On this page
- Departments (1)
-
Text (7)
-
Few 2151882.3 TEE LEADER. 18S.. . ': . ....
-
MM Ms
-
- .. ; . /.. WOM A JS' S H EA R T. ,„ ;,...
-
FRENCH PLAYS. A gay and pleasant sight i...
-
DREARY LANE. Fbiends, lovers, countrymen...
-
LONDON WEDNESDAY CONCERTS. These attract...
-
Watohwohps.—Manic in (1 nro fond of inve...
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software. The text has not been manually corrected and should not be relied on to be an accurate representation of the item.
-
-
Transcript
-
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software. The text has not been manually corrected and should not be relied on to be an accurate representation of the item.
Additionally, when viewing full transcripts, extracted text may not be in the same order as the original document.
Few 2151882.3 Tee Leader. 18s.. . ': . ....
Few 2151882 . 3 TEE LEADER . 18 S .. . ' : . . ¦ . - ' ,, ¦¦¦¦ 11 . .... ¦ — ¦¦¦* ¦ ¦¦¦*¦! ¦ ¦¦ j . ii ¦ " .. ''¦ jr : ' . rrL" !! * :. l 1 *; , l '' ^ i .: '"¦ .. ' ^^¦~ 2 L- - ' ^^ j = ; . r ^ i . _ : ; . - ¦ ¦_ . : 1 . ^—^^ -, r _ ' .. _ ...., ¦ . "| . " l ^ ! . " - "" " ¦ " .. ? ' r "_ -J ' - 'i .. LJLL" ^ g ?!^ L __ ~ T _ L' " n " n rr irnr » MOTr-- _ — - __ : ___ Z ~ lll—HI— ' -L 111—U . 1 , L ^__^_^ . ^^—___
Mm Ms
MM Ms
- .. ; . /.. Wom A Js' S H Ea R T. ,„ ;,...
- .. ; . / .. WOM A JS' S H EA R T . , „ ; , .. ,,,-... , ,: ,. „ The gallant critic puts & button on his foil when he lunges at a woman , ; and it is rjght he , shottl ^ do so . I will ' not , therefpre , foirget , that th writer of Woman ' s jBtea rt is a woman , / oung and aspiringr—three claims ; upon my tenderness— -but will fence with , her as courteously as Mamlei fenced with Xaertes hefotethe wound exasperatedhim . ^ the * story of her play has poetical intentions ; the language , when it quits the "beaten track of poetical common-places , has an elegance and a fervour which draw down plaudits ; and the situations are often ingenious anct effective , But ( and here I call for a . double pad I ) , the story i & rather hinted than evolved j the language dwells too much amid poetical , words that < have become commonplaces : and the situations are not ^ ramaticaUy wrought . The characters describe and dteplaim too much ; and the audience is let into the secret too soon f 6 r the situations to produce their trite effect . To quote but one instance : When the Marquis ; Albrizzi dikoofem Isolina by her voice , and her resemblance to one " long loved and lost , " the audience is perfectly aware that Isolina wwstf be his daughter t yet , instead of the discovery following quick upon this anticipatidn , it is prolonged through several tedious speeches , aU of which are needless ^ ;; But , apart from these technical details , I haveone serious and . sesthetic objection to make to the story . . Ang ioto , a young seulpto ^ devoted to his art with a passion which , if true , would declare itself less rhetorically , is also , afc the opening of the play , devoted to Isolina , a blind girl , bred uj > under his father ' s roof . He loves art , he loves Isolina , and his life is
happy . But the JPrincei a liberal patron , hearing of his genius , visits him > and seduces him to court . Two years elapse . We find the sculptor rich , flattered , famous . Intoxicated with his un ^ Qped'for prosperity , he neglects his father and forgets his love . Ambition has stifled love . " T ? o make a name , " he counts nobler than to live a life . Here I perceive the intention of the authoress to be a genuine and poetic intention . Without being original , the ideais one capable ofprofoundarid ^ vivid illustration . But think she has altogether missed her mark , and has not only failed in setting tids change in the artist ' s nature so before us that we shall understand , and , in some sense , sympathize with it , but has also ruined the moral
interest in her hero by making . ' him a mean and worthless creature , Will you believe it—this Angiolo not only neglects to see his humblefather , and forgets Ms once Ioveid mistress , but when she comes to him , he brutally —and the mbre brutally , because calmly—tells her that lie loves her no more— -that ambition is his mistress ; but , en revanche , offers to be her brother ; and offers it in a style to make the ch & nge in his feelings an outrage ? To crown all , he does nofreven see' her to the gate ; but allows this blind girl tQj . b © r led [ into the street by one of his servants—^ -led from the house , where he has told , her she can never enter more-r-led from his presence , which he has , tol 4 her ; can never more ¦ Tbe the , presence of one who loves hor—led , ' ilius broken-hearted and helpless , by a servant That the audience did not hoot him , shows how indurated their moral
sense must be , or how uncritical their feelings . In vain does the authoress try to recover him from this degradation—in vain is he remorseful , and full of love in the next act : the man is a cold , heartless , ignoble nature , and we refuse him our pity and our interest . . Mis 3 Vandenhoff , as authoress and actress , was in a trying position . She played with great feeling and elegance , and excited tumultuous applause . Mr . Barry Sullivan showed that , as a juvenile tragedian , he may be more serviceable to the theatre than as a performer of great parts . He was a little too violent in the first act—probably because the critics objected to the quietness of his Hamlet j and Tie strode about the stage in too formal and affected a manner ; but he played the ungrateful part of the young sculptor with care and feeling ; and was altogether far more acceptable than in the character of Hamlet , which lies beyond him . Vandenhoff was received with the hearty thunders due to an old favourite j but there was nothing in the part to call forth his ability .
French Plays. A Gay And Pleasant Sight I...
FRENCH PLAYS . A gay and pleasant sight is that of the little St . James ' s Theatre" during the season of [ French plays : an aristocratic audience , such as no other theatre can gather together , two-thirds on terms of acquaintance with each other , and all breathing , as it were , one intellectual atmosphere—an elegant little theatre , which is scarcely more than a drawing-room—lovely women and brilliant toilettes—a troupe of comedians which , if imporfoct in its subordinate departments , is always admirable in its " stars" —light , sparkl ing piocos , not mauled by the clumsy hands of some traduccrand a propor respect for the dinner-hour , implied in not eommoncinjr before
eight o cloc k—such are the main attractions of our i ' ronch theatre under th ( i | skilful and liberal management of Mr . Mitchell . I ho opening night was Unusually brilliant , and augured a good season . Xiiuont , a groat favourite , gave us an agreeable picture of the Ion eiifunt jn a new piece , called Une Pension Alimentairo , although to English joohngs tho position in which ho is placed , as pensioner upon the niggard uount jr of a rolation , who is perpetually taunting him with it , is somewhat ovolting . Thori was a debrailU manner , which throw into stronger relief i lie genuine goodness of his nature , and reconciled ono to tho passion Julie waa conceived for him . Tho pioco itself is very old in its subject , but affrooably treated , and tho characters of Mere JPwoine and Q $ oar admitted
" » nou larcioal treatment , which tho actors , unhappily , could not givo m , ' Jjafonfc » « -nd Lafont only , was oqual to Ins part . J / ie expectation and enjoyment of tho evening was Ddjtusot—tho saucy , riV i l mrlclin ff » ° vor young D < 5 jazot—the Do | azot who , like Ninon do * J-. ncio 8 and the incomparable Mara , does not defy Time , for sho will not lojcnowiodgo lum—has no acquaintance with him—connait pas ! Like dowuropa lrom an ovorgreen , she shakes tho wrinkling years . Whore can audacious rime find food for his all-ravonoiiB maw with such a tricksy
spirit ? She has no beauty he can wither ; she never had a roundness he could destroy ; she does without beauty , she has a beauty of her own That thin , sharp , irregular face ; that high , nasal voice ; that figure , destitute of the . ;¦ ¦ " charms which ^ emancipated females" despise*—what can Time find there to destroy ? PontanUs—an author whom you have never read , I dare say , ( nor have I , but that shall , not prevent my quoting him ) - — says , that a man who loves can't be old , . , " Quisqtiis anmt tiulla esfc cbnditiOlie senex /* which is a comforting reflection for January who is courting May ; but I should prefer stating the case in a more qualified aphorism ; thus—¦ " To eyes that love , the Loved are ever young /*
( I believe I am quoting myself there , which is very conceited ; but if others wontquote us , what can we poets do ?) and in this sense I maintain Dejazet is younger than almost any woman on the stage . On Monday she reappeared amongst us as Le Marquis deLauzunt a piece as stupid as " personation p ieces" commonly are ; but you forget it in the variety ^ the grace , the finish of her ; acting . Her representation of the bashful young man with a lisp , " was high comedy , as also that of tho insolent young Marquis . Her stuttering savant and rollicking sportsman were less truthful , though amusing . But I would call especial attention
to the elegance which reigned throughout , and which removed the acting from the repulsiveness usually consequent upon a woman ' s performing men ' s characters . There is in Dejazet a distinction , a je ne scat quoi of refinement —? a manner which carries off the impropriety , and makes it acceptable . Imagine a woman personating the character of an enragS sportsman , smoking , and finally getting drunk ( or affecting it ) till she falls asleep upon the table—and this , without creating a momentary repulsiveness , without recalling to us the fact that she was a woman , and that such exhibitions ought to be revolting ! Such a feat as that , only consummate elegance could accomplish ; the slightest crudity , the ' slightest error of taste in details , would have ruined the scene . There is , further , an absence of exaggeration and a keen perception of the niceties of dialogue , which make her acting irresistible . Her singing is charming , and her voice seems as pure and flexible as ever . Go and see Dejazet .
Dreary Lane. Fbiends, Lovers, Countrymen...
DREARY LANE . Fbiends , lovers , countrymen , and readers , lend me your ears , I come to laugh at Bunn , and not to praise him ! The " enterprising manager , " the great Hip van Winkle , has produced a new piece at last : yes , at last a . new piece I He finds that his operas and ballet , his Bateman children andr his play-bills , the splendour of his own eloquence and the attraction of his management , " irrespective of expense , " will not seduce the public into Dreary Lane . The public carefully abstains , from entering that theatre . The public , like Glenarvon ' s rich lord , " passes scornfully by . " The public knows not Bunn : it has forgotten the voice of its charmer , the ingrate ! Pacing the vast solitudes of his theatre , Kip van "Winkle exclaims , with Hippolyte ,- — Mes seuls gemissements font retentir les bois , Efc mes coursiers oisifs ont oublie ma voix ! The " coursers" here meant are Londoners ; by poetical licence they may be called horses , because they are not the asses to believe in playbills 1 Well , then , at last a newpiece is produced . A tragedy P I dare say , indeed ! A play , then ? Ft done ! A comedy P Le plus souvent I A farce P No , our whole management is one gigantic farce ; we want no more ! What thenP Do tell us . It is not very easy for me to answer that question , because I have not seen the piece in question , ( pas si bSte /) but only learn from the veridical Times , that it is a slender one-act , called , Too late for the Train , played in a style to secure it the most delightful privacy j and I notice it merely as a glorious specimen of managerial en * terprise and capacity . Vivian .
London Wednesday Concerts. These Attract...
LONDON WEDNESDAY CONCERTS . These attractive concerts commenced on Wednesday , at Exeter Hall , which was crowded by an enthusiastic audience , eager to welcome the reappearance of incomparably the greatest tenor that England ever produced , Mr . Braham must now be—well , never mind how old—he is the Methuselah of song ! Although his voice is gone , his manner still remains —and that our tenors may study , for tho grandeur of phrasing which ho and Pasta , and Brambilla , ana Alboni , possessed in perfection , seems getting rarer and rarer every day . Braham sang four times , — " O 'tis a glorious sight to see "— " The Old English Gentleman "— " I love thee for thy heart alone "—and tho " Bay o' Biscay . " Miss Sophie Lowe , a Gorman young lady , made a successful dSbd ' t ; M . Alexandre Billet and Miss Goddard performed ; Prospero and Lavigno woro also heard ; and , indeed , except that tho concert was too prodigal of " good things , " ( John Bull likos to have his money ' s worth , ) thoro was no drawback to the sue * cess of tho night .
Watohwohps.—Manic In (1 Nro Fond Of Inve...
Watohwohps . —Manic in ( 1 nro fond of inventing certain solemn nnd Bounding cxpreseiona which nppenr to convey much , nnd in reality mean little ; words thnt nro tho proxies of absent thought ^ , and , like other proxies , add nothing to argument , while they turn tho scales of decision . —Shelley ' s Letters . ° Kank op a Poet . —In Iho hierarchy of creative minds , it is tho presence of the 'highest faculty that gives ' first rank , in virtue of its kind , not degree ; no pretension of a lower nature , whatever tho completeness of development or variety of effect , impeding tho precedency of tho rarer endowment though only in the germ . Tho contrary is sometimes maintained ; it is attempted to make tho lower gifts ' ( which arc potontially included in tho higher faculty ) of independent value , and equal to some cxereiso of tlia special function . For instance , should not a poet possess common sensoP Then th » possession of abundant common sense implies a step towards becoming tt poet . Yoij such a step ns tho lapidary ' s , when , Btrong in tho fact of carbon entering largely into tho composition of the diamond , he heaps up a sack of charcoal in order to comprto with the Koh-i-noor . — Browning on Shelley .
-
-
Citation
-
Leader (1850-1860), Feb. 21, 1852, page 21, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse2.kdl.kcl.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/cld_21021852/page/21/
-