net.\nWHAT is it all about ? 99 asked\nMr Ervine the critic, and had\nto read it a second time before he\nthought he knew.\nI read or listen to a play without\nasking what its about because that has\nto appear at once for it to be a play.\nWe almost have to know in advance\nwhat it is to be about; that was, and\nI believe still remains, a custom with\nskilled dramatists.\nFor my part, what I rather ask is\n4 how is this being done ? \\ and that\none has to watch closely to enjoy the\nart of the dramatist. But one can\nonly do this provided one has the\nwhole story or idea made clear to\none from the commencement. Think\nof Hamlet, Pathelin, The Merchant of\nVenice, The Bacchee, Le Bourgeois\nGentilhomme.\nAs I read this play by Barker I\ngrow aware that it has been written\nfor his own pleasure ; and it is all\nthe more generous of him that he has\nas he went along given some of us\nmuch pleasure. I find pleasure in\nfeeling that I am one of those ordi-\nnary human beings able at any rate\nto recognize that there are things of\nbeauty in 44 The Secret Life \".\nIt is, probably, all of it a thing of\ngreat beauty. I would not be at all\n1 sure but that some day we shall have\nto admit its beauty. There is much\npure white light in it. But such light\noften blinds one, and if critics seem\nto have been severe to the author I\nthink it quite likely that the light has\nblinded them.\nAs for its value to the British Stage,\nwell, that stage needs plays which are\ndifficult to perform, and this play would\nnot, in performance, be easy. Of the\naudiences I will not speak: they have\nbut to listen and to look : but if well\nunderstood, well perceived and well\nplayed by the actors, this play might\ndazzle the audience by reason of just\nthe light I was speaking of a moment\nago. I do not think it would blind\nthem. That is what a theatre is for :\nto pass such light through, to illumine\nlarge things for a large mass of people\nin the dark.\nI should say that if the British Stage\nhad some power and nobility in it, it\ncould not exercise these two qualities\nbetter, than in devoting some of such\nforce and fineness to the attempt, the\nloyal attempt, to interpret this dream.\nIt owes Mr Barker this. I am not\nunaware of a certain majesty in this\nwork. Has the British Stage the cou-\nrage to stand for it or not ?"}]}, {"article_id": "bm-bmtnaau-1924-04-01-c052", "article_bluemountain": "bmtnaau_1924-04_01#c052", "volume": "bmtnaau_1924-04_01", "ocr_source": "OCR Blue Mountain (ALTO), transcription TEI : lignes lb/@facs", "texte_sans_correction": true, "page_debut": "91", "page_fin": "91", "image_debut": 51, "image_fin": 51, "pages_selon": "pagination imprimée relevée dans le METS Blue Mountain (ORDERLABEL) ; [n] = page sans folio restituée", "url_article": "https://bluemountain.princeton.edu/bluemtn/?a=d&d=bmtnaau192404-01.2.17.5.9", "titre_corps": "THREE MODERN JAPANESE PLAYS", "titre_sommaire": "THREE MODERN JAPANESE PLAYS", "signature_source": "", "controle": "bornes données par la structure logique METS/ALTO de Blue Mountain (blocs ALTO de chaque constituant)", "pages": [{"page_pdf": 51, "page_imprimee": "91", "url_page": "https://bluemountain.princeton.edu/bluemtn/?a=d&d=bmtnaau192404-01.1.51", "debut_caractere": 3298, "fin_caractere_exclue": 5497, "texte": "THREE MODERN JAPANESE\nPLAYS. Translated by Iwasaki &\nHughes. Stewart Kidd Co. U. S. A.\n$ 1.50,\nTHE THRICE PROMISED\nBRIDE. Cheng-chin-Hsiung> Thea-\ntre Arts Magazine. Vol. 7. No. 4.\nU. S. A.\nCONFUCIUS. Sadafcichi Hartmann.\nPrivately printed. Los Angeles. 1923.\nFIVE Plays written by eastern\nauthors, four of them good.\nThe best for the last, Yet 44 Con-\nfucius \" is in some ways the best. Were\nit a little simpler it would not be so\ngood. Its elaboration is an achieve-\nment. 44 Nari-kin \", one of the first\nthree, would hardly be improved if it\nwere any more elaborate. Then 44 The\nRazor \" by Naharmura is surprising :\nthose looking-glasses—and the eyes of\nthe six characters—those twelve eyes,..;\nor has the barber but one eye ? How\nit glistens. And how full of ceremo-\nny and fine doings is our stage when\nthe 44 Thrice Promised Bride \" falls in\nher swoon ; and how well it all comes\nout of the ceremony, and becomes\nhuman yet all-too-human. Not so\nwould any of the other writers have\nmade the piece ; only one of the many\nChinese dramatists who write in this\nmanner could make it so. It is a dis-\ntinct manner, and so we are taken by\nthis style into another world from that\ndreamed of by Elizabethans or Ferra-\nrese, Parisians, Greeks or Moderns.\nAnd last of all, since it is the best\nof all, 44 The Madman on the Roof 49\nby Kan Kikuchi. Fine effortless work.\n—A modern dramatist—not at all concer-\nned with the wasting of time or words\non ugly things, never sentimental (what\nJapanese sinks there ?) he gives me\nmuch pleasure with his Lunatic bro-\nther on a roof seeing and hearing the\ngods and their flutes and messages, and\nhis sane younger brother on the ground,\nand the two looking up at the same\ngolden palace in a cloud—which ap-\npears to them as the sun sets. In\nsome strange way it seems to me the\nbest little modern drama I have read\nfor years: my thoughts turn to our\nEnglish writers—I think of the good\nBarker and I cannot refuse to say to\nmyself : 44 it was just such a play he\nwas long ago trying to write—just such\na palace he in his madness saw but\nin his sanity refused to believe was\ntrue \" ; and to add 44 it is just such a\ntruth he may yet refuse to allow him-\nself to deny \"."}]}, {"article_id": "bm-bmtnaau-1924-04-01-c053", "article_bluemountain": "bmtnaau_1924-04_01#c053", "volume": "bmtnaau_1924-04_01", "ocr_source": "OCR Blue Mountain (ALTO), transcription TEI : lignes lb/@facs", "texte_sans_correction": true, "page_debut": "91", "page_fin": "92", "image_debut": 51, "image_fin": 52, "pages_selon": "pagination imprimée relevée dans le METS Blue Mountain (ORDERLABEL) ; [n] = page sans folio restituée", "url_article": "https://bluemountain.princeton.edu/bluemtn/?a=d&d=bmtnaau192404-01.2.17.5.10", "titre_corps": "THREE PLAYS by Pirandello", "titre_sommaire": "THREE PLAYS by Pirandello", "signature_source": "", "controle": "bornes données par la structure logique METS/ALTO de Blue Mountain (blocs ALTO de chaque constituant)", "pages": [{"page_pdf": 51, "page_imprimee": "91", "url_page": "https://bluemountain.princeton.edu/bluemtn/?a=d&d=bmtnaau192404-01.1.51", "debut_caractere": 5499, "fin_caractere_exclue": 6864, "texte": "THREE PLAYS by Pirandello,\ntranslated by E. Storer. (Dent &\nSons). Price 10j6.\nI do not like modern Italian artists\nwhen they grow original. They cannot\ndo it. It suits the English and Ger-\nmans, may be the French; but Italians\nbecome suddenly rather cheap.\nHere is a nation which has, centu-\nries ago, solved all the troublesome\nproblems of all the arts and needs to\nlearn nothing new ; and yet damm6 if\nthe new Italian composers can be\nkept from Wagnerizing or the play-\nwrights from gallivanting; the wood-en-\ngravers from.... but I will write more\nof this for the next number of \" The\nMask\nPirandello the playwriter tries to be\noriginal. He succeeds. He hesitates,\nbut, being an Italian, he does so with\ndecision. He grows confused, but\nwith deliberation. He struggles to be\nNorthern but the South sees to it\nthat he struggle with ease. Clever ?\nCaspita ! Pirandello is very clever ; who\ndoubts it ? but he began to make\nplays when the law of Italy was 44 Be\ninternational, forget Italy \". Then\nMussolini came and once more made\nit possible for Italians to not care a\ndamn (non mi frego) for what the\nscatter-brain nations might think, since\na perfectly ordered Italian artist has,\ncenturies past, gone through the last\nexperience necessary to the creation of\ncon tinental masterpieces.\nStill Pirandello's 44 Henry IV \" re-\nmains about the best European play of"}, {"page_pdf": 52, "page_imprimee": "92", "url_page": "https://bluemountain.princeton.edu/bluemtn/?a=d&d=bmtnaau192404-01.1.52", "debut_caractere": 0, "fin_caractere_exclue": 326, "texte": "the day, and would be better without\nits tedious explanations, its philosophi-\ncal airs and its frustrated attempt to\nescape from the Theatre.\nOur last quite good plays were Mo-\nli&re's : not original but perfect. I would\nlike to see an Italian write the next great\nplay and based upon the tradition from\nwhich Moli£re sprang."}]}, {"article_id": "bm-bmtnaau-1924-04-01-c054", "article_bluemountain": "bmtnaau_1924-04_01#c054", "volume": "bmtnaau_1924-04_01", "ocr_source": "OCR Blue Mountain (ALTO), transcription TEI : lignes lb/@facs", "texte_sans_correction": true, "page_debut": "92", "page_fin": "92", "image_debut": 52, "image_fin": 52, "pages_selon": "pagination imprimée relevée dans le METS Blue Mountain (ORDERLABEL) ; [n] = page sans folio restituée", "url_article": "https://bluemountain.princeton.edu/bluemtn/?a=d&d=bmtnaau192404-01.2.17.5.11", "titre_corps": "A HISTORY OF THE AMERICAN DRAMA by Arthur Hobson Quinn", "titre_sommaire": "A HISTORY OF THE AMERICAN DRAMA by Arthur Hobson Quinn", "signature_source": "", "controle": "bornes données par la structure logique METS/ALTO de Blue Mountain (blocs ALTO de chaque constituant)", "pages": [{"page_pdf": 52, "page_imprimee": "92", "url_page": "https://bluemountain.princeton.edu/bluemtn/?a=d&d=bmtnaau192404-01.1.52", "debut_caractere": 328, "fin_caractere_exclue": 1844, "texte": "A HISTORY OF THE AMERI-\nCAN DRAMA by Arthur Hobson\nQuinn. (Harper and Brothers). $ 4.00.\nWE are told 44 that this is the\nauthoritative and picturesque sto-\nry of the evolution of the American\ndrama—its beginnings in the colonial\ncolleges, the stirring part it played in\nthe struggles of the Revolution, its re-\nbirth through Royall Tyler and Wil-\nliam Dunlap, the rise of a drama upon\nnative themes under James Nelson\nBarker and his fellows \".\nThe Author devotes a chapter to\nJohn Howard Payne whom he consi-\nders invaded, then conquered, the En-\nglish Stage. He tells us that 44 Payne\nmakes use of the language of his pre-\ndecessors with the high courage of the\ngreat adaptors. From Cumberland he\ntakes many lines, often verbatim ; from\nDownman he takes largely also, but he\nmore often alters the language '\\ He\nsays that his admiration of his ability....\nincreases while he sees him cutting re-\nlentlessly 44 the poetic verbosity \" of these\nauthors and 44 inserting a few lines of\nhis own in the right places \".\n44 Originality \" he adds uin its\ngreatest sense was not his \".\nIn the period from 1825 to 1860\nthe author traces the rise of the group\nof playwrights who, under the inspira-\ntion of Edwin Forrest, produced the\ngreat American romantic tragedies like\nRobert Montgomery Bird's 44 gladiator \",\nwhich held the stage of the United\nStates for three quarters of a century.\nAltogether a book which will some\nday prove of immense and, I believe,\nas yet unsuspected value to the Histo-\nrian of the American Stage."}]}, {"article_id": "bm-bmtnaau-1924-04-01-c055", "article_bluemountain": "bmtnaau_1924-04_01#c055", "volume": "bmtnaau_1924-04_01", "ocr_source": "OCR Blue Mountain (ALTO), transcription TEI : lignes lb/@facs", "texte_sans_correction": true, "page_debut": "92", "page_fin": "92", "image_debut": 52, "image_fin": 52, "pages_selon": "pagination imprimée relevée dans le METS Blue Mountain (ORDERLABEL) ; [n] = page sans folio restituée", "url_article": "https://bluemountain.princeton.edu/bluemtn/?a=d&d=bmtnaau192404-01.2.17.5.12", "titre_corps": "MADAME VESTRIS AND HER TIMES by Charles E. Pearce", "titre_sommaire": "MADAME VESTRIS AND HER TIMES by Charles E. Pearce", "signature_source": "", "controle": "bornes données par la structure logique METS/ALTO de Blue Mountain (blocs ALTO de chaque constituant)", "pages": [{"page_pdf": 52, "page_imprimee": "92", "url_page": "https://bluemountain.princeton.edu/bluemtn/?a=d&d=bmtnaau192404-01.1.52", "debut_caractere": 1846, "fin_caractere_exclue": 2718, "texte": "MADAME VESTRIS AND HER\nTIMES by Charles E. Pearce. (Stan-\nley Paul & Co.) Price 16/- net.\n{treasure all the admirable biogra-\nphical works of Mr Pearce ; and if\nthis one is good it is not because of\nMadame Vestris, for she has not much\nright to the famous name, being Bar-\ntolozzi's daughter and married, only\nfor a short while, to one of the lesser\nmembers of the Vestris family. And she\nis rather too practical, to say the least\nof it.\nHer adventures are not gorgeous\nlike those Mile. Georges tells us of ;\nnor bizarre like Miss Mellon's; nor is\nthe agefshe lived in rich like that\nwhich first heard Polly Peachum in\n4* The Beggar's Opera \".\nAre there enough facts relating to\nMrs Charke for Mr Pearce to give\nas one more remarkably entertaining\n44 Life \" ? for there was ajwoman—-\nand that was a time.\nThis book is very readable; do not\ndoubt that—scandal upon scandal."}]}, {"article_id": "bm-bmtnaau-1924-04-01-c056", "article_bluemountain": "bmtnaau_1924-04_01#c056", "volume": "bmtnaau_1924-04_01", "ocr_source": "OCR Blue Mountain (ALTO), transcription TEI : lignes lb/@facs", "texte_sans_correction": true, "page_debut": "92", "page_fin": "93", "image_debut": 52, "image_fin": 53, "pages_selon": "pagination imprimée relevée dans le METS Blue Mountain (ORDERLABEL) ; [n] = page sans folio restituée", "url_article": "https://bluemountain.princeton.edu/bluemtn/?a=d&d=bmtnaau192404-01.2.17.5.13", "titre_corps": "WOODCUTS AND SOME WORDS by Gordon Craig", "titre_sommaire": "WOODCUTS AND SOME WORDS by Gordon Craig", "signature_source": "Gordon Craig", "controle": "bornes données par la structure logique METS/ALTO de Blue Mountain (blocs ALTO de chaque constituant)", "pages": [{"page_pdf": 52, "page_imprimee": "92", "url_page": "https://bluemountain.princeton.edu/bluemtn/?a=d&d=bmtnaau192404-01.1.52", "debut_caractere": 2720, "fin_caractere_exclue": 6879, "texte": "WOODCUTS AND SOME\nWORDS by Gordon Craig. (Dent\n& Sons, London) 1924. 10/6 net.\n(Large Paper Edition, £, 3.3.0 net.).\n\n\\ O I * - - /\nTHE Editor of \" 77ie Mas£ \" has\nme to review my own book,\n\" Woodcuts and some Words\nI find this only too easy, for I know\nall its faults.\nShall I take the easy way, then, and\ngo for them ?\nIt is only too certain I shall take\nthe easy way. It has been hard enough\nwork preparing (k will not say writing)\nthe book : the rest of the journey shall\ngive me no pain. Too easy it would be\nto praise Mr Campbell Dodgson for\nhis admirable introduction ; besides, I\nhave done that already elsewhere.\nFirst then J. M. Dent & Sons,\n....Mr Hugh Dent in particular. I sup-\npose some of my readers have heard\nall about Publishers, or think they\nhave. But they haven't. They have\nnot heard of their eagerness to do\neverything in their power to aid the\nauthor. They have heard of the in-\ndifference of publishers ; of their ener-\ngetic good-will they hear nothing.\nShall I speak now and here of Mr\nHugh Dent ? I think not : he comes\nof a good school. Some day I hope\nto have better occasion to speak of\nthat school and I will seize the op-\nportunity : meantime what I have al-\nready suggested will not be lost on\nthese who know the Dents.\nSecondly, to speak of the engra-\nver Mr Gordon Craig, the one who\nadded the libretto.\nI fear I cannot take him seriously.\nHere is an actor performing under\nmy very nose and asking me to be-\nlieve him to be a serious wood-engra-\nver. I cannot do it, for I do not like\nbeing taken in when at a Theatre, and\nthis book is obviously a small stage of\na Theatre on which a scene has been\nset by Mr Craig, a libretto of sorts\nscribbled out, and this he delivers with\na kind of exuberant Lyceum fervour\nnot sufficiently detached for my taste.\nHe thrusts himself forward, or he\ngoes into some corner at the back of\nthe stage ; he puts on half a dozen\nmasks, now speaking slowly, now at\nrace-neck speed.\nSome of this I can tolerate so long\nas he doesn't ask me to take it to be\nreal, I do not come to a theatre to\nsee reality; I come to see a perfor-\nmance and to hear a little Drama.\nI should never come to a theatre\nMr. Craig was performing in and\nexpect to hear a big one, or see one\neither. It would make me decidedly\ncross. Therefore with Figure 57, a\nScene for King Lear, I am altogether\nout of sympathy. There is a certain\nstruggling for effect which grates upon\nmy sense of proportion. These plays\nhe should leave to others to show us,\n....to Reinhardt or Mr. Dean for exam-\nple ; besides, Shakespeare has already\nrevealed this particular play of his to\nour astonished eyes, and I'm not at\nall sure I ever want to see it again.\nAnd I would say the same of Fi-\ngures 43, 58 and 27, especially of\nFigure 27, 44 Scene \".\nThis latter design was apparently\ncut on wood at the same time, or\nshortly after, that in which he made\na series of etchings, also, if I mistake\nnot, called for some reason best known\nto him, 44 Scene \".\nWhy the deplorable inverted com-\nmas (used also in the volume I am:\nreviewing) I cannot tell. If it is to\nadd importance to a very ordinary\nword, I can only tell Mr. Craig that\nthe commas miss fire. Mutton does\nnot taste any better for two bits of\ngreen holly placed one at each end of\nthe joint, and even the poorest restau-\nrants inscribe no 44 mutton \" on their\nmenus, ....nor no 44 Veal \" nor 44 chops\nAll his references to the Theatre\nwhich he has not been able to get for\nhimself, which he hopes to get — (I\nhope he may get it)—and what he\nwill do in it when he does get it,\nseem to me to be not exactly in the\nbest of taste.\nIf looked at curiously it reveals a\ncertain peevish discontent with the\nland of his birth : it all implies that\nEngland should have given him what\nhe was apparently too lazy to take ;\nit also reveals a certain blindness for\ndoors.\nOn every door in business-England\nis printed the word PUSH: Mr. Craig\nseems to have been too much of a\nhighbrow to 44 push \". I will not apolo-\ngize for my use of inverted commas here;\nwhat Mr Craig may not do, I may.\nI am an Englishman, and I must\nsay that, whereas Mr. Craig has only\ntheorized about his Theatrical ideas,"}, {"page_pdf": 53, "page_imprimee": "93", "url_page": "https://bluemountain.princeton.edu/bluemtn/?a=d&d=bmtnaau192404-01.1.53", "debut_caractere": 0, "fin_caractere_exclue": 1122, "texte": "(if we discount, as we assuredly must,\nthe thirteen productions he has made)\nHerr Professor Reinhardt has put these\ninto practice ; and I am entirely in\nsympathy with those English ladies\nand gentlemen who found 44 The Mi-\nracle produced some years ago by\nReinhardt at Olympia in London and\nagain in New York this year, a wor-\nthy German Production which they\ncould in all honesty enthusiastically\nendorse. I am glad to think that En-\nglish women and men are today as-\nsisting in 44 The Miracle \" by Profes-\nsor Reinhardt, for it is ridiculous to\ncry out as some people do that we\nshould not support what is German\nlest it be Propaganda on a vast\nscale.\nI, for one, am proud to think that\nLady Diana Cooper has shattered that\nsuperstition by boldly and, I hear, very\nbeautifully, assisting the great produc-\ntion by her consummate art.\nAnd if I have diverged from 4'Wood-\ncuts \" to speak of 44 The Miracle \"\nit is because there are too many pas-\nsages in Mr. Craig's book which seem\nto grudge the success which the great\nGerman producer has achieved.\nThere you are, Semar, that's my\nidea of a Review. Yours.\n\nGordon Craig."}]}, {"article_id": "bm-bmtnaau-1924-04-01-c057", "article_bluemountain": "bmtnaau_1924-04_01#c057", "volume": "bmtnaau_1924-04_01", "ocr_source": "OCR Blue Mountain (ALTO), transcription TEI : lignes lb/@facs", "texte_sans_correction": true, "page_debut": "93", "page_fin": "93", "image_debut": 53, "image_fin": 53, "pages_selon": "pagination imprimée relevée dans le METS Blue Mountain (ORDERLABEL) ; [n] = page sans folio restituée", "url_article": "https://bluemountain.princeton.edu/bluemtn/?a=d&d=bmtnaau192404-01.2.18", "titre_corps": "MAGAZINES", "titre_sommaire": "MAGAZINES", "signature_source": "", "controle": "bornes données par la structure logique METS/ALTO de Blue Mountain (blocs ALTO de chaque constituant)", "pages": [{"page_pdf": 53, "page_imprimee": "93", "url_page": "https://bluemountain.princeton.edu/bluemtn/?a=d&d=bmtnaau192404-01.1.53", "debut_caractere": 1124, "fin_caractere_exclue": 2693, "texte": "MAGAZINES.\nTHE London Mercury \", 44 The\nAmerican Mercury 44 The North\nAmerican Review \" are three fat\nwell-to-do looking journals, and the\nlast two named have pages devoted\nto theatrical matters.\nMr Nathan continues to write in,\nand edit, the 44 American Mercury \"\nwith his friend Mr Mencken, and as\nusual he writes well about the Theatre.\nAn article by Mr Montrose Moses\nin the 44 North American Review \"\nis the best we have read from his\npen. He looks and moves ahead:\nhe is growing tired of the insincerity\nwhich in America threatens to swamp\nthe men of the New Movement, and\nland high and dry the amateur eager\nof an outlet for self-expression. He\nsays some sound things of Duse and\nStanislawsky and others.\nThe first number of 44 The Trans-\natlantic Review \" is out: it is edited\nby Ford Maddox Ford and published\nby Duckworth in London and Seltzer\nin New York. It costs 2/- and 50 cents.\nNothing about the Stage in it :all about\nletters, and of course all admirable.\nCommunications from Mr Thomas\nHardy, Mr Wells and Mr Conrad\nreassure the public that Mr Ford's\nmagazine is not a Bolshevik organ.\nWe hope all our readers will take\nthe trouble to get a copy of the 44 Trans-\natlantic Review \".\nIN the 44 Yale Review \" for Octo-\nber 1923 there was an interesting\nessay on 44 The Playwright's Mind \"\nby the Spanish dramatist Jacinto Be-\nnavente. 44 It is impossible to be a\ndramatist without being a poet \" he\ntells us. So there are even fewer dra-\nmatists according to the Spaniard than\nwe supposed.\nAltogether a spirited essay on a\nsubject he must know thoroughly."}]}, {"article_id": "bm-bmtnaau-1924-04-01-c059", "article_bluemountain": "bmtnaau_1924-04_01#c059", "volume": "bmtnaau_1924-04_01", "ocr_source": "OCR Blue Mountain (ALTO), transcription TEI : lignes lb/@facs", "texte_sans_correction": true, "page_debut": "93", "page_fin": "94", "image_debut": 53, "image_fin": 54, "pages_selon": "pagination imprimée relevée dans le METS Blue Mountain (ORDERLABEL) ; [n] = page sans folio restituée", "url_article": "https://bluemountain.princeton.edu/bluemtn/?a=d&d=bmtnaau192404-01.2.19", "titre_corps": "EDITORIAL NOTES", "titre_sommaire": "EDITORIAL NOTES", "signature_source": "", "controle": "bornes données par la structure logique METS/ALTO de Blue Mountain (blocs ALTO de chaque constituant)", "pages": [{"page_pdf": 53, "page_imprimee": "93", "url_page": "https://bluemountain.princeton.edu/bluemtn/?a=d&d=bmtnaau192404-01.1.53", "debut_caractere": 2695, "fin_caractere_exclue": 6104, "texte": "EDITORIAL NOTES.\n\nTO FEEL OR NOT TO FEEL.\nTHE OLD OLD QUESTION-\nWHAT purpose Mr Grein can pos-\nsibly have for asking London\nactors to write down for 44 The Illus-\ntrated London News\" their theories\non the worn out, quite clear, but still\nvexing question of whether actors should\nfeel or not feel we do not know. That\nthe actors have written very well indeed\non this subject, (dealt with by Diderot\nin 1773-1774), is not surprising; and\nif it helps Mr Grein to eke out his\nweekly page, 44 The World of the\nTheatre \", that is pleasant. But what\nthey all say is only what Diderot told\nus of in the 18th century in his 44 Pa-\nradox of Acting\" which we always\nremember with joy was quoted in the\nHarmsworth Encyclopaedia as 44 The\nParadise of Acting\". These slips will oc-\ncur, thank heaven, and keep us merry (a).\nBut to return to the actors and\nDiderot's book and this deluding talk\nabout whether an actor should feel\nmurderous when pretending to murder\nanother actor on the stage.\nThe truth is that it's like all other\nsuch questions, such as 44 Should the\nstage be lighted by Footlights or not?\".\nThe correct answer is '4 some foot-\nlights \". 44 How many ? \" cries the mer-\nciless accountant of art: the correct\nreply is 44 as many as are necessary \".\nMr Casson and Miss Thorndike very\nproperly mentioned the audience as being\nan essential part of the actor's work.\nWhat Giovanni Grasso would have\nwritten about feeling a part we cannot\nimagine ; but there again, if an English\nactor seems to feel very little and a\nsouthern actor very much, that's where\nthe deception of nature is playing pranks\nwith the deception of theatricals.\nFor a Chinese or Indian sage who\nsits like a bronze statue for four hours\nmeditating, may be feeling more than\neither of these. He is feeling slower,\nthat is all; forcing himself to the pace.\nAnd the English actor is slow too, the\nItalian quick. The Englishman is said\nto be calculating his effects, the Italian\nto be inspired. Recall Bonaparte's\n44 Inspiration is only a calculation made\nwith rapidity \". Cf 44 Should an actor be\nslow or rapid ? \" one might ask this\nfor a change. Irving was slow : Grasso\nwas rapid. Why ? because the blood\nand mind of the first were blood and\nmind of a curiously deliberate man.\nIs that bad for acting ? Why should it\nbe ? The blood and brain of Grasso\nleapt with agility at all things. Is that\nbad for acting ? Why should it be ?\nBut to be slow and be a bad actor,\nthat is as bad for acting as to be ra-\npidly bad.\nIn short, there is no actual formula,\nand never has been one. That is what\nDiderot seems to suggest so delightfully ;\nso that Mr Grein's sententious air about\nit all is the only original touch.\nIn case Mr Casson, Miss Thorn-\ndike, Mr Lang or any others who\nsent in replies have not read Diderot's\n44 Paradox \" we would recommend to\nthem a very excellently printed little edi-\ntion translated by Mr W. H. Pollock\nwith a Preface by Henry Irving : the\nold book shops in Charing Cross Road\nshould have copies now and again. It\nwas issued in 1883 by Chatto & Win-\ndus, who, for all we know, may still\nhave copies in their archives. The Irving\nPreface reads like something by J. L.\nAustin and possibly was actually writ-\nten by him and changed a little and\nsigned by Irving.\n\n(a) The \" Daily Mail )} on Feb. 14 gave\nus a charming portrait of \" Miss Ruth\nTaylor as she appears in \" The war op\nthe World \" at the Lyric, Hammersmith \"."}, {"page_pdf": 54, "page_imprimee": "94", "url_page": "https://bluemountain.princeton.edu/bluemtn/?a=d&d=bmtnaau192404-01.1.54", "debut_caractere": 0, "fin_caractere_exclue": 6909, "texte": "It is a handsome little volume prin-\nted on fine paper, well set up, and\nfull of Notes by Pollock aided by\nW. E. Henley about the French actors.\nSome of these are rather incorrect.\nFor example, on page 29, where he\nsays, speaking of Mile. Raucourt's d£-\nbut in 44 Dido \" in 1772, 44 She was,\nas a matter of fact, nineteen at the\ntime\" (1772). Now as Mile. Marie\nAntoinette Joseph Raucourt was born\non March 3rd in 1756 she could\nhave only been sixteen years and nine\nmonths in December of 1772, and it\nwas on December 23rd she made her\ndebut (another authority says Septem-\nber 23rd which would make her youn-\nger by three months). Another error\non Page I is to say that Antonio Fa-\nbio Sticotti was the translator of 44 Gar-\nrick, ou les Acteurs Anglais 1769,\nfrom an English Pamphlet called 44 The\nActor, or a Treatise on the Art of\nPlaying \" MDCCLV. London; for\nthis Italian actor's name was Antonio\nGiovanni Sticotti, the son of Fahio\nSticotti, who died in 1740, 20 years\nbefore the translation appeared.\nHe makes two more errors on page\n83 where he tells us that the Italian\nactor Luigi Riccoboni was born in\nMantova 1707 and died in 1772.\nHe died in 1753 on December 6th.\nin Paris; and it was Anton France-\nsco Riccoboni, his son, who was born\nin Mantova in 1707.\nOn page 54 he is again incorrect\nin stating that Madame Riccoboni,\nwho was born in 1714 and made her\nd£but in 1 734, 44 went on acting for\nthirty four years \" for that would reach\nthe year 1780, whereas she left the\nstage in 1760. What is correct is to say\nthat she acted until her forty sixth year.\nBut to the 44 Paradox \" itself.\nAs a rule it is only very profound\nthings which can be paradoxical. Tis\nnot acting which is the Paradox; and\nit was only the man behind the acting\nwhich puzzled the First and the Second\nDiderot of the Dialogue and has puzzled\nevery pair of argumenters ever since.\nTo us it seems that the man behind\nthe acting is no more paradoxical than\nis woman when she pretends. Leave\nacting with the other pretences and\nyou will no longer be puzzled: bring\nit out and compare it with the arts\nand with nature, and puzzlement can\nnever end. When woman pretends she\ncan utterly confound truth itself: it is\ndelightful. It is she who becomes the\nparadox, not her acting. To no one\nis she a greater paradox than to her-\nself. And it is the man who puts\non the actor who becomes the pa-\nradox, not his acting. Acting is as-\nsuredly not an art; it is a much lar-\nger thing, it is a wholesale pretence.\nEach actor is a retail seller of the co~\nmodity and no one is going to be such\nan ass as to expect a serious answer\nfrom those sellers of pretence explaining\nthe trick which is no trick. It's his\nown secret, a secret he is quite puzzled\nabout; it is a personal defect or a\npersonal virtue; he no more knows he\ndeals it out than how it got into him.\nAsk a child of twelve how it is he\nskips like that,—44 how is it you run\nand roll over and over and over— do\nyou feel it or do you plan it out ? \"\nSee the strange look which comes into\nthe boy's eyes on hearing such an aged,\nsuch a dead question. Next time he\nrolls and rolls over the boy stops; he\nonly rolls twice where before it had\nbeen three times. Three and two are\nthe mystic numbers and make five \"\nmurmurs the observer. For a month\nthe boy carries the puzzle in his head :\n44 How is it I roll and roll over and\nover and sometimes over again ? \" he\nhas not really noted the distinction\nbetween two and three rolls.\nPraise be to something that is all\nright that no matter how often the\nDiderots and the Greins ask Youth\nfoolish questions Youth will somehow\nsurvive and be young and not know\ntill doomsday what he ought to say.\nOr become wise and know and sing\nhis song twice over from conceit: Or\n—Or—there are as many of these Ors\nas there are rolls in a gay heart.\n44 But we are speaking about Art,\nand, as you yourselves admit Art has\nmeasure—and can therefore presuma-\nbly be measured: and has form and\nhas colour—\nThat is the trouble. He is speaking\nof Art and confusing Art with Nature\nand acting with Art; and so this pen\nfor one shall stop writing, and the\nwriter go 44 off to the Bodega for some\nsherry wine\n\nA GOOD LECTURE.\nIN all sorts of small towns besides\nParis and Londen come and go\nmen and women who have some sen-\nsible word to say about Theatricals.\nAnd into Stockton one day at the end\nof last year came W. L. Ren wick and\nspoke as follows:\nHe said that we are apt to take\nthe Theatre which we know as the\nbest and only possible one; but there\nhave been others, the Greek, Roman,\nItalian, French, Elizabethan, Restora-\ntion and the eternal mountebank, (mount\na bank), and may be many more than\nthese. Each theatre had its purposes,\nreasons, virtues and defects. But don t\nbe flustered by anything new to you,\njust because you haven't seen it before.\nExample: Hoist's very beautiful new\nopera. Here was a fine thing spoiled\nby stupid 44 imitation \"or 44 realistic *\nsetting—that kind of scenery used in\nmusic halls and by the music hall in\nthe hope of getting round difficulties—\nin the vain hope of restablishing that\nintimacy which the actor requires.\nThe speaker then asked what is 44 sce-\nnery \" for ? and gave a sketch of what it\nused to be, is, and is working towards.\nAnd he asked his listeners not to ask\n44 is this usual or odd ? \" but 44 is it\nsuitable or unsuitable ? does it help ? \".\nAfter this he went on to suggest\nthat audiences might wake up;— as\nwho should say, 44 Let's all be a\ndamned sight more particular \".\nAltogether an entertaining and a\nvaluable lecture.\n\nA NOTE ON “ACCA”.\nJ. S.\nmFmmmaKmaHmmsBmmmmaammmmmammmmamamBSiPSsammmmmmaammamamatmBtmamamHummamammmmmBmmm\nIN our last issue, in the article 44 Acca,\nA New Stage Language \" the au-\nthor states that this same new language\nis H-less. Yet in the very first sam-\nple which he gives he starts off with\nan H; thus: 44 Ho cazza man nox\nalia mazza\nSome of our readers have written\nto us asking how this is. We passed\nthese letters on to the writer of the\narticle, who replies :\n44 The whole line, 4 Ho cazza man\nnox alia mazza \" is essentially the cry\nof a shepherd, an uneducated peasant;\nand while amongst those who speak\nEnglish it is customary for the less\neducated to say 44 'Ave a drink along\no' me \", dropping the H, those who\ncome from the land where Acca is\nspoken, when they wish to seem une-\nducated in that speech, must put on\nan H now and again. It was for this\nprecise reason I selected as my first\nquotation a line which gave us the\ncommon touch which surely ought ne-\nver to be lost\nTHE British Empire Shakespeare\nSociety will shortly have a new\ngeneral Director Mr. Howard Rose.\nMr. Rose won the first professional\nprize offered by the Society sixteen\nyears ago, so the place to be vacated\nby Mr. Bond will be ably filled and\nwe look to see something happening\nof interest to Shakespeareans, ...that is\nto sav» to every Englishman worth his\n——y y ' \" 9\nsalt."}]}, {"article_id": "bm-bmtnaau-1924-04-01-c061", "article_bluemountain": "bmtnaau_1924-04_01#c061", "volume": "bmtnaau_1924-04_01", "ocr_source": "OCR Blue Mountain (ALTO), transcription TEI : lignes lb/@facs", "texte_sans_correction": true, "page_debut": "93", "page_fin": "94", "image_debut": 53, "image_fin": 54, "pages_selon": "pagination imprimée relevée dans le METS Blue Mountain (ORDERLABEL) ; [n] = page sans folio restituée", "url_article": "https://bluemountain.princeton.edu/bluemtn/?a=d&d=bmtnaau192404-01.2.19.2", "titre_corps": "TO FEEL OR NOT TO FEEL", "titre_sommaire": "TO FEEL OR NOT TO FEEL", "signature_source": "", "controle": "bornes données par la structure logique METS/ALTO de Blue Mountain (blocs ALTO de chaque constituant)", "pages": [{"page_pdf": 53, "page_imprimee": "93", "url_page": "https://bluemountain.princeton.edu/bluemtn/?a=d&d=bmtnaau192404-01.1.53", "debut_caractere": 2713, "fin_caractere_exclue": 6104, "texte": "TO FEEL OR NOT TO FEEL.\nTHE OLD OLD QUESTION-\nWHAT purpose Mr Grein can pos-\nsibly have for asking London\nactors to write down for 44 The Illus-\ntrated London News\" their theories\non the worn out, quite clear, but still\nvexing question of whether actors should\nfeel or not feel we do not know. That\nthe actors have written very well indeed\non this subject, (dealt with by Diderot\nin 1773-1774), is not surprising; and\nif it helps Mr Grein to eke out his\nweekly page, 44 The World of the\nTheatre \", that is pleasant. But what\nthey all say is only what Diderot told\nus of in the 18th century in his 44 Pa-\nradox of Acting\" which we always\nremember with joy was quoted in the\nHarmsworth Encyclopaedia as 44 The\nParadise of Acting\". These slips will oc-\ncur, thank heaven, and keep us merry (a).\nBut to return to the actors and\nDiderot's book and this deluding talk\nabout whether an actor should feel\nmurderous when pretending to murder\nanother actor on the stage.\nThe truth is that it's like all other\nsuch questions, such as 44 Should the\nstage be lighted by Footlights or not?\".\nThe correct answer is '4 some foot-\nlights \". 44 How many ? \" cries the mer-\nciless accountant of art: the correct\nreply is 44 as many as are necessary \".\nMr Casson and Miss Thorndike very\nproperly mentioned the audience as being\nan essential part of the actor's work.\nWhat Giovanni Grasso would have\nwritten about feeling a part we cannot\nimagine ; but there again, if an English\nactor seems to feel very little and a\nsouthern actor very much, that's where\nthe deception of nature is playing pranks\nwith the deception of theatricals.\nFor a Chinese or Indian sage who\nsits like a bronze statue for four hours\nmeditating, may be feeling more than\neither of these. He is feeling slower,\nthat is all; forcing himself to the pace.\nAnd the English actor is slow too, the\nItalian quick. The Englishman is said\nto be calculating his effects, the Italian\nto be inspired. Recall Bonaparte's\n44 Inspiration is only a calculation made\nwith rapidity \". Cf 44 Should an actor be\nslow or rapid ? \" one might ask this\nfor a change. Irving was slow : Grasso\nwas rapid. Why ? because the blood\nand mind of the first were blood and\nmind of a curiously deliberate man.\nIs that bad for acting ? Why should it\nbe ? The blood and brain of Grasso\nleapt with agility at all things. Is that\nbad for acting ? Why should it be ?\nBut to be slow and be a bad actor,\nthat is as bad for acting as to be ra-\npidly bad.\nIn short, there is no actual formula,\nand never has been one. That is what\nDiderot seems to suggest so delightfully ;\nso that Mr Grein's sententious air about\nit all is the only original touch.\nIn case Mr Casson, Miss Thorn-\ndike, Mr Lang or any others who\nsent in replies have not read Diderot's\n44 Paradox \" we would recommend to\nthem a very excellently printed little edi-\ntion translated by Mr W. H. Pollock\nwith a Preface by Henry Irving : the\nold book shops in Charing Cross Road\nshould have copies now and again. It\nwas issued in 1883 by Chatto & Win-\ndus, who, for all we know, may still\nhave copies in their archives. The Irving\nPreface reads like something by J. L.\nAustin and possibly was actually writ-\nten by him and changed a little and\nsigned by Irving.\n\n(a) The \" Daily Mail )} on Feb. 14 gave\nus a charming portrait of \" Miss Ruth\nTaylor as she appears in \" The war op\nthe World \" at the Lyric, Hammersmith \"."}, {"page_pdf": 54, "page_imprimee": "94", "url_page": "https://bluemountain.princeton.edu/bluemtn/?a=d&d=bmtnaau192404-01.1.54", "debut_caractere": 0, "fin_caractere_exclue": 4158, "texte": "It is a handsome little volume prin-\nted on fine paper, well set up, and\nfull of Notes by Pollock aided by\nW. E. Henley about the French actors.\nSome of these are rather incorrect.\nFor example, on page 29, where he\nsays, speaking of Mile. Raucourt's d£-\nbut in 44 Dido \" in 1772, 44 She was,\nas a matter of fact, nineteen at the\ntime\" (1772). Now as Mile. Marie\nAntoinette Joseph Raucourt was born\non March 3rd in 1756 she could\nhave only been sixteen years and nine\nmonths in December of 1772, and it\nwas on December 23rd she made her\ndebut (another authority says Septem-\nber 23rd which would make her youn-\nger by three months). Another error\non Page I is to say that Antonio Fa-\nbio Sticotti was the translator of 44 Gar-\nrick, ou les Acteurs Anglais 1769,\nfrom an English Pamphlet called 44 The\nActor, or a Treatise on the Art of\nPlaying \" MDCCLV. London; for\nthis Italian actor's name was Antonio\nGiovanni Sticotti, the son of Fahio\nSticotti, who died in 1740, 20 years\nbefore the translation appeared.\nHe makes two more errors on page\n83 where he tells us that the Italian\nactor Luigi Riccoboni was born in\nMantova 1707 and died in 1772.\nHe died in 1753 on December 6th.\nin Paris; and it was Anton France-\nsco Riccoboni, his son, who was born\nin Mantova in 1707.\nOn page 54 he is again incorrect\nin stating that Madame Riccoboni,\nwho was born in 1714 and made her\nd£but in 1 734, 44 went on acting for\nthirty four years \" for that would reach\nthe year 1780, whereas she left the\nstage in 1760. What is correct is to say\nthat she acted until her forty sixth year.\nBut to the 44 Paradox \" itself.\nAs a rule it is only very profound\nthings which can be paradoxical. Tis\nnot acting which is the Paradox; and\nit was only the man behind the acting\nwhich puzzled the First and the Second\nDiderot of the Dialogue and has puzzled\nevery pair of argumenters ever since.\nTo us it seems that the man behind\nthe acting is no more paradoxical than\nis woman when she pretends. Leave\nacting with the other pretences and\nyou will no longer be puzzled: bring\nit out and compare it with the arts\nand with nature, and puzzlement can\nnever end. When woman pretends she\ncan utterly confound truth itself: it is\ndelightful. It is she who becomes the\nparadox, not her acting. To no one\nis she a greater paradox than to her-\nself. And it is the man who puts\non the actor who becomes the pa-\nradox, not his acting. Acting is as-\nsuredly not an art; it is a much lar-\nger thing, it is a wholesale pretence.\nEach actor is a retail seller of the co~\nmodity and no one is going to be such\nan ass as to expect a serious answer\nfrom those sellers of pretence explaining\nthe trick which is no trick. It's his\nown secret, a secret he is quite puzzled\nabout; it is a personal defect or a\npersonal virtue; he no more knows he\ndeals it out than how it got into him.\nAsk a child of twelve how it is he\nskips like that,—44 how is it you run\nand roll over and over and over— do\nyou feel it or do you plan it out ? \"\nSee the strange look which comes into\nthe boy's eyes on hearing such an aged,\nsuch a dead question. Next time he\nrolls and rolls over the boy stops; he\nonly rolls twice where before it had\nbeen three times. Three and two are\nthe mystic numbers and make five \"\nmurmurs the observer. For a month\nthe boy carries the puzzle in his head :\n44 How is it I roll and roll over and\nover and sometimes over again ? \" he\nhas not really noted the distinction\nbetween two and three rolls.\nPraise be to something that is all\nright that no matter how often the\nDiderots and the Greins ask Youth\nfoolish questions Youth will somehow\nsurvive and be young and not know\ntill doomsday what he ought to say.\nOr become wise and know and sing\nhis song twice over from conceit: Or\n—Or—there are as many of these Ors\nas there are rolls in a gay heart.\n44 But we are speaking about Art,\nand, as you yourselves admit Art has\nmeasure—and can therefore presuma-\nbly be measured: and has form and\nhas colour—\nThat is the trouble. He is speaking\nof Art and confusing Art with Nature\nand acting with Art; and so this pen\nfor one shall stop writing, and the\nwriter go 44 off to the Bodega for some\nsherry wine"}]}, {"article_id": "bm-bmtnaau-1924-04-01-c062", "article_bluemountain": "bmtnaau_1924-04_01#c062", "volume": "bmtnaau_1924-04_01", "ocr_source": "OCR Blue Mountain (ALTO), transcription TEI : lignes lb/@facs", "texte_sans_correction": true, "page_debut": "94", "page_fin": "94", "image_debut": 54, "image_fin": 54, "pages_selon": "pagination imprimée relevée dans le METS Blue Mountain (ORDERLABEL) ; [n] = page sans folio restituée", "url_article": "https://bluemountain.princeton.edu/bluemtn/?a=d&d=bmtnaau192404-01.2.19.3", "titre_corps": "A GOOD LECTURE", "titre_sommaire": "A GOOD LECTURE", "signature_source": "", "controle": "bornes données par la structure logique METS/ALTO de Blue Mountain (blocs ALTO de chaque constituant)", "pages": [{"page_pdf": 54, "page_imprimee": "94", "url_page": "https://bluemountain.princeton.edu/bluemtn/?a=d&d=bmtnaau192404-01.1.54", "debut_caractere": 4160, "fin_caractere_exclue": 5541, "texte": "A GOOD LECTURE.\nIN all sorts of small towns besides\nParis and Londen come and go\nmen and women who have some sen-\nsible word to say about Theatricals.\nAnd into Stockton one day at the end\nof last year came W. L. Ren wick and\nspoke as follows:\nHe said that we are apt to take\nthe Theatre which we know as the\nbest and only possible one; but there\nhave been others, the Greek, Roman,\nItalian, French, Elizabethan, Restora-\ntion and the eternal mountebank, (mount\na bank), and may be many more than\nthese. Each theatre had its purposes,\nreasons, virtues and defects. But don t\nbe flustered by anything new to you,\njust because you haven't seen it before.\nExample: Hoist's very beautiful new\nopera. Here was a fine thing spoiled\nby stupid 44 imitation \"or 44 realistic *\nsetting—that kind of scenery used in\nmusic halls and by the music hall in\nthe hope of getting round difficulties—\nin the vain hope of restablishing that\nintimacy which the actor requires.\nThe speaker then asked what is 44 sce-\nnery \" for ? and gave a sketch of what it\nused to be, is, and is working towards.\nAnd he asked his listeners not to ask\n44 is this usual or odd ? \" but 44 is it\nsuitable or unsuitable ? does it help ? \".\nAfter this he went on to suggest\nthat audiences might wake up;— as\nwho should say, 44 Let's all be a\ndamned sight more particular \".\nAltogether an entertaining and a\nvaluable lecture."}]}, {"article_id": "bm-bmtnaau-1924-04-01-c063", "article_bluemountain": "bmtnaau_1924-04_01#c063", "volume": "bmtnaau_1924-04_01", "ocr_source": "OCR Blue Mountain (ALTO), transcription TEI : lignes lb/@facs", "texte_sans_correction": true, "page_debut": "94", "page_fin": "94", "image_debut": 54, "image_fin": 54, "pages_selon": "pagination imprimée relevée dans le METS Blue Mountain (ORDERLABEL) ; [n] = page sans folio restituée", "url_article": "https://bluemountain.princeton.edu/bluemtn/?a=d&d=bmtnaau192404-01.2.19.4", "titre_corps": "A NOTE ON “ACCA”", "titre_sommaire": "A NOTE ON “ACCA”", "signature_source": "J. S", "controle": "bornes données par la structure logique METS/ALTO de Blue Mountain (blocs ALTO de chaque constituant)", "pages": [{"page_pdf": 54, "page_imprimee": "94", "url_page": "https://bluemountain.princeton.edu/bluemtn/?a=d&d=bmtnaau192404-01.1.54", "debut_caractere": 5543, "fin_caractere_exclue": 6909, "texte": "A NOTE ON “ACCA”.\nJ. S.\nmFmmmaKmaHmmsBmmmmaammmmmammmmamamBSiPSsammmmmmaammamamatmBtmamamHummamammmmmBmmm\nIN our last issue, in the article 44 Acca,\nA New Stage Language \" the au-\nthor states that this same new language\nis H-less. Yet in the very first sam-\nple which he gives he starts off with\nan H; thus: 44 Ho cazza man nox\nalia mazza\nSome of our readers have written\nto us asking how this is. We passed\nthese letters on to the writer of the\narticle, who replies :\n44 The whole line, 4 Ho cazza man\nnox alia mazza \" is essentially the cry\nof a shepherd, an uneducated peasant;\nand while amongst those who speak\nEnglish it is customary for the less\neducated to say 44 'Ave a drink along\no' me \", dropping the H, those who\ncome from the land where Acca is\nspoken, when they wish to seem une-\nducated in that speech, must put on\nan H now and again. It was for this\nprecise reason I selected as my first\nquotation a line which gave us the\ncommon touch which surely ought ne-\nver to be lost\nTHE British Empire Shakespeare\nSociety will shortly have a new\ngeneral Director Mr. Howard Rose.\nMr. Rose won the first professional\nprize offered by the Society sixteen\nyears ago, so the place to be vacated\nby Mr. Bond will be ably filled and\nwe look to see something happening\nof interest to Shakespeareans, ...that is\nto sav» to every Englishman worth his\n——y y ' \" 9\nsalt."}]}], "pages_ocr_originales": [{"page_pdf": 2, "page_imprimee": "[46]", "url_page": "https://bluemountain.princeton.edu/bluemtn/?a=d&d=bmtnaau192404-01.1.2", "texte": "FROM A LITHOGRAPH BY DAUMIER AND PHILIPON. MAY 1837. LA CHARIVARI.\nSpèculateur Dramatique\n\"Votre ouvrage est assez BONNE.... la ferai recevoir, je ferai copier le manuscript et\nvous ne me donnarez Pour cela que les trois quarts du droit mais une\nà la quelle je tiens. c'est que ie sois seul en nom, c'est une condition Sine qua NONNE!\"\n\nTHE MASK\n1924\nPlate 5."}, {"page_pdf": 3, "page_imprimee": "47", "url_page": "https://bluemountain.princeton.edu/bluemtn/?a=d&d=bmtnaau192404-01.1.3", "texte": "The Mask\n1908 1924\n\nDRAMA AND PLAY\n\nIT has been lately rather aggressively asserted that scenic artists have\nhad or claimed rather too much attention for their work.\nIf it were so it were a grievous fault. But is it so?\nEspecially unfortunate would it be if by paying a little too much\nattention to sceneries people were to be distracted from the plays. —\nBut is it so?\nWe have always stood out against such attempts to push forward\nthis or that part of the Theatre and to push back some other part\nof it.\nFor us it seems that, while the whole Theatre as instrument, is worth\nfull attention, any one bit of it alone and separated from the other\nbits was barely worth anything.\nIt is through this Instrument that the Drama comes, and Drama\ncannot exactly be called one of the parts of the instrument itself.\nThe Play is one of the most popular things and anything but disre-\ngarded today.\nThe Records of the Lord Chamberlain's Offices proves how popular.\nThousands of plays have been written, passed by the Censor and\nperformed these last fifty years, though to hear the cry raised only last\nyear at the audacity of the scenic men having a little look in,one would\nhave supposed plays were being rejected by the thousand, and Drama writers\n\n(1) We hope that their scenes have in no way thinned the receipts."}, {"page_pdf": 4, "page_imprimee": "48", "url_page": "https://bluemountain.princeton.edu/bluemtn/?a=d&d=bmtnaau192404-01.1.4", "texte": "the most put-upon men. There is no set of men in the Theatre better\noff than the play writers; they make their regular nightly percentage of\nfrom two to twenty pounds sterling, according to the size of the playhouses.\nAnd if a playwriter have one or another play of his being performed\nin five or six different theatres in Great Britain and in four or five Ame-\nrican theatres and in three or four Continental theatres during one week,\nthat means that he is receiving at the very least twelve fees that week,\ntwelve five pound notes (let us keep the average low) to sum up sixty\npounds.\nWe have been to Sweden, Germany, Holland, Russia, Denmark,\nFrance, Italy and America, and believe that in all these places we have\nseen the plays by our English playwriters.\nAnd besides these wideworld sources of income there are others as\nN\nwidely spread about. The plays are in book form or in magazines,\nand in most lands one comes across them.\nThen the cinematograph rights!\nSo let no one therefore pity the poor popular playwriter: let us rather\ncheer him up under so much prosperity and tell him that all's well and\nthat adversity, though it have its sweet side, has a bitter one too like\nprosperity.\nThree publishers last Christmas were offering six and nine and twenty-\nfive plays apiece for the public's delight and the playwright's pros-\nperity. As for books on the playwrights and play writing, they too were\nquite numerous last year, and a good thing too.\nIt is one of the now rather famous misrepresentations made about\n\" The Mask \" that it utterly disregards the play and the playwriter.\n\" The Mask \" has a duty to perform, and part of this certainly is\nto respect and consider with pride the work of the best dramatists; but its\ngreater duty is to see that other work and other workers are not pushed\naside, though of course it cannot do anything to secure for these\nother workers the nice fat incomes which many a more admirable,\npushful and topical playwriter has assured himself of.\n\nJ. S."}, {"page_pdf": 5, "page_imprimee": "49", "url_page": "https://bluemountain.princeton.edu/bluemtn/?a=d&d=bmtnaau192404-01.1.5", "texte": "A PORTRAIT OF LODOVICO ARIOSTO. 1474-1533.\nFrom the woodcut after Titian's design in the \"Orlando Furioso”, Ferrara 1532.\n\nTHE MASK\n1924"}, {"page_pdf": 7, "page_imprimee": "51", "url_page": "https://bluemountain.princeton.edu/bluemtn/?a=d&d=bmtnaau192404-01.1.7", "texte": "THE DECREE OF MOSCOW.\nTRANSLATED FROM THE FRENCH BY PIERRE RAMES, AND\nWITH FOREWORD, COMMENTS AND NOTES BY JOHN BALANCE.\nTO discipline ourselves, to put\nin order our English Play-\nhouse so that it may be fit\nto receive and to interpret\nthe Dramatic masterpieces of the\nPoets or whatever of value we may\nin time come to create, some Rules\nother than those dictated by the com-\nmercial sense of the day are necessary.\nThere seems no reason why we\nshould wait to have imposed upon\nour House conditions which, by use\nof a little common-sense, we could\nourselves draw up.\nTo this end some study of the\nDecree of Moscow may not be\nwithout its uses.\nNapoleon was a practical being\nwith his ideals fixed ; one of these\nwas for a better Theatre.\nIn his Decree, which today re-\nmains as valuable to the\nFrancaise as it was in 1812, he\n> 7 .\nhas shown his good sense for the\nplayhouse, and we might profit\nby it.\nIn the Decree we find no super-\nfluous expression of ideals, no noble\nsentiments, nothing but downright\ncommon-sense: but the common-\nsense is not common in the sense\nof being at all mean. It is no shop-\nkeeper's estimate ; it is a states-\nman's sensible decree.\n\nNAPOLEON\nAND THE THEATRE.\nNAPOLEON from the beginning of his\ncareer to the end of it valued the\nTheatre, made use of it, honoured its\nmembers and kept it fit.\nFrom the first he was often in the\ncompany of the actor Talma. When in\n1796 he married Josephine, it was from\nRue Chantereine N. 6, the house which had\nbelonged to Julie Carreau, the first wife of\nTalma ; she had been there six months ;\nfrom October of 1795 to March 9th\n1796, the day that Bonaparte and she\nwere united. Only a coincidence.\nWhen in 1799 he is setting out for\nEgypt it is one of his orders as Consul\nthat a troupe of actors and dancers shall\nbe rapidly brought together and sent there.\nThe boats were ready to leave when the\norder was given out in November. The\nactors wishing to go were to apply to the\nTheatre de la Republique, Rue de la\nLoi, giving their names, ages, and stating\nwhat they could do. Laplace, minister\nof the Interior, was to see to it: he em-\nploys Maherault who was the governmen-\ntal commissioner, believing that all the ac-\ntors that were necessary would soon be\nsecured. Delorme was proposed as a di-\nrector by Monvel pere. Rebie the old\nimpresario of the theatres of Louvois and\nNicolet at Paris, and in 1 799 the director\nof the Grand Theatre at Brussels, offered\nhis services as organizer. Deschamps the"}, {"page_pdf": 8, "page_imprimee": "52", "url_page": "https://bluemountain.princeton.edu/bluemtn/?a=d&d=bmtnaau192404-01.1.8", "texte": "director of the Jeunes-Artistes Salle Neuve\ndes Spectacles applied for the same post,\noffering his troupe, ready to leave at\nonce for Egypt, whom he guaranteed had\ngood will and first class memories and\ncould play 130 new pieces, for which\nhe had the parts, the music, costumes,\nand he awaited the honour of a reply....\nwith respect....\nBesides these wholesale dealers in\nTheatricals many a dancer, actor, stage-\nmanager and costumier applied, all of them\nunder thirty-nine years of age and most\nof them eighteen to twenty.\nIn the national archives of France we\ncan read their several applications. Among\nthem is one from a \" M. Brisse, ex-maire\nde la commune de Nancy, artiste au\ntheatre de Nantes, premiers roles \".\nHelas, poor M. Brisse the ex-maire\nof Nancy who wished to play premiers\nroles in a booth on the banks of the Nile\nwas destined to be disappointed : not one\nof the applicants but was destined to have\nhis hop es dashed ; for important M. Mahe-\nrault utterly failed to organize this very\nsimple affair.\nBonaparte, who has no time yet to\nshow the Maheraults of this world how\nto make an egg stand upright, leaves for\nEgypt without his actors. That the De-\ncree of Moscow was born of this failure\nof M. Maherault we can have little\ndoubt.\n§ A year later on December 22,\n1800 (or the year IX) Bonaparte writes\nto Chaptal the new minister of the Inte-\nrior to send a troupe of French actors to\nEgypt, and adds that though at first it\nseems futile, it is necessary, and he sug-\ngests how it should be done.\nIt was done ; off went a boat full of\nactors bound for Cairo; but in a few\nweeks back comes the news that the ship\nload has been seized by the English on\nthe night of the 18 th Pravial about a\ndozen leagues west of Alexandria.\nAfter some time they were rescued.\nTheir agent was paid 1 5,000 francs, and\nin all 60,000 francs went to the expense\nof this disastrous attempt to entertain the\narmy in Africa, for which First Consul\nBonaparte has estimated 40,000 francs as\nsufficient.\nWhether any French actors ever lan-\nded in Egypt in 1800 does not seem\nclear, though 1 always understood that\nsome company did get there and perform.\nThese failures doubtless strengthened\nBonaparte's determination, sooner or later,\nto organize the French Theatre beyond\nits power to fail.\nSo much for the beginning. And at\nthe end, during the Hundred Days, spite\nof the confusion which reigned, Napoleon\nissues his \" Instruction sur les Theatres \",\nMay 1815. It consists of 31 clauses ;\nand after the hundred days were over\nthe * Instruction ', though not bettered,,\nwas applied.\nWhen he becomes Emperor, Na-\npoleon does not seem to have been struck\nby any of the ideas which obtain today....\nthose ideas which Messrs Klaw and Er-\nlanger and others put to such good prac-\ntice (with such abominable results), and by\nwhich they held (and still hold for all I\nknow) control of some hundreds of thea-\ntres in America. The unbusinesslike me-\nthods of our day, whereby millions of\npounds are wasted on producing stuff no\none wants, and other millions wasted in\nmaking everyone come and see the stuff 0)\ndid not appeal to Napoleon.\nThese methods had however appealed?\n\n(1) t€ But they do want it \" howl the interested:\nhut that is only the worn-out of these same inte~~\nrested ones. For if the public wanted it, millions of\npounds would not have to be wasted in advertisement:\nthe public would rush to get what they Want, for this\nthey always do in sensible lands."}, {"page_pdf": 9, "page_imprimee": "53", "url_page": "https://bluemountain.princeton.edu/bluemtn/?a=d&d=bmtnaau192404-01.1.9", "texte": "to the Parisians at the time of the Revo-\nlution, and even the Revolution and all its\nrighteousness failed to cure the trouble.\nTheatricals had become like a big swift-\ngrowing creeper ; the theatre had by 1 799\nspread wherever it wished ; it was beco-\nming a nuisance and killing itself by un-\ncontrolled overgrowth.\nIn 1807 Napoleon, always keen on\ngardening, turns his attention to this plant,\nand, like a wise husbandman, prunes the\ncreeper Theatricus Dramaticus.\nIn a few minutes the matter is settled\nand a new start is made, or rather in\nfourteen days.\nHe gave Paris fourteen days within\nwhich to close all its many hundred thea-\ntres, public and private. Eight theatres\nalone were to be allowed to develope,\nand the sappers of the strength of Dra-\nmatic Art and the Theatrical profession\nwere cut off.\nDo this in London in 1924 and you'll\nsee a vast improvement in Dramatic Art.\nThe three large Parisian Theatres which\nwere allowed to function were :\n1. L'Academie imperiale de Musique,\nie. the Opera.\n2. Le Theatre Frangais.\n3. Le Theatre de l'lmperatrice, ie.\ni'Odeon.\nTwo supplementary theatres annexed\nto these were also allowed to remain\nopen :\n4. Opera-Comique.\n5. Vaudeville.\nBesides these three inferior theatres,\nLes Varietes, La Gaite and L'Ambigu,\nwere to go on.\nAnd, lest his Parisians should doubt\nwhether • he was serious, he limited every\ntown in France to a theatre a-piece except\nthe towns of Lyons, Bordeaux, Marseille,\nNantes and Turin which were allowed to\nhave two. Of the two hundred and se-\nventy towns which were restricted to one\ntheatre each some were of considerable\nsize and importance. For example Nancy,\nDijon, Geneve, Chambery, Toulon, Li-\nmoges, Orleans, Tours, Caen, Amiens,\nDieppe, Versailles, Cologne, Aix-Ia-Cha-\npelle, Bruges, Mayence and Coblentz were\nin this list.\nOnly fourteen towns were allowed to\nhave permanent troupes, and the others\nmight only at most accomodate one or\ntwo troupes ambulantes.\nHaving done this excellent bit of pru-\nning the gardener allowed nature to do\nthe rest.\nAnd now for five years the theatre\nunder his supervision begins to show signs\nof great improvement; so at the end of\nthat time (in 181 2) he decides that it is\nworth while giving to it a whole day's\nattention.\nOn that day, October 15th, he is in\nMoscow, and there he signs the \" De-\ncret de Moscou \", held by everyone to-\nday to still be a masterpiece of theatrical\norganization. This plan, they say, was\nbegun upon March 22nd.\nNature, always fond of her joke, and\nto remind gardeners in the future that they\nare after all very little things, Nature on\nthat very day, March 22nd, shakes her-\nself gently in the south, causing part of\nthe Amphitheatrum Flavium, ie. the Colos-\nseum of Roma, to fall."}, {"page_pdf": 10, "page_imprimee": "54", "url_page": "https://bluemountain.princeton.edu/bluemtn/?a=d&d=bmtnaau192404-01.1.10", "texte": "DECRET RE MOSCOU\nOttobre 15, 1812 (a).\n„,.0.. * i • . •\nOf the Superintendence, Administration,\nFinance, Police and Discipline of the\nTheatre-Francais.\nCLAUSE ONE.\nOF THE DIRECTION AND SUPERVISION OF\nTHE THEATRE FRANC AIS.\nArticle 1. — The Theatre-Frangais\nwill continue to be placed under the su-\npervision and direction of the superinten-\ndent of Our spectacles.\n2. —An imperial commissioner (c), to\nbe named by Ourself, will be charged\nwith the transmission to the actors of the\norders of the superintendent. He will\nsupervise all departments of the admini-\nstration and finance.\n3. — He will be charged, upon his\nown responsibility, with having carried\nout, in all their provisions, the regulations\norders of service of the superinten-\n| rp | • 1 i *|1 ii\ndent.— lo this end, he will personally\ngive the orders necessary (d).\n4. — In case of non-execution or vio-\nMon of regulationS) he wiU dmw\na written report> and transmit it to the\nsuperintendent.\nCLAUSE TWO.\nOF THE ASSOCIATION OF THE\nTHEATRE - FRANCAIS .\n5. — The actors (e) of Our Theatre-\nFrangais will continue to be united in a\nsociety, which will be administered accor-\nding to the following rules.\n6. — The proceeeds from the re-\nceipts, less all the expenses and outlays,\nwill be divided into twenty-four parts.\n7. — One of these parts will be set\nby in reserve, to be applied by the su-\nperintendent to unforeseen requirements ;\nif it be not employed in its entirety, the\nsurplus will be distributed at the end of\nthe year among the societaires.\n\n(a) On Oct. 15 1812 Napoleon was in the Kremlin in\nMoscow. By Dec. 18 he is back again in Paris with the rem-\nnants of his army. Banners tattered and trailing, veterans wound-\ned, and disaster: but he has kept our flag flying and embla-\nzoned it with his good sense, and we ought never to forget it.\n(b) Who the first 44 Surintendant des Spectacles \" was, I\ndo not think matters very much, more especially since I\ncannot find out. What is rather interesting is to note who\nthe Commissaire Imperial happened to be.\n(c) This 44 Commissaire Imperial\" is none other than the\nincompetent donkey Maherault who in 1799 failed so\nutterly to get ready in time the very first troupe of actors\never called for by Bonaparte and thus muddled the whole\nidea of ever getting French actors over to Alexandria.\nThat was 13 years ago : it is now 1812. The French\nDramatic Art is now on the highroad to success owing to\nthe personal attention given to it these past thirteen years\nby the First Consul and Emperor. And the man he se-\nlects to place in a position of \"responsibility\" over the\nTheatre is his old blunderer Maherault. Six months\nlater Maherault is replaced by M. Bernard. But he has\nhad his chance: first a chance to do something difficult,\nand had failed : now a chance to do something easy and\nhas failed again.\n(d) Thus authority, considered at that time as an\nessential, is established.\n(e) After the managers come the actors : not, we note\nwith some surprise, the Dramatists.\n(f) On arriving at this point, ie the actors, the first\nthought to come into the curious mind of this ogre from\nCorsica, is money. It is unaccountable but it is none the\nless here before us. And we may only hazard a guess\nthat it was because he had personally known actors and\nhad found them to be only too generous with their purse,\n— improvident, some call it, call it correctly so. So with\nNapoleon, after the word Actors he comes straight to\nmoney. I see in my mind's eye the good Talma, always\nextravagant, very solemnly reading the Decree aloud to a\ncircle of fellow actors. His brows work up and down as\nin 44 Cinna \". The heart of Mile. Mars is beating fast:\nMme. St. Huberty looks more and more like 4 Dido \\ and\nMile. George is proud of him. Duchesnois sniffs somewhat\ncritically recalling the 44 pi£ce de cinq francs \".\nIs Mile. Bourgoin present or not so well as could be\nhoped ? Poor Madame Contat is not there she is so ill;\nand the solemn Raucourt listens carefully.\nThey are all trying to think hard: to grasp the meaning\nof the words; the approval or disapproval shown by\nTalma's every inflection, every move of his mask, explains\nmore or less what they are to think. And Talma (except\nin 1815) is ever loyal and wise. What a pity that in 1816\nhe could come (with Mademoiselle Mars too) to accept\nfrom Louis XVI11 the yearly allowance of 30,000 francs.\nWell, Talma gives out Articles 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10 and 1 1\nin a voice which seems to say that he understands them\nperfectly. I wish I did : he wishes he did, but trust the\nGov'nor, it will be all right, and to deliver lines as\nthough he understood them is half Talma's business."}, {"page_pdf": 11, "page_imprimee": "55", "url_page": "https://bluemountain.princeton.edu/bluemtn/?a=d&d=bmtnaau192404-01.1.11", "texte": "8. — One half part will be set aside\nin reserve to augment the pension fund of\nthe society.\n9. — One half part will be annually\nemployed in decorations, furnishings, cos-\ntumes of the wardrobe, repairs of loges,\nand upkeep of the house, according to\nthe orders of the superintendent. The\nreservations ordained by the articles 7, 8,\nand 9 will only take place successively\nand according as occasion arises,.\n10. — The twenty-two remaining parts\nwill continue to be apportioned among the\nactor-societaires; from one eighth of a\nshare to one whole share, which will be\nthe maximum.\n11. — The unappropriated shares or\nportions of shares will be accorded or di-\nstributed by the superintendent of Our spec-\ntacles.\nSECTION II\n(«) .\nOF THE RETIRING PENSIONS.\n§ 1st. Of the time necessary for an\nactor to obtain his pension, and of its quota.\n12. — Every member who shall be\nreceived shall enter into a contract to\nplay for twenty years ; and, after twenty\nyears of uninterrupted service, he shall be\nable to retire, unless the superintendent\nthinks well to retain him.\nThe twenty years shall date from the\nday of debut when this shall have been\nimmediately followed by admission on trial\nand then into the society\n13. — The member who shall re-\ntire after twenty years shall have the right:\n1st to a pension for life of two thousand\nfrancs from the funds destined to the\nTheatre-Frangais, by the decree of the\n13 th of Messidor, Year X; 2nd to a pen-\nsion of equal amount out of the funds of\nthe society of which mention is made in\narticle 8.\n14. — If the superintendent thinks\nwell to prolong the service of a member\nbeyond twenty years, there will be ad-\nded, when he shall retire, a further hun-\ndred francs per year to each of the pen-\nsions referred to in the preceeding ar-\nticle.\n15. — A member who, owing to an\naccident having as its immediate cause the\nservice of Our Theatre- Frangais or of the\ntheatres of Our palaces, shall be obliged\nto retire before having accomplished his\ntwenty years, will receive in full the pen-\nsions set down iji article 13.\n16. — In case of incapacity to serve\narising from any other cause than that\nstated in article 15, the member shall be\nable, even before completing his twenty\nyears of service, to be placed on the\nretired list by order of the superinten-\ndent.\nIn this case, and if he have more than\nten years of service, to his credit, he shall\nhave right to a pension out of the go-\nvernment fund, and one out of the\ntaires' fund : each of these pensions shall\nbe at the rate of a hundred francs for\neach year of service, if he was holding a\nfull share; of seventy-five francs, if he\nheld three-quarters (of a share), and so\n\n(g) Before passing on to Section II, I ought to explain\nthat, while I cannot grasp the full meaning of Section I,\nthere are plenty of people who can: and it is enough for\nme if I have brought this Decree once more before them.\nWhat I well understand is that the whole fabric is sound;\nthat authority is here, and, once that appears, the money\ndetails (to me at least) are stfrely the least important of all.\nSection II is, I see, concerned with more of these\nmoney matters. Well and good. I as a stage manager\nam more concerned with other sections.\n(h) This \" twenty years \" I comprehend well: —\ntwenty years: with enough time to develope my troupe,\nand they well paid and so well satisfied, what could .be\nbetter. Twenty years I... that's the style."}, {"page_pdf": 12, "page_imprimee": "56", "url_page": "https://bluemountain.princeton.edu/bluemtn/?a=d&d=bmtnaau192404-01.1.12", "texte": "on in proportionate degree to his share in\nthe profits of the society W.\n17. — If the member have fulfilled\nless than ten years service, the superin-\ntendent shall be able to propose to Us the\npension that he shall hold fitting to ac-\ncord him, according to the services ren-\ndered to the society and the circumstan-\nces in which he shall be placed.\n18. — All these pensions shall be\naccorded by decisions issued in Our council\nof State, upon the judgment of the com-\nmittee, as has been ordained for Our im-\nperial academy of music by Our decree of\nJanuary 20th 1811.\n§ 2. Of the Method of paying the pensions.\n19. — The pensions chargeable upon\nthe fund of a hundred thousand francs of\nrevenue accorded by Us to Our Theatre-\nFrangais will be paid every three months,\nout of the funds which will be received\nfrom the sinking fund.\n20. — In case of insufficiency, pro-\nvision will be made from the part set by\nin reserve for unforeseen necessities.\n21. — To ensure the payment of the\npensions accorded upon the particular funds\nof the society, there will be deducted be-\nforehand, each year, and each month, out\nof the general receipts, a sum of fifty\nthousand francs G).\n22. — This sum will be paid into\nthe hands of the notary of the Theatre-\nFran$ais, and placed by him to the cre-\ndit of the society, according to the rules\nprescribed by article 32.\n23. — No societaire can pledge or\ntransfer to another the share for which\nhe contributes to this revenue.\n24. — On the retirement of each\ncietaire, or at his death, reimbursement of\ncapital from this reserved fund shall be\nmade to each member or to his heirs, in\nproportion to what he shall have contri-\nbuted.\n25. — Every member who shall quit\nthe theatre without having obtained the\npermission of the superintendent, shall for-\nfeit the sum which he shall have contri-\nbuted, and will not have a right to any\npension\n26. — Until such time as, by means\nof the above provisions, a revenue of fifty\nthousand francs be attained, the pensions\nof the society will be paid, in equal pro-\nportions, out of the interest of the reserve\nfunds and but of the general receipts of\neach month.\n27. — When the revenue shall be\nestablished, if there is any balance after\nthe annual payment of the pensions, it will\nbe disposed of for the benefit of the so-\nciety, with the authorization of the supe-\nrintendent 0.\nSECTION III.\nOF THE RETIREMENT OF THE SALARIED\nACTORS, AND EMPLOYES .\n28. — After twenty years or more\nof uninterrupted service on the part of a\nsalaried actor or actress, after only ten\nyears of service in case of infirmities, and,\nin case of accidents, as stated for the so-\ncietal! es, article 15, the su perintendent\n\n(i) More and more about francs and hundreds of\nfrancs.... and the more the better. The value of pensions\nto those actors who are no longer able to work quite as\nhard as before is never to be forgotten: an actor and\nactress sometimes cannot go on : cannot appear; with a\nstage manager it is different. A stage manager, if he have\nan ounce of imagination, ought surely to be able to live on\nthat imagination when he grows too tired to manage a stage.\n(j) I see still more mention of francs and thousands of\nfrancs. What a good Decree this is.\n(k) That is a nasty clause.... but what would you ?\nWould you expect to get many thousands of francs and\nnot be prepared to give at least obedience for these sums?\nIt is wisely nasty, this clause 25.\n(1) I see no possible escape for the actor : he cannot\navoid his pension."}, {"page_pdf": 13, "page_imprimee": "57", "url_page": "https://bluemountain.princeton.edu/bluemtn/?a=d&d=bmtnaau192404-01.1.13", "texte": "shall be able to propose to Us to grant,\nhalf out of the fund of a hundred thou-\nsand francs, and half out of that of the\nsociety, a pension which, all included,\nshall not exceed the half of the salary\nwhich the actor or actress shall have\nenjoyed during the last three years of ser-\nvice\n29. — The imperial commissioner shall\nbe able also to obtain a retiring fund or\npension in accordance with the regulations\nestablished in article 28; but it will be\npaid in full out of the fund of a hun-\ndred thousand francs.\nCLAUSE THREE.\nSECTION I. OF THE ADMINISTRATION OF\nTHE INTERESTS OF THE SOCIETY.\n30. — A committee, composed of\nsix men, members of the society, presided\nover by the imperial commissioner, and\nhaving a secretary to keep the minutes of\nthe deliberations, will be charged with the\nmanagement and administration of the inte-\nrests of the society.\nThe superintendent will nominate, each\nyear, the members of this committee.\nThey will be indefinitely re-eligible.\nThree of these members will be char-\nged with the execution of its resolu-\ntions (n).\n31. The superintendent shall be able\nto revoke them and substitute them at will.\n32. — The particular functions of\nthis committee shall be :\n1st. — To draw up, each year, the\nbudget or presumed estimate of the expen-\nses of every kind, and to submit them to\nthe examination of the general assembly\nof the members and to the approval of the\nsuperintendent ;\n2nd. — To order and have dischar-\nged, within the limits contained in the\nbudget of each kind of expenses, those\nwhich shall be necessary for all depart-\nments of the service ; to which end one\nof its members will be designated for the\nsigning of orders for supplies or for work,\nand of orders for payment;\n3rd. — To draw up contracts for all\npurchases, undertakings of service, or acts\nfor the society ;\n4th. — To inspect, regulate and or-\nder in all the departments of the salle,\ntheatre, magazines, etc ;\n5th. — To verify the receipts, to ins-\npect the box office receipts, and to carry\nout the payment of the shares, salaries,\npensions or sums set in reserve, according\nto the present regulation ;\n6th. — To exercise in regard to all\npayments or in every other case, whether\nas claimant or defendant, all the acts and\nrights of the society, after having, howe-\nver, taken the advice of the general as-\nsembly, and the authorization of the su-\nperintendent.\n\n(m) I fancy that here I, the stage manager, the hum-\nblest of the employes, am about to be drawn into the net\n— the net in which I too shall profit.\n(n) This looks like work. If I am an actor I might\nbe inclined to ask \" What am I engaged to do —to act\nor to be an administrator ? \" But there again I hardly think\nI should feel very inclined to ask any question at all. Sup-\npose it involved me in some risk.... suppose — no, it is too\nhorrible to suppose I might lose.... 1 think, if I am an\nactor, I had better sit quiet and, if called upon, pretend\nto be an administrator and so act the real administrators\noff the stage. For the actor there is always this way out\nof every clause. That's what made Napoleon sigh at the\nmoment he penned Clause 30 that night in the Kremlin.\nM. de Spatz asked him at the time if he was at all troubled\nwith the cold and he put him off by pointing his pen at\nthe crimson sky : \" Rien — merely was I thinking how long\na time it will take to put out Moscow\n(o) The stage manager I see will be drawn into it —he\nwill assuredly become an administrator or something quite\nas hard worked in his off hours. I suppose then that he\nwould be forced to accept a pension. What a strange\nthing money is. It is of no good, and yet have it offered\nyou and try to refuse it: all the obligations in the world\nwont put you against it. That's why it's so awkward for\nthose who offer it you, if you have been happy without it."}, {"page_pdf": 14, "page_imprimee": "58", "url_page": "https://bluemountain.princeton.edu/bluemtn/?a=d&d=bmtnaau192404-01.1.14", "texte": "SECTION II. OF THE EXPENSES, PAYMENTS,\nAND ACCOUNTING.\n33. — The cashier will be nomina-\nted by the committee, and submitted to\nthe approbation of the superintendent.\nHe will furnish in real estate (7m-\nmeuble) a security of sixty thousand francs,\nthe titles of which will be verified by the\nnotary of the theatre, who shall have all\nthe conservative acts drawn up in the\nname of the society.\n34. — At the end of each month\nthe statements of receipts and ex penditures\nwill be checked by the committee, and ap-\nproved by the imperial commissioner.\n35. — Following upon this checking\nand this approval there will be first de-\nducted from the receipts; 1st the au-\nthors rights ; then all the expenses : ie 1st,\nactors' salaries, payments of employes or su-\npernumeraries—( gagistes) ; 2nd the pre-\nscribed sum for the pension fund of the\nsociety ; 3nd the sum total of the bills,\nboth for the running expenses and extra-\nordinary items (ph\n36. — The rest will be divided\nconformably to the articles 6, 7, 8, 9\nand 10.\n37. — The cashier will receive every\nthree months, from the sinking fund, the\nquarter of the hundred thousand francs of\nrevenue destined for the Theatre-Frangais,\nand will liquidate with these twenty-five\nthousand francs, and, at need, with the\nproceeds of the share of which mention\nis made in article 7, in accordance with\nthe statements drawn up by the imperial\ncommissioner and checked by the supe-\nrintendent: 1st, the pensions of the retired\nactors or other pensioners ; 2nd the in-\ndemnities as supplement to the salaries ac-\ncorded to the actors ; 3rd the salary of\nthe imperial commissioner ; 4th the rent\nof the salle. f*)\n38. — At the end of each year the\ncashier will make out the statement of the\nreceipts and expenses, for the funds of the\nsociety.\n39. — This statement will be laid\nbefore the committee, which will examine\nit and give its opinion.\nIt will then be presented to the ge-\nneral assembly of the who shall\nhave the right to nominate a commission\nof three of its members to re-examine it\nand make observations regarding it if there\nbe occasion, in another general assembly.\nFinally, the account will be submitted\nto the superintendent, who will approve it\nif there be ground for so doing.\n40. — The cashier will also draw\nup the account of the hundred thousand\nfrancs accorded by the government,\nand of the shares put at the disposal of\nthe superintendent. This account will be\nviseed by the imperial commissioner, and\nchecked by the superintendent.\n41. — Out of the part reserved for\nunforeseen expenses there shall be able to\nbe accorded by the superintendent, to those\nactors or actresses who should find them-\nselves charged with over-heavy expenses\nfor costumes or toilettes, an authorization\nto have made by the wardrobe depart-\nment dresses in which to play one or se-\nveral roles.\n\n(p) It all sounds as though Napoleon was condensing\nand copying out in little what was writ in large as the way\nto manage the Empire.\n\" The Theatre being the world in little he mutters,\n\" why not go on copying out: more especially since they\nseem never going to put Moscow out and I have absolutely\nnothing to do *\\\n(q) On reaching this point I admit I began to break\ndown. This was the first time I had ever read the Decree.\nI had read of it: everyone said it was immense; but I\nhad no idea it was to prove as immense as it is now pro-\nving itself.\nThis is Clause 40, and from clause 5 until now the\njoke has not varied — the talk is still of hundreds and\nof thousands of francs. And I held the hope that ere\nthis the matter would have been settled and we should\nhave by now arrived at some question of the Drama.\n(*) The salle now belongs to the State,"}, {"page_pdf": 15, "page_imprimee": "59", "url_page": "https://bluemountain.princeton.edu/bluemtn/?a=d&d=bmtnaau192404-01.1.15", "texte": "SECTION III. OF THE GENERAL ASSEMBLIES.\n42. — The general assembly of all\nthe societaires is necessarily convoked by\nthe committee, and is held for the follow-\ning objects :\n1st, At the latest in the last week of\nthe last month of the year, to examine and\ngive its opinion on the budget for the\nfollowing year, in conformance with the 1st\nparagraph of the 32nd article ;\n2nd. At the latest in the last week\nof the first month of each year to exa-\nmine the statement of accounts of the pre-\nceeding year, and then to hear the report of\nthe commission, if one has been nominated.\n43. — The general assembly must\nbe, moreover, convoked by the committee\nevery time that there is occasion for the\ninvestment of money ; actions to sustain,\neither as defendant or claimant; expendi-\nture to be made exceeding those expen-\nses authorized by the budget: cases in\nwhich the general assembly is to give its\nopinion, after which the superintendent de-\ncides, after having seen the opinion of the\ncouncil which is spoken of under Clause VII.\n44. — The general assembly can, in\naddition, be convoked by order of the\nsuperintendent when he deems it neces-\nsary to consult it, or with his authoriza-\ntion, if the committee demands it, for all\nextraordinary and unforeseen cases.\nCLAUSE IV.\nOF THE THEATRE ADMINISTRATION,\nSECTION I. GENERAL\n45. — The committee, established\nby article 30, shall be equally charged\nwith all which concerns the theatrical ad-\nministration, the formation of the reperto-\nries, the execution of the orders for debuts,\nthe reception of the new pieces, under the\nsupervision of the imperial commissioner and\nthe authority of the superintendent,\n§ 1st. Of the distribution of the parts.\n46. — The superintendent W will de-\ntermine, immediately on publication of the\npresent regulation, the exact distribution\nof the different parts.\nHe will consequently cause to be drawit\nup a general statement of all the pieces,\nwhether included in or to be added to\n{the repertoire), with the names of the\nactors and actresses among the societaires\nwho are to play, in first, second or third\nrank, the roles of each of these pieces,\naccording to their line of business and\ntheir seniority, to the end that there may\nbe no further controversy in this matter (sh\n47. — No actor or actress shall be\nable to hold the first rank for two diffe-\nrent lines of business without a special\nauthorization of the superintendent, who\nwill accord it but rarely and then only\nfor weighty reasons.\n48. — If an actor or actress, holding\npremier rank in one line of business wishes\nto play another ; if, for example, holding\na tragic part, he wishes to play in co-\nmedy, or if, playing the roles of jeune\npremier he wishes to play some other line,\nhe may not take precedence over him who\nheld the first rank in that line before, but\nwill take the second rank in the said line\nof business even should he be senior to\nhis comrade.\n\n(r) The Superintendent again. Yes, I think I should prefer\nto be the Superintendent. He has a great deal of respon-\nsibility, a very little work, is in no danger of losing his reason\nfrom hearing that jingling street cry of 44 Cent miile francs\n(s) So that they will know some twenty years in\nadvance what roles they have to prepare for: how excel-\nlent. Now if some writer in 44 The Mask \" had suggested ,\nthat it was desirable, possible, to decide so far in advance\nwhat actors were to prepare themselves for, Theatrical\nLondon would have protested that it was neither desirable\nnor practical. The writers for 44 The Mask \" have often been\npraised for being artists: they may be or may not be, but\nit would have been no loss to the British stage had they\nalso been appreciated as practical."}, {"page_pdf": 16, "page_imprimee": "60", "url_page": "https://bluemountain.princeton.edu/bluemtn/?a=d&d=bmtnaau192404-01.1.16", "texte": "Our superintendent shall only be able\nto authorize him to play the roles of the\nhew line which he shall wish to assume\nalternatively with him who was playing\nthem en chef ou en premier; (ie, who\nwas already playing first lead in that par-\nticular line) W.\n§ 2. Of the formation of the Repertory.\n49. — The repertory will be drawn\nup in the committee established by arti-\ncle 30, to which will be added, for\nthis purpose alone, two women socie-\ntaires (u), in conformity with the decree\nof the council of December 9th 1780.\n50. — The repertories will be arran-\nged in such a manner that each role may\nhave a second or understudy designated,\nwho can play in default of the leading\nactor, if he have valid excuses, and with-\nout the piece being necessarily changed or\nits performance retarded owing to the ab-\nsense of one or more of the leading actors.\n51. — To supervise the performance\nof the repertory two societaires shall be\nadded to the committee under the title oi\nsemainiers (ie, on duty by the week) ;\neach societaire will be semainier in his\nturn (v).\n52. — If an understudy being charged\nwith a role in the repertory fall ill, the\nactor of first rank in that line, if he be well,\nwill be bound to play it on being notified\nby the semainier.\n53. — A leading actor may not refuse\nto play, nor wholly abandon to his un-\nderstudy, any of the premier roles of his\nown line of business ; he will play them,\ngood or bad, when called upon to do so\nby the repertory,\n54. — No leading actor shall be able\nto reserve exclusively for himself one or\nmore roles of his line of business. The\ncommittee will take the necessary measures\nso that the understudies may be heard by\nthe public in the principal roles of their\nrespective lines of business three or four\ntimes a month (w).\nThey will also be equally watchful to\nthe end that the acteurs a Vessais, (pro-\nbationers) may be afforded means of\nexercising their talents and of having their\nprogress adjudged.\nCLAUSE V.\nOF THE NEW PIECES AND OF THE AUTHORS.\n68. — The reading of the new pieces\nwill take place before a council com-\nposed of nine persons, chosen among the\nsenior societaires, by the superintendent,\nwho will nominate in addition three sub-\n\n(t) In brief, no soubrette may attempt 44 The Second\nMrs Tanqueray no tragic actress may be Lady Macbeth\ntoday and Judy tomorrow. The Ainley who plays Romeo,\nFantasio, Perdican must go on playing those parts, not\nsuddenly hope to snatch the part of Launce from the fin-\ngers of Mr Hay Petrie, who in his turn never attempt\nto play Shylock.\nYet 'tis not to crush but to control versatility that these\nclauses have been framed, for Clause 48 does permit Mr\nTree the fine comedian to attempt Shylock, but only side\nby side with Irving, the night after Irving has played it.\nThe odds therefore are against Mr Tree — but he may,\nif he like, risk it.\nSo it came out that Delauney went on playing the\nyoung lovers' roles until well past fifty-five I believe, for\nno one could ever play them better and he could not do\nmore than pretend to high tragedy.\nVersatility is a quality not encouraged or needed in a\narge group of actors for whom provision is made for more\nthan twenty years in advance. Besides, Versatility is rare,-\nand the Frederic Lemaitres and Garricks perhaps have no\nneed of the Frangaise or of Decrees either. They\nbelong to other spheres; they have their liberty and their ver-\nsatility as a lump sum down, to do with them what they\ncan. Rachel, Delauny, Kemble, Dugazon, Preville, Talma,\nDumesnill, Duchesnois, in fact the majority of great actors,,\nstand in the utmost need of this and like Decrees and Homes\nas well established as the Theatre Frangais.\n(u) Two, not six, not twelve ; a limited number,\n(v) Thus, while each actor is expected and obliged to\nkeep to his own line of part, every actor is expected and\nobliged to lend a hand for the good of all — to work as\noverseer at regular intervals.\n(w) This cuts both ways. The leading actor is obliged to\nrest, the lesser actor is obliged to keep ready and, who knows,\nby practice is enabled at last to do what he felt he never\ncould do, that is to say, play the leading role finally with\nimmense ability. Clauses 49 to 54 are indeed admirably framed."}, {"page_pdf": 17, "page_imprimee": "61", "url_page": "https://bluemountain.princeton.edu/bluemtn/?a=d&d=bmtnaau192404-01.1.17", "texte": "stitutes, so that the number of the members\nof the committee may be always complete.\n69. — Acceptance will be decided\n*\nby the majority of the votes W.\n70. — If one part of the votes be\nin favour of return for correction, another\nballot shall be taken on the question of\nthe return, and votes cast as Yes or No.\n71. — If there are only four votes\nin favour of return for correction, the piece\nis accepted.\n72. — The author's part in the pro-\nceeds of the receipts, ie, in the third pre-\ndeducted for expenses, is one eighth for a\npiece in five or four acts ; one twelfth for\na piece in three acts, and one sixteenth\nfor a piece in one or two acts; the au-\nthors and actors may, however, make\nanother agreement at their mutual pleasure.\n73. — The author's returns commence\nfrom the moment when rehearsal of his\npiece begins and continue for three years\nafter the first representation in the case of\na work in five or four acts, two years in\nthe case of a work in three acts, one year\nin the case of a piece in one and two acts.\nThe author of two pieces in five and in four\nacts, or of three pieces in three acts, or of\nfour pieces in one act, which have been re-\ntained in the theatre, receives his income\nfrom them throughout his lifetime.\nCLAUSE VI.\nOF THE \"POLICE\" (DISCIPLINE).\n74. — The presidency and discipline\nof the assemblies, whether in general or\nof the various committees, is exercised by\nthe imperial commissioner.\n75. — Any person who fails in su-\nbordination towards his superiors ; who,\nwithout an excuse which is judged valid,\nbrings about the change of the spectacle\nindicated on the repertory or who refuses\nto play either a role of his own line of\nbusiness or another role which may be\ncast for him in the service of the theatres\nof Our palaces, or who causes the service\nto fail by not being at his post at the\nhour fixed, is condemned, according to the\ngravity of the case, to one of the follow-\ning penalties (y).\n76. — These penalties are fines, exclu-\nsion from the general assemblies of the\nsocietaires and from the committee of ad-\nministration, temporary or definitive expul-\nsion from the theatre, the loss of the pen-\nsion, and arrest.\nThe fines under twenty-five francs will\nbe inflicted by the committee presided\nover by the imperial commissioner.\nThe exclusion from the general assem-\nblies and from the committee of admini-\nstration may be inflicted in the same man-\nner ; but the imperial commissioner is bound\nto render an account of the reasons to the\nsuperintendent.\nThe imperial commissioner who shall\nhave requested the committee to inflict a\npenalty will, in case of refusal so to\ndo, inform the superintendent, who will\ndecide.\n78. — The fines over twenty-five\nfrancs and the other punishments are in-\nflicted by the superintendent upon the re-\nport, assigning the causes, of the imperial\ncommissioner.\n\n(x) Thus the play will be chosen by answering the\nquestion \" Can we nine actors all play these nine parts ? \"\nNot \"Is it a great play ? \" For who but the actors of it can\nsay \" this is a great play \". To make as sure as possible\nthat th?y will be capable of playing every play of great\nparts come Glauses 49 to 54, which provide incessant\npractice for the actors.\nWith incessant practice of actors united together in their\nown house, under a superintendent (clause I) and a corn-\nmissioner (clauses 2) all is possible.\n(y) Penalties. The penalties are too great today. The\nactor loses his engagement or is driven off the stage, or\nsome sort of injustice of the backwoods order is doled out\nto him. Here it is mainly fines.... forfeit of some of those\nfine, useful francs with which the first forty clauses jingled\nso incessantly."}, {"page_pdf": 18, "page_imprimee": "62", "url_page": "https://bluemountain.princeton.edu/bluemtn/?a=d&d=bmtnaau192404-01.1.18", "texte": "Final expulsion will only take place in\ngrave cases and after the opinion of the\ncommittee has been taken.\n79. — No individual may absent him-\nself without the permission of the supe-\nrintendent.\n80. — Leaves of absense are given\nby the superintendent, who cannot accord\nmore than two at one time, nor for a\nlonger period than two months : they can-\nnot take place save after May 1st and be-\nfore November 1st.\nAny individual who, having obtained\na leave of absense, outstays the term, pays\na fine equal to the proceeds of his share\nduring all the time that he shall have been\nabsent from the theatre.\n82. — When an individual, after ten\nyears of service, shall have reiterated for\nthe space of a. year the application for\nhis retirement, and shall declare that\nhe has the intention of not performing\nany more in any theatre, either French\nor foreign, his retirement may not be\nrefused him ; but he will not have a\nright to any pension, nor to withdraw his\nshare of the annual fund of fifty thousand\nfrancs (zb\nCLAUSE VII.\nGENERAL DISPOSITIONS.\n83. — The -actors of the Theatre\nFrangais shall not be able to exempt\nthemselves from giving a performance every\nday without a special authorization of the\nsuperintendent, under pain of paying, for\neach closure, a sum of five hundred francs,\nwhich will be deposited in the coffer for\nthe poor at the disposal of the prefect of\npolice.\n84. — Each societaire having accom-\nplished thirty years of effective service\nshall be able to obtain a performance for\nhis benefit at the time of his retirement:\nthis performance shall not be able to\ntake place save in the Theatre-Frangais,\nin conformity with Our decree of July 29th\n1807.\n85. — Any individual who has re-\ntired from the Theatre-Francais shall not\n_>\nbe able to reappear in any theatre,\nwhether in Paris or the departments,\nwithout the permission of the superin-\ntendent (wwb\n86. — All matters of dispute shall\nbe submitted to the examination of a\ncouncil of lawyers, and no judicial pro-\nceedings shall be able to be taken in the\nname of the society without the opinion\nof the council having been taken.\nThis council will to be com-\nf v\nposed as it is at the present time, and\nwill be reduced in the future, by death\nor resignation, to the number of three\njurisconsults, two advocates, and. a notary\nof the theatre.\nIn case of vacancies the nomination\nwill be made by the committee with the\nagreement of the superintendent.\n87. — The superintendent will make\nsuch rules as he shall judge necessary for\nall departments of the interior admini-\nstration.\n88. — The decrees of the 29th July\nand 1st November 1807 are maintained\nin all which is not contrary to the above\ndisposition.\n\n(z) On receiving the first request the Committee and\nSuperintendant will encourage his understudy to make ef-\nforts so that at the end of the year if he still wish to go\n— which is very unlikely — the understudy will be almost\nable to fill the vacant place to perfection. And, what is\nmore, his share of the annual fund of 50,000 francs will\nstay in the Theatre coffers, and the poor-spirited fellow\nwill have caused the Theatre to become the richer,\n(ww) The very last thing any actors would have\nin their heads to do of course : but until a Decree like\nthis one be made, the very first thing they always have\ndone."}, {"page_pdf": 19, "page_imprimee": "63", "url_page": "https://bluemountain.princeton.edu/bluemtn/?a=d&d=bmtnaau192404-01.1.19", "texte": "CLAUSE VIII.\nOF THE PUPILS OF THE THEATRE\nFRANC A IS (xx).\n§ 1st. Number,nomination,\nand maintenance of\n89. — There will be, at Our impe-\nrial Conservatory, eighteen pupils for Our\nTheatre-Fra ngais, nine of each sex.\n90. -— They will be designated by\nOur Minister of the Interior, they will be\naged less than fifteen years.\n91. — They will be treated at the\nConservatory like the other students who are\nadmitted there for singing and lyric tragedy.\n92. — They will be able to follow\nthe music classes ; but they will be more\nespecially applied to the art of declama-\ntion, and will follow punctually the cour-\nses of the professors, according to the\ngenre for which they shall be destined.\n93. — To this end, independently\nof the professors, there will be, for the\ndramatic art, two tutors of a different\nkind, who will cause the pupils to recite\nand work each day in the intervals of the\nclasses, at hours which will be fixed.\n94. — There will be, besides, a pro-\nfessor of grammar, of history and of\nmythology as applied to the dramatic art,\nwho will specially teach the pupils des-\ntined for the Theatre-Francais by).\n95. — The pupils, will be examined\nevery year by the professors and the direc-\ntor of the Conservatory; and a report of the\nresult will be given to Our Minister of\nthe Interior and to the superintendent of\nthe theatres.\n96. — The pupils who shall not raise\nhopes of themselves shall not continue their\ncourses, and will be replaced\n97. — Those who should not yet be\ncapable of making their debut in our\nTheatre-Frangais shall be able, with the\npermission of the superintendent, to engage\nthemselves for a time at the theatre de\nI'Odeon, or in the companies of the de-\npartments.\n98. — Those who shall be judged\ncapable of making their debut shall be\nable to receive from the superintendent an\nordre de debut,and to be, according to\ncustom, put on trial during at least a year,\nand subsequently admitted as as\nit is stated in article 67.\n§ 2. Of the expenditures for the pu-\npils of the dramatic\n99. — The expenditure for each of\nthe pupils is fixed at 1,100 francs. The\nsalary, for each of the tutors, at 2,200 francs.\nThe professor's salary at 3,000 francs.\n100. — In consequence, Our Minister\nof the Interior will dispense from the fund\n\n(xx) A school! What a notion ! Why a school ? And\nwhy only eighteen pupils ? — why not everyone who is\nready to pay the fees of the school ? Why under fifteen\nyears of age ?\nWhy a school ? Because no one but the carefully trained\nshall jolly his or her way on to the stage, elbowing past\ntheir betters.\nWhy only eighteen pupils ? Because that is the maximum\namount of talented plus disciplined debutants possible to be\nfound in the very largest city. Nowadays any one with\nbut the faintest amount of talent and sense of order is\nwelcomed as a god-send, and in a very few years, some-\ntimes months, is put into the first rank : praised beyond\nhis or her merits by the modern Clement Scott with his\n\" Oh, what divine talent ! \" and his \" Oh, how wonder-\nful I \" and our T heatre weakened in the process,\nWhy \" under fifteen years \" ? Ask the Navy. Does\nthe Navy attempt to begin the training of sailors, captains,\nadmirals after it be too late to teach discipline and everything\nelse that counts for strength and quality ?\n(yy) Why grammar ? why history ? why mythology ?\nasks an actor.\nBecause in those days dramas dealt with gods, heroes\nand historical persons and it was as well to pronounce the\nvowels exactly, the syllables distinctly, and to pay some\nattention to commas, colons, semicolons and full stops. Now-\nadays it does not matter, since the Gods are considered\nout of place, Heroes held to be non-existent, and History\nto be a matter of dead and gone things.\n(zz) Nowadays these hopeless pupils are encouraged\nand before long take leading positions in our theatres, re-\nplacing men and women of greater capacity. If besides\nbeing hopeless they are pushful, they come to dominate\nnicely and to satisfactorily ruin our stages."}, {"page_pdf": 20, "page_imprimee": "64", "url_page": "https://bluemountain.princeton.edu/bluemtn/?a=d&d=bmtnaau192404-01.1.20", "texte": "for unforeseen expenses of his ministry,\n26,800 francs above that allowed for Our\nImperial Conservatory of music.\n101. — Our Ministers of the Police,\nof the Interior, of Finance, of the Trea-\nsury, and the Superintendant of Our Thea-\ntres are charged with the execution of the\npresent decree, which will be incorpora-\nted in the \" Bulletin de Lois \".\nSigned\nNAPOLEON.\nBy the Emperor\nThe Minister Secretary of State\nDUG DE CADORE.\nA FINAL WORD.\nSO ends the famous Decree which brought\ntogether, sealed and legalized all the re-\nforms attempted by Napoleon since 1802.\nAs Lecomte points out, it reconciled two\ncontrary principles, using the good that was\nin each: the principles of democracy, which\nwere represented by the Committee, and the\nmonarchic principle represented by the Sur-\nintendant.\nSince the Decree was created it has un-\ndergone only the very faintest revision, for\nwhenever its careful administrators attempted\nto alter a single essential they found themselves\nforced back upon the original document, which\nit was found impossible to improve on. Time\nand again the attempt to better the Decree\nwas tried and failed.\nWhen in 1814 Napoleon was beaten and\nobliged to abdicate, betrayed by many of\nthose men and women whose fortunes he had\nmade, the Come die Frangaise, perfect by\nnow in its grammar but slightly deficient still\nin History and Mythology (see Clause 94),\nthrew open its doors to welcome Louis XVIII.\nCaliban : *Ban, 'Ban, Ca-Caliban\nHas a new master—Get a new man.\nFreedom, hey-day ! hey-day, freedom ! free-\ndom, heyday, f r e edom !\nSiefano : O brave monster ! lead the way.\nAnd on the evening of April 2nd Talma,\nthe head of the Comedie, reads from the\nstage of the old playhouse verses crying down\nhis vanquished Emperor, benefactor and the\nFrench Theatre's truest friend.\nIt is said that the whole house compelled\nhim to do this.\nMadame Raucourt did better—she died.\nAnd for the others, they were proud to call\nthemselves Comediens ordinaires du Roi.\nTHEN the Hundred Days.\nReturning to Paris on the 17th of April\n1815 Napoleon established himself at the\nElysees: he attended two performances, one\non April 17th at the Opera and one at the\nTheatre Frangais on April 21st. He signi-\nfied to Talma, Lafon and Duchesnois his sa-\ntisfaction with the way in which they had\nplayed their parts.\nIt is not true, as some report, that the\nground opened beneath them. They had to\nsuffer where they stood. The benefits which\nhe had heaped on them became bearable.\nOn May 31st the Opera sends a gift of\n3000 francs to the Minister of the Interior\nand was held to be very patriotic for the\ndeed. When in the accounts we see that Na-\npoleon paid between March 20th and May\n30th 3,111 francs 10 centimes for his s\nwhich he used but once, the exact worth of\nthe patriotism becomes evident.\nThe Theatres at Lyons and Toulouse\nwished to hastily put on a vaudeville piece\n\" The Return of the Hero \", and a drama,\n\" The Triumph of Leon \", and Leon was to\nlook like Napoleon. The Emperor forbade\nboth productions.\nOn June 12th Napoleon leaves Paris for\nWaterloo. On June 18th he loses the battle\nof Waterloo, and Europe loses Napoleon.\nBUT ENLIGHTENED EUROPE IS NOT HAPPY.\nITS EXISTENCE IS A FEVER, WHICH IT\nCALLS PROGRESS. PROGRESS TO WHAT?\nAMID EMPIRES SHRIVELLED INTO DESERTS,\nAMID THE WRECKS OF GREAT CITIES, A\nSINGLE COLUMN OR OBELISK OF WHICH NA-\nTIONS IMPORT FOR THE PRIME ORNAMENT\nOF THEIR MUD-BUILT CAPITALS, AMID ARTS\nFORGOTTEN, COMMERCE ANNIHILATED,\nFRAGMENTARY LITERATURES AND POPULA-\nTIONS DESTROYED, THE EUROPEAN TALKS OF\nPROGRESS, BECAUSE, BY AN INGENIOUS APPLI-\nCATION OF SOME SCIENTIFIC ACQUIREMENTS,\nHE HAS ESTABLISHED A SOCIETY WHICH HAS\nMISTAKEN COMFORT FOR CIVILIZATION \".\nBENJAMEN DISRAELI."}, {"page_pdf": 21, "page_imprimee": "65", "url_page": "https://bluemountain.princeton.edu/bluemtn/?a=d&d=bmtnaau192404-01.1.21", "texte": "A LIST OF NAPOLEON'S\nFAVOURITE PIECES.\nJ. B.\nNAPOLEON was more fond of high tragedy\nthan of any other form of dramatic art, for\nto him \" tragedie echauffe l ame, eleve le\ncoeur, peut et doit creer des heros !\nAfter Tragedy, Italian music was his chief\ndelight, not Comedy.\n\" J'accepte \" he said \" {'admiration ge-\nnerale pour Moliere, mais je ne la partage\npas ; il a place ses personages dans des ca-\ndres ou je ne me suis jamais avise d'alier\nles regarder agir\nDrama, the ordinary dramas, he considered\nand called tragedies fit for \" femmes de cham-\nbres \" and good enough to last a few evenings.\nWhat he would have said had he come\nto London or Paris tonight and seen the fine\ndisplay of pieces fit for \" femmes de cham-\nbres \" and enjoyed by their betters or infe-\nriors or equals is of little importance. Not a\nman of many words at any time, it is what\nhe would have done that we may be left to\nponder. Swept the whole display away in\nten days, is what I guess. It took him only\nfifteen days to close the many hundred theatres\nof Paris, reducing them to eight. That was\nin 1807. Weeds grow quickly, and the dra-\nma in London and Paris is strangled by a\ntangle of theatrical weeds.\nBelow is given a short list of the trage-\ndies, Italian operas, comedies and ballets\nwhich pleased Napoleon most, and the num-\nber of times he witnessed each (a).\nq TRAGEDY. Andromaque, 9; Atha-\nlie, 5 ; Bajazet, 7 ; Le Cid, 8 ; Nicomede, 5 ;\nCinna, 12 ; Hector, 6 ; CEdipe, 9 ; Horace,\n5 ; Iphigenie en Aulide, 10; La Mort de\nCesar, 5 ; La Mort de Pompee, 5 ; Polyeute,\n6 ; Phaedre, 10.\nIn all he attended 177 performances of\ntragedy.\nq ITALIAN OPERA. Le Cantatrici\nVillane (Fioravanti), 10 ; Griselda, 7 ; II Ma-\ntrimonio Segreto (Cimarosa), 7 ; La Molinara\n(Paisiello, 8; Nina (Paisiello), 7 ; Romeo e\nGiulietta, (Zingarelli), 7 ; Lodoi'ska, 7 ; Sar -\ngino (Paer), 4 ; La Cosa Rara, 4.\n*\nIn all he attended 159 performances of\nItalian Opera.\nq COMEDY AND DRAMA. Le\nBarbier de Seville, 4 ; Le JBourru bien fai-\nsant, 4 ; Le Cercle, 5 ; L'Ecole des Bour-\ngeois, 4 ; L'Epreuve nouvelle, 7; Les Faus-\nses confidences, 6 ; Les Fausses infidelites, 4 ;\nLes Femmes Savantes, 4 ; La Gageure im-\nprevue, 8; L'Intrigue epistolaire, 4 ; Le Jeu\nde I' amour et du hasard, 6 ; La Jeunesse\nd'Henri V, 4 ; Le Legs, 7 ; Le parleur con-\ntrarie, 6; Les projects de mariage, 4; Le\nRevanche, 4; Le Secret du menage, 4;\nSuite d'un bal masque, 4 ; Tartuffe, 10;\nTheodore, ou les Deux Pages, 4.\nIn all he attended 143 performances of\nComedies and Dramas.\nq FRENCH OPERA. Alceste, 4;\nOssian, ou les Bardes, 4 ; Le Devin de vil-\nliage, 2.\nIn all he attended 38 performances of\nFrench opera.\n€J Some COMIC OPERAS he seems\nto have been partial to, were; Cherubini's\nLe Calife de Bagdad, 6; Le Prisonnier, 6 ;\nMa tante Aurore, 4 ; L'ami de la maison, 4.\nIn all he attended 112 performances of\ncomic operas.\n€J BALLETS. Le Jugement de Paris,\n4 ; La Rosiere, 4 ; Venus et Adonis, 3 ;\nTelemarque, 3 ; Le Retour de Zephire, 3 ;\nbut he only attended 34 performances of\nBallet.\nThese lists do not include the performan-\nces he attended in Italy, Austria, Germany\nor Russia, but are confined to those witnes-\nsed by him in his own Public Theatres of\nFrance or in the private Theatres of his Pa-\nm 11 \\ f\nlaces (b).\n(a) The following are not the only pieces seen by\nNapoleon, but his favourites.\n(b) For the design showing the interior of the Private\nTheatre built at Napoleon's orders by Fontaine (?) in\nthe Palais des Tuileries see \" The Mask \" Volume 8,\nPage 25."}, {"page_pdf": 22, "page_imprimee": "66", "url_page": "https://bluemountain.princeton.edu/bluemtn/?a=d&d=bmtnaau192404-01.1.22", "texte": "PLAYS\nOLD AND NEW.\nBY HENRY GAY CALVIN\n\nWHEN I cannot go to a playhouse to see\na Drama performed I must needs sit\nand read it in an armchair.\nI have not been able to find a playhouse\nnear my part of the world where the 26 plays\nI am to write of were being performed, so I\nhave had the pleasure of reading them in the\nquiet of my room. While reading I have\ndone my best to visualize them; now as real\nhappenings, now as happening on a stage and\nquite in the glare of the footlights, or when\npossible as happening on a stage once known\nto us, without the glare or any accompani-\nment other than the straightforward excellent\nplaying of imagined actors.\nThese are the plays 1 have read these\npast weeks : — 1. The Agamemnon of TEs-\nchylus (458 B. C.) (Gilbert Murray). 2. A\nplay by Jacopone da Todi (c. 1280). 3. A\nfarce by Pierre Blanchet (c. 1 470). 4. A play\nby John Heywood (c. 1533). 5. A play by\nHans Sachs (c. 1520). 6. Shakespeare's\n\"The Tempest\" (1611). 7. A play by\nW. B. Yeats. (1892). 8. Two plays by John\nMasefield (c. 1900-1922). 9. Two plays by\nGordon Bottomley (1919). 10. Hassan by\nFlecker, (c. 1914). 11. Two plays by Lascel-\nles Abercrombie (1922-1923). 12. A play\nby Cheng-Chin-Hsiung. The Secret Life\nby H. G. Barker (1919-22). 14. Success\nby A. A. Milne (1923). 15. The Con-\nquering Hero by Alan Monkhouse (1923).\n16. Two plays by Pirandello (1923). 17. Three\nModern Japanese Plays (1923). 18. Confucius\nby Hartmann (1894-1922). 19. The Adding\nMachine by Rice (1923). 20. , A play by\nMoliere.\nTogether with these twenty-six plays I have\nbeen looking at \" The Life of Shakespeare \"\nby Adams, \" Restoration Drama \" by Nicoll,\n\" Shakespeare's Hand in the Play of 'Sir Tho-\nmas More ' all very enjoyable, very enjoya-\nble indeed. How the London audiences\nmust have applauded, laughed or wept.\nHow grateful they must be year in and year\nout to the managers of theatres for giving\nthem such a splendid selection of plays of\nall sorts. Big plays and little ones ; pleasant\nhomely trifles and profounder things.\nThis was my frame of mind after reading\nthe twenty-six plays, and I too began to bless\nthe managers, and to praise the critics, and\nto be proud of the fine English audiences\nwho packed the theatres to hear and see real\nliving dramas when I suddenly pulled up, rea-\nlizing that 1 was dreaming.\nI must be excused for dreaming this time.\nThe plays I had read had enchanted me.\nIt is still a practical word in daily life I sup-\npose, this word enchanted. I mean it in no\nfairy-glen sense. I was in no dreamy state.\nIf the Tempest and the Agamemnon do carry\none off one's feet at least ten other plays out\nof the above list soon put me back on them.\nNo, it was just the ordinary enchantment one\nfeels when one has been in the company of\nfirst-rate intelligences,—the best predomina-\nting, but even the least better company than\none expected.\nAnd realizing what a fine lot of fellows\n1 had been with, and what astonishing things\nthey had been showing me and saying, I\nbegan to dream that England was being al-\nlowed to share all this with me. That's where\n1 erred; that's where I was dreaming. And\nI became slowly aware that the managers\nwere not to be blessed, nor the critics praised,\nnor the English public bothered about, for only\nfour of these twenty-six plays had been shown\nto the English Public by managers, nor was the\nneed for their performance being advocated\nby critics—and now I am out of my dream.\n\" Hassan \" was acted and is being acted.\n\" Success \" was acted and is perhaps now\ntouring somewhere in the provinces. \" The\nTempest\" was acted a little while ago for a\nweek or so, but is not being done now.\nOne of Mr. Masefield's plays was on for a\nbrief spell but taken off, and one of Piran-\ndello's. The \" Gruach \" of Gordon Bot-\ntomley was given its second chance (a) last\n\n(a) Given its chance. I use the outrageous phrase,\nfor it is an outrageous one, not because I consider that a fine\nplay ever has a chance given to it. It is the insufferable\nidiots who tinker with the sale or \" presentation\" of\nworks of art who have the chance, and it is they who\nmiss the chance year in and year out. To tinker, to\ntimidly attempt to patch up the Dramatic Art and the\nTheatre by \" putting on \" this and \" taking off \" that ;\nto flutter around the stage, to keep at it to no end, to\npersist to no purpose, to courageously waste time and ano-"}, {"page_pdf": 23, "page_imprimee": "n. p.", "url_page": "https://bluemountain.princeton.edu/bluemtn/?a=d&d=bmtnaau192404-01.1.23", "texte": "A PORTRAIT OF HANS SACHS IN HIS 81st YEAR.\n(From a Print.)\nPlate 6.\n\nTHE MASK\n1924"}, {"page_pdf": 25, "page_imprimee": "67", "url_page": "https://bluemountain.princeton.edu/bluemtn/?a=d&d=bmtnaau192404-01.1.25", "texte": "December in Glasgow and Edinburgh, and\ndamned in London by superior ignoramuses.\n\" Hassan \", 1 can but admit, has been\nproperly handled. I do not speak of the pro-\nduction but solely of the magnitude of the\nundertaking; and \" Success \" evidently had\na like treatment; but none of the rest—and\nthe rest are the best.\nNow whose fault is this, that the best\nplays out of twenty-six are either not played\nat all, or, if played, are left to the merciless\namateur or semi-amateur?—whose fault?\nYou may say that some of the plays are\nnot quite as good as 1 take them to be; I\ncan only admit you may be right; but even\nthen how shall we judge if we never hear\nor see them?\nThe public is the best judge, you say.\nIt is and it isn't. Warmed up, it is ; frozen\nout, it isn't. Still, it cannot be all the fault\nof the playwriters or the cool-headed English\nspectator that we do not get a chance of\nseeing the good plays we already possess and\nhaving better ones written for us. Whose\nfault is it? I for one cannot fix the blame.\nAll I know is that night after night the\ncool-headed Englishman sits with his wife and\nfamily or with friends in stalls or circle, with\nhis hands folded and elbows on the two arms\nof the very comfortable seats, expectant, to-\nlerant, and ' quite good ' he murmurs as the\nlast curtain falls upon the inadequate. That\nI know: and that seems to me in its own\nway to be a remarkable performance. Here\nsits this Englishman, erect in the determina-\ntion to see play after play through, to tire out\nsameness ; and yet he only succeeds in evo-\nking sameness : yet he is firmly persuaded to\nremain firm: that is one of the heroic dramas\nof to-day.\nIf a play be an Eastern one, (by an\nEastern play I mean only one of those Bazaar\nplays like \" Kismit \", \" Chu-Chin-Chow \",\n\" Cairo \", or \" East of Suez \"), or a play\ndealing with English life, the same old phrases,\nsituations, complications come along to greet\nthis patient and unconquerable man in the stalls.\n€jf The curtain rises and discloses a room\nin Bagdad :\nDad. Allah abdulla al walla,\nBag. Why doth my lord sigh? Is the sun\nof my existence weary of his handmaiden ?\nOh speak.\nDad. What, Doe of the Wilderness, art thou\nsaying ?\nBag. Riff-raffi, the King's eunuch hath re-1\nvealed unto me the source of all woe and\nali joy. Shall I reveal the same unto my\nLord ?\nDad. Strangest of the strange sayings that are\nstranger than strange. At the Blue Posts\nnigh to Bany-al wisdom is not writ in\nwater. Go thence and purchase for eight\ndinars a stoup of the dew of Paradise.\nBag. I hear and I obey. Salem.\nCj} Or the curtain rings up and we see a\nLondon drawing-room:\nFrank. May I say—well—Oh Susan—can't\nyou guess ? I can stand it no longer.\nI must tell you.\nSusan. But I—I guessed twenty-eight years\nago, Frank.\nFrank. Did you ?—but you never showed me\nthat—that you guessed. How was I to—-\nto know ?... Oh Susan how could I know ?\nGod, what those years have been to me!\nSusan. And now ?\nFrank. Now?—now it's I who hardly dare\nto say I can guess.\nSusan. Be frank with me.\nFrank. I am—I have been—I always shall\nbe frank with you, Susan. But what—\nwhat shall I be without you....\n€]} And so it goes on and on and on, and\nthe cool-headed Englishman in the stalls hopes\non and on for the best—that best which\nis to come—that best which never comes ;\nand he continues to say \" Quite good \"....\n\" quite good \", and pays like a Briton.\nWhose fault is it ? No one knows ; the\njolly little catastrophe is now with us, and\nmay be it's too late to care who asked for it.\nWhat does it matter now ? The fine written\nDrama has been swept out of existence.\nThose who survived rode back, but these\nwere so dazed, nothing could they tell of what\nwent wrong,—maimed dramatists.... who obey-\ned the wrong word of command :—that is\nanother of the heroic dramas of the day.\n\niher £ 42 on expressing nothing, on bad acting and\nfeeble pottering in the provinces and in semi-private pro-\nductions, this it is to be an insufferable idiot, breaking up\nworks of genius even if paid £. 4000 a year to do it.\nIt reminds me of all those lovers of music who begin\nvamping on any piano they happen to come across saying\n** listen to this lovely song by Schubert \" and then ham-\nmer out some cinematographic bit of ladder music, trem-\nbling and terrific, and everyone so content."}, {"page_pdf": 26, "page_imprimee": "68", "url_page": "https://bluemountain.princeton.edu/bluemtn/?a=d&d=bmtnaau192404-01.1.26", "texte": "This maimed regiment is with us now.\nThey still treasure their old beliefs but are\ndazed about everything ; and they treasure\ntheir old flag, and some day it will wave\nagain in its place and to old purposes; at\npresent it seems to decorate the walls of a\nfamous Hospital where the old pensioners tell\nand retell each other the same old story in\nquiet trembling voices shaken with affectio-\nnate remembrances, or in merry tones which\nbelie their feelings.\nYou'll admit that, before the jolly little\ncatastrophe, Drama was a powerful legion ;\nPowerful is the word, isn't it ? \" Steeped in\nsplendour \" says Gilbert Murray. Power was\nin its look, in its stride and in its attack.\nA glance or a word from one of its leaders\nwas a thing worth seeing and hearing.\n\" Winged words \" and wingless ones,\nbut never a mumbling. No trivial gestures\nand no posing or pottering. As they strode\nalong they cried out—clear voices in pro-\nphecy or in report, like bells, like flutes, like\ndrums; not for the high-browed or low-browed,\nbut for that quite unknown man in the street.\nWhen I read, as 1 am now doing, the Aga-\nmemnon by /Eschylus 0>), and realize that\nit was understood by the man in the Athe-\nneun street, what am I to think of our im-\nmensely celebrated man in the street, so fa-\nmous as to have sixty-three press agents, and\nyet so poorly considered that he is even\ndenied the power to comprehend anything\nbut sloppy stuff ?\nAnd until quite modern days, even the\ndays of Sheridan, it was still power which\ncommanded and which at that time again\nwon for the English Drama a great name.\nThis \" Agamemnon \", this immense crea-\ntion, this piling up of earth and fable, of law\nand men and women, like some pyramid in\nCambogia, overgrown by a tangle of up-\nreaching vegetation; what is in it and under\nit all ? Skeletons and mysteries and the rites\nof thousands of years? and a million cries\nnow muffled down, stamped down by time\ntill the sharp clear-cut facets of the tomb and\nthe temple be moulded to another shape\nand seem like a young mountain of mud,\nwith its tangle of trees through which only\nthe author can guide us in or out again; and\nthere deep in this dark jungle he puts back\na bush, a branch and shows to us one soli-\ntary silvery bone, some arm-like marble pillar,\nbroken but still uplifted, or there, lying fallen,\na grey granite slab, broken and down. So\nthis was the famous bath, and this too the\nseven-foot sarcofagus, and round it now fal-\nlen the crimson leaves ; these the tapestries,,\nthe tangled tangling robe, a nice net for a\nKing. And he, where is he ? And who\nwas he ? What was afoot and being done in\nthose days when this immense creation of a\ndramatic poet meant everything to all the men\nin every Hellenic street ?\n\" Its atmosphere is not quite of this world \"\nsays a scholar, and, this scholar being the\nworld-renowned Murray, he who has at last\ntranslated this immense thing (1920), who>\nshall question the truth of what he says ?\nNo, it is not quite, not quite of this\nWOrld,... this world.\nTo me it is without all significance....\neven a prophetic one. But I, though Iam\nblind to what others may see this night\nas clearly as at dawn tomorrow, I assuredly\nsee, am aware of, the presence of the power\nof /Eschylus. That is plain for all.\nTell me then how it is that this power,\nfelt and seen long after all else has faded or\nbecome obscure, how is it that all this has not\nbeen felt and seen by the Dramatists of this\nday ?\nYou answer that it has been seen by\nthem.\nI deny it. No man can be aware of it\nand not aim to achieve it; or, failing to\nachieve it, continue to crown his powerless\nbrow with preposterous chick-weed in place\nof the laurel.\nIf this ' Agamemnon ' be one of the stan-\ndards by which Dramatic art may be judged,\nwhat mean these Dramatists of our day by\ntheir denial that power is the first essential\nof a Drama ?\n\" No, no \", they answer, \" you do not un-\nderstand. Dramatic art has advanced since the\ndays of /Eschylus: even \", they add comi-\ncally, \" since the days of Shakespeare \".\n\"In power? \" I ask. \"No, no, you again\nmisunderstand \", comes the bland answer: —\n\"in subtlety\n\n(b) The Agamemnon, translated by Gilbert Murray.\n(George Allen & Unwin) 3/6. Just as good as a book\ncan possibly be. The play of plays, translated brilliantly,\na useful size, good print, well bound, a few useful\nnotes."}, {"page_pdf": 27, "page_imprimee": "69", "url_page": "https://bluemountain.princeton.edu/bluemtn/?a=d&d=bmtnaau192404-01.1.27", "texte": "WHEN, as now, I am reading the ' Aga-\nmemnon ' and realize that it was un-\nderstood by the man in the street of his day,\nwhat am I to think of our poor man in the\nstreet of whom everyone cries out, \" He can\nunderstand nothing \",—even as they cry of\nme, \" He is only able to understand very\nplain things, the poor fellow; our subtlest\npieces are above his head\nnp SCHYLUS, Jacopone da Todi, Shake-\n/ I .ispeare. one ancient and two modern\npoets.\nIt is well if the dramatic poet be pos-\nsessed by an intense pity for Humanity or\nby a fabulous glory for God. One or the\nother.\nTHEY cry out again I am sure, my critics:\nthey cry out being out of the presence\nof these men.\nCome then into the presence of that fool\nJacopone in order to feel comfortable that the\nstandard has been lowered, and is now trai-\nling down Strand and up St Martin's Lane.\nINTO the presence of Jacopone da Todi\nfirst.\nWe find him singing aloud his Drama\nand his Faith in a latrine. Imprisoned there\nby his good friends the Franciscans so as to\ncure him of a most reprehensible and carnal\ndesire for liver. \" With sound good sense \"\nwrites I. A. Symonds, of this episode, \" they\nthen condemned him to imprisonment in the\ncommon privies; but he rejoiced in this pu-\nnishment, and composed one of his most im-\npassioned odes in that foul place \".\nLet us first be shocked : secondly \" as\nyou were bored. Dressed in our best, our\nhats in our hands, we advance to interview\na great dramatic writer of the thirteenth cen-\ntury, and we find him in a latrine. All he\ncan do on seeing us is to make faces and\nrun to the other end of the cellar. He re-\nfuses to give any reasonable answer to our\nboldest curiosity. Let us go out and let us\npick up some of his story.\nIt is new to us, although from time to\ntime an Englishman has dropped a word\nor two about this author of the most poignant\ndrama of the Italian school, and he the foun-\nder of the school and one of the founders of\nItalian literature.\n€J Jacomo de' Benedetti (later to be known\nas Jacopone in pity of his madness) was born\nin Todi about the year 1228. Todi lies in\nthe centre of Italy ; below it runs the river\nTevere; it stands between the towns of Or-\nvieto and Spoleto ; and here Jacomo de' Be-\nnedetti passed the first forty years of his life.\nThoroughly self-seeking years as befitted the\nson of one of the lords of the place, he found\ntime to take his degree as Doctor of Laws\nat the University of Bologna, the oldest Uni-\nversity of Europe (but young at that time,\n1250, for it had only been established in\nthe twelfth century).\nReturning to his native town with the\nhallmark of the Learned on him, he becomes\na lawyer more able than scrupulous: he be-\ncomes rich, he prospers. Some fifteen to seven-\nteen years later he determines to take a wife\nand decides upon the daughter of Messer\nBernardino de Guidone dei Conti di Coldi-\nmezzo. Her name was Vanna. She was\nboth virtuous and beautiful. They say that\nit was more to please her husband than from\nvanity or for any other reason that she dres-\nsed herself so very sumptuously and attended\nevery one of the social functions of the di-\nstrict and in the town of Todi. Jacomo\nde' Benedetti found this very well;—that is\nwhat Jacomo wanted in a wife,—a valuable\nasset to his business, a beautiful well-dressed\nsensible and above all useful wife was the\nvery thing. It occurred to him that it was\nthe ideal thing.\nMesser Jacomo was no fool. Let priests\nand the new-fangled brethren of St Francis (c)\nbe as fanatical as they wished ; he and his\nkind were not to be turned aside by their\ninterpretation of the word \" ideal \". On with\nbusiness; dress the part handsomely: trick\nevery jackass and fleece every lamb : make\nmoney and stand well with this world since\nno other world matters a fig. That was sound\nyoung Master Jacomo of 1267 ; no humbug\nabout him.\n\n(c) It was but a few miles from Todi and a few\nyears previously that St Francis had come on earth, foun-\nded the order and died."}, {"page_pdf": 28, "page_imprimee": "70", "url_page": "https://bluemountain.princeton.edu/bluemtn/?a=d&d=bmtnaau192404-01.1.28", "texte": "But young Master Jacomo of 1268 was\nanother man. I suppose he was another man ;\nyet the only real change was in his name :\nit was the same body and brain which once\nswaggered around but now -is running half-\nnaked up and down the streets of Todi, and\nthe boys crying out after him \" Pazzo! Guarda\nJacopone\n\" Pazzo \" means madman ; \" God's fool \"\nhe called himself.\nNow if in 1268 he was mad, what on\nearth are we to call his state in 1267. Sane?\n(I suggest a thought here of London, and\nParis in 1924).\nThis is what they say happened in 1268\nto make him mad.\nIt was about'a year and a half after he had\nbeen married that he sent his wife, well capa-\nrisoned in silks and other fineries, to represent\nhim at a certain marriage feast. It was a\nvery proper affair and a spectacle of some\nkind had been provided by the host, plat-\nforms built and seats erected in the courtyard,\nwhich had been hung with the superb da-\nmasks we try nowadays in vain to find, and\nall very gay and enjoyable.\nIn the midst of the grand gaiety one of\nthe platforms gave way, spilling Donna Vanna\nand those near her on to the ground. No\none was seriously hurt but one,... and see,\nthis poor Donna Vanna is being tenderly car-\nried off to her home in a dying condition.\nHer husband is found and, running to his\nhouse, he begins to tear from her all the rich\nsuffocating silks and stuffs which keep her\nfrom breathing easily;—but she is gone.\nAs he tears off the last shred of her splen-\ndour a hair shirt is revealed to his amazed\neyes ; this she had worn for some time next\nher skin. That she should be like other wo-\nmen were, that she should revel in luxury\nand be worldly, was to be expected; but\nthat she should be thus, should have worn\nthis,... it strikes him and re- strikes him, and\nagain strikes him dumb. He looks at her\nface—to the hair shirt—to her face—not a word.\nHe can understand nothing: of what is\nsaid by others he hears nothing : he goes up\nand down, he runs here and there; they be-\ngin to whisper he has lost his reason. But to\nand fro he goes searching for his reason : and\nhe is to find it at last.\nMad ? May be this state of pause between\nnothing and everything can be so called ; but\nthat is not what the people of Todi meant. They\nmeant that he had lost his wits and was silly.\nHe grins and runs—and runs—out of the\ngates into the fields ; he falls clinging to a\ntree:—the busy market people have no time\nto waste on him.\nHis wife could have answered his que-\nstions.... the hundred questions—and why had\nshe worn?... but why then did you not...?\nHe is asking the tree all these half-framed\nquestions. No answer comes. He begins to\nask anew and now to answer. He is talking\nto himself aloud. Sane questions, mad re-\nplies, until in some days it is the answers\nwhich have become sane and the questions\ncrazy. Fierce happenings in the heart of a\nmere dramatist, one thinks. We see, thanks\nto many things, no modern dramatists today\nrunning up and down the Embankment crying\nout and rendering themselves ridiculous to all\npassers-by. And Jacopone is not yet a mere\ndramatist. He is nothing but a big lord\nfallen into a disgrazia, a sorrow. Misery and\nhe go home to the place he once called his\nhouse: they sell all the goods there or give\naway what cannot be sold quickly enough.\nWhat madness ! He keeps nothing and aims\nsolely to render the remnants of self that are left\nover after this cataclism, these rags, ridiculous\nand vile in the eyes of those men who are sane.\nHe puts on the skin of an ass or the\ntrappings, bridle and bit in mouth, saddle on\nback, and with straw in his mouth he comes\nwaggling before his friends. They are kind and\nintelligent towards him—but he does not re-\nspond to a single question—all suggestions\nare one to him—he only makes mouths and\nsits heavily in their midst.\n\" Poor fellow, he is mad \". But he is\nnot mad ; if there be mad people present it\nis, strangely enough, they who are mad.\nPresently he runs swiftly away.\nAt his brother's marriage he appears again\nsuddenly from nowhere, naked, smeared with\ntar and stuck all over with the feathers of a\nfowl. Some of the relatives and some of the\nguests cry out indignantly. ' See ' he answers,\n\" my brother ; he wishes to honour our house\nby his sfarzo, his pomp. I too by what I\nhave—my madness '. It is Luke Wadding\nthe Irish priest, the Franciscan of 1588-1657\nwho tells us these things.\nStrange that Jacopone does not see or\nhear what anyone is doing or saying."}, {"page_pdf": 29, "page_imprimee": "71", "url_page": "https://bluemountain.princeton.edu/bluemtn/?a=d&d=bmtnaau192404-01.1.29", "texte": "They call after him, they deride him:\nhe neither sees nor hears or he might leap\non this one or on that and strike him| down;\nor he might run away and hide; he does\nnothing like this; he goes on searching to\nfind what he never had yet is now aware he\nhas lost,... something of value, something which\nmay elude him if he do not go straight on\nand quickly; it is on the tip of his tongue,\nthe missing word ; it is right before him, the\nlost something which has no name.\nHe drifts with good aim right into the\nhouse of the lowest order of Franciscans.\nPlaying at that old game he keeps calling out\nto himself, \" warmer—warmer—cool—colder\n—very cold—hot \" here he stands still\nas stone and grins.\nIt's not far from here, he knows, and\ncrying ' Warmer ' he walks at night in the\nNovember rain.\nTen years he stays with the Franciscans,\ngoing up and down for the Order; he is the\nvery least member of this the lowest division\nof the Order.\nThen without having any call from any\nAcademy, he suddenly becomes a poet.\n\" Burning \".\nAfter passing through the slow fire of a\nfirst conversion, a long but too swift journey,\nhe reaches the point where his journey begins.\nHe starts singing. Perfect is the sense, and\nperfect the song. The Order receives him into\nits fold on the strength of these songs and\nrecognizes his promise of an immense piety.\n€J And thus is planted by a swagger\nlawyer, a fellow once fond of cheating his\nclients, the seeds of Italian literature (<9.\nCjf But what can we think of a dramatist\nwho \"in a fury of love and believing that\nhe is embracing and clasping Jesus Christ\nflings his arms about a tree \" ?—No, no, that\nis too much. I cannot see any modern\ndramatists flinging their arm about even a\nsapling in St J ames's Park believing it to be\nanything but a bit of wood; and as for being\nin a fury of love,... this is 1924, not 1270,\nand it is a great advance we have all made\nsince 1270. In those dark ages anything was\npossible, even power in a Drama.\nAnd shall we take a look at this Drama\nby Jacopone, this drama which John Ad-\nding ton Symonds considers \" so important for\nthe history of Italian dramatic art \" ? The\nItalian alone is given here. Symonds at the\nclose of his translation writes, \" Here the mise-\nrable translation ends \", which I have always\nconsidered the finest line he ever penned.\n\n(d) \" II grande poeta umbro (dico grande senza nes-\nsuna riserva).../' Giuliotti, 1922.\n\nIL PIAN TO\nDELLA VERGINE.\nA DRAMA\nBY JACOPONE DA TODI.\nDonna del Paradiso,\nlo tuo figliolo priso,\nJesu Cristo beaio.\nAccurre, donnae vide\nche la genie I'allide! 0)\nCredo che lo s'occide,\ntanto Von flagellato-\nCorn essere porria\nche non fece mai follia\nCristo, la speme mia,\nom' I'avesse pigliato ?\nMadonna, egli e traduto,\nJuda si I' ha venduto,\ntrenta denari ',\nfatto n ha gran mercato.\nSuccurri, Magdalena,\ngionta addosso !\nCristo figlio se mena\ncomo rri e annunziato.\nSuccurri, donna, aiuta\nch'al tuo figlio se sputa\ne la gente lo\nhanlo dato a Pilato.\nO Pilato, non fare\nlo figlio mio tormentare,\nch' io te posso mostrare\ncome a torto e accusato.\nCrucifige, crucifige !\nOmo che se fa rege,\nsecondo nostra lege,\ncontradice al senato.\nr> ■ L > t J t\nrnego che m emendate,\ni-J J i\nnet mio dolor pensate,\nr . ..\njorse mo ve mutate\nde quel ch'ete pensato.\nTraggon fuor li ladroni\nm'e che suoi compagrtoni:\nDe spine se coroni,\nche rege s e\nO figlio, figlio, figlio,\nfiglio, amoroso giglio,\nfiglio, chi da consiglio\na I mio core\n°\nocchi giocondi,\nfiglio, co' non respondi ?\nfiglio, perche t'ascondi\ndal petto o' se' lattato ?\nMadonna, ecco la cruce\nche la gente I'adduce,\nove la vera luce\ndeo'essere leVato.\nn z.\nU cruce che tarai ?\n• J\nel figlio mio torrai ?\nc t\ntL che ce aponerai,\nche non ha 'n se peccato ?\n\n(1) percuote."}, {"page_pdf": 30, "page_imprimee": "72", "url_page": "https://bluemountain.princeton.edu/bluemtn/?a=d&d=bmtnaau192404-01.1.30", "texte": "Curri, piena de doglia,\nche 7 tuo figliol se spoglia ;\nla gente par che voglia\nche sia crucificato.\nSe 7 tollete el vestire,\nlassatemel vedire\ncome 7 crudel ferire\ntutto V ha 'nsanguinato.\nDonna, la man gli e presa\ne nella crocs stesa,\ncon un bollon gli e fesa,\ntanio ce Von ficcato!\nL'altra mano se prende,\nne la croce se stende\ne lo dolor saccende,\nche piu e multiplicato.\nDonna, li pie se prenno\ne chiavellanse al lenno,\nomne iontura aprenno\ntutto Von desnodato.\nEd io comencio 7 corrotto :\nFigliolo, mio deporto,\nfiglio, chi me ( ha morto,\nfiglio mio delicato ?\nMeglio averien fatto\nche 7 cor m'avesser tratto,\nche, ne la croce tratto,\nstare desciliato (2).\nMamma, ove sei oenuta?\nmortal me dai feruta,\nche 7 tuo pianger me sluta P)\nche 7 veggio si afferato.\nPiango che n ag anvito (4)\nfiglio, pate e marito,\nfiglio, chi ( ha ferito ?\nfiglio, chi t' ha spogliato ?\nMamma perche te lagni ?\nVoglio che tu remagni,\nche serve i miei compagni,\nch'al mondo agio aquistato.\nFiglio, questo non dire,\nvoglio teco morire,\nnon me voglio partire\nfin che mo m'esca 7 fiato.\nCKuna agiam sepoltura,\nfiglio de mamma scura ;\ntrovarse en affrantura\nmatre e figlio affogato\nMamma, col core afiflitlo,\nentro a le man te mitto\nde Joanne, mio eletto;\nsia 7 tuo figlio appellato.\nJoanne, esta mia mate\ntollela en caritate,\naggine pietate\nche lo core ha forato.\nFiglio, I'alma (\nfiglio de la smarrita,\nfiglio de la sparita,\nfiglio mio attossecato !\nFiglio bianco e vermiglio,\nfiglio senza simiglio,\nfiglio, a chi m ?\nFiglio, pur m hai lassato.\nO figlio bianco e biondo,\nfiglio, Volto iocondo,\nfiglio, perche t' el mondo,\nfiglio, cusi spreZzato?\nFiglio dolce e piacente,\nfiglio de la dolente,\nfiglio, hatte la gente\nmalamente trattato !\nJoanne, figlio novello,\nmorto e lo tuo fratello,\nsentito aggio 7 coltello\nche fa profetizzato.\nChe morto ha figlio e mate\nde dura morte afferrate;\ntrovarse abbraccecate\nmate e figlio a un cruciato (5)\n\n(2) maltrattato, martoriato.\n(3) mi spegne, mi uccide.\n(4) che n* ho invito, che n' ho ben\nd'onde.\n(5) in un solo tormento.\n\nSO much for an Italian as a beginning :—\nit only remains to say that the profession\nof dramatist had not yet developed.\nFrance with her *' Confreres de la Pas-\nsion \" in 1398, and other Mysteries and Mi-\nracles in other lands all make a good show:\nyet how can one take note of what they do\nor listen to the hundred voices with the voice\nof Jacopone still ringing clear as a bell; not\ndied away although by 1398 a hundred years\nbe gone.\nIt is another sort of cry which must catch\nup and carry on that voice as it dies away ;\n—it must be a laugh or nothing. And it is\nprecisely the laugh which does carry it on,\nand it is Pierre Blanchet who utters it, even\nif we have to wait until 1480 or later to\nhear it. Out he slides with his \" Maistre\nPierre Pathelin\nJacopone and Pierre, the two extremes:\nI am under the delusion that these meet.\nCJ And this would be History of the Thea-\ntre I am putting down, repeating it after the\nHistorians, were it not that to me the facts\nare alive. Even as Jacopone's \" Lament \" is\nalive; younger and more advanced than\nmost of our latest things, and younger and less\nadvanced than others, so it seems to me is\n\" Pathelin \" alive, as though created this\nspring; and both by the Grace of God\ntouched by the fine style,— a seeming impos-\nsibility this spring.\nAs for the rest, these myriad pieces of\nthe centuries, they all serve as bricks with\nwhich to build a strong Historical background\nbut no more. It is the rare things of each\nhundred years that stand out vividly alive,"}, {"page_pdf": 31, "page_imprimee": "73", "url_page": "https://bluemountain.princeton.edu/bluemtn/?a=d&d=bmtnaau192404-01.1.31", "texte": "and still far ahead of our times as they must\nalways be. Pity it is the times will never\ncatch up with them, nor even try to.\nPerhaps a little lazy, may be in rather\ntoo well-feathered nests, the modern brothers\nof jacopone, of Blanchet, of Shakespeare and\nMoliere and of perhaps another thirty men\noften prefer to sell the old birthright and its\ncoat of arms for a safe percentage.\nMadonna, egli a traduto (betrayed)\nJuda si l'ha venduto (sold)\ntrenta (thirty) denari n'ha *vuto\nfato n'ha gran mercato (business).\nNo, after all it is \" not big business \",\nthirty bits of silver.\nMAISTRE Pierre Pathelin is the farce of\nfarces: not without some horseplay, with\nthe difference that 'tis a blood-horse who\nprances.\nThe theme is taken from the streets, and\nhas nothing celestial about it, except the touch\nof the dramatist: that is celestial enough.\nSay we do not care for all our plays to\ntreat of sacred things, say we do not mind\nwhat they treat of, and the good earth is large\nenough not to mind ; say it may treat of scien-\ntific things writ in baby talk ; we cannot say\nwe do not care how the plays are touched,\nby what hand, by what mind. Create lamb\nor create tiger, sugar sticks or problems, it\nmust be the same hand, the same mind which\ntouches them into life. All else is mere\nfabrique.\nVoices quarrel in the cities today about\nwhat does not concern mankind in the very\nleast. Show us shows of St. Michael and\nAll Angels, or of the Three Thieves of\nLyons, or Oliver Twist or Franz Schubert's\nstory, all's one what you show—but what\nmatters is how the shows are shown and\nhow the tale is told.\nIt has occurred to men to repeat this twice\nten thousand times before now; but no one\ntakes it for a very grave matter; and yet it\nis the first law of the realms of art. That\nit's the way a thing is done, not what is\ndone, which counts.\nAnd so Pathelin the farce and \" The\nLament of the Madonna \" are of a piece\nwith a Rolandson water-colour and \" Zuleika\nDobson \".\nBut for the life of me I cannot class with\nthese extremes anything by any celebrated\nnincompoops whose names I will not mention\nhere; since nearly all the London Journals\nprint them every week you can find them ;\nyou'll find them near Rolandson's name\nand Blanchet's: Blanchet once every fifteen\nyears may be, (any research worker with\ntime to waste might look for it); and even\nJacopone's once every thirty years,... possibly\nevery thirty years.\nAnd by Blanchet's name I would assu-\nredly place that of John Hey wood and old\nHans Sachs. Wagner has made this last\nname the most familiar to us, but only to\nremind us of boots.\nSo then we have an Italian, a Frenchman,\na German and an Englishman. Old Hans\nSachs and John Heywood are the German\nand English Blanchets of their time: Blan-\nchet 1459-1519. Sachs 1494-1576. Heywood\n1496-1578. When I think of Sachs it is\nalways to call up the sight of the priest issuing\n\nJACOPONE DA TODI.\nA WOODCUT REPRODUCED FROM THE Laudi.\nFirenze, Francesco Bonaccorsi, 28 Sept. 1490, in-4."}, {"page_pdf": 32, "page_imprimee": "74", "url_page": "https://bluemountain.princeton.edu/bluemtn/?a=d&d=bmtnaau192404-01.1.32", "texte": "out of the oven looking like Satan, and the four\nfeet of the peasant and his wife up on the lad-\nder. When I think of Heywood it is to hear\nagain that devil of a fellow, John, I think his\nname was, saying he will ' bete her until she be\nbleu ' over and over again or some such ter-\nrible repetition, and to hear his soft-voiced\nwife murmuring in the dusky room with the\npriest as they sit side by side in audacity\ncooing loudly under the eyelids of a poor\nblind fool.\nI like these dramatists not a whit the less\nbecause they know their business and come\nto Hecuba without showing us a lot of fur-\nniture we have no wish to buy. I like them\nstill better because they are brief; if I had\nmy will Shakespeare would not be sometimes\nquite so long about his business, and even\nMoliere at times would stop in time. I could\nthen catch the boat.\nAs for our modern playwriters;... but in\ngood time.\nAnd what time is ever better than now ?\nAFTER reading a number of the best mo-\ndern plays, and re-reading the best of the\nlast fifteen years or so, I find that our modern\nPoets are ahead of all the other playwriters.\nThe Poets have some firm belief to begin\nwith,... a large one or a narrow one, but a\nbelief. And this gives them often a refresh-\ning style. Refreshing like a window open\ninto the fields. And it is on the fields their\neyes are fixed.\nNot of the soil, they anyway like to lean\nout of the window and look at it. Some-\ntimes they see Shakespearean characters there\nas on the morning of some modern Pageant\nwe can see Queen Eliza going down the\nroad to catch the bus, or in a motor car\nif the selected Queen be better off. These\nfigures are at any rate going to be Queens of\nthe May, Mother,... that's flat. They are\ngoing to have a merrie time. And even a\nmerrie time excludes all doubt.... if in the\nfresh open air.\nIt may bore me or you to see such revi-\nvals ; it's none the less honest enjoyment on\na small scale. Honest enjoyment on a small\nscale was exactly what Jacopone da Todi did\nnot pine for; he strove through fiercest suffe-\nring to find his idea of joy. But that's an\nold tale, and we have done with the great\nthings for a while: until we are allowed to\nreturn to them, or until we will have them\ncome back.\nOur British Poets, Mr Thomas Hardy (0,\nMr W. B. Yeats (§), Mr John Masefield 01),\nMr Gordon Bottomley ('), Mr Lascelles Aber-\ncrombie (i) Mr Laurence Binyon, and Lord\nDunsany who sings in prose, Ford Maddox\nHueffer (k), Lady Gregory are the finest dra-\nmatists we possess.\nThe only thing I will say against them,\nand this is not their fault, is that they are\nnot sufficiently exercised. It is the same fault\nas that which harrasses most artists today.\nThey are allowed to go idle. They may\nstay idling away their time with hard work,\nprovided they do not attempt to bring their\nplays on to the legitimate stage. If they make\nan attempt to come on to the stage they may\nonly do so provided the stage supply its own\nspecial nurse. Sometimes a Mr. Vezin or a\nMr. Dean is selected for this office; at other\n\n(f) Mr. Thomas Hardy needs only two words of\nabject apology, only I am not delegated by the Bri-\ntish Stage to offer him even two words. The effort made\nby Mr. Barker to present his 4 The Dynasts in 1913\nI believe, was courageous and made amends for the mo-\nment. But the duty of our Stage was to have come to\nknow its poets ; the duty of those men who had theatres\nwas to offer them continual space in which to exercise.\nIt is said very often that the fine writers are not interested\nin the Theatre : it is said that Byron and Goethe were\nnot interested ; that Stevenson was not, and many another.\nI only know how badly Goethe came to look upon the\nstage, and how badly the stage treated itself in not trou-\nbling to show Goethe what it really was made of. Byron?\n—I cannot tell. Stevenson—will not write a play for\nIrving or for the devil. There is a misunderstanding be-\ntween stage and poet. The poet must I think come towards-\nthe stage without his pen in his hand and the stage must\ntake its mask off in his presence.\nThe stage must remain master of itself ; it is the in-\nstrument ; and the poet cannot expect an instrument to\nquite entirely understand. The only way in which it could\nhave gained for England some Drama by Thomas Hardy\nwas to offer the writer its hospitality—to give him his\nplace in the house ; a little room had been enough,... a\nlittle room and a warm welcome always.\n_ The apology the stage owes to Mr Hardy is that\nsomehow it failed to think of this.\nAs for the stage saying who it considers dramatist and\nwho not, well, that's all secondary and it knows it. The\nmagic happens when the spirit is breathing on the face of\nthe waters—and the stage is even more solid than the\nwaters : and when Poets can be made welcome, made at\nhome in the Theatre, the magic will happen.\nBut the old spirit must return before this or anything\ncan ever happen worth happening.\n(g & h) See Book Reviews.\n(i) Mr Bottomley's Plays were spoken of in Volume 9\nof \" The Mask \".\n(j & k) See Book Reviews."}, {"page_pdf": 33, "page_imprimee": "75", "url_page": "https://bluemountain.princeton.edu/bluemtn/?a=d&d=bmtnaau192404-01.1.33", "texte": "times someone else. There are very few\nwho will consent to bail the perambulator\nwith a poet tightly strapped down inside.\nI find it difficult to conceive anyone consen-\nting to accept any such ridiculous post. The\npoets are so full grown, can carry a score of\nsuch \" nurses \" under each arm, and so the\nspectacle of some complaisant theatre fellow\nattempting to handle these poets, to keep them\nin order, above all to silence them, is objec-\ntionable.\nAnd it is because of this farcical way of\napproaching the question \" should our best\ndramatists be allowed stages to play on ? \"\nthat we render both our stage and our drama\nridiculous and barren.\nThe chief hope for the British stage is to\ndo full honour to its dramatic poets : but to\ndo this the British stage must first change its\nmind, obliterate its vanity, sit upon its minors,\ndevelope its best powers, refuse to be cheated\nof true poetry by writers ready to supply false\nsentiment and clever plays in place of it.\nFor there is nothing which can replace\nthe mind and soul of the Poet. But until our\nstage is swept clean of the dust and the\nhumbug, it is not a fit place to receive our\nchief Guests, the Poet and his muse.\nBESIDES the Poets we have a number of\nskilful makers of play, of astounding tech-\nnical genius. This skill distances their imagina-\ntion. Had Mr Bernard Shaw been put to\nmaking automobiles instead of plays, he would\n<of sheer skill have beaten our best mechanics\nhollow. Sir James Barrie would have seen to\nit that no one put him second best had\nhe been given the same task. He would\nhave beaten Mr Shaw hollow, although some-\nhow we would always have been proud of\nour Shaw engines,... no worthier mecha-\nnism has ever been put on the market than\nthose stamped with the trade-mark G. B. S.\nThe Barrie build of the chassis is not\nwhere this firm leads: but there is not a bet-\nter bit of leather work being sold to the Pub-\nlic today than is to be found in the Barrie\nshowrooms; the seats are soft as swansdown.\nExpensive, I grant you,—very; but, Lord,\nhow soft!\nThe French critic Raymond Recouly prai-\nses Barrie as \" a great poet \" with \" an exquis-\nite Virgilian sensitiveness \" ;... \" a dramatist\nof the greatest skill and experience \" ; but\nhe adds this: \" I am practically certain that\n' Dear Brutus ' could not be produced in\nParis \". In other words, the Latin tempera-\nment likes its Virgil neat; any drowning of\nVirgil in moonshine and northern mysticism is\nnot liked; any \" Hush Hush Hush, it is\nthe Bogeyman \", spite of its being too utterly\nlovely to London, bores the southern people\nwho know their sun and moon so well.\nAllied to tragedy the ghostly seems fitting ;\nserving to act as an extra thrill in an ordinary\ndrama of everyday life nothings, it seems out\nof place. That Barrie is so very successful\nis not strange; he resembles Baife, and who\nwas more successful than the popular musi-\ncian who sang \" I dreamt that I dwelt in\nmarble Halls \" ? Barrie and Balfe together\ntoday would have done in a sweet melan-\ncholy way what Gilbert and Sullivan did\nmerrily. Instead of \" The Bohemian Girl \"\nit would have been \" The Girls on the\nIsland \". Delightful touching little dances in\nthe moon's rays would have brought a lump\nto our throats and brought down the house.\nBesides Shaw and Barrie, Pinero and\nJones of the slightly older times, and Gals-\nworthy, Sutro, Bennett, Maugham, McEvoy,\nDrinkwater, George Moore, Ervine, Chester-\nton, Milne (0, Flecker !m), Monkhouse (n) and\nof course Barker (°) of the slightly latert imes,\na host of other immensely able men, such as\nW. J. Turner and others, stand for all that is\ngood in the Dramatic literature of Great Britain.\nSir A. Pinero is too clever. It is rather too\nbad to single him out for this special brick,\nbut as he is also hard headed it cannot possi-\nbly harm him. Besides, he is sure to dodge.\nPinero is far too clever to write great\nplays. All the professional playwriters in Lon-\ndon are, in attempting to rival Sir A- W. Pi-\nnero in cleverness, (an abortive attempt any-\nhow), wasting their time. At many periods\nof the history of mankind this same terribly\nclever mistake has been made and the result\nhas been a plethora of clever plays.\nThese playwriters are so like Landseer\nand those other amazingly skilful painters\nwho in their day were very famous indeed,\nfamous for their intense agility of mind,\ncunning of hand. Landseer did just as Pi-\nnero does. He walks around his London\neyes and ears open, and with an open mind,\n\n(1, m, n, o) See under Book Reviews."}, {"page_pdf": 34, "page_imprimee": "76", "url_page": "https://bluemountain.princeton.edu/bluemtn/?a=d&d=bmtnaau192404-01.1.34", "texte": "searching for popular subjects to paint, praying\nfor strength to paint every hair of every dog\nhe comes across, so long as it's tame; for\npatience to express every feather of every\nsparrow—provided it will eat out of his hand.\nTo paint what he saw, to make the natu-\nral natural, to do his level best.\nSeeing the sun blazing one day it occurs\nto him that, since he has seen it, he supposes\nhe had better paint it; but as he sighed (reali-\nzing the magnitude of the task) he remembe-\nred in time that Turner had just done it a few\nyears ago. \"He shall be the scapegoat\" says\nLandseer, and his eye, turning from the sun,\ncuriously enough, by aid of the mind's-eye\nalights upon a goat. He was just about to\nseize on the goat as a model when he re-\nmembered in time that the young man Hol-\nman Hunt was about to paint a goat better\nthan it would ever be painted again. Alto-\ngether Landseer seems to have been driven\naway from selecting what he would like to\nhave painted, and brought to paint what was\nleft over. And this he recorded with such\nwonderful precision that every hair on a dog's\ncoat, every blade in a tuft of grass was put\ndown by him without remorse, and almost\neveryone of the Public was pleased.\nIt is something like this that our modern\nDramatic writers have been obliged to do.\nThe old themes stood waiting for them\nto handle them in the old broad manner or\nin the old tight manner if they could manage\neither; but they, it seems, felt constrained to\nturn aside from these old themes more from\npoliteness than any other reason. Shake-\nspeare, /Eschylus, Euripides have all done\nit; it belongs to them. \"We really can't\nSo they turned to new themes of indiffe-\nrent value and treated these in a staggeringly\nclever topical manner.\nWhat could possibly be cleverer than the\ndexterity with which Pinero handles the\ntheme of \" The Second Mrs. Tanqueray \"?\nThe labour expended on this play seems to\nhave been immense, the struggle not to of-\nfend London must have been titanic. And\nhe succeded in fascinating where he might so\neasily have blundered. Can any praise be\ntoo great for achieving success in the teeth\nof such labyrinthine difficulties ? It is all very\nwell for critics to write today that they find\nthis which seemed so daring to them thirty\nyears ago quite mild kind of fare nowadays,,\nif the fare be neither daring nor mild; it is\nwhat it always was, ordinary good fare. It is\nno banquet like a Shakespearean feast, nor\nfood for the Gods such as came from Japan\nand Greece ; but it is a good plain plat-de-\njour well cooked, perfectly served, and rea-\nsonable.\nWhere I would, like a curmudgeon, find\nfault, is that it is all too reasonable.\nAnd the splendid little gentleman, Sir A.\nW. Pinero, must not parry my objectionable\nobjection with the reply which he would be\nsure to make, saying \" 1 am not Shakespeare\nor /Eschylus. I am only Pinero and doing\nmy best \". For no one in his senses could\nblame Pinero for what is certainly no fault oh\nhis. The fault is England's. England in;\n1855 was no less reasonable than it is today\nin 1924. You say it's gone crazy today: —\nyou point to the mad rush of things, to the\nover-swollen Press, to the political horizon,\nto the feminist movement, to the development\nof machinery, to the Soviatistic threat, to the\ntroubles with cocaine and anarchy, to Indus-\ntrialism, and ask if that's what I consider\nreasonable. That, I reply, is not England;\nit is all something on the surface, or Foreign :\n—it may be good or bad; it is not English;,\nit is the dust of the earth risen into the air,,\nblown our way, and catching the sun's rays,,\nand we take it for conflagration. \" England\nis on fire ! ! \" cry the agitators; to which we\ncan only echo, and Scotland's burning.... go.'\nfetch me some water \".\nNo, England is as reasonable as she al-\nways was; perhaps too reasonable : and Pinero\nis one of the ball-bearings of London—the hub '\nof England.\nThen what is there to complain of ?\nTo complain is out of the question, for\nPinero's dramas are written and played, and\nI hope that there will always be hundreds of\nactors with sufficient ability to play them for\na long time yet.\nBut it is a great pity that while we are\nappreciating such Dramas as those Pinero was\nable to give us, The Dramatic world seems\nas it were \" held up \" by its own delight\nin Pinero, Shaw and Barrie from daring to go\nfurther or to appreciate more.\nIt felt safe with Pinero and this group;\nwe were reasonable and they were like us :—\ngood, you stick to us, and we will stick\nto you \". I believe that an appreciation"}, {"page_pdf": 35, "page_imprimee": "77", "url_page": "https://bluemountain.princeton.edu/bluemtn/?a=d&d=bmtnaau192404-01.1.35", "texte": "for that which is like us and which we\nfeel safe with, is possibly too paltry a basis\nfor a great Nation, a great Empire now, to\nsquat on. And we squat, and there an end.\nWe do not build on this basis ; we do\nnot adventure forward keeping this point mere-\nly as our base to return to and leave again\nand again; we squat. We squat like a hen\nsquats on a china egg ; we may lay ninety\neggs in the season; they all get taken and\nsold and the hen squats on.\nAFTER Pinero came the terrifying Shaw—\nWith a Programme.\nProgrammes in the house of the Drama\nare essential little scraps of paper: these really\nare only worth tearing up as a rule: but\nShaw's Programme is about three hundred\ntimes too large for its proper use; the only\nthing to do was to paper the walls with it.\nThis happened. He papered. The pattern\nis pure Morris; reasonable, pack full of de-\ntail, with birds half eating cherries, and creep-\ners carved and conventionalized.\nThe Programme of Shaw seen in the\nwhole is just the same pleasant conventional\npattern we loved in 1880. Just as reaso-\nnable as Pinero only not so quiet in tone.\nIf only the Grosvenor Gallery were still exis-\nting, and still just the independent unconven-\ntional revolutionary thing we prided ourselves\nit was in 1880, then Shaw would seem like\nsome giant come to sweep away what he\npossibly takes to be the puerilities of our\ngood Pinero. But there we are : is Pinero\npuerile ? is Shaw great ? both seem anyhow\nto be as reasonable as could possibly be wish-\ned or feared.\nThere are on the lists at least 4,000\nsuch reasonable dramatic writers.\nWhat is not reasonable is a man like\n/Eschylus or like Jacopone da Todi, or like\nShakespeare : and, to take lesser names, Blan-\nchet and Pleywood are not reasonable ; nei-\nther was Sheridan, nor Dumas pere, nor\nGoethe, Macchiavelli nor Voltaire, (though\nthe author of ' Candide * seems to have been\na thoroughly dull play writer). Nor is Moliere\nreasonable, or Racine or Cervantes. Calde-\nron and Lope de Vega are hardly reasona-\nble ; should we say Euripides orSopho-\ncles are ? Are our Poets and our few unac-\nted playwrights?\nWhat is a reasonable playwriter ?\nHe is a professional man who writes\nwell-made plays to suit the tastes of the rea-\nsonable public, the public with its mind made\nup, its ideas fixed and very limited in scope.\nIt is this public alone which is to blame for\nbeing so mighty reasonable as to dispossess\nitself of a mighty Drama it had a right to\ninherit, it is this Public which bas tricked\nmankind out of all which counts ; it is this\nPublic which I for one wish to see thrust\naside so that the rest of the world may come\ninto its own.\n\" OND a man who, totally destitute of genius,\n1 possesses nevertheless considerable talents; who\nhas official aptitude, a volubility of routine rheto-\nric, great perseverance, a love of affairs ; who,\nembarassed neither by the principles of the phi-\nlosopher nor by the prejudices of the bigot, can\nassume, with a cautious facility, the prevalent\ntone, and disembarrass himself of it with a dex-\nterous ambiguity, the moment it ceases to be\npredominant, recommending himself to the inno-\nvator by his approbation of change \"in the\nabstract \", and to the conservative by his pru-\ndential and practical respect for that which is\nestablished ; such a man, though he be one of\nan essentially small mind, though his intellectual\nqualities be less than moderate, with feeble po-\nwers of thought, no imagination, contracted sym-\npathies, and a most loose public morality ; — such\na man is the individual whom kings and parlia-\nments would select to govern the state or rule\nthe Church. Change, \" in the abstract \", is what\nis wanted by a people who are at the same time\ninquiring and wealthy. Instead of statesmen, they\ndesire shufflers ; and compromise in conduct and\nambiguity in speech are — though nobody will con-\nfess it — the public qualities now most in vogue *\\\nDISRAELI."}, {"page_pdf": 36, "page_imprimee": "78", "url_page": "https://bluemountain.princeton.edu/bluemtn/?a=d&d=bmtnaau192404-01.1.36", "texte": "A PLEA FOR\nBREAKING THE ICE.\nBY C. G. SMITH.\nTO begin with Mr Walkley: —\nAnd before him for a moment—myself.\nI was once acting nightly in a London\nTheatre. I rose, dressed, walked and sat,\ndined and thought and felt like an actor.\nThe square of the stage set with scenic pic-\ntures by Hawes Craven was to me my world :\nShakespeare and other creators of the charac-\nters I had to perform 1 looked on as so much\nmaterial, all to be useful to me as actor.\nOut of this egoism I managed to emerge\nlater. But this is how I felt, thought and\nsaw as an actor: and other actors—better\nactors—were the same in this.\nIrving, I remember, would listen to music;\nhe would often ask for it to be repeated ;\nand then, \" would do admirably for the last\nscene in ' Lear \" : or if he saw a picture\nin some gallery, \" good group for the dethrone-\nment of Richard II \" ; or if at a museum,\n\" Copy this dagger for me, will you, Arnott\n—for Richard II \".\nAnd when 1 read the notices in the pa-\npers of a performance my betters had given\nat the Lyceum Theatre (and I somewhere in\nthe cast) I did not pay much attention to\nwhat was written. If it said I was good I\nwas pleased ; if bad I was ashamed : if my\nbetters were blamed it struck me as merely\npreposterous.\nAnd there was one dramatic critic more\nintellectual than all the rest: Mr. A. B.\nWalkley.\nHis notices in the \" Times \" 1 never read.\nI would begin one and drop it. It seemed\nto me as though someone who was something\nelse than a dramatic critic was writing, wri-\nting to please himself, to please some friends\nand there an end.\nI escaped from this ignorance too later on.\nBut that was how I felt and what I thought\nwhen an actor.\nI saw no reason for Mr. Walkley in those\ndays.\nI was repelled by his superior way of\ntalking about other things than theatres.... his\nindifference, his, scholarly way, seemed cold.\nMr Clement Scott seemed glorious. You\nall remember Mr Clement Scott.... rather\ntheatrical, his criticism.\nI will not be so rude as to say that A.\nB. W., (if I may be allowed to at last re-\ncognize him), bored me—because at twenty-\nfive one is not indifferent—at least I was not.\nAnd to be so is only one degree worse than\npretending indifference. There is nothing ei-\nther in the pose or in the unfortunate blight\nitself.\n4.\nBut what a strange thing that I should\nhave once considered A. B. W's excellent\nwritings rather superior and dull.\nA. B. W. is a man of the world—all\nthe time he is trying to make us see that;\nnor an insular one either, he would be re-\nminding us.... all the time reminding us. He\nsays (not in so many words but all the time)\nI am a bon viveur— one who knows all about\nwines, cigars, (he may not smoke, still in\nhis pages twiddles a fine cigar) about all that\ncounts in the life of a man about town... a\ndistinguished elegant man who knows his\ntown be it Paris or London, Budapest or\nNapoli.\nNow we all know that Mr Walkley (not\nA. B. W.) was in the Department of the Post\nMaster General for quite a number of years.\nWhat a 1 come down as A. B. W. would\ncomma it.\nYet no come down at all; only cu-\nriously sad.\nTo enter into the whole question why it is\nsad for a man to feel he is forced to have two\nmasters would be too large a matter for me\nnow. Besides, may be it is the perfect so-\nlution to life. Have one master who pays\nyou regularly and to whom you give your\nwhole service, and a second whom you serve\nonly by suffrance, condescendingly, one you can\nleave at a moment's notice, whom you permit\nto print what you write, who is no master at\nall, but utterly under your thumb.\nThe having two such masters absolves\nyou from giving your service to any thing:\nArt, Letters, Science you cannot serve. The\nPost-Master General looms too large for that,\nand there is always the Editor of The Times\nas consolation. What the great master wont\nallow the little 'un has jolly well got to.\nWell, I find this no come down; but in\na way, as I say, I do find it rather sad.\nAnd this is what ! find Mr Walkley....\nThe sad man who puts on indifference and"}, {"page_pdf": 37, "page_imprimee": "79", "url_page": "https://bluemountain.princeton.edu/bluemtn/?a=d&d=bmtnaau192404-01.1.37", "texte": "cloaks it with the pretence of being bon vi'\nveur, man of the world, in short, making the\nbest of it.\nAnd this is admirable and witty, only we\nall are the losers.\nFor it is also weak: ...The last thing\nwe can somehow imagine A. B. W. to be.\nNever is A. B. W. at a loss to know\nhow to do what he has put himself to do....\nnever is he awkward-... never thrown off his\nbalance. He is all that is first class.\nBut his weakness is one which affects the\nwhole Dramatic world, and because of this\nwe all are the losers.\nHe cannot play to the Gallery, and he\ncannot stop playing to a parterre of indiffe-\nrents who are absent. So when he comes\nto write of Shakespeare, of acting, of scene-\nries, of applause in a theatre, of Kean and\nDumas and of Drury Lane, he addresses no\none but a group of ghosts who are utterly\nindifferent to all that makes Theatre what it is.\nAnd these indifferents are not even in\nthe play-house. Their parterre may be in\nthe smoke of the smoke-room of a Club,—\nin the first class smoking compartments of all\nthe trains of England,—in the mists by the\nvillas down by the Thames,... visible there\nperhaps, but invisible in Theatres.\nTo presume from this that A. B. W.\ndetests the Theatre would be an error. But\nhe cannot like it—and since he cannot do\nthat—he will love it a little.\nAnd to love is the Theatre a little, is weak.\nIt is decidedly hedging.\nHere we have a queer ramshackle-looking\nplace called a playhouse.... and here a tor-\nrent of Dramatic stuff pouring out of it, in\nwhich flounder or splash, sink or swim a\nwhole world of figures.\nThis it is or it is nothing. The Drama-\ntic force is not a pretty little thing, nor is it\nrather interesting, or restrained ; and so any-\nthing at all approaching indifference in its\npresence is out of place. Before this parti-\ncular force we must be prepared with a quick\nYes or a No—and it's as well to say ' Yes'\nas a rule, for reasons.\nIt is all intellect, all passion, all sorrow\nand all happiness at spate.\nWe must go with it—so it were best g°\nwithout a murmur and enjoy it to the full.\nMr Walkley is rather irritated by this\nhaving to \" look slippy \". As \" Lear \" en-\nters raving mad he would like to argue each\npoint about the thunder which rumbles him in.\n\" Jane Austin \", he begins.... and at this the\nlightning leaves the English Stage and goes\nover to America or Japan, to any place how-\never inferior to London where, at any rate,\nthings are allowed to be what they are—\nliked for being as they are, even forked\nlightning; not asked to be something lite-\nrary, not compared ....measured ....not sized\nup—especially when their size is immeasurable.\nA. B. W. pretends to be bored very\noften. It were as good a pretence as any\nother were it out of a theatre.\nFor in a theatre it is (dare I say it to\nanyone so delightful and gallant as A. B. W.)\nrather bad manners for anyone to pretend\nexcept the actors.\nThis pretending, which some folk bring into\nthe stalls, boxes and dress circles is perhaps\nthe principal reason why our English stage\nhas grown dull. Acting set side by side\nwith acting is not seen. Put grey against\ngrey and all is lost: you must put grey against\nblack, or white and you get at least some\nthing.\nThe Dramatic art is a pretence.... a pre-\ntending ; a pretending to be life,— not real\nlife—and let it beware how it pretend to be\nthat. Being a pretence it will succeed the\nbetter when it does not slip back towards\nrealities.... even pretending these is dangerous.\nThen we get that drab thing Realism.\nThe Dramatic art in its pretence offers us\nall an escape from real life.... it is the might-\nhave-been—perhaps the was.... : futile it be-\ncomes when it pretends to be the is.\nThe escape offered us is from the myriad\ndetails of our real life which teaze us, and\nour Dramatic art releases us the more it swings\nfree of actualities and soars with music.\nYou welcome music without asking it to\nbe real; you do not call on it to utter little\nfacts about how such and such a family in\nsome provincial town found life a bore, and\nwhy; and what they said about it, how they\nlooked, sneezed even.\nYou welcome music just because it re-\nleases you from these tyrannical petty reali-\nties. Yet often enough when Shakespeare\nhas made it possible to soar very nearly off\nthe earth with music, as in \" The Tempest \",\ninstead of being happy about it, you find it\na bore."}, {"page_pdf": 38, "page_imprimee": "80", "url_page": "https://bluemountain.princeton.edu/bluemtn/?a=d&d=bmtnaau192404-01.1.38", "texte": "A. B. W. did. (See his delightful book\n\" More Prejudice pgs. 21-25).\nProspero is a bore : \"I was glad when it\nwas over \" he says of \" The Tempest\nThe Ghost in \" Hamlet \" he finds a bore\ntoo; Launcelot Gobbo and Falstaff bore him ;\nthe spiritual and the clowns both bored him.\nNow for another passage from his lips\nand we will be getting to Hecuba :\n\" In the realm of Dramatic Art, where we\nare supposed to be under the spell of illu-\nsion, inhabitants for the time being an\nimaginary world \" (my italics) \" applause is\nan interruption, a rude reminder of reality\n— (again my italics).\nExcellent A. B. W.\nHe does not want to be aware of any\nreality—he wants to be in an imaginary world\nwith the Ghost he detests and the Tempest\nwhich he dislikes. And yet when he goes to\nthe International Theatre Exhibition at the\nVictoria and Albert Museum he begins \" ga-\nzing out of the windows at gardeners who\nwere planting geraniums from pots in an inner\ncourtyard \".\nA bad beginning—yet, to collect oneself\n—to put in order one's critical faculties a fine\nbeginning. Was it to do that A. B. W. leant\nout of window, gazed at gardeners at work ?\nWe shall see—he turns from the gar-\ndeners.... what to do? To pretend to blush—\nto pretend this because he is going to admit\nthat \" what chiefly delighted me there was a\nvitrine \" (he pretends it not to be a King's\nEnglish glass case) of marionnettes \".\nThere he lingers pretending to like these\nthings greatly—they are \" adorable \" he says.\nNext he turns to the model room, where\nhe searches for something to say about what\nis not there—the actors, and failing to say\nwhat is there, and why.\nAt last he arrives in a room where Ap-\npia and I have our designs for Scenes ; and,\nsaying gracefully that I am much more sane\nand moderate than the majority of my follo-\nwers, he looks at the Catalogue, quotes a\npassage from my Foreword, and goes down\ntown to the Garrick Club.\nAnd that is all.\nHe has feared to break the ice.\nIt may have occurred to him that the best\ntwo hundred designs at the Exhibition were\nall made so as to prevent the spectators being\n\" rudely reminded of reality to evoke \" the\nspell of illusion \", to make for the actors\n\" an imaginary world \".\nCJ We who give our whole life to the work\nof the Theatre, can expect criticism from men\nwhose whole life is given to studying the\ntheatre but we expect them first to study all\nits composite parts not forgetting the building\nitself.\nNow in this Exhibition visited by A. B.W.\nto look at gardeners potting, v/ere some twenty\nor so designs for Theatre, buildings by some\nof the very first architects of the time.\nNot one was mentioned by him: perhaps\nhe has not had the time to study (even ca-\nsually) this branch of the work.\nEven to study it casually awakens an in-\nterest.... that leads towards breaking the ice :\none warms, one feels young; one stops bo-\nthering one's head about realities ; one evolves\n' the spell of illusion ', and one enters ' the\nimaginary world '—and regards its construction\nin the cold light of day and reason.\nDoes A. B. W. ?\nOne asks oneself, why is this built so\nand so ? why this space shaped so ?—why\nthis other space otherwise shaped ? What is\nto be done in this building ? what are all\nthose things there ?... (one is drawn nearer\nthe design).... and these things here....\nAs one looks one comes to ask oneself\ntwenty, fifty, a hundred questions. The ans-\nwers are to be found by a further study of\ntheatre construction, if one has the time;\nand if one's life is solely devoted to the study\nof the Drama there surely should be time to\nstudy this branch and in time come to know\nthe answers to some of the questions.\nDoes A. B- W. ?\nAfter the building, the mise-en-scene ;\nwhich is not alone scenery but the putting on\nto the stage of a whole drama or part of a\ndrama.\nA thorough study of mise-en-scene is es-\nsential to the Dramatic critic.\nHas A. B. W. studied it ?\nIts past he has not studied quite long\nenough it would seem, for he has said of the\nbook by Mantzius that it is \" of the highest\ncritical and historical value \".\nOf value, of great value, especially to\nbeginners, is this History of Theatrical Art by\nMantzius : that it is \"of the highest critical\nand historical value \" to men who have read\nthe other books is not quite exact."}, {"page_pdf": 39, "page_imprimee": "81", "url_page": "https://bluemountain.princeton.edu/bluemtn/?a=d&d=bmtnaau192404-01.1.39", "texte": "A dramatic critic should be able to find\ntime during the day to read the literature of\nthe Theatre, so that at last he can decide\nwhich ten or fifteen books are \" of the highest\ncritical and historical value\nThe books he could read include some\non the Architecture of Theatres, some on\nthe Mise-en scene ; Historical and Technical\nbooks ; books on Scene, Costuming, Schools,\nLighting, Machines,Voice, Gesture,the Actor;\nthe Dramatist, his Plays ; Marionnettes, and\nMasks ; the Greek, the Italian, the Japanese\nand the Chinese Theatres. Northern and\nSouthern endeavour contrasted, Eastern and\nWestern : the Theatre of the 15 th century\ncompared to that of the 20th century. The\nlist 1 could make you would fill two volumes\nof \" The Mask \".\nHas A. B. W. had time to think of all\nthis and to study it all ?\nIf not, with utmost respect for what he\nhas done (and he has written charming es-\nsays) 1 regret to say he has given too much\nof our time to the Post Office.\nYet he is on \" The ,Times our first\nof journals, one of the very first three or four\nin Europe or America.\nSuch a journal should demand as its Dra-\nmatic Critic the most well-informed man on\nthese matters and should ask for his whole time.\nDo the leading journals, \" The Times \",\n\" The Manchester Guardian \", \" The Tele-\ngraph employ men without information to\nwrite of stocks and shares, or of science... ?\nHow is it then that in our \" Times \" this\nadmirable essayist, this genial gentilhomme,\nis considered enough for the purpose of our\nDramatic Art ?\nI cannot say how it is: I do not know:\nbut it would seem from this that anyone will\ndo to write theatrical criticism.\nIn four words, the standard is down.\nAnd it is to some slight extent due to this\nfact that our English Stage is where it is\ntoday.\nOh, I do not bewail its state : the En-\nglish Stage will last, the Theatre of Eu-\nrope will hold it up when it droops : but for\nany locality to have a sound theatre of its\nown (I do not refer here to its Drama) we\nhave to be helped to understand what a thea-\ntre is and what are all the uses which can\nbe made of it.... and its critics are the men\nwho are responsible for telling us.\nA. B. W., our first Dramatic Critic, is\nto be held responsible for not having told us.\n\" What do you like me to say \"is what\nseems continually buzzing in his head, \" and\nhow shall I make what you'd like to hear\ndiverting ? I know that first of all you agree\nwith me and I with you as to not taking the\nstage too seriously ; after all, 4 tis but the en-\ntertainment of the half educated as I have\nsaid so often. It's a pretty thing in its way\n—but not like Letters for example: (of pain-\nting I know nothing). No, not like Letters.\nAnd here 1 am by fate cursed with having\nto write of this theatrical stuff, and you, mon\ncher, with having to read what I write.\nWhich is the more to be pitied, you or I ?\nwe need not postulate : let us split the diffe-\nrence and equally pity each other. There is\nscarcely a breath of poetry, of spirituality, in\nthe modern Theatre. There is no dignity,\nethical or artistic \".—and so on and on and\non; all this instead of explaining again and\nagain until it be quite clear what the theatre\nis, was and always will be.... how it is as old\nas the novel and as novel too.,., and that if we\nare to be so solemn about the one let us be\nas solemn about the other today, for today\nthe Theatre is of as much importance in\nevery way as is the novel.\nA. B. W. says precisely the reverse of\nthis, and he our first of Dramatic Critics.\nWhy has A. B. W. never yet seen that\nthe Theatre is a place for seeing shows ?\nIf he has seen it, why has he never told\nLondon all these years ? The English and\nalso the Londoners are not so stuck up that\nthey don t like a show; why this terror of\nshows in a Theatre, when that is the place\nfor 'em ? that is to say \" entertainment, for\nthe most part, of the half educated \" as\nA. B. W. says. For the most part of the\npublic is the very part we want if we are\nto keep our theatres open.\nBut all this is but' hopping around the\nquestion and about A. B. W. and annoying\nhim unnecessarily by reminding him of what\nhe has said.\nTo the point then.\nWe want critics to break the ice, for it\nis time.\nA double breaking of the ice it must be\nto break down the fearful hard cold barrier\nwhich prevents all progress toward a friend-\nlier mood among us all."}, {"page_pdf": 40, "page_imprimee": "82", "url_page": "https://bluemountain.princeton.edu/bluemtn/?a=d&d=bmtnaau192404-01.1.40", "texte": "Actors and audiences alike sometimes\nget along, but too often not. Too often when\nthey meet the spectator drags on the per-\nformer. He has to thaw his audience slowly\n—if he blaze on 'em too suddenly they will\nbe offended.... so that quite often a whole\nAct is devoted to slowly thawing the ice.\nLet us break the ice*\nFirst of all in some of our reserves, not\nnecessarily valuable any more to us.\nWhy this reserve which drives us to look\nout of a window at geranium-potting because\na superb collection of things in a Museum\nhas depressed us ? Why this inability to look\nat a few examples of the collection of por-\ncelain or lacquer or furniture or steel work ?\nsurely we shall find one piece in the collec-\ntion which is above the entertainment of the\nhalf educated.\nWhen I was a boy I found a hundred\npieces, each piece a lovely thing: when I\nreached thirty I found as many; and now,\npast fifty, I still cannot be near cases of glo-\nrious handicraft and not stop to look at some\npieces. I don't need to be a collector of\nfaience or porcelain to know that a fine plate\nor a jug of the fourth or the fourteenth cen-\ntury is a delicious thing to look at.\nDoes it depress me to know nowadays\nsuch plates and jugs are not made ? Not\nfor long, for I know that they are or can be\nmade. All that depresses me is my own\ndreary mood, my own despair, my self.\nThe age is all right. Only one thing is\nwrong: — the indifference we show when we\nwrite or act or paint or build to please a\nlittle group of our own; when we are in-\nfluenced by the club,— by something, anything,\n-—all's the same.\nFor that means we are no longer alive\nto what we must be alive to, which is life,\nhowever, and wherever it reveal itself, —spi-\nritually, materially, every way.\nAlive to \" go and how be alive to\nthat until the ice is broken?\nHere in a day I come across these things :\nBreakfast; The Times; The Daily Mail\na pipe of tobacco; a taxi-cab; the bustle\nof Knightsbridge ; a cat; a glass case of Per-\nsian jugs; a book illustrated by Rolandson\nin a shop window; an English Hatter's\nshop-window in St James's; a heaped-up\nwaggon with vegetables slowly going towards\nCovent Garden Market; Seagulls flying at a\nriver's edge ; the Strand with its lights up ;\n\" The Graphic \" ; some etchings by Meyron\nand Callot; the noise of the traffic in Picca-\ndilly ; a cold lunch at the Art's Club, Do-\nver Street; another taxi; a friend—her friend;\na drawing by Orpen or by Sickert; a dan-\ncer at the Empire; a comic song sung by\nRavoul; the row of houses in Hampstead ;\na couple of horses; the moon coming up ;\na supper at home ; a cigar; bed.\nIf I be twenty years of age or fifty I am\na curmudgeon towards life if I fail to reco-\ngnize all the good stuff in each for what each\nis worth; the go in each.\n1 may have a special liking for hats and\nno special liking for seagulls ; then buy a hat\nand go and see what it is I miss in the gulls....\nbut don't buy a hat and tell the hatter that\nthe Ancient Mariner always seems a detesta-\nble poem to me because the poet has brought\na beastly bird .into it. Above all don't look\nout of a museum window at a pot of gera-\nniums because the exhibits are not perfect\npieces of Persian pottery for the entirely edu-\ncated, or the little scene models and the plans\nand elevations for new Theatres merely the\nbest that the young fellows of today can do\ntowards Dramatics for the half educated....\nCRITICISM WITHOUT ACCURATE SCIENCE\nOF THE THING CRITICISED CAN INDEED\nHAVE NO OTHER VALUE THAN MAY\nBELONG TO THE GENUINE REWARD\nOF A SPONTANEOUS IMPRESSION.\nSWINBURNE."}, {"page_pdf": 41, "page_imprimee": "n. p.", "url_page": "https://bluemountain.princeton.edu/bluemtn/?a=d&d=bmtnaau192404-01.1.41", "texte": "THE WRITER.\nFrom \"Iets Voor Allen, Zynde een Verhandeling En Verbeelding van allerhande, Standen,\nStudien, Konsten, Wetenschappen, Handwerken enz; Door den berugten Pater Abraham van St.\nClara. In't Nederduyts overgebragt Door J.le Long. t'Amsteldam, 1719.\nPlate 7.\n\nTHE MASK\n1924"}, {"page_pdf": 43, "page_imprimee": "83", "url_page": "https://bluemountain.princeton.edu/bluemtn/?a=d&d=bmtnaau192404-01.1.43", "texte": "ON \"THE TEMPEST\".\nBY E. GORDON CRAIG.\n44 The dreary pans and interminable conspiracies of\nAlonzo and Gonzalo and Sebastian and Antonio and\nAdrian and Francisco and other shipwrecked noblemen\nLytton Strachey.\nIT is when a wise reader and a fine writer says such a\nthing as this that we sit musing awhile, wondering.\nI am wondering now whether Mr. Strachey is quite\nright. This scene of the puns and the conspiracies is the\nfirst in Act II of 4 The Tempest \\\nIs it so dull, this scene ? I have just re-read it and\nfind it, for all its length, curiously lively. Better than\nAct I, which, till Ferdinand's entrance, has been only\nstruggling to awake and then wakes suddenly at the cry\n44 cock-a-di-ddle-dow\nBut should these puns and conspiracy scenes prove to be\nreally dull, I also am wondering, would there be great harm\ndone if some inventive yet reverential stage-manager should\nexert some of his cunning and by means of scene, voice\nand movement, by all and every means do what little he\ncan to help Shakespeare out where he seems to be dreary,\nand thus quicken things a little ?\nYou wince ; you will have it that I am miching mal-\nlecho, that I mean mischief, ie. you frown with the wea-\nrisome thought of more red fire and another transforma-\ntion scene.\nLISTEN ; the dreary puns are issuing like bubbles from\nthe mouths of six drowned live men sunken to the bed\nof the sea and wearily talking in their deadly sleep,\nAlonzo, Antonio, and the others.\nSlowly they move, these deathly men, heavily like\ndivers in deep seas ; the sun pours through the pale blue-\ngreen water so that it seems more like gentle air than\ntons of water, and but for the coral around the sunken\nblocks of marble on which they sprawl, we should won-\nder whether we be i* the air or the earth.\nLazily these once perfect gentilomini stretch themselves\nand sprawl, burbling out their rubbish, for here things are\nnot going at breakneck speed as at Elsinore or Glamis :\nnor as in Milano : wrecked gentlemen with nothing to do\nare recovering some of their senses..,, they see a little.,.,\nhear and speak—that is about all.\nWere it not that one of these six men is bored I\nmight be bored too—but while Sebastian swings his foot,\n'sblood, I cannot close an eye, nor yawn. Here is some-\none I must watch: he was born to be remembered,\nyet for what I cannot say ; still, I cannot forget him. He\nnever stirs to any purpose; he is born and drown-\ned for us in a play. A man so greatly at his ease,\na born prince, one who refuses to stir even when he\nsuspects that he has somehow come into the wrong\nplay, into a magic island too ! His smile is not unlike the\none worn by Charles Stuart, our second Charles.\nThere lie these six, shifting and sprawling in a forum\nin ruins, on these fallen blocks of marble which once\nstood up a city, now buried beneath the waves ; slowly\ntheir wits return to them ; only to be dull, to loaf and\nto sleep, to loll, and, one of them, to actually conspire.\nA wonderful act of awakening.\nThis magical island is somewhat of a scenical place\nwith its songs and sprites and dancings and its quaint\nchildlike devices of the stage carpenter; and, remembe-\nring that it was Shakespeare who took the part of Pro-\nspero when it was performed at Whitehall in 161 1, (for\nso I believe was the case), and he seeing what he would\nhave to face if he performed another operatic delight of\nthis kind, it is not strange that when it was all over he\nslipped away after that Epilogue—you recall it—and much\nshaking of hands with sixty or seventy odd fish of all\nkinds, and, getting to Stratford safe and sound, swore to\nreturn no more to the purlieus of that accursed White-\nhall.\nYet if to some of us, as we read the play, the island\ndo never seem the gaudy coloured theatrical place I have\nspoken of, if it seem more than this, if one is able to\nread and see no glare of any red fire and no glitter of\nspangles, but still see a magic Island, what then ?\nA magic Island.\nWho has actually seen one, I or you or neither ?—\nyet an old and troubled mariner once came to me to tell\nof an island placed beneath the sea—a sunken island : I\nlistened and I could not laugh : he stuttered on confusedly:\nand on, saying how he had lived down there for seven\nyears; came back, he said, wearied with the * life, but\nhow came back no one could learn: 44 —then I came\nback \" : he kept repeating, and that was all.\nIn such an isle full fathoms five indeed our fathers lie.\nAnd he spoke too of bells—bells of coral under the\nsea ; 44 Hark, now I hear *em \" he would often say, and\nstop to listen—44 Ding... d ong.. bell *\\\n44 And what.... what did happen to you down there ? \"\n—I came as far as that one day with the old mad-man—\nthis odd mariner.\nHe looked at me and made that steady settling ges-\nture with his whole body which promises the beginning\nof a long tale, and his eye would open and he would\npause and draw the air slowly and slowly through his\nnostrils, hold it a second—two seconds, and then lower\nhis eyes and go away apparently eased of all his trouble\nat the perfect remembrance.\nBut leaving me very ill at ease.\nWhat was it he saw down there—what was it that\nhappened ? Something very beautiful to see and to hear\nmust have been going on. Dull fish with cold e)es and\nbubbles * issuing from their mouths, conspiring one with\nanother as though it were London or Milano, that were\nnot enough to charm this old man at the mere remem-\nbrance of them. Dead men and the wreckage of ships\nare nothing neither : something else was happening, some-\nthing he will never forget....\nWhat was it ?\nWhat happened under the sea in an island known\nto none but he, is what I should like to make visible in\n44 The Tempest \" upon a stage, were I happy to work to\nno purpose, to make what I fear would for ever fail to\nplease you, you who must perforce listen to 44 the dreary\npuns and interminable conspiracies of Alonzo and Gon-\nzalo and Sebastian and Antonio and Adrian and Fran-\ncisco and other shipwrecked noblemen"}, {"page_pdf": 44, "page_imprimee": "84", "url_page": "https://bluemountain.princeton.edu/bluemtn/?a=d&d=bmtnaau192404-01.1.44", "texte": "SOME BIBLIOGRAPHICAL NOTES.\nON SOME OLD PLAYS AND WOOD CUTS,\nBY FELIX URBAN.\n\nFLORI ANA\nA WOODCUT, 1 526.\nREPRODUCED FROM:\nComedia nobilis | sima et ridicu | losa\nchia | mata Flo | riana. | Novissimamente\nhistoriata et emendata | con l'esemplare\ndel pro | prio autore. | Stampata in\nVinegia per Giovannantonio e fratelli\nda Sabio, ad instanza di Nicolo Dome !\nnigo fratelli del Giesù, nell'anno di\nuo | stra salute M.DXXVI( 1526) in-8.\n\nTHE SUPPOSITI OF ARIOSTO.\n0 SEE WOODCUT PAGE 85 O\nARIOSTO is supposed to have\nwritten the play in 1508. It\nwas first performed at Ferrara in 1509.\nIt was also performed in 1518-19\nbefore Pope Leo X at the Castel\nSant*Angelo (a), and Raffaello is said\nto have painted in perspective a scene\nfor it and a curtain.\nPauluzzi in his letter to the Duke\nof Ferrara says that on the curtain\nRaffaello had painted 4 Father Mariano\nwith a crowd of devils leaping around\nhim \\ The Pope seems to have ad-\nmired a certain sky which Raffaello\nhad constructed. Besides the curtain,\nthe sky and the scene, Raffaello seems\nto have designed the whole theatre.\nThis we learn was not a temporary\ntheatre (b), but was one of the first,\nif not the very first, permanent theatres\nto be built in Roma. (Fanelli. 1911). (c).\nThe artist took Vitruvius as his guide\nin designing it. (Bapst).\nHad Pope Leo so wished, the poet\nhimself could have made the Theatre\nfor him, for in 1528, or about that\ntime, Ariosto built for the Duke Alfonso\nd'Este at Ferrara a Theatre of wood,\ndesigning it, and seeing to its erection,\nand here his 44 Lena \" was performed.\nIn 1532 it was burnt on Decem-\nber 30th at 9 o'clock precisely;\n(others say on December 31st) ; and\nthe same night the poet became se-\nriously ill, dying on June 6th of the\nfollowing year, or, as some say, in July.\nThe play was translated into En-\nglish in 1566 and Shakespeare is said\nto have used some of its episodes in\nhis 44 Taming of the Shrew \".\n(a) The Vatican and the Caste I Sant\nAngelo were joined by a passage pas-\ning down the houses of the long street\nswhich divides them even as the Uffizi of\nFirenze is joined to the Palazzo Pitti ,\n(b) Fanelli states that the \" Suppo-\nsiti \" was performed, at the SanVAngela\ntheatre, of which Miss Campbell says'\n'' it seems, quite certain too, that Raf~\nfaello was responsible for the construc-\ntion of the tempoi ary theatre\n(c) The difference between the Vati-\ncan and the Campidoglio Theatres (there\nwere two) and the Theatre of SanVAn-\ngelo was that each of the former was i 4 una-\nsala qualsiasi, comunque magnificamente\narredata, serviva per lo spettacolo\nwhereas instead of this \" in castello vi\nsi rizzo un vero e proprio Teatro {net\ncof tile) che prende nonie dai Borgia, net\nquale furono recitati i Suppositi di Ario~\nsto le cui scene dipinse Raffaello {Fa-\nnelli, 1911).\nBapst says Raffaello built this theatre*\nand built it of wood.\n• (*) Referred to on page 73.\n\no THE FARCE OF o\nPIERRE PATHELIN a\nSEE TWO WOODCUTS PAGE 85*\n(I)\nTHE second scene of the Farce\nshowing Pathelin the advocate\n(standing) on his visit to his neighbour\nGuillaume Joceaume the cloth mer-\nchant, taking the cloth away for a\nnew suit of clothes and the merchant\nunable to prevent him.\nBy no clowning is this done, n®\nhorse play: all is done solely by the\nwoids and by the actor; so subtle is\nthe play, so delicate the development\none is set wondering what a comedy\nof that time was like if a farce can\nLe so exquisite in its workmanship.\nShould I ever have a Theatre of\nmy own it is one of the plays I shall\ntry to produce, I take it that some\neight months very hard work on this\nand nothing else might be well wasted,\nfor the Play belongs to Frenchmen,\nsinless some English Poet will rob\nFrance of it.\nWell, I will willingly act as Re-\nceiver of the goods.\n(2\nSHOWING the last scene of the\nfarce of Pierre Pathelin, with Pa-\nthelin who is defending the shepherd\nTvho has killed his master's sheep, the\nmaster being none other than the cloth\nmerchant from whom Pathelin has stolen\nthe cloth.\n\nA WOODCUT, 1527.\nREPRODUCED FROM:\nComedia DI PUBLIO | PHILIPPO\nMANTO | VANO DETTA FORMICO-\nNE. NUO | VAMENTE H1STO | RIATA,\nStampata in Vinegia ad instantia di\nNicolò, | & Domenego Fratelli del\nGiesii. I M.DXXVII (1527) in-8."}, {"page_pdf": 45, "page_imprimee": "85", "url_page": "https://bluemountain.princeton.edu/bluemtn/?a=d&d=bmtnaau192404-01.1.45", "texte": "PIERRE PATHELIN AND THE\nCLOTH MERCHANT.\nFROM THE GOTHIC EDITION OF THE FARCE.\nPARIS, GERMAIN BENEAUT 1490, IN 4to.\n\nPIERRE PATHELIN AND THE\nSHEPHERD.\nFROM THE GOTHIC EDITION OF THE FARCE.\nPARIS, GERMAIN BENEAUT 1490, IN 4to.\n\nA SCENE FROM THE \"SUPPOSITI\"\nOF ARIOSTO.\nFROM THE EDITION PRINTED AT VENEZIA 1526."}, {"page_pdf": 47, "page_imprimee": "87", "url_page": "https://bluemountain.princeton.edu/bluemtn/?a=d&d=bmtnaau192404-01.1.47", "texte": "TODAY'S FARCES\nAND THE FUTURE.\nTHERE is obviously someone living\nat this hour who is writing the Farces\nwhich alone can express for future ages\nthe fun of this age.\nI make this statement solely in the\ndark.... picking my way as best I can,\nin this probably one of the darkest\nand funniest ages which mankind has\never experienced, for I do not know\nwho is writing the farces.\n14 The world has experienced a pro-\nfound catastrophe, it is slowly recove-\nring itself \" ; this is what I hear : what\na theme for a farce ; not the catastro-\nphe but that \" slow recovery \".\nAnd how long do [you think it\nwill take to recover?\n\" Ah \", comes the long-drawn sigh,\n\" perhaps twenty, perhaps thirty years\n—may be it will even take longer \".\nThree times this month have three kinds\nof men echoed this to me :—what cha-\nracters for a second farce.... these three.\n\" What is it which delays the re-\ncovery of the world ? \" I asked.\n\" The delayed revival of British\nTrade \".\n\" The delayed revival of Russian and\nGerman Trade \".\n\" The delayed Revival of French\nTrade \".\n\" And who can revive trade and\nso save the world ? \"\n\" The Business People are the only\nPeople who can save the situation \"\nanswer Mr Edward Duveen, Sir Al-\nfred Mond and Mr Otto Kahn with\nquiet deliberation.\nIsn't it wonderful! !\n\nLETTERS\nTO THE\nEDITOR\nAPRIL\n1924\n\n\" ACCA \" A NEW STAGE LANGUAGE.\nFaithfully,\nLilian Antler.\nSir.\nI was interested and amused by the article \" Acca for\nthat is just what we do seem to need,... a new lan-\nguage for the stage.\nWhen I go to hear some Russian or Italian play 1\nmust admit that I am very greatly refreshed by the sounds\nof these two languages, both of which are Greek to me.\nAnd indeed were it possible for us today to be taken\nback to the year 458 B. C. and be present at the first\nperformance of the \" Agamemnon\" there are two Greek\nwords we should all understand : \" Otototoi\", the sob of\nCassandra, and the\" I-£, IS\", the cry of fear of the\nchorus.\nI am no philologist, but it takes no study for a sound\nto reach my senses, and it seems to me that all the sounds\nand all the things seen on a stage should be so vivid and\npowerful that our senses can be immediately seized and\ninterested by them : for the brains are not given to us to\nbe quickly convinced by anything. It seems to me that\nthe brains are all for reasoning with.\nIf Drama would reason it must do so quickly, and I\nbelieve through other channels than those held by the citadel\nof our brains, and the senses, we have been told, are the\nright channels ; they lead to the heart.\nIn a Theatre, what the heart allows to pass, the brain\nwill hardly play the pedant over to the extent of becom-\n, ing a bore.\nSome of our modern plays seem to wish to make an\nappeal to the heart; but the truth is they never quite\nreach it. They touch us, but the touch is on the arm,\non our sleeve, where nowadays the Dramatist looks to find\na second • heart * being worn for convenience sake.\nOtototoi!\nLeeds.\n\nFaithfully.\nConrad Tower.\nSir:\nReading the article on \" Acca, A New Stage Lan-\nguage \" in your last number, reminds me of the lines\nof Lord Byron in \" Beppo, a Venetian story\", XLIV: —\nI love the language, that soft bastard Latin,\nWhich melts like £/sses from a female mouth,\nAnd sounds as if it should be writ on satin,\nWith syllables which breathe of the sweet South,\nAnd gentle liquids gliding all so pat in\nThat not a single accent seems uncouth,\nLike our harsh northern whistling, grunting, guttural,\nWhich we9 re obliged to hiss, and spit, and sputter all,\nHow Byron would have delighted in the development\nand extension of \" Acca \"; what dialogues he and its in-\nventor would have improvised ; and who knows that he\nwould not, had he not set out on his last journey a hun-\ndred years too soon, have given us some powerful drama\nin M Acca \", the new language for the stage !\nRoma"}, {"page_pdf": 48, "page_imprimee": "88", "url_page": "https://bluemountain.princeton.edu/bluemtn/?a=d&d=bmtnaau192404-01.1.48", "texte": "BOOK REVIEWS.\n\nSIX BOOKS IN A SECOND\nCLASS COMPARTMENT,\nby François M. Florian.\n\nBeing fond of travelling ever since I\nwas a boy, I find I have actually\nbecome a traveller — that and nothing\nelse. Not in any very serious sense\nam I travelling; no one, to look at\nme, would take me for one of the\nLivingstones or the Cooks : but in the\nway of small trips I like to consider\nmyself to be one of the great travel-\nlers. Yet even there Iam not, I fear,\nquite genuine. I don't travel in any-\nthing. I mean that when I emerge\nfrom a station into a city, I am not\nseen to be carrying two sample bags\nof lace, stationary or scientific pearls.\nNeither a serious nor a genuine tra-\nveller, I am more like that lost tra-\nveller under the hill, and what I write\nof is but my dream.\nAnd like one who dreams I pass\nfrom one subject to another ; to be wri-\nting in the morning for 44 Le Soir \" of\na land where not a street is straight,\nwhere nothing is born but to bend,\nand to be writing ten hours later for\n4 Das Morgenstund \", of a land where\nall is flat and angular, is all in the day's\nwork for me. Being a traveller Iam\ndestined always to pass swiftly from\none extreme in nature to the other.\nInto sunshine, into mist and fog, up\ninto cold and down into damp and\nheat. I have grown to await all these\nflat contradictions of nature with equa-\nnimity; dare I confess I even love them\nand travel just to observe them.\nBut bpoks are my theme today, not\ntravels, and unfortunately time will not\nallow me to wait till I reach Brussels\nto unpack, have my bath, my dinner,\nmy stroll, and then settle down to write\nof the six\" books I undertook to review,\npromising the copy by February 24th.\nToday is Wednesday the 20th. Unless\n1 post these pages before eight this\nevening they will not be delivered for\ncertain, by eight o'clock Sunday morn-\ning. So there is nothing for it but\nto write here and now.\nI have read five of the six books,\nand now 1 see them all together in front\nof me.\nWhen last week in Milano I called\non my friend Commendatore Grimpuz-\nzone I was shown straight into his\nstudy. He was writing at his table\nand around him some thirty-six shelves\nof books all on the Risorgimento. The\nsubject does not interest me ; but, spite\nof this, I felt the seriousness of each\nbook and of the immense collection:\nwhereas on leaving Grimpuzzone's house\nI went into a little library in the Via\ndeirAnfiteatro and as suddenly went\nout again, so funny seemed its tumbled\ntogether crowd of volumes.\nLost travellers' dreams indeed.\nI mention these two experiences of\nmine of this single morning, to illustrate\nwhat 1 would put down as a theory ;\nwhich is, that when books are not all\nof one race, one blood, united in one\nexistence, making for one one\nOccident, they are apt all of them to\nbe a little comic.\nThey become odds and ends; they\nare indifferent one to another ; they\nsplit up; they are funny.\nI recall once having seen in Exeter\ntwo volumes of Henry Crabbe Robin-\nson's Diary flanked by Noverre's Trea-\ntise on the Dance and by Gilbert's\nBab Ballads. At the time I did not\nknow why it was that I felt so de-\npressed.... why I became serious and\nsaw nothing, looked no more at the\nshelves, but went out and walked\nround the Cathedral and, still out of\nsorts, had gone here and there and at\nlast taken a train up to London\nand then on to Dover, when I crossed\nover to Calais, staying four days (a long\ntime for me to stay anywhere) in that\nexcellent town enjoying my stay im-\nmensely.\nBut now I know that it was the fun-\nniness of the position of those three\nbooks which did it.\nNo book is exactly funny in 'itself,\nby itself, or among its friends. But\nunless it be in its right place it is\nstrange how it loses its worth. This\ncan be said of nearly all books: only\na few stand apart anywhere, hold their\nown, and are perfect, owing to their\nperfect style.\nThe six books which I have to write\nof have a very unfair chance. I selec-\nted them at random when I left Flo-\nrence and now here they are in a\nsecond class compartment.\nQ In a second class compartment of\na train we generally find a mixed lot\nof people; one who came early to\nthe terminus and took his corner facing\nthe engine may be a distinguished being:\na sleepy fellow is in another corner;\nhe too came for his place early: two\ncommonplace travellers are in the other\ncorners; a vivacious lady, may be, who\ncame late is in the centre, and a dan-\ngerous-looking customer who entered\nat the first stop is seated where once\nI sat.\nAnd so it is with these six books.\nLet me give their names and other facts\nabout them.\n1. Casanova in England. (Bleackley).\nJohn Lane.\n2. Ada. (Helen Granville Barker).\nChatto & IVindus.\n3. Antic Hay. (Aldous Huxley).\nChatto & IVindus.\n4. Forty Years in my Bookshop.\n(Spencer). Constable.\n5. More Prejudice. (A. B. Walkley).\nHeinemann.\n6. Mah-Jong. (Etienne). Methuen.\nWhat to make of them all together?\nLet us look at the facts.\nNo. 1 costs 15/—, weighs I lb : (a)\nhas 284 pages; is in blue cloth.\nNo. 2 costs 7/6, weighs 10 oz., has\n394 pages; also in blue ; charming to\nlook at.\nNo. 3 costs 7/6 net, weighs A/2 a lb.\nhas 328 pages; in yellow cloth and\nlabelled.\nNo. 4 costs 21/—, weighs 106. 12\noz; a little heavy ; has 284 pages; is\nin brown buckram.\nNo. 5 costs 7/6 ; weighs 12 oz.; has\n255 pages; and is in brown cloth:\nelegant.\nNo. 6 costs only 3/6, weighs only 4\noz., has only 55 pages, and is in a\npretty decorated white cover.\nThese six sit in the six places of the\ncompartment. I have gone out into\nthe corridor to make room : — No. 3,\nMr Huxley, leaped in so suddenly and\nlooked rather distracted, rather unlike\nhimself, so I thought I would give place.\nFrom the corridor I observe my six\nfellow travellers. Before long I see\nthat there is a tendency on the part of\nall these excellent people to enter into\nsome sort of friendly intercourse.\nIt is of course Mrs Barker who\nbreaks the ice. 44 Turning her head\nslightly she managed a stealthy peep\nout of the corner of her eyes, at a fat\nface, almost as profileless as a rag\ndoll's, and a mottled hand with a blue\nseal ring on it — This was as she\nsaw No. 4 on the seat facing her. For\nmy part I cannot say I saw any such\nman. Number 4, Mr Spencer, is not\nthin and his brown buckram suit does\n\n(a) The sorter in the Post Office com-\npartment of the train weighed them for\nme, and so I am exact."}, {"page_pdf": 49, "page_imprimee": "89", "url_page": "https://bluemountain.princeton.edu/bluemtn/?a=d&d=bmtnaau192404-01.1.49", "texte": "not make him appear any thinner; but\nthe picture I have of him is of a man\nwho could not possibly have sat forty\nyears in any bookshop, but who rather\nsat all those years astride a fine roan\nhunter in the field. The genial portrait\nin his book is very like him.\nAnd indeed so genial, so gallant\nwas he at this very moment that, taking\nMrs Barker's ice-breaking wireless to\nbe anything but what it was, (for she\ndid not speak aloud), he graciously\npassed her a rare copy of \" Travels\nwith a Donkey \" in which was a\ndrawing by Walter Crane, and drew\nattention to the signature.\nThis was indeed a rarity. R. L. S's\nbook 1 knew, and that Crane had made\na drawing for it; ....but to see the\noriginal! I I\nEveryone looked with that unconcer-\nned air which begins to bespeak dawn in\na railway carriage—although the genia-\nlity of Mr Spencer was in mid-heaven\nand shedding beams all around him. And\nNo. 5, (Walkley) who was peeping\nin a distinguished way over No. 4's\nshoulder and wondering at the pre-\nciousness of the volume, said that to\nthink that Walter Crane had illustrated\nStevenson absolutely 44 floored \" him.\nI never had such a shock in my\nlife, That this gentleman, immaculate-\nly dressed in brown cloth (though\ndressed almost from the very pattern\nbook of Mr Max Beerbohm), as dis-\ntinguished in appearance as in man-\nner, should suddenly descend to slang,\nand, to make matters worse, to indi-\ncate by two flicks of his forefinger in\nthe air that he was adding inverted\ncommas, was a \" staggerer \" to me.\nI thought to myself, what will be-\ncome of the King's English if this\nsort of thing goes on.... and I then\nrecalled how the Fowlers, those two\nnurses of that same English, had some\nyears ago given six examples of just\nsuch slips as the gentleman had but\nnow made :—\" For all it was worth\n\" peters out \" bounder \" steep \"\n\" bang in the eye gets \" the boot\nthese were the six examples; and they\nhad added these awful words; \" the\neffect of using quotation marks with\nslang is merely to convert a mental\ninto a moral weakness \" (b),\nBut as I looked at the fine little\nhead in front of me (I refer to No. 5)\nI could not allow it capable of any\nmoral weakness.\nMr Walkley had no sooner uttered\nthis word \" floored \" than all the au-\nthors in this compartment were put en-\ntirely at their ease—all but one. This\none, No. 3, Mr Huxley, sat stiff and\nforbidding and critical, mixing a me-\ntaphor with which I could see he\nwas soon about to floor Mr Walkley.\nAnd then everyone began to talk :\nat least almost everyone; for little\nMiss Etienne in the corner, prim, an-\ngular and delightful, said nothing the\nwhole journey.\nThe cackle went on; slang whirled,\nmore slang whirled after it, and no-\nthing of any importance was said, and\nno one seemed to be anyone, until\nthere was left but one man speaking,\nand everyone else at attention: even\nHuxley warmed, beamed, chuckled....\nthe mariner hath his will.\nOr rather No. I, Chevalier de Sein-\ngalt, native of Venice, son of strolling\nplayers, GiacOmo Casanova, has the\nboard. And until we arrived at Brus-\nsels he held it, and held everyone,\nspellbound.\nWas he a writer ?, who knows;\nwas he inventing or telling historical\ntruths ?, who cares ? Where were we ?\nI was where I wanted to be, here,\nthere and everywhere following the\nChevalier.\nFor Casanova was just such a tra-\nveller in the imagination as I am in a\ntrain. He told of Venice, of Paris,\nof London, and of Spain, of Germany\nof everywhere.\nHe said he had done what most\nhave done and what others have fail-\ned to do; that he had been in love\nor been loved he never said, but he\ntold of amours. And everyone in the\ncarriage agreed that they would like\nto have been the Chevalier.... or Pau-\nline, because the Chevalier when he\ntold of these things told them like a\nVenetian. Of course no names, no\nreal names, and three quarters of the\nstory invention; but leave the Cheva-\nlier to know his audience.\nIt sat, as I say, spell-bound: spite\nof an immense capacity to answer back,\nnot & soul said a word. Were they\nsomehow carried off their feet? Well,\nit was amazing talk; \" but \" said\nWalkley as he got out at the end of\nthe journey, \" whether it would * print'\nis quite another * kettle of fish * \".\n\n(b)\\The King* s\\English : Oxford: Cla-\nrendon Press: 1908. (abridged edition),\n-Page 37.\n\nF. M. F.\n\nTHE TRAGED Y OF MR PUNCH:\nA Fantastic Play in Prologue and one\nAct by Russell Thorndike and Reginald\nArkdl. (Duckworth & Co.) 15/-.\nBUT that is not all : it has a num-\nber of highly finished colour plates,\nreproductions of drawings by Mr Arthur\nWatts.\nAnd more: it has an introductory\nessay by Mr. Max Beerbohm as wise\nand as well writ as every other essay\nby the same pen.\nAnd it seems that the Tragedy has\nbeen played by grown-ups, live actors.\nI hear it was a great success and that\nthere are hopes that it will be revived.\nFor my part I like Punch to remain\nwhat he always was; a wooden head,\na puppet in a booth. Punch in flesh-\nings does not convince me,\n\nTHE GOOD FAIRY.\nTHE LONDON REVIEW: A Mo-\nral Pantomime, by\\F. J. Harvey\nDarton. Designed by Albert Ruther~\nston. (Wells Gardner Darton & Co.\nLtd,) 2/-.\nEVERYBODY'S THEATRE by\nH. W. Whanslaw. (Wells Gardner\nDarton & Co. Ltd.) 5/-.\nTHREE small volumes: two plays\nand one of directions. The\nfirst two volumes are playful, the third\nis serious.\nCan one be serious about such a\nthing as a Toy Theatre ?\nTo judge from these three examples\nit is the serious book which conspires\nto help me when I want some fun ;\nwhereas the two playful volumes de-\nfeat me.\nThe serious directions in \" Every-\nbody's Theatre \" as to how to make\na real room, how to make a stencil\nknife to help make the room, how to\nuse a screw-driver and the rest are\nall delightful. Because these are things\none really doesn't know.\nAnd in telling us Mr Whanslaw\nnever gets jocular. He keeps grave\nand intent on his task and he takes\nyou on with him—at the end he tells\nyou there \"*is no finish \" for to reach\nthe end of the toy theatre means to\nreach the beginning of the larger, the\nreal theatre.\nAltogether is Mr Whanslaw free\nfrom playing with the theatre. And I\nlike his book because of that.\nHis designs are able and useful,\nnot so charming as are Mr Ruther-\nEton's, which are delightful fantasies.\nMr Edward Shanks, in a very able\nintroduction to Mr Whanslaw's book,\nmakes a very sound reference to \" The\nTempest\" and I hope that he will\nwrite the supplement which he tells us\n(to my regret) he just avoided in time.\nFor the other two volumes by Mr\nDarton I have nothing but praise,\nespecially for the gorgeous big plates\nby Mr Rutherston. They are perfectly\ndelightful; graceful and pretty pieces of\ndecoration."}, {"page_pdf": 50, "page_imprimee": "90", "url_page": "https://bluemountain.princeton.edu/bluemtn/?a=d&d=bmtnaau192404-01.1.50", "texte": "EIGHT REVIEWS.\nTHE FOLLOWING EIGHT REVIEWS\nARE OF PLAYS BY POETS & PLAY-\nWRIGHTS REFERRED TO IN THE\nARTICLE \" PLAYS OLD AND NEW \"\n& ARE BY THE SAME AUTHOR.\n\nPLAYS AND CONTROVER-\nSIES by W. B. Yeats. (Macmillan),\n/ 923, 10/6.\nTHE MASK has never been able\nproperly to write of Mr Yeats\nand his Dramas although it has often\ntried to express a firm admiration of\nhis genius.\nIn this new edition of his plays are\nsix plays, and all of them good, with\n218 pages about the Irish Dramatic\nMovement.\nI cannot pretend to admire Mr Yeats\nwhen he assumes the virtue of know-\ning all about the Theatre, for he is\nno better a dramatic poet for his little\nstage theories. If he only could laugh\nheartily at himself when he has put\nforth some trifling.... (and often incor-\nrect).... statement about the playhouse\nand its people. His power over ma-\ngical words no one can be slow to\nacknowledge.\nThis poet has suffered in having\nbeen born in a century when we had\nno Theatre to put at the service of\nthe poets.\n\nMELLONEY HOLTSPUR\nby John Masefield (Heinemann),\n1922. 6/-\ni\nTHE obvious happened to this fine\nplay. It was put on to the stage\nin a manner which made it necessary\nto take it off again.\nThis in no way proves that it is\nnot dramatic. To hurriedly push on\nto the stage a noble and difficult play\nwithout the most searching preparation\nfor it is treating it worse than refusing\nto produce it at all.\nHow clear it becomes with every\nsuch false experiment that there is\nanother way to bring such plays and\nsuch dramatic poets into our Theatre.\n4 What way ? ' you ask.\nBut you know before you ask it.\nMasefield's 4 Pompey ' is a play\nworth putting on at least fifteen to\ntwenty nights each year: why is it\nnot done ?\nStill, let us pray that no one put\nit on if the present way of putting on\nfine plays in London is to remain the\nstandard.\nFirst let our standard be raised ;—\nthat means untold labour:—after that\n4 Pompey * and the rest.\n\nPHOENIX by Lascelles Ahercrombie.\n(Benn.)\nI feel about this play as* I felt about\n'The Deserter*, that with Mr Aber-\ncrombie we have a man with too much\nability: he is too good at it. In\n4 Phoenix' he treats seriously and in\nverse of a noble rhythm a thing which\nshould have been handled as a farce\nand in a jog-trot rhythm—neat distin-\nguished jog-trot....\nAnd this is the obvious remark that\nthe poet would have made to his muse\nhad the pair been in and out of the same\ntheatre (and at work in it) for a cou-\nple of years.\nIn 4 The Deserter * he again made\nan obvious error, easily remedied by\nlooking the obvious in the eye. His\npeasants talked the rustic-poetic with-\nout ceasing ; over-loaded phrases came\nout like thunder in June; no plain\nspeech, no suggestion of that tragic\nsemi-silent way of the English peasant;\nall as voluble as though in Ireland.\nTo be able to write such plays and\nyet not to be able to glean the six or\nseven obvious truths necessary for every\ndramatist to learn, is the pity of it.\nAnd that is not the Poet's fault.\n\nMISTER BOSHERUS AND\nTHE MUSES by Ford Maddox\nHueffer with Decorations by Paul\nNash. (Duckworth & Co.) 15/- net.\nHOW I wish that I had a theatre.\nNot to suggest to Mr Hueffer\nthat his Bospherus would be at all\npossible on my boards—that sounds\nfine, 44 my boards \"—but solely to see\nwhether or no I could make it pos-\nsible. Why not ? but I dread lest, in\nasking this, some ass who has boards\nwill be a silly ass, and, puffing him-\nself out till he swell to Mr Bospherus'\nmeasure, (I mean no rudeness F. M. H.)\nwill blurt out on his damnable boards\nthis excellent thing of shreds and\npatches.\nAnyhow, here's luck to Sussex 1892,\nand more to Tarascon 1923, and\nmost to anywhere else in 1924.\nMr Nash is a fine woodcutter and\nnever slips except when he isn't enjoy-\ning his work. His portrait of Mr Ben-\nnett eating his lunch on a bench out-\nside the British Museum is something\nevery admirer of Mr. Bennett will\ncollect and treasure. His portrait of\nHaldane Macfall in Westminster Abbey\nis better than a portrait of Macfall by\nLovat Fraser which I possess. Everyone\nwho cares for woodcuts should buy\nthis book.\nThe portrait of Maud Allen on the\ncover is lovely. Mr Nash has a ge-\nnius for portraiture ; and that on page\n35 is not the least attractive of the\nseries :—but I will leave the curious\nto guess who she is.\n\nSUCCESS by A. A: Milne. (Chatto\n& Windus). 51-net.\nA neat nicely printed little book,\nand a readable play which has\nobviously pleased thousands of people.\nIt offers pretty examples of the modern\ntype stage direction. Shakespeare one\nfeels ought to have had the notion.\nI allude to this kind :\nLady Jane. Dick ?... Oh, my hus-\nband, yes! Of course! (she smiles\npleasantly at him. After all, he is\ngoing to do the gardens at Drayton\nfor nothing, and [he may even be a\nconstituent).\nThis is on page 12 : and on pa-\nges 35 and 94 we have other excel-\nlent examples. The last is even twenty\nfive lines. It describes what is pas-\nsing in the mind of the principal figure\nin the play.\nNow if Shakespeare had done this\nat the end of Act II of Hamlet we\nshould have had a superb stage direc-\ntion. Unfortunately he made Hamlet\nspeak his thoughts aloud, thus clumsily\nletting us into the secret. Mr Milne\nof course has not so many secrets to\nlet out, but it is a play full of very\npretty surprises, and if you are always\nin London and can't get away you'll\nsee the whole world in 44 Success \".\n\nHASSAN by James Elroy Flecker.\n(Heinemann). 6/-.\nA play which is clear from the first.\nAnd it's made up like an actor is,\nor like a cake is made ; well mixed,\nwell sugared, pack full of plums and\nspice. Quite all right and useful as\na good show.\n1 read it with two better plays, but\nI liked this best. Then it has the usual\nbedroom scene of the wild western\nworld, and there are references to\nmagic. I was able to stop and light\na pipe as I read. That's the best of\nit... no concentration is required ; it's\nall as easy reading, as the 44 Secret\nLife \" by Barker is hard reading. It is\ncomic and it is thrilling, but the two\nthings well mixed ; but when Ghosts\nbegin to come on at the end I want it\nall turned into a ballet opera ; and then\nI want the ghosts cut out; but then I\nwant the ghosts to get back into the\nbodies of the two massacred lovers;\nbut then I want the whole thing chan-\nged. Q, E. D. which is impossible,"}, {"page_pdf": 51, "page_imprimee": "91", "url_page": "https://bluemountain.princeton.edu/bluemtn/?a=d&d=bmtnaau192404-01.1.51", "texte": "THE CONQUERING HERO\nby Alan Monkhouse. {Ernest Benn).\n1923.\nAvery sincere little play which\nonly needs good acting to make\nit very touching. And, you say, from\nthat you gather I mean that without\ngood actors it would be ineffective.\nDoes any play play itself ? No in-\ndeed ; some plays positively cry aloud\nfor bad actors, I should rather say actors\nnot yet famous.\nThe characters in this play are\nmostly fine simple English types, grim\ncharacters too;—the ladies are cu-\nriously grim. I find the most subtle\nand terrible lines in the play to be\nthe last five lines uttered by Helen.\nThey are strange: they leave one un-\ncertain whether to shudder with laughter\nor ask if one can meet the author. Which\nshows me how powerfully he is able to\nwork upon the reader. A manager\nmight assuredly put this play on a stage.\nIt is not a realistic play.... nor a fan-\ntasy : it is just a well-balanced human\nlittle drama with a good last act for\nthe Hero.\n\nTHE SECRET LIFE by Harley\nGranville Barker. Chatto & Windus.\n1923. 6J~ net.\nWHAT is it all about ? 99 asked\nMr Ervine the critic, and had\nto read it a second time before he\nthought he knew.\nI read or listen to a play without\nasking what its about because that has\nto appear at once for it to be a play.\nWe almost have to know in advance\nwhat it is to be about; that was, and\nI believe still remains, a custom with\nskilled dramatists.\nFor my part, what I rather ask is\n4 how is this being done ? \\ and that\none has to watch closely to enjoy the\nart of the dramatist. But one can\nonly do this provided one has the\nwhole story or idea made clear to\none from the commencement. Think\nof Hamlet, Pathelin, The Merchant of\nVenice, The Bacchee, Le Bourgeois\nGentilhomme.\nAs I read this play by Barker I\ngrow aware that it has been written\nfor his own pleasure ; and it is all\nthe more generous of him that he has\nas he went along given some of us\nmuch pleasure. I find pleasure in\nfeeling that I am one of those ordi-\nnary human beings able at any rate\nto recognize that there are things of\nbeauty in 44 The Secret Life \".\nIt is, probably, all of it a thing of\ngreat beauty. I would not be at all\n1 sure but that some day we shall have\nto admit its beauty. There is much\npure white light in it. But such light\noften blinds one, and if critics seem\nto have been severe to the author I\nthink it quite likely that the light has\nblinded them.\nAs for its value to the British Stage,\nwell, that stage needs plays which are\ndifficult to perform, and this play would\nnot, in performance, be easy. Of the\naudiences I will not speak: they have\nbut to listen and to look : but if well\nunderstood, well perceived and well\nplayed by the actors, this play might\ndazzle the audience by reason of just\nthe light I was speaking of a moment\nago. I do not think it would blind\nthem. That is what a theatre is for :\nto pass such light through, to illumine\nlarge things for a large mass of people\nin the dark.\nI should say that if the British Stage\nhad some power and nobility in it, it\ncould not exercise these two qualities\nbetter, than in devoting some of such\nforce and fineness to the attempt, the\nloyal attempt, to interpret this dream.\nIt owes Mr Barker this. I am not\nunaware of a certain majesty in this\nwork. Has the British Stage the cou-\nrage to stand for it or not ?\n\nTHREE MODERN JAPANESE\nPLAYS. Translated by Iwasaki &\nHughes. Stewart Kidd Co. U. S. A.\n$ 1.50,\nTHE THRICE PROMISED\nBRIDE. Cheng-chin-Hsiung> Thea-\ntre Arts Magazine. Vol. 7. No. 4.\nU. S. A.\nCONFUCIUS. Sadafcichi Hartmann.\nPrivately printed. Los Angeles. 1923.\nFIVE Plays written by eastern\nauthors, four of them good.\nThe best for the last, Yet 44 Con-\nfucius \" is in some ways the best. Were\nit a little simpler it would not be so\ngood. Its elaboration is an achieve-\nment. 44 Nari-kin \", one of the first\nthree, would hardly be improved if it\nwere any more elaborate. Then 44 The\nRazor \" by Naharmura is surprising :\nthose looking-glasses—and the eyes of\nthe six characters—those twelve eyes,..;\nor has the barber but one eye ? How\nit glistens. And how full of ceremo-\nny and fine doings is our stage when\nthe 44 Thrice Promised Bride \" falls in\nher swoon ; and how well it all comes\nout of the ceremony, and becomes\nhuman yet all-too-human. Not so\nwould any of the other writers have\nmade the piece ; only one of the many\nChinese dramatists who write in this\nmanner could make it so. It is a dis-\ntinct manner, and so we are taken by\nthis style into another world from that\ndreamed of by Elizabethans or Ferra-\nrese, Parisians, Greeks or Moderns.\nAnd last of all, since it is the best\nof all, 44 The Madman on the Roof 49\nby Kan Kikuchi. Fine effortless work.\n—A modern dramatist—not at all concer-\nned with the wasting of time or words\non ugly things, never sentimental (what\nJapanese sinks there ?) he gives me\nmuch pleasure with his Lunatic bro-\nther on a roof seeing and hearing the\ngods and their flutes and messages, and\nhis sane younger brother on the ground,\nand the two looking up at the same\ngolden palace in a cloud—which ap-\npears to them as the sun sets. In\nsome strange way it seems to me the\nbest little modern drama I have read\nfor years: my thoughts turn to our\nEnglish writers—I think of the good\nBarker and I cannot refuse to say to\nmyself : 44 it was just such a play he\nwas long ago trying to write—just such\na palace he in his madness saw but\nin his sanity refused to believe was\ntrue \" ; and to add 44 it is just such a\ntruth he may yet refuse to allow him-\nself to deny \".\n\nTHREE PLAYS by Pirandello,\ntranslated by E. Storer. (Dent &\nSons). Price 10j6.\nI do not like modern Italian artists\nwhen they grow original. They cannot\ndo it. It suits the English and Ger-\nmans, may be the French; but Italians\nbecome suddenly rather cheap.\nHere is a nation which has, centu-\nries ago, solved all the troublesome\nproblems of all the arts and needs to\nlearn nothing new ; and yet damm6 if\nthe new Italian composers can be\nkept from Wagnerizing or the play-\nwrights from gallivanting; the wood-en-\ngravers from.... but I will write more\nof this for the next number of \" The\nMask\nPirandello the playwriter tries to be\noriginal. He succeeds. He hesitates,\nbut, being an Italian, he does so with\ndecision. He grows confused, but\nwith deliberation. He struggles to be\nNorthern but the South sees to it\nthat he struggle with ease. Clever ?\nCaspita ! Pirandello is very clever ; who\ndoubts it ? but he began to make\nplays when the law of Italy was 44 Be\ninternational, forget Italy \". Then\nMussolini came and once more made\nit possible for Italians to not care a\ndamn (non mi frego) for what the\nscatter-brain nations might think, since\na perfectly ordered Italian artist has,\ncenturies past, gone through the last\nexperience necessary to the creation of\ncon tinental masterpieces.\nStill Pirandello's 44 Henry IV \" re-\nmains about the best European play of"}, {"page_pdf": 52, "page_imprimee": "92", "url_page": "https://bluemountain.princeton.edu/bluemtn/?a=d&d=bmtnaau192404-01.1.52", "texte": "the day, and would be better without\nits tedious explanations, its philosophi-\ncal airs and its frustrated attempt to\nescape from the Theatre.\nOur last quite good plays were Mo-\nli&re's : not original but perfect. I would\nlike to see an Italian write the next great\nplay and based upon the tradition from\nwhich Moli£re sprang.\n\nA HISTORY OF THE AMERI-\nCAN DRAMA by Arthur Hobson\nQuinn. (Harper and Brothers). $ 4.00.\nWE are told 44 that this is the\nauthoritative and picturesque sto-\nry of the evolution of the American\ndrama—its beginnings in the colonial\ncolleges, the stirring part it played in\nthe struggles of the Revolution, its re-\nbirth through Royall Tyler and Wil-\nliam Dunlap, the rise of a drama upon\nnative themes under James Nelson\nBarker and his fellows \".\nThe Author devotes a chapter to\nJohn Howard Payne whom he consi-\nders invaded, then conquered, the En-\nglish Stage. He tells us that 44 Payne\nmakes use of the language of his pre-\ndecessors with the high courage of the\ngreat adaptors. From Cumberland he\ntakes many lines, often verbatim ; from\nDownman he takes largely also, but he\nmore often alters the language '\\ He\nsays that his admiration of his ability....\nincreases while he sees him cutting re-\nlentlessly 44 the poetic verbosity \" of these\nauthors and 44 inserting a few lines of\nhis own in the right places \".\n44 Originality \" he adds uin its\ngreatest sense was not his \".\nIn the period from 1825 to 1860\nthe author traces the rise of the group\nof playwrights who, under the inspira-\ntion of Edwin Forrest, produced the\ngreat American romantic tragedies like\nRobert Montgomery Bird's 44 gladiator \",\nwhich held the stage of the United\nStates for three quarters of a century.\nAltogether a book which will some\nday prove of immense and, I believe,\nas yet unsuspected value to the Histo-\nrian of the American Stage.\n\nMADAME VESTRIS AND HER\nTIMES by Charles E. Pearce. (Stan-\nley Paul & Co.) Price 16/- net.\n{treasure all the admirable biogra-\nphical works of Mr Pearce ; and if\nthis one is good it is not because of\nMadame Vestris, for she has not much\nright to the famous name, being Bar-\ntolozzi's daughter and married, only\nfor a short while, to one of the lesser\nmembers of the Vestris family. And she\nis rather too practical, to say the least\nof it.\nHer adventures are not gorgeous\nlike those Mile. Georges tells us of ;\nnor bizarre like Miss Mellon's; nor is\nthe agefshe lived in rich like that\nwhich first heard Polly Peachum in\n4* The Beggar's Opera \".\nAre there enough facts relating to\nMrs Charke for Mr Pearce to give\nas one more remarkably entertaining\n44 Life \" ? for there was ajwoman—-\nand that was a time.\nThis book is very readable; do not\ndoubt that—scandal upon scandal.\n\nWOODCUTS AND SOME\nWORDS by Gordon Craig. (Dent\n& Sons, London) 1924. 10/6 net.\n(Large Paper Edition, £, 3.3.0 net.).\n\n\\ O I * - - /\nTHE Editor of \" 77ie Mas£ \" has\nme to review my own book,\n\" Woodcuts and some Words\nI find this only too easy, for I know\nall its faults.\nShall I take the easy way, then, and\ngo for them ?\nIt is only too certain I shall take\nthe easy way. It has been hard enough\nwork preparing (k will not say writing)\nthe book : the rest of the journey shall\ngive me no pain. Too easy it would be\nto praise Mr Campbell Dodgson for\nhis admirable introduction ; besides, I\nhave done that already elsewhere.\nFirst then J. M. Dent & Sons,\n....Mr Hugh Dent in particular. I sup-\npose some of my readers have heard\nall about Publishers, or think they\nhave. But they haven't. They have\nnot heard of their eagerness to do\neverything in their power to aid the\nauthor. They have heard of the in-\ndifference of publishers ; of their ener-\ngetic good-will they hear nothing.\nShall I speak now and here of Mr\nHugh Dent ? I think not : he comes\nof a good school. Some day I hope\nto have better occasion to speak of\nthat school and I will seize the op-\nportunity : meantime what I have al-\nready suggested will not be lost on\nthese who know the Dents.\nSecondly, to speak of the engra-\nver Mr Gordon Craig, the one who\nadded the libretto.\nI fear I cannot take him seriously.\nHere is an actor performing under\nmy very nose and asking me to be-\nlieve him to be a serious wood-engra-\nver. I cannot do it, for I do not like\nbeing taken in when at a Theatre, and\nthis book is obviously a small stage of\na Theatre on which a scene has been\nset by Mr Craig, a libretto of sorts\nscribbled out, and this he delivers with\na kind of exuberant Lyceum fervour\nnot sufficiently detached for my taste.\nHe thrusts himself forward, or he\ngoes into some corner at the back of\nthe stage ; he puts on half a dozen\nmasks, now speaking slowly, now at\nrace-neck speed.\nSome of this I can tolerate so long\nas he doesn't ask me to take it to be\nreal, I do not come to a theatre to\nsee reality; I come to see a perfor-\nmance and to hear a little Drama.\nI should never come to a theatre\nMr. Craig was performing in and\nexpect to hear a big one, or see one\neither. It would make me decidedly\ncross. Therefore with Figure 57, a\nScene for King Lear, I am altogether\nout of sympathy. There is a certain\nstruggling for effect which grates upon\nmy sense of proportion. These plays\nhe should leave to others to show us,\n....to Reinhardt or Mr. Dean for exam-\nple ; besides, Shakespeare has already\nrevealed this particular play of his to\nour astonished eyes, and I'm not at\nall sure I ever want to see it again.\nAnd I would say the same of Fi-\ngures 43, 58 and 27, especially of\nFigure 27, 44 Scene \".\nThis latter design was apparently\ncut on wood at the same time, or\nshortly after, that in which he made\na series of etchings, also, if I mistake\nnot, called for some reason best known\nto him, 44 Scene \".\nWhy the deplorable inverted com-\nmas (used also in the volume I am:\nreviewing) I cannot tell. If it is to\nadd importance to a very ordinary\nword, I can only tell Mr. Craig that\nthe commas miss fire. Mutton does\nnot taste any better for two bits of\ngreen holly placed one at each end of\nthe joint, and even the poorest restau-\nrants inscribe no 44 mutton \" on their\nmenus, ....nor no 44 Veal \" nor 44 chops\nAll his references to the Theatre\nwhich he has not been able to get for\nhimself, which he hopes to get — (I\nhope he may get it)—and what he\nwill do in it when he does get it,\nseem to me to be not exactly in the\nbest of taste.\nIf looked at curiously it reveals a\ncertain peevish discontent with the\nland of his birth : it all implies that\nEngland should have given him what\nhe was apparently too lazy to take ;\nit also reveals a certain blindness for\ndoors.\nOn every door in business-England\nis printed the word PUSH: Mr. Craig\nseems to have been too much of a\nhighbrow to 44 push \". I will not apolo-\ngize for my use of inverted commas here;\nwhat Mr Craig may not do, I may.\nI am an Englishman, and I must\nsay that, whereas Mr. Craig has only\ntheorized about his Theatrical ideas,"}, {"page_pdf": 53, "page_imprimee": "93", "url_page": "https://bluemountain.princeton.edu/bluemtn/?a=d&d=bmtnaau192404-01.1.53", "texte": "(if we discount, as we assuredly must,\nthe thirteen productions he has made)\nHerr Professor Reinhardt has put these\ninto practice ; and I am entirely in\nsympathy with those English ladies\nand gentlemen who found 44 The Mi-\nracle produced some years ago by\nReinhardt at Olympia in London and\nagain in New York this year, a wor-\nthy German Production which they\ncould in all honesty enthusiastically\nendorse. I am glad to think that En-\nglish women and men are today as-\nsisting in 44 The Miracle \" by Profes-\nsor Reinhardt, for it is ridiculous to\ncry out as some people do that we\nshould not support what is German\nlest it be Propaganda on a vast\nscale.\nI, for one, am proud to think that\nLady Diana Cooper has shattered that\nsuperstition by boldly and, I hear, very\nbeautifully, assisting the great produc-\ntion by her consummate art.\nAnd if I have diverged from 4'Wood-\ncuts \" to speak of 44 The Miracle \"\nit is because there are too many pas-\nsages in Mr. Craig's book which seem\nto grudge the success which the great\nGerman producer has achieved.\nThere you are, Semar, that's my\nidea of a Review. Yours.\n\nGordon Craig.\n\nMAGAZINES.\nTHE London Mercury \", 44 The\nAmerican Mercury 44 The North\nAmerican Review \" are three fat\nwell-to-do looking journals, and the\nlast two named have pages devoted\nto theatrical matters.\nMr Nathan continues to write in,\nand edit, the 44 American Mercury \"\nwith his friend Mr Mencken, and as\nusual he writes well about the Theatre.\nAn article by Mr Montrose Moses\nin the 44 North American Review \"\nis the best we have read from his\npen. He looks and moves ahead:\nhe is growing tired of the insincerity\nwhich in America threatens to swamp\nthe men of the New Movement, and\nland high and dry the amateur eager\nof an outlet for self-expression. He\nsays some sound things of Duse and\nStanislawsky and others.\nThe first number of 44 The Trans-\natlantic Review \" is out: it is edited\nby Ford Maddox Ford and published\nby Duckworth in London and Seltzer\nin New York. It costs 2/- and 50 cents.\nNothing about the Stage in it :all about\nletters, and of course all admirable.\nCommunications from Mr Thomas\nHardy, Mr Wells and Mr Conrad\nreassure the public that Mr Ford's\nmagazine is not a Bolshevik organ.\nWe hope all our readers will take\nthe trouble to get a copy of the 44 Trans-\natlantic Review \".\nIN the 44 Yale Review \" for Octo-\nber 1923 there was an interesting\nessay on 44 The Playwright's Mind \"\nby the Spanish dramatist Jacinto Be-\nnavente. 44 It is impossible to be a\ndramatist without being a poet \" he\ntells us. So there are even fewer dra-\nmatists according to the Spaniard than\nwe supposed.\nAltogether a spirited essay on a\nsubject he must know thoroughly.\n\nEDITORIAL NOTES.\n\nTO FEEL OR NOT TO FEEL.\nTHE OLD OLD QUESTION-\nWHAT purpose Mr Grein can pos-\nsibly have for asking London\nactors to write down for 44 The Illus-\ntrated London News\" their theories\non the worn out, quite clear, but still\nvexing question of whether actors should\nfeel or not feel we do not know. That\nthe actors have written very well indeed\non this subject, (dealt with by Diderot\nin 1773-1774), is not surprising; and\nif it helps Mr Grein to eke out his\nweekly page, 44 The World of the\nTheatre \", that is pleasant. But what\nthey all say is only what Diderot told\nus of in the 18th century in his 44 Pa-\nradox of Acting\" which we always\nremember with joy was quoted in the\nHarmsworth Encyclopaedia as 44 The\nParadise of Acting\". These slips will oc-\ncur, thank heaven, and keep us merry (a).\nBut to return to the actors and\nDiderot's book and this deluding talk\nabout whether an actor should feel\nmurderous when pretending to murder\nanother actor on the stage.\nThe truth is that it's like all other\nsuch questions, such as 44 Should the\nstage be lighted by Footlights or not?\".\nThe correct answer is '4 some foot-\nlights \". 44 How many ? \" cries the mer-\nciless accountant of art: the correct\nreply is 44 as many as are necessary \".\nMr Casson and Miss Thorndike very\nproperly mentioned the audience as being\nan essential part of the actor's work.\nWhat Giovanni Grasso would have\nwritten about feeling a part we cannot\nimagine ; but there again, if an English\nactor seems to feel very little and a\nsouthern actor very much, that's where\nthe deception of nature is playing pranks\nwith the deception of theatricals.\nFor a Chinese or Indian sage who\nsits like a bronze statue for four hours\nmeditating, may be feeling more than\neither of these. He is feeling slower,\nthat is all; forcing himself to the pace.\nAnd the English actor is slow too, the\nItalian quick. The Englishman is said\nto be calculating his effects, the Italian\nto be inspired. Recall Bonaparte's\n44 Inspiration is only a calculation made\nwith rapidity \". Cf 44 Should an actor be\nslow or rapid ? \" one might ask this\nfor a change. Irving was slow : Grasso\nwas rapid. Why ? because the blood\nand mind of the first were blood and\nmind of a curiously deliberate man.\nIs that bad for acting ? Why should it\nbe ? The blood and brain of Grasso\nleapt with agility at all things. Is that\nbad for acting ? Why should it be ?\nBut to be slow and be a bad actor,\nthat is as bad for acting as to be ra-\npidly bad.\nIn short, there is no actual formula,\nand never has been one. That is what\nDiderot seems to suggest so delightfully ;\nso that Mr Grein's sententious air about\nit all is the only original touch.\nIn case Mr Casson, Miss Thorn-\ndike, Mr Lang or any others who\nsent in replies have not read Diderot's\n44 Paradox \" we would recommend to\nthem a very excellently printed little edi-\ntion translated by Mr W. H. Pollock\nwith a Preface by Henry Irving : the\nold book shops in Charing Cross Road\nshould have copies now and again. It\nwas issued in 1883 by Chatto & Win-\ndus, who, for all we know, may still\nhave copies in their archives. The Irving\nPreface reads like something by J. L.\nAustin and possibly was actually writ-\nten by him and changed a little and\nsigned by Irving.\n\n(a) The \" Daily Mail )} on Feb. 14 gave\nus a charming portrait of \" Miss Ruth\nTaylor as she appears in \" The war op\nthe World \" at the Lyric, Hammersmith \"."}, {"page_pdf": 54, "page_imprimee": "94", "url_page": "https://bluemountain.princeton.edu/bluemtn/?a=d&d=bmtnaau192404-01.1.54", "texte": "It is a handsome little volume prin-\nted on fine paper, well set up, and\nfull of Notes by Pollock aided by\nW. E. Henley about the French actors.\nSome of these are rather incorrect.\nFor example, on page 29, where he\nsays, speaking of Mile. Raucourt's d£-\nbut in 44 Dido \" in 1772, 44 She was,\nas a matter of fact, nineteen at the\ntime\" (1772). Now as Mile. Marie\nAntoinette Joseph Raucourt was born\non March 3rd in 1756 she could\nhave only been sixteen years and nine\nmonths in December of 1772, and it\nwas on December 23rd she made her\ndebut (another authority says Septem-\nber 23rd which would make her youn-\nger by three months). Another error\non Page I is to say that Antonio Fa-\nbio Sticotti was the translator of 44 Gar-\nrick, ou les Acteurs Anglais 1769,\nfrom an English Pamphlet called 44 The\nActor, or a Treatise on the Art of\nPlaying \" MDCCLV. London; for\nthis Italian actor's name was Antonio\nGiovanni Sticotti, the son of Fahio\nSticotti, who died in 1740, 20 years\nbefore the translation appeared.\nHe makes two more errors on page\n83 where he tells us that the Italian\nactor Luigi Riccoboni was born in\nMantova 1707 and died in 1772.\nHe died in 1753 on December 6th.\nin Paris; and it was Anton France-\nsco Riccoboni, his son, who was born\nin Mantova in 1707.\nOn page 54 he is again incorrect\nin stating that Madame Riccoboni,\nwho was born in 1714 and made her\nd£but in 1 734, 44 went on acting for\nthirty four years \" for that would reach\nthe year 1780, whereas she left the\nstage in 1760. What is correct is to say\nthat she acted until her forty sixth year.\nBut to the 44 Paradox \" itself.\nAs a rule it is only very profound\nthings which can be paradoxical. Tis\nnot acting which is the Paradox; and\nit was only the man behind the acting\nwhich puzzled the First and the Second\nDiderot of the Dialogue and has puzzled\nevery pair of argumenters ever since.\nTo us it seems that the man behind\nthe acting is no more paradoxical than\nis woman when she pretends. Leave\nacting with the other pretences and\nyou will no longer be puzzled: bring\nit out and compare it with the arts\nand with nature, and puzzlement can\nnever end. When woman pretends she\ncan utterly confound truth itself: it is\ndelightful. It is she who becomes the\nparadox, not her acting. To no one\nis she a greater paradox than to her-\nself. And it is the man who puts\non the actor who becomes the pa-\nradox, not his acting. Acting is as-\nsuredly not an art; it is a much lar-\nger thing, it is a wholesale pretence.\nEach actor is a retail seller of the co~\nmodity and no one is going to be such\nan ass as to expect a serious answer\nfrom those sellers of pretence explaining\nthe trick which is no trick. It's his\nown secret, a secret he is quite puzzled\nabout; it is a personal defect or a\npersonal virtue; he no more knows he\ndeals it out than how it got into him.\nAsk a child of twelve how it is he\nskips like that,—44 how is it you run\nand roll over and over and over— do\nyou feel it or do you plan it out ? \"\nSee the strange look which comes into\nthe boy's eyes on hearing such an aged,\nsuch a dead question. Next time he\nrolls and rolls over the boy stops; he\nonly rolls twice where before it had\nbeen three times. Three and two are\nthe mystic numbers and make five \"\nmurmurs the observer. For a month\nthe boy carries the puzzle in his head :\n44 How is it I roll and roll over and\nover and sometimes over again ? \" he\nhas not really noted the distinction\nbetween two and three rolls.\nPraise be to something that is all\nright that no matter how often the\nDiderots and the Greins ask Youth\nfoolish questions Youth will somehow\nsurvive and be young and not know\ntill doomsday what he ought to say.\nOr become wise and know and sing\nhis song twice over from conceit: Or\n—Or—there are as many of these Ors\nas there are rolls in a gay heart.\n44 But we are speaking about Art,\nand, as you yourselves admit Art has\nmeasure—and can therefore presuma-\nbly be measured: and has form and\nhas colour—\nThat is the trouble. He is speaking\nof Art and confusing Art with Nature\nand acting with Art; and so this pen\nfor one shall stop writing, and the\nwriter go 44 off to the Bodega for some\nsherry wine\n\nA GOOD LECTURE.\nIN all sorts of small towns besides\nParis and Londen come and go\nmen and women who have some sen-\nsible word to say about Theatricals.\nAnd into Stockton one day at the end\nof last year came W. L. Ren wick and\nspoke as follows:\nHe said that we are apt to take\nthe Theatre which we know as the\nbest and only possible one; but there\nhave been others, the Greek, Roman,\nItalian, French, Elizabethan, Restora-\ntion and the eternal mountebank, (mount\na bank), and may be many more than\nthese. Each theatre had its purposes,\nreasons, virtues and defects. But don t\nbe flustered by anything new to you,\njust because you haven't seen it before.\nExample: Hoist's very beautiful new\nopera. Here was a fine thing spoiled\nby stupid 44 imitation \"or 44 realistic *\nsetting—that kind of scenery used in\nmusic halls and by the music hall in\nthe hope of getting round difficulties—\nin the vain hope of restablishing that\nintimacy which the actor requires.\nThe speaker then asked what is 44 sce-\nnery \" for ? and gave a sketch of what it\nused to be, is, and is working towards.\nAnd he asked his listeners not to ask\n44 is this usual or odd ? \" but 44 is it\nsuitable or unsuitable ? does it help ? \".\nAfter this he went on to suggest\nthat audiences might wake up;— as\nwho should say, 44 Let's all be a\ndamned sight more particular \".\nAltogether an entertaining and a\nvaluable lecture.\n\nA NOTE ON “ACCA”.\nJ. S.\nmFmmmaKmaHmmsBmmmmaammmmmammmmamamBSiPSsammmmmmaammamamatmBtmamamHummamammmmmBmmm\nIN our last issue, in the article 44 Acca,\nA New Stage Language \" the au-\nthor states that this same new language\nis H-less. Yet in the very first sam-\nple which he gives he starts off with\nan H; thus: 44 Ho cazza man nox\nalia mazza\nSome of our readers have written\nto us asking how this is. We passed\nthese letters on to the writer of the\narticle, who replies :\n44 The whole line, 4 Ho cazza man\nnox alia mazza \" is essentially the cry\nof a shepherd, an uneducated peasant;\nand while amongst those who speak\nEnglish it is customary for the less\neducated to say 44 'Ave a drink along\no' me \", dropping the H, those who\ncome from the land where Acca is\nspoken, when they wish to seem une-\nducated in that speech, must put on\nan H now and again. It was for this\nprecise reason I selected as my first\nquotation a line which gave us the\ncommon touch which surely ought ne-\nver to be lost\nTHE British Empire Shakespeare\nSociety will shortly have a new\ngeneral Director Mr. Howard Rose.\nMr. Rose won the first professional\nprize offered by the Society sixteen\nyears ago, so the place to be vacated\nby Mr. Bond will be ably filled and\nwe look to see something happening\nof interest to Shakespeareans, ...that is\nto sav» to every Englishman worth his\n——y y ' \" 9\nsalt.\n\nAll Rights reserved. April 1924.*\nGerente responsabile Ferdinando Baggiani\nTipografia Giuntina, Firenze."}]}