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BOSTON UNIVERSITY GRADUATE SCHOOL

Thesis

THE EVOLUTION OF PANTOMIME IN FRANCE

Adele Dowling Levillain (B.L.I,, Emerson College, 1924)

Submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of

MASTER OF ARTS

1945

Approved

CONTENTS

Synopsis of Chapters .......... ....... iv

Introduction , ix

PART I - THE HERITAGE OF PANTOMIME

I. Classic Origin - Ancient Greece and Rome 1

II, France - Middle Ages 10

III. Commedia dell' Arte ....... .. 14

IV. Forain Theaters 26

V. Ballet-Pantomime 34

VI. Boulevard du Temple 40

PART II - THEATRE DES FUNAMBULES (1816-1862)

VII. Foundation of the Theatre des Funambules 46

VIII. The Deburau Family 54

IX. Adjustments and Readjustments 61

X. Metamorphosis of Pierrot 76

XI. Authors and Sources of Pantomime Scenarios 83

XII. Repertory Highlights and Lowlights .......... 100

XIII. Deburau ' s Associates 118

XIV. The "Theatre a Quatre Sousn and its Clientele 134

XV. The Romantics and Pantomime 152

XVI. The "King of the Low Theater" 165

XVII. Laying the Ghost of Deburau 181

XVIII. Champfleury - From Romanticism to Realism ....... 191

XIX. Last Days at the Funambules 214

PART III - THE MIDDLE YEARS (1862-1888)

XX. Itinerant Troupes 225

XXI. Rise of Pantomime in the Midi 235

XXII. Ebb-Tide in the Capital 246

XXIII. Precursors of the Re-birth ........ . 256

PART IV - THE CERCLE FUNAMBULESQUE (1888-1896)

XXIV. Foundation of the Cercle Funambulesque ........ 269

XXV. The First Season (1888-89) and "Barbe-Bleuette" .... 285

XXVI. "Jonah" Year (1889-90) 298

XXVII, Chef-d'oeuvre - "L' Enfant prodigue" 310

XXVIII, Champfleury' 8 "Statue du Commandeur" 321

XXIX, Realistic Pantomime - The MLmodrama 330

XXX. Transformation of the Musical Setting . 353

XXXI. Characteristic Tendencies and Trends 366

PART V - "THE LAST OF THE PIERROTS"

XXXII. Sever in Deserts the Midi ............... 586

XXXIII. "'Chand d' habits" 394

XXXIV. The End of the Nineties 400

XXXV. After the Turn of the Century 407

Abstract of Thesis 416

Bibliography ............ , 421

SYNOPSIS OF CHAPTERS

PART I - THE HERITAGE OF PANTOMIME

I. CLASSIC ORIGIN - ANCIENT GREECE AND ROME 1

Pantomime a universal primitive expression - Itinerant mountebanks in Greece - Mimetic dances - Transplanta- tion to Rome - Livius Androni cus - Pantomimi and Mini - Fabulae Atellanae - Roman Emperors and pantomime - Py- lades, Bathyllus and Hylas - Degeneration - Persecution by Church

II. FRANCE - MIDDLE AGES 10

Migratory mimes - Pantomime in religious mysteries - The great fairs - Continued persecution by Church

III. COMMEDIA DELL' ARTE 14

Italian improvised comedy - Laaei - Italian vogue in France - Conventional stock characters - Metamorphosis of Arlequin - "I Gelosi" and the Hotel de Bourgogne - Tiberio Fiurelli and Louis XIV - Moliere and pantomime - Dominique Biancolelli - Banishment of Italian players

IV. FORAIN THEATERS 26

Saint-Germain and Saint-Laurent - Favorable attitude of Church - Popularity of f orain entertainment - Hostility of licensed theaters - Lesage and the piece a ecritaux - Arlequin. roi de Serendib

V. BALLET -PANTOMIME 54

Introduction by Catherine de Medicis - Ballet comique de la Reine - ballet de cour - Duchess e du Maine and les Horaces - regeneration of ballet by Noverre

VI. BOULEVARD DU TEMPLE 40

Spectacles muets - Disintegration of the fairs - Nicolet'8 "Grands danseurs du Roi" - Variety theaters - Mme Saqui and the Theatre des Acrobat as - Vogue of melodrama - the "Boulevard du Crime"

PART II - THEATRE DES FUNAMBULES (1816-1862)

VII. FOUNDATION OF THE THEATRE DES FUNAMBULES 46

Bertrand-Saqui feud - Association with Fabien - the "spite theater" - Pantomimes sautantes - le Faux Ermite - Frederick Lemaitre

VIII. THE DEBURAU FAMILY.

The legacy - Early peregrinations - Performance in Con- stantinople - Establishment in Paris - Association with

Bertrand

IX.

XI.

ADJUSTMENTS AND READJUSTMENTS

Resignation of Lemaitre - Miscellaneous novelties - Debu- rau's debut as Pierrot - Charigni-Deburau feud - Their dispersion - Deburau's popularity - Prosperity of Theatre des Funambules - Bert ran d -Saqui partnership and its dis- solution - Fabian's resignation

METAMORPHOSIS OF PIERROT

Pierrot the symbol of French pantomime - Early Italian characterisation - Rediscovery by Moliere - Deburau's in- terpretation - Changes in costume and make-up - Deburau's creative genius

AUTHORS AND SOURCES OF PANTOMIME SCENARIOS

Heterogeneous recruitment of scripts - The stock formula Censorship - Practice of pilfering - Laf argue - Bertrand end Napoleon - Charles Chart on and his masterpieces - Champfleury and the genre lugubre - Foreign themes and local color - The "classic" pantomime - Eventual fate of Funambules manuscripts

XII. REPERTORY HIGHLIGHTS AND LOWLIGHTS

Poulailler - Laurent and le Boeuf enrage - le Songe d'or by Nodier - Deburau's la Baleine - A break with tradi- tion: M. de Boissec et Mile de Boisflotte - Deburau's Pierrot en Afrique - 'Chand d' habits, grandsire of the mimodrama - Revival of Polichinelle - la Cle des songes: romantic realism

100

XIII. DEBURAU'S ASSOCIATES 118

Laurent, Deburau's rival - Placide - Laplace - Vautier and his historical data - Alexandre Guy on - Paul Legrand, successor to Deburau

XIV. THE "THEATRE A QUATRE SOUS" AND ITS CLIENTELE 154

Neighboring theaters - Publicity - Prices of admission - Seating capacity - Intimate atmosphere - Stage mechanics - The apotheosis - Back-stage - Personnel of the company - Bertrand 's rules and regulations - Managers - Program policies - Orchestra - Popularity of the Funambules - Characteristics of its audience - "Slummers" - Deburau handles an "incident" - The prompter's box - The popular verdict

XV. THE ROMANTICS AND PANTOMIME 152

Discovery of the Funambules by Nodier - Adherance of Jules Janin - Introduction to society through Janin's Deburau. Histoire du theatre a quatre sous - The Bou- quet portrait - Gerard de Nerval - George Sand's loyalty - Victor Hugo turns up his nose - Theophile Gautier's

XVI.

Shakespeare aux Funambules

THE "KING OF THE LOW THEATER" 765

Enthusiasm of the romantics - Deburau ' s character and personality - Closeness to common people - Relations with fellow-players - Physical appearance - Personal tastes - His son, Charles - His bull-dog, Cesar - Benefit perform- ance at the Palais-Royal - Contract at the Funambules - Accusation of murder - Trial and aoquital - After-effects of the tragedy - Charles1 theatrical aspirations - Debu- rau' s capitulation - Death of Deburau

XVII.

LAYING THE GHOST OF DEBURAU

Legrand comes into his own - The Deburau legend in popu- lar song - Billion's discomfiture - Rise to favor of Charles Deburau - Legrand grows temperamental - Triumph of Charles as successor to his father

181

XVIII.

CHAMPFLEURY - FROM ROMANTICISM TO REALISM

Genre lugubre - key-note: idea of death - First work: Pierrot, valet de la mort - Production problems - Suc- cess of Pierrot pendu - Pierrot marquis and progress of realism - M. et Mne Polichinelle, return to the macabre les Trois filles a Cassandre. pantomime bourgeoise - la Cruche cassee. ballet-pantomime - Representatives of la Boheme gallante and le beau tenebreux

191

XIX.

LAST DAYS AT THE FUNAMBULES

Decline of pantomime - Multiplication of Pierrots - Ex- tra added attractions - Kalpestri - Charles Deburau sows his wild oats - Changes in management - Order for demo- lition of Boulevard du Temple - les Memoires de Pierrot, swan-song of the Funambules

PART III - THE MIDDLE YEARS (1862-1888)

XX. ITINERANT TROUPES

Dissemination of the Funambules company - Pseudo-mimes - Francois Fred on, a strolling mime - Hippodamie at Ver- sailles - Fredon's portrayal of Arlequin

214

225

XXI,

RISE OF PANTOMIME IN THE MIDI ,

Popularity of pantomime in Marseilles and Bordeaux - Louis Rouffe, king of pantomime in the south - Influ- ence of Charles Deburau - Severin, pupil of Rouffe

235

mi,

EBB-TIDE IN THE CAPITAL

Metamorphosis of the genre - Influence of English harle- quinade - French versus English pantomime - The Hanlon- Lees and circus clowning - Champfleury's Fantaisies- Parisiennes - Failure of the second Funambules - Deburau and Legrand in Paris and on tour

246

vii

mil. PRECURSORS OF THE RE-BIRTH 256

The Pierrot legend in literature and art - Jean Ri Cho- pin' s Pierrot assassin - Guyon and Sarah Bernhardt - Parlor entertainments - The monomime - Raoul de Najac and le Retour d'Arlequin - Paul Margueritte ' s Pierrot assassin de sa f emme - Interest of the Larcher brothers

PART IV - THE CERCLE FUNAMBULESQUE (1888-1896)

XXIV. FOUNDATION OF THE CERCLE FUNAMBULESQUE 269

Association of Raoul de Najac, Paul Margueritte and the Larcher brothers - Vogue of the cercle - The Cercle Fu- nambulesque takes shape - Prominent charter members - Similarity in purpose to Theatre Libre - "Pantomimophiles" and "pantomimophobes " - Felix Larcher and Champfleury - Pierrot assassin de sa femme at the Theatre Libre - In- augural performance of Cercle Funambulesque

XXV.

XXVI.

THE FIRST SEASON (1888-89) AND "BARBE-BLEUETTE" 283

Delay and disappointment - la Bodiniere - the December production - le Papillon, "paravent pantomime" - The February production, a family affair - Barbe-Bleuette , first outstanding success - Coquelin's participation in the March production - Lulu, a scientific pantomime

"JONAH" YEAR (1889-90) 298

Competition with the Paris Exposition - Influenza epi- demic - Delays and casting difficulties - Inconveniences of "doubling" - Reappearance of the monomime - High-water mark with the June production

XXVII.

XXVIII.

CHEF-D'OEUVRE - "L' ENFANT PRODIGUE" ... 510

Marks date in history of pantomime - Synopsis of the story - Transfer to Bouffes-Parisiens - Author and com- poser - Felicia Mallet and supporting mimes - Severin attends a performance - Later successes of 1' Enfant pro- digue - Model of the genre

CHAMPFLEURY 'S "STATUE DU COMMANDEUR" 521

Champfleury evaluates the Cercle Funambulesque - Death of Champfleury - Paul Eudel acquires the script - Its adapta- tion - The story - Revival at the Nouveautes - Comparison with 1' Enfant prodigue

XXIX.

REALISTIC PANTOMIME - THE MIMODRAMA

Theoretical aims - Modern and ultra-modem tendencies - Concentration on melodramatic elements - un Pere pro- digue - Jeanne d'Arc. national theme - Carre's le Petit Savoyard - The Martinetti troupe and Robert Macaire - la Danseuse de corde - 1'Hote. drame intime on patriotic theme - Jean-Mayeux. melodramatic pantomime - Pour le drapeau. again patriotic

550

viii

Accompaniment at the Funambules - Champfleury's ideas on musical accompaniment - Stimulus provided by Wagner- ian music-dramas - Inauguration of new era by Raoul de Najac and Paul Margueritte - Modern viewpoint: coordina- tion of music and action - The leit-motif - Opinions of David, Wormser and Pugno - Attention of the critics

Infiltration of the fin de siecle spirit - fantasies superseded by etudes de moeurs - Disappearance of harle- quinade characters - Deterioration of classic pantomime - le Bahut, a comedy of manners - Use of current topics - Increase of the sensational and scabrous - Doctoresse, satire on the scientific spirit - place of the Cercle Funambulesque in the theatrical world - Its contribu- tions

PART V - "THE LAST OF THE PIERROTS"

Refusal to renew contract in Marseilles - Debut in Paris - Pauvre Pierrot - Enforced return to Marseil- les - Introduction of modem pantomime in the Midi - Association with Paul Arene - Meeting with Paul Le- grand - Catulle Mendes - Rediscovery of 'Chand d< habits

Inaugural performance at Theatre-Salon - Engagement at Folies-Bergere - Synopsis of the pantomime - Press ap- preciations

Le Docteur blanc — The Nouveau Funambules - Severin on tour; England, Germany, Russia, Italy - Mme Severin - Election to Academy

Pantomime as popular entertainment - Mendes versus Linet - Severin in America - Outbreak of war - Panto- mime and the motion picture - Revivals after the war - Relative merits of Y Chand d' habits and 1' Enfant pro- digue - Fluctuation of public taste - The future of pantomime

INTRODUCTION

Pantomime, as it is known today, is a characteristically French cre- ative achievement, In no other country has this art been so highly develop- ed as a dramatic genre distinct in itself, a mute interpretation wholly in- dependent of the spoken word. The traditional English Christmas pantomime, so-called, is extravaganza rather than true pantomime. In Russia and in Italy pantomime has been absorbed by the ballet. The few sporadic and on the whole none too enlightened experiments in pantomime in the United States have been almost entirely importations or imitations. In France alone panto- mime has achieved a recognized and esteemed place for itself in the world of the professional theater.

Strictly speaking, the history of French pantomime is confined within the limits of the 19th century but like many elements in French civilization and culture, it has classic roots. The earliest infiltration into France dates from shortly after the fall of the Roman Empire, when the rise of Christianity banished the mimes who had enjoyed so high a degree of favor in the Roman theater. During the middle ages a popular form of pantomime was disseminated throughout France by means of the buffoonery of wandering mountebanks who performed in village squares and at the great fairs.

In the 16th century a second infiltration was effected through the Italian commedia dell1 arte, brought into France by Catherine de Medici s. The Italian improvised comedies, while not pantomimes in the strict sense, were rich in pantomimic elements. These early farces are responsible for introducing the stock harlequinade characters which were later to be associ- ated specifically with pantomime.

Important progress was made during the early 18th century in the forain theaters. When the Italian players were banished from the Hotel de Bourgogne in 1697, they sought refuge in the little theaters of the fairs outside the city limits, where their novel entertainments soon constituted such a strong competition to the regular theaters in Paris that they were de- prived of the use of spoken dialogue. This gave a happy impetus to the de- velopment of pure pantomime, by which means the incorrigible comedians were enabled to circumvent the law.

Simultaneously with the growth of the popular pantomimic farce, panto- mime also flourished in conjunction with the ballet. During the time of Louis XIV, when this form of entertainment was in high vogue at the court, pantomime occupied, in effect, a negligible place. But toward the middle of the 18th century Noverre regenerated the ballet, subordinating the dancing to the dramatic elements and thus gave to pantomime a place and a character hitherto unknown in France.

By the time the great fairs had passed out of existence, the Boulevard du Temple was becoming a popular promenade for the proletariat of Paris and consequently a host of mountebanks and forain entertainers lost no time in setting up their booths here, amusing the crowds with their trained animals, acrobats, tight-rope dancers and marionettes. These temporary booths soon gave way to permanent little theaters in which pantomimes and pantomime-bal- lets became especially popular.

It was on the Boulevard du Temple at the Funambules, a popular little theater devoted exclusively to the production of pantomimes, that Gaspard Deburau, the greatest exponent of this art, made his appearance in 1817. It was Deburau who revolutionized the art of pantomime for France, who created

the character of Pierrot and who made the Theatre dee Funambules a theater a la mode throughout the thirties and early forties. This "king of the low the- ater", as he was called by Jules Janin , became the idol of Paris* The ro- mantic writers were particularly attracted to the Funambules, for to them ro- manticism was irrevocably associated with the foreign, the fantastic, the ec- centric, and the pantomimes presented here gratified their thirst for emotion alism, new sensations and reactions*

The death of Deburau in 1346 was followed by a steady, if long-drawn- out, decline in the popularity of pantomime in Paris, despite the abilities of Charles Deburau and Paul Legrand, bolstered by the "literary11 pantomimes of Champfleury. Demolition of the Funambules theater in 1862 to make way for the new Boulevard Prince Eugene brought the coup de grace and thereafter for nearly a quarter of a century pantomime was virtually a closed issue in the French capital.

It awakened to new triumphs in the late eighties, revealing itself in a new form at the Cercle Funambulesque, a metamorphosed "modern" pantomime in contrast to the traditional "classic" pantomime of Deburau »s day. Though founded for the purpose of reviving the classic pantomime, it was inevitable that the Cercle Funambulesque should swing into the general current of the times and consequently the result of its efforts constituted a renovation rather than simply a revival. Succumbing to the influence of the fin de siede spirit, the naive farces and fantasies of classic pantomime were super- seded by etudes de moeurs. the majority of them reflecting the decadence, pessimism, scepticism and disillusionment of the times. On the other hand, the Cercle Funambulesque was responsible for simplifying and strengthening the pantomime scenario; it dispensed with the extravagant and puerile buf-

♦

foonery and horseplay, concentrating specifically on the dramatic elements. It rendered particular service to the development of the art by its attention to the musical accompaniment, making this a running commentary and coordinat- ed support to the dramatic action . The greatest contribution of the Cercle Funambulesque was its production of 1* Enfant prodigue, which has remained the uncontested chef-d'oeuvre of modem pantomime and which has been produced in nearly all the capitals of the world.

The last great representative of French pantomime was Severin, who be- gan his career in the south of France but was lured to Paris in the early nineties* Here he continued the classic traditions as they had been handed down to him by his master, Louis Rouffe, who in his turn had received them directly from Charles Deburau and Paul Leg rand. Sever in' s most famous ve- hicle was tChand dT habits, adapted by Catulle Mendes from Theophile Gautier's compte rendu of an old pantomime of the Funambules. 'Chand d* habits holds title to being the chef-d'oeuvre of classic pantomime as l1 Enfant prodigue is that of modern pantomime.

Up to the outbreak of the war of 1914-18 pantomime continued to be played at the leading variety theaters in Paris, with SeVerin its undisputed master. During the two decades following the war periodic revivals of the more important pantomime successes of the earlier days have proved that al- though no longer a popular art, pantomime is far from dead. With each reap- pearance this genre continues to find an audience capable of understanding and appreciating it.

Through the three centuries of its development in France, this country has imbued the art of pantomime with her own distinctive and inimitable char- acteristics. Today, the world over, pantomime suggests Pierrot, and Pierrot

xii

xiii

symbolises Franco, let the history of the development of this art is far less veil known than it merits. An expression which has captured and held the attention and support of a representative number of prominent critics and writers during two of the most significant periods in the literary and drsmat ic history of France during the last century hardly deserves to be ignored. Nevertheless, comparatively little has been written on the subject, even in France, Such scattered documents as are still available today are fragment- ary, incomplete, and often biased in their point of view. The purpose of this thesis is to correlate such material as has been published, to evaluate it, and to give it a chronological and systematic presentation which will show the development of this art in France, Making due allowance for the over-exuberance of certain of its less well-balanced partisans, a special ef- fort is made to represent it in its proper relationship to the general liter- ary, dramatic and social trends of the 19th century and to indicate how, dur- ing the two periods of its greatest popularity in France, it responds to and reflects these trends.

As a secondary consideration, in addition to the historical and crit- ical aspects of the subject, it is hoped that the inclusion of a large number of scenario outlines, both classic and modem, may serve as a suggestive source of reference for amateur producers of pantomimes, who, due to the lim- ited amount of published material in this field, are obliged to depend upon their own adaptations for production purposes,

A sabbatical year spent in Paris and devoted specifically to research on the subject of pantomime has produced this study. The major portion of the material has been gleaned from the Rondel Collection and the Recueil Stoullig on file at the Bibliotheque de 1> Arsenal. Much of this consists of

•

xiv

§ §

scrap-book collections of miscellaneous articles and critiques collected by Edmond Stoullig, a loyal supporter of the Cercle Funambul esque , of which he was a charter member. This documentary material has been supplemented to an appreciable degree by study under Georges Wague, professor of pantomime at the Conservatoire National, himself a professional mime and author of panto- mimes during the earlier part of his career. Much additional helpful data has been secured through conversations with Mae Archambault-T horns, daughter of Francis Thome, who composed the score for the famous pantomime Bar be- Bleuette, as well as through conferences with Eugene Larcher. one of the founders of the Cercle Funambulesque,

(

PART I - THE HERITAGE OF PANTOMIME CHAPTER I

CLASSIC ORIGIN - ANCIENT GREECE AND ROME

France cannot be credited with the invention of pantomime in its broad sense, Theoretically, pantomime is a universal expression, common to all peoples in the infancy of their evolution* Long before Darwin was bom Bernardin de Saint-Pierre said, "La pantomime est le premier langage ties homines. n In the primitive history of every nation the first dramatic mani- festations have been mimetic in form. Pantomimic dances and processionals, usually religious in theme but also frequently embracing subjects of love, war, seed-time and harvest, constitute the primitive origin of the drama proper. As Sheldon Cheney says of primitive man in this regard, "He spoke in dance to his gods, he prayed in dance and gave thanks in dance. ... In his designed movement was the germ of drama and of theater (1)

Ancient Greece is commonly regarded as the birthplace of pantomime as a theatrical art so far as Europe is concerned. In actual fact, however, it cannot be maintained that pantomime existed here in any appreciable degree as an independent dramatic form such as we understand it today. In its earliest manifestations it served rather as an accessory to the dances and processionals performed in celebration of festivals and mystical rites. Ancient records do mention a form of popular pantomimic entertainment which constituted a sort of medicine show, popular in Greece certainly as early as

(1) Sheldon CHENEY, The Theater - 5000 Years of Drama, p. 11

400 B.C, and in all probability some centuries earlier. It was customary in Athens and Sparta for charlatans to travel about with a troupe of mounte- banks. Small improvised stages were set up on wheeled carts along the city streets and by means of acrobatic and pantomimic exhibitions crowds of curi- osity-seekers were attracted, to whom the charlatans proceeded to sell their various medicaments and ointments. From this type of entertainment there de- veloped a form of spoken farce consisting predominantly of buffoonery, comic obscenity and caricature, of which the subject was often burlesqued forms of the mythological legends. Despite the preponderance of dialogue, the panto- mimic element remained of considerable importance.

With the establishment of professional theaters, pantomimic dances and processionals served as prologues and interludes to the performance proper. The mimes were known as "ethologues", or "painters of manners n, Polyhymnia, the muse who presided over singing and rhetoric, was also regarded as the special patroness of pantomime, the index finger of her right hand placed up- on her lips being interpreted as a token of silence, Many of the Greek odes were composed with the intention of being recited with the accompaniment of mimetic dances, Aristotle defined the art of dancing as "the representation of action, characters and passions by means of postures and rhythmic move- ments n, a definition which would serve equally well for the art of pantomime as we understand it today.

Although the element of pantomime was outstanding in both the elevated and in the popular manifestations of the drama and a certain number of indi- vidual actors have been cited by historians as excelling particularly in this art, it was as an accessory to dialogue or to the dance rather than as an in- dependent art form that pantomime existed in ancient Greece,

It was not until after pantomime had migrated from the Greeks to the Romans that it developed into a genuinely specialized theatrical genre. Home herself was not an originator of art forms. Among the many which she absorb- ed from Greece were drama and the dance, and with them pantomime. In its transplantation this latter expression fell upon exceptionally fertile soil, for it proved to be peculiarly suited to the Latin temperament. As a race the Italians have always been notably apt in mimicry; gesture and facial ex- pression are with them often more spontaneous and more revealing than speech itself. In fact, even before there was any appreciable contact between Greece and Rome many of the principal mimes in Greece were importations from Sicily and southern Italy.

When southern Italy was conquered by the Romans, the invaders adopted many of the religious rites of the Greeks which had already taken root there. In these rites, as has already been observed, mimetic dancing was a prominent feature. The pantomimic element proved singularly appealing to the Romans, who soon converted it from a religious rite to a popular diversion. But if the form itself was borrowed, the Romans succeeded in investing it with a new spirit, which transformed it into an expression distinctively their own.

A popular actor by the name of Livius Andronicus, himself a Greek slave freed by virtue of his acting ability, has gone down in history as the originator of pure pantomime in Rome in about 240 B.C., and this by sheer ac- cident. Being called upon to recite his verses again and again without respite one day, he finally lost his voice. But still the people clamored for him to continue. Unable to comply, he requested permission to have the verses recited by a slave while he himself interpreted the words in panto- mime. The novelty of this performance was received with such favor that it

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resulted in the creation of a new genre which established it3elf definitely in the Roman theater. Sometimes the story was recited by one actor, accom- panied by the lute, while a second actor pantomimed the verses, following the form inaugurated by Andronicus. At other times the story was chanted by a chorus, either as an interlude or as an accompaniment. Occasionally the pan- tomime was given wholly independently of any spoken or sung accompaniment. At its inception, a single mime interpreted all of the roles, using a variety of masks to portray the different impersonations. Although the use of masks persisted as a convention even after additional mimes were added, these were not the cumbersome, exaggeratedly large, grotesque masks of the speaking roles in comedy and tragedy. Because of the mask, expression was necessar- ily limited to posture, attitude and gesture. With the expansion of the number of participants and the introduction of dancing, this type of perform- ance came to resemble the modern pantomime-ballet. It was a form of enter- tainment on a higher plane than the popular farce pantomimes. Its players were known as "pantomimi". The subject matter of its pieces, invariably of a amorous nature, was based upon stately, serious or tragic themes, represent- ing well-known mythological legends and myths which were easily recognized and understood by the audience.

An anonymous poet of this early Roman period paid illuminating trib- ute to the pantomimi in verses which have been translated as follows:

This step denotes the careful Lover, thi3

The hardy warrior, or the drunken Swiss.

His pliant limbs in various figures move

And different gestures different passions prove.

Strange art! that flows in silent eloquence,

That to the pleased spectator can dispense

Words without sound, and without speaking, sense.

Cassiodorus, the Latin historian, said of the pantomimi,

They have hands which speak, fingers which ex- press their thoughts; their very silence is an exclamation; they even expound by silence, in short, it seems as though Polyhymnia must have employed them just to show how far man can make known his will without resorting to speech.

Not only were the pantomimists themselves held in high esteem, but Lucian, in his treatise on dancing and pantomime, ranked the nomographers , or writers of pantomimes, with the authors of comedy and tragedy.

In contrast to the dignified pantomimi were the obscene and vulgar mimi, buffoons who specialized in low burlesque and farcical pieces of a coarse, rude and indecent nature. They consisted of a medley of dialogue, pantomime, singing, dancing and acrobatics. Masks were not used by the mimi. In their stead the players painted their faces black, white or in various colors. The mimus was a product of Rome itself, an outgrowth of a form of popular entertainment indigenous to the little town of A tell a, today San Arpino, in Campania. At a very early date the natives of Atella developed the unwritten improvised farce, utilizing a set of stock characters and de- veloped upon an agreed subject or conventional scenario. Centuries later was to develop along this same line the Italian commedia dell1 arte, which served as the chief vehicle for the introduction of the pantomimic genre into the French theater. Prototypes of the stock harlequinade characters of the com- media dell1 arte, the French farces of the 17th and 18th centuries, and the French pantomimes of the 19th century, may be traced back to these early Atellan farces. Among the oldest of them is Uaccus, from whom developed the French Polichinelle and the English Punch.

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§ §

The Tabulae Atellanae, so called from At alia, the town In which they originated, consisted of a melange of extemporaneous dialogue, dancing, sing- ing and pantomimic action* Their fame spread in time to Rome, whence they were summoned to perform in 364 B.C. and where they speedily became exceed- ingly popular until eventually they were superseded by the very similar panto mimic entertainments of the mi mi .

In addition to their regular theatrical engagements , the mi mi were in great demand as private entertainers at banquets given by the nobility. One peculiar office performed by them was that of appearing at funerals, imperson ating the deceased, imitating his appearance and manners.

In the earliest days of their popularity in Rome, pantomimes were ofte used as interludes between the acts of the Latin comedies, representing in dumb-show the subject of the act just played. As they grew in favor, they were first transformed into independent after-pieces, following the comedy, and then became in themselves the principal attraction rather than an acces- sory. It became customary during this epoch to give over the morning to the drama proper, the afternoon being devoted to the popular entertainments of the admi and pantoaimi. The pantomimists had their own special theaters and training schools comparable to the modem conservatory. These schools spec- ialized in the teaching of gesture and general body movement not only for pantomimists, dancers and actors but also for orators* Both Cicero and his friend, the famous mime and actor Roscius, studied in such a school. It even became a fad for the aristocratic youth of the period to take up this train- ing.

The Golden Age of Roman pantomime extended from the first century A.D. to the fall of the Empire. It developed into a craft practised by thousands

of professional mimes. Ancient custom in Rome prohibited women from taking part in the legitimate dramatic productions but in the comic pantomimes of the mini the female roles were played by women. It has been estimated that during the reign of Augustus there were in the neighborhood of six thousand mimes in Home alone. Although the professional pantomimists were slaves or freedmen, they were held in great esteem and honor as a class and were often the recipi- ents of marked political favors.

In spite of its popular origin, pantomime was taken up and followed with fanatical interest not only by the nobility but by the Emperors them- selves. The Emperors were not the first rulers, however, to take an enthusi- astic delight in this divertissement. Before their time Julius Caesar had travelled with his own troupe of mimes, who no doubt accompanied him as far as England. Among the Smperors reported to have taken part in pantomimes them- selves are Augustus, Tiberius, Caligula and Nero, The Emperor Augustus in particular was favorably disposed toward pantomime and did much to foster and encourage the art, but without falling into the excesses of his successors.

The most famous of the Roman mimes were Pylades and Eathyllus, the former a pantomimus, a serious mime or tragedian, the latter a mimus, or slap- stick comedian. Both were freed slaves. They first came into prominence when they shared the same theater in Home, The inevitable quarrel ensued, however, and the two parted bitter enemies. Their own rivalry was taken up by the populace, which grouped itself into two opposing factions, their ad- herents being known either as Fyladians or Bathyllans, The enmity between the two groups was carried at times to the extent of street brawls and open rioting. During the reigns of Tiberius and Hero conditions became so alarm- ing upon several occasions that the pantomime theaters were closed and the

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mimes banished from Rome. But each time this occurred, the importunities of the people obliged the withdrawal of the ban and the return of the entertain- ers.

Considerable emphasis has been laid upon the fact that the popularity of silent acting in Rome was due chiefly to the vast size of the theaters. Undoubtedly, this was an Important contributing factor. Champfleury, how- ever, stresses additional elements. He points out first the fact that due to the expansion of the Roman Empire there were great numbers of foreigners in the audiences and consequently a need for entertainment in a universal lang- uage. He further brings out that one important reason for the special atten- tion given to this form of entertainment may be attributed to its being re- garded as a sure guarantee against political allusions. (1) On this same point Charles Hacks states:

Pylade et Bathylle etaient deux puissances dans l'Etat et ne craignaient pas de repondre a Auguste, qui les reprimandait, "Cesar, il est de ton inter et que le peuple s 'amuse de nos gestes, ce spectacle l'empeche de prendre garde a tes actional" (2)

After the death of Pylades his most outstanding pupil, Hylas, succeed- ed him and continued the fetid against Bathyllus. Another outstanding mime of this epoch was Paris, a particular protege of Nero, who became extremely pop- ular later during the reign of Domitian. Paris specialised in the portrayal of salacious love themes, which took the feminine element of Rome by storm and brought ladies of rank to his feet. He became notorious for his affairs with certain ladies of the upper classes, his most important conquest being Domitia, wife of the Emperor, who was ultimately divorced as a result of her

(1) CHAMPFLEURY, Preface to Pantomimes de Gaspard et Charles Deburau. by Emile GOBI, p. xiv.

(2) Charles HACKS r foe .Geste. p. £74.

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affair with this mime.

During the later years of the Empire pantomime underwent a deteriora- tion. The serious pantomime tended to become more and more a language of symbol, an artificial pantomimic language, while the farce pantomimes became increasingly licentious and lewd. Forbidden production in the theaters be- cause of their demoralising influence, the people continued to demand panto- mimes. The nobility hired mimes to entertain privately in their homes. The common people continued to enjoy them as strolling players at street carni- vals and festivals. The greatest enemy of pantomime was the early Christian Church, which, not alone because of its licentiousness but also on principle since this form of amusement sprang from paganism in its origins, made every effort to uproot it. Consequently, with the fall of the Empire and the spread of Christianity the pantomimists were banished from Rome. As outcast itinerant players they were to spend a period of nearly eleven centuries wandering over the face of Europe, keeping their art alive until it was once more permitted to enter the theater.

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CHAPTER II

FRANCS - MIDDLE AGES

Historians of the development of the French drama are eloquently si- lent on the subject of pantomime during the dark ages. There were no theaters at this time to which the banished Roman pantonimists could migrate . That itinerant players did continue to perform this genre of entertainment, how- ever, is amply attested to by scattered references. Even from a very early period it seems to have existed in two parallel forms, sacred and profane. There is evidence that simple Bible incidents, presented first in dumb-show, were permitted from time to time within the Church as early as the late 4th and early 5th centuries, during the time of Saint Augustine. As chants and dialogue were authorised, the element of pantomime diminished, although the religious mystery plays of the 11th and 12th centuries still show traces of pantomime in their comic elements.

The incident of the strolling players in Shakespeare ' b Hamlet, which supposedly took place in about the 5th century, may be considered as reason- ably authentic and representative. (1) The episode represents a troupe of itinerant players arriving at a feudal castle prepared to entertain the household in the great hall, their entertainment including a preliminary dumb-show as a prologue giving the argument of their play.

There is no doubt that pantomimists were firmly established in France by the 5th century. The poet Sidonius Apollinaris, who died in 482, men-

(1) SHAKESPEARE, Hamlet. Act III, Scene 2.

tions in his writings that pantomimes "are in full vigor" in Gaul. In 496 Theodoric, king of the Ostrogoths, sent his felicitations to Clovis on his victory at Tolhiac and as a special favor presented him with a mime for his entertainment .

With the establishment of the great fairs by Charlemagne there seems to have been an influx of pantomimists. Their popularity in this connection is easily understandable, for at these fairs traders from all over the world congregated. Since even the language of France itself varied drastically from province to province, it was natural that pantomime should find favor with these heterogeneous language groups, since it was comprehensible to all. These forain entertainers were the direct descendants of the mimi of ancient Rome and apparently followed in the same traditions as to subject matter, for in 789 Charlemagne was obliged to place a ban on the presentation of pan- tomimes because of their indecency.

Apparently this ban did not prove permanently effective, however, for rjnrlng the next half century or more we find a series of ecclesiastical re- strictive edicts. In 815 at the successive religious councils of Chalons, Reims and Tours, laws were formulated forbidding the bishops, abbes and priests from attending pantomime entertainments. Similarly, in 656, the Archbishop of Tours

defend aux pretres et ecclesiastiques d'assister aux representations des histrions et mimes, de les intro- duire ches eux et enfin de jouer eux-memes dans ces sortes de spectacles turpides. (1)

"De ce qui procede," continues Hacks, "il est k supposer que I'art

(1) Charles HACKS, op. cit,, p, 502,

grec et romain s'etait perdu en France,

... II est a suppoBer aussi qu»un art gross! er et bas, melange de tableaux vivants obscenes, de grosses et ignobles farces dans lesquelles une langue en forma- tion s'aidait puissamment du geste sin on de la mini qua, florissait dans les bas- f on da ou grouillait alors le peuple, et qui, justiciable tout au plus des tribunaux correct! onnals de l'epoque, ne pouvait en aucune facon at re pris en consideration par l'histoire. (1)

Champfleury maintains that pantomime disappeared completely with the advent of the trouveres, jongleurs and minstrels. "Leur trace se perd pendant le mcyen-age ou cependant d'aucuns pretendent retrouver la pantomime au n ombre des amusements de cette epoque." (2) Paul Hugounet, on the other hand, sub- scribes to the theory that during the 14th century at least, pantomime did exist in the representations of the jongleurs and funambules. From Labedol- liere's Vie Privee des Franoais he quotes:

La jonglerie comprenait en effet la poesie, la mu- sique, la danse, l'escamotage, la prestidigitation, la lutta, le pugilat et lf education des animaux. Ses plus humbles adeptes e talent les mimes, grimaci- ers en costume multi colore, saltimbanques ehontes qui provoquaient le rire aux depens de la pudeur. (3)

Sheldon Cheney is in agreement with Labedolliere. He says,

No one knows to what extent the fugitive strolling player had persisted or disappeared through the dark ages. We do know that if his companies were broken up, there were at least clowns, dancers, conjurors, pantomimists who bridged the gap. (4)

The diversity of opinion regarding the existence or non-existence of

(1) Charles HACKS, op. cit., pp. 302-305.

(2) CHAMPFLEUKZ, op. cit., p. xvi.

(3) Paul HOGODNET, Mimes et Pierrots, p. 41.

(4) Sheldon CHENEY, op. cit., p. 224.

pantomime during the middle ages is doe to the differences in point of view. It is probable that pantomimed performances in the strict sense did disap- pear. But it seems incontestable that the element of pantomime persisted and no doubt held a place of considerable importance in the more popular forms of entertainment. Thus through the dark ages, despite the persecutions of the Church, a smouldering spark of the pantomimic art managed to keep itself alive and was spread throughout France by means of the pantomimic buffoonery of wandering mountebanks.

CHAPTER III

COMMEDIA DELL' ARTE

Toward the end of the 15th century and through the early years of the 16th, the commedia dell1 arte, or improvised comedy, was taking shape in Italy. Like the fabulae Atellanae from which it was derived, this form of comedy was a more or less heterogeneous melange, consisting of dialogue im- provised on stock plots, elaborated by pantomime, dancing, acrobatics and singing. The pantomimic element was resorted to particularly for comic ef- fect. It often replaced the dialogue entirely, such portions of the piece being known as lazzi. This word is a corruption of an old Tuscan word, lacci, which meant a knot, or something which connects. Charles Hacks de-

fines these comic interludes or by-play as an "interruption qui permettait

aux camarades un instant de repit pour trouver la repartie ou le mot." (l)

Riccoboni, in his Histoire du Theatre Italien. describes this element in the

improvised comedy thus:

These pleasantries, called lazzi, are certain actions by which the performer breaks into the scene, to paint to the eye his emotions of panic or jocularityj but as such gestures are foreign to the business going on, the nicety of the art consists in not interrupting the scene, and connecting the lazzi with it; thus to tie the whole together. (2)

Champfleury gives us a description of a typical example of the lazzi. (5) At the end of an act of a comedy which the author does not name, Burattino,

(1) Charles HACKS, op. cit., p. 293.

(2) RICCOBONI, quoted by R. J. BROADBENT, op. cit., p. 104. (S) CHAHPgLEORY, op, cit., p. xvii.

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one of the comic characters of the piece, cornea on stage with a basket of pro visions to be delivered to the inn. He sits down to rest for a moment, and being of a gluttonous disposition cannot resist the temptation of sampling a few bites for himself. Meanwhile, two adventurers have been lying in wait for him* They greet him pleasantly and sit down, one on either side of their victim. One fellow engages Burattino in conversation while the other helps himself shamelessly to the contents of the basket. The latter then holds the attention of Burattino while his companion takes his turn. When the basket is empty, the two adventurers take their leave with impeccable politeness and Burattino discovers that he has been duped. This example is typical of the stock trick, such as was to be extensively used in the pantomimes of the Theatre des Funambules and which still exist today in the horseplay of our circus downs.

As the ccsnedia dell1 arte increased in popularity throughout Italy, its fame began to spread beyond the boundaries of its native land. The first Italian company on record in France is reported as having toured the prov- inces in 1571, giving pantomimes and spoken comedies. In this same year an Italian troupe was summoned to Paris to perform upon the occasion of the mar- riage of Charles IX, This new type of divertissement took Paris by storm but met with opposition from both the Church and Parliament, with the result that the players were sent back to Italy, Five years later, in 1576, Henri III recalled these comedians to perform for the court at Blois, in order to pleas* his Italian mother, Catherine de Medici s. On the journey through France the players had the misfortune to fall into the hands of the Huguenots near Lyon and were held prisoners until ransomed by the king. This occasion of their first appearance at the chateau of Blois is regarded as marking the date of

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the official introduction of Italian pantomime into franco. By the end of the century the Italian troupes were favorites in all of the leading courts in Europe and were to retain their popularity for a period of two hundred years.

Through the successive authorities of Catherine de Medicis, Mario de Medicis and Cardinal Maearin, the Italian influence was strong in France. Italian was regarded as la langue a la node and many people spoke or under- stood it sufficiently well to comprehend a comedy in that language. But be- cause of the predominance of pantomimic action even those not familiar with the language were also able to follow the intrigue without difficulty. The Italian comedies are described by Bemardin as being "aussi mouvementees que notre comedie francaise etait raisonneuse*1 (1) and further,

Pour ce qu'ils sent fort gestueux, et qu'ils repre- sent en t beaucoup de choses par 1' action, ceux meme qui n'antendent pas leur langage comprenent un peu le sujet de la piece; telleaent que e'est la raison pourquoi il y en a beaucoup a Paris qui y prennent plaisir. (2)

It has been mentioned that the Italian improvised comedy, or commedia dell ' arte, employed a set of conventional stock characters, some of whom trace their ancestry back to the fabulae Atellanae. Many of these harlequin- ade characters were retained not only in French ballet and pantomime but al- so, both as to names and types, flooded the legitimate theater in France through the 17th and 18th centuries in the comedies of Moliere, Lesage, Mari- vaux and their contemporaries. As these stock characters passed through the different countries of Europe and were submitted to the varying influences of

(1) N. IS. BERNARD IN, La Comedie Italienne en France, p.p. 11-12.

(2) Loc. cit.

different interpreters, many of them experienced certain superficial trans- formations. In most cases, nevertheless, they continued to retain the funda- mental essence of their original characterisations.

The most outstanding of the traditional stock characters in the early 17th century were two old men, Pantalone and Dottore; the hero, Leandre or Lelio; the heroine, Isabella or Colombine; the Captain, a braggart soldier who later evolved into Scaramouche; and two low comedians, Harlequin and Pul- cinella, who were predominantly pantomimiste. Among this group of characters the oldest are Pantalone and Pulcinella, both direct descendants from the Atellan farces, the former being known originally as Pappus and the latter as Bucco.

In the Italian improvised farces Pantalone retained many of his orig- inal characteristics, being represented as a cantankerous, penurious old fogey, more or less unintelligent and consequently serving as a butt for the tricks of the low-comedy servants. He was sometimes depicted as very rich, some- times as extremely poor, but in either case one of his typical characteristics was his miserliness. He usually represented the father or guardian of Colom- bine and had his hands more than full trying to ward off her various undesir- able suitors.

Similar to Pantalone in type was Dottore, the doctor, who tried to pass himself off as a learned scholar, sometimes a doctor of medicine, some- times a legal doctor or pedagogue. On certain occasions he was supposed to be versed in occult sciences, a necromancer or alchemist. Actually, he was a pedantic old windbag who knew nothing. He sometimes replaced Pantalone as the father or guardian of Colombine and even, on occasion, was represented as her suitor.

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Leandre, or Lelio, was the conventional "juvenile lead", while Colom- bine cane to be the typical "ingenue". Originally Coloabine was of the "sou- brette" type, a coarse and vulgar serving-maid, companion to the low-comedy servants • As she went up in the social scale in France she became predomin- antly a dancer, with Arlequin, the leading male dancer, her accepted lover. In the majority of the 17th and 18th century ballets, as well as in many of the pantomimes, Colombine was supposed to be under the special protection of a good fairy or a fairy god-mother, thanks to whose good offices she habit- ually contrived to elude her persecutors and become united with her lover, Arlequin, at the denouement.

The Captain was distinctly a product of the 16th century, a caricature of the hated Spanish mercenaries who overran Italy during the wars of Charles V, In character he was a boaster and swaggerer. In a blustering way he gave the impression, as did so many of the harlequinade characters, of a brave front while being at heart a prodigious coward. He was boldly gallant where the ladies were concerned and in spite of the fact that his love affair b in- variably turned out disastrously, he continually boasted of his conquests. He was heartily detested by every other character in the play and was con- stantly their butt, particularly so with his rival Arlequin. The audience always looked forward with special anticipation to the traditional beating which the Captain habitually received at the hands of Arlequin. During the 17th century in France the Captain, who became particularly popular as in- terpreted by Tiberio Fiurelli, was transformed into a new character as a re- sult of the originality of this actor. It resulted that the new characteriza- tion took on the stage name of Fiurelli, or Scaramouche. As Scaramouche he continued to be a guileful braggart and trouble maker, usually a servant or

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bourgeois character, and one of Arlequin *s rivals for the hand of Colombine.

Pulcinella, too, underwent extensive transf ormations during his career in Italy, France and England. In Italy he was known successively as Pulcin- ello or Punchinello and eventually as Pulcinella, In France he became Poli- chinelle and was particularly popular during the 17th century. In England he came to be known as Punch and was eventually associated with the puppet show rather than with pantomime. In France he became one of the chief dancing characters and was usually one of Arlequin's rivals for Colombine hand. His physical deformities, a hump on his chest, another on his back, and his grotesque, crooked nose, furnished the principal elements for his comic ef- fects.

Arlequin traces his ancestry back to a prototype in the Roman comic pantomimes. It is here that we find the beginning of his characteristic patched costume. At this time he was supposed to be the servant of a penuri- ous old master, whose cast-off rags and patches he was obliged to wear. In time the originally haphazard, irregular patches were arranged in diamond- shaped pieces in variegated colors, often set off by glittering spangles. Arlequin adhered to ancient tradition in the use of a black half-mask, by virtue of which he was supposed to assume the characteristic of invisibility, and carried a bat or small wand, supposed to possess magic powers.

Various theories have been advanced as to the origin of Arlequin *s name. In Italian the words il lecchine mean "the evil one" and quite pos- sibly gave birth to the Italian appellation Arlecchlno. At the same time, hellsquin or harlequin was a French word in use during the middle ages, de- noting a fearful demon who was supposed to ride through the air at night. These words are quite possibly corruptions of the German word for devil-

child, hoallenkind.

During the popularity of the coinaadia dell* arte in France during the 17th century the character of Arlequin underwent definite changes and improve- ments. Originally depicted as a rather dull, stupid, clumsy, ignorant coun- try fellow, often indecent and lewd in his clowning, he cane to acquire a marked sagacity and cunning, developing later into a sharp-witted rogue and amusing mischief-maker , No longer the butt of the tricks of his companions, he became himself the leading spirit in the intrigue. He finally became the leading male dancer and Colombine's favored suitor.

Marmontsl has described the metamorphosed French Arlequin in these

words:

He is a mixture of ignorance, simplicity, wit, stupid- ity and grace; he is a half -made-up man, a great child with gleams of reason and intelligence, and all his mistakes and blunders have something arch about them. The true mode of representing him is to give him sup- pleness, agility, the playfulness of a kitten with a certain coarseness of exterior which renders his actions more absurd; his part is that of a faithful valet - greedy, always in love, always in trouble, either on his master's account or his own, afflicted and consoled as easily as a child, and whose grief is as amusing as his joy. (1)

A long list of such conventional types made up the category of stock characters resorted to in the Italian improvised comedies. These noted, how-' ever, constitute the most conspicuous of them and the most popular. Not all of these mentioned passed into French pantomime proper. The pantomimes of the Theatre des Funambules retained only five: Gassandre, who represented a composite of Fantalone and Dot tore, Leandre, Polichinelle, Arlequin and Col- ombine. To this group was added the character of Pierrot, who had hitherto

(1) MARMQNTEL, quoted by R. J. BROAD BENT, op. cit., p.119.

existed only as a very Insignificant and unremarkable minor character, ap- pearing oily occasionally in the Italian comedies.

The most famous of the Italian troupes during the last quarter of the 16th century was that known as I Gelosi. appellation meaning "anxious to please", under the direction of Flaminio Scale. This company appeared at the Hotel de Bourgogne in Paris on May IS, 1576, But there were many other ac- complished troupes in addition to this one and they met with tremendous favor in Paris. L1 Est oils, in referring to them in his Journal, write, "lis at- tirerent a 1* Hotel de Bourbon un tel cone ours et affluence de peuple que les quatre meilleurs predicateurs de Paris n 'aval en t pas autant de monde tous en- semble quand ils prechaient.n

The Italian players were legally authorized to instal themselves at the Hotel de Bourbon in 1654, twenty-four years before Moliere began his ca- reer there with les Precieusos ridicules.

Among the many outstanding pan tomi mists of the commedia dell* arte, the most famous were Tiberio RLurelli, who distinguished himself in the role of Scaramouch©, and Dominique Biancolelli, the celebrated Arlequin. Both became favorites of Louis XIV and received pensions from him. The circumstances un- der which took root the long friendship between Fiurelli and the little Dau- phin who was to become Louis XIV are related by Bernardin as follows:

La cause de l'interet que Louis XIV, le grand roi, le roi-soleil, temoigna tou jours a Scaramouche, est inat- tendu et asses curieusei un jour que le comldien etait venu saluer au Palais-Royal la regents Anne d'Autriche, il avait trouve le petit roi dans une violent e colore. II demands la permission de le calmer, le prit but son bras, at se ndt a lui faire des grimaces si droles, si droles, que 1* enfant roi s'apaisa, puis se tordait de rire, et finit par p... leurer sur la manche du comedi- an. Cast pour dedommager Scaramouche de cet habit gate que Louis XIV a comble de favours durant un demi- siecle la Comedie Italienne. ... Ells le merited t d'ail-

lours, at par la valour de son repertoire, que Boileau, au temoignage de Gherardi, avalt appele "un grenier a sol." (1)

In the characterization of Scaramouche, Fiurelli attained the highest

degree of perfection in the art of expressing an infinite variety of ideas

through facial and bodily expression without recourse to the spoken word.

La physioaoaie mobile du premier (Fiurelli), qui avait ran once a 1* usage du masque, reproduisait, dans un per- sonnage de poltron fanfaron, toutes les nuances du sentiment avec une verite si admirable que Moliere l»a pris pour models, lorsqu'il joua le Sganarelle du Cocu imaginaire; en sorte que, au has du portrait de Scara- mouche, on a pu ecrire ces deux vers, qui en disent plus que tous les eloges:

II fut le maitre de Moliere, Et la nature fut le si en, (2)

Moliere became an ardent admirer of the Italian comedians when he fre- quented the Hotel de Bourgogne as a youth. The movement, gesture, expressive- ness and rapidity of action in their pieces appealed strongly to his own dra- matic sense and it is not surprising that many of the seeds of his own plays are traceable to the commedia dell' arte. Most of his earlier farces, such as Gorgibus dans le sac, le Medecin volant and la Jalousie de Barbouille. as well as certain of his later ones, particularly les Fourberies de Sea pin, are strongly reminiscent of the Italian improvised comedies in type. When Moliere returned to Paris from the provinces in 1656 he shared the Hotel de Bourgogne with the Italian players, the two companies appearing on alternate days, and the most cordial of relations existed between them. Moliere re- garded the Italians as excellent actors and "fort honnete gens".

Reference to Moliere »s having taken lessons in pantomime from Fiurelli

(1) N. M. BERNARDIH, La Comedie Italienne en France, p. 14.

(2) Op. cit., p. 15.

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is nade by Leboulanger de Cbalussay in his satire. Eloaira hypocondre, "ELo-

mire" being an anagram of nltolierew«

«•• Far example, Elomire Veut ee rendre parfait dans l'art de faire rire; Que fait-il, le matois, dans ce hard! dessein? Chez le grand Scaramouche il va soir at matin. La, le miroir en main et ce grand homme en face, 11 n'est con torsi on, posture ni grimace Que ce grand scalier du plus grand des bouffons Ne fasse et ne refasse en cant at cent fac,ons; Tan tot, pour exprimer las soucis du menage, De millo et raille plis il fronce son visage. Puis joignant la pfileur a ces rides qu'il fait, D'un mari malheureux il rend le vrai portrait, Apr as, poussant plus loin cette triste figure, D'un cocu, d'un jaloux il en fait la peinture; Tantot, a pas comptes, vous le voyez chercher Ce qu'on voit par ses yeux qu'il craint de rencontrer. Puis, s'arratant tout court, scumant de colore, Vous diries qu'il surprend une famme adulter e, Et 1'on crolt, tant ses yeux poignant bian cet affront, Qu'il a la rage au coeur et les comes au front, ,,, (1)

Moliere was one of the first to make use of the word "pantomime",

which was only just entering into the vocabulary in 1670, He makes allusion

to it in les Amants magnif iques , in which Cleonice says,

Ne voudriea vous pas, madame, voir un petit assai de la disposition de ces gens admirables qui veulent so donner a vous? Ce sont des personnes qui, par leurs pas, leurs gestes et laurs mouvements, ex- priment aux yeux toutes choses, et on appelle cela pantomimes, J'ai tremble a vous dire ce mot; et il y a des gens de notre cour qui ne me le pardonneraient pas. (Z)

Dominique Biancolelli appeared for the first time in Paris in 1660, at the invitation of Cardinal Mazarin, who had been greatly impressed upon see- ing this mime perform in Vienna in the previous year. Dominique is said to have equalled Fiurelli in pantomimic ability and was as renowned in his im-

(1) Leboulanger de CHALUSSAI, quoted by CHAMPFLEURY, op. cit., p, xxL,

(2) MOLIERE, les Amants magnif iques, Act I, Scene 6,

personation of Arlequin as was his fellow mime in that of Scaramouche. Dom- inique expanded the laaai in his plays to such a degree that they came to con- stitute the major part of the performance .

The character of Arlequin was one of the principal protagonists in the commedia dell' arte stock cast. His name features in a vast number of their titles, such as Arlequin empereur dans la lune. Arlequin lingere du palals. Arlequin chevalier du soleil, Arlequin Protee. et cetera. In this latter

piece, incidentally, Dominique ' s daughter made her debut as Colombia e in 1685, with great success. This same practice in titling was to be continued in the f orals comedies, as well as in many of the pantomimes of the Theatre des Funambules.

While giving a command performance before Louis XIV in 1688, Dominique contracted a cold which developed into pneumonia and caused his death. In token of their prof ound grief at their loss, his fellow players closed the doors of their theater for a month.

In the spring of 1697 the Italian company at the Hotel de Bourgogne was preparing a new comedy by Nolant de Fatouville called la Fausse belle-mere. featuring a most un virtuous heroine. At this precise moment rumors reached the French capital that a new novel entitled la Fausse prude, reputed to be filled with derogatory allusions to Madame de Main tenon, had been published in Holland. The book was banned in Paris, with the natural consequence that in- terest and imaginations were fired. The comedians decided it would be a good joke to re-christen their own projected piece, giving it the title of the banned novel. When the announcement was made, Madame de Maintenon believed herself to be caricatured in the title and took measures accordingly. The

following morning, May 14, 1697, Monsieur d'Argenson, lieutenant-general of police, arrived at the Hotel de Bourgogne supported by a small but efficient

army of commissaries and soldiers and in the name of the King declared the theater closed and the players expelled from Paris. In memory of his youth and his high esteem for Scaramouche, Louis XIV did give permission for the troupe to perform in the provincial theaters but until his death they were not allowed to play in any regularly licensed theater nearer than thirty leagues from the capital.

The banishment of the Italian players was destined to open up a new epoch in the theatrical history of France. From the Paris theaters they mi- grated to the theatres de la foire and the f orain performances in their turn were now destined to be revolutionised through this new alliance.

CHAPTER IV PORAIN THEATERS

Since the middle ages the fairs had continued to flourish. The most famous of these were the Foire Saint-Germain, situated in the heart of Paris, and the Foire Saint-Laurent, between the faubourg Saint-Denis and the fau- bourg Saint-Martin, on the site occupied today by the Gere de lfEst. The season for the former extended from early February until Holy Week, while that of Saint-Laurent ran through the summer from the first of July to the end of September, Their entertainments had continued the traditions estab- lished centuries earlier, being of the circus side-show and vaudeville order, including freaks, tightrope walkers, acrobats, jugglers and marionette shows. Frequently short dramatic skits or farces were presented, sometimes by inde- pendent troupes of strolling players but more often by companies constituting the medicine shows which were an important adjunct in the equipment of quack doctors.

For once in their history the forain actors found the Church on their

side, and for good reason.

Comme la Foire Saint-Germain donnait d» excellent s revenue au Chapitre de Saint-Germain des Pres et la Foire Saint-Laurent aux religieux de Saint-Lazare, pretres et moines voyaient avec plaisir se multi- plier ces attractions, et ... ils s'etaient rejouis toutes les fois que des acteurs ambulants s1etaient avises de dresser leurs tr£taux sur le champ de Foire, au milieu des di verses curiosites. (1)

It followed, therefore, that the Church became the patron of the forain

(1) N. M. BERNARDIN, op. cit., p. 75.

theaters*

Anything in the dramatic line proved a particular drawing-card at the fairs and meant increased business for them. In the early part of the last quarter of the 17th century there was a tendency to increase the dramatic entertainments , substituting them for the marionette shows. In place of the original crude booths genuine little theaters were erected and it was an- nounced that the marionette shows would be replaced by "de vrais jeunes gens et de vraies jeunes filles, qui joueraient de vraies comedies, comme celles que jouaient les marionnettes, sans danses, ni chants (1)

On October £1, 1680, the ordonnance which amalgamated the Hotel de Bourgogne with the Guenegaud Theater, constituting the foundation of the Comedie Francaise, gave to this organization alone the privilege of present- ing regular plays in the French language in Paris. As the popularity of the little theaters of the fairs increased and business was none too good at the Comedie Francaise, the latter, on the strength of its exclusive privilege, succeeded in obtaining the suppression of spoken plays in the forain theaters This interdiction was imposed in the face of the fact that the fairs were sup- posedly not subject to any such restriction, by virtue of an ancient ordon- nance of Francis the First, who had declared the fair a lieu de franchise.

TThen the Italian players were exiled from the licensed theaters of Paris in 1697 and joined the ranks of the forain players, the latter again be- came bold and once more resorted to the production of regular farces and com- edies. Their audacity was rewarded, for the Italians became the life of the fairs and first the townspeople and eventually even the court itself began to frequent the forain theaters with constantly increasing enthusiasm.

(1) Loc. cit.

Realizing that this upstart rival was fast becoming a competitor to be reckoned with, the Comedie Franchise again had recourse to the law and re-op- ened hostilities in earnest. The epic battle which ensued, comprising a se- ries of law-suits and revocations of privileges, was a long one, continuing at intervals for the next hundred years* But the forain players proved more than a match for their dignified adversaries* Never failing to adjust their performances to the actual letter of the law, they always succeeded by vari- ous ingenious devices to get around it.

Ce sent les ruses, les subterfuges, les st rat ag ernes dramatiques, que les forains in vent en t avec un in- fatigable habile te pour jouer la comedie sur leurs planches, tout en soutenant d'un air ingenu et d'une voix Candida qu'ils ne l'y jouent pas; ce sont les curieuses transformations materielles qu'ils ont suc- cessivement fait subir k la comedie, en vue d'eluder la severity des ordonnances; ce sent les genres nou- veaux, secondaires a la verite, mais non sans prix cependant, qui sont nes de ces transformations et dont nous 8ommes ainsi redevables aux theatres de la Foire: le monologue, la pantomime, le vaudeville, la revue a couplets, 1 ' opera-comique. (1)

The first restriction imposed upon the forain theaters was the inter- diction of "pieces roguLieres", or those composed of three or five acts and adhering to the conventional unities. The forains countered by producing single scenes and dialogues. Dialogue itself was next to fall under the ban. Nothing daunted, monologues took their place. At times two or more characters were used, one only having a speaking part, the others playing in pantomime. On one occasion a monologue was transposed into a dialogue by the naive de- vice of relegating one character to the wings while the other spoke his lines on stage. The first speaker would then retire in his turn while the second

(1) N. 14. BERNARDIN, op. cit., p. 80

returned to the stage and gave his response. Since at no time were there two speakers on the stage at the same time, the piece could not be called tech- nically a "dialogue" . Finally, all forms of speech were prohibited and panto- mime alone held the fort. This was not pantomime in the strict sense, how- ever. It was never an end in itself but rather a pis-aller. or substitute for the spoken drama.

The need of explanation to make the pantomime clear led to the develop- ment of a genre which became known as pieces a ecritaux. The earliest form of this device was originated by two forain authors Chaillot and Remy. Upon beginning the presentation of one of their pieces a la muette one day, the spectators were surprised to see all the actors come on stage with their right-hand pockets bulging with huge rolls of paper. The reason was not long in clarifying itself. One of the characters stepped forward, bowed, gallant- ly placed his hand over his heart, moved his lips and said nothing. He then bowed again and drew a scroll from his pocket, unrolling it before the spec- tators, who beheld these lines:

Je n»ai pu que tout bas Vous faire ma harangue; On a'a lie la langue, Et Rome (1) ne veut pas ... Ne m'entendez-vous pas?

The play then commenced and whenever it became necessary or desirable to give

any verbal explanation the actors would resort to their scrolls, upon which

the verses were written in enormous letters that could be easily distinguished

by the audience. The ceremony consisted in drawing from the right-hand pocket

the scroll to be read and returning it to the left-hand pocket after reading.

(1) The Gomedie Francaise*

This trick appealed to the sense of humor of the audience and soon had a tre- mendous vogue. Experience improved upon the system. Three contemporaries of the initiators, Fuselier, Lesage and Doroeval, evolved a means of giving voice to the scripts. When the scrolls were displayed, the "orchestra" of two or three musicians swung into a familiar popular tune and guided by leaders "planted" in the audience for this purpose, the audience itself was soon sing- ing the words. Against this device the Comedie Francaise could do nothing, for there was no dialogue. The hands of the Opera were likewise tied, since it was not the actors but the audience who did the singing.

It was Lesage who conceived the idea of suspending the ecriteaux from above the actors* heads, each script bearing the name of the character to whoa the lines belonged. The writing was applied on a piece of cloth rolled on a stick. These were fastened to the flies and were lowered at need, usually be- ing unrolled by two children representing little Cupids, who were likewise sus- ded to the flies and balanced by counterweights. As each scroll was unrol- ed, the orchestra took up the music, the audience joined in the singing of the couplets and the actors performed in pantomime. "Tel sur le premier the- atre de Rome, la vieux Livius Andronicu3 mimait devant le public les 'cantica' chantes derriere la scene. » (1)

The chef-d'oeuvre of the pieces a ecritaux was Lesage' s Arlequin. roi de Serendib. presented at the Foire Saint-Germain in 1715. This was a parody, very freely drawn, of the opera Iphigenie en Tauride. by Duche and Danchet. In Lesage Ts version the scene takes place not in Tauride, but in Serendib, sup- posedly a mysterious island of Arabia. The play opens as Arlequin, sole sur-

(1) N. M. BERNARDIN, op. cit., p, 91.

vivor of a shipwreck off the ooast of the island, cones into a deserted clear- ing cm the island. He is somewhat consoled in his misfortune by having es- caped not only with his life but also with a well-filled purse belonging to a procurator who is by this time at the bottom of the sea. YVhile he is count- ing his money, a suspicious-looking individual with a patch over one eye and a formidable blunderbuss over his shoulder appears, bows politely, throws his turban on the ground, pantomimes to Arlequin to throw some money into it, takes aim with his gun and cries out ferociously, "Gnaf f , Gnaff J" (Jargon, not being classifiable as dialogue, was permissible.) Terrified, Arlequin tosses a few coins into the turban and the individual, after another courte- ous bow, withdraws. Immediately afterward, a second creature appears, this one with one arm in a sling, a wooden leg, and a large cutlass slung at his side. His procedure is the same as that of the first, except that his ex- clamation is "Gniff, Gniff I" Arlequin parts with more money and the second thief withdraws. Arlequin is congratulating himself upon having got off so easily when a third brigand appears before him, a cripple seated in a wooden bowl (cul de jatte), with a pistol at his belt. This creature filches Arle- quin^ purse itself, points his pistol at him and cries out "Geoff, Gnoffl" Despairing of regaining his stolen property, Arlequin "sings" by means of the ecriteau. "That purse brings misfortune; it came to me from a procurator and passes from thief to thief. Take care, sir, that Justice, in its turn, does not take it from you."

The first two brigands now return and all three remove their disguises the first his patch, the second his wooden leg, while the third steps out of his wooden bowl. The three dance about Arlequin and discuss what his fate is to be, while their victim falls to his knees and implores mercy. One of the captors suggests that they kill Arlequin, and brandishes his cutlass in prepa-

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ration but another proposes that they imprison him in a cask which chances to be handy, explaining that the wolves will soon find him and eat him. Accord- ingly, Arlequin is put into the cask and abandoned to his fate.

As Arlequin is lamenting and rolling about in the cask, a famished wolf appears, smells fresh meat, and sniffs at the cask. Sticking his hand out of his prison, Arlequin succeeds in catching the wolf by the tail. As the enraged beast pulls himself free and runs off, leaving his tail in Arlequin' s hands, the cask breaks apart and Arlequin escapes on the opposite side of the stage.

It appears that it is the custom in Serendib that every stranger who arrives by hazard on the island must serve for one month as king. According- ly, Arlequin is accorded a triumphal entry to the palace, which scene gives opportunity for a splashing display of pageantry, enlivened by the accompani- ment of a dialogue in jargon, the whole an obvious steal from Moli era's Bourgeois gantilb

The law of the island decrees that at the expiration of the month's

reign the pseudo-king must be sacrificed by the high priestess to the god

Kesaya. It develops that the high priestess is none other than Mezzetin and

his confidante is Pierrot. These two have disguised themselves as women in

order to escape a kingship of which they knew the disagreeable consequences.

As the sacrifice is about to begin, Uerazetin asks Arlequin from what country

he comes and when the latter replies,

C'est a Bergame, helasl en Italie, Qu'une tripiere en ses flancs m'a porta,

the knife falls from the hands of the executioner Mezzetin, who, with Pierrot,

falls into the arms of their long-lost compatriot. The trio then decides to

sack the temple but as they attempt to carry off Kesaya, the god vanishes,

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leaving in its place a suckling pig. The temple itself then falls to pieces as Mezzetin, Pierrot and Arlequin make a successful escape and the piece ends. (1)

This scenario has been outlined at length because of the close resem- blance which many of the pantomimes of the Theatre des Funambules were to bear to it, both in subject matter and in treatment.

In 1714 the forain theaters progressed a step beyond the pieces a eoritaux. The Opera, badly in debt following the death of its director, Guy- enet, conceived the idea of constituting a new revenue for itself by selling privileges to the forain theaters permitting them to use songs and music in their representations. The result of this development was the birth of comic opera. Two years later, in 1716, a newly organised Italian troupe played be- fore the Regent and was subsequently again permitted to play regularly in Paris, resuming its former fascination for the populace.

The battle between the forain theaters and the regular theaters of Paris was far from over, however. It reached a conclusion only in 1791 with the proclamation of liberty for the theaters during the Revolution. When- ever the popularity of the forain presentations reached a high point and that of the Comedie-Francaise or the Opera sank to a correspondingly low ebb, hos- tilities flared up anew and restrictions were again imposed. The forain the- aters, therefore, continued to fluctuate between spoken farces, comic operas and - when they could do nothing else - pantomimes.

(1) N, M. BERNARDIN, op. cit., pp. 92-97.

CHAPTER V BALLET-PANTOMIME

Parallel with its development as an element in the commedia dell1 arte farces and f grain comedies , pantomime had also been making notable progress in a distinctly different line, that of the ballet. Just as the pantomime of the commedia dell' arte was an outgrowth of the farce pantomimes of the ancient Roman mi mi, so the pantomime of the ballet was a development of the serious mimo-dramas of the pantomimi in the days of Augustus. Introduced by Catherine de Medici s from her native Italy shortly after the advent of her comedian compatriots, the Italian ballet was also adopted by the French and achieved a tremendous popularity.

Aside from a desire to satisfy her own craving for sumptuous enter- tainment, it was also to Catherine's interest to distract the attention of her son, Henri III, from affairs of state and consequently she spent large sums of money on devising performances of this nature. The most famous of them was the Ballet comique de la Reine. presented in 1581. The libretto was adapted from Agrippa d'Aubigne's Circe by Baltasarini, otherwise known as Beaujoyeulx, a Neapolitan violinist and favorite of the Queen, aided by La Chesnaye, the royal almoner. This production marks an epoch, not in the his- tory of pantomime proper, but in that of ballet and opera, for in it we find for the first time in modem history the unification of the three essential elements of ballets music, dance and coordinated dramatic action.

From this time on until 1672, when Lulli became director of the Opera,

ballets were in increasingly great favor as court entertainment. Henri IV, Louis XIII and especially Louis XIV were all great lovers of this form of di-

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vertissement and frequently took part in them themselves. The ballet de cour was a poetic fantasy, combining song, dance and music. It drew its themes from mythological historical and allegorical subjects. Frequently it descend- ed to outright licentiousness. On occasion it resorted to buffoonery, though this was the exception rather than the rule. Its protagonists, who wore con- ventional masks, represented legendary kings and princesses, mythological gods and goddesses, shepherds and shepherdesses such as are portrayed in Watteau's paintings. Since at this period the ballet was developed as an entertainment for and by the nobility, it reflected strongly the court influence in its cos tumes. These were elaborate, heavy and hampering to any real bodily expres- sion. In effect, pantomime occupied a very negligible place in the ballet during this early period.

The ballet de oour reached the peak of its popularity during the reign of Louie XIV but became highly formalised, artificial and as un-spontaneous as its rival in the field of farce was spontaneous and free. When Louis XIV finally grew too fat to dance any longer himself, the popularity of ballet waned at court and was then taken up by schools and colleges, which resorted to it on special occasions, most notably on days of distribution of prizes.

In the meantime, however, the ballet had already been appropriated by the professional opera* In 166S Louis XIV accorded a royal charter which au- thorized the foundation of the Academie de Musi que, which became the Paris Opera. Three years later, in 1672, Lulli became its director and for fifteen years Lulli was French opera. During his incumbency the ballet element in opera was strong. Lulli was also responsible for the daring innovation of introducing women into ballet performances. Hitherto, women's roles had been impersonated by male dancers.

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The first production in France to bear the title of pantonine was a dance-drama presented by the Duchesse du Maine in 1708. The entertainments sponsored by this popular lady in her chateau at Sceaux were justly famous and this social leader was constantly in search of something new to add to their glory. She conceived the idea of presenting a dumb-show as a novel in- novation, or rather as a resurrection of an art which had been esteemed by the ancients. The vehicle selected by her was the fourth act of Comeille's les Horaces, the scene in which the young Horace kills his sister, Camilla. The episode was set to music for the orchestra as if to be sung but was pre- sented as a dramatic dance without vocal accompaniment. Unable to procure veritable pan tomi mists to enact it, two women dancers from the opera were J Specially trained. The duchesse du Maine labelled the performance a panto- mime-ballet . From this time on, but particularly during the latter part of the 18th century under the dancer Noverre, the ballet became a dance in which a story was interpreted by action, constituting a veritable mimo-drama, com- plete in itself, independent of song or dialogue.

Toward the middle of the century opera attempted to gain a monopoly over pantomime, in consequence of the popularity of this genre among the Ital- ian companies and the forain theaters. Time and again, it seems, pantomime was being "re-discovered". In 1749 the Qpera-Comique undertook a Nouveau

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Spectacle-Pantomime, which was actually ballet rather than pantomime, but the venture did not prove successful.

It was Noverre who carried on the idea of pantomime as conceived by th< duchesse du Maine earlier in the century. Jean-Georges Noverre was a dancer, bom in Paris in 17 27. After studying at length the history of pantomime, No- verre travelled extensively throughout Europe endeavoring to discover some

stray remnants of the ancient pantomime of classic Rome, particularly the art of Fylades and Bathyllus. His search proved fruitless and he concluded that the art of pantomime was dead. It then became his ambition to restore it to the stage as an independent species. In this respect, his project failed but he did succeed in regenerating the ballet, giving to pantomime a place and a character unknown to the French ballet before his time.

Noverre' 8 first original work was composed for the Opera-Comique in 1747, when the dancer was but twenty years old. He was a prolific creator, responsible for a long list of elaborate ballets, which were often elaborated pantomimes of classical subjects treated in heroic or lyric manner. In his libretti he made wide use of emotional situations and constructed plots of great dramatic movement,

Voltaire was a particular friend of Noverre, as were also Frederick the Great and the English actor, David Garrick. The latter termed Noverre "the Shakespeare of the dance". In 1775 Noverre discussed with Voltaire his ambition to adapt a part of the Henriade into a ballet pantomime. His in- tention, in accordance with that of the ancient Roman pantomimists, was to choose a well-known piece which would be recognized and easily understood by the audience, Voltaire approved the project and encouraged Noverre to carry it through, at the same time expressing regret that the infirmities of his ad- vanced age prevented him from aiding actively in the adaptation and witnessin its representation . Deprived of the collaboration of the author of the Henri ade. Noverre subsequently abandoned this plan.

In 1776 Noverre was made director of the ballet at the Paris Opera, where he remained until 1780, Following the success of his ballet les Ca- prices de Galatea, in 1776. Noverre decided in the following vear to experi-

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ment with pantomime itself, using the same adaptation of les Horaces which had been done by the duchess e du Maine. It was presented as pure pantomime, not dance. Noverre tried it out first for the court, where it was politely received, but unfortunately it achieved a succes d'estime rather than an ap- preciation on its own merits. Deceived by this reception at the court, No- verre decided upon a presentation at the Opera before a public audience. Here it met with a very different fate. "La plupart des spectateurs eclater- ent de rire et ... se trouverent embarrasses d ' axpliquer le sens de ce jeu." (1) All Paris ridiculed it and the venture found itself the butt of sarcastic criticisms. One facetious commentator suggested that Noverre next attempt to put La Rochefoucauld's Maodmes into pantomime. Undaunted by this initial failure, however, Noverre persevered and achieved success with sub- sequent productions, not alone in Paris but also in other parts of Europe when he took his troupe on tour, appearing at Vienna, Wurtemberg end Milan.

Under Noverre the pantomime-ballet reached a high degree of develop- ment. It was due to his revolutionising influence that the original type of the Italian ballet became transformed, the dancing being more and more sub- ordinated to the dramatic elements. In addition to the drastic changes in the treatment of the plot, Noverre was also responsible for important modifi- cations in costume. His contention was that dress, music and action should be inter-interpretative. This was impossible in the stiff and cumbersome cos tunes of the period of Louis XIV. Some progress had already been made in this direction by the famous dancer Camargo, who between 1720 and 1740 had accom- plished a methodical stripping process, eliminating the heavy foundation gar-

(1) Charles HACKS, Le Geste. p. 508.

merits and replacing them with tights . Noverre completed the revolution and in addition to dispensing with the cumbersome court costumes with their ham- pering paddings and paniers, also did away with the wearing of the convention- al masks,

Noverre 1 s theories are exposed in his Lettres gar les arts en general et 8ur la danse en parti culier, published in 1760, and in De la Dense et des Arts imitateurs, in two volumes, published in 1805-04 and dedicated to the Empress Josephine, Upon reading the first, Voltaire wrote to Noverre, "Cost d'un hosnne de genie. " In the first volume of the latter publication may be found two long letters which are particularly famous, one from No- verre to Voltaire and the other from Voltaire in reply. Both of these works of Noverre are highly meritorious and can still be read today with both in- terest and profit.

CHAPTER VI BOULEVARD DU TEMPLE

Our attention now turns away from the regular theaters and from the famous fairs to a section of Paris which boasts a unique history of its own and which was to hold a special place in the development of the popular the- ater of Paris - the Boulevard du Temple, otherwise known, when at the height of its glory, as the "Boulevard du Crime". In 1565 a moat had been construct- ed at this point on the outskirts of the city as protection against invaders. In 1668 a quadruple row of trees was planted between the moat and the city and toward the middle of the succeeding century this pleasantly shaded spot constituted a popular promenade for the proletariat of Paris. The boulevard consequently soon became a happy hunting ground for mountebanks and forain entertainers, who, at those times when the regular fairs were closed, set up their booths here and amused the crowds with their trained animals, acrobats, tightrope dancers and marionettes* Before long, these attractions came to be a permanent fixture along the Boulevard.

As early as 1759 Jean-Baptist e Nicolet, a forain actor, established a permanent little theater on the Boulevard du Temple, specialising originally in spectacles musts, pantomimes and ballets. Before long he became more am- bitious, the main attraction of his theater consisting of farces of the forain type but still including pantomimes as entr'actes. In fact, panto- mimes and ballets continued to be particularly popular not only in this the- ater but in others which were to open subsequently along the Boulevard, be- cause of the fluctuation of privileges which, during a major portion of the

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time, deprived these little theaters of the right to present pieces contain- ing dialogue or song.

The Foire Saint-Germain was destroyed by fire in 1762 and the other famous feirs disintegrated by degrees, their theaters finally extinguished as a result of the interdictions imposed upon them following the absorption of the Qpera-Comique by the Com6die-Itslienne. The clientele of the f orain theaters now flocked to the Boulevard du Temple and particularly to Nicolet 1 s theater, which acquired a special reputation. Louis XV heard so much about this troupe that he summoned it to perform for him at Choisy in 1772 and was so delighted with its performance that he authorised Nicolet to appropriate the title of Theatre des Grands Danseurs du Red.

A little later Nicolet attached to his theater as dramatic author one Robin eau, known professionally as Beaunoir. Beaunoir was the son of a notary at the Chatelet and had begun his career in dignified fashion as abbe and li- brarian to Louis XVI. He was to finish it as secretary to Jerome, king of Westphalia, but in the interim this versatile individual, independently or with the collaboration of his wife, turned out for Nicolet some two hundred pantomimes, comedies, farces and parades, "toutes plus litteraires et plus decentes que ce qui avalt ete jusqu'alors joue sur le Boulevard." (1)

In 1778 the Boulevard du Temple was paved, an improvement which greatl heightened its popularity, for it was now possible for the feminine elite of Paris to reach this inviting district in their carriages. It became the rendes-vous a la mode not only for Parisians of all classes but for the manv foreigners who were flocking to Paris during the pre-revolutionary epoch. Benjamin Franklin named it "le Boulevard des Nations All Paris now trouped

(1) N. M. BEBNABDIN, op. cit., p. 226.

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to the theaters of the Boulevard as they had formerly flocked to those of the fairs, to the great indignation of Diderot 1 Up to the fall of the Bastille the Boulevard du Temple constituted a veritable foire perpetuelle. "Le Boulevard du Temple etait devenu le quartier general du divertissement a ton marche. 11 etait l'un des traits les plus accentues de la physionomie pari si enna, l'une des faces du monde ou l'on s'amuse." (1)

Nicolet's Theatre des Grands Danseurs du Roi changed its title in 1792 to Theatre de la Galte, which was to become one of the famous Parisian thea- ters for popular entertainment. When the original building was torn down wit the demolition of the Boulevard du Temple in 1864, this theater moved to the Square des Arts-et-Metiers, where it now stands. Shortly after the Revolu- tion, upon changing hands, it became known for a brief interim as the Theatre d'Qnulation but in 1799 it again resumed its previous title and its original specialties in program material,

Voila done ce theatre rendu a sa premiere denomina- tion, a son institution primitive. La Gaite, a la- quell e il semblait jadis consacre, va y rappeler tous les amateurs de la foire, de la pantomime italiexme et des tours de force. (2)

Next door to Nicolet's theater there was established in 1770 another

popular theater which is still in existence today, the Ambigu-Comique. "On

appelait alors ambigu, certain es pieces d'un genre indet ermine, qui compren-

aient toutes sortes de choses: parodie, drame, comedie, chant, dense. " (5)

Records of its programs list many ballet-pantomimes which tended to become

more and more luxuriously mounted, developing into extravaganzas on mytho-

(1) Paul HUGOUNET, op. cit., p. 67.

(2) Henri Beaulieu, Les Theatres du Boulevard du Crime, p. 16.

(3) Henri BEAULIEU, op. cit., p. 24.

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logical, historical, fantastic and ovan currant topics.

Still another theater on the Boulevard which began exclusively with pantomimes in the Italian style, later adding melodramas, vaudevilles and comic operas, was the Theatre des Varietes Amusantes, founded in 1791.

A separate realm of pantomimic entertainment associated with the Boule vard du Temple was the Cirque Olympique, which opened in 1732. Although trained horses, dogs and other animals held a large place, by 1795 elaborate pantomimic spectacles comprising enormous casts of characters, reminiscent of our late New York Hippodrome performances, had become exceedingly popular.

With the outbreak of the Revolution the aristocratic clientele disap- peared from the Boulevard du Temple but the populace remained faithful. Many of the little theaters here were converted into political tribunes and meetia places for the different political parties. vrhen the proclamation of liberty for the theaters was issued on January 13, 1791, numerous new theaters, dedi- cated predominantly to pantomime-ballet and melodrama, sprang up like mush- rooms in this locality, though many of them proved to be short-lived.

The Directoire returned the Boulevard du Temple to its former status. Hungry for pleasure and entertainment, and particularly for thrills, all Paris again thronged the little theaters here until, under Napoleon, their liberties were once more temporarily restricted.

The founding of the Theatre des Acrobates by Madame Saqui in 1315 brings us to the even of the birth of true French pantomime. Madame Saqui was the daughter of a former f orain acrobat and had been herself a popular dancer in Nicolet's troupe. She was highly esteemed by Napoleon, who called her his "enragee" and conferred upon her the title of premiere danseuse of France. She had the good fortune to retain her prestige and popularity after

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the downfall of the Emperor and won the plaudits of all the foreign royalty assembled at Paris for the brilliant ceremonies and celebrations attendant upon the return of the Bourbons to the French throne.

Profiting by her influence upon those in high places who admired her talents, Madame Saqui secured authorization from Louis XVIII to establish a sails de spectacles on the Boulevard du Temple, this privilege being accorded upon condition that she restrict her entertainments to tight-rope dancing and pantomimes, or harlequinades in the Italian manner.

Meanwhile, in addition to being the special preserve for pantomime, this popular theatrical center had also become the realm of melodrama. Since the Revolution sensational "thrillers1* had become so prolific and had increas- ed to such an extent in popularity that the Boulevard du Temple cane to be re- ferred to as the "Boulevard du Crime" . "On a fait le recensement de tous les crimes qui s*y sont commis depuis vingt ans," reports Henri Beaulieu, "En void le resultatt

Tautin a ete poignarde 16,302 fois, Marty a subi 11,000 empoisonnements avec vari antes, Fresnoy a ete 180016 de diff erentes f aeons 27.000 fois, Mile Adele Dupuis a fete 75.000 fois innocent e, secluite, enlevee ou noyee, 3,400 accusations capi tales ont eprouve" la vertu de Mile Levesque, st Mile Olivier, a peine entree dans la carriere, a deja bu 16.000 fois dans la coupe du crime et de la vengeance; voila sauf erreur 132,902 crimes a partager entre cinq individus qui, cependant, jouissent au fond d'une santa excellente et de l'estime genlrale, 0 melodramel 6 type admirable de scaleratesse et de vertu I et tu trouves d'obscurs blasphemateurs • (1)

It was in this atmosphere and environment that the little Theatre des

(1) Almanach des Spectacles. 1823, quoted by Henri BEAULIEU, op, cit,, pp# 5-6.

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Funambules came into being in the year 1815, a theater destined to hold its own unique position in the theatrical history of France as the first and greatest theater devoted predominantly or exclusively to pantomime and whose popularity in this capacity was to live for a period of fifty-two years.

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PARI II - THEATRE DES FUNAMBULES (1816-1362) CHAPTER VII FOUNDATION OF THE THEATRE DES FUNAMBULES

At its inception the Theatre des Funambules was a spite theater, the realisation of a glorious revenge. Its founder was one Nicolas Michel Ber- trand, who had begun his career modestly as a butter merchant in Vincennes. Stepping up a rung or two in tho social ladder, he became in time a carriage maker. To further augment his means of livelihood, he made a practice of transporting passengers by carriage between vincennes and Paris. Among his passengers one day was Madame Saqui, owner and star tight-rope dancer of the recently founded Theatre des Acrobates on the Boulevard du Temple. During the course of the journey an argument arose between the two, which soon de- veloped into a noisy quarrel. Madame Saqui insulted the worthy Monsieur Ber- trand, accused him of concocting his butter out of veal fat and called him a highway robber. Little did the lady dream what consequences her sharp tongue was to evoke. From this moment, Bertrand had but one thought; revenge. The ideal retaliation could only be one which would destroy the professional prestige of his fair enemy and this meant nothing less than the establish- ment of a competitive theater.

It was an ambitious enterprise for the modest carriage maker and re- quired more capital than he had at his own command. Accordingly, he sought out a friend, Monsieur Fabian, an umbrella merchant by trade, who was an ardent devotee of the spectacles of the Boulevard theaters. To him Bertrand confided his scheme. The plot struck Fabian's fancy and he agreed to go into

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partnership with Bertrand, putting up his share of the necessary funds.

Good fortune was in store for Bertrand at the outset, for it so hap- pened that at this opportune moment a location directly next door to Madame Saqui's Theatre des Acrobates became available. This building had housed the modest but famed establishment of Monsieur Curtius. In striking contrast to the vitality and excess of movement in all the other forms of entertainment on the Boulevard was the immobility of that proffered by Monsieur Curtius, His specialty was waxworks. Into his museum trooped a steady stream of pa- trons curious to view reproductions of all the celebrities and famous crimin- als of the day. On July 12, 1789, it had been to Curtius* museum that the revolutionaries posted to secure blasts of Necker and of the Duke of Orleans in order to parade them about the city. Curtius has been accused, and per- haps with reason, of simply changing the costumes and names on the placards of his political figures with each new regime, so that the same mannekin rep- resented successively Louis XVI, Louis XVIII and Charles X.

The waxworks museum had prospered and at the very moment when Bertrand conceived his scheme of revenge upon Madame Saqui, Curtius decided to move his establishment to more commodious quarters. Bertrand took over the prop- erty and in a little over a month had reconstructed it and was ready to open battle. Application was made to the government of Louis XVIII for a licence to open a theater under the name of Theatre des Funambules, or "Theater of the Tight-rope Dancers". Authorisation for the use of the title was granted but not a bona fide theatrical licence. Bertrand did secure a temporary ^ privilege, "la tolerance de 1* exploitation", which right, however, could be

revoked at any time.

The little theater began its career with acrobatic entertainments.

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In spite of the faot that Bert rand and Fabien went to great lengths to secure the best talent available, including among their stars a certain Madame Wil- liams who was the particular rival of Madame Saqui herself, their offerings proved incapable of competing with the more popular type of entertainment, the pantomimes sautantes. presented by the lady next door. The neophyte pro- ducers soon took stock of the fact that if they were to wage a battle on equa grounds with Madame Saqui they must fight her with her own weapons. There- fore, they resolved to add acrobatic pantomimes to their own bill of fare. This was more easily decided upon than put into execution, for the mimes of real ability were all associated with the various already established theater; which specialised in this genre of entertainment. They did succeed, however, in enticing a small group of pantomimists away from other companies and the battle was on in earnest.

At this epoch the pantomime sautante was one of the rages on the Boule- vard du Temple, As the title indicates, it was a pantomimic expression in which acrobat ics and dancing predominated. As an interpretation, it was very largely a conventionalized and artificial expression, each bodily attitude, acrobatic trick and dance figure supposedly signifying some definite mental attitude or idea. The scenario of a pantomime sautante reads much like that of a ballet dance routine, of which the following is a typical example:

Arlequin appears and expresses self-pity because of his unrequited love for Colombine by executing three cabrioles. Cassandra arrives, with a saut de sourd and a saut de car pa, intended to indicate to Arlequin that he will never win Cassandra 1 s daughter, Leandre next comes on the scene and requests Colombine *s hand by means of a saut de poltron and a backward somer- sault, Pierrot arrives, walking on his hands, and signifies his favor toward Arlequin by a saut d'ivrogne, followed by a split, Colombine enters with a series of cartwheels, at which Arlequin reiterates his love for her by the display of an imposing variety of acrobatic

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feats. His rival, Leandre, essays in his turn to make a similar impression but is able to achieve only a few ineffectual and wholly unimpressive jumps. Consequently, the palms, together with the hand of Coiombine, are accorded to Arlequin . The pantomime terminates with a veritable tour de force consisting of a human pyramid of which Pierrot and Leandre form the base, standing on their hands, and supporting Cassandre, who lies face downward across their feet; the happy lovers, Arlequin and Coiombine, form the apex of the pyramid, standing upon Cassandre 's back, enlaced in one another's arms, (1)

The original licence secured by Bertrand at the opening of the Fun am- bules restricted him to the production of this type of pantomime and while the acrobatic element did tend to disappear somewhat toward the middle of the century, it was a special characteristic of all of the earlier panto- mimes and continued until after Gaspard Deburau's death. The Funambules did, however, place greater emphasis upon dramatic plot in conjunction with the acrobatics than was common in similar theaters. The Almanach des Spectacles for 1322 gives the following appreciation;

Theatre des Funambules: tight and slack-rope dancing, acrobatic feats of all kinds and Pantomime-Harlequin- ade constitute the genre of entertainment. It has been remarked, however, that the pieces presented are of a more substantial nature than those at the Theatre des Acrobates. Usually, except that they lack dia- logue, they are a sort of melodrama in which ingenu- ous virtue is persecuted by black villainy, which goes to the most extreme lengths to accomplish its dastardly crimes. In addition, there are dances, combats, scenic transformations and conflagrations. The single es- sential difference between these pieces and the legit- imate melodramas, which are considered vastly superior by their authors, is that the lover can take no part in the action, nor proceed in his love affairs, without first having executed a certain number of acrobatic stunts or dance figures. (2)

(1) Louis PERICAUD, Le Theatre des Funambules. p. 37.

(2) Louie PERICAUD, op. cit., p. 36.

The general theme of nearly all of the pantomime plots was some sort of fairy tale or adventure story, generally of a distinctively melodramatic order, carried on usually, though not always, by the conventionalized harle- quinade characters handed down from Italy via the commedia dell1 arte. Theo- phile Gautier has defined and analyzed the traditional characteristic require- ments for the necessary pantomimic types as follows:

Cassandre represents the head of the family; Leandre, the insipid fop, stupid but wealthy, who is Cas- sandre1 s choice as suitor for the hand of his daughter, Colombine; Colombine, the heroine, daughter to Cassandre, and the very flower of youth and beauty; Arlequin, with the face of a monkey and the sinuous body of a serpent, usually wearing a black mask, his costume covered with bizarre, multi-colored patches and glittering spangles, the personification of love, spirit, bodily grace, dar- ing - a combination of all the brilliant qualities and vices; Pierrot, pale, pitted with smallpox, insignifi- cant, clothed in rags, always hungry, always beaten, the slave, the passive and mournful individual who looks on dejectedly and slyly at the fortunes and misfortunes of his masters. (1)

This description of Pierrot applies rather to the earlier characterization, before the completion of his metamorphosis under Deburau. Before the advent of Deburau, Arlequin was the principal comic character, always employed as servant or confidant of his master.

The first important pantomime of the Theatre des Funambules was pre- sented on December 28, 1816: La Faux Ermiter on las Fanx Monnaveurs. "Panto- mime en 4 actes, a grand spectacle par C. D. Musique de M. Monrat, mise en scene par M. Gongibus aine." Its scenario is the essence of popular melo- drama in combination with pure romanticism before the romantics. As the pan- tomime opens, the Gount Adolphe is discovered seated in a salon of his chateau

(1) Theophile GAUTIER, quoted by Paul HUGOUNET, Mimes et Pierrot^ p. 104.

pensive and sad. Arlequin , his servant, asks the reason for this melancholy. The count replies that his heart is sick for love. To distract the count, Arlequin proposes that he bring a Gypsy to amuse his master but when the Gyp- sy turns out to be old and ugly Count Adolphe flies into a rage. (Pretext for acrobatic pyrotechnics.) To calm him, the Gypsy conjures up an appari- tion of a young and lovely peasant maid, beneath whose figure appears the in- scription: "Isabella will be the adored wife of Count Adolphe" . The count is warned, however, that before winning the girl in the vision as his bride he will have many difficulties to surmount,

Isabelle's father is apprehended while poaching on his lord's pre- serves and is brought before the count, who pardons the culprit. He is recoi pensed for his generous action by a smile from I sab ell e, whom he recognizes joyfully as the girl of his vision. He forthwith declares his love for her and departs to set in motion preparations for the wedding. It is at this point, naturally enough, that the first of the promised obstacles presents itself, A band of counterfeiters appears upon the scene. These desperadoes kidnap the innocent fiancee for the pleasure of their chief.

In the second act Rinaldi, chief of the counterfeiters, appears dis- guised as a hermit, Isabelle, having succeeded in eluding her captors, comes upon the hermit and is deceived by his disguise, She appeals to him for aid and unsuspectingly accompanies him into his cavern, from which there issues immediately a piercing cry of despair. Count Adolphe, being conveniently in the neighborhood at the moment, hears the cry and precipitates himself onto the scene. He questions the pseudo-hermit but is suspicious of his explana- tions. Feigning to withdraw, the Count stabs a sentinel stationed near at hand, hastily dons his victim* s garments and enters Rinaldi 's cave.

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The third act takes place within the cavern. The count, protected by his disguise, is permitted to enter the counterfeiters1 stronghold unquestion- ed and succeeds in encouraging surreptitiously the damsel in distress. He then finds a pretext for leaving the cave long enough to issue orders to his arm men to mine the counterfeiters' hideout. At the moment when the infamous Binaldi has the lovely Isabelle in his fatal clutches and is about to work his will upon her, Count Adolphe re-enters, this time without his disguise. A fierce duel ensues between the hero and the villain, at the height of which a terrific explosion occurs. The rocks of the cavern fall apart, the false hermit is killed and his troupe cast into irons, as the reunited lovers melt happily into each others1 arms and the curtain falls.

Naive as the plot of le Faux Ermite may seem to us today, it must be conceded that it ably sustains comparison with the plots of the majority of legitimate melodramas of the period, those of Pixerecourt not excepted.

Among the pantomimists inveigled away from near-by little theaters by Bertrand was a youth of seventeen years of age who had made his debut at the Varietes-Amusantes under the name of Prosper. This young mime did a suffic- iently creditable piece of work in a minor role in la Naissance d'Arlequin, ou Arlequin dans un Oeuf . one of the earliest pantomimes presented at the Fu- nambules, to be entrusted with the lead in le Faux Ermite and his success in this role brought him to the attention of one of the dramatic professors at the Conservatory, who admitted the boy to his class in tragedy. This young Prosper was none other than the famous dramatic actor of the romantic era, Frederick Lemaltre, who was to create the rake of Bobert-l/iacaire in lfAuberge

des Adrets and to distinguish himself in the interpretation of many leading roles in the most outstanding dramas of Hugo, Alfred de Vigny, Dumas pare and

Casimir Delavigne. While pursuing his courses at the Conservatory Lemaitre

continued to reap glory for himself at the Funambules and contributed in no

small degree to the establishment of the first success of the newly-founded

theater. In his memoirs Lemaitre expressed his appreciation of the training

received during this apprenticeship at the little Theatre des Funambules.

After having spent my morning in Lafon's class learn- ing how to interpret the great classic masters, it was here that I came in the evening to study that difficult technique which consists in assimilating gestures to words • If, during my long career, I have been credited with a certain pantomimic ability in the portrayal of many of my roles, it is by this two-fold preparation that it was acquired. (1)

It most be borne in mind that these pantomimic melodramas in which Le- maitre won his first laurels were still pantomimes sautantes . In accordance with the royal decree which restricted the privilege of the Funambules, all those who became members of its company were admitted as actors only upon con- dition that they still remained acrobats. Upon which Pericaud laments -

Ainsi Frederick lui-meme, le grand Frederick. .. de France, Frederick Lemaitre, ... avait fete tenu d'en- trer sur les mains, ou de faire un saut perilleux, en se presentant sous les traits et le costume du noble comte Adolphei 01 •• Buy-Bias! •• 02 •• Gennarol.. 01 Ravens wood J.. 01.. Darlington 1 Voilez-vous la face, mortifies votre chair d'un cilice a poll ras, couvres-vous la tete d'un sac de cendres, en pen sent que la volonte d'un ministre eut pu exiger que vous vous precipitassiez aux pieds de la poetique iiaria de Neubourg, de I'imperieuse Lucrece Borgia, de la tendre Lucie, ou de 1 1 ineffable Jenny, en faisant un saut perilleux, si, a l'epoque ou le grand artiste etait devenu l'interprete de Victor Hugo, d» Alexandre Dumas, et de Walter Scott, cette ordonnance fantai- siste avait subsiste. (2)

(1) Frederick LEMAITRE, Souvenirs, quoted by Henri BEAULIEU, op. cit., p. 155.

(2) Louis PERICAOD, op. cit., p. 56.

CHAPTER VIII

THE DEBURAU FAMILY

On July 51, 1796, in the little town of Neukolin of Bohemia, today Czecho-Slovakia, was bom Jan Kaspar Dvorak, destined to go down in theatrical history as Jean-Baptiste-Gaspard Deburau, "the Great Deburau", king of Pier- rots and father of true French pantomime, Gaspard, as he came to be known later, was the youngest of a family of five children, two brothers and two sisters. His father was an ex-soldier, who was not favored with an over-abun- dance of this world 's goods* One day fortune seemed to smile on the Dvorak, or Deburau, family. News was brought that they had fallen heirs to a legacy, an "est at 9" situated in France, near Amiens, But Neukolin was a long way from Amiens and a family of this size was expensive to transport, Monsieur Deburau, however, was not without a resourceful imagination and proved equal to the situation. He conceived the idea of converting his family into a troupe of strolling players. In this way they could progress by gradual stages to their destination, traveling on foot and earning their living en route. The plan was put into execution. The boys were trained in juggling and tumbling and the girls in tight-rope walking and dancing. Poor little Gaspard did not take to the training as did his older brothers and sisters. He was the despair of the family and its disgrace. His movements were awk- ward and clumsy. He was stupid and slow and seemed incapable of learning anything. Abandoning hope of ever making an acrobat of him, the family made the best of the bargain by casting the little fellow as a paillasse, or clown, where heretofore his stumbles and tumbles had been accidental, they

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now became intentional and poor Gaspard became the butt of the kicks and blows of the clever members of the family.

The troupe did not amass a fortune during the journey across Bavaria to France but they did manage to keep body and soul together, buoyed up by thoughts of the fortune awaiting them at their goal, which served as a guid- ing star of hope. At the end of months of wandering, playing wherever they could assemble a crowd of curious onlookers, sleeping in bams or in the open air in true gypsy tradition, they arrived at last at Amiens. But alas, the legacy upon which they had built such high hopes and journed so far to claim proved to be a heart-sickening disappointment. The dwelling itself was no more than a hovel, gone to rack and run, past all hope of repair. The plot of ground upon which it stood consisted of less than an acre of sterile soil in which even potatoes refused to grow. Gone was the cherished dream of set- tling down in dignity as landed proprietors. The property was sold as it stood and its price at least provided a square meal for the weary wanderers. The meal settled for, there still remained sufficient funds to invest in a more or less broken-down nag and a basket cart into which were dumped indis- criminately properties, costumes, paraphernalia and Deburaus and the little troupe of mountebanks resumed their travels in style.

Journeying southward to avoid the rigors of winter, they arrived eventu- ally in Constantinople, where they experienced a brief moment of real glory. Playing to enthusiastic street crowds, their fame reached the ears of the Sul- tan, who commanded them to appear at the royal palace itself. They were led into a great hall which appeared to be completely deserted, except for scat- tered guards and attendants. At one end of the hall was hung a curtain, to- ward which the mountebanks were instructed to direct their entertainment. This was undoubtedly the strangest performance ever given by the troupe. Be-

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hind the curtain, through which the performers could see nothing but which was transparent from its reverse side, were assembled the Sultan and his harem. During the performance, not a soul to be seen, not a sound of encouragement or applause to be heard. Used as they were to the stimulus of the reactions of the crowd, this was certainly the most difficult performance these enter- tainers ever went through. But for little Gas par d was reserved a surprising and wholly unintentional treat. During the execution of the most elaborate acrobatic pyramid, Gaspard, mounted upon the perilous summit, discovered him- self poised above the confines of the concealing curtain and his eyes alone were favored, quite unofficially, with a dazzling, magic glimpse of a scene from the Arabian nights.

The years passed and our troupers found themselves once more in France, this time in the capital city itself. They established themselves in a dingy little court in a popular quarter of Paris, the Cour Saint-Maur, and proceeded to dazzle the population with their prowess. They secured a licence authoris- ing them to appear in the popular street carnivals and fairs on festival days and became increasingly popular in their humble way. The two sisters won ad- miration by their grace and agility. The oldest son, Nieumensek, was dubbed "roi des tapis11, while the second son, Etienne, was accorded the title of "sauteur finiN, Gaspard alone remained in the shade. No accolade was be- stowed upon him. He was only a clown.

One day in the year 1817 a dress rehearsal at the Funambules was held up because one of the employes, a boy charged with looking after the proper- ties, failed to appear on time. Bert rand was a stickler for promptness and when the breathless delinquent finally put in his appearance the manager was ready to read him the riot act in style. The only excuse the culprit could

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stammer out was that he had completely lost track of the time, so enthralled had he been watching a troupe of acrobats who surpassed any of those at the Funambules . Bertrand pricked up his ears, "Better than mine?"

"Yes, better than yours, - and better even than liadame Saqui's, too," replied the boy.

This was sufficient for Bertrand. He inquired at once where these par- agons were to be found and upon receiving the information set out post haste for the Gour Saint-Naur, arriving at the precise moment when the Deburau fam- ily was again commencing its turn.

Properly impressed by the agility, grace and novelty of the perform- ers, Bertrand approached Monsieur Deburau and inquired rather abruptly, "How much do you earn per day?"

"What business is that of yours?" retorted the artist sharply.

Undaunted by Deburau' s manner, Bertrand explained cordially, "I bring you good fortune."

Softening slightly, Deburau smiled and answered, "We earn twelve to fifteen francs, sometimes sixteen, never more. We manage to get along ell right on it. We do not regret having come here. Paris is the capital of the arts. The people here know how to appreciate artists and we flatter our- selves that we are artists."

Deburau drew himself up proudly but Bertrand could match him in pride. "Ity friend," he announced, "I, who am speaking to you, am none other than the director of the Theatre dee Funambules on the Boulevard du Temple." Whereupon Bertrand offered Deburau one hundred and fifteen francs a week if he would join the Funambules company.

mathematics was not Deburau* s long suit. "How much does that make per day? " he questioned,,

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"A little more than sixteen francs," explained Bert rand with a magnan- imous air.

Deburau shook his head. "Not enough," he objected.

"Not enough? But since you admit that your receipts do not average more than fifteen it is more than you earn ordinarily, n protested Bert rand.

"Ah," replied the gypsy in Deburau, "but we are independent, my dear sir. We are subject to no master. We go where we please and as our fancy dictates. The whole outdoors is our kingdom. Why, only listen, sir; we have just returned from Constantinople, in Turkey, where we performed for the Grand Turk and 'Ifesdames les Turqueresses ses fiancees1, in the very harem itself. That's more than any of your tumblers can say. However, I'm a reasonable fellow. Give us a hundred and thirty francs a week, furnish the costumes and the Deburau family is yours."

Bertrand expressed the opinion that Deburau had taken leave of his wits and made as if to move off but Deburau called him back and suggested that they discuss the matter in family council in a little cafe across the street. "Come along, children, Monsieur here is going to stand treat. Monsieur is one of the principal directors in the city and he has an honor- able proposition to make to us." The children promptly abandoned their par- aphernalia where it stood and the little cavalcade trouped across the street.

The proprietor of the cafe had the greatest esteem for Deburau, who, upon entering, cried out heartily. "Two bottles, at once, in the Cabinet des Gentilshommes - it1 8 le bourgeois here who foots the bill." The Cabinet des Gentilshommes owed its imposing title to a crudely executed painting depict- ing a famous duel of the period. Beneath the painting appeared an inscrip- tion, representing, in the words of Pericaud, "another duel, much less chiv- alrous in character but no less celebrated: 'Credit is dead. The dead-beats

have killed it.'** (1) Gaspard Deburau later related to Vautier, one of the members of the Funambules troupe, that his father had remarked one day upon regarding this painting end the statement beneath it, "That painting may be the work of a famous artist but I'm sure of one thing, it was not painted by an intelligent man. To kill credit, my children, is to kill civilisation, or at least the soul of civilization, which is trade." (2) Which proves that Deburau pare was a man of perspicacity.

The result of the conference in the Cabinet des Gentilshommes. attain- ed simultaneously with the consumption of a third bottle - this one proffer- ed by Deburau to "his Director1*, was a satisfactory compromise. As the party prepared to break up, the chief of the tribe grasped Bertrand firmly by the hand and congratulated him. "You can be proud of yourself, sir. You have ac- quired five first-class artists, Monsieur Bertrand."

"Oh, no," objected Bertrand, "four only. That one there doesn't

count."

Deburau glanced at "that one there", the ugly duckling of the family, young Gaspard, the down. There was not much he could say in defense of him. "That one..., well, he is awkward and clumsy, I admit. He is stupid, per- haps. But he is really an excellent clown."

"Very well," agreed the new manager, "I accept him into the bargain. I'll put him in the pantomimes."

Thus - "into the bargain" - entered into the troupe of the Theatre des Funambules Jean-Baptiste-Gaspard Deburau, the future king of Pierrots, "the Great Deburau", who was not only to make the reputation of this little thea-

(1) Louis PERI GAUD, op. cit., p. 16. (g) Louis PERI GAUD, op. cit., p. 17.

tar but the fortunes of Bertrand and of Billion, who succeeded Bertrand as

director* In an article entitled Las Funambulea, by Albert Marnier, appeared

this statements

It is at the Funanbules that ... M. Bertrand, ex- butt er-mer chan t , made a colossal fortune; his son also made a fortune there, and M. Billion himself threatens to turn into a Rothschild, To whom do they owe these fortunes which they have amassed? To that white Pierrot (Deburau) of whom I was speak- ing a moment ago. Do away with Pierrot and the pan- tomime withers away and dies and the Theatre des Fu- nambules would cease to exist. (1)

(1) Albert Bonnier, art. Les Funambules. in the Journal Pour Rire. May 19, 1855

CHAPTER IX

ADJUSTMENTS AND READJUSTMENTS

Shortly after the acquisition of the Deburau family, Bertrand suffer- ed an appreciable set-back as a result of the resignation of Frederick Le-

maitre, who for fourteen months had proved an increasingly dependable box-of- fice asset, Frederick's decision to sever his connections with the Funambules was due partly to a more flattering offer having been made him by Franconi, of the Cirque Olympique, but also very largely because of a fall sustained while making an entrance on the tight-rope. He had not been trained in acro- batics and submitted to this regulation only because it was prescribed by the government and consequently unavoidable so long as he played in this theater. His engagement with the Cirque Olympique proved to be scarcely less hazardous, however, for in this theater he was required to make his entrance on a horse. Frederick was even less of a bareback rider than an acrobat and a fall from his horse hastened the termination of this second contract. During his stay, nevertheless, he appeared in a number of outstanding roles in pantomimes and mimodramas and it was here that he was remarked by the great actor Talma, who recognised the youth's potentialities and was instrumental in making it pos- sible for Frederick to take his place in the legitimate theaters of Paris, commencing with the Odeon in 1820.

Since the founding of the Funambules, Bertrand »s all-absorbing aim had been to outdo his next-door neighbor. With the addition of pantomime to hie program of acrobatic turns, aided in large measure by the growing popularity of Lemaitre, the Funambules had become an opponent for Madame Saqui to reckon

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with. With the loss of Lemaitre, Bertrand now found himself at a distinct disadvantage, for many of his patrons transferred their allegiance to his ri- val. Thereupon, Bertrand combed the little theaters of the Boulevard for novelty turns which could be engaged for short periods as a supplement to his resident company. Among the varied specialists who followed one another in rapid succession was one Leclerc, a pantosdmist known professionally as a "physiomane". He performed alone and his specialty consisted in running the entire range of possibilities in facial expression, depicting in turn joy, grief, supplication, stupefaction, anger, rage and madness. He hypnotised his audience, which responded sympathetically to his pantomime. As Leclerc smiled, chuckled, laughed aloud and then built to a paroxysm of hilarity, his audience followed suit until the result was a pandemonium of mirth. Then, without warning, there would fall a momentary lull as Leclerc composed his face into a blank mask. He would then run the gamut of depressive emotions, working to a dramatic climax of grief with tears streaming down his cheeks, until his audience could bear no more and here and there voices would cry out - "Enough - no morel"

Another of Bertrand 's "fillers -in" during this transitional period was Lecoq, the nin combustible wonder", who accomplished the feat of remaining for approximately sixty seconds in a red-hot fire, withdrawing unharmed. This was an anxious moment for Bertrand, for the fire hazard was great in these flimsy little theaters. He posted firemen in the wings on the alert, ready to pre- cipitate themselves upon the scene at the first hint of fire from the brazier The important point about Lecoq » s turn, however, was not so much his ability to stand unscathed on red-hot coals but rather that he was permitted to keep up a running patter or monologue without calling down upon the theater the

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wrath of the government officials charged with keeping their eagle eye on all theatrical entertainment* Hot only Lecoq but various others of the entertain- ers of like ilk who passed over the boards of the Funambules got by with im- punity in the same respect. Upon perceiving this, Bertrand began to risk spoken dialogues by members of his regular company. His innovation proved too successful to be of long duration with the lynx-eyed fciadame Saqui next door watching his every move. This lady lost no time in informing the proper au- thorities that Bertrand was violating the terms of his licence and the Funam- bules was threatened with the immediate revocation of its permit unless it put an end at once to these popular piecettes. Prohibition of the spoken word was extended even to the making of announcements from the stage. Whatever in- formation was to be given to the audience had to be written on placards, as in the forain theaters a century earlier. Once again ruses were resorted to in order to circumvent the restriction and since the regulation applied strictly only to the prohibition of the spoken word on the stage proper, explanations or announcements were frequently given from the wings, off stage.

Before very long, however, toward the end of 1818, Bertrand did obtain the official authorisation to play little vaudevilles or parades, provided they contained no more than three participants, and always on condition that the actors made their entrance on the tightrope. At all costs, they were obliged to maintain strictly their classification of acrobats rather than actors. Many of the participants found themselves no more fortunate than Le- maitre had been and accidents increased to such an extent that it finally be- came customary for the actor to simply touch the tightrope with one foot upon making his entrance. Seeing that the authorities closed their eyes to this

side-stepping of the convention, even this formality was eventually abandon- ed. No longer put to practical use, the tightrope was ultimately elevated and

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stretched across the stage well above the players' heads.

It was in 1919 that Deburau, known on the bills at that time simply as Baptists, played the role of Pierrot for the first time. Hitherto, he had been charged with the playing of very minor personages, usually that of a brigand. As such, he was deplorably unsatisfactory. Instead of striking ter- ror into the souls of his audience, as required by the script, he succeeded only in evoking peals of laughter, which resulted in the ruination of situa- tions intended to be dramatic. Vainly, Baptiste resorted to gigantic wigs, incredibly false beards, and made up ferocious eyebrow effects with burnt cork. Through this formidable assortment of foliage his thin, elongated, white face with its inimitably expressive eyes, peeped forth and despite ev- ery effort against it on his part, turned shivers of terror into gales of hi- larity. The authors of the pantomimes became excessively annoyed. Baptists' a comrades, who took their roles very seriously, also stormed against this square peg in a round hole and demanded that he no longer be permitted to par- ticipate in serious dramatic pieces. He continued to be the despair of his family, who tried to shame him by reiterating the old plaint that he disgraced them all.

The official Pierrot of the Funambules at this time was Elan chard, a particular favorite with the public. One day a quarrel arose between Bertrand

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and Blanchard, which resulted in the latter ' e being summarily dismissed. The public got wind of the difficulty and was easily won over to the support of the favorite as he recounted his side of the story over a friendly bottle of rdne in a near-by caf 6. With the opening of the performance the next evening .t was soon perceptible that trouble was brewing. The audience was restless and noisy during the first number on the program. It anticipated the an-

nouncement of the change in program, for the pantomime originally scheduled, in which Bl an chard was to have appeared, had necessarily been withdrawn. As the second number of the evening commenced, a voice cried out from the audi- ence, "Where's Blan chard?" The cry was taken up by other voices until the entire auditorium was shouting for the favorite. It was necessary to ring down the curtain and halt the number under way at the time.

Frantically, Bertrand and Fabien consulted together. Then the latter stepped out into the auditorium. In a stentorian voice he demanded silence - and got it. When he could have heard a pin drop, Fabien began to speak. "My friends," he announced calmly, "Monsieur Blan chard, whom you are so in- sistently demanding, is an excellent actor but not fit to be a member of our company here."

"That*s nothing to us," cried a voice, "We want Blan chard i" "I til go even further," continued Fabien imperturbably. "Blanchard is a scoundrel."

"Oh, he is, is he? Well, you* re another. Throw the speaker out," bawled the crowd. And Fabien became forthwith the target for assorted pro- jectiles which began to rain down upon him from all directions.

Valiantly Fabien stood his ground. When the outburst showed signs of calming down somewhat he continued. "Sirs, let me explain. My associate, Monsieur Bertrand, has a niece, Mademoiselle Virginia, whom you saw make her debut here in 'The Iron Mask'."

"What's that to us? We want Blanchard I We want Blan chard i"

"My friends, Mademoiselle Virginie, a veritable little saint, an angel

of purity, has barely escaped being seduced by Monsieur Blanchard, who was

apprehended by Monsieur Bertrand last evening in the very act of dragging this young lady into a dressing room of this theater."

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"Ah, the pig," cried a voice. The crowd now lent its ears attentively as Fabian continued his narration in the best melodramatic tradition,

"Which of you, gentlemen, has not a sister, a niece, a daughter? Which of you would hesitate an instant to throw out of your home a scoundrel found guilty of betraying your trust by endeavoring to besmirch the reputa- tion of that sister, that niece or that daughter?" From one end to the other of the tiny theater swept a wave of sympathetic emotion, Fabien sensed that the day was won and lost no time in following up his advantage. "Ify friends, I am convinced that the duty of any man of honor would be to act as my worthy associate has done."

"Yes, yes, you're right," cried out several voices.

"It was impossible to retain among the honorable people who compose the troupe at the Funambules an individual with so depraved a character. In spite of his talent, wa have dispensed with Elan chard 1 s services, without turning him over to the authorities as he so richly merited."

"Well done I Long live Bert rand I Down with Blan chard 1"

"The role of Pierrot, which was to have been played by Blanchard in Arleouin medecin will be interpreted this evening by ..." By whom? No sub-

stitution for Blanchard had been pre-arranged, as the pantomime originally scheduled had been withdrawn. Suddenly, without rhyme or reason, the name of Baptiste flashed into Fabian's mind. "... will be interpreted this even- ing by ... Monsieur Baptiste, of the Deburau family, a young artist in whose talent we place the highest hopes." At the name of Baptiste a laugh swept through the audience. "This young man," continued Fabien, "has several times exposed to me his unusual conception of the characterization of Pier- rot, a most original interpretation which you are now to have the opportunity of judging for yourselves." Fabien bowed end withdrew.

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Meanwhile, general hubbub was rife backstage. On tenterhooks, the troupe had followed Fabian's progress. Upon overhearing his co-manager's amazing announcement which Barked the climax of his speech, Bert rand grabbed Baptiste and hissed at him to get into Pierrot's costume at once. Stunned, Baptist e hesitated and started to stammer - "But, ... Monsieur Bertrand ..."

"Hurry up," commanded his father. "If you make a go of it Monsieur Bertrand will raise us three francs a week. Mind you remember that and put it over, or else ... I"

As in a nightmare, Gaspard Deburau somehow effected the necessary change in costume and make-up. Up rolled the curtain. Out onto the stage walked Pierrot. He turned his long, thin, white face with its eloquent eyes toward his audience. As one person, the audience burst spontaneously into a roar of laughter. Deburau, king of Pierrots, was consecrated. (1)

Deburau fs success in his first portrayal of Pierrot, in this one-act pantomime of Arlequin medecin, was such that Bertrand lost no time in having written to order a spectacular three-act pantomime-harlequinade in which the role of Pierrot was considerably strengthened. With the succeeding piece, Arlequin dogue. the character of Arlequin was completely overshadowed by that of Pierrot, From this developed complications which were to mean further re- adjustments in the company.

There were at this time two families of featured acrobats at the Fu- nambules, the Deburaus and the Charigni family. This latter comprised a fa- ther, two sons and two daughters. In the pantomimes, one of the Charigni sons, Lang a, played the part of Arlequin, while the other son, Joigny, took

(1) Louis PERICAUD, op. cit.f pp. 20-25.

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that of Leandre. Mademoiselle Nanette played Colombine and her sister, Mari- on, was used in various soubrette roles. In the acrobatic numbers preceding the pantomime the two families performed their turns in combination and their human pyramids constituted a spectacular feature, Bertrand was not disturbed by the frequent and increasingly severe quarrels arising out of the rivalry between the two families. On the contrary, he regarded this spirit of compe- tition as a healthy sign, for it spurred on the members of the opposing fac- tions to increased effort and skill. The feud began to take on alarming pro- portions, however, for in proportion as Deburau was given increased import- ance in the pantomimes as Pierrot, the roles of Arlequin and Leandre were rel egated more and more to minor importance and the professional pride of the Charigni brothers was hurt to the quick.

If the Charigni had no opportunity of squaring accounts so far as the distribution of roles in the pantomimes was concerned, they were not without ample means of venting their vengeance in the performances themselves* Their acrobatic turns were fertile in possibilities. From simple name-calling, vo- cal insults and threats, the rivals progressed to the unethical practice of trying to throw each other off during their acrobatic turns by grappling with each other or shifting balance unexpectedly at inopportune moments. As was inevitable, things finally reached a climax one evening and the two families broke into open battle. The slapstick action of the pantomime was in itself rich in possibilities for vengeance. This evening Leandre was supposed to simulate a blow in Pierrot's face. Instead of feigning it, he let go a devastatingly genuine hay-maker which sent Pierrot reeling across the stage with blood streaming from his mouth, Whereupon, father Deburau precipitated himself upon Joigny Charigni, the attacker. Brother Lange and father Pepe Charigni flew to the aid of Joigny and then the two Deburau brothers donated

their talents to the fracas. Not to be outdone by the male representatives. Dor o thee Deburau pounced upon Nanette Charigni, while Catherine Deburau ap- plied herself to Marion Charigni. The hair-pulling, biting and scratching of the female battalion yielded nothing in ferocity or effectiveness to the blows wielded by the male contingent in this epic battle. Unable to separate the gladiators, Bert rand was obliged at length to resort to armed force. The curtain was rung down and the hastily-summoned police commissioner, gendarmes and soldiers succeeded in separating the combatants physically, if not in sub- duing them vocally. Nothing could silence the epithets and insults which con- tinued to pour forth in ear-searing an ti phony.

Convinced now that the Funambules was too small to hold the two fam- ilies in comfort, Bertrand was faced with the none too easy task of making a decision between them. Both were excellent acrobats. If he let the Deburaus go, he would lose Baptiste, whom the public had already taken to its heart. On the other hand, if he put the Charigni family out he would antagonise his partner, Fabian, who had become infatuated with pretty little Marion Charigni, A compromise was finally reached. Both families would go, with the exception of the vital member of each. And so these theatrical "Horaces et Curiacesn, as Pericaud dubs them (1), parted company with the Funambules and with each other and went their separate ways.

A final word as to the Deburau family before we take leave of them. Upon leaving the Funambules, sans Baptiste, they again took up their nomad existence but the father's death shortly afterward disbanded the troupe. Nieumensek joined the company at the Cirque Olympique and Etienne, after con-

(1) Louis PERICAUD, op. cit., p. 17.

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tinuing to perform for a tine with his two sisters, became a director him- self , organizing a circus of his own which acquired a considerable reputation. Catherine was destined to cut quite a dash in Paris under the title of la belle Hongroise, while Dorothee was fortunate enough to catch the fancy of the Polish lieutenant-colonel Dobrowski, who married her and made her a genuine countess.

The Boulevard crowd had by now in con test ably adopted the Theatre des Funambules, which was giving seven and eight performances a day. Bert rand observed with heightening gratification the consistent falling-off at Madame Saqui's establishment in proportion as the prestige of his own theater aug- mented with each new featuring of Deburau. The new Pierrot became the ab- sorbing topic of conversation throughout the quarter. "Have you seen Bap- tists? n became the cry of the Boulevard.

In view of his newly-acquired prosperity, and at the risk of allowing his public to resume its former habit of patronising the rival Theatre des Acrobates next door, Bertrand dared to close the Funambules for three whole weeks while he had the theater completely renovated from top to bottom. At its re-opening, the organisation itself was expanded. Bertrand engaged a manager, "comma dans les grands theatres." The personage selected for this office was Monsieur Gongibus senior, a celebrated pantomimist and dramatic author in his own right. Furthermore, Bertrand and Fabien voluntarily raised Deburau »s weekly salary from fifteen to eighteen francs, the news of which, as it circulated along the Boulevard, contributed in no small degree to aug- menting the esteem with which the populace regarded their new idol. The crowning touch to Deburau ' s glory came when the public learned that his sister had married Count Dobrowski. Deburau was actually brother-in-law to a count I Monsieur Bertrand was almost embarrassed to continue to call his star famil-

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iarly by his first name* The employes of the theater saluted him respectfully as "Mossieu" Deburau. In response to the awed attitude toward his sister's marriage, however, Daburau observed, "It is the Count who has distinguished himself by entering into our family. Before his marriage to Dorothy, who knew him? Nobody. But now all the wine-sellers, when referring to him, say, "Count Dobrowski, you know, the man who married Deburau' s sister." (1)

So the Theatre des Funambules found itself firmly established and pros- perous, one success following another through the season of 1820-21.

As for the Theatre des Acrobat as, dark days had come upon it. Madame Saqui, with disaster staring her in the face, girded herself for a desperate move. One afternoon in the spring of 1821, Monsieur Saqui, who was titulary manager of his wife's theater, - for the Minister of the Interior had been unwilling to register the privilege in a woman's name, - was delegated to ful- fill a mission. He presented himself at the Funambules and asked to speak to Bertrand and Fabian. "Gentlemen," he began, "Madame Saqui, my wife, is a great artist; you cannot deny this fact; the whole world has acknowledged it. Well, Madame Saqui humbles herself; Madame Saqui reforms her attitude toward you; Madame Saqui sends me to ask whether Monsieur Bertrand is willing to forget the sharp words which she bestowed upon him four or five years ago and let bygones be bygones.

"Monsieur Saqui," replied Bertrand, "your wife was greatly at fault but she has been well punished. I appreciate the tortures which she has suf- fered by the hand of 'l'encien marchand de beurre en graisse de veau*. She now repents. It is rather late in the day for that. However, I am not re- lentless. I agree to forget everything."

Monsieur Saqui was profuse in his expression of gratitude. But Fabi- (1) Louis PERICAUD, op. cit., p. 29.

en was apprehensive over his partner's magnanimity. He put in his own word. "Your wife must not conclude," he warned, "that because of her apology we are going to suspend the successful competition which is filling our coffers while emptying hers,"

"Oh, no, Madame Saqui would not dare expect that. Gentlemen, I won't beat about the bush, I have come, as my wife's emissary, to propose a part- nership with you,"

Bertrand bounced out of his seat with shock, "What? A partnership? A partnership with a theater of the first rank, a theater which honors the literature of France and is in its turn honored by French literature?"

"Oh, French literature, •••" began Monsieur Saqui with a dubious smile. "Monsieur Augustine Hapde himself affirmed that," continued the in- censed director, "when we played his pantomime, Blue Beard, 'Sirs,' he an- nounced on the very stage itself, 'henceforth the Theatre des Funambules can be counted among the number of literary theaters,'"

"Well anyhow," resumed Monsieur Saqui in a propitiatory tone, "it is not for the Theatre des Funambules that Madame Saqui proposes the partnership but rather for the Theatre des Acrobates, We won't try to hide the fact that we have reached the end of our rope. We are on the brink of bankruptcy, Ma- dame Saqui has lost confidence in me as director. She feels that there are only two men who can, if they will, avert the catastrophe which threatens us. These two men are yourselves, Messieurs Bertrand and Fabien, Putting aside all false pride, we offer you our theater, our troupe. With your skill as directors and your knowledge of the theater, we are confident that we can be saved, "

Fabien let it be emphatically understood that not one cent of money

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would be paid by then for any such partnership. He was exceedingly skeptical as to the advisability of their agreeing to any such step. His partner, how- ever, informed Monsieur Saqui that he could report to his wife that they were prepared to accept her offer. As Fabian once more attempted to demur, Ber- trand remarked nobly, "Fabian, it is a question of saving a great artist from disaster. In the name of art we are bound to accept," and Fabien was obliged to yield.

Eight days later the names of Bertrand and Fabien appeared before the Theatre des Acrobates as associate directors of their long-time rivals. Bankruptcy for this theater was thus narrowly averted due to the magnanimous collaboration of the directors of the Funambules.

For a time all seemed well but Bertrand and Fabien were sufficiently clever to manage in such a way that although they permitted their former ri- val superiority in tight-rope dancing and tumbling acts, they cannily re- served for their own theater the preeminence in pantomime and it proved to be the pantomime, rather than the acrobatic entertainments, which "packed them in". Consequently, Madame Saqui soon saw that while she was managing to hold her own with moderate receipts, her n collaborators n were doing bigger busi- ness. Bitter jealousy took root and began to fester in the soul of Madame Saqui. -Quarrels soon flared up anew. The lady accused Bertrand and Fabien of being unfair to her. Bertrand reminded her that the association had not been of his seeking and that it was only out of the kindness of his heart that he had forgiven her former insults and acceded to her plea to save her from ruin. Fabien had had enough of his friend's magnanimity. He roared that he himself had been against the plan from the start and that it was Bertrand "avec son ame de lapin" who had accepted. Obviously, the only so-

lution to the problem was dissolution of the partnership, to which Madame

Saqui promptly agreed.

The following day an announcement was posted up in front of the Funam-

bules. It read;

To the Public, our Master 1 We lay our case before you. Bender us justice I We performed a generous act, only to find ourselves duped. Our association with the bar ague next door has been terminated.

(Refusing to dignify their enemy with the name of "theater", they employed

the term bar ague, or "booth".)

Once more we are directors solely of our own Funam- bules. Our efforts to please you will be the great- er. Shall we succeed? We cherish that hope. The past is for us sufficient guarantee for the future. Signed, Bertrand and Fabian. (1)

Madame Saqui countered with a reply posted up before her own theater, referring to her neighbors as cabotins, or low comedians. One move furnished an excuse for a counter-move and for several days the battle of placards be- fore the two theaters raged.

Three years later, in 1825, another partnership was to come to an end. The friendship between Bertrand and Fabian, which dated back for twenty years was broken on the wheel of progress. Several theaters in Paris were already beginning to experiment with illumination by gas. Fabien was of a progres- sive nature and proposed its installation at the Funambules. But Bertrand was conservative and held out for the old-fashioned oil-lamps. The discus- sion waxed hot, culminating in Bertrand' s calling Fabien a "fool of an in- cendiary" and "Omar moderns I n Fabien mistook the word "Omar" for homard (lobster) and in a climax of righteous anger demanded that he be released

(1) Louis PERICAUD, op. cit., p. 44.

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from his contract. Not at all loath to seeing himself sole director of the now prosperous little theater, Bert rand acceded.

Not long after this separation, an Italian menagerie in Paris was to- tally destroyed by fire. The building had been lighted by gas. Bertrand thereupon indited a letter to his ex-associate, containing just two words: "Eh| bien?n Fabien did not deign to reply. Following the lead of several other theaters, Bertrand advertised a gala benefit performance for the vic- tims of the fire. An appropriate pantomime was written to order for the oc- casion. It was entitled: phaeton, ou les malheurs que peut occasionner la lumiere mal dirigee. - "Grande Pantomime en cine tableaux, avec nombreux ef- fets pyr ©techniques." Deburau played the role of Pierrot, servant to phaeton It was his duty to harness the horses to the fiery chariot of the sun but he performed his task so maladroitly that the horses ran away, spreading a mighty conflagration over the entire universe. In spite of the humanitarian motives which prompted the pantomime, and furthermore despite its spectacu- lar elements, the performance was a dismal failure and was hissed outrageous- ly, as only a Funambules audience knew how to hiss. The day after the fiasco Bertrand received a letter in his turn. Fabien had written, "Eh I bien?n

CHAPTER X

METAMORPHOSIS OF PIERROT

The personage of Pierrot was destined to become as inseparable from the name of the Funambules and of pantomime in general as from the name of Deburau himself, for, as the later mime Severin has stated, "Pierrot was ac- tually bom of our great master. n Pierrot has come to be the veritable sym- bol of French pantomime and it was Deburau who conceived the fantastic and beloved individual which the name of Pierrot conjures up for us today, "fihatl Was there no Pierrot before Deburau?" - "Yes, but not the Pierrot we knov.-," explains Irene Mawer.

There are many characters in classical pantomime whose names survive today, but the essential char- acteristics of each one have been changed by suc- cessive mimes. ... Before Deburau, Pierrot was just one of many characters, and one who appeared but rarely. Deburau created the costume and the character of Pierrot as we know him. (1)

Prior to the advent of Deburau, Pierrot had never been more than a very minor role, a low-comedy buffoon. Deburau discovered dramatic possibil- ities in the character and completely transformed him. It is upon his trans- formation of Pierrot that both classic and modern French pantomime have been based and

today we can hardly say whether we have a character called Pierrot, or a memory handed down from player to player, of Deburau, So much did this artist of the Boulevards associate himself with the character, that we scarcely know whether to say "Pierrot - it

(1) Irene MAWER, The Art of Mime, p. 119

is Deburau" or "Deburau - he was Pierrot11. (1) Like all the other traditional pantomime characters, Pierrot goes back to Italy for his origin, though he was, relatively speaking, a mere up-start in comparison with the other stock types. Many of these, as has been noted, traced their ancestry back through the Roman pantomimes to the Atellan farces of the third century B. C.

Known in Italy first as Pedrolino, or "little Peter11, and later as Piero, the character was represented as a minor servant of the country bump- kin type, slothful, cowardly in a frank and naive manner, conspicuously glut- tonous and fundamentally comic. "His great passion,11 says Irene Mawer, "is kitchens and their scents. 11 Concurrently with the development of the impro- vised comedy in Italy, a prototype of Piero, under the name of Peppe Nappa, appeared in the Sicilian pantomimes. The character did not figure in the Italian farces in France until the latter part of the sixteenth century. He was then used for a time as a most insignificant character but was eventual- ly thrown into the discard and disappeared completely for a while. To France goes the credit for resuscitating the character, with the result that she "transmuted the Italian material and by and of and for herself, created Pier- rot, 11 (2) In France the name was gallicized, becoming Pierrot.

It was no less a person than Moliere who retrieved Pierrot from the oblivion into which he had been relegated. Ehile writing Don Juan. Moliere found himself in need of a dull, stupid, slow-witted country bumpkin charac- ter such as Arlequin had been originally. But Arlequin had been metamorphos- ed by Dominique and had lost the heaviness and sluggishness formerly charac-

(1) toe. sit.

(£) Alexander Woolcott, unidentified art. Pierrot and Pantomime

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teristic of him. Accordingly, Moliere delved back into the storehouse of Italian types and unearthed Pierrot as being suitable for his purpose, "Ev- ery clown that has basked long enough in the world s love has grown too small for his boots, taken wings and flown into fancy And at each metamorphosis the world has to hatch another from a clod." (1)

Moliere dressed Pierrot in the typical French peasant smock, white in color, of which his present costume is an adaptation. The black mask former- ly worn by the Italian Pierrot was discarded and the face whitened. One in- terpretation of this phenomenon is that Pierrot was represented as the servant of a miller and that the whitened face was a consequence of his close proxim- ity to the flour barrels. UThether true or not, the whitened mask of a face ias come to be one of his traditional attributes in the French rendition of ihe character.

Subsequent to his adoption by Moliere in the French drama, the Ital- .ans themselves reinstated Pierrot in their own improvised comedies. We find lim reappearing consistently throughout the 17th and 18th centuries in the porain farces, parades and pantomimes, as well as in comic opera. During the .7th century he also appeared occasionally in French productions under the lame of Gilles. It is under this appellation that he is represented for us in ?atteau»s famous painting.

During the earlier days of the Funambules, Pierrot retained the general characteristics of the original conception of him. He was represented as the servant of Cassandre, stupid and clumsy, the bete noire of Colombine. for whom le sighed hopelessly, the nightmare of Arlequin, and the continual butt of

M. Willson DISHER. Clowns and Pantomimes, p. 54.

kicks and blows frost all the company. But as Debar au imbued the character with his own unique personality, conceiving him from a vastly different view- point, the character became so completely transformed that a wholly new Pier- rot was bom. This evolution did not take place over night. It was the re- sult of patient, steady, persistent and conscientious study which continued throughout the length of Deburau»s career, but showing results most drastic- ally during the early twenties, Deburau never tired of studying and analys- ing the character of his beloved Pierrot, refining his gestures and facial expression in his effort to attain the highest possible degree of perfection in his rendition.

One of the most striking changes which Deburau made in the interpreta- tion was the reserve with which he played it, comparatively speaking. While still lithe and active, an acrobat and dancer, Deburau did not give to his portrayal of the role the superabundance of physical activity nor even the exuberance of gesture which had been the practice of his predecessors. To him, facial expression was paramount in pantomime, gesture being regarded as secondary. The restraint and relative placidity with which he rendered his interpretation became a by-word on the Boulevard, It became customary to say, when referring to an imperturbable person, "II est tranquille comme Bap- tists,"

From having been the butt of farcical horseplay, Deburau, as Pierrot, now began to turn the tables on his former persecutors. He, too, now gave kicks and blows and played tricks on the others. Still grotesque, still laugh- able, he also became loveable, Deburau so widened his dramatic range that he now ran the entire emotional gamut in his portrayal of the role. In earlier days fundamentally comic, a buffoon and nothing more, Deburau rendered Pierrot

more pathetic than comic. Those who watched him mingled tears with their laughter and when they laughed it was now with rather than at him. "It is pre- cisely this opportunity for hilarious fun going hand in hand with tragedy," says Barrett H. Clark, "that makes Pierrot the uniTersal figure he has now be- come." (1)

•.•He was mischievous and moved by base desires such as gluttony, and the fear of punishment. These charac- teristics, however, were dominated by the inexhaustible sarcasm he expressed without words and "almost with- out a face". Under the persecution of Arlequin and Col- ombine, he was revealed as Holiere's misanthrope. He was not, says J an in, "so-and-so" with a proper name and a certain social position. Gilles, as Watteau named Pierrot, is nobody - and, in France, everybody: "Gil- les c'est le peuple. Gilles, tour a tour joyeux, triste, malade, bien portant, battant, battu, musicien, poete, niais, toujours pauvre, comme est le peuple; c'est le peuple que Deburau represente dans tous ses drame3." (2)

Little by little all other action of the pantomime plot became subordin- ated or tributary to Pierrot himself. He even appropriated unto himself the prerogative of stealing a kiss from Colombine upon occasion. If he did not go to the point of marrying her, it was only out of loyal respect for the tradi- tion which demanded that Colombine be united with Arlequin in the glittering apotheosis of the finale.

Drastic changes in costume and make-up were also effected by Deburau. The peasant smock worn in the 17th century had given place to a tight white coat, closely belted in. Deburau found this hampering to his movements and he therefore replaced it with an adaptation of the original peasant smock with long, loose sleeves, discarding the belt completely. The trousers were widen- ed to permit the degree of freedom neee3sary for the acrobatic work which went

(1) Barrett H. CLARK, art. IheJ&pXoLJ&S

(2) M. Willson DISHER, op. cit., p. 135.

L, The DrajpaT Aug. -Sept. 192S

with the part. The large ruff worn by Deburau's predecessors was also dis- carded, for as it flew up frequently during the action it hid the player's face and detracted from his facial expression. The hat which had been worn was abandoned since it, too, hampered facial expression by throwing parts of the face into shadow, no matter how small its brim. The white skull cap which covered the hair was replaced with a black one which, in contrast to the whiteness of the face, brought out and intensified strikingly the effective- ness of the facial play.

It is said that 3ome time before he began to appear as Pierrot, Debu- rau had already been struck by the possibilities of expression in the whitenec face. At a time when he happened to be playing the part of a ghost he had chanced to look at his white face in the mirror and had remarked to himself, "Something can be done with this." The same thought recurred to him when he took over his new role. As he studied the white mask, he came to the con- clusion that the complete expanse of dead white was too blank, too statuesque. Whereupon, he began to experiment with his make-up. He added black eyebrows and noted that the expressiveness of the face was appreciably heightened. Since it still seemed to lack character, he tried reddening the lips. The re- sult of this addition proved still more satisfactory and this is the character- istic make-up retained by Pierrot to this day. "That white face," says Alex- ander Woolcott, "there is the secret of Pierrot and of pantomime, a secret shared with the Greeks and their masks of long ago* ... Thereby does Pierrot become a sublimation, a symbol, moving on from the individual to the univers- al. ..." (1)

On the subject of Pierrot's white costume and make-up, Severin explain- (1) Alexander WOOLCOTT, op. cit.

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id in an interview with Barrett H. Clark,

Pierrot's costume i3 a white sheet of paper on which the actor must write; the piano on which he must play. The white mask of paint which Pierrot always wears is actually a part of his costume. On that too must he write. It is vastly more difficult to express emo- tions under this mask than with the naked face, but does not art thrive on the difficulties which It must surmount? (1)

Continuing the interview, Severin related further,

Deburau i3 said to have remarked, "I must make my face live. I must put all humanity into it.w Whether or not he actually uttered the words or even conceived the idea, he did put all humanity not only into his face but into his every gesture. His consummate art it was that brought all Paris to his feet in the thirties and forties. ... Thi3 "acrobat" who "said everything without speaking a word", was, according to masses of contemporary evidence, one of those supreme arti3t3 who unconsciously sums up the whole of human- ity. (2)

But Deburau1 s originality went even further than this impersonation of Pierrot. He created his own dances, which proved to be inimitable; he In- vented new tricks and stage business; he originated new pantomimes and reno- vated old material which was unashamedly re-titled and passed off as new.

(1) Barrett H. CLARK, op. cit.

(2) Loc. cit.

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CHAPTER XI

AUTHORS AND SOURCES OF PANTOMIME SCENARIOS

In the words of Pericaud, the repertory of the Funambules was recruit- ed "un peu partout" and as manuscripts accumulated they constituted as heter- ogeneous a collection of brain- children, - many of them might better be cal- led brain storm3, - as ever existed. No sooner did it become known that the Funambules was going to specialize in pantomimes than a troupe of bona fide, pseudo and would-be authors in this genre made their way to Bertrand's door- step and laid their offerings at his feet. Aside from a certain number of professional pantomime writers, there were pantomimists who aspired to au- thorship and frequently writers of melodramas or vaudevilles for the Boule- vard theaters who were ambitious to pick up a little additional income on the side by means of pantomime potr- boilers.

There was no permanent glory attached to writing a pantomime. Only exceptionally did an author's name appear on the posters or programs. Most often a piece was played but four or five times and then disappeared. In general, there was no prospect of publication, although toward the middle of the century a limited few pantomimes did appear in print.

It was a common practice, not only at the Funambules but at all the theaters producing pantomimes at this time, to revamp old pantomimes, giving them new titles and unblushingly presenting them as new. For instance, le Sou terrain, which appeared in 1855, had been given originally in 1819 under the title of 1 'Spouse courageuse. The sole difference between the two pro- ductions was the change in title. This occurred again and again.

In Bertrand's estimation an author was a more or less negligible element. In the earlier days he and Fabien dispensed with them whenever possible, mulling over old melodramas, parades and farces of the forain the- aters, doing their own arranging and re-titling, and thus sparing themselves the pain of having to pay an author the mediocre pittance allotted to the securing of production material*

By the middle thirties Bertrand was constantly submerged under the avalanche of manuscripts which kept pouring in. The theater installed a special wicket at which the authors presented their wares. Their knock was answered by an employe charged with this particular service. He would glance rapidly, but with a practised eye, over the manuscript handed him and if it seemed usable he handed over to the author a formal receipt prepared in advance, with the amount to which the pantomime, in accordance with its length, was entitled. Prior to 1848, pantomimes averaged in price from thirty to fifty francs, according to the number of scenes. After 1848 there was a marked increase in prices, a pantomime in four scenes costing in the neighborhood of sixty francs, while the longer productions, consisting of from ten to twenty scenes, brought up to a maximum of one hundred francs. Once paid for, the manuscript became the sole property of the administration, royalties being unheard of in that day.

It was not unusual for some authors to submit as many as two or three manuscripts in one week. If a script was refused at the Funambules, the au- thor tried it next door at the Theatre des Aero bates. If Madame Saqui turned it down here, he then trotted across the Seine to the Bobino Theater on the Left Bank. This was usually the last resort. If the author met with defeat here, the manuscript would probably be locked away in a drawer for a year or

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so, at the end of which period it was likely to be taken out again. It would then receive a summary refurbishing, the title and a few of the names of the characters might be changed and off it would go on its rounds again. It was not at all infrequent that a manuscript refused once or even twice was accepted on the third try and proved successful in production.

A large majority of the pantomimes at the Funambules, throughout its entire history, were simply readaptations of former pantomimes. It seemed that as each one died, it arose from its own ashes, born anew like the myth- ological phoenix. As the supply of earlier pantomimes and forain material became outworn, new inspirational sources were tapped. Any successful novel, vaudeville, melodrama or opera became gri3t for the mill of the pantomime writer. Material was borrowed right and left, appropriated wholesale from anything that looked the least bit promising. Pericaud has paraphrased the famous phrase attributed to Moliere, saying that the slogan of every panto- mime writer of the period may well have been, "Je prends le bien d'autrui ou Je le trouve." This practice of blatant plagiarism was by no means peculiar to the Funambules. It was the common order of the day in the world of the theater during this epoch. The situation became so disgraceful that in 1829 Scribe founded a society of dramatic authors and composers in an endeavor to put an end to this wholesale pilfering. The initial efforts of this group, as a private society, proved ineffectual, however, and in 1857 it was found advisable to reorganize the constitutions and to make it a civil organization. Even then, it was some years before any real check was put upon the deplor- able practice*

Despite the wholesale borrowing from every direction, nearly all the authors of the Funambules managed to write the same pantomime, no matter

what its trimmings or the "local color" might be. With but infrequent ex- ceptions, all adhered to the same stock formula. "What is a pantomime?" queries Pericaud, and then elucidates.

It is nothing more nor less than a vaudeville with the dialogue omitted. What is a vaudeville? The ad- ventures of a father who endeavors to marry off his daughter to 3ome young ninny whom she does not love, since her heart is already lost to a penniless young man whom the father cannot abide. The denouement never varies. It is always the penniless young hero who finally succeeds in winning the heroine. ... "Plus les titres changent et plus c'est la meme chose." (1)

Throughout the period of the Restoration and the Monarchy of July, strict censorship of all manuscripts was maintained. Every pantomime under consideration for production had first to be submitted to the Minister of the Interior for his approval, even though it might be an old pantomime, formerly approved, with no change but a new title. Every manuscript bore the formal statement: "Piece received at the Theatre des Funambules (or any other theater) for representation, after approval by the Minister." The Min- ister's signature was followed by that of the director of the theater. Fre- quently modifications or deletions were demanded before a manuscript would be passed by the official censor.

One of the first of the more brazen "steals" at the Funambules occur- red in 1825. A popular minor novelist by the name of Donville brought out a "thriller" entitled l'Espagnol ou la Tombe et le Poignard. Bertrand was fas- cinated by the bloodcurdling title, which was quite in line with the melo- dramatic offerings in which the Funambules specialized at this epoch, and from Donville fs two volumes he had one of his staff of scenario-writers

(1) Louis PERICAUD, op. cit., p. 224.

adapt a pantomime in four tableaux entitled, la Tombe et le Poignardf on la Vengeance d'un Espagnol.

Two years later a melodrama entitled Poulailler was proving tremendous- ly popular at the Gaite. Bertrand decided there was no reason why the Fun am - bules should not profit by it. Accordingly, he assembled his writers and an- nounced that fifty francs would be paid to whichever one of them should be the first to bring in a good pantomime in several tableaux based upon the popular melodrama and bearing the same title. In less than three days Ber- trand received no less than twenty- five scripts. Of these, he selected two, combined them into a single production, and split the fifty francs between the two authors. It proved to be one of the most popular and most durable attractions in the Funambules repertory, yet the names of the two authors have remained unknown.

Victor Ducange, a popular and prolific author of melodramas, produced a dramatic adaptation of Sir Walter Scott' s The Br^tje, of ,I>mmermoQr for the Porte Saint-Martin theater in 1828. Frederick Lemaitre starred in the role of Ravenswood and his acting contributed much in making it a "tearful" and romantic success. Bertrand studied the situation. He recognized that the- ater-goers enjoyed being moved by their entertainment as well as amused or harrowed. Ducange was too important a person as a playwrite, too much in the public eye, and above all too powerful in his political tie-ups for Bertrand to dare risk appropriating outright the title of the piece, la Fiancee de Lammermoor, although Ducange himself had sensed no compunctions at helping himself to the property of Sir Walter Scott without a by-your-leave. At any rate, the manager of the Funambules resorted to subterfuge. In the play was the character of an elderly servant by the name of Caleb. Born in the Ravens-

C If

atmti m

C C=

wood family, Caleb had passed his life devotedly in their service. As a sen- timental character this old servant had been singularly effective at the Porte Saint-Martin. Bertrand therefore seized upon this character and order- ed a pantomime based upon the plot of the play, in which Pierrot should rep- resent just such a sentimental and devoted old servitor. The "author" of the pantomime entitled it "Kaleb", maintaining that the spelling of the name with a K instead of a C gave his work "un caractere plus britannique. " The panto- mime achieved the success hoped for it by Bertrand and some of those who ap- plauded it expressed the opinion that the silent acting of the mimes at the Funambules production was more satisfying than the bizarre dialogue in Du- cange's play.

November 21, 1831. marked the premiere of Meyerbeer's opera, Robert le

Djable. Two months later at the Funambules appeared BfibfiEt la pauvre diabXer

ou la Bouteille a l'encreP adapted by Cot dfOrdanf who was now on the staff of the Funambules as assistant manager to Bertrand. The subtitle of this pantomime r l,a Bouteille a l»encre. had alreadv served as a title for an ear- lier production, but, as has already been stressed,

... dans les pantomimes tout ressert, tout se prend, tout se vole, sans que les premiers auteur3 songent a traiter les seconds de voleurs, n'etant pas surs eux-memes de n' avoir pas d^pouille quelqu'un. (1)

Annthftr popular melodrama was pilfered In lflJW, le Gamin ^e Paris, by Messieurs Bayard and Vanderburk, playing at the Gymnase Theater. The adapta- tion written to order bore the title le Titi des Boulevards and the posters announced it as a burlesque imitation of le Gamin de Paris. It was not a burlesque imitation, however. Except for changes in the names of the char-

(1) Louis PERICADD, op. cit., p. 108.

<fi

acters, the situation and plot were identical with the original. Several days after the successful premiere at the Funambules, one of the co-authors of the play, ^anderburk, happened to run into Lepeintre, the "author" of the pantomime, and said to htm, "Well, how are things going, my little Moli- ere?" To which Lepeintre retorted, "Hot at all badly, my big Pain et Bouil- lil" Messieurs Pain and Bouilli had written a vaudeville comedy in 1800, entitled le Petit sauveteur, from which Bayard and Vanderburk had pilfered the plot of their own Gamin de Paris.

L'Espi&gle ou la lecon d'honneur. produced in 1837, was the second act of Beaumarchais 1 le Mariaye de Figaro, put into pantomime. Count Almaviva appeared as the Count de Folleville; Figaro was named Simplet and Suzanne, Simplette. Only the name of the page, Cherubin, remained unchanged.

In 1843 the Journal des Debits was running Eugene Sue's tremendously popular serial, les Mys teres de Paris. The rage for it proved too tempting to be resisted by Bertrand. The Funambules billboard soon bore a splashing poster on which appeared in enormous characters the title, les Mysteres de Paris, followed by a subtitle in print so small as to be scarcely legible, - sous Charles VI.

Two years later Bertrand heard it rumored that a dramatization of Alexander Dumas1 les Trois Mousquetairps was in rehearsal at the Ambigu. He put his staff to work immediately and not long afterward the Funambules came out with a pantomime entitled les Deux Mousquetaires. On December 15, 1847, Hamlet , prince de Danemark. by Alexandre Dumas and Paul Meurice, appeared at the Theatre Historique. On December 31st at the Funambules was presented Omelette, prince de Montmartre.

One of the popular successes most prolific in suggestive idea3 for pan-

fmtm

tomime writers was Euglne Sue's le Juif errant, a dramatization of which ap- peared at the Ambigu Comique in June of 1849. Bertrand was soon the recipi- ent of a sheaf of pantomime manuscripts: le, Juif vagabond, r J.a Legends du Juif errant, le JttU punj, le Juif de Satan, et cetera, to mention but a few of the titles. Bertrand selected the last-named, which was produced in November of this year.

Among the modest authors attached to the Funambules was an elderly stage manager named Laf argue. This gentleman had in his youth been a bailiff's clerk, on the strength of which he now wrote pantomimes as a side-line to his managerial duties. When, during the course of the presentation of any of his works, this naive character heard applause from the audience, no matter what he might be doing, nor where he might be, - buried beneath the stage working trap doors, perched high in the flies supervising the mechanicians in the manipulation of the complicated machinery, - he would elways solemnly remove

the Greek bonnet which covered his bald head and would bow respectfully in th< direction from which the applause seemed to be coming.

Another author, who was also a mime at the Funambules during its later years, fancied himself as something of a literary light and reflects the sci- entific trend of contemporary thought in this statement concerning himself: "Je ne suis pas de la force de Racine, mais, je puis m'affirmer 'radicule', car je me suis sorti moi-meme de mon embryon."

In a class by himself as a melodramatic writer was Maxime Delor, who, though he did not begin his career until after the middle of the century, seemed to be a throw-back to its first decade. He turned out pantomimes whici might well have caused Pixerecourt, Caignez and Victor Ducange to turn over in their graves. In commenting on one of Maxime Delor' s masterpieces, la Fille

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maudite, produced in 1657, Pericaud wrote:

Jamais plus terrible et plus sombre action dramatique n'a et'e conc^ue, charpentee, ecriveiHee et representee. L'auteur Jcngle avec les enlevements d,enfants, les pro- scrits revoltes, les jeunes femmes seduites, la folie, la terreur, la cruaute, la condamnation des innocents, l'honneur des noms, des fusillades, les petarades et nonbre d'autres elements fantaisistes, saugrenus, si- nistres, stupe"fiants, bien faits pour terrifier les imaginations naives des spectateurs du petit Theatre, (l)

Many authors were ashamed to acknowledge association with the insignif- icant little Theatre des Funambules and frequently signed their pantomimes with their first names only, or with a pseudonym. This rankled with Bertrand, par- ticularly in view of his low opinion of authors.

One of the outstanding earlier successes at the Funambules, Ma Mere l'oief ou Arlequln et l'oeuf d'or (1830), was co-authored by Eugene Grange, who, with Lambert Thiboust, was a well-known writer of a large number of popu- lar vaudevilles appearing in the Boulevard theaters. Grange considered it be- neath his dignity to be known as an author of pantomimes, however, and refusec to sign his full name, using only "Eugene ***«. when Grange was made a member of the legion of honor he pointed to the red ribbon on the lapel of his coat and remarked to his friend Thiboust, "If I had signed my Funambules pieces I should have had to wait ten years longer to obtain this.'1

One of the first acknowledgments of authorship was accorded to Laurent, the English mime, who became associated with the Funambules in 1823, playing the role of Arlequln. It? Poe^f SMTfifif t by Laurent, produced in 1827, is one of the most typical examples of the style of pantomime which brought renown to the Funambules in its earlier days. Its receipts were regarded as colossal end as a result of its success, Laurent became a real personage. He was point/-

(1) Louis PERICAUD, op. cit., p. 417.

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ed out es he walked along the Boulevard du Temple. "Look - there goes the author of le Boeuf enrage!" Laurent loved this adulation and encouraged it. He took the habit of walking up and down in front of the theater before a per- formance, with his ear cocked for any admiring comments about himself which he might pick up.

Bertrand adored Napoleon. By 1829 the Napoleonic legend was already lifting its head in Paris, though guardedly. In this year Bertrand had the temerity to present a pantomime entitled le Rftt<mr, ou 1^, pille du vieux chasseur. Though the plot was in itself wholly innocent of any connection with Napoleon, the old soldier wore a green uniform strongly reminiscent of that associeted with the Emperor and during the course of the action this character interpolated the business of taking snuff in undisguised imitation of Napoleon's manner of so doing. Although not openly an impersonation of Bertrand' s idol, the suggestion struck home. A tempest of bravos broke out in the little auditorium and unrestrained cries of "Vive l'Empereur" rang forth. As a result, the law clamped down on the Funambules the following day. The pantomime was withdrawn and Victor, portrayer of the old soldier, was summoned to appear in court. Here he was formally charged with wearing a green uniform and of taking snuff in a manner suggestive of a certain individ- ual "que la pudeur empechait de nommer." Victor was constrained to pay a fine of a hundred francs and sentenced to a month in prison.

The situation was very different by 1844, following the triumphal "re- tour des cendres". Bertrand happened to discover that some letters and docu- ments annotated by Napoleon were to be sold at auction. Much as he desired to bid these in for himself, his parsimony was fully as developed as his spi- rit of patriotism. But he did have an inventive mind. He conceived the idea

of giving a sort of "benefit" performance, the proceeds of which would be used to secure for Mi—if the Napoleonic relics. Charles Chart on, one of the reg- ular staff of writers, was ordered to create a patriotic pantomime based on Napoleon* Bert rand stipulated that there should be no comic elements, there- fore no Pierrot for once. Three days later Charton appeared with le Ifertyr de Sainte-Helene , for which the poster read: "Representation patriotique, pour ne pas laisser tomber aux mains de ses pires ennemis ce qui reste d'un grand hom- me." Four hundred and eighty francs went into Bertrand's pockets from the premiere, but alas, the documents were bid in for more than fifteen hundred francs. Nor was this all of Bertrand's disappointment. The day following the premiere the government ordered immediate withdrawal of the pantomime, in con- sequence of the scandal created by Cos sard, who played Napoleon. Cos sard had come onto the stage in a condition far from sober. When some of the audience addressed mocking remarks to him Cossard became truculent, retorting, "You're

just as drunk as I am." A police officer intervened, had the curtain nag down

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and dragged Cossard off to the lock-up. Then, as so frequently happened at the little theater, a general disturbance threatened and the police was oblig- ed to clear the theater. All of which resulted in the prompt and permanent demise of le Martyr de Sainte-Helene.

The production of le Marrrrchand d1 habits on September 1, 1842, marks an important date, not for the Funambules, but for the history of pantomime toward the end of the century. This pantomime was written by Cot d 'Or dan, as- sociate director of the theater. In its own right it is worthy of note in that it inaugurated the genre macabre, in which Champfleury was to excel at a later date. It did not prove a success at the Funambules, despite Theophile

Gautier's enthusiasm for it and the publicity which he gave to it in the Re- vue de Paris. Deburau himself disliked his role. It played only seven per-

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formances and was then withdrawn permanently from the repertory. It reappear- ed at the Folies-Houvelles in 1853, re-worked by Charles Bridault in collabo- ration with the mime Paul Legrand, under the title of Mort et Remords. ou lee Inconvenlents d'assassiner up marchand d' habits grele. Its success here was indisputable but the real glory of this pantomime derives from the adaptation by Catulle Mendes , in which Severin, "the last of the Pierrots", made his Paris debut in 1896.

Without question, Charles Chart on was the most unique and most prolific figure among the authors of pantomimes for the Funambules. Charton came up from the ranks in this theater and eventually succeeded the elderly Lafargue as stage manager. Like Lafargue, he also wrote pantomimes but with him it was far from being a mere avocation. It was a veritable mania. It would be dif- ficult to find a more unbridled or more biaarre imagination.

Charton was literally bom in the theater. His mother was an actress. During an evening performance in the year 1806, Mademoiselle Charton realized that her time had come. She implored her fellow performers to hurry the per- formance that she might get home to accomplish her maternal duties. But na- ture refused to be deferred and little Charles made his entrance on the stair- case of the theater. At the age of five years he made his first professional appearance as a Cupid, suspended on a wire from the flies, holding a torch in one hand and an arrow in the other. Grown to maturity, he affirmed that these were his emblems - the torch of literature, the arrow of resolution I

In the year following the founding of the Funambules, Mademoiselle Charton became a member of its company and with her went her son. Charles eventually graduated from minor roles to the foremost rank, playing the part of Leandre, and finally, as has been mentioned, succeeded Lafargue as stage manager. At one time, not long before the closing of the Funambules, when

Monsieur Billion, then director, severed connections with this theater to take over the Cirque Imperial, Charton for a time fulfilled simultaneously the offices of manager, director, author, ticket-seller and ticket-taker. His versatility was unbounded. "If Louis HV could say, 'l'Etat c'est moil1, surely Charles Charton had every right to say, 'les Funambule3, c'est moil'", remarks Pericaud.

Charton 's association with the Funambules continued until 1862, when the demolition of the theater obliged him to go. For five years thereafter he continued to play pantomimes in various little theaters and concert halls, but with iron in his soul. In all his life he had but one hatred; - hatred for the Baron Haussman, destroyer of the Boulevard du Temple and consequently of the Funambules. Charles Charton died in 1867, with the name of Deburau on his lips.

In addition to his other professional duties, Charton took his pen in hand in the early thirties and for the next thirty years inundated the little theaters, particularly the Funambules, with pantomimic masterpieces. He was one of the few to achieve the distinction of publication. Nothing was beyond him. He attacked pantomime scenarios, prose dialogue and verse with equal In- trepidity. He wrote anything that came into his head and believed everything he wrote. He held in highest contempt the "literary" pantomimes written by Champfleury. So far as plot i3 concerned, when you have read one of Charton1 a pantomimes you have read them all, but from each of the manuscripts conceived by him one is sure to encounter bewildering revelations. His ideas of history geography and architecture, to say nothing of spelling, were of the most bi- zarre variety. From his pantomime, .Arcs/JittS, qu Pierrot Qfces Ifls Indioas, we reproduce the following, without doing violence to his own original orthog- raphy: "Et tons les trols vont a la recherches d'une volt de sovetage.

Pierrot decouvre le trou d'en baa. II y penaitre, pendant que Fernando, montes sur lea e poles de son beau-pere, attint a l'aurifice du somet."

As for geography, the following Is a typical example. The scene of les Pecheurs Napolitains takes place In Naples* "Up-stag e may be seen Venice in the distance and below it the Danube." The fifth tableau shows us "les mines evident es de la ville de Naples." The seventh presents nun mur de prison ou il y a des cachets ," In the tenth tableau we have at one side of the stage a tower with a window in it, the base of the tower lapped by the waters of the Danube, and across the stage extends a bridge. The heroine is supposed to cross this bridge, pursued by the villain, while a fisherman "si- lently saws" one of the pilings supporting the bridge. One of the members of the company commented on this instruction in the script, remarking that it was not possible to saw silently. But for a genius of Charton's imagination no- thing was impossible. "It is no more impossible than anything else," he main- tained. "In pantomime everything must be silent. The audience has only eyes and no ears."

Charton's masterpiece, however, was Arcadius. ou Pierrot chez les Indi- ens, which had its premiere on May 6, 1852 and was subsequently published by Dechaume. The scene is laid in America in the time of Christopher Columbus, The first tableau shows us the dwelling of the Great Spirit of the Indians, Arcadius, "a sort of German gothic hall, gilded, closed at the back by silken curtains. n The action of the next scene takes place in "la vieille teste de Fernando, " In this scene, at the point when the lovers' hands are joined, the stage directions read: "surprise espagnole et indienne". A little later, when Fernando rewards Arcadius by making him "caporal des zalqui", the in- struction is: "nouvelle surprise espagnole et indienne," Though still in an Indian tent, Fernando invites Arcadius to accompany him into another room to

receive his insignia of office. And presently Ar cadi us instructs "ses negres" to set fire to the tents of the Spaniards while everybody is at the feast.

Third tableau: "An Indian palace, composed of several arcades and open- ing at the back upon asiatic gardens. (America, in the time of Christopher Columbus t ) The scenario continues: "Un superbe cortege americain et andalou entoure les heureux fiances. 4r cadi us prend un air bonhomme et les unit com- pletement,'»

Fifth tableau: "Un site africain, avec une montagne en pente.*1 (We are still, and shall continue to the end of the pantomime to be, in America.) Sixth tableau; "Un palais gothique avec des vasistas." Seven tli tableau: "Une place asiatique.n Tenth tableau: "Une cavern o lugubre et mal eclairee." Eleventh tableau; "One chain e de montagnes, baignees par la mer Gas pi -

enne.**

"Voila l'Amerique decouverte par l'imnortel Genois, telle que la pre- sentait au peuple francais le theatre des Funambulesl11 (1)

During the late thirties and early forties an increasing number of pan- tomimes on foreign themes and with distinctively national local color are to be noted. The titles of a few of them will give an idea of their variety t les Recruteurs ecossais: Pierrot en Afrique (written by Deburau and one of his greatest personal successes); Pierrot chaz les Mohicans; la Pagode en- chant ao. although in this the only elements at all Chinese were the names of the characters and the costumes; les Cosaques, ou la ferae incendiee; and Pierrot en Sspagne. - "pantomime ndlitaire en 9 changements, melee de combats et d' evolutions."

(1) Louis PERICAUD, op. cit., pp. 570-571.

Russian pantomimes were prolific over a period of some years. In 1855 Charles Chart on took advantage of the fact that France and Russia were at war with each other to concoct les Frisonniers de la Tchemala (October 23, 1855), Again, in 1857, he produced le Soldat Belle-Rose, in which the script reads, "La scene se passe en Russie sous Pierre Ier ou sous Catherine II,*1 Charton juggled with historical dates as naively as with geography and architecture. After all, what difference does a mere half -century make in a pantomime?

The secret of the preponderance of Russian themes seemed to be a matter of practical expediency. The wardrobe had been stocked up with a large number of Russian costumes and consequently when authors brought in pantomimes taking place in Spain or Turkey they were requested to change their titles, names anc costumes, "Our public prefers Russia to Spain or to Turkey," explained the directors.

The so-called "classic" pantomime, which came to be considered repre- sentative of the Funambules, fell into four general categories: the melodramat- ic pantomime, in which the more or less negligible plot provided an ample va- riety of hair-raising and harrowing crimes, such as le Faux Brmite and PoulaiL- ler; the realistic pantomime, created by Gaspard Deburau and carried on by his son Charles, which centered mainly on bits of representative, ordinary, every- day life and was built up of humorous but unimportant details, such as Pierrot coiffeur, le Marchand de salade, and Pierrot mitron; the fairy; pantomime, re- sembling the English harlequinade, filled with tricks, transformations and scenic effects of the most bizarre and elaborate sort, and usually including a large cast of supernumeraries, such as le Songe d'or. attributed to Nodierj and the romantic pantomime, reflecting in subject-matter and treatment the conceptions of the romantic writers generally, full of dramatic action, color, combining tragic and comic elements, extravagantly imaginative, such as Cot

d,0rdan,8 ' Chand d ' habits and Champfleury 's Pierrot valet de la mort. (1)

The leading literary light among contributors to the Funambules reper- ;ory, and the most original - perhaps the only original - author among them, was Champfleury. His connection with the theater did not begin until the fall of 1846, several months after the death of Deburau.

Toward the middle of the century the Funambules had already started on .ts decline • With the exception of Champfleury 's pantomimes the majority of ihe offerings fell more and more into a conventional rut, being increasingly nothing but rehashes of already rehashed material, Charles Chart on was re- sponsible for many of them. Business and situations became more gross and ri- bald and already many realistic and even naturalistic elements were filtering ji. In the earlier days extremely risque titles had often been used to en- snare the public but the pieces, in spite of a fairly lavish seasoning of esprit gaulois. were in themselves usually innocent enough.

Of all the countless manuscripts stacked up at the Funambules through ihe fifty-six years of its existence, what has become of them today? Pericaud tells us that at the demolition of the theater they were sold by the pound. Francisque the younger, who later became librarian of the Library of the So- ciety of Dramatic Authors, bought three cartloads for sixty francs. These rare later deposited in the library of the Society. By the end of the century possibly twenty were still in existence. The others? "Disparus I " says Peri- 5aud, "corame le theatre, les artistes, les affiches, les programmes, tout, tout, toutl ..." (2)

[1) Paul HUGOUNET, Mimes et Pierrots, p. 247.

[2) Louis PERICAUD, op. cit., p. 497.

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CHAPTER XII REPERTORY HIGHLIGHTS AND LOWLIGHTS

A survey of some of the outstanding successes at the Funambules, as well as of some of the more original though less successful offerings, will show that in spite of a slavish adherence to hackneyed tradition, this lowly little theater was not immune to the revolutionary influences operating in the theater at large, reflecting literature In general, between the early twenties and the middle of the century,

We have already referred to Bertram! » s "steal" of the play, Poulailler, in 1827, The complete title of the pantomime appeared as: Poulailler, ou prenea garde a vousi Upon returning from the government censor, the follow- ing statement was inscribed upon the manuscript beside the official seal:

Poulailler, qui est un voleur de second classe, pent, sans inconvenient, figurer aux Funambules. D'ailleurs le tableau de la fin est moral; mais on ne verra pas la Greve, et Poulailler n'aura pas la figure atroce des brigands de melodramas. La figure pale et les habits sales suffisent,

(Signed) Vauquelin, Inspect cur des Theatres, (1)

The plot of this adaptation is almost non-existent and its complica- tions utterly puerile, Poulailler is a light-fingered, picaresque rascal, and the entire pantomime is a succession of ingenious and amusing thefts, for each of which the hero dons a different disguise, and the cleverness with which he manages to render his innocence plausible each time he is suspected. Many of his tricks are similar to those which we still see performed by our circus clowns today, Pierrot enters into the story only in a very minor way.

(1) Louis PERICAUD, op. cit,, p. SI

It is Pierrot who eventually catches Foulailler red-handed in one of his thefts and denounces him to the authorities. When a reward is offered for the apprehension of the thief, comic elements are effected as Pierrot decides to arm himself in a ridiculous fashion and goes out after Poulailler in an endeavor to win the reward. But Pierrot himself falls into the clutches of the wily scoundrel, who hangs him to a tree. A patrol arriving at this oppor- tune moment sends the thief scurrying off with his henchmen and Pierrot is out down before he expires. Eventually, Poulaillar is recognized by one of his numerous victims, is arrested and carried off to prison, his mistress with him. During the questioning which follows, the girl expresses remorse for having taken such a man as Poulailler as her lover. Poulailler, upon learn- ing that he must die for his sins, repents. This is evidently the "scene moral e r referred to in the censor's report. The final scene takes place near but not at, the place of execution, in accordance with the censor's ruling. As the clock strikes four, a crowd of onlookers watching attentively off stage, indicates that the offender has paid the supreme penalty.

The interest in the pantomime was sustained by the hodge-podge of vari- ous ingenious tricks which enabled Poulailler to execute his thefts, and the exciting chases and escapes after he was eventually unmasked.

While Poulailler was sufficiently successful, it was completely over- shadowed by le Boeuf enrage, the piece in which Deburau made his first out- standing success in the role of Pierrot. Written by the English mime, Lau- rent, this pantomime conforms rather to the pattern of the English harlequin- ade than to the strictly French type. When it opened in 1827 it played two hundred successive performances and its popularity was sufficiently solid to warrant its being revived again and again during the next twenty years, near- ly always playing to packed houses. Its final revival occurred in 1850,

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bringing the total number of Its performances to over three hundred.

In the prologue of this pantomime we find Arlequin, Cassandra's gardner lying asleep, Arlequin is secretly in love with Colombine, Cassandre 's daugh- ter. On the opposite side of the stage from Arlequin, Boissec, a prototype of Lean-ire, who is Colombine' s official suitor, is also lying asleep. Love appears, accompanied by three witches and they signify their intention to pro- tect Arlequin, to aid him in winning the hand of Colombine, and to thwart the ugly Boissec, Cassandre's choice for his daughter. In their dreams, both Ar- lequin and Boissec see this agreement between Love and the three T7itch.es. Consequently, upon awakening, Arlequin is overjoyed, while Boissec is at first somewhat cast down but is reassured upon seeing in his hand the marriage con- tract which he is bringing to Cassandre to sign.

Colombine enters and Boissec forces his unwelcome attentions upon her. However, Arlequin, made bold by his dream and confident of the support promis- ed by the Fairy, Love, presses his own suit and is looked on with favor by Colombine, Boissec insults Arlequin and is about to request that Cassandre throw him out when Love enters, waves her magic wand, and Arlequin appears transformed, clothed in rich garments scintillating with spangles, Boissec presents the marriage contract to Cassandre, At the point of its being sign- ed, further trouble arises between the two suitors, Boissec provokes Arle- quin and demands a duel, Arlequin consents with alacrity. But Boissec, who is a coward at heart, bribes Pierrot, by buying wine for him, to fight in his stead, Pierrot, therefore, under the influence of the liquor and urged on by Boissec, engages Arlequin, Arlequin pretends to have been stabbed and falls to the ground. The two cowards, Boissec and Pierrot, thinking that Arlequin has been killed, take to their heels. Left alone, Arlequin persuades Colom- bine to run off with him and the remainder of the pantomime concerns itself

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with a series of adventures and breath-taking escapes of the two lovers from Cassandre, Boissec and Pierrot, richly interspersed with side-splitting buf- foonery on the part of the latter,

Arlequin and Colombine, not having sufficient tine to escape from the house, first hide themselves in the work-shop of Cassandre, who is a porcelain maker. Pierrot, chancing to lift the cover of a hamper, discloses Arlequin' s hiding place. He seises a stick and prepares to belabor what he believes to be the head of Arlequin under the covering of the hamper but the good Fairy is as good as her word. Arlequin vanishes miraculously and Pierrot's rain of blows upon the hamper produces the sound of breaking crockery and evokes the ire of Cassandre against his servant.

A later scene represents the entrance to a cafe, "The Golden Mallet", the ensign of which is a huge gilded mallet above the doorway. Arlequin and Colombine take refuge in the cafe. Pierrot, Boissec and Cassandre follow closely upon their heels but, as they attempt to enter the cafe, the huge mal- let descends and each in turn receives a blow upon the head. As the chase con tinues, Arlequin and Colombine hide themselves in a laundry, with Pierrot ever hot on their trail. As Pierrot enters, Arlequin waves his magic wand and a line of clothing hung up to dry disappears. The laundress enters, accuses Pierrot of having stolen the clothing and beats him soundly. On this, Arle- quin takes pity on poor Pierrot, waves his wand again and presto 1 - the clothesline reappears. Pierrot shows little gratitude in return for this fa- vor, however. He calls to his aid the crowd of curious onlookers who have gathered at the doorway of the laundry. They enter and surround Arlequin but at the moment when all hope seems lost, Arlequin executes a prodigious leap, completely clearing the heads of his pursuers, and has another miraculous es- cape to his credit.

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In another scene, the pursuers enter a wineship to quench their thirst, The wine is miraculously changed into a powerful drug and all who partake of it are seized with a terrific attack of colic. The wine-shop is now suddenly transformed into a pharmacy but as the sufferers are about to seise avidly upon some medicine to counteract the drug, there is a terrific explosion, a formidable display of fireworks, and the entire pharmacy blows up.

And now we come to what seems to have been the raison d'etre for the title. The scene takes place in Cassandre's porcelain shop. An enormous bull, "evidently enraged at the idea of becoming beef soup," reads the script, appears, stampedes, and overturns everything and everybody that comes in his way. He breaks into Cassandre's shop and wrecks the porcelains. During the fray, as might be expected, Pierrot succeeds in getting himself tossed by the bull and gored by his horns.

Later, through inadvertence on the part of Pierrot, the marriage con- tract, which has been duly signed by Cassandre, is accidentally burned, thus nullifying the contract between Cassandre and Boissec, At length, Love and the three Witches decide that it is time they turned their attention to some- one else beside Arlequin and Colombine and they therefore command Cassandre tc agree to his daughter's marriage with Arlequin and to dismiss Boissec. Cas- sandre, completely subdued by the series of misfortunes which he has suffered and thinking to end them by acceding to the Fairy's command, accordingly gives his consent. Arlequin and Colombine, accompanied by Cassandre end fol- lowed by Pierrot, triumphantly enter the church for the celebration of the nuptials and the pantomime ends.

From this synopsis, one may well be curious as to why the pantomime was entitled "The Qaraged Bull", since the brief apparition of the bull has no bearing whatsoever on the plot, such as it is. We are told that apparently

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no one possessed sufficient ingenuity to offer a more suitable title. At the suggestion of Monsieur Bertrand, several different titles were written out on slips of paper and the slips then placed in a hat, to be drawn out at random, thus leaving it to Chance to baptise the piece. A youngster was called in from the street and drew what was doubtless the least applicable of any of the titles proposed. The decree of Destiny was respected, however, and it was The Enraged Bull that graced the advertising bills posted up in front of the

The pantomime itself is typical of the standardized pantomime plot of the period, following the conventional pattern adhered to by the large major- ity of Funambules productions.

Le Songe d'0rT ou Arleauin et l'Avare (1826) , attributed to Charles No- dier, is termed a "pantomime anglaise" and follows the same harlequinade routine as je Boeuf enrage'. However, the theme of the story and the atmos- phere established in the opening tableau are definitely more delicate. Here the element of fantasy rather than grotesqueness is dominant. The scene opens at twilight in a woodland glade. A tree is silhouetted against a background of immense rocks and on a mossy bank in front of the tree Cassandre lies asleep. On either side of the stage is a garden statue on a pedestal. This pantomime comprises two speaking roles, those of Bfiorph.ee, genii of dreams, and his brother, Ismael.

When the curtain has lifted, the great rock at the left of the stage is cleft asunder and Morphee appears, holding in his hands a bag of gold. Moving near to the sleeping Cassandre, Morphee jingles the coins and Cassandre, to

whom this action is a dream, reaches out for the bag. But Morphee withdraws before he can touch it and buries the treasure at the foot of the tree.

theater.

When Cassandre awakens he recalls his dream and digs up the treasure. As he is caressing the coins avariciously, Morphee reappears, saying, "Old ■iser, you will never enjoy this treasure in peace. Tour servant will make your life a nightmare. n He then makes a sign in the direction of the tree, which opens to a roll of drums, revealing Pierrot, Cassandre' s servant. Seeing the money bag in his master's hand, Pierrot attempts to snatch it but Cassandre succeeds in making his escape. Pierrot starts to follow him but is stopped by

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Morphee, who says, "lour master has dreamed of a golden treasure; be clever an prudent and you will have your part."

Morphee then decides that there must be a lover for Cassandre' s daughter, Colombine. He calls for his brother. The rock on the right of the stage now opens and Ismael appears. Morphee tells Ismagl that he wishes one of the statues for Colombine' s lover. Upon receiving his brother's consent, Morphee taps one of the statues and Arlequin comes to life in a series of graceful poses. Morphee presents Arlequin with a magic bat or wand, which is conjured up out of the ground, and explains that this talisman will assure Arlequin of Colombine 's love and will enable him to triumph over his enemies. The two genii then disappear into the rocks and the pantomime proper, to which the first scene serves as prologue, begins.

From this point on the pantomime follows the conventional pattern, be- ing a series of pursuits and escapes, Cassandre, Llandre and Pierrot pitted against Arlequin and Colombine. It is peppered with a profusion of the usual tricks, appearances, disappearances and comic horseplay, concluding, as may be expected, with the capitulation of Cassandre and the triumph of the two lovers enthroned in the Temple of Love for the apotheosis.

There is even more action given to Pierrot in this piece than in le fineuf enrage and although he allies himself with his master in pursuit of Arid)-

quin until just before the denouement, at the finish he changes sides and pleads with Cassandre to consent to Colombine' s Marriage with Arlequin.

Much more modest as a production, j,f> Rfllftlr^ft (1853) , In only one scene, has several distinctive features. In the first place, It is distinctively French in its construction. It does not resort to the Incessant pursuits and escapes which constitute the links between the episodes in the harlequinade- pantomimes heretofore cited. Not only does Pierrot himself carry the thread of the plot but he triumphs this time as the successful suitor to Colombine' s hand, while Arlequin is rejected. Deburau himself was the author of la Ba- le in e and, despite its lack of pretention, it is one of his most original and

most hilarious works.

This pantomime takes place on a seaside beach. Arlequin is pressing his attentions upon his fiancee, Colombine, who repulses him and says he must not embrace her until after they are married. Cassandre and Pierrot enter, the latter laden with a large portable stove, a basket of eggs, a small bundle of faggots and a fishing line. Pierrot is jealous of Arlequin, for he, too, is in love with Colombine, and he tries to provoke his rival to a duel. But Arlequin refuses to accept the challenge from a servant. To calm Pierrot, whom she loves, Colombine gives him a flower which she has previously received from Ar- lequin and Pierrot is comforted to know that Colombine returns his love.

Cassandre is hungry. Pierrot prepares to throw out his line, promising catch a fish for their meal, but realises that he has no bait. Fortunately, e perceives a fly on Cassandre' s nose. But in taking possession of it his vi- olence starts Cassandre* s nose bleeding. While Colombine is attending to her father, Pierrot feels a tug at his line. He endeavors to draw in his catch but to no avail. He cries for help. Suddenly an enormous whale appears, opens

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its jaws, and Pierrot, - together with all his impedimenta, - is engulfed bod- ily into the cavernous mouth. Arlequin, Cassandre and Colombine, terrified, take to their heels.

Now the whale swells to colossal proportions until it occupies the en- tire stage. The side toward the audience becomes transparent and here we dis- cover Pierrot, in a dead faint, lying flat in the interior of the whale's stomach. The whale is suffering from indigestion and his convulsions succeed in bringing Pierrot back to consciousness. It is dark and he does not know where he is. From the basket he takes a match, lights a candle, looks around and decides that this is a very cozy apartment. But he is hungry. He stuffs his faggots into the stove, lights a fire, makes an omelet and devours it witji relish.

The heat from the stove renders the whale so uncomfortable that he thrashes about convulsively, making Pierrot seasick. Suddenly Pierrot discov- ers a small casket at his feet and upon opening it discovers that it is filled with gold. Evidently the whale has 3 wallowed it following some shipwreck. Pierrot is overjoyed; he is rich; now he can marry Colombine. But how to get out of the whale? He pantomimes peremptorily, "Cordon! S. V. P." Meanwhile, sweet music in the distance has calmed the whale and Pierrot begins to dance to the music. But the dancing irritates the monster and presently we see Pi- errot making his escape through the rear exit.

Now Cassandre, Arlequin and Colombine return to find out what has hap- pened to Pierrot. Colombine is weeping and lamenting and Cassandre endeavors to console her. Arlequin is jubilant, believing his rival to be safely out of the way. There is no obstacle now to his marriage with Colombine. At this mo- ment a notary opportunely arrives, the notary being Pierrot in disguise. He

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agrees to draw up a marriage contract provided Arlequin will pay him well. Arlequin parts with a purse full of gold. But at the moment of signing the contract, Pierrot throws off his disguise, goes to his knees at Cassandra's feet and shows his casket of gold. The mercenary Cassandra now has no furth- er objections? he gives his consent to Pierrot's plea and chases Arlequin off.

Deburau himself, obviously, was this pantomime. It furnished him with an opportunity to give free rein to his originality and depended upon his pan- tomimic ability for its effectiveness rather than upon elaborate scenic ef- fects and large assemblages of characters on the stage.

Tn 1844 we have a complete break with tradition in M. de Boissec at IHle de Boisflotte. Here was a pantomime containing no fairy, no genii, none of the traditional pantomime characters. The story, in brief, is as follows: Monsieur de Boissec, a country gentleman, sets out for Paris with his valet to marry Mademoiselle de Boisflotte. The journey is eventful with a hold-up and various other romantic adventures but Monsieur de Boissec finally arrives safely in Paris. Here he remarks at the door of an imposing dwelling the sign "Hotel de Villeroitl and mistaking it for a travelers* hotel he enters and in- stals himself. The master of the house, Monsieur de Villeroi, is giving a re- ception this evening and humors his self-imposed guest in his misconception, thinking to regale the party. Thereafter, Boi3sec i3 the butt of farcical tricks and misunderstandings which finally reach such a point that he is readj to provoke the supposed hotel proprietor to a duel. As he presents his card to Monsieur de Villeroi he explains that he is a gentleman and that he has come to Paris to marry Mademoiselle de Boisflotte. As it happens, this young lady is present among the guests thi3 evening. The two are presented to each other and the pantomime concludes as the marriage is about to be solemnized.

i ■

Since there was no Pierrot in this pantomime, Deburau did not take part. The role of Monsieur de Boissec was created by Paul Legrand, a young pantomimist who had Joined the Funambules troupe in 1839. Deburau had the good grace to hide whatever jealousy he undoubtedly felt at being thus tempo- rarily superseded by a possible rival in this production. Legrand made an im- pression in the part but the pantomime was not a financial success. "Que voulez-vou3?n remarks Pericaud, "Deburau n'en etait pas." (l)

Another of Deburau1 s own works, which was one of his greatest succes- ses, boasting some four hundred performances at the Funambules, was Pierrot &\ AfxiaHS* this one on a much more pretentious scale than la Baleine. The pan-

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tomime opens on a court before an Arab mosque. The daughter of the Pasha, Djeddah, surrounded by her dancing girl3 and a group of Arabs, is kneeling in prayer before the Mohammedan grand priest when an Arab warrior, Ali Ben Jachar, enters severely wounded. Djeddah goes to his aid, bandages hi 3 wound with a piece torn from her scarf, and he falls to his knees before her, kissing her hand in gratitude.

Suddenly shots are heard and Arab soldiers enter dragging a prisoner, Pierrot, in the garb of a French soldier. They are about to behead him when Djeddah intervenes and pleads for mercy for the captive. At this moment more shots are heard and a band of French soldiers is reported approaching. The Arabs beat a hasty retreat down a trap door. Djeddah orders a eunuch to take charge of the prisoner and then makes her escape. The eunuch is delighted at his opportunity and draws his dagger in anticipatory glee but Pierrot succeeds in bribing him with his watch, chain and handkerchief. But after pocketing

(1) Loui3 PERICAUD, op. cit., p. 256

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the bribe, the eunuch again draws hi3 dagger. At this moment, Djeddah returna and frees the prisoner. The French soldiers now arrive and upon seeing Djed- dah and Pierrot, take aim at them. Pierrot throws himself in front of the gir to save her. The French captain appears on the scene and recognizing Pierrot as his orderly, commands the soldiers to put down their guns.

Pierrot explains that Djeddah is the Pasha's daughter and that it is thanks to her that his life has been spared. More soldiers arrive with an Arab prisoner, who is Djeddah' s brother, son of the Pasha. The Captain, in order to please the girl, releases the prisoner. As Djeddah and her brother are about to withdraw, the Captain, smitten with the girl's charms, begs that she give him her bracelet as a souvenir but she refuses. Her brother, howev- er, detaches the bracelet in spite of his sister' s protests and the Captain writes a safe-conduct order for the two.

The second scene represents a garden. A trap door opens and the Pasha and Arab soldiers who had fled down the subterranean passage at the approach of the French soldiers, cautiously make their escape into the garden. They are distressed over the probable fate of Djeddah and her brother and are greatly relieved when these two make their appearance and recount how they have been allowed safe-conduct. All then notices that Djeddah' s bracelet, which he had once given her, is gone. He asks what has happened to it but she refuses to answer. Her brother steps forward and explains that he himself hac given it to the officer. Ali draws his sword and is about to attack the Pasha son when the Pasha forbids him and Ali bows his head, demanding pardon.

Sounds of battle are heard. The French soldiers, Pierrot among them, climb over the ramparts. General consternation seizes the camp. The dancing girls run in every direction, Pierrot after them doing his utmost to catch

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one. The Captain comes face to face with Djeddah, takes time out from the battle to declare his passion for her and she admits that she loves him in re- turn. Ali and the Pasha's son return, find the French Captain and Djeddah to- gether, and a combat ensues between the three men. The Pasha enters and Pier- rot engages him, disarms him, throws him to the ground, takes hi 3 robe and his turban and puts them on. He then climbs on the Pasha's back and orders him to carry him into the Pavilion.

The soldiers return with Ali and the son of the Pasha as prisoners. Pierrot appears, wearing the Pasha's clothes, riding on a camel, followed by the eunuch, who in his turn is wearing Pierrot's clothes. The succeeding scene takes place in the Pasha's grand reception hall. Pierrot is carried in on cushions by a group of blacks, attended by the eunuch, who now appears in a French uniform. Pierrot gives orders that food and drink be brought to him and orders the dancing girl3 to perform for his pleasure.

The final scene is another battle. The Arabs have retreated to their fortress, where they prepare to make their last stand. The pantomime con- cludes with the triumph of the French and the capitulation of Djeddah to the French Captain. (1)

Of this scenario Pericaud remarks, "On le trouvera nul, inepte, stupide grotesque d'idiotisme, tant mieux. Plus il sera ridicule aux yeux du lecteur, plus le talent de Deburau en sortira puissant, incontestable." (2)

Another departure, and a striking one, from the conventional plot is to be found in Cot d'Ordan's Marchand d'habits, popularly known later as 'Chand d' habits. Pierrot becomes enamoured, not this time of Colombine but of a

(1) Emile GOBY. Pantomimes de Gaspard et Charles Deburau. pp. 47-61. (E) Louis PERICAUD, ©p. cit., p. 247.

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great lady, a duchess who comes to see his master, Cassandre. He expresses his sentiments for her but she mocks him and he is thrown out by Cassandre. He walks the streets commiserating with himself. He is thin, pale, poor, con- stantly beaten. His ambition is to be able to go into society, to be near th« lady he adores. As he is lamenting, a second-hand clothes merchant passes by. Pierrot's eyes light up with envy at sight of a handsome green uniform, which the rag man has just acquired from a retired national guardsman. Under his arm he carries the soldier's sabre, the point of which fires Pierrot with a sudden inspiration. As the rag man passes by, Pierrot slips the sabre from under hi 3 arm and stabs the merchant in the back with it. He then helps him- self to the coveted raiment and stuffs the body of his victim into a conveni- ent cellar coal hole.

Pierrot then makes an impressive entrance into the salon of the duch- ess but at intervals during the remainder of the piece, at the precise moment when his happiness seems about to become complete, he is haunted by the vis- ion of the spectre of his victim, his body still transpierced by the sabre, who cries out in sepulchral tones - "Marrrrchand d' habits". All Pierrot's ef- forts to rid himself of this nightmare are in vain. Finally, at the entrance to the Church, as he is about to marry his duchess, the apparition again ap- pears, walks directly to his assassin, backs him up the steps to the altar un- til Pierrot's own body is impaled upon the point of the same sabre with which he had committed his crime. The two, spitted together upon the sabre, roll t< the ground and disappear through a trap door in the midst of sulphuric flames leaving the bride-to-be in a swoon and the wedding party open-mouthed with horror.

In spite of its novelty, or more probably precisely because of it,

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'Chand d' habits was not a success at the Funambules. Its importance lies in the influence which it was to exert on later works and particularly because of the adaptation of it made fadous by Severin more than half a century later.

Mlstiqris. ou les Tribulations de Pierrot (1844) , described as "panto- mime, arlequinade et feerique en 10 tableaux", is worth noting only for the fact that its author, who is not known today, combined the two elements which up to this time had been most effective in drawing audiences to the Funam- bules, namely, inclusion of the traditional harlequinade characters together with a bandit chief and hi 3 band of thieves. It goes the limit in blood-curd- ling complications. One scene represents the devil's torture chamber. The bandit chief, Torello, in company with Pierrot, Cassandre and Leandre, who have become his accomplices, are discovered, each chained to a stake. A placard is posted above each one, reading: I. Torello, chief of the bandits; condemned to be burned alive. II. Cassandre, goose of a father; condemned to be roasted on a spit. III. Leandre, bashful lover, condemned to receive 25,000,000 strokes of the branding iron. IV. Pierrot, insatiable glutton; condemned to swallow a canon ball without chewing it. Needless to say, the genii Mistigris steps in at the crucial moment and the pantomime ends, in con- formance to custom, by Cassandre1 s consenting to the marriage of Colombine anc, Arlequin, who are then presented entwined in each other' s arms in the Temple of Love.

An early harlequinade character was revived and incorporated into the ranks of the pantomime regulars, thanks to the interpretation of Vautier as Polichinelle in a nonsensical extravaganza entitled Pierrot marie at Poll,.. cM^eTi^ celibataire. produced in 1847. Vautier made such an outstanding suc- cess of his performance that Polichinelle appeared regularly in the succeeding pieces. In this pantomime, Pierrot, rich for once, has married Pierrette but

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but the peace of his menage is disturbed by the insinuation of Poli chin ell e into the household. This blackguard dupes his friend and seduces Pierrette. In consequence, Pierrette gives birth to a hump-backed infant which is half Pierrot and half Polichinelle, Furious, Pierrot engages Polichinelle in a duel. The two principals escape unscathed but their seconds are killed. Pol- ichinelle then succeeds in kidnaping Pierrette and the time-honored chase is on. With each episode, as Pierrot finally succeeds in catching up with his enemy, a new infant is discovered, each one being a hybrid Pierrot-Polichinel- le. This continues until Pierrot has garnered in a total of eight little bastards.

By this time, Pierrette is being beaten by Polichinelle. She decides, therefore, to return to Pierrot and beg his pardon, arriving with a new pair of infants in her arms, Polichinelle is disposed of by being drowned under a mill-wheel, Pierrot pardons Pierrette and the apotheosis shows him chubby- cheeked, portly and content, surrounded by a bevy of some twenty youngsters who, since they are not afflicted with humps on their backs, may be taken for genuine little Pierrots,

In its declining years the Funambules endeavored to make up by quanti- ty and by superficial display what it lacked in the quality of its productions. They became more and more extravagant as to mounting and employed larger groups of supernumeraries. One of the worst of this type was le Voyage de Pierrot a Londres. in twenty-eight tableaux, in which Charles Deburau was featured. The pantomime was an immense agglomeration containing all that had ever appeared in all of the long list of pantomimes in the Funambules reper- tory. The reason for its taking place in London was solely in order to be able to introduce a boxing scene, since Charles excelled in this pugilistic art. The pantomime was a dismal failure, however.

Underneath the conventional harlequinade trappings, la de dee songes (1852) is in controvert ably nothing but romantic drama terminating in stark realism • In the prologue Pierrot, again wealthy, decides to marry Colombine, the coquette, disdaining his devoted foster-sister Claudine, an orphan whom he has succored. At the moment of signing the contract, one of the witnesses a war veteran, is unable to affix his signature since he has lost both arms. Leandre, the lover preferred by Colombine, disguised as a notary, seizes up- on this contretemps as a pretext for postponing execution of the contract un- til the following day. Left alone, Pierrot falls asleep and the dream begins

He believes himself to be married to Colombine, spending his fortune for her happiness while she lavishes her favors upon Leandre, To break up the liaison, Pierrot migrates to California but Leandre follows him. During the voyage they are shipwrecked, Pierrot makes the shore and narrowly escapes being eaten by Indian natives. Eventually he finds his wife and his father- in-law, who have been rescued by Leandre, They establish themselves in Cal- ifornia but here, while Leandre proceeds to make a fortune for himself, Pier- rot suffers nothing but reverses. He decides therefore to return to France but here further misery is in store for him. His goods are seized, he is obliged to sell his home. Penniless and in rags, Colombine abandons him defin- itively in favor of Leandre, the now wealthy rival,

Pierrot, in a garret, a heap of rags for his bed, without a fire, with- out food, without clothing, is ready to end it all. But at the moment when he is about to precipitate himself from the window, the faithful Claudine dashes in opportunely and saves his life. At this point Pierrot awakens, in a cold perspiration, and thinking back over his nightmare takes its lesson to heart. Disdaining the coquette Colombine, he marries the faithful Claudine,

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there was conceived end produced a special offering which represented a re- capitulation of the history of pantomime in this theater* It was entitled Manoireg da Pierrot and in it was starred Charles Deburau, son of Gaspard Deburau, who appeared successively in twenty-two different impersonations , each scene representing Pierrot in one of the well-known pantomimes created by his father or by himself, Albert Glatigny, reviewing the production the day following its opening , commented that "II y a beaucoup de bonne volonte dans les Memoires de Pierrot mais cela ne suffit pas." This production was indeed the swan-song of classic pantomime as it was of the Funambules.

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CHAPTER XIII DEBURAU 1 S ASSOCIATES

Records of the Funambules list a total of one hundred and forty-seven Ben among their mines, dancers and comedians over the forty-six years of the history of this little theater. Of these, not more than half a dozen, in ad- dition to Deburau himself, achieved any outstanding distinction. Critics and commentators reiterate consistently that Deburau was pantomime, that Deburau was the Funambules. Yet Deburau was not without serious competition upon oc- casion in the struggle to win over the audience and become or remain their fa- vorite. His first noteworthy rival was the English pantomimist, Laurent, who became associated with the Funambules when Deburau was just beginning to make his own name there.

Laurent and his brother had come to Paris from one of the London panto- mime theaters and while playing at Nicolet's Theatre de la Galte were noticed by Bertrand and Fabian, who secured them for the Funambules in 1823. The eld- er of the brothers was particularly outstanding, supple, graceful, an excel- lent dancer, and therefore excelled in the role of Arlequin. He brought with him a goodly number of stock tricks from the English harlequinade. These were new to the Paris public, took their fancy and contributed to Laurent's rapid rise to popularity. Deburau, whose stardom was yet in its infancy, saw his own position seriously threatened but kept his jealousy under control.

A climax was reached in the relationship between Laurent and Deburau, not on professional grounds but as a result of a back-stage altercation be- tween two young ladies in the troupe. One evening the laundress was late in arriving with the clean costumes. Miss Anna, a young English girl brought

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from London by Laurent, found herself in need of a fresh petticoat and helped herself to one belonging to Mademoiselle Flora, who had not yet arrived at the theater. When the latter did arrive and discovered that her property was mis- sing, she set up a hue and cry, claiming it had been stolen. Deburau took th« situation in hand and required all the ladies to lift their skirts so that he could see if one of them was wearing the missing undergarment. Caught red- handed by this means, Miss Anna protested that she was no thief but had simply "borrowed" the petticoat since Mademoiselle Flora had not yet arrived at the theater and so could not be asked for the loan. The injured Mademoiselle Floi prepared to precipitate herself upon Mis 3 Anna, when Laurent came to the res- cue of his compatriot and protegee. Deburau than demanded of Laurent by what right he supported a thief. The words were no sooner out of his mouth than Laurent let go with his fist into Deburau* s face, sending him reeling. But if Laurent was an accomplished boxer, he was no match for Deburau when it came to the fine art of kicking. Deburau launched a kick which laid Laurent senseless on the floor. Deburau was the first to go to the rescue of his victim, however, and when the Biglish mime had regained his senses and his bleeding nose had been stanched, Laurent shakily erected himself, looked at Deburau and said, with his British accent, "Siouperbel ... Je admiral le caouj de pied de vol ... Je avais eu tort I ... Vaolez-vo etre Pami de moi?" (1) Deburau gripped hi3 hand and from that day the two were firm friends.

Shortly after having "discovered" the Funambules, Charles Nodier wrote an article on Deburau for the revue Pandore. one of the first examples of rea publicity enjoyed by the little theater. In his critique Nodier commented en- thusiastically on Laurent.

(1) Louis PERICAUD, ip. cit., p. 48.

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Lea acteurs principaux du theatre des Funambules soot MM. Laurent alne et Deburau. M. Laurent est un horame peu ordinaire^ je vous assure; il compose les pieces, lea met en scene, paint les decors et joue les roles principaux.

(It will be recalled that at this epoch Pierrot was still a relatively minor role.)

Tout ce qu'il fait annonce une Intelligence fort grand©; 60S imitations des pantomimes anglaises sont spiritual- les; son talent d'acteur est de beaucoup preferable a celui de ving celebres tragedians ou corneal ens que je pourrais vous citer. C'est surtout comme Arlequin que M, Laurent est excellent. ... (1)

In addition to the famous Boeuf enrage and the less popular Corde de pendu, Laurent was the author of a creditable list of pantomimes, all more or less patterned after the English harlequinade.

It was Laurent who inaugurated the custom of covering Arlequin^ multi- colored patched costume with glittering spangles which caught and reflected th

light as he whirled and danced. This feature thenceforward became an accepted part of the traditional costume of this character.

Laurent finally wearied of competing unsuccessfully against Deburau for supremacy and in 1853 left the Funambules for the Theatre du Cirque, where he remained until his retirement to private life in 1855.

Placide, or the nPere Placide" as he was called, for he was already well along in years in the early days of the theater, filled the role of Cas- sandra. In his youth Placide had been a humble forain clown and acrobat. By some means or other he came to the attention of the young Comte d'Artois in the days when this gentleman was very much smitten by the charms of his sister- in-law, Marie Antoinette, end anxious to dazzle her by his prowess as a tight-

(1) Charles NODIER, art. in Pandora. July 19, 1328.

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rope performer. The future Charles X therefore engaged the services of Placide as his teacher. The Queen's entourage was much perplexed and mysti- fied for a time at seeing the count go into retreat at the Petit Trianon each morning, never dreaming that his rendezvous was with a humble forain clown.

Placide was one of the most popular members of the company. His play- ing was spirited, animated, very much in the conventional, exuberant style of the old Italian farces. He was a clever trickster off the stage as well as on, if one can judge by the way in which he once duped the hard-headed old La f argue. The latter, the elderly stage manager, was appointed to the responsi bility of signing the billets de favour, or free passes, which were not at al easy to wheedle out of him. One summer day when it was raining steadily, - a sure sign that there would be a good house that evening, - Placide was wait- ing for rehearsal with several of the other members of the company. One of them began to grumble about the rain, saying that this was just the night for which he had promised his butcher two complimentary tickets. A fine chance he had of getting them out of Laf argue, with this rain. Placide told the fel- low he just didn't know how to go about it properly and bet that in five min- utes he could persuade Laf argue to sign ten passes for him. Chaffing him in amused disbelief, Placide »s friends took up the wager and watched with inter- est as Placide set his stage. He first produced pen, ink and a number of lit. tie pieces of paper cut in neat squares, then bandaged his eyes with a hand- kerchief and began to swear like a trouper. This brought Laf argue on the run to discover the cause of the rumpus. Placide explained that he was trying a very difficult feat. The point was to write your name evenly and legibly while blindfolded and he was not displaying much skill at it. Laf argue laugh- ed in a superior fashion as he watched Placide 's ineffectual demonstration anc

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foil headlong into the trap. There was nothing to it. Give him the blind- fold and he would show then. At Lafargue»s first attempt, his audience shout- ed derisively and taunted him with having made a pretty mess of it. Very weU he would try again. This time, he was given a little encouragement. But try once more* Laf argue warmed to his task and was encouraged to prove that prac- tice makes perfect. By the time he had written his name eight or nine differ- ent times Placide abstracted five of the slips, upon which, above Lafargue's signature, he had inscribed the words "good for two seats". The following das Cot d'Ordan took Laf argue to task for the lavishness with which he handed out his passes, especially on a rainy night when the house would have been full anyhow. Open-mouthed with amazement, Laf argue denied having given out any tickets but he could not explain away the five slips upon which appeared in- disputably his own signature. To the end of the days he believed himself to have been a victim of somnambulism.

In 1853, at the age of sixty, Placide retired from professional life. Although not a smoker himself, his hobby was collecting pipes and snuff boxes, It is related that at the time of his retirement he had in the neighborhood of some four thousand pipes and fifty-odd snuff-boxes. He claimed that one o: the pipes had belonged to the Royal Princesses, who, as Saint-Simon relates in his Memoir es. amused themselves by obtaining pipes and tobacco from the Swiss guards. Most of his pieces were supposed to have interesting associations or histories, none of which, however, was ever authenticated. The sale of his collection netted him a neat little nest-egg of some three hundred and fifty francs.

On the evening of Placide »s last appearance at the Funambules, the com- pany closed the performance with a touching farewell ceremony. Charles Char- ton opened it with a song which he had composed himself in honor of their be-

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loved associate. Placide was than presented with a gilded clock and a pair of candlesticks by the two managers, Bertrand and Cot d'Ordan, with the words jf "Placide, may this clock recall to you the happy hours you have passed with us and may these candlesticks light you for many more years to come." Overcome by his emotion, tears coursed freely down Placide' s cheeks, Deburau reached for a sponge which had served as a property in the pantomime just concluded and wiped Placide 's tears away, bringing down the house.

The day following Placide 's retirement, he was replaced by Laplace, who had already appeared in the role of Cassandre on one occasion when Placide was ill. Laplace was as fat as Placide had been thin. Placide had long legs but Laplace was so round as to seem not to have any legs at all. Laplace gave an entirely different interpretation to the part, making it more original and more distinctively French, rather than adhering to the conventional Italian rendition.

While still a child, Laplace had been destined by his family to be a seminarist but their plans were set at naught when the boy, at the age of twelve, stubbornly refused to comply with their wishes. "I like women, n he maintained. "That's why I don't want to be a priest. Ah, if priests only had wives ..." Allowed to choose a trade for himself, he first decided that he would just as soon be a shoemaker, since he had noticed that the boss of the shoemaker's shop near by did not seem to be too overburdened with work. "He's always lounging around here at our house or else over at the wine mer- chant's", remarked the boy. His apprenticeship to the neighboring shoemaker did not prove to be the sinecure he had anticipated, however. Furthermore, at the age of fifteen his eye was caught by a buxom blonde who worked for a paste- board manufacturer across the street. He decided, therefore, that he would

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prefer to learn how to manufacture cardboard than to make shoes, Mademoisell Marietta, the blonde, played small parts at Madame Saqui's theater and throug her good offices a new world became opened to the young Laplace • During sev- eral months he ran from one to another of the popular little Boulevard the- aters. One morning he dumbfounded his parents with the following disserta- tion; "The days and nights are just alike to me when there is no moon. Up to the present my days have all been as nights. But now, the moon has ap- peared, my ideas have taken shape, my mind is made up. Cincinnatus, before he became consul, guided the plow. After having vanquished the Eques he again became a laborer. Aristotle, when reduced to poverty, sold sachet pow- ders; then he became a philosopher* The great Napoleon began by being a re- publican, only to become subsequently bonapartist. Changes in idea are there- fore in the natural order of things. After having experimented with the tonsure, that is to say with a passive state, and then with cardboard, I have now decided on the theater. I wish to become an actor."

As a result of this pronunciaaento, Madame Laplace promptly became so ill that she was obliged to take to her bed. The father, at the awful pros- pect of his son's excommunication and dishonor to the family name, cursed his son, All of which profited him nothing, for the young man presented himself to Madame Saqui that very evening and was taken into the company as super- numerary. Not long afterward, Mademoiselle Mariette was lured away from Ma- dame Saqui by Bertrand and Fabian and young Laplace went with her to the Fu- nambules.

Laplace became the intimate friend of Beburau, playing with him until the letter's death. He was still present with a few others of the Old Guard in the cast of the final performance at the Funarabules, given just before its demolition. When the Funambules was no more, Laplace, Paul Legrand, Vautier

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and several others of the company went over to the Folies-Nouvelles, which later became the Theatre Dejaaet, where they endeavored to keep alive the old pantomime traditions. More fortunate than most aged thespians, Laplace suc- ceeded in salting away a neat little pile of savings, thanks to which he was ultimately able to buy a modest piece of property and end his days in comfort- ably retirement.

Desire Vautier deserves special mention for the fact of his having so incarnated himself into his portrayal of the role of Polichinelle in 1347 that this formerly little-used character was incorporated into the stock group in most of the pantomimes after this date. Vautier was sufficiently outstanding in the role as to merit being featured on the advertising bills. He became extremely popular and was regarded as being especially clever in his comic tricks and laszi. His style of acting, like that of Placide, adhered fairly closely to that of the old Italian harlequinades.

Vautier ' s son, Gustave, also played at the Funambules in its latter days. Born in the theater, he had become a professional trouper as a youngster, appearing in various theaters in Paris in animal roles. Among his impersona- |( tions were bears, monkeys, dogs and on one occasion an ostrich. Later he toured the provinces as a member of Charles Deburau's company. Gustave was not an outstanding mime but was an excellent clown.

It is thanks to the elder Vautier fs interest in the Funambules and its history that Louis Pericaud was able to lay his hands on a wealth of valuable data including clippings, programs, manuscripts, records and personal notes, when he prepared to write the history of this pantomime theater. Alexandre Guy on, another of the Funambules company, was responsible for bringing Peri- caud and Vautier together one day at the cafe de lYAmbigu. Pericaud relates that as he entered the cafe he found Guy on sitting at a table talking with an

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emaciated old man with faded eyes, skin like gray wax, "just living enough not to be dead, just talkative enough not to be dumb."

dear friend," said Guy on to Pericaud, "you have often asked me to present you to the Emperor of Polichinelles, present, past and future, - Here he is,"

"Vautier?" demanded Pericaud.

"In person," said the little old man, rising proudly and majestically to his feet. "C'etait done la," writes Pericaud in the opening paragraphs of Lea Funambules, nce qui restait d'un etre que j' avals vu sur la scene, grouil lent, sautillant, dansant, cassant, buvant, jurant, bat taut, tuant et travers* ant la sueur sans faiblir. A peine una ossature recouverte de parchemin, une pretention de vie." (1)

The following day Pericaud received Vautier's collection of notes, ac- companied by this quaint epistle:

Je vous dirai que je n'est ecrit cesi que pour me rappeler de ce que ma memoire pour rait me f aire defaut je nait seulesent l1 intention de le faire im- primar car ce n'est interessant que pour ceux qui ont connu le peutit theatre des Funambules et cela ne pourait cervire qu'a 1 1 auteur qui voudrait ecrire l'hietoire des theatre et des artistes dramatiquesj si mes souvenirs peuve servire a quel que chose t em- mi eux je naurait pas toutafait perdue mon temps. Je reprodhuit dans ce livre quelques Biaugraphies d» artistes et quelques artiquels de joursnaux fait par des main plus abiles que les mi ones enfaint tant que posible je recolte tout ce qui a report au the- atre des Funambules et aux artistes qui en ont fait parti. (2)

Pericaud humbly begs pardon of the old mime for thus exposing his un- lettered message to public view. His sole purpose in so doing was to prove

(1) Louis PERICAUD, op. cit., pp. 5-6.

(2) Loc. fiit.

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the good faith and authenticity of the material which went into his chronicle, Alexandre Guyon belonged to the second generation of FunambvQ.es mimes. As a child he adored Deburau and lost no possible opportunity to attend the performances and watch his idol. He managed to strike up a friendship with Deburau 's son, Charles, and through this relationship worked himself back- stage at the Funambules in 1845. He first succeeded in obtaining work as a supernumerary but as this employment was irregular, he welcomed a permanent position as stage mechanic when it was offered him, thrilled by the opportuni- ty of watching Deburau every evening. Deburau himself became interested in Guyon, finding him unusually apt as a mimic, and soon succeeded in having the lad put into the regular pantomime company.

Before Deburau »s death Guyon had already begun to attract considerable attention by his miming. After 1846 he was given various important roles to- gether with Paul Legrand until Monsieur Billion, manager of the Funambules^ de- cided it was to his interest to push Charles Deburau to the fore. Guyon then found himself being relegated more and more frequently to minor roles and de- cided it was to his interest to break away from the Funambules. He was taken on at the Theatre des Fatriotes as Pierrot, thus becoming a declared competitc of his friend, Charles Deburau. In spite of their professional rivalry, how- ever, their friendship continued and Guyon was subsequently recalled to the Funambules in 1850 to play in les Trois Pierrots with Charles Deburau and Paul Legrand.

The most important among those of the second generation of the classic pantomimists was Paul Legrand, called by Paul Hugounet "le doyen des survivant de la grande epoque funambulesque.n (1) Charles-Dominique-Mart in-Legrand, to be known later as Paul Legrand, was bom on January 4, 1816. The boy showed (1) Paul HUGOUNET f Mimes et Pierrots, p. 122.

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e passion for the stage at an early age, built toy theaters, composed his own plays and acted in them himself, Needless to say, this taste was not encour- aged by his mother. He was apprenticed first to a hat maker and then to a jeweler but the theater was in his blood. He went the rounds of the Boule- vard theaters and at the Funambules fell under the spell of Deburau, Like Guy on, Legrand idolised the pantomimist, took him for his model, and dreamed of becoming a Pierrot himself one day.

In about 1656 Legrand succeeded in getting into the Funambules, but it was only on rare occasions that he was accorded the privilege of playing a Bina"*! part in the less important pantomimes. His regular work was minor roles in the vaudevilles. At the end of four years, realising that he was no nearer becoming a Pierrot than when he had joined the company, he went one day to Monsieur Hue, manager of a tiny theater known as the Bonne-Nouvelle , which al- so specialised in pantomimes, "I'd like to play Pierrot," he demanded hardi- ly.

"Have you studied?" inquired the manager.

"Yes," replied the youth imperturbably, "live studied Deburau," Monsieur Hue thereupon engaged him at seven francs a week and Legrand' a cherished dream at last became realisation. He made a genuine success of the role but it proved to be a short-lived engagement, for before very long the little theater foundered and Legrand found himself "at liberty".

He thereupon returned to the Funambules and requested that Monsieur Bertrand restore him to the company. But there was a difficulty in that Le- grand had been billed at the Bonne-Nouvelle simply as Charles and this would never do at the Funambules, for this name was the property of Charles Chart on,

"There is only one Charles in the world,1* explained Bertrand, "celebrat- ed mime, celebrated author, celebrated director. If you wish to return to my

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theater you will have to discard your name. That is the price of your re-en- gagement,"

"Well, then, suppose I call myself Legrand?"

"A family name? Never I" For some inexplicable reason, Bertrand had an aversion for the professional use of surnames, "Call yourself Paul. I like the name Paul,"

Legrand accepted the condition and thus Charles -Domini que -Mart in re- joined the Funambules troupe, henceforth known as Paul,

A propos of Bertrand ' s dislike for family names for professional use, it will be recalled that Deburau himself had first been known, and for some time, simply as Baptiste, It was only when another Baptiste began to be fea- tured at the rival Theatre des Acrobates that Bertrand consented to the use of Deburau, Not only the actors but also the authors were held to this regula- tion. We are told that Bertrand once said, "Ah, if Monsieur Victor Hugo only called himself just Victor, I should be willing to consider one of his pieces.

Upon his return to the Funambules, Legrand began by playing Leandre, thi young lover, and old men character roles, in which he excelled particularly, His first big success was in M, de Boissec et Mile de Boisflottee. in 1841, Ii spite of the impression made by Legrand personally and the acknowledged artist- ic success of the piece as a whole, it will be recalled that it was not a fi- nancial success. The public missed its Pierrot, its Deburau, who had not ap- peared at all in the above-mentioned pantomime. Accordingly, Bertrand was obliged to make a special effort to cater to the taste of his public and to coi centrate on traditional offerings in the interest of the exchequer.

One day Legrand had his long-awaited opportunity to play Pierrot at the junambules, Deburau, whose health was beginning to fail, was taken ill and Le- grand was selected to substitute for him. As if by magic, Deburau returned to

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health and Le grand again languished in roles he detested. In the meantime, his former manager, Monsieur Hue, had secured financial backing for the open- ing of another tiny theater on the rue Roy ale, known as the Theatre de la Madeleine, and he invited La grand to return to him. Legrand went to Bertrand and told that he was convinced that his forte lay in the role of Pierrot rather than in character work. Bertrand disagreed, "You are a charming lov- er and an excruciatingly funny character actor, n he said.

"As long as Deburau is here at the Funambulea, there' 11 never be a chance for me, will there?1* demanded Legrand bluntly.

"In the part of Pierrot, no," admitted Bertrand frankly.

Legrand then announced that Monsieur Hue had made him a "brilliant" offer at his new theater and gave notice that he was leaving the Funambules. Bertrand called him an ingrate, but told him to go along, for he would not be missed at the Funambules.

But again Hue had bad luck with his theatrical venture. It was general ly understood that the priests of the newly completed church of the Madeleine had much to do with the suppression of the new little theater, whose proximity to the church seemed sacreligious. For a time thereafter Legrand played at the Theatre du Luxembourg, and then once more presented himself to Bertrand, requesting "the great honor" of being allowed to return to his theater. Le- grand' s method of approach flattered Bertrand, who capitulated without a strug gle. It was a propitious moment for Legrand »s return, for Deburau' s health was growing steadily worse. He was seriously afflicted with asthma and at times was obliged to leave the stage and fill his lungs with fresh air before he could continue playing* Through 1845 and the spring of 1646 Deburau was time and again obliged to absent himself and it was always Paul Legrand who profited by the star's misfortune. Legrand came to be known as "Deburau' s

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doctor", for his substitution in the part of Pierrot usually served as a quick means of putting the artist on his feet again. This of course meant excellen practice for Legrand, who developed and built up his own interpretation of th role, playing it very differently from Deburau's method.

About two weeks before Deburau's death, being too ill to play himself, he delegated his son, Charles, to watch every detail of the performance from the gallery and to report fully on Legrand1 s rendition and its effect upon the audience. The result was a terrific blow to Deburau* s professional pride. He declared that he himself would play the following evening, at no matter what cost. His heart was slowly breaking at the prospect of his being super- seded in the hearts of his beloved Funambules audience.

Legrand himself cherished a most sincere affection and loyalty for De- burau and it was with genuine sorrow that he remarked this increasing and un- concealable jealousy on the part of his master. Touched to the heart, he went to Billion, who had succeeded Ber trend, and told him that he could not bear to see the great master Deburau so hurt by his own success with the pub- lic. He requested that he be allowed to tone down his play a little, convinc- ed that when Deburau saw that Legrand no longer made the audience laugh his mind would be relieved and consequently his health would soon be restored. But Billion was no philanthropist. He strictly forbade Legrand* s trying any such experiment. Business was business. As for Deburau, "Tant pis pour lull .. II a felt son temps." (1) Monsieur Billion, nicknamed "Million" because of the fortune he made out of Deburau and the Funambules, was as hard as his nickname. When Deburau died the Funambules did not darken its lights and Le-

(1) Louis PERICAUD, op. cit., p. 282.

grand, despite his earnest protestations, was obliged to play Pierrot on the very night of the great star's death.

After the passing of Deburau, Paul Legrand's popularity increased steadily but concurrently with it the new star became more and more demanding. In the meantime, the young Charles Deburau had been admitted to the company and as the youth showed definite promise of following in his famous father's footsteps as a star, Billion seized the opportunity of using Charles and his rise to public favor as a check on Legrand, holding him to his terms. The situation finally became so intolerable for Legrand that in 1847 he asked to be released from his contract. He crossed the channel to London, appearing at the Adelphi Theater, but his French conception of Pierrot was so at vari- ance with the English conception of Clown, that he was not understood or ap- preciated by the London pantomime enthusiasts. Upon his return to Paris, he spent the neyt fifteen years or so appearing first in one theater, then in another, part of the time again at the Funambules, sometimes starring and sometimes sharing honors there with Charles Deburau.

In his interpretation of Pierrot, Legrand reflected his own time and his own personality. Instead of Deburau' s gaiety and frankly farcical treat- ment, he turned pantomime more toward comedy and sentiment. In a critique written for the Moniteur universel, Edouard Thierry reported that Legrand had not replaced Deburau. He found him clever and intelligent but considered that he lacked Deburau' s spontaneous gaiety, whereas Deburau' s face was long and slender, Legrand's was fat and round. It lacked the singular placidity which lent such charm to Deburau ' s miming. "Legrand," said Thierry , "grimaces in order to get laughs." (1) Charles Deburau considered that Legrand had

(1) Edouard THIERKI, quoted by Louis PERICAUD, op. cit., p. 317.

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neither the face of a Pierrot nor the requisite physical proportions and bod- ily grace. Partisans of Legrand maintained that he was dramatic. He cried as easily as he laughed. Pierrot had never before been known to cry and the audience was charmed one night at seeing real tears course down Legrand* s cheeks. In Charles' opinion, Legrand was too sad, too melancholy, and re- sorted too much to tricks. Furthermore, he accused him of betraying panto- mime in that he used his voice in cries, exclamations, sometimes even utter- ing words in a cracked and fluty voice. This, to Charles Deburau, was sacri- lege in pantomime. Legrand always retained his feeling of sincere affection for Charles Deburau, but the latter could never forget nor forgive Legrand for having, in his opinion, hastened his father's death by replacing him so adequately*

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CHAPTER XIV

THE "THEATRE A QUATRE SOUS" AND ITS CLIENTELE

The Theatre des Funambules fronted on the old Boulevard du Temple, the Broadway of one cf the most populous slums of Paris. Immediately next door to it, as we have seen, was its bitter rival, the Theatre des Aero bates, which later became known as the Theatre des Delassements Comiques, continuing its competition until the demolition of the boulevard. Other near neighbors were the Theatre de la Galte, Theatre des Folies Dramatiques, Theatre du Cirque and slightly farther down the boulevard, the Theatre Lyrique. To sup- plement the entertainment offered by the many little theaters of the district, a large number of cafes and cabarets did a thriving business. In fact, each theater usually had its own special cafe, favored particularly by its own artists and frequented by its clients during the intermission or after the conclusion of the performance.

In front of the Funambules was its billboard, announcing the current attraction and stars. In the early days these handbills were the work of Fabien and were executed in a fine, copper-plate handwriting. Shortly be- fore the hour scheduled for the performance, the billboard announcement was supplemented by the crieur, who performed the same office as that of the barkers of our circus side-shows today. Upon entering the "lobby" of the the- ater, which has been said to resemble the interior of an omnibus because of its diminutive size, one first encountered the ticket seller. For a short time no less a person than Charles Charton himself performed this office. During the managership of Billion it was his wife who served in this capacity.

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Madame Billion seems to have been of a very different make-up from her grasp- ing husband. She was a kindly, good-hearted soul, who functioned as ticket- seller primarily because she liked human nature and enjoyed her contacts with the clientele of the theater. She is known to have slipped eager-eyed youngsters into the best box seats on more than one occasion. At other times, she was not afraid to extend credit to certain struggling young apprentices who did not possess the full price of a ticket. It is said that none of those whom she thus trusted failed to pay in full when pay-day came around, the money often being accompanied by a little bunch of violets.

When the Funambules was at the height of its glory, cost of admission ranged from one franc fifty in the boxes and front orchestra, down to twenty centimes, or quatre sousr in the gallery,- "bain de vapeur compris". Here is the origin of the name given to the Funambules during the days of the romantics. The orchestra seats and parterre were patronised generally by soldiers and better-class workers. The boxes were usually the special domain of society "slummers", sometimes artists and writers, and often of clerks and salesmen who prided themselves on treating themselves to the best. In the second bal- cony and "nigger heaven" were to be found the "people" proper, the lower class workers, the young apprentices and the gamins off the streets.

The Funambules accommodated a little under eight hundred persons and when filled to capacity could boast not a square inch of wasted space, so closely was the audience packed together. The Funambule3 was but one of many similar "theatricules", which not only offered entertainment to the hoi jaol^oj, for a modicum but served as a proving ground of no mean value for aspiring young dramatic authors and actors.

One of the special charms of this type of little theater was the intim-

ate contact between audience and actor. In the miniature auditorium, where the stage was literally right on top of the audience, artists and spectators become homogeneous, as George Sand has expressed it, being able to "study and inspire each other alternately, as a result of reading into each other1 s eyes They could even pass remarks back and forth to each other, if they wished. Theodore de Banville has also stressed the intimate relationship between stage and audience in an article entitled Lea anciens Funambules au Boulevard du Temple, written for the revue Gil Bias. Here he expressed himself as follows

What is particularly abominable in our regular the- aters of drama and comedy, is the absolute lack of contact between actors and public, also that we sense the fact that the setting, furniture, accessories, et cetera, are fixed, Immovable. That is, they cannot be moved or changed except behind a curtain which cruelly cuts the audience off from the spectacle. It is as though a desert existed between actor and audi- ence. The two groups, one on the stage, the other in the auditorium, do their utmost to make contact, to understand each other, and at the very moment when perhaps they are about to achieve this, there comes the stupid, imbecilic intermission, which breaks the contact and shatters the illusion, (l)

At the Funambules there was no intermission. Once the curtain went up on the pantomime it remained up until the conclusion of the piece. There were no periodic breaks to interrupt the pleasure of the audience or give them the horrible sensation of an abrupt awakening from an enchanting dream.

The stage itself was constructed with three levels, just as at the Opera. Because of the nature of its productions, the mechanical equipment at the Funambules was one of its theatrical particularities. A turn-table on the stage made it possible for changes of scene to take place without the lowering of the curtain, which Gautier found so disillusioning. The precision of the

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(1) Theodore de BANVILLE, included in l^s Snnvfiiii-rar p. 215.

tricks and transformations, such as gun3 being transformed into ladders, closets into chair3, old hags into charming young ladies, which were usually the invention of that incomparable wizard, Charles Charton, and the amazing rapidity with which changes of scene were produced before the very eyes of the audience, was a veritable mechanistic triumph. Fairy pantomimes and harle- quinades of twenty- five and thirty scenes could be played in two hours' time continuously, without a break, with never a hitch, - interiors, country-sides forests, caverns, paradises, public squares, palaces, triumphal arches made of roses following one after the other like a vision or dream constantly meta- morphosed before the very eyes of the fascinated audience, as if by enchant- ment.

Nearly all the pantomimes ended conventionally with the same tradition- al "apotheosis", which was the supreme test for the mechanicians. When the next to the last scene came, the audience would begin to hear the back-3tage preparations for the grand finale, - a hustle and bustle, the murmur of whis- pered orders being given, could sense the fresh smell of water. A thrill of excited anticipation would permeate the entire audience. At last the back drop would be lifted, revealing a four-tiered edifice of imitation shells, stones, curving columns, over which cascaded a genuine waterfall, splendidly crystalline, foaming, splashing its rainbow spray, catching and reflecting the light in myriads of irridescent diamonds. The ultimate peak of enthusi- asm was attained when, at the final moment, the god of Love, holding aloft a lighted torch, joined the hands of Arlequin and Colombine before a gilded altar upon which flamed the famous feux jig, Seagate..

As a rule, no Funambules manager ever flinched before the most elabo- rate or complicated spectacle, the most seemingly inexecutable transformation What matter if the stage was small, its boards rickety. Sometimes the hand o

a mechanician or even the entire man himself could be plainly seen manipulat- ing the machinery. This did not shatter the illusion. And if, on occasion, Cassandre or Arlequin momentarily dropped his role in order to open a trap door or effect some trick, the audience just closed their eyes to hold the il- lusion. As Banville expressed it,

... plus la vie humaine s,affirme sur le theatre, plus le public y voit des etres pensant, vivant et agissant comme lui, plus 11 croit a ce qui se passe, tandis qu'avec la navrante perfection des objets materiels abandonnes a eux-memes, nait 1 1 indif f e'rence pour ces morceaux de bois et de toile auxquels ne se mele pas la vie humaine. (1)

Obviously, the machinists at the Funambules, thanks to their intricately tech- nical daily practice, became experts in their field, veritable del m^bin^

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Some of them, indeed, became quite celebrated, passing to the regular theaters or to the circus. One of them became eventually chief machinist at the Opera

Directly back of the stage was Deburau's dressing room. He was the only member of the company who enjoyed the privilege of a private dressing room. Because of his many costume changes and the frequency with which it was necessary to freshen his make-up, it was essential that he be as near as pos- sible to the stage Itself. On the second floor a row of six tiny cubby-holes served as dressing rooms for the women. Two and sometimes three of the featur- ed members of the company were crowded into these closet-like cabinets, which were rather more like bath houses than rooms. If one of the occupants had the misfortune to be on the plump side, it was sometimes necessary to open the door and overflow into the corridor in order to get into and out of costumes Nor was there any space to spare in the corridor itself, for this served as sole dressing-room for the women supernumeraries.

The men were relegated to a single common dressing room in the base-

(1) Theodore de BANVILLE, op, cit., p. 221.

meat, where they were so packed together that there was no room for chairs on which to sit down. It had no light and no air. The company nicknamed it the "bain a quat'sous". It was permeated with a foul odor issuing from the pipe passing from an adjacent toilet directly through the room. let on the night when the Funambules rang down its curtain for the last time, on the eve of its demolition, the tenants of this filthy little hole wept tears of bitter regret as they packed up their make-up kits and prepared to say good-bye to it for ever.

Albert Monnier (1) has expressed the opinion that the Funambules com- pany was the most moral group of actors and actresses in Paris. For the most part they were serious, hard-working, upright people of very modest social ex- traction. Few were paid salaries high enough to furnish them a living. Ac- cordingly, the majority of them carried on a supplementary trade on the side. One was a tailor and cleaner, another kept a wine- shop. Laplace worked at cardboard making, one of the trades to which he had been apprenticed as a boy. Vautier was a steel polisher and able to carry on bis profession at home. Another was a grocer in a little shop which he literally built with his own hands in one of the outlying districts of Paris. Among the women, one was a florist, many were seamstresses or milliners. None were idle while waiting around for rehearsals. As they engaged in serious conversations rela- tive to their outside jobs, their housekeeping, or what they were having for dinner, their needles were constantly busy with mending, leather work, lay- ettes, and piece work of various kinds.

During the July revolution in 1848 the theater was closed from June 2 3rd to July 17th, the barricaded streets around it being the scene of con-

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(1) Albert MONNIER, art. in the Journal Pour Rire. May 19, 1855.

siderable fighting. During thi3 period the auditorium was transformed Into an emergency hospital, the members of the company volunteering to care for the wounded as they were carried in from the streets. They dubbed themselves Mles libres panseurs".

Being only human men and women, "incidents" did arise on occasion, al- though Bertrand did his utmost to limit them to a minimum. For one thing, he was averse to engaging married couples in his company, both because of the danger of domestic quarrels and jealousies and also because of the difficulty of dealing with them professionally. He figured that if you have trouble with one member of a married couple the chances are that you will finish by having two enemies on your hands.

Bertrand' s long suit was formal rules and regulations, on the ground that "it is the duty of a self-respecting management to compel certain per- sons to respect themselves more than they seem to do." Misdemeanors were punished by fines of various amounts, dependent upon the magnitude of the of- fense. There were penalties for tardinesses or for absences from rehearsals and performances, for missing an entrance cue, for carelessness in dress, for cutting, changing or adding to lines in the vaudevilles without the express permission of the management; for talking, laughing, making signs or troub- ling a performance in any way while on stage; for loitering in the wings and for speaking aloud, moving furniture or making the slightest sound back 3tage which might distract those acting on the stage; for fighting, drunkenness, or disturbance of the general peace in any way. Game3 of all sorts were prohib- ited on stage and in the dressing rooms. Deburau himself, not long before his death, was fined twenty francs for having been caught playing dominoes in his dressing room. Anyone coming onto the stage when not in a state of per- fect control over all his faculties, physical and mental, was subject to im_

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Mediate dismissal, although this threat was not always carried into execu- tion. The sums collected from these penalties were devoted exclusively to a benevolent society which aided needy artists and employes of the Funambules.

One day at a time when the feud between the Funambules and the Theatre des Aero bates was at one of its periodic climaxes, Bertrand posted an injunc- tion on the back-stage bulletin board threatening the imposition of a penalty upon any member of the company who mentioned the name of Madame Saqui in the theater. The following day a reply appeared beside the injunction, reading; "A director has no right to seal the mouth of any arti3t. We are not slaves. I shall speak Madame Saqui1 s name as often as I like, in the theater and out, and I recommend that my comrades do the same." This ultimatum was unsigned. Furious, Bertrand posted the following: " Whoever had the impudence to make such a reply to my order is a scoundrel. I hereby proclaim publicly that I shall give a reward of fifty francs to anyone who will reveal his name to me." Fifteen minutes after publication of this note, a young member of the company by the name of Gustavo went to Bertrand and said that though he felt it was a mean thing to do, he needed the money and was therefore ready to de- nounce the culprit, provided Bertrand would hand over the reward in advance. It was not without difficulty that Bertrand was persuaded to part with the money before receiving the report, but he did it. Whereupon Gustavo confes- sed that he himself was the offender. Naturally enough, Bertrand flew into a passion and gave the young man his walking papers.

"I expected that," Gustave replied. "That's why I wanted to make sure of the reward in advance. As for being fired, I don't care. Madame Saqui gave me a contract a week ago."

Several days later Deburau inquired of Bertrand why Gustave had been discharged. "Strange," he remarked upon hearing the story. "Gustave doesn't

1 1 -v>i

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know how to read or write, you know." Gustave had been smart enough to de- nounce himself for the sake of appropriating the fifty-franc reward.

Bertrand acted as manager of the Funambules from the day he founded it in 1816 until a short time before his death in 1845. His old friend Fabien, co-founder of the theater, was his partner until they fell out over the rela- tive merits of oil lamps and gas lights in 1825. For two years thereafter Bertrand carried the burden alone but finding the task too arduous for him he took Cot d^Ordan into partnership in 1827. The new partner was characterized particularly by his thrift. From top to bottom of the organization cuts were made. The musicians, who had been receiving thirty-five francs a month, were cut to thirty. nC»6tait a prendre ou a laisser. Les af fames prirent." The artists were instructed to turn down their lamps when not in their dressing rooms, in order to conserve oil. Furthermore, they were expressly forbidden to make use of illuminating oil for the removal of make-up. Among the numer- ous proclamations which the new associate posted on the company bulletin board was one forbidding the costume mistress, under penalty of a fine, to make any changes whatsoever in costumes or to have them laundered without au- thorization from the management. "L* administration sait ce qu'elle doit faire pour i'honneur du theatre, at il n'armartient a personne de lui iaposer ses lois. ..."

In 1857 the management became "Bertrand, Bertrand fils et Cot d,Ordann< The elder Bertrand was getting on in years and was desirous of transferring a part of the responsibility to his son. But the heart of the latter was never in the theater as his father's had been and in 1845 he yielded to the sollici- tations of his cousin, Monsieur Billion, and withdrew from the association in Billion's favor. Cot d'Ordan also withdrew not long after this, leaving Bil-

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lion virtually in sole control. Until a very short time before his death Ber- trand senior continued to give his advice and keep an eye on his beloved Fun an bules, When he died on August 5, 1345, he was given a brilliant funeral but the Funambules did not close its doors for a single performance at this passin of its founder. Nor was there any recognition taken upon the death of Deburau the creator of its reputation, at his death less than a year later. let Debu- rau and the Funambules had been the means of putting some twenty thousand francs into Billion's pockets.

As for Billion, his name became legendary in theatrical circles of the time. He was nicknamed "Monsieur Million " . His sole absorption was coining a fortune - and hanging onto it. He put aside the dirtiest money that came into his hands and used it to pay the supernumeraries, feeling that somehow in this way he was paying them less. As the theater settled into a steadily increasin downward grade following Deburau >s death, Billion finally became disgusted wit this goose that no longer laid golden eggs for him. He sold out in 1S55 and took over the management of the Theatre Imperial, a former circus.

In the early days the Funambules customarily gave five or six perform- ances a day, with sometimes as many as ten on Sundays. Cot d' Or dan changed this policy. He contended that such prolixity was cheapening and beneath the dignity of the theater. Furthermore, it was more profitable, from his point of view, to give only two performances to full houses than a half a dozen or more that were poorly patronized. Beginning in 1336, therefore, the schedule became two performances daily, with three on Thursday and Saturday. As was true of all of the popular theaters, the general policy was to give quantity. The offerings at the Funambules were more than generous. The program com- menced at six o'clock, sometimes even as early as five-thirty, and lasted all evening. A representative program is one presented in 1339, which comprised

g »

1<L4

four offerings:

I. Les Etrennes du Bourgeois, a popular tableau in one act: II. L'Iroquois, ou la famille indienne. pantomime in seven scenes: III, Les Bayaderes de Pan tin, vaudeville skit in one act (revival): IV, L'Eau et le feu, pantomime in thirteen scenes (revival).

Since the theater was conducted more or less on the repertory plan, there were constant revivals of productions already successfully presented.

With the relaxation of many governmental restrictions under Louis-Phil- ippe after 1350, the theaters profited by greater liberty, from this time on the Funambules was privileged to play any sort of piece and vaudeville skits, as well as pantomimes and harlequinades with dialogue and songs. The Almanacta des Spectacles. In one of its issues during 1350. noted the following with reference to the Funambules: "All types of pieces are now played at this the- ater, and also at the Acrobates; however, at the Funambules preference is give to humorous types of pieces, in which Deburau is so amusing." It is worth not ing that the theatrical press was at last beginning to notice the Funambules.

The pantomime constituted the pi dee de resistance of the program. Dur- ing the vaudevilles the audience was restive and inattentive. It yawned, chat

[

tared, fidgeted, "talked back" to the actors and voiced aloud any and every sort of comment that came into their impudent heads. If, during a vaudeville skit, a knock was heard at a door, twenty voices would cry out from the audi- ence, "Come inin This was one of the traditions of the place. But as soon as the orchestra commenced the first strains of the overture to the pantomime an anticipatory atmosphere would ensue.

The orchestra was composed of five or six stringed instruments. The accompaniment to the pantomimes in those days was purely conventional, not be- ing specifically composed for the piece it was supposed to interpret. For the most part, it was taken from 17th century classical compositions and ballets

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and the action was developed to fit it. With the sole exception of Deburau, all action and expressions of the mimes were held rigidly to the music. De- burau alone enjoyed the privilege of "ad libbing".

During the playing of the overture the program seller passed down the aisles offering for the price of one sou the program giving the argument of the pantomime. The biography of "Monsieur Deburau" might be cried from all comers of the auditorium for those devotees who wished to add the picture and life of the beloved star to the argument of the new pantomime. The vendor of oranges and candy passed along the benches for the last time, taking advantage of the fact that the audience had not yet become too packed down for him to be able to make his way among them. By the conclusion of the overture the house would be hushed to an almost reverent silence.

If ever a "popular" theater existed, it was the Funambules, If, in its productions, it boasted an atmosphere all its own, it also possessed an audi- ence that was equally as unique. Existing in the midst of one of the great alums of the city, a quarter swarming with the lowest orders of society, it catered to an audience that has been compared by Gautier to the people in the chorus of a comedy by Aristophanes. George Sand has drawn a vivid picture of them from her sociological viewpoint. She describes them as an intelligent, active, mocking race of individuals, their faces prematurely bereft of the freshness of youth as a result of overwork or enforced idleness, equally devastating evils for the young. Physically frail, too pale or too feverish, they reflected the effects of unhealthful climate, mephitic living conditions, privations and hardships. They were at the same time weakly and strong, friv- olous and serious. Nevertheless, she found in them a feverish energy, a hab- it of enduring suffering, a mocking insouciance, which rendered these poor children of a Paris slum "more resistant to illness and death than the thick

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John Bun, gorged with his meat and wine." She continues,

Irritate this population and you may see them heroic to the point of madness on the barricades; idealize them a little and you have the gamin of Paris. But do you wish to see them in the calm of reality? Go to the little theaters of the boulevards. ... Where is there a more truly artistic spirit than in the people of Paris? Go and see how seriously these gamins watch the inimitable pantomime of their beloved Pierrot. They do not laugh a great deal. They watch, they study, they sense the finesse, the grace, the elegance, the sobriety and the precision of each gesture, each bit of facial play so delicately designed beneath the white mask that one might take it for one of those charmingly grotesque cameos found at Herculanum. (1)

This is not a svelte society audience, explains Gautier, made up of

blase counts correctly gloved, of bored countesses preoccupied with their

gowns and their bouquets. This is a proletarian public with a cap over one

ear, in shirt-sleeves, sometimes lacking even the shirts; bared arms, dirty,

sweating bodies, but naive as children listening to a fairy tale, accepting

anything, demanding only that they be amused, entertained; a real public, un-

derstanding fantasy with amazing facility. "If ever one could present Shakes-

pears' s Midsummer Night's Dream, The Tempest. A Winter »s Tale in France, it could surely be only on these crumbling boards, before these spectators in rags." (£) Charapfleury has described the awed attention ot a Funambules audi- ence during a pantomime as being comparable to the inspired contemplation of Breton peasants during the presentation of a religious mystery play.

As the Funambules acquired a reputation through the latter twenties, it began to be frequented by the romantic writers in increasing numbers. It also became fashionable for nigh society to go "slumming" to the little the- ater in Montmartre, So long as these outsiders behaved themselves they were

(1) Louis PERICAUD, op. cit.f p. 594.

(2) Louis PERI GAUD, op. cit., p. 115.

tolerated by the Indigenous audience, but let one of them be caught raising a flacon of perfuse or smelling salts to his sensitive nostrils, let him turn hi 8 opera glasses insolently upon the "picturesque lower classes n, - let him make himself conspicuous in any manner whatsoever and he became forthwith the target for a barrage of the most indelicate and disrespectful epithets imagin- able, couched in the raciest of boulevard argots.

One evening a group of ultra-smart young society fops descended upon the Funambules and took possession of a prominent box. Having seated them- selves, they proceeded to hang their wraps over the railing. This act served as a spark which set off a bombshell. From all parts of the audience came cries of - "What do you take this for, the cloakroom?" - "Call the rag man I" - "Throw out their duds J " The rumpus increased in intensity until a guard had to be summoned to order the interlopers to deposit their wraps in the place provided for them. More often than not, when an "incident" reached such pro- portions as this, the intruders concluded that the better part of valor on their part was to withdraw as rapidly as possible, not, however, without in- censed backward glances at the hoi polloi. which continued its insults and laasi until the unwelcome patrons had brushed the dust of the Funambules from their feet.

Upon one occasion a certain group of young dandies was less easily dis- couraged. As they occupied front row seats in the orchestra, they deposited their elegant hats on the apron of the stage, beside the proscenium. When Deburau came on in the pantomime and noticed the collection of headgear, he became extremely annoyed and resolved that such freedom in manners should not go unpunished. He whispered to Laplace, who was playing with him, "Push me." His companion immediately caught the idea and at the first opportunity, with- out its appearing intentional, pushed Deburau with such violence that he

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sprawled headlong on top of the pile of hate, decidedly to their detriment. The feat was greeted with an explosion of spontaneous, sad, joyous laughter from all out the victims. One of the young dandies raised his cane to strike Deburau, who was rolling about making a comical pretense of endeavoring to ex- tricate himself from the battered headgear, but the atmosphere in the audience was such that he thought better of his impulse. The disgruntled young fal- lows, not daring to give vent to their anger, had to be content with grumbling to themselves and even pretended to laugh superciliously at the faoetiousness of this ridiculous clown. But their vengeance was simply deferred. The very next night they appeared in the same seats and again the agglomeration of hate was deposited on the stage, obviously in challenge to Deburau. "Ah, they are stubborn," said Deburau to himself. "Well, we shall see who will yield." His associate, Laplace, prepared to repeat the business of the preceding evening but just as he was about to push his friend, he caught the gleam of the blade of a penknife lodged in the floor boards at the precise spot where Deburau would have fallen. He had just the time to arrest his action and to whisper a warning to Deburau. Realising that their plot was discovered, the perpe- trators made a hasty exit before a police officer could be summoned.

It was the people themselves who ruled in the audience of this, their own theater. They were as implacable toward misconduct on the part of members of their own social class as toward outsiders. One evening at the moment when Deburau appeared on the stage a practical joker among the people imitated the braying of a donkey. In less time than it takes to tell it, the fellow1 s cap and shirt were torn to shreds and he was passed from hand to hand like a bundle until he reached the tiny lobby, where a parting kick in the rear sent

him hurtling against the back of poor Madame Billion, who was taking tickets at the door.

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L' Entr'acte, one of the theatrical Journals of the time, relates that a certain chevalier d»A. . ., a foreign diplomat of some note who was sojourn- ing in Paris in 1842, had heard Dehurau highly praised as an inimitable Pier- rot and was curious to see him play. One Sunday evening, therefore, he was conducted to the Funambules by a young secretary of the embassy. Upon arriv- ing at the box office, he was extremely disappointed to discover that the theater was sold out. His companion was a smart and resourceful young fellow. He said to his distinguished guest, "If you won't be offended by the uncon- ventional place to which I propose to take you, I can guarantee that you will see Deburau perform, and at closer range than if you were in a front seat of the orchestra, " The chevalier was game. The secretary led him around to the stage entrance and requested to speak to the prompter. He asked him what he did during the pantomime.

"I smoke my pipe at the door," replied the employee. "Then there is no one in the prompter's box during this time?" Upon receiving a negative answer, the secretary slipped a louis to the fellow and the two were installed in the prompter' s box. The performance that evening was the perennial favorite, le Boeuf enrage, which the distinguished visitor found tremendously diverting. From time to time he even spoke familiarly to Deburau,

In one scene of the pantomime Deburau was engaged in making cabbage soup, putting into the pot, in addition to the cabbage, various heterogeneous ingredients such as old shoes, bits of newspaper, and whatever happened to come to hand. The chevalier laughed so heartily that, in his cramped quarters he became somewhat uncomfortable. Standing up for a moment to readjust his position, he inadvertently set his handsome beaver hat in front of him on the stage. It caught Deburau 's eye, who thought the gentleman was facetiously

asking for a serving of soup. Obligingly he leaned forward and ladled a gen- erous supply of the liquid into the beautiful hat. This audacity so angered the diplomat that he was ready to fight Deburau on the spot. The young secre- tary displayed no mean diplomatic skill on his own part by convincing his guest that a common brawl between a man in his position and the Pierrot of the Funanbules would look distinctly ridiculous. In fact, he succeeded so well in calming down the chevalier that the two presented themselves at Deburau »s dressing room at the conclusion of the performance. The secretary showed De- burau the hat he had ruined, and then said, "Monsieur Deburau, you offered us a dinner a while ago. It is now our turn to invite you to take supper with us," Deburau accepted and the three enjoyed a lively supper party together at the Cadran bleu, a popular little cafe in the neighborhood which was patroniz- ed particularly by the Funambules clients,

ihen this story reached Billion's ears he lost no time in capitalizing on the idea, making a regular practice thereafter of placing guests in the prompter's box as a special favor. Many distinguished visitors availed them- selves of this privilege for the sake of the thrill of being initiated into the mysteries behind the scenes.

Many of the humbler habitues of the Funambules never went to any other theater. They were loyal and often extremely partisan. They idolized Debu- rau and after his death transferred their loyal support to his son. During the early days of Charles' career at the Funambules, having an opportunity to ally himself with another theater, he asked Monsieur Billion, who was his legal guardian as well as his employer, to release him from his contract. Billion refused and Charles, not yet being of age, was obliged to abide by

this decision. Billion's meanness was further evidenced by the fact that for some time after this he deliberately gave all the leads to Paul Legrand and

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jut Charles in minor roles. The loyal gamins in the audience got wind of the contemptible trick and their sense of fair play was outraged. Consequently, whenever Charles came onto the stage, in no matter how insignificant a role, they clapped, shouted, showered him with oranges and accorded him an outright ovation .

One of the conventional means by which the audience expressed its ap- proval or disapproval was in the throwing of fruit. Oranges signified "Bravol", while apples were equivalent to "giving the raspberry". Sometimes flowers were thrown and upon the occasion of a signal ovation a star might even find him- self showered with fruit tarts.

There were no claques, or hired applauders, at the Funambules. A pro- duction stood or fell on its own merits, judged impartially by the people themselves. Says Champfleury,

At the Funambules it is sweet to be applauded and hard to be hissed. ... At a first performance they usually do not applaud much. They file out afterward onto the boule- vard where an impatient crowd awaits the verdict to be rendered by this popular jury. No questions are asked aloud but the jury senses the inarticulate interrogation and, if the pantomime has passed muster, states, "Cost rigoloi" But when they shake their heads upon leaving after a premiere, when they make wry faces and pronounce, "Ce n'est pas rigoloi" you are lost. Nothing can make a Funambules audience change its mind once it has made its decision. The immediate verdict is the result of an in- timate, personal, spontaneous conviction arising from a true and natural instinct and once rendered it is in- capable of modification. (1)

tl) CHAHPFLEUKY, Souvenirs des Funambules. pp. 181-182,

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CHAPTER XV

THE ROMANTICS AND PANTOMIME

Hard on the heels of the battle of Hernani. came the adoption of the Funambules by & certain number of the most belligerant and moat extreme repre- sentatives of romanticism. The literary and dramatic critic, Jules Janin, one of the prominent figures in the struggle for the rejection of worn-out stand- ards of judgment and taste and particularly bitter against the conventional Theatre Francais, is generally regarded as being responsible for making Debu- rau and the Funambules fashionable in Paris , by virtue of his book, Deburau. Histoire du Theatre a quatre sous, published in 1832, As a matter of fact,

however, it is to Charles Nodier that the credit is due for first bringing pantomime to public attention outside of the confines of its own quarter.

While wandering about in the Montmartre quarter one day early in the year 1828, Nodier happened to drop into the Funambules by sheer chance. Panto- mime was a completely new genre to him and he was entranced by it. Here was something which fitted in perfectly with his own fantastic imagination , In the July 19th issue of the review Pandora (1828) appeared an article which, though unsigned, was undoubtedly from the pen of Nodier, in which he wrote in the most glowing terms of his discovery. He claimed that all Deburau needed to make him the rage of Paris was an enormous salary, an imposing carriage, and some journalistic publicity.

You who are condemned by an over-refined taste and an excessive nervous irritability to limit your theater- going to such theaters as the Bouffes and the Gymnase, have no conception of the real pleasure of which you deprive yourselves by not daring to venture into the Theatre des Funambules. You have gone ten times to

see la Muette de Portici. yet you do not know ie Boeuf enrage. ••• And as Tor Kaleb. which possesses so many attractions in addition to presenting a useful moral lesson, you leave it to the working men of the Foire Saint-Laurent and a few real amateurs like myself* (1)

Nodier himself saw le Boeuf enrage nearly a hundred times, all told. On the first occasion he worried somewhat about the significance of the title. After the performance he inquired of one of the theater employes why the pantomime was called le Boeuf enrage.

"Because that is its title, sir," replied the woman ingenuously.

"Ah," said Nodier, satisfied, and accepted this explanation as naively as it was given.

Nodier not only became a regular attendant at the Funambules but it was the only theater at which he subscribed to a box by the season. Not con- tent to keep his newly-discovered pleasure to himself, he persuaded his friends, Jules Janin, Balzac, Gerard de Nerval and Theophile Gautier to ac- company him and all became as ardent devotees as Nodier himself.

It was not long before Nodier became fired by the desire to write a pantomime Vnmyuaif but a serious difficulty gave him pause to reflect seriously before openly embracing this "genre d ? acrobat ie litteraire". As director of the Bibliotheque de 1' Are anal, such a venture would be branded as shockingly undignified and might easily cost him his position. But he found he could not put the idea out of his mind. It became a veritable obsession with him and at length, saying nothing to his friends, he went secretly one day to Cot d'Ordan and presented him with a manuscript, first engaging him to swear on his word of honor that if the pantomime were produced his name would never be revealed as author. This was the famous Songe d'Or^ in which the character

(1) Louis PERICAUD, op. cit., pp. 77-78.

C3<J.< 0 1

in which the character of Pierrot "took the stage" for the first time and

which was such a signal success. This pantomime was never published and No-

dier never acknowledged authorship but all his life he referred to it in the

most glowing terms. Jules Janin claimed that Nodier denied having written it

in order to be free to say how good he thought it was. Champfleury termed it

a "rare et precieux chef-d'oeuvre" and admitted that he was jealous of it.

"J'aurais volon tiers donne tout mon realisme pour arriver a cet ideal etrange

qu'on veut bien attribuer a Charles Nodier." Theophile Gautier soared to the

peak in superlatives, referring to it as -

la merveille des plus merveilleuses pantomimes qu* en- fan ta jamais cerveau humftin. C'est 1' adorable imagina- tion de Charles Nodier qui le crea, ce bijou a facettes diamantees, ou les tons nacres le disputent a ceux de l'Stincelante aurore. Et l'ingrat renie une telle fille. (1)

Although the theatrical journals and the press in general ignored it, le Spnge d'Qr began to be talked about in the literary salons, "dans les doctes assembles". The name of the author was spoken in whispers. Parisian society became curious and began to filter into the Funambules.

On September 22, 1829, there appeared an article in Figaro reporting a revival of the famous Boeuf enrage. The article was printed anonymously but it was understood to have been the work of Jules Janin. It was an unre- strained eulogy on Deburau. "Why," he demanded to know, "is this appearance of Deburau in an important revival ignored when all the big theaters make so much of the return engagements of the big stars of the day?" The article then goes on as follows:

On jette en gros canon sur l*affiche des Nouveautes le nom de M. Philippe quand il sort de prison; tous

(1) Theophile GAUTIER, quoted by Louis PERICAUD, 0p. cit., p. 80.

les journaux ont donne comae une grande nouvelle la r en tree au Ministere de M. de Chabrol, un des plus pauvres acteurs de la farce minis terielle, et vous ne voulez pas que J4. Deburau ait l'honneur qu'on fait a M. de Chabrol, ... ouaii. Philippe? ... U. Deburau est, apres Talma et Potier, l'homme le plus complet que nous ayons vu depuis trente ans. ... Le Boeuf en- rage, grande et belle conception, a. laquelle je ne voudrais comparer aucune des tragedies modernesl ... puissante application de la maniire de Shakespeare a la vieille parade italienne et franqaise; drame admi- rable, ou est la vie qui manque a tant de pieces acade- miques. C'est la un chef-d'oeuvre1. Et les salons ne se doutent pas qu'il existe! ... Aristocratie Parisi- enne, que tu es arriereel ... Fais-toi peuple un jour, vas voir Deburau et tu sauras ce que c'est que le vrai plaislr. (1)

Janin, therefore, was only an Imitator of Nodier when he set himself

up as a champion for pantomime. By the time he brought out his book three

years later, the Funambules was already beginning to be known. Society was

already acquainted with the name of Deburau, who was referred to not as just

a clown but as "the Pierrot". The book, Deburaur Histoire du theatre 5

auatre sous, pour faire suite a l'histoire du Thfeatre-Francaisr raised a hue

and cry in Paris when it appeared in 1832. In the opening pages of the work

Janin throws down the gauntlet:

II n'y a plus de Theatre-Fran cais, il n'y a plus que les Funambules; il n'y a plus de Parterre litteraire, savant, glorieux, le Parterre du cafe Procope; en revanche, il y a le Parterre des Funambules, Parterre anime, actif, en chemise, qui aime le gros vin et le sucre d'orge. ... Puisque Deburau est devenu le Roi de ce monde (the world of the lower classes), celebrons Deburau le Roi de ce monde. Heureux si notre "Biographie" ainsi faite prend une place meritee, indispensable, a cote de la tres longue et trSs fastidieuse Histoire des freres Parfaictl (2)

His reference at the conclusion of this paragraph is to a fifteen-volume

(1) Attributed to Jules JANIN, art. in Figaro. Sept. 22, 1829.

(2) Jules JANIN, Deburau. Histoire du theatre a quatre sous, p. 7.

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published between 1736 and 1749T Histoire du Thfiatre-Frnncais. bv the Parfaict brothers.

Janin* s scandalous criticism was branded by the enemy camp as a fla- grant insult to the official government. He was stigmatized by the literary conventionalists for having sunk to so low a level. Felix Pyrat wrote, "Here is the story of a Pierrot written by a mountebank." Nothing daunted, Janin persevered in revealing Deburau as a master artist who, beneath his white mask, expressed all human joys and sorrows without the need of a Moli- ere or of a Shakespeare to give him words with which to interpret them. Con- sequently, as predicted by Nodier, Deburau became the fashion in Paris and Janin was generally recognized as being his particular patron. "Deburau de- vient phare, Jules Janin s'est fait son alluaeur."

The book itself has unfortunately been grossly over-rated as a refer- ence, though it makes delightful reading. Both as a history of the Funam- bules and as a biography of Deburau it falls far short not only of being com- prehensive but even of being authentic. This is due partly to its having been written fourteen years before the death of Deburau and thirty years be- fore the end of the Funambules, but more particularly to Janin1 s temperament as a romantic writer and most of all to the fact that it was written in the heat of passion. It was one of the reverberations of the romantic battle. Janin' s real motive in writing it was not so much to give Deburau and the Fu- nambules a build-up as it was to strike a romantic blow at the Theatre-Fran- cais and its special coterie of playwrites. "11 s'etait arm! de Deburau, et i grands coups de Deburau il tapait sur l'illustre compagnie." (1) It is a fantastic work, written in a fragmentary and superficial, though delightful,

(1) Louis PERICAUD, op. cit., p. 114.

manner. ifiany of the anecdotes related of Deburau are simply romantic concoc- tions. For instance, in recounting the early experiences of the Deburau fam- ily as street performers in Paris, Janin tells us that one day the boy Gasparq was picked up on the road by none other than the emperor himself. While rid- ing along in the imperial coach, Napoleon proceeded to converse with the lit- tle mountebank on the relative merits of classic and modern dramatic litera- ture! One of the most flagrant inaccuracies is the highly-romanticized ac- count of a lawsuit supposedly taken to court by Deburau against the Funambules because of the unsanitary and unhealthful condition of his dressing room. Ex- hibit "An was a perfect specimen of a mushroom plucked from the dressing room wall. This story did, however, have a basis of fact. Such a case had been tried in the Paris law-courts. It was not Deburau who was the plaintiff, how- ever, but a certain Monsieur Plancon, and the celebrated suit was brought not against the Funambules but against its rival, Madame Saqui's Theatre des Acro- bat es, as Janin could very well have verified had he taken the trouble to look over the back files of the newspapers of the time.

It was not long before Janin became ashamed of his book on Deburau, con- sidering it a literary "gaminerie". When he was elected to membership in the French Academy he meticulously avoided mentioning his biography of Deburau when listing his works in his dissertation of acceptance. He seemed to look back with a sort of rabelaisian delight at having played a good trick on his contemporaries by having induced them to crowd themselves into the uncomfort- able, stuffy, smelly little theater to wear themselves out applauding a clown For the frontispiece of his biography Janin had had Deburau* s portrait painted by Auguste Bouquet, an artist of promise who died before becoming cel- ebrated. After being exhibited in one of the Paris art salons, the portrait

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became J an in1 s property. Upon becoming an academician, however, it was un- suitable for exhibition in his home and the picture disappeared. One day in 1850 Charles Deburau was out walking with Alexandre Guyon. They happened to drop into a little shop in Montmartre for some tobacco. Suddenly, in the mid- dle of a sentence, Guyon stopped short, clutched Charles by the arm and point- ing toward a half-open door at the rear of the shop cried out excitedly, "Look there! " Facing them from the wall of the back room hung Deburau' s portrait. Charles made a dash toward it. The shop-keeper set up a shrill cry of "Help f thieves I n until Guyon reassured her.

"What is your price for the portrait?" demanded Charles breathlessly. But of course the portrait was not for sale. Charles pleaded that it was a portrait of his father, which touched the woman to the point of being willing to part with it for a hundred and fifty francs. (Her husband had picked it up for thirty.)

"Wait - I'll be back in fifteen minutes with the money," cried Charles, already on the run to Billion for financial help. The manager was canny enough to appreciate the fact that he was making a pretty good thing out of the young star and humored him in his request. From that day the portrait remained in the Deburau family1 s possession, passing to Charles' widow after his death.

J an in must be given credit for having deigned to write, shortly after Deburau' s death, an apparently sincere encomium for this clown "dont il a fait la renommee, et qui n'a pas nui a la sienne." With this article the biograph- er may have sought to salve his conscience in some measure for his defec- tion. (1)

(1) Jules J AN IN, art. La SfflBSflfl PrsqaUqttg, in Jmimal ri«s Debataf

July 6, 1846. _ _____

158

159

It seems strange that Gerard de Nerval, In view of his original and fantastic imagination, never tried his own hand at writing pantomimes. He was an ardent devotee of the art and in addition to worshipping at Deburau^ feet at the Funambule3 spent some time traveling through Italy, Germany and England for the express purpose of studying the pantomime of these various countries .

After George Sand settled in Paris in 1851 she, too, followed the trend of the romantic group in an enthusiastic support of the little theater. Of Deburau she states in her Histoire de ma vie that she had never seen an artist more serious, more conscientious, more wholly consecrated to his art. In 1856 when Deburau went through his unfortunate experience in the criminal court as a result of accidentally killing a man who had insulted Madame De- burau, George Sand conducted a regular campaign on his behalf throughout the trial. Thanks to her articles published in various journals. - the Consti- tutionnel. Charivari and the Qorsaire-SatinT public opinion was so swayed in his favor that Deburau was acquitted. Again, a little later, when the the- ater found itself in difficulty with the governmental authorities over some technicality and was threatened with being closed, it was George Sand who came to the rescue and through her influence with officials in strategic po- sitions the trouble was straightened out.

We have already called attention to George Sand' s humanistic attitude toward the people who made up the audience of the Funambules. Her kindliness and quick sympathy were revealed time and again. Not long before his death Deburau suffered a rather serious fall through a trap door which was not func tioning properly. The trap gave way unexpectedly, catching Deburau off his balance, and as he went down the back of his head struck the stage. The per- formance was interrupted and the manager stepped forward to announce that De-

160

burau had been injured. After expressing its sympathy for the mime, the audi- ence prepared to withdraw but De burau himself appeared and expressed the wish that the pantomime go on. The audience protested but Deburau, showing how deeply moved he was by their consideration, insisted upon continuing. The audience then brought down the house with applause and cries of " Bravo 1" George Sand happened to be present at this performance and being seated in a front box was able to see Deburau in the wings after his fall, holding his head as if in considerable pain. The next day she went personally to inquire how he was, end her sincere sympathy also moved her to devote a special article to Deburau in the Constitutionnel . Deburau was deeply appreciative of her con- cern, to which he gave expression in this letters

Madame - Permit me to address you By two-fold thanks for the interest you are kind enough to take in a lit- tle accident which has had no serious consequences for me, and for the kindly article published in the Consti- tutionnel. in which, concerning yourself benevolently for my future, you extol my poor talent with a warmth and a spirit that are really irresistible.

I hardly know in what terms to express my gratitude. Ifly pen is like my voice on the stage, but my heart is like my countenance, and I pray you to accept its sin- cere expression.

I have the honor to be your servant,

Deburau.

P.S. - It was my intention to go to thank you in per- son, but rehearsals have prevented this. Be good enough, I beg you, to excuse me.

Paris, 9 February, 1846. (1) Early in the year 1846 it was rumored that Deburau was going to retire from professional life and that the Funambules was to be closed. When the report reached the ears of George Sand, she commented as follows:

(1) George SAND, quoted by Maurice SAND, The History of the Harlequinade. pp. 228-229.

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On nous arm ones la prochaine fermeture du dernier theatre de la foire et la retraite de 1» artiste eminent auquel la farce a dft chez nous cette pro- longation d» existence. Mais ce bruit est-il fonde, et l1 eclipse de Pierrot est-elle croyable? ... N'est- ce pas la une de ces predictions sinistres, comrae il en a tant courru sur la fin du sonde? Es parens en- core que, quelque soit 1» arret port 6 par le destin centre le theatre des Fun&mbules , la scene parisienne ne laissera pas disparajitre le dernier des Pierrots, au point de vue de l'histoire, le premier des Pier- rots au point de vue de l'art et du talent. (1)

George Sand's enthusiasm for this genre was transmitted to her son,

Maurice, whose excellent treatise on the evolution of the pantomimic types,

Masques et Bouffons. with a preface by his mother, was published in 1860.

Paul de fclusset, in his Biographie d1 Alfred de iiusset. recounts an amus- ing incident which occurred on the occasion of a dinner party given by George Sand, at which the guest of honor was the noted publicist Lerminier. In order to provide a companion worthy of him, Deburau was persuaded to attend the din ner disguised as a distinguished member of the English House of Commons, sup- posedly passing through France en route to Austria on an important secret mis si on for Lord Gray. In place of his accustomed white costume and whitened face, Deburau appeared for this "performance" in an impeccable black suit, a stiffly starched cravat, patent leather pumps and kid gloves. Like an irre- pressible child, Alfred de Musset also wanted to play a part.

II adopt a celui d'une jeune servants supplemental re fraichement debarquee de Normandie. II s'habilla en paysanne avec le jupon court, les bras a cotes, la croix d'or au cou et les bras nus. Son visage rose et ses cheveux blonds sY arranges! ent de ce costume pittor- esque, et quand 11 eut rase ses moustaches, il repre- sents un beau brin de fille pas trop d eg our die.

The party numbered seven or eight guests. As befits an important per-

(1) George SAND, art. in Le Coastitutionnel. 1846

162

6 on age, Defcurau arrived fifteen minutes late. Upon being presented to the company, he responded by a slight inclination of the head and then took up a stand before the fireplace, as stiff as a poker, his hands clasped behind his back. The party waited expectantly for the famous author of the recently pub- lished Rolla to put in his appearance but when he had not arrived by six-thirty the guests went ahead and sat down, Musset's place remaining conspicuously va- cant. The "Englishman", seated in the place of honor, opened his mouth only to eat and drink with gusto. No one recognized him as the mime of the Funam- bules, unaccustomed as they were to seeing him otherwise than in the guise of Pierrot, In order to give Lerminier an opportunity to shine, the conversation was turned toward politics. In vain the names of Robert Peel, Lord Stanley, and all the outstanding political personnel of Great Britain were introduced, the foreign diplomat responded only in monosyllables. At length someone men- tioned the words "European equilibrium" , The Englishman raised his hand, com- manding the attention of the table, "Would you like to know," he asked, "how I understand European equilibrium, in view of the present serious state of po- litical affairs in England and on the Continent?" And while his auditors lis- tened in wrapt attention, Deburau seised his plate, threw it deftly into the air and with a twist of his wrist caught it expertly on the point of his knife and held it spinning there, to the open-mouthed consternation of the assembled guests, "There, " calmly concluded the speaker, "you have the symbol of Europ- ean stability, Hors de la, point de salutj" This brought a storm of applause and laughter, which was redoubled when the mistress of the house presented De- burau and revealed the trick that had been played upon her guests.

In the meantime, Alfred de Musset had been playing his part to perfec- tion. He served awkwardly, committing one blunder after another, dropping plates, placing forks when knives were called for, his confusion and clumsi-

163

ness seeming to increase with each reproach from hie supposed mistress. At the moment when Deburau began to demonstrate so graphically his sentiments on the European political equilibrium, the young servant was standing behind Ler- minier, on the point of filling his water glass. When the uproar of hilarity broke loose, Alfred threw back his head and burst into a peal of merriment, emptying the contents of the carafe over Lerminier's head. The outraged guest could not contain himself; he turned on the servant and commenced to give her a piece of his mind in no uncertain terms. This was the cue for a second rev- elation, which proved as much of a coup da theatre as the first, following which Alfred sat down at the table just as he was and proceeded to enjoy the meal which had been so execrably served by him. (1)

During a revival of Champfleury's Pierrot pendu in 1847, after Deburau death, Victor Hugo was persuaded by Theodore de Danville to go to see Paul Le- grand in the part. When the performance was over Ban villa asked Hugo how he liked it, to which the latter replied, "When I heard the orchestra start the overture, I wished I were deaf; when 1 saw the pantomime, I wished I were blind." Hugo was not a pantomime enthusiast. He admitted that he did not un- derstand it. This was reported one day to Charles Char ton, who remarked, "we just don't look at it in the same way; it's too bad for him."

Theophile Gautier wrote much about pantomime from a critical point of view and it was he who was chiefly responsible for interesting Champfleury in the Funambules and encouraging him to try his own hand at pantomime writing. In the first flush of romantic enthusiasm for the newly-discovered theater, Gautier gave vent to his own fervor with -

(1) Paul de MOSSET, Biographie d' Alfred de Musset. pp. 119-122.

164

Quelles pieces I . .. Dais aussi quel theatre et quels spectacles I Voila un public I ••• Si nous avions l'hon- neur d»etre un grand genie, nous essayerions de faire une piece pour ce theatre declaigne, mais une telle hardi- esse nous irait mal. V. Hugo, A. de Musset pourraient tout au plus s'y risquer dans leurs bons jours. foais, direz-vous, quel est done les auteurs qui travaillent a ces chefs-d'oeuvre inouis? Fersonne ne les conn ait, on ignore leurs noms cosaae ceux des poetes du Roman car o, comme ceux des artistes qui ont eleve les cathedrales du toy en-Age. L'auteur de ces merveilleuses parades, e'est tout le monde, ce grand poete, cet etre collect if qui a plus d' esprit que Voltaire, Beaumarchais et By- ron. ... (1)

Gautier's most famous article on pantomime on pantomime was his cele- brated Shakespeare aux Funambules. in which he reviewed Cot d'Ordan's Iferchand

d» habits:

... Ne voila-t-il pas un etrange drame, mele de vie et de terreur? Le spectre de Banco et 1' ombre d' Hamlet n'ont-ils pas de singuliers rapports avec 1' apparition du marchand d' habits, et n'est-ce pas quelque chose de remarquable que de retrouver Shakespeare aux Funambules? ... Le spectre symbolise le remords de la fa con la plus dramatic ue et la plus terrible. Cette simple phrase: "Marrrrchand d' habits" qui jette une terreur si prof onde dans l'ame de Pierrot est un veritable trait de genie et vaut, pour le moins, le fameux: nIl avait bien du sang." de Macbeth. ... AUegorie tr&s fine qui demon tre que tot ou tard, le crime se decouvre malgre l'audace, la presence d' esprit et le sang-froid du meurtrier. ... Gonnaissez- vous beaucoup de tragedies qui supporter ai en t une pareille analyse? (2)

If the exaggerated enthusiasm of these romantics for pantomime seems to us today rather grossly immoderate and overdrawn, we must bear in mind two facts: in the first place, romanticism itself was a form of exaggerated en- thusiasm for emotionalism, new sensations and reactions; and in the second place, this group that allied itself so conspicuously with the Funambules rep- resented, for the most part, the most extreme element in an extreme movement.

(1) Theophile GAUTIER, quoted by Louis PERICAUD, op. cit., p. 116,

(2) Theophile GAUTIER, art. in Revue de Paris. Sept. 4, 1842.

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CHAPTER XVI

THE "KIHG OF THE LOW THEATER"

In all the profusion of extravagant panegyrics poured forth by the ro- mantics on the Funambules, it was not so much pantomime they were extolling, it was Deburau himself. Probably no other actor has ever been the subject of such a prodigality of praise. At Deburau' s death Champfleury stated that the younger generation who had not had the good fortune to see the great Talma could console themselves because of having seen this great mime. Jules Janin regarded the "King of the low theater as he termed him, as the greatest act- or of his age. Theophile Gautier topped them all by pronouncing Deburau the most perfect actor who had ever existed. It is not to be wondered at that a certain number of journalists of the period took issue with the unrestrained, exaggerated idolatry of these romantics. So far as Deburau himself was con- cerned, however, his ability was never contested. It is undeniable that he did possess an exceptional talent which was on a high level of artistry. One proof of this is that although a number of other theaters also specialized, or endeavored to specialise, in pantomime during the same period, in none of them did it prove an enduring success. Yet for a period of over twenty con- secutive years, Deburau succeeded in "packing them in" at the Funambules.

At the Funambules there are a thousand actors in one. These thousand actors, these thousand faces, these thousand grimaces, these thousand postures, this spon- taneous joy, this fleeting sadness, this tenderness so quick to appear and disappear, all this - to the dis- grace of cur theaters - all this is concentrated in one name: Deburau. (1)

(1) Jules JANIN, art. in Journal des Debate.

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The pantomimes were often negligible in themselves, in many cases consisting of mere outlines of the action. It was Deburau who, by virtue of the rare and original talent with which he animated each of his roles, gave these pantomimes body and life. For every appearance his interpretation of Pierrot was created anew.

One of the most marked qualities in Deburau' s miming was his restraint, his ability to suggest, his abstention from over-emphasis. The subtlety of his method is attested by the fact that subsequent mimes have attempted to play comic scenes made famous by Deburau, with the result that in their hands the same scenes have seemed gross and coarsely insinuating even to so unxas- tidious an audience as that of the Funambules.

Both on and off the stage Deburau was characterized by his simplicity, his modesty, his gentleness, his deep and sincere sympathy for mankind. And always dominant was his closeness to the common people. As Janin pointed out, "The greatest of his gifts is his oneness with them. ... He knows what makes them laugh, what makes them cry, what rouses them to anger; he knows their ev- ery mood; he understands them thoroughly. " This close sympathy was emphasized not only in the matter of his pantomimes but also in their settings. These represented the every-day surroundings of the common people - public houses, small shops, turbulent alleys, pawnshops, kitchens, bams, attics. The prop- erties which he manipulated so familiarly were those of the common people: wash tubs, dustbins, saucepans, brooms, jugs, tinderboxes, stools, ladders. This was Deburau' s own world as it was that of his audience. And because, though an artist, he showed himself to be at home in their world, he was ador- ed by these common folk whose counterfeit he portrayed so naively and natural- ly. ... "He is proud of the low theater and it of him, because neither has sought to ennoble or debase the other, because both accept their estate with

unaffected simplicity." (1)

An anonymous journalist of the time attempted to analyse the reasons for Deburau' s fascination for such varied social classes. "I can understand his being idolized by the upper classes," he commented. "The world of society is still under the influence of the two slim little volumes, all too slim, to which Deburau owes his celebrity." (He refers here to Jules Janin's biog- raphy of Deburau.)

But from whence derives the devotion of the illiterate, common public for this man? ... It comes from the fact that Deburau is the actor of the people, the friend of the people, loquacious, greedy, a loafer, a scoundrel, a revolutionary, as are the people. ... The dancers of the Opera mime the language of society, a flabby, color- less court language; but Deburau mimes slang. In his pantomime he speaks the language of the common people. This is the secret of his hold over them. (2)

Deburau was by nature a simple and friendly soul and was no less be- loved by his fellow players than by his audience. He enjoyed particularly playing practical jokes on his comrades. His sense of humor was frank and spontaneous* Tihen not on stage himself he had the habit of watching the act- ors from the wings, studying their playing. If struck by something amusing he reacted as generously and whole-heartedly as if he were in a four-sou seat in the gallery observing the pantomime for the first time. On the other hand if a player's acting fell below standard he corrected and helped him. He un- derstood how to teach through gentleness and understanding, occasionally draw ing out his pupil by bantering or jesting, but never by resorting to harshness. His advice was always taken in good part by his fellows. Back stage his word was regarded as law and no one dreamed of disputing it.

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(1) Jules JANIN, Deburau. Histoire du theatre a quatre sous, p. 184.

(2) Unsigned art. in Gazette des Tribunaux. May 22, 1856.

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Physically, Deburau was tall and slender, his body rendered supple and graceful by the acrobatic training received as a child and which made up a large part of his miming. His legs were unusually long, with the result that when standing erect he seemed to tower, while when seated he appeared small. His neck, too, was inordinately long and sinuous and served as a valuable ad- junct to his comic effects. His long, slander face was clean-shaven and un- lined. when dressed for the street he wore a long black frock coat, a stove- pipe hat tilted well over his right ear, and habitually carried a cane. On his temples in front of each ear he plastered a lock of his brown hair in the form of a comma, a style called by the French rouflaquettes . He was not a so- ciety man. It may well be understood that his almost uninterrupted perform- ances and rehearsals at the Funambules left him little leisure for socializ- ing. On the rare occasions when he did frequent the beau monde. he demonstrat- ed that although an uneducated man of the lower classes, and anything but a fluent conversationalist, he knew instinctively how to comport himself as a gentleman. His bearing was poised and distinguished. Without being in any sense a "ladies' man", he was always gracious and respectfully gallant in his attitude toward them. It was said that none knew better than he how to kiss a lady's hand. On the stage he was singled out as being one of the few actors who knew how to wear the costume of a marquis, one of the most difficult of costumes to wear gracefully and as if born to it.

In his tastes he was temperate. He neither drank, used snuff, nor smoked. Cot d'Ordan was a great smoker himself and had the habit of proffer- ing his well-filled case of cigars to Deburau, pointedly ignoring any others of the company who happened to be present. Deburau regularly refused, with the comment that he did not smoke. Nevertheless, the manager persisted in offering them until one day Deburau did select an excellent panatella and do-

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libaratoly passed it over to Charles Char ton, saying, "Here, Charles, you take this, since you enjoy cigars." This cured d'Ordan. He never again offered Deburau a cigar.

Deburau lived in a modest apartment at No. £8, rue du Faubourg du Temple, just around the comer from the Funambules. This restricted bit of territory in Montmartre constituted his world. He had been married in 1828 and the following year, on February 12, his first son was born. The child was a fine, healthy infant and never was there a prouder, more ecstatic father. By chance, Deburau happened to be playing that night in Pierrot nourrice. In the action of the pantomime Pierrot, taking care of an infant, becomes irritat ed by its crying and administers a spanking. The audience had of course got wind of the important news. At this business, therefore, from the gallery came shocked cries of, "Ah, the bad father J ~ For shame I" Deburau stopped short, walked forward to the edge of the stage and began to hug and kiss the doll tenderly. This brought him a veritable ovation and the calls changed to - n0h, the good father - what a good father I "

Deburau selected his friend Charles Chart on as godfather for his little son, who was given the name of Charles. In the course of time there were sev- eral other little Deburaus but Charles was the only one to follow in his fa- ther's footsteps.

Deburau' 8 only passions were his children, his art and his bull-dog, Cesar. As for the latter, master and dog understood and obeyed each other, and as Pericaud has remarked, the greater slave of the two was not the one you might think. Upon Cesar Deburau lavished all the tenderness of a mother. Re- ligiously he fed, bathed and brushed him, refusing to delegate these "pleasures"

to anyone else. The dog was an unusually responsive and intelligent animal and seemed to understand the slightest change of expression in his master's

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face, Cesar used to go daily to a near-by shop to fetch his master's news- paper, carrying in his mouth the three sous wrapped in a piece of paper. One morning the dog arrived at the shop minus the money. The shop-keeper took it for granted that it was simply an oversight on Deburau' s part and delivered t paper anyway. But the omission was repeated every morning thereafter for twc weeks. Seeing Deburau passing one day, the proprietor called him in and re- minded him that he owed for fifteen newspapers. Deburau was astonished. He insisted that Cesar had set out with the money each morning as usual. The dog was interrogated. He wagged his tail intelligently but threw no light on the situation. The next morning Deburau decided to do a little detective wox He followed the dog and saw him trot straight to a little pastry shop and pre sent the money confidently. The shop-keeper gave him three little cakes, which Cesar devoured with relish before proceeding on his errand.

Upon occasion, Cesar took part in the pantomimes at the Funambules. His name appears on the program of le Reve d'un conscrit, ou la suite du bil- let de 1000 francs, in which he played an important part. Whan the thieves who had stolen the bag of money were about to divide it up between them, Ce- sar ran on, seized the money bag and made off with it in the nick of time. This put the audience into ecstasy and when the pantomime concluded Cesar was called back again and again with his master. Deburau trained him to respond in true thespian style, walking forward gravely on his hind legs, then bark- ing a "thank you" to his audience.

Just once during his long career Deburau played outside of the Funam- bules. This occasion was a benefit performance given at the Palais-Royal on October 11, 1832, On the program were leading artists from the Opera, the Theatre-Francais, and the Gymnase. Bert rand was asked to furnish a pantomime

the

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starring Deburau. Never was there a more humiliating failure. Deburau was actually hissed. Those in the audience who were seeing him for the first timp wondered how this man could be such a triumph in another quarter of the city. The explanation lies in the different atmosphere of the theater, rather than in the audience itself, for an audience usually adapts itself in some measure to the atmosphere peculiar to a certain theater. Deburau was out of his element in this great, formal, "regular" theater. As an artist, he was pos- sible only in his own special environment, in the intimacy of the tiny Funara- bules theater, playing close to his own naive and enthusiastic audience of workers. Deburau was greatly affected by this failure and took it deeply to heart. He returned gladly to his smoky little box of a theater, determined never to leave it again.

Two years after this fiasco, Perrot, the leading dancer of the Paris Opera, who often went to see Deburau, remarked to Veron, director of the Roy- al Academy of Music, "We need that man." After visiting the Funambules him- self to see the pantomimist perform, Veron agreed with the dancer. Deburau was offered the position of leading pantomimist in the Opera ballet at a sal- ary of five hundred francs a month, a fabulous sum compared with the one hun- dred and forty he was receiving at the Funambules. But Deburau was not to be tempted. He was as wise as he was modest. "Thank you, I'll remain where I

better off. I'm quite content with being well off." Then he added, somewhat sadly, "I'm no good except on the boulevard. I was hissed at the Palais-Roy- al. Wild poppies are made for the fields, not for royal flower gardens. I need my public in shirt-sleeves. I was born of it and I shall die with it."

Deburau' s contract with the Funambules had been signed on December 12,

am," he replied.

"'Better' is the enemy of 'good'.

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18<6. At that time Bertr&nd was beginning to appreciate the growing popular- ity of his Pierrot and deemed it advisable not to run the risk of allowing anyone else to entice him away from the Funambules. Among the many and varied clauses of this very comprehensive document were the following:

Deburau was engaged to play not only Pierrot but any other role which might be demanded of him, as well as to stand ready to take part in ballets, drills, et cetera, as reoAuired;

He was to report regularly at the theater at four o'clock on ordinary days and at three o'clock on Sun- days and holidays, whether playing or not, for in the latter case he might be needed at the last minute as a substitute;

He was to give as many performances as required by the management and must be prepared to take part in special engagements outside of the Funambules, whether for pub- lic or private productions; for such special perform- ances transportation would be provided as necessary but there would be no additional salary;

Deburau was not to appear on his own initiative at any other theater, public or private, without permission;

He was forbidden to leave the city limits without the written consent of the management;

In case of illness his salary would be suspended un- til his return to the theater;

He agreed to conform to all the regulations of the theater, to pay fines as indicated for any misdemeanors, and was to be satisfied with the lighting, heating and costuming as provided by the administration.

For all this Deburau received, during twenty years, five francs a day I Strangely enough, even after the flattering proposal made him by the Opera in 1854, the idea of asking for an increase in salary never entered his head. Nor did it occur to Bertrand to volunteer a raise when word of the amazing offer reached his ears.

At the height of a career devoted wholly to providing drama for oth- ers, fate visited Deburau with a real-life drama which was considerably less entertaining. On April 18, 1856, the great mime Deburau was arrested for

murder. The day before, Deburau had for the first and only time during his career, requested a holiday, which Bertrand had granted. The family set out in high spirits, Deburau, his wife and their two children. They had left the city limits and were walking along an almost country road when a young worker rather the worse for drink accosted Deburau and began addressing offensive language to him. The young man, Nicolas-Florent Vielin, was accompanied by his employer and the latter' s wife. The employer saw sport in the offing and egged his young apprentice on. Cupping his hands about his mouth, the fellow shouted derisively, "Good-day, Pierrot, you good-for-nothing clown. Look, ladies and gentlemen, there goes Pierrot with his Margoti"

Paying no attention to his tormentor, Deburau turned off on a road leading in a different direction, toward Bagnolet. But two hours later he again encountered the same young fellow, who recommenced his insults. The little eight-year-old Charles remarked to his father, who was pretending not to hear, "Papa, there's that fellow again who is calling you a clown." Debu- rau promptly silenced the youngster and tried to outdistance his pursuer, but unsuccessfully. When at length Deburau' s patience had been tried to the limit he turned directly to Vielin and demanded, "What do you want of me? Do I owe you anything?"

The answer to this was, "Neither you nor your strumpet is anything to

me!"

As Deburau angrily raised his cane, his wife interposed, throwing her arms about his body. The cane dropped, striking Vielin' s head and the fellow fell to the ground. After a stunned moment he made an attempt to pull him- self up, then lost consciousness completely. A doctor was summoned as quickly as possible, and after examining the victim pronounced his injury to be a fractured skull. A little more than an hour later he was dead.

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In the meantime, Deburau had returned home. It was not until the next morning that he learned the result of the fracas from the police commissioner of the district, who lived in the same house with Deburau. While still dazed by the news, Deburau was formally arrested, although Bertrand moved heaven and earth on his behalf. It was now that George Sand began the series of articles which did so much to win public favor to his support.

The day the trial opened, the court room presented the appearance of a gala premiere. High and low had crowded themselves in to .witness the denoue- ment of this sensational real-life drama. The scene is dramatically described by an anonymous reporter writing for the Gazette des Tribunaux at the time:

As Deburau is introduced into the court, he advances timidly, with halting step. His expression shows how deeply he is moved. The occasional tears which course down his cheeks would win public sympathy to him, were it not already assured. Then his astonished gaze fixes on the assemblage of people before him, elegant people, ladies of rank crowded together with no thought of con- cern for their crushed and rumpled costumes. But it is not this world for which you are searching, Deburau I Look beyond, far back to the depths of the courtroom. There is your public, your real public, coatless, sleeves rolled up, your "quat'-sous" public, who today have paid no admission fee to see their idol. Note how intently they regard their mountebank; remark the rap- ture which overspreads their greasy faces and reflects itself softly on the pale, worn visage of the unhappy Bohemian . ...

But something else beside concern for the pantomimic artist has moved these representatives of all social classes to be present at the trial. Until now, they have not known Deburauj they have known only the famous Pierrot of the Funambules. Most of them have seen him only with his mask of white make-up. The public knows his every facial expression, his every gesture, but they have never heard him speak. Now they have crowded eager- ly into this court of Justice, curious to see the man him- self. (1)

(1) Unsigned art. in Qaaettfe des Tribunal, May 22, 1836.

Deburau was charged with manslaughter, accused of having deliberately struck down a man, not with intent to murder, it is true, but death had re- sulted in consequence of his act. If convicted, the maximum penalty was twenty years* forced labor, the minimum two years' imprisonment. Deburau was overwhelmed. Speculation was rife among the audience. Would he be acquitted or condemned? Opinion was divided. To be sure, there were witnesses to swear that Deburau had been duly provoked, that the blow was struck in de- fense of his wife's honor. On the other hand, a life had been taken. Even as the jury deliberated, wagers were placed on the outcome by those gathered in the courtroom.

During the hearing many witnesses testified in Deburau' s favor. His reputation for kindliness toward everyone was stressed and he was cited as a model husband and father. He was a good and loyal citizen, a member of the National Guard. The counsel for the defense concluded with this appeal: "Deburau has devoted his life to making others laugh; I implore you not to condemn to tears this worthy man, his wife and his children, who need his support. "

The jurors retired. After five minutes of deliberation they returned with a verdict of "not guilty". The pronouncement brought a salvo of cries - "Vive Deburau" and "Bravo". Deburau1 s face remained impassive. Not until his friends surged about him and gripped him by the hand did his face light up and reveal the overwhelming emotion of relief which welled up from his heart.

The acquittal was no less welcome to the Funambules than to Deburau

himself. The theater had almost foundered during the absence of the favorite

The most popular mimes of the company had been put into Deburau1 s part but the public would not go to see them. The day after Deburau1 s release the

billboard before the Funambules triumphantly heralded his return. No actor in history has ever been accorded a more whole-heartedly enthusiastic recep- tion. The auditorium was jammed with representatives from every quarter of Paris, including notables, artists of renown and literary lights. Newspaper reviewers who could not obtain seats were permitted to stand in the wings. When Pierrot stepped out onto the stage and received his tribute he wept with happiness and gratitudi. He had not been anxious to return to the theater immediately. It seemed to him more fitting that he allow a few weeks to elapse so that the publicity could die down. Then, too, he bad not the heart for clowning. He had been deeply shaken by the fatal result of his impulsive action and in fact was never wholly to recover from it. His last years were haunted by remorse. Soon after his release he wrote,

Je ne puis plus toucher un baton sans qu'il me brule les doigts, sans que le coeur me manque. J'aurai beau faire, cette mort-la sera toujours entre le public et moi. Quand je ferai des moulinets avec mon baton pour me defendre contre des ennemis imaginaires, les spec- tateurs songeront a Pierrot assassin.

As Charles grew to young manhood he began to show infallible symptoms of a leaning toward the theater but Deburau did not intend that his son should follow in his footsteps. He had no wish to see Charles become a Pier- rot. He gave him as adequate an education as was within his means and for a trade had had him taught porcelain painting. Charles appeared to fall in with his father's wishes but every evening he watched the performance at the Fu- nambules. He was an intelligent boy and had a good sense of pantomime, under- standing everything his father did. Returned home, however, he would do a little acting himself. He would question his father as to the meaning of certain of his expressions or gestures.

"What, you don't understand?" Deburau would reply, amazed. "But watch

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this gesture expresses such and such an idea." Charles, mischievously, would repeat the action or expression, deliberately distorting it. "No, no, no, - that's not it," Deburau would retort, exasperated. "Your arm doesn't harmon- ize with your leg; it's a false attitude." Or else, "lou are simply making faces, grimacing. It is expression that is needed. lour face must reveal what you are thinking. You must use your mind, and gestures, attitudes, fa- cial expressions, all must harmonize. Don't you understand?"

Of course Charles understood perfectly well. He was simply tricking his father into giving him lessons. One day when Charles seemed to be par- ticularly obtuse, Deburau lost his patience. "Now look here," he said. "I don't want you to be a Pierrot. Stick to your trade, it is much more depend- able and one never knows what may happen. But I'm going to teach you panto- mime anyhow." Thus the training began in earnest and Charles came to know all that his father knew about the art.

One day in 1845 Charles said to his friend, Alexandre Guyon, "Father's going to be surprised. I want to enter the Conservatory. 11

"What for?" demanded Guyon in surprise.

"I want to be a tragedian," announced Charles solemnly.

But since Charles was a minor, his father's consent was necessary be- fore the Conservatory would accept him as a pupil and this Deburau at first refused point blank to give. Father and son argued the matter hotly. Realiz ing finally that he was getting nowhere with his father, Charles stopped argu- ing and two big tears rolled down his cheeks. This was too much for Deburau. He took his son in his arms and tried to reason with him. But the tears only redoubled. "If only I were certain that you had talent..." mused Deburau, on the point of weakening. Floods of tears ensued and at this Deburau capitu-

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lated. Charles entered the Conservatory but his training there was destined to be cut short by his father's death less than a year later.

Deburau1 s death has been mistakenly attributed by many to the injuries sustained when he fell through the trap. Actually, it was caused by asthma, from which he had suffered for some years. The condition was aggravated both by the strenuous physical requirements of his playing and by the stuffy, smok; vitiated atmosphere of the theater. After 1841 Deburau1 s health began to fai! noticeably and he was obliged to absent himself from the theater more and mor frequently. In June, 1846, illness kept him at home for three weeks. It wa at this time that he sent Charles to watch Legrand playing Pierrot and to bring back a report on bi.3 reception by the audience. Deburau* s bitterness a being apparently superseded by his substitute impelled him to go back to his work when he was in no condition to play. His return was announced in advanc and the audience was beside itself with enthusiasm in welcoming him back. Those who had been unable to get into the theater itself joined in the ap- plause from the doorway and even from the street itself.

In the pantomime Pierrot was supposed to do one of his eccentric danc- es which was a particular favorite. Scarcely able to stand on his feet, De- burau sent word to the orchestra leader to skip the music for the dance. It was missed by the audience, naturally, and voices began to call out for it peremptorily. Stepping forward, Deburau looked out at his old friends so pit eously, so apologetic in his mute appeal, that the audience understood at once. As with a single voice came the words, "No - no dance. n Deburau stood with bowed head, overcome with emotion. The curtain was lowered for a moment to permit him to regain control of himself and when it rose again it was to thunderous and respectful applause. Alexandre Guyon, to whom we are indebted

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for this account, said that the audience seemed to sense that Deburau was bidding them a last good-bye.

June 16, 1846, marks the death of the "King of the low theater", aged fifty years, still at the height of his ability and popularity. It is only fair to call attention to the fact that Deburau had not lost his audience, was not hissed at the end of his career, as is represented in Sacha Gui try's play It is unfortunate that for the sake of a dramatic effect the facts regarding a truly great artist should have been thus distorted.

Several days before the 16th, it was rumored that Deburau had already died. By some means, this false report got into the newspapers and came to Deburau1 s attention. He was deeply afflicted at seeing the item and it un- doubtedly hastened his end.

Deburau had been the pride of the quarter in which he lived. The day of his funeral a host of friends, fellow-players from the Funambules and many from neighboring theaters, surged about the doorway of his modest dwelling. As the cortege set out, saddened faces clustered at open windows and crowds of people lined the way to the church of Sainte-Elisabeth. Slowly the coffin was borne along the street down which he had passed so many times. Deburau1 s name was murmured respectfully. All eyes followed with pensive concentration the passing of the beloved mime whom they would never see again.

The casket was not carried by professional pallbearers. The machinists of the Funambules had asked to render this last service to the comrade who hac been close to them for so many years. At the grave in Pere Lachaise cemetary an obituary address was pronounced by the actor Albert in the name of the so- ciety of Dramatic Artists, of which Deburau had been one of the founders.

Several days before his death Deburau composed his own epitaph. It was: "Here lies one who has said everything without uttering a word." It is regretable that it was not used.

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CHAPTER XVII

LAYING THE GHOST OF DEBURAU

At Deburau fs death, Paul Legrand came into his own. His star had al- ready been in its ascendancy for several years and he had acquired his own following of staunch supporters among the habitues of the Funambules. Through July, therefore, there was no noticeable falling-off in business at the lit- tle theater and Billion was content. But toward the middle of August there arose a problem which was to give Billion increasing cause for apprehension with regard to his new star. One day, at the very door of the Funambules, street song-vendors began to cry the title of a new song, Deburau dans l'Qlympe, written by no less a person than Eugene Grange, the vaudeville

writer. The opening stanza ran -

Au Parnasse Deburau prend sa place. Acteur, il s'y voit applaudij Et chaque Dieu se sent gueri. L'Olympe malade est gueri. (1)

The song took hold of the boulevard crowd and spread like wildfire. It was,

comments Pericaud, as though the ghost of Deburau had come forth from his

tomb to haunt the Funambules. Billion was furious at the reappearance of the

name which he had thought successfully obliterated by the new glory of Paul

Legrand. The irate manager set the police after the sellers of the song and

tried to have them prohibited from stationing themselves at the door of his

theater. The vendors in their turn stood on their rights, appealed to the

prefect of police, and won their case. Billion thereupon attempted bribery

(1) Louis PERICAUD, op. cit., p. 294.

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to induce them to go and sell their song elsewhere but he made no headway with them. In the end, he was forced to accept the situation as best he could, hoping the novelty would wear off in time.

No sooner did sales on the first song begin to dwindle than the same author obliged with a second, entitled Tailm fit Dftbnre.ii - dialogue des morts Ji propels des vivan,ta. This time Deburau was made a mouthpiece for the revo- lutionary faction which was beginning to make itself heard about thi3 time. The boulevard was a hot- bed for the rising restlessness of the workers. In view of its special political significance, this song merits quotation in its entirety.

TALMA ET DEBURAU Dialogue des Morts a propos des Vivant3 (Air: "du Dieu des bonnes gens")

Talma, tendant la main a Deburau.

Ami, c'est toi, parle-moi de la France, De son beau ciel, a mes yeux eclipse. Parle: Apprends-moi, depuis ma longue absence, De glorieux tout ce qui s'est passe.

Deburau, regardant autour de lui.

Parlons plus bas, si tu veux que je puisse Te raconter ce que l'on fait la-bas. On dit Cerb&re un limier de police. Cher Talma, parlons bas (bis) .

II.

Talma

Je me souviens de ces beaux jours de gloire Ou nous avions un parterre de rois; La France encore, oh! laisse-moi le croire A I'univers pourrait dieter des lois.

Deburau

Elle le peutl Oui rendons-lui justice: Mais bien souvent on enchaine 3on bras. Chut I Cerbere est un limier de police, Par Ion 3, parlons plus bas (bis) .

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III. Talma

Avec la paix doit regner l'abondance;

Le peuple est done aussi riche qu'heureux?

Deburau

Le pain est cher et le budget immense; Nous payons l'air, ce don gratuit des cieux. Je crois qu'a bien conter le benefice, II vaudrait mieux guerre et brillants combat3. Mais Cerbere est on limier de police, Parlons, parlons plus bas (bis) .

IV. Talma

Pour commander n'e3t-il done plus personne?... Le peuple est-il veuf de tous ses heros?...

Deburau

Le premier rang, chacun I'ambitionne, Et la tribune a ses deux grands rivaux. Le plus petit, tout gonfle de malice, Dit: Le Roi re'gne et ne gouverne pas I

Talma

Et I1 autre?

Deburau

Chut! redoutons la police, Pensons haut, parlons bas (bis) .

Talma

En France au moins, il n'est plus de Jesuites? . . .

Deburau

Comme to uj ours, encore plus que jamais. Partout on voit le froc noir des levites; II envahit et chaumiere et palais. De Loyola l'eternelle milice Montre au grand jour et soutane et rabats: Mais Cerbere est un limier de police. Parlons, parlons plus bas (bis) .

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VI. Talma

Jusque chez nous de la brave Pologne A retenti le cri de liberte: On n ' aurait pu sans honte, sans vergogne, L'abandonner a son jour detestS.

Deburau

De ses her os chaaun marche au supplies, La France en pleurs demeure l'arme au bras I Chut J Cerbere est un limier de police, Parlons, parlons plus bas (bis) .

VII. Talma

Ainsi jetais dans une erreur profonde Quand je revais notre gloire d» autrefois. De chute en chute, il croule ce vieux monde Ou de 1 Empire a resonne la voix.

Deburau

(alarme) Parlons plus bas si tu veux que je puisse Te raconter ce que 1 ' on fait la-bas. On dit Cerbere un limier de police,

Pensons haut, parlons bas I (bis) (1)

This song sold even more furiously than the first and by it Deburau 's name was kept on the lips of everyone along the boulevard. Members of the company had the temerity to hum the song inside the theater itself. Billion was beside himself. He opened battle with a series of injunctions. The first to appear read, "Any employe of the Funambules seen drinking at a cafe in com- pany with the vendors of songs on the late Deburau will be dismissed from thij theater." And again. "Monsieur Alexandre, having sung Talma et Deburau inside the theater, is subjected to a fine of ten sous. Anyone who repeats this per- formance will be subject to a fine of twenty sous. A third offense will be punished with immediate dismissal from the theater. n

Ihile this put a temporary check to the annoyance inside the theater,

(1) Eugene GRANGE, quoted by Louis PERICAUD, op. cit., pp. 300-501.

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business continued to flourish without. One day the Funambules family was amazed to see Billion arrive at the theater with his face wreathed in smiles, distributing cordial handshakes indiscriminately in every direction. The company did not know what to make of their manager's unprecedented good humor. The secret behind it was that Billion's business acumen had pointed to a pos- sible way out. If he could not eradicate the nuisance, he would try to turn it to his pecuniary advantage. The six vendors were summoned to meet in a body to consider a proposition. When they had been duly assembled in his of- fice, Billion drew himself up in all his managerial majesty and with an air of magnanimous sollicitude delivered a speech written to order for him by Charles Charton. "Sirs," he began, "you are exposed each evening to the in- clemencies of the weather. The rain, the wind and the hail render you fit subjects for rheumatism and pneumonia. Now, I have your welfare at heart. It is not out on the boulevard but right here inside my theater that I wish to see you carry on your business. On consideration of a fee of fifty cen- times from each of you, which you will pay me nightly before the performance begins, I accord you the privilege of selling your lucubrations here in the very Temple in which the great Deburau, whom we all so deeply regret, exercis- ed his priesthood." The six vendors put their heads together in consultation and decided to accept the proposition. Thus Billion found himself not only delivered from the annoying competition to the name of Paul Legrand at the door of his theater, but also the richer by at least one hundred and eighty rancs monthly, en amount sufficient to cover the salaries of several of his artists.

Champfleury's association with the Punambules was just beginning at ihis period. His first pantomime, Pierrot, valet de la Mort. was not a financial success. Consequently, when he submitted a second manuscript a few

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weeks later Billion was anything but pleased. He realized, nevertheless, that it would be dangerous not to humor this litterateur of already recognized standing, despite his youth, for in his wake followed a train of admiring journalists with an assurance of publicity for the theater. The success of Champfleury's second pantomime came as a welcome surprise. The degree of Bil lion's gratitude may be measured by the fact that he voluntarily paid Champ- fleury just double his usual price for the manuscript,

Paul Legrand's position was becoming increasingly secure, particularly in ChampflQury' s pantomimes, which provided considerably more acting oppor- tunity than the average run of offerings. But Deburau was not forgotten, least of all by Paul Legrand himself. An episode which constituted a part of the fairy spectacle Pierrot recompense, presented on February 29, 1847, is worth noting in this connection. The production, though called a pantomime, was in reality a singing and dancing extravaganza. In fact, Pierrot and Arlequin were the only mute characters. In the apotheosis Pierrot, played by Legrand, was to be crowned by the fairy Melite, At the moment of receiving the crown from her hands, a curtain at the back of the stage ?/as raised, revealing a bust of Deburau, Pierrot then pantomimed a song, the words of which were chanted by a hidden singer, -

Nonl je ne puis accepter la couronnel ELle doit etre accordee au talent. La spectateur est celui qui la donne Et de lui seul, un jour, Pierrot 1' attend. Heureux, jamais si je me fais connaitre, De meriter de semblables faveurs, Je vais, Messieurs, la dormer a mon maitre, , ,. (1)

And moving up stage, Legrand reverently placed the crown on Deburau 1 s head.

Billion had not been at all enthusiastic over this reappearance of De-

(1) Anonymous, quoted by Louis PERICAUD, op. cit,, p. 310.

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burau on the very stage of the Funambules but he yielded to the insistence of Legrand, who is said to have conceived this idea himself,

Charles De burau was now a member of the Funambules troupe. Billion had been appointed his guardian until his coming of age. No longer having his fa- ther's stubborn opposition standing in his way, Charles had begged Billion to take him into the company and toward the end of 1846 he got his way, being al- lowed to appear in minor pantomimic roles.

On June 8, 1847, Pierrot marie et Polichinelle calibataire opened its run. In this pantomime there is a battle between Pierrot and Polichinelle, in which each of the combatants calls to his aid the members of his own tribe We have, accordingly, a battle royal between the tribe of Pierrots and the tribe of Polichinelles, Alexandre Guyon and Charles Deburau took part as Pierrots, It was in this production that the singular resemblance of the young Charles to his father was remarked for the first time. He looked like his father in his white make-up, his expressions were the same, he had the same gay, mocking laughter. Billion himself was strangely impressed.

The following October, les Trois planetes, ou la Vie d'une Rose, grand spectacular fairy harlequinade, went into rehearsal. Charles, cast in a minor role of a tavern keeper, had plenty of leisure in which to study Paul Le- grand 's interpretation. After rehearsals, Charles would return home and con- sider Legrand1 s conception of Pierrot disapprovingly, "Father wouldn't have played him that way," he would say to himself and he would then reconstruct the scenes as he believed Deburau would have done them.

Three days before the opening Legrand received a flattering offer from an English director. He went to Billion and told him about it, "Give me jus half of what they are offering me in London and I'll remain at the Funam- bules,''

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As usual, at the idea of any augmentation of salary, Billion saw red, "The half of it? Not a third: Not a quarter I"

"Very well," said Legrand, "my engagement here is by the week; I'll forfeit a week's pay and leave tomorrow." Billion tore his hair but would not yield.

Legrand' s offer was no secret back stage. No sooner had he marched out of the irate manager's office than Charles knocked at the door. Upon be- ing admitted, he went straight to the point. "Monsieur Billion, I understand that Paul has broken with you. I have come to propose that you allow me to take over his part."

Billion reflected shrewdly for a brief moment, then remarked, "After all, why not? Can you be ready in three days?"

"In three hours, if you wish," volunteered Charles in ecstasy. "Very well. It is you who will create les Trois planetes." Billion had been quick to seise the business possibilities in this suc- cession of Charles to his famous father's place. The poster went up before the theater bearing once more the magic name of Deburau. The effect produced by this coup de theatre proved Billion's judgment to have been sound. The house was sold out for the premiere. VThen Charles made his first appearance as Pierrot, the audience went mad. Here was the veritable incarnation of Gas- pard Deburau before their very eyes. Comparing Charles with his father, Jules Janin said, "It would have been an interesting experiment if we could have hid- den the fact of Deburau' s death and presented his son without saying a word of the substitution, (toe would never have known that Deburau was dead." (1) Dur- ing the performance oranges, flowers and even the crowning honor, a fruit tart,

(1) Jules JANIN, quoted by Louis PERICAUD, op. cit., p. 407

were tossed to Charles on the stage. At the conclusion of the pantomime, deeply moved by his overwhelming reception, the eighteen-year-old boy stepped forward and abandoning the traditional silence of Pierrot, sang a song which ended thus:

De Deburau qui, longtemps, vous fit rire, Qui, si longtemps, merita vos bravos, Pardonnez-moi si, tout nouveau, j' aspire A reveiller les succes les plus beaux,

C'etait mon per el

Messieurs, j'espere Que mes efforts ne s'ront pas superflus.

Le fils vous prie

Et vous supplie: Applaudissez pour celui qui n'est plusi (1)

In the pandemonium which followed, the clapping of hands, the stamping of feet, the orgy of "bravos" from the audience was joined by the orchestra itself, the musicians augmenting the uproar with a cacophany of sounds from their various instruments.

Alexandre Guyon relates that the day after this triumph Charles bought a wreath of immortelles and laid it on his father's grave. This was to be- come a regular ritual for him after each premiere during his career, as also upon his return from any extended tour. Here in Pere Lachaise cemetary, kneeling at the grave of the father whom he adored and whose memory he so deeply revered, he would offer up his little prayer of gratitude.

Charles' spectacular success inspired a certain Achille Bougnol, who played leading roles in the vaudevilles at the Funambules, to write a poem which Billion allowed to be sold in the theater. The idea of the poem ex- pressed the general sentiment of Funambules patrons and is summed up in this stanza:

(1) Anonymous, quoted by Louis PERICAUD, op. cit., p. 521.

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Chacun dit la sienne Sur l'aad Pierrot. L'idee qu'est la mienne, CTest que c'est Deburau, Qui dans sa sagesse S* trouvant trop ancien A r'pris sa jeunesse Chez un magi ci en . ... (1)

Thus the ghost of Deburau was effectively exorcised through its trans- migration to the person of his son, Charles.

(1) Achille B0UGN0L, quoted by Louis PERICAUD, op. cit., p. 524,

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CHAPTER XVIII

CHAMPFLEURY - FROM ROMANTICISM TO REALISM

Though unsuccessful in its original production, Cot d'Crdan's Marchand d' habits possessed all the attributes with which to set a romantic imagina- tion on fire. It was Champfleury, the only genuine literary light among the pantomime writers of the period, who took possession of this genre and really developed it systematically. With his first pantomime, Pierrot, valet de la mort (September 19, 1846), he definitely inaugurated a period of transition at the Funambules. At a time when Billion was firmly rooted in traditional classicism, Champfleury, aged twenty-five years, appeared on the scene and introduced the most audacious romanticism, genre lugubre, into pantomime. Most of his pieces reflected this obsession to a greater or lesser degree. He said himself of this phase through which he passed in his youth -

La mort ne me semblait qu'un pretext e a la litterature, et surtout son appareil, ses serviteurs et son mobilier. Un peu trop enthousiaste de ballades allemandes et de Francais goguenards, je ne revais que croque-morts, que pompes funebres, que cercueils. C'est sous le coup de ces idees que .^ecrivis Pierrot, valet de la mort, ma premiere pantomime, qui obtint un certain succes romentique. (1)

By chance, Champfleury happened to lay his hand one day on a little

philosophical treatise by Wallon, entitled De la nature hyperphysique de

lthomme (1846), He was peculiarly struck by Wallon 's thesis that -

L'homme spirituel se debarrassera definitivement de la Mort; il tuera, il ecrasera la mort pour arriver a des destinies superieures: alors il sera delivre des condi- tions materieiles et relatives qui arretent ses progres;

(1) CHAMPFLEURY, quoted by Louis Pericaud, op. cit., p. 51.

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les facultes psychologiques ou physiques, seules connues et etudiees, jusqu'ici, se transf ormeront en facultes hyperphysiques, et l1 esprit jouira de toute sa spontane- ity creatrice. (1)

It was this thought that engendered and crystallized Champfleury 's idea for Pierrot, valet de la mort.

As Champfleury has admitted, he was attracted particularly by the form al display and the paraphernalia of death. His manuscript called for the em- ploy of three coffins in one scene of his pantomime. He intended that they descend from above the stage into the scene which represented the underworld presided over by the Grim Reaper. This unusual requisition caused the author to undergo the torments of the damned himself while the piece was in process of production. His troubles commenced when the director announced that the censorship bureau put its foot down on the use of coffins as properties. The shock of this pronouncement was almost more than Champfleury could sustain. If he could not have his coffins, he might just as well abandon the entire pantomime. He flew to Gautier, who, he knew, shared his own predilection for coffins, and poured out his woe. Gautier sat down at once and indited a let- ter to the bureau of censors. Arrived at the bureau armed with this missive, Champfleury found only an aged clerk in attendance, the censors having gone out en masse for a promenade.

"Yfoat's the meaning of this?" he stormed. »V?hat right have they to cut out my coffins?"

The clerk stared at him distrustfully, until he discovered that his irate customer came from the Funambules. "I'll look up the manuscript," he

(1) WALLON. De la nature hyperphysique de l'homme. quoted by CHAMPFLEURY. Souvenirs des Funambules, p. 8.

said with a conciliatory air. "If the coffins are crossed out with red ink, I can do nothing for you. You would have to get a revocation from the Min- ister." Producing the manuscript from the file, the two studied it intently. Not a trace of red ink anywhere. There it was, signed, approved, ready to be returned to the Funambules . Champfleury then realized that he had been delib- erately misinformed at the theater.

"But why must you have coffins?" queried the mystified old clerk.

"It's a dramatic effect," explained the author.

The old man thumbed over the manuscript and his eyes came to rest on an episode in which Death opens a tiny casket, discovering therein the body of a child. The clerk shook his head. "Ah, Monsieur, think how this would hurt a mother who may have lost a child of her own."

"In such an event," equivocated Champfleury, "the mother would not be a| the Funambules."

But the clerk was not to be reasoned out of his opinion. "Eelieve me, Bir, dispense with this little coffin, in your own interests."

"Very well, very well," acquiesced Chajapfleury hastily, pretending to accede, then setting off post-haste for the theater.

"Victory," he shouted upon arriving at the Funambules. "We still have our coffins!" But alas, the day of the premiere arrived and as the dress re- hearsal proceeded Champfleury beheld with horror a large square box being low- ered from the flies. "And my coffins??" he stormed,

"It's ail the same,1* explained the stage manager nonchalantly. "We'll put the three corpses in the one box. It doesn't change your manuscript." Champfleury tore his hair. "Anyhow," continued the stage manager stubbornly, "it would be impossible for the machinist to lower three coffins vdth the act- ors inside then. The box comes down empty and the actors get into it through

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a trap door in the floor of the stage. The actors would object to being low- ered from the flies, even if it were possible to do it that way, for it's too dangerous. And we haven't any coffins among our properties anyway."

"But we can easily get some right near here, at the funeral parlors near the Saint-Martin canal," persisted the author in desperation. "I'll go right over and borrow them. I understand that the concern is owned by the- atrical people and they will understand my need." But before he could leave the theater, the director intervened, maintaining with finality that the cen- sors had expressly prohibited the use of accessories having to do with cults of any sort and that the theaters had been warned to represent cemetaries as

infrequently as possible. Charapfleury found himself constrained to yield. Crestfallen, he left the theater, giving up all hope of the pantomime's prov- ing a success. He was ashamed to meet his friends, to whom he had so vaunted the funereal effects which he had planned.

In spite of its lugubrious tone in spots, the general spirit of the pantomime is gay and at its outset adheres fairly closely to the traditions of the English harlequinade. In the first scene, entitled Steeplechase des amoureux, Golombine is pursued by three lovers, Pierrot, Arlequin and Poli- chinelle. Since one is as poor as another, Cassandre announces that he will accord his daughter's hand to the vdnner in a contest of skill. A target is brought and the three aspirants prepare to determine who is the best marks- man. Polichinelle shoots first and Pierrot promptly runs to the target to see how near the bull's-eye his shot has hit. Thereupon, accidentally or de- liberately, Arlequin shoots and Pierrot falls, mortally wounded.

The second scene, Facheux effets des mldecins et des medecines, is al- so wholly comic. We find Pierrot in bed, being tended by Colombine. But she quits her post to accord a rendezvous to Arlequin. The doctor arrives and

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after various slapstick medical experiments upon Pierrot decides he should be bled. Leeches are brought in a glass of water. Pierrot seizes the glass and downs its contents in one gulp, leeches and all. Realizing that this will surely mean the end of his patient, the doctor makes a hasty exit, but takes advantage of his opportunity to pick up a handful of nicknacks on the way out This so infuriates Pierrot that he jumps out of bed, hurls his pillows and finally his mattress after the light-fingered medico, and then, exhausted by his effort, succumbs.

We now come to the famous Cabinet de la Mort. upon which Champfleury had built such high hopes. The curtain goes up on a dimly-lit, lugubrious cavern in the underworld. In this scene Death has a speaking role. In the dimness may be vaguely discerned an assemblage of miscellaneous bones and grin- ning skulls. On a throne sits Death, holding his scythe. On the stroke of midnight the giant coffin makes its descent. Death observes it and remarks disgustedly, "Business is bad today. Things aren't going well up there. People live too long nowadays. I've half a mind to give up the trade, espec- ially since these skinflints bring nothing with them to pay their way. All they're good for is fertilizer. If they brought only the half of what they possess ... but nothing, not an obole. They leave everything, their goods, their money, to relatives who smirk with anticipation before the victim's eyes axe closed."

Having thus spoken, Death descends from his throne and opens the cof- fin. He registers disgust upon seeing its contents. "A childi ?fhat's the use of that? I prefer a grown man who has some weight to him. But an orphan child, who leaves nobody grieving for him ... and it is grief which brings me trade. BahJ Well, let's see what else there is. The devil! A doctor. Where was my head when I cut that one down? ... a man so devoted to me, who

sent me so many visitors every day. Ah, poor doctor, my old friend, you were badly at fault to let yourself die."

His eye is then caught by Pierrot. "Ah, this is something like it. I've already missed this one too many times. At last he is mine. I'll revive him for a few moments." He takes a vial and rubs Pierrot's nostrils with its contents. Pierrot sneezes, opens one eye, then closes it quickly, terrified at sight of the grisly figure bending over him.

"Pierrot," says Death, "come forth from your coffin and return to life." Accompanied by a clap of thunder, Pierrot steps out of the box, over- joyed at finding himself resuscitated but apprehensive, too, because of his awe-inspiring surroundings. Death then makes a proposition to Pierrot. He informs him that he will be permitted to return to earth upon condition that he act as emissary for Death and send to him both Arlequin and Polichinelle in his stead.

Pierrot agrees, but before allowing him to depart, Death orders refresh- ment, which is brought in by two skeletons. Wine is poured into a cup fash- ioned from a cranium but drinking from this is more than Pierrot can stomach. He seizes a bottle and drains it avidly. Death then provides his guest with a violin and demands entertainment. He mounts to his throne and summons his subjects. The cavern is soon filled with a host of ghosts and skeletons, who perform a mad ballet to the accompaniment of Pierrot's fiddling. This entire scene was inspired by the famous danse macabre represented in the frescoes of the middle ages. When the grim merriment is at its height, Pierrot leaps on- to the coffin, which sails with him into the upper world.

In the fourth scene, Pierrot revoit le soleil. Cassandre is at first terrified upon encountering Pierrot's ghost, but is reassured, when Pierrot demands food and wine, that he has nothing to fear. The scene is composed

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chiefly of stock comic business, including a duel between Arlequin and Pier- rot, in which it is Cassandre who receives the thrusts of both adversaries.

In the meantime, the fairy Vitalia has warned Colombia e and Arlequin to be on their guard against Pierrot, who, she informs them, has been trans- formed into a ghoul. They make their escape and set up a little pastry shop, to which we are introduced in the fifth scene, Colombine patissiere. In pas- sing, the odor of fresh pastry attracts Pierrot and thus Colombine is discov- ered, Pierrot reports his finding to Cassandre and these two, aided by Pol- ichinelle, prepare to take the shop by storm. At the crucial moment, Vitalia appears in her chariot and delivers the two lovers.

The sixth scene, entitled Mort de la Mort. takes place in a palace to which Arlequin and Colombine have fled. With the arrival of the three pursu- ers, Death suddenly appears and reproaches Pierrot for not carrying out his bargain. He threatens that if Arlequin and Polichinelle are not sent below ground immediately, Pierrot himself must return. But at this point a voice is heard crying, "Pierrot, cease leaguing yourself with the enemy of mankind and your heart will be drunk with happiness." Pierrot does not hesitate. He promptly breaks his pact, which infuriates Death. Polichinelle thereupon dis- patches Death with his own scythe and in the apotheosis which concludes the pantomime we find Pierrot, restored to virtue, blessing the union of Arlequin and Colombine.

All the great and lesser literary lights of the day, including Theodore de Banville, Baudelaire, Theophile Gautier and Gerard de Nerval, were present for the premiere on September 13, 1846, and for the most part hailed the pan- tomime as something distinctive. The common Funambules audience was less en- thusiastic. In place of the predominance of slapstick farce and horseplay, or pure melodramatic thrills, Champfleury had endeavored to introduce into

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this piece a sort of symbolism. He was trying to make his audience think.

But it proved rather beyond the intellectual resources of the Funambules

habitues. They were interested but more than a little bewildered and did not

know just how to take it.

As Gautier was obliged to leave on a trip to Spain the day following

the premiere, he commissioned Gerard de Nerval to write a review of it in hie

stead. Nerval began his article with,

L' elite de la societe Parisienne s'etait portee ven- dredi dernier au theatre illustre par le feu Deburau. 11 y avait dans cet empressement un homnage rendu a ce grand souvenir, et de plus une double esperance: Pierrot renaitra-t-il de ses cendres? La Pantomime est- ell a morte apres lui, comme la trageclie apres Tal- ma? ...

After a detailed analysis of the plot, Nerval criticised what seemed to him, and justly so, to be defects in the writing of the pantomime. In his estima- tion, the turnings of the plot were somewhat too abrupt, the interest not con sistently sustained, and Champfleury had failed to have Pierrot make any at- tempt to fulfill the conditions of his pact. Finally, Pierrot fs return to virtue was unmotivated and too sudden. Nerval dismisses these as minor con- siderations, however, and gets on to the philosophy which prompted the writ- ing of the pantomime.

Pierrot faisant denser les sorts au son d'une viole enrouee, e'etait une idle romanesque sans doute, mais d»une valeur objective incontestable. La. se realisait, a priori. I1 argument qui, selon I'auteur, devait amener a posteriori, cette audacieuse conclusion intitulee par lui: Mort de la Mort. Du moment que la Mort s1 amuse a ecouter les violons, elle est vain cue: temoin la fable d'Orphee. 11 y aurait toute une palingenesie a ^crire la-dessus. Au reste, la philosophie modeme n'a rien formule de plus clair que cette pantomime en sept tab- leaux. (1)

(1) Gerard de NERVAL, quoted by CHAMPFLEURY, op. cit., pp. 13-17.

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With regard to his philosophic motive, the author himself wrote at a later date,

Mod pas que j'aie eu 1* intention de fairs une pantomime avec tirades philosophiques, chose du plus facheux effet et qui rentrerait dans I'ecole du peintre penseur et du romancier socialiste. Ce Pierrot, valet de la Mort est une oeuvre simple comma bonjour, qui a pour but d'amuser le spectateur et de le divertir par un nombre illimite de coups de pied au cul et de soufflets. Mais, de meme que la pensee jaillit d'un tableau sans que 1' artiste s'en soit inquiete, de meme que des ideos socialistes naissent de la lecture d'un roman ou. l'auteur n'aura seme que des observations et des faits, de meme une simple farce peut conduire a un monde d'idees. C'est ce qui fait la grand- eur, la puissance, et ce qui explique la superiority de la pantomime sur la tragedie. (1)

In spite of the fact that Pierrot, valet de la mort was not well re- ceived by the lower orders, Champfleury refused to be discouraged. In less than a month he was back with another pantomime in similar vein, Pierrot pen- du (October 12, 1346), which proved to be a genuine success not only with the litterati but with the people themselves.

Here, once again, Arlequin, Pierrot and Poli chin ell e all aspire to the hand of Colombine, who, of course, favors Arlequin. Pierrot and Poli chin ell e do all in their power to see to it that the course of true love runs as dif- ficultly as possible and there is a good deal of stock harlequinade slapstick business as a sop to the hoi -poll oi. In one of the most amusing episodes Pi- errot, in an attempt to escape his pursuers, hides in a grandfather's clock, which produces strange antics on the part of the clock. From the two large keyholes in its face peer the terrified eyes of Pierrot; its hands turn wild- ly; the cuckoo jumps out and strikes the hour every few minutes. Cassandre does not know what to make of this strange timepiece that seems to breathe

(1) Gerard de NERVAL, quoted by CHAMPFLEURY, op. cit., pp. 15-17.

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so heavily and which eventually sneezes. In another scene, Pierrot encounters in a cafe an officer with a well-lined purse and sizing him up as an easy mark proposes a game of cards. But his hopes are frustrated through a run of bad luck and having no money with which to pay his gambling debt is reduced to parting with most of his clothing. Subsequently, as Polichinelle engages the officer in a game with similar intentions, Pierrot stations himself behind the soldier and signals to Polichinelle so successfully that the officer in his turn is fleeced, Pierrot leagues himself with a group of bandits and em- barks on a career of crime, going steadily from bad to worse. From time to time a voice coming from one of his victims is heard crying in sepulchral tones, "Pierrot, you will end by hanging," This was obviously inspired by Cot d'Ordan's Marchand d* habits.

Having at last sunk to murder, Pierrot is in truth condemned to be hanged, TThile the gibbet is being prepared, Pierrot, in his prison cell, runs true to form and provides himself with a well-filled basket of food and wine to take with him on his mournful journey, VThen he has expiated his crime on the scaffold, a genii appears and Pierrot is conducted to the lower regions through a trap door, amid sulphuric flames and smoke. In the depths of a hell half -christian, half -pagan, he suffers the tribulations of the damned, being tormented and tortured by the demoniac inhabitants of the region. Then from above, in an aura of white light, appears the Good Fairy and Pierrot is lift- ed out of this abode of tears and gnashing of teeth. The Fairy speaks, say- ing, "You see, Pierrot, where the path of crime leads you. But be reassured, All this has been but a dream. Return to life and henceforth be virtuous." And the pantomime concluded with the inevitable apotheosis.

Billion was so pleased with the success of Pierrot pendu that he paid Champfleury two hundred francs for the manuscript, exactly double the highest

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amount which he usually paid, Theophile Gautier, in a review published in la Presse. wrote with regard to it:

La mission que s'est imposee Champfleury, est vraiement belle et digne d'un poete. 11 veut renouveler la panto- mime ou plutot lui rendre son ancien attrait; ... La foule a perdu le sens de ces haute symboles, de ces mysteres profonds qui rendent reveurs le poete et le philosophe. Elle n'a plus 1' esprit asses subtil pour suivre et comprendre ce reve eveill&, ce voyage a travers les fcvenements et les choses, cette agitation perp&tuel- le sans but qui peint si bien la vie, ... Esperons que le grand succes de Pierrot pendu ... fera rentrer les Funambules dans la voie de la pantomime, spectacle tra- ditionnel, instructif et philosophique, digne de tout l'intaret des gens sarieux. (1)

And of this critique, Pericaud remarks, nEt dans sa barbe saturnienne, le grand Thio ne riait pas en ecrivant ces lignes."

Champfleury 's own literary evolution is demonstrated in his third pan- tomime. Pierrot marquis, which appeared on October 5, 1847. The idea was sug- gested by a line from La Fontaine, "Ni l'or ni la grandeur ne nous rendent heureux," which Champfleury amplified to mean, "Neither gold nor grandeur il- licitly obtained can procure happiness." The plot itself was based on Regniei le Legataire universal. Pierrot, penniless and lazy, is apprenticed to an honest miller. He spends his time sleeping, stuffing himself with food, and poisoning his soul with envy of his wealthy cousin, young Polichinelle. Old Poli chin elle, Pierrot's uncle, is dying. Wandering through the village one day, Pierrot is struck by the sight of a surgeon's shingle and a dastardly idea is bom to him. He tells the surgeon amid crocodile tears that he has a dearly beloved uncle who is lying at death's door. Recently, he explains, twc enormous excressences have grown on his poor relative's body, (The reference here is to the prodigious humps fore and aft which constituted a conventional

(1) Theophile GAUTIER, art. in La Presse, quoted by CHAMPFLEURY, op. cit., p,

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feature of the physical characterization of Polichinelle.) Pierrot says that he believes that his uncle might be restored to health if these two humps were removed. He succeeds in persuading the surgeon to saw them off. As the first is detached, a covey of mice scurries out of it. The second is found to be filled with money bags. The removal of the humps spells finis for Polichinel- le and the first part of Pierrot's nefarious scheme is crowned with success. Now for the next step. Disguised in old Polichinelle's clothes, Pierrot gets into his uncle's bed and pretends to be dying. He summons a lawyer, assembles his relatives and draws up his testament, disinheriting young Polichinelle and bequeathing everything of which he dies possessed to "his nephew", Pier- rot.

We now find Pierrot transformed into a marquis, presenting a striking and unusual picture in his white satin suit, white fact, white wig and white hat. He is installed in the rich old Polichinelle's fine mansion and is at- tended by obsequious servants. But his material gains bring him neither hap- piness nor peace. He is obsessed by remorse; he cannot sleep; day and night he is haunted by his crime. He becomes a prey to bitter jealousy as Colom- bine, whom he would marry, shows preference for his cousin, young Polichinel- le, despite his apparent poverty. His ill-gotten gains bring him no satis- faction, for he is in constant terror of thieves. Everyone with whom he comes into contact is suspect. As a precautionary measure, he decides at length to bury all his treasure in the cellar. Stealthily, he tiptoes down into the dungeon-like vault, never dreaming that his cousin, whose suspicions have been aroused, has already preceded him there and is lurking in the shad- ows watching his every move. Pierrot digs a hole and lowers his money box into it. He then decides that he must obtain some cement to seal over the stone which covers his cache. While gone upon this errand, Polichinelle

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makes off with the treasure. When Pierrot returns and discovers that he has been outwitted, his mind reaches the breaking-point. The climax is reached with the arrival of Cassandre, who has found the real will, and Pierrot falls senseless to the ground, overwhelmed by his guilt.

If this pantomime had been written in the eighties, it no doubt would have ended at this point but we are not yet wholly out of the romantic era. Therefore, a Fairy appears at this juncture, waves her magic wand, and trans- forms Pierrot back into the simple servant of the honest miller. In the heal- ing atmosphere of the fields and woods Pierrot will recover his reason and will again find happiness. Colombine and Polichinelle are married and Pier- rot blesses them with no personal regrets.

With Pierrot marquis realism is definitely in process of formation. Gautier gives an interesting analysis of it from this point of view. Pierrot

marquis, he says, marks the accession of the realistic pantomime at the Funam-

bules. In this work, with an almost sacrilegious fearlessness, Monsieur Champfleury discards the supernatural intervention of divinities and geniis. If a fairy does appear at the end it is only superficially and for the sole purpose of linking up a most unconventional pantomime with the conventional apotheosis. This absence of supernatural personages strips Pierrot of his customary solemnity and mystery but renders him infinitely more human. What the pantomime loses from the point of view of the traditional and fantastic is amply recompensed by what it gains from the point of view of natural com- edy and observation of human kind. The poet is replaced by the philosopher and moralist.

We find Pierrot employed as servant to a miller. In this simple fact the analyst may discover the germ of rationalism.

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L' antique foi a disparu, et H. Chaopfleury se pose en Luther de la pantomime, Ramarquez bien la portee im- mense de ce detail: tout un systeme, toute une rei'orme en decoulent. - Dans les pantomimes ordinaires, Pierrot est blanc parce qu'il est blanc: cette paleur est admise & priori ; le poete accepte le type tel quel des mains de la tradition, et ne lui demande pas sa raison d'etre, . .. (1)

To the allegorical whiteness of Pierrot's face and costume Champfleury gives

a physical, reasonable explanation. He is white quite naturally because he

works in a flour mill. One could not ask for a more plausible explanation.

Again, the author explains just as rationally the reason for Polichinelle's

traditional humps.

On le voit, l'ere de l'art catholique se ferme pour la pantomime, et l'ere de l'art protestant commence. L'autorite et la tradition n* existent plus; la doc- trine du libre examen va porter ses fruits: adieu les formules naives, les barbaries byzantines, les teintes impossibles; 1' analyse ouvre son scalpel et va com- mencer ses anatomies. ... (2)

And the treasure discovered in Polichinelle's hump does not consist of gold

pieces or fabulous jewels but of good hard cash and prosaic bank notes.

Each successive evolution in the plot is a reasonable development. For

example, in the old pantomimes if Pierrot was to be enriched he would have

come across a treasure by some fantastic and unnatural means. Here he achieves

fortune in a perfectly normal, civilized method, through substituting a false

will for a true one, through ordinary, everyday fraud, theft and murder, such

as are encountered daily in any criminal court.

The rationalism applied throughout the entire pantomime shows a coldly

reasoning and analytical spirit, says Gautier, and ranks this pantomime "au

progres du siecle. ... L» esprit nouveau circule d'un bout a 1' autre dans

(1) Theophile GAUTIER, quoted by CHAMPFLEURY, op. cit., p. 98.

(2) Loc. cit.

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Pierrot marquis. (1)

Champfleury had a horror of the conventionally constructed pantomimes, with their artificial tricks, metamorphoses and apotheoses. If he seems to have conformed more or less to tradition in his earlier works, it was against his own will and better judgment, and in as superficial a manner as possible.

It will be recalled that a certain number of pantomimes resorted to an intermingling of the spoken word with the action, in imitation of the English, harlequinade. Although we find it on occasion in some of Champfleury «s pan- tomimes, as in the first two cited above, he disliked the practice in general and believed it should be avoided whenever possible. "II faut voir 1'effet sur les spectateurs de la parole succedant a une scene mimee," he explained. "C'est de la neige qui tombe sur la tete. La parole est glaciale, elle rompt tout d'un coup cette douce harmonie du langage muet." (2)

M. et Mme Polichinelle. ou les souff ranees d'une ame en peine (Febru- ary £1, 1S48), is again dominantly in the genre macabre. Polichinelle is a bad husband and a worse father. Left to tend a teething infant while his wife goes out marketing, he stuffs a carrot dotra the baby's throat to stop its howling and suffocates the child. Madame Polichinelle is justly infuri- ated when, upon her return, she discovers what her husband has done to their only son and heir. From Pierrot she learns that the master is in the habit of spending his evenings flirting with Colombine. The irate wife decides to take drastic measures in an attempt to cure her husband. Finding him conven- iently dead drunk, she dresses him in black clothing, transforms the room to represent a sorcerer's workshop, disguises Pierrot as a ghost and herself as

(1) CHAMPFLEURY, op. cit., p. 99.

(2) CHAMPFLEURY, op. cit., p. 34.

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a sorceress. To a crash of cymbals, Poli chin alls awakens and believes him- self in purgatory. His wife informs him he is dead and says that as penance for his sins his spirit is condemned to return to earth to be haunted and tor- mented.

Polichinelle, convinced that he is now a spirit, passes out into the street and becomes the butt of the townspeople, who fail to recognize their erstwhile companion minus his customary gaily-colored costume. After a series of harrowing adventures, Madame Polichinelle believes that her husband has suffered enough to have learned his lesson. As the sorceress, she brings him back to lifej then, as his wife, she forgives him. Discarding the time—honor*- ed apotheosis, Champfleury rings down the curtain on tho reunited couple sit- ting down together at the supper table, their domestic felicity once more re- stored.

This pantomime was not a success. The audience experienced difficulty

in following the somewhat complicated intrigue, for one thing. Champfleury

himself admitted later that the story was none too clear but he believed that

the root of the failure was his having dressed Polichinelle in black, to

which the audience was unaccustomed.

Le public fut inquiet de ce deuil qui recouvrait deux bosses, a 1> ordinaire si gaies. Le public accepte souvent les in vrai semblances les plus etranges, les monstruosites qui n'ont pas leur raison d'etre; mais sitot qu'il flaire un peu de litterature, dont le sens n'est pas suffisamment eclair ci, il dresse le nez. (1)

Furthermore, Champfleury had dispensed with the apotheosis which had always been the consecrated ending to every pantomime. When the curtain de- scended upon a simple scene of everyday realism, in which Monsieur and Madame

(1) CHAMPFLEURY, op. cit., p. 13£.

Poll chin ell e, their quarrels made up, sat down at their supper table and drank a toast to their conjugal reconciliation, the spectators considered they had been grossly cheated. They could not forgive Champfleury for having deprived them of their traditional waterfall and their beloved feux de Bengale at the denouement,

Champfleury was decidedly piqued by the un enthusiastic reception ac- corded to M» et Mate Polichinelle and being temperamentally inclined, he wash- ed his hands of the Funambules and vowed that he would write no more panto- mimes for it.

Not long afterward, however, a young writer by the name of Monnier went to Champfleury with an original idea which he thought was suitable pan- tomime material for the Funambules* Whan he stated his mission, Champfleury, suddenly infuriated, gave the young man his walking papers, saying that he would have nothing further to do with that little theater. Monnier retorted hotly and a duel was barely averted between the two. In the end, however, Champfleury calmed down somewhat and listened to the young author. He found his idea trite and unexceptional but from it was born a new idea of his own and the result was the collaboration of the two men on a fantasy entitled la Reine des carottes. produced on September 27, 1848.

During rehearsals Champfleury was obliged to leave Paris on business and did not return until just before the opening night. What was his con- sternation to discover that nothing was left of his own idea in the piece. The fact that the production was a genuine success did not soften his mood and Champfleury never forgave Monnier for the trick. Once again Champfleury wiped the dust of the Funambules from his feet forever, but as before, it was not long before he was won back.

Champfleury went on record as having a horror of the conventionally

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constructed pantomimes with their artificial tricks, transformations and apo- theoses. His own method, as he explains, was to employ

les comhinaisons les plus simples, de chasser les personnages surnaturels de mes pieces, de m'en tenir a la realite et d'essayer de realiser en mimique ce que Diderot avait fait pour la comeclie, cfest-a-dire des pantomimes bourgeoises. (1)

He comes nearest to realizing this ideal in les Trois filles a Cassandre, pre- sented on March SO, 1849. Here we find Cassandre living in a peaceful little village where the moral habits are of the purest. Everybody works, with the exception of Pierrot; everybody is happy; the height of dissipation is the communal dancing in the village streets on festival occasions.

At harvest time Cassandre sends out the town crier to announce that he has three marriageable daughters, to each of whom will be given five hundred francs on her wedding day. The first daughter, announces the crier, is a hanc some brunette who will make an excellent manager. The second, also a brunette

is a delicious little thing who dances to perfection. The third, a modest and retiring little miss, is an inimitable cook. The familiar trio, Arlequin, Pi- errot and Polichinelle, decide to present themselves as candidates for the hands of these three fair young ladies.

At Cassandre1 s home we are introduced to the three daughters as they really are. The oldest passes her time fighting imaginary combats with wooden sabres, as a result of ruining her imagination reading romances of chivalry. The second, Colombine is a coquette to excess. She spends her day posing, strutting about and admiring her charms not in one mirror but in two. The third, nicknamed "Souillon", is lazy and slovenly; her clothes are in the most execrable taste and are habitually mussed and filthy. But the damsels

(1) CHAMPFLEURI, op. cit., p. 6.

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put their best foot forward when their suitors arrive to look them over and Arlequin, Pierrot and Polichinelle are in a quandary when it comes to making a choice between them. They decide to resolve their difficulty by drawing lots and so it happens that to Arlequin falls the coquette, to Polichinelle the slut, while Pierrot is saddled with the strong-minded Amazon.

fJhen Pierrot conducts his bride to their home, he is faced by a prob- lem. Here he is, Pierrot, with his whitened face, joined in matrimony to a woman with an ordinary pink complexion. This is most unsuitable. He propos- es to Madame Pierrot that it would be much more fitting if she whitened her face to match his. This she flatly refuses to do. He insists, thereupon , she loses her temper, shows herself for the virago she is, and takes the broom to the bridegroom, VShen she has recovered from her fit of temper, she lies down on the bed and goes to sleep. Pierrot seizes his opportunity and as his wife lies helpless in the depths of slumber he paints her chalk-white from head to foot. Upon awakening in the morning and discovering the despic- able trick played upon her, Madame Pierrot bursts into a frenzy of temper. It is now hatred to the death between them.

To cheer himself up Pierrot goes to call first upon Colombine and then upon Madame Polichinelle, each time being tracked down and punished by his vindictive spouse for his philandering. Life finally becomes so unbearable for him that he goes to the judge and asks whether he has the right to sell his wife. The judge having reported that the village legislation has nothing on record so far as such a matter is concerned, Pierrot sends the town crier through the streets announcing that his wife is up for sale. But he reckons without public sentiment. The villagers rise up in a body against Pierrot and after being roundly beaten, he escapes to the woods. Here he is found by an old hag tending pigs. She tells him he was never made for marriage and

advises him to return to bachelorhood if he wishes happiness. Pierrot makes a handsome gift to his wife in reparation for having painted her white and then departs on a long voyage. The pantomime ends with gay songs and dances by the assembled villagers.

This pantomime, like Pierrot, valet de la Mort. was accompanied by nerve-wracking production difficulties for Champfleury. He said that the writing of a pantomime in the peaceful seclusion of his study is only the tenth part of an author's labors. In the first place, the members of the com- pany did not like this pantomime when it was read to them. It was far too un- conventional. Once under way, Pierrot sprained his ankle and Colombine came down with a mild form of cholera. Three different Cassandres studied the part, the first two falling ill and having to be replaced. The director himself suf- fered three attacks of apoplexy during rehearsals and once again there was a battle over properties. Champfleury had planned to have Pierrot kill a deer, make a crown of its horns and place it upon his rival's head after playing around with the latter' s wife. The director claimed the business was vieux eu and protested that they didn't have a deer among their properties and he would not go to the expense of concocting one. In exchange, he proposed the various animals which they did have in stock: a lizard, a monkey, a bear, a donkey. Champfleury was obliged to content himself with the donkey.

It was evidently Charton who was directing at this time. As we have already seen, he felt no sympathy for Champfleury and had no desire to make things easy for him. He even refused to furnish a rose, which was a neces- sary part of Colombine 's equipment, and Champfleury was obliged to purchase one himself. "Le regisseur ne me voyait pas d'un bon oeil," he remarked af- terward; Bil 'etait a la fois acteur, auteur, et controleur a la porte. Je a' avals pas un rival en sa pergonne, j 'en avals quatre."

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In wholly different vein from any of hie former or subsequent offer- ings was a pantomime-ballet in one act presented on May 25, 1849, la Cruche cessee. to which Charles Monselet has referred as "ce gracieux ressouvenir de Greuze."

Champfleury was the only Funambules author who did not conform to the conventional pattern in his pantomimes. With him, as a rule, there were no fairies, no genii, no brigands, no rocky caverns. But he did offer unique and bizarre incidents and a curiously eccentric form. Because of his origin- ality, as well as because of his unpredictable and irritable temperament, Champfleury was not liked by the company.

In Champfleury 's pantomimes we have a striking illustration of the

trend which was manifesting itself in literature generally over this period

of the late forties. In his own analysis of this evolution Champfleury said,

Un moment on a cru beaucoup me tracasser en traitant men theatre de 'pantomime litter aire". Si on entendait par la pantomime de litterateur, je n'y vois pas de mal: mais on donnait a entendre que des idees philosophiques, dee idees mystiques, tenaient lieu de tout dans mes pieces, en remplacant l1 action. Ces accusations de swedenborgianisme sont trds-niaises et de mauvais foi. C'etait le contraire qu'il fallait me reprocher: I1 ex- actitude. Loin d'etre vagues, mes pantomimes sont ar- r§tees et exactes: cheque scene a la nettete et la ri- gueur d'un trait de dessein lineaire. On ne peut m1 ac- cuser que de positivisme en matieVes funambulesques. (1)

To Gautier, pantomime represented "la vraie comedie humaine". Al- though it does not employ two thousand personages, as does Balzac, it is no less comprehensive, he claims. With four or five distinctive types it represents all mankind.

Cassandra represents the family; Leandre, the stupid

(1) CHAMPFLEURY, op. cit., p. 84.

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and wealthy fop, favored by parents; Colombine, the ideal, the flower of youth and beauty; Arlequin, with the face of a monkey and the sinuous body of a serpent, with his black mask, his many-colored lozenges, his shower of spangles, represents love, wit, mobility, audacity, all the showy and vicious qualities; Pierrot, pallid, slender, dressed in sombre colors, always hungry and always beaten, is the ancient slave, the modern pro- letarian, the pariah, the passive and disinherited be- ing, who, glum and sly, witnesses the orgies and the follies of his masters. •••

Ne voila-t-il pas, en admettant les nuances necessaires et que chaque type comporte, un microcosme complet et qui suffit a toutes les evolutions de la pensee, sur- tout si, comme l»a fait Champfleury, on y ajoute le Poli- chinelle a favoris blancs, a figure ecarlate, a la double bosse, qui symbolise les appetite grossiers, les penchants immondes, la jovialite brut ale, le Polichinelle qui est a. 1' Arlequin ce que Mayeux est a don Juan, le vice a la passion, le cynisme a" 1» esprit, 1» aplomb du parvenu a I'aisance du grand seigneur? (1)

After 1820 a small nucleus of neo-r omen tics, who were characterized particularly by their eccentricity and by their attraction to the bizarre, banded themselves together under the appelation of "les jeune France". Its leading lights were Theophile Gautier and Gerard de Nerval. In their more mature years they referred to this early phase in their evolution as "la Bo- heme galante". To these writers romanticism was irrevocably tied up with the foreign, the fantastic, the eccentric. This is why the pantomimes at the Funambules appealed so strongly to them and were avidly seized upon as a con- venient means of letting off some of their romantic steam.

Another Bohemia succeeded the first during the forties, with Champ- fleury and Murger among its leaders. This group was composed for the most part of struggling youths who had come to Paris fired with the ambition of winning fame and fortune as poets, painters and musicians. In spite of a

(1) Theophile GAUTIER, quoted by CHAMPFLEURY, op. cit., p. 62.

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hand-to-mouth existence, they adopted a happy-go-lucky attitude toward the ma- terial difficulties of life and, like their predecessors, were conspicuous foa their unconventional behavior. Murger himself gives a vivid picture of the spirit of this group in his Scenes de la boheme:

Ah I la boheme litteraire I .«• Ces deux mots s ambient pleins de jeunesse, de soleil et d> insouciance: ils cachent une vieillesse terrible, des jours de brouillard continued- et l'hopital. 11 y a a Paris ... une reunion de jeunes esprit £ hardis et in sclents, nourris de bonnes lettres, qui vivent de soleil et de poesie. C'est la tradition des trouveres continuee jusqu'4 nous. De tout temps cette boheme litteraire a existe. Piron en fut et Lesage aussi, et bien d'autres dont les noms ne mourront jamais. ... (1)

This clique, following Champfleury's and Murger 's lead, specialized in

le beau tenebreux. of which Champfleury's pantomimes are typical examples.

With reference to this author's novels, which are in similar vein, Kathleen

T. Butler has written:

They represent the typical example of realism develop- ing out of romanticism without the influence of science or the scientific spirit, but under the influence of a Bohemian life led in close contact with sordid reality, and under the stimulus of new tendencies in the plastic arts, notably in caricature and painting. More than any other writer of his day, Champfleury accustomed the general public to the methods and results of realism in literature, thus paving the way for Flaubert, the Gon- courts and Zola. (2)

(1) MURGER. Scenes de la boheme, quoted by CHAMPFLEURY, op. cit., p. 298.

(2) Kathleen T. BUTLER, A History of French Literature, vol. II, p. 206.

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CHAPTER XIX LAST DAIS AT THE FDNAMBULES

Not very long after Deburau' s death ominous whispers began to be bruit ad about, - "Pantomime is dying" - "Pantomime is already dead." And it is true that despite the fact that the Funambules continued to function for six- teen more years, its days of real glory had gone forever. The decline was no a rapid one. On the contrary, it was a gradual decomposition, a long-drawn- out period of going to seed. For the first few years all seemed well. The "literary" pantomimes of Champfleury and the consequent enthusiastic interest of his temperamental coterie brought a new sort of prestige to the theater, though the association with Champfleury lasted only until 1849. Nor did the Funambules lack adequate mimes at this time, for both Paul Legrand and Charlei Deburau were indisputably artists in the genre, though neither possessed the genius of Gaspard Deburau. After a disappointingly unsuccessful sojourn in London, where the French genre of pantomime has never been understood or ap- preciated, Legrand returned to Paris, where he played short engagements at several different variety theaters, and early in 1349 was once more re-engage< by Billion. In the meantime, Charles Deburau had risen to stardom in his own right. For three years, until 1852, the two Pierrots shared honors, turn and turn about, the choiceness of their roles depending upon Billion's favor of the moment toward one or the other of them.

In 1849 Charles Deburau reached his majority. His first act upon com- ing of age was to deliver an ultimatum to his manager and erstwhile guardian. He reminded him that thanks to his, Charles', talents, coupled with his il-

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lustrious name of Deburau, Billion was doing exceptionally good business. Consequently, said Charles, he considered it only just that his salary be doubled. He had been receiving twenty-five francs per week. He now demanded fifty. In the event that Billion could not see his way clear to granting this request, Charles would accept the excellent offer that had been made him by the theater next door, the old Theatre des Acrobates, which had now become the Delassements Coraiques, Billion yielded but revenged himself on Charles bj giving him a run of insignificant roles.

In October of 1849, Auguste Jouhaud submitted a novel pantomime to Bil- lion, It was entitled les Deux Pierrots and contained two perfectly balanced leading roles, Jouhaud was a popular writer of skits, vaudevilles, comedies and revues for the boulevard theaters around the middle of the century. In fact, he authored so many pieces that toward the end of his ripe old age when- ever ever a new success by Sardou, Augier or Dumas, fils, made its appearance he would remark sourly to one or another of his cronies, "Voyez-vous, Lion si em moi, j'ai deja. fait cette piece-la en 1340," And he was firmly convinced that le had. Among the more than eight hundred pieces that issued from his prolif- ic pen were two pantomimes for the Funambules, of which les Deux Pierrots was the first. The novelty of it struck Billion's fancy but it confronted him with a delicate problem, Which of his two temperamental stars, each of whom was distinctly antipathetic toward the other, was to be Pierrot No. I and which Pierrot No, II? Billion put the question squarely to Deburau and Le- grand themselves, "Which of you will play Pierrot No. I?" Simultaneously both replied, "I." A compromise was unavaoidable. Billion cut the Gordian knot by designating Charles as Pierrot No. II, but with his name heading the program, Legrand, though cast as Pierrot No. I, came second on the program, since he did not make his appearance until the second scene. The piece made

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a tremendous hit, not so much for any intrinsic merit in the pantomime itself as by the contrasted abilities of its two stars, Jouhaud himself commented in his personal notes that Deburau was amusing, while Legrand was moving. Yftiile one half of the audience laughed with Deburau, he said, the other half wept with Legrand.

It will be recalled that Alexandre Guyon, the youth in whom Gaspard Deburau had interested himself shortly before his death, had left the Funam- bules in 1848 and in the succeeding two years he gave an increasingly good account of himself as Pierrot at the Bobino and various other little theaters His success did not go unremarked by Billion. The latter commented on it one day to Charles Deburau, whose friendship and esteem for Guyon had not dimin- ished since their separation. "If I were in your place," remarked Charles, "Ifd engage Guyon to replace Paul." Billion saw no reason for letting Paul go. "But since he»s been to London," explained Charles, "the public claims he has acquired an English accent."

"An English accent?" exclaimed Billion, "That1 a ridiculous. He doesn' speak in the pantomimes."

"That makes no difference," insisted Charles, "he pantomimes now in English." Billion did not discharge Paul but he did engage Guyon. So now

there were three Pierrots at the Funambules.

In view of the success of les Deux Pierrots. Billion commissioned the same author, Jouhaud, to compose something similar for his three stars. Jou- haud obliged with les Trois Pierrots, ou Pierrot le ruse, Pierrot le naif. Pierrot le devoue. Deburau interpreted the wily one, Legrand the devoted one,

and Guyon the ingenuous one. Once again the success of the production was due

to the acting ability of the three stars, for the pantomime itself was negli- gible.

By February, 1852, Legrand had had enough of sharing honors "with Debu- rau and left the Funambules for the last time. He delivered a telling blow against the theater by establishing himself in a new variety theater which had opened across the street, known first as the Folies-Concertantes and la- ter as the Folies-Nouvelles . This split the Funambules audience in two, as Legrand 's adherents followed him across the street. The pantomime public di- vided itself into two factions, the "Paulegrandistes" versus the "Deburau- philes". After Legrand »s defection, Guyon was promoted and he and Deburau alternated in the part of Pierrot.

Meanwhile, the repertory was wearing increasingly thin. Nothing orig- inal or outstanding had been done since Champf leury ' s day. Charles Chart on "created" fast and furiously and an army of hack-writers turned old scenarios inside out. An attempt was made to make up in quantity what the pantomimes lacked in quality. Under the ever-increasing influence of the English harle- quinade, quantities of elaborate scenes, interpolation of songs and of dia- logue in prose and in verse resulted in a concoction that bore little resem- blance to the classic pantomime of Gaspard Deburau 's day.

Warm weather set in early during the spring of 1852, and this induced a further falling-off in business. The management put their heads together and considered what was to be done to keep the ship afloat. Paid applauders were at last resorted to but this did not seem to help much. Vautier's naive imagination began to devise a series of fantastic schemes to serve as bait for the audience. One of these was to advertise that the first two hundred purchasers of tickets would receive as a premium an apple tart and in twenty of these tarts would be found a ten-sou piece. Billion squelched this idea. No one was going to transform his theater into a pastry shop. (Nor was he go ing to part with twenty ten-sou pieces I) He did permit an even more bizarre

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idea of Vautier 's to be carried out, since this one cost him nothing. With considerable fanfare, the "Execution of a grand ballet" was advertised. When it came to the performance, two lone dancers appeared on the stage carrying a long-handled broom (grand balai) . Vautier, in the traditional black costume of an executioner, then proceeded to chop off the head of the broom with his axe, announcing triumphantly, "The balai is executed}" The audience was furi ous at being thus duped. It hissed, catcalled and vituperated. All of which rolled off Vautier like water off a duck's back, for the tickets had already been paid for.

In September of 1854, Billion took a step which was to result not long afterward in the complete degradation of the classic French pantomime. He en- gaged a new mime, Kalpestri, who had come into prominence at the Bonne-Nou- velle. Kalpestri came to the Funambules at an opportune time for his own ad- vancement, for Charles Deburau was beginning to be difficult. Charles had de- veloped into a very personable young man. In spite of his striking resem- blance to his father, Charles* features were more regular and his body more symmetrically developed. His manners were charming, his bearing elegant and the ladies all adored him. One day a grille was constructed about one of the front boxes in the theater. Curiosity was piqued as to the occupant of this box, who, thus concealed, began to worship nightly at Deburau 's feet. An en- terprising youngster solved the mystery by hanging onto the back of the fine lady's carriage as it bore her home after a performance one night. She proved to be none other than Madame Hosine Stoltz, a famous singer at the Opera. She fell passionately in love with him, though she was forty-one years old at the time and Charles only twenty-five, and almost succeeded in wrecking his career for him. He began to neglect his work, was late for rehearsals or missed them entirely, and didn't give a hang for the fines imposed upon him. All of

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this gave Kalpestri an excellent opportunity to work up into Deburau 's shoes. Billion finally called Charles up on the carpet for a reckoning. The two quarrelled violently and Charles walked out of the theater. For breaking his contract Billion had recourse to the law and demanded an enormous indemnity, which Charles - or Madame Stoltx - paid.

Rumor soon had it that Deburau was negotiating with the theater next door, the Delassements Comiques. And in fact, in consideration of a fat sum put up by Madame Stolta, Charles entered this metamorphosed, age-old rival of the Funambules not only as Pierrot but also as director, at an annual income of 8,000 francs, which was most exceptional for the time. Deburau made his debut here on February SI, 1856, in a revue entitled Vous allee voir ce cme vous allea voir I. into which a pantomime was introduced as a specialty num- ber. Petit Pierrot vit encore. This should have given the coup de grace to the Funambules. With Paul Legrand across the street and Charles Deburau next door, the Funambules would have been wise to close its doors and give up the ghost gracefully. Instead, it continued to struggle along as best it could, a pitifully poor best. Guyon remained loyal to his friend, Charles, and Bil- lion revenged himself by putting Guyon* s name last on the program. Charles countered by offering Guyon a place at the Delassements. This was followed during the succeeding months by a veritable exodus of nearly all of the best of the old Funambules troupe, like rats leaving a sinking ship. Vautier was the last to go. The majority of them went over to the Folies-Nouvelles, in support of Paul Legrand.

Legrand has related an amusing anecdote concerning a provincial visit- or to Paris at the time of the exposition of 1855. This gentleman happened in to the Folies-Nouvelles in search of an evening »s entertainment . Having no idea what pantomime was, he called out as the performance got under way,

"Louder, please." Those about him snickered. A few minutes later he cried out again, "Louder, louder." Increased laughter, but some of the audience be gan to be annoyed by the interruption. When for a third time came angrily, "Louder, I sayj I can't hear you," the audience bawled, "Put the fellow out." The gentleman demurred and a free-for-all developed. The police was called and with some difficulty succeeded in depositing the misguided patron in jail where, in addition to paying a fine of forty francs, he languished for eight days for resisting arrest.

To return to the Funambules, as their old favorites migrated, the audi- ence diminished proportionately. Finding himself abandoned by his best French mimes, Billion did something which must surely have caused poor old Bertrand, with his bitter hatred toward the "murderers" of his beloved Napoleon, to turn over in his grave. He engaged two English mimes as stars, to share honors with Kalpestri. They opened on July 5, 1855, in Dancing Scotchmen, a one-act pantomime which went over very satisfactorily. But every evening the audience insisted upon calling for Deburau, which infuriated Billion. The latter was eventually forced to admit himself beaten. Disgusted with the Funambules, he sold out to Dautrevaux and Angremy in 1856, taking over for himself the man- agement of the Theatre Imperial.

The new managers organised a revised company of second and third-rate mimes, starring Kalpestri as Pierrot. Where pantomime should be played with lightness and delicacy, Kalpestri, says Pericaud, "... marchait en hippo tame dans des d entail es d'araignees. ... Kalpestri fut le commencement de la fin des Pierrots." (1) Pantomime is essentially an art of nuances. What Deburau had been able to suggest with a mere glance, the hint of a smile, or the

(1) Louis PERICAUD, op. cit., p. 396.

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quirk of an eyebrow, Kalpestri laid on with a trowel. Both Charles Deburau and Legrand had inherited much of Gaspard Deburau' s delicacy, restraint, and particularly his good taste in handling off -color or suggestive themes, - esprit gaulois at its best, Kalpestri, on the other hand, was the personifi-

cation of esprit gaulois at its most degraded. He made a brutal, coarse per- sonality of Pierrot, bringing out all the suggestive filthiness of which the characterization was capable. This procedure appealed to a certain type of depraved public, a public which was now becoming dominant at the Funambules, comparable to our lowest, most perverted form of burlesque audience. And when this audience received Kalpestri with raucous guffaws the managers were deceived into thinking that their star was a smash hit.

Charles Deburau >s association with the Delassements proved disappoint- ing. The contract that had been drawn up originally for eight years lasted only a few months. Early in the summer of 1858 he became very ambitious and opened a pantomime theater of his own on the Boulevard des Champs-Ely sees, calling it "Spectacle-Deburau". This enterprise ran a little over a year and in the fall of 1859 he was back again at the Delassements Comiques. But be- tween engagements at the Paris theaters, Deburau began to interpolate tours through the provinces with his own company. One of the biggest events of his career was a ten-months1 tour of Egypt during 1860-61.

In Paris at about this time, the periodic rumors that the Boulevard du Temple was to be torn down to make way for the new Boulevard du Prince- Eugene were becoming more frequent. For the most part, however, the public of the quarter turned a deaf ear, for this report had been circulated many times before with no result.

At the Funambules, Dautrevaux had been left holding the bag when his associate, Angremy, grew tired of throwing good money after bad and withdrew

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from the partnership. Dautrevaux considered himself lucky when Monsieur De- chaume, a publisher who had brought out a number of the Funambules pantomimes manifested a desire to own the theater. Like all the residents of the quar- ter, Dautrevaux considered it inconceivable that the terrible Baron Haussman would dare to lay hand on this beloved old "Boulevard du Crime", so thickly peopled, so gay, so picturesque, so popular. Had Dautrevaux known that De- chaume had been informed on unquestionably reliable authority that the demoli- tion was actually to be carried through and at an early date, he would have held on at no matter what cost. But Dautrevaux did not know what Dechaume knew and thus it was that in January, 1862, just as it was about to breathe its last, the Funambules passed into the hands of Dechaume, whose primary in- tention was to realize a handsome sum through the expropriation of the prop- erty for the reconstruction project.

The theater itself was in a lamentable state when Dechaume took it over. It had become so filthy that even the gallery gods would call out to each other, "Hey, look out for the wall, you* 11 get your hands dirty." Vau- tier, who was an old friend of the new manager, advised him to close the the- ater long enough to at least clean it up and paste some of the peeling paper back onto the walls. Dechaume not only did this but he also had the good for- tune to be able to engage Deburau, just returned from his Egyptian tour, for the re-opening on March 1st. The program opened with a specially composed propaganda piece in song and dialogue called le Pere Funambule. It was a history of the Funambules, an apologia for the classic French pantomime and a eulogy of Gaspard Deburau. In the apotheosis was revealed the bust of Debu- rau crowned with a laurel wreath. The second offering on the program was a fairy-harlequinade, in which Charles Deburau, as Pierrot, was at his best.

The order for the demolition of the Boulevard du Temple and all con- tiguous buildings was at last confirmed and officially scheduled for the mo- mentous date of July 14th.

Le 14 juillet 1789, le peuple s'emparait de la Bastille et la demolissait, donnant son premier et gigantesque coup de pioche dans le rempart de la tyrannie, Le 14 juillet 1862, la tyrannie pren- ait sa revanche sur le peuple, en s'emparant de son boulevard du Temple, et en demolissant ce rempart de .joie et de plaisirs. (1)

On the evening of the 15th, therefore, the curtain went up for the last time at the Funambules. Its final offering was Dechaume's idea and fol- lowed along the same line as that of le Pere Funambule. It was an ambitious piece in twenty-two scenes, entitled les Memoir es de Pierrot. It opened with a prologue showing the entire personnel of the theater, not only actors but also director, property boy, hair-dresser, wardrobe mistress, machinists, stage hands, - all of them, genuinely grief -stricken, assembled with Charles Deburau, as Pierrot, in their midst. Dressed in deep mourning, Pierrot wept over the ruins of his beloved Funambules. This heartrending scene was inter- rupted by the appearance of Progress, in a glittering costume of gold and spangles, who came to bring consolation with the promise of a magnificent new theater to be constructed specifically for the propagation and glorification of the art of pantomime, a beautiful promise which, alas, was never to be ful- filled in reality. The prologue was followed by a review of all the famous roles created by the Deburaus, father and son.

To complete the obsequies, Dechaume had printed and sold in the the- ater a touching ballad written by Clairville at the time of Deburau »s death, entitled la Mort de Pierrot. When the audience finally filed out of the lit-

(1) Louis PERI GAUD, op. cit., p. 490.

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tie theater for the last time, it was with heavy hearts.

The tearing up of the boulevard did not get under way on the 14th of

July, as originally scheduled, but on the twentieth. On the night of the

19th many lovers of the famous old district spent the night upon the benches

along the old boulevard in order to be on hand when the first picks should

be wielded early in the morning. As the first one dug in, a deep sigh went

up from the assembled onlookers, a sigh of regret, which seemed to say,

Adieu, Paradis, dans lequel la casquette etait deessei Adieu, reine des places, ou, pour cinq sous^ le plus humble devenait juge souverainl Adieu, Theatre de notre enfancel Adieu, pale Pierrot, Polichinelle pail- lard et ivrogne, Arlequin souple et leste, Leandre niais et ridicule, et toi pauvre Cassandre martyr J ... Votre demiere apotheose est un immense nuage de poussiere, votre dernier machinist e un grossier manoeuvre, dont la pioche est une faulx, semant la mort, la, ou avait ete la vie, la jeunesse, la folie, l'Sclat de rirel (1)

(1) Louis PERICAUD, op. cit., p. 496.

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PART III - THE MIDDLE YEARS (1862-1388) CHAPTER XX ITINERANT TROUPES

With the closing of the Funambules, the disbanding of the company re- sulted in a condition which often succeeds such a circumstance. Not only Paris but every part of France was inundated by a tidal wave of "pantomimi-sts*, self-styled. The simple fact of having played at the Funambules, in no mat- ter how minor a role, seemed, in the opinion of a large number of its ex-mimes, sufficient excuse for constituting themselves Pierrots, organizing troupes of their own, and touring the provinces. The pantomimes presented by them, though nominally from the Deburau repertory, were usually directed from memory, which is not an infallible method. In addition to this, they were not infre- quently adapted to conform to the capabilities or whims of the Pierrot who hap- pened to be playing the role. It was accordingly inevitable, in most cases, that these pantomimes turned out to be desecrations of their originals. These third and fourth rate companies may have contributed to keeping alive the pan- tomimic tradition of the Funambules, but the majority of them adulterated and mechanized the pure art of the classic pantomime, their pieces abounding in the obscenity and low type of horse-play which Deburau had so faithfully la- bored to uproot.

Itinerant players of pantomimes were not an innovation in the provinces of France at this epoch, however. Long before Gaspard Deburau had raised the popularity of this art to such a high point at the Funambules in Paris, long before many of the larger towns in France had established pantomime theaters

I 1

of their own in imitation of the Funambules, pantomime had been known and lov- ed in the smaller communities. Since the middle ages a taste for this form of entertainment had been kept alive by the forains and their descendants, whc travelled about from town to town setting up their diminutive portable the- aters wherever they could attract an audience.

Such romances as Sabatini's Scaramouche and Theophile Gautier's le Cap- it ains Fracasse present vivid pictures of what the existence of these strol- ling players must have been. Among the few authentic records left us of this phase of pantomime history, we are indebted to Raoul de Najac, who, in his biography, les Exploits d'un Arlequin, recounts the experiences of such a player, one Francois Fred on. At the head of his own troupe, Fred on played the part of Arlequin in the smaller towns and villages of France from about 1348 to 1860, Many years later, when Fredon was an old man, he made the acquaint- ance of Raoul de Najac, a pantomimist and pantomime writer of some note in Paris. These two spent many hours together in Versailles, the younger man listening with the greatest interest to Fredon 's tales of his career as a strolling pantomimist. Eventually these memoirs were gathered together by Najac and arranged for publication. Despite the obscure place in the scheme of the whole occupied by Fredon and his modest little troupe, certain of his reminiscences are not without interest.

As a small boy Francois Fredon had the good fortune to come under the tutelage of a school master who passionately loved the theater. Each week-end this professor journeyed from Versailles to Paris to visit the theater and the following Monday he would regale his young charges with graphic accounts of the plays he had witnessed. The result was the forming of a company of school boys who, under the direction of young Francois, enacted their own versions of the plays which had been described to them. Sometime around 1840 the prof es-

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sor described a visit to the FunambtO.es and discoursed at length upon the great Gaspard Deburau. It so chanced that Francois had an aged aunt who was stone deaf • Upon having it explained to him what pantomime was, he at once said to himself, "Ehy, pantomime is an entertainment for the deaf. I must take my Aunt Clemen ce to the Funambules," In view of her seventy-odd years, however, Aunt Clemenoe declined this invitation for herself but she gave the boy some money and sent him off to the Funambules alone. Needless to say, Francois had the time of his life. Although he considered Deburau wonderful, he was more attracted by the multicolored costume of Arlequin than by the less interesting all-white costume of Pierrot. He decided there and then that he would rather play Arlequin than do anything else he could think of. When he returned home he re-enacted for his aunt an adaptation of the pantomime which he had seen, arranged to require only three characters: Pierrot and Cas- sandre, played by two of his schoolmates, and Arlequin, played by himself. Aunt Clemence was vastly entertained and thenceforth such improvised panto- mimes became an institution in the Fredon household for the particular delec- tation of Aunt Clemenoe. A love of the drama in general had already been inculcated in Francois by his teacher; now, on his aunt's behalf, he came to love pantomime in particular.

When Francois was twenty-one years of age his aunt died, leaving him her entire small fortune. This heritage, which Francois believed had come to him because of pantomime, he decided to consecrate entirely to this art. He bought, at second-hand, the equipment of a strolling theater, consisting of a large tent in which to give the performances, a small portable stage which could be easily set up, a small amount of scenery, about fifty folding chairs and benches, a piano, a wagon to carry the tent and theatrical equipment, and two large covered wagons which not only furnished the means of transportation

for the members of the troupe but which housed them as well. The covered wag- on constituted the symbol of the strolling player. It was a miniature world in itself. This humble equipage furnished the sole protection from the rain and cold; in it the trouper cooked, ate, slept and lived his life. Countless forains, for whom this life was one of heritage rather than of choice, were bom, grew up, married, bore their children and died in a covered wagon.

Fredon and his troupe, which at the outset comprised only seven mem- bers, travelled over the whole of France, playing in rural districts and the smaller towns, setting up wherever it looked as if a little money might be har- vested. The entertainment consisted principally of pantomimes, with the extra added attraction of miscellaneous vaudeville skits, songs, dances and similar divertissements.

After four years of wandering about, these modern forains found them- selves again in Versailles for a brief period. One of the first persons whom Fredon went to see upon his return was Ernest Millet, one of the playmates with whom he had acted in his school days. Even at that tender age Millet had already been distinguishing himself in the writing of tragedies. Fredon found him still writing tragedies and trying to get them produced in Paris at the Comedie-Francaise. the Odeon and at the Porte-Saint-Martin theater. But his patient efforts had thus far been unrewarded, for no producer could be pre- vailed upon to accept any of his plays. In spite of this discouraging treat- ment, however, Millet refused to renounce his dramatic writing.

Second to his ambition to secure production for one of his masterpieces Millet cherished a desire to get married. When he conceived this idea he had no particular individual in prospect but he had made up his mind definitely that no ordinary woman would do. He could ally himself only with a super-wom- an possessed of a dramatic aura. Millet became so obsessed by this idea that

(

as time went cm his family feared he would become mentally unbalanced if his desire were not gratified. Accordingly, they combed Versailles and its envi- rons in search of a wife who would be acceptable to their son. At length, when they had almost reached the point of complete despair, they came upon the notary of a village not far from Versailles, The name of this notary was Cothurne, which in itself was a propitious sign. By good fortune, Monsieur Cothume had three daughters, all marriageable. The second daughter, nine- teen years of age, was named Athalie. This seemed still more propitious. Millet decided that Athalie Cothurne was worthy of becoming his wife and duly proffered his proposal of marriage. But father Cothume objected strenuously to the union on the score that Millet was merely an unsuccessful playwrite who had as yet had none of his tragedies produced.

It was in the midst of this touching dilemma that Fredon came upon his old friend. Being of an obliging disposition, he wished to do Millet a good turn. He volunteered to have his own company present one of Millet »s plays in Versailles, believing that once Millet had actually had a play produced, no matter under what auspices, his suit would no longer be scorned by Monsieur Cothurne.

The theater at Versailles was not doing very good business at the mo- ment and Fredon had no difficulty in inducing the manager to allow him to pro- duce Millet's tragedy there, the condition being that Fredon take care of all expenses and that the proceeds go to the manager. Following this arrangement Ernest Millet read over three of his tragedies to Fredon in order that a choice might be made. The Battle of Hastings was necessarily discarded be- cause of the enormity of its cast. Fredon 's company numbered only five mem- bers at this time, which precluded the possibility of presenting with any con- viction the two opposing armies demanded by this piece. The Saving of Rome

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was likewise rejected, due to its requirement of a flock of geese to awaken Mahlius. The introduction of a flock of familiar barn-yard geese into a plot which was essentially tragic by nature gave promise of seriously compromising the success of the presentation. Fredon eventually settled on the third play, a Greek tragedy entitled Hippodaatie. Certain cuts had to be made in order to reduce the eise of the cast, which, in the original, was extensive, and the play was learned and rehearsed in a week. lti.Het was delighted with the re- hearsals and considered all of the interpretations excellent. Fredon himself knew that they were all execrable but he did not allow himself to be disturbed by this minor detail. It was sufficient, in his estimation, that the tragedy be produced and he was convinced that the notary, Cothuroe, would then gladly bestow the hand of his daughter upon the author.

On the night of the presentation the theater was filled to capacity. The price of the tickets had been considerably lowered injorder to tempt the citizens of Versailles to come and see the premiere of one of its native sons. In one of the boxes the Cothurne family, father, mother and three daughters, all in gala attire, were installed in state. Athalie, all of a twitter, dis- appeared modestly from time to time behind her fan.

The curtain rose and the performance began. But alas, the moment the performers found themselves before the public in speaking roles, they were seised with stage-fright. They were accustomed to playing pantomime, not spoken drama, and constantly felt the need for substituting gestures for words From time to time they forgot completely that they were not playing pantomime and reverted to the conventional acrobatic feats of Cassandre or Colombine con si stent with the pantomime sautante. Even Fredon himself, despite his Greek robe, absentmindedly entered with the prodigious leap traditional to Arlequin. As for the dialogue, its rendition was a massacre. The wondering public did

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not know what to make of all this and the curtain fell on the first act to a confused murmur among the spectators. Millet rushed frantically back stage, frightened and furious. He vowed that the audience was preparing to throw the seats at the actors' heads. The players, at this announcement, showed signs of beating as hasty a retreat as possible. Suddenly Fredon thought of a way out of the predicament which seemed to him ingenious. He proposed that they deliberately turn the piece into a pantomime. No more words would be spoken; they would finish the play with gestures only. He decided that in this way they would not only be able to regain the attention and confidence of the audi ence but could also establish incontestably the superiority of pantomime over the spoken drama. As Millet started to protest, Fredon silenced him by remind- ing him that his play would have been produced and that he would gain his bride at all events, which was the important issue at stake.

When the second act got under way, the general opinion on the part of the audience was that the company had lost its collective wits. Then some of the spectators recognized the troupe for what they really were, bona fide pan- tomimists. This made a different matter of it altogether. The first act had sufficed as a preparation for what was to follow, as far as the story was con- cerned. With the situation clear, the unfolding of the remainder of the plot was as comprehensible in pantomime as it would have been with spoken dialogue, and incidentally, vastly more satisfying. In fact, the success proved so over- whelming that Fredon was obliged to give a second performance, - this time en- tirely in pantomime.

In less than a month Ernest Millet and Athalie Cothume celebrated their nuptials. But the pantomime troupe responsible for the winning of the bride was not invited to the wedding. Being mere mountebanks, they were of an in- ferior social status. To cap the climax, Millet never forgave Fredon for hav-

ing massacred his masterpiece.

One point particularly worthy of note in Fredon' s career was the in- novation introduced by him in the method of playing Arlequin. While touring through Normandy and Brittany one season, a man by the name of Brignancourt was playing the part of Pierrot. Brignancourt was an insufferable individual, according to Fredon, conceited and jealous. He considered himself the only talented member of the troupe and the character of Pierrot the only person- age of importance in the pantomime. Fredon retained Brignancourt in the com- pany, however, because he was a conscientious actor and unquestionably popu- lar with the public. One day Brignancourt insulted Fredon by expressing him- self on the character of Arlequin, who, he insisted, was nothing more than a monkey. He told Fredon that he pitied him for having chosen this role, con- tinuing in this wise: "You will say, no doubt, that this is the role which suits you best. I agree on that. But there is one thing which should always prevent an intelligent artist from selecting the role of Arlequin - the mask. Any facial play is, of course, impossible. You can translate your sentiments only by the movements of your arms and legs while I, as Pierrot, can trans- late, with my whitened face, the most subtle ideas and emotions. You must content yourself with cavorting about the stage in fantastic leaps and bounds, with putting your hand to your heart, with describing circles with your wand. All this may amuse the children but it doesn't mean anything. Anybody can play Arlequin but very few are capable of playing a good Pierrot. As long as Arlequin wears a mask he will remain a secondary character. The particularly sad thing about it is that Arlequin must always wear a mask; without it he would no longer be Arlequin. It is one of his traditional characteristics. The Arlequin who would dare to brave an audience with his face uncovered would be ignominiously hissed from the stage and he would well deserve such a

fate. However, the mask may have its advantages after all, for of course it is preferable to hide a face that lacks in expression than to leave it expos- ed."

The immediate effect of this tirade was to render Fredon furious. In lis heart he believed himself capable of effective facial expression and he began to feel more and more forcibly the truth of what Prignan court had said and the undeniable limitations of the mask so far as real interpretation was concerned. He came to regard his mask as a wall separating him from his audi- ence. From having so loved the role of Arlequin, Fredon now found himself be- ginning to turn bitterly against it. He almost decided to abandon the part and contemplated converting himself into a Leandre or Cassandre, or even a Pi- errot. But in time, Brign an court ' s unrelenting and acid criticisms, which at first had bean so disheartening, served finally to spur Fredon on in a differ- ent direction. His recent antipathy toward his role was transformed into the deepest sympathy for its limitations and he no longer dreamed of ever playing any other part. He would remain Arlequin to the end of his days and further- more, in this character he resolved to triumph somehow or other over Brignan- court in his characterization of Pierrot. Just how this triumph was to be ef- fected was a problem. Fredon realized that Brign an court had been right when he boasted that Pierrot's whitened face permitted the most varied and subtle expressions to be seen, while Arlequin fs entire face, except for the mouth, was covered. Yet, in spite of this realization, Fredon did not for a moment dream of dispensing with the mask. He agreed with Brignan court that it was a convention which was traditional and inseparable from the character. Arlequin had always worn a mask and the public would not accept him without one.

A curious turn of fortune offered Fredon a happy solution to his dilem-

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ma. One night the mime playing Cassandre was completing his make-up, accentu ating the wrinkle lines on his face with burnt cork. Being a very old man, he worked with such a trembling hand that his make-up became badly splotched and Fredon was obliged to help him repair the damages. In so doing, Fredon accidentally rubbed a smudge of burnt cork on his own face. By chance, he glanced in the mirror and was struck by the fact that this smudge produced the effect of part of a mask. This gave him a sudden inspiration. As an ex- periment, he amused himself by increasing the area of black on his face and at length reproduced the mask in full. Arlequin now found himself possessed of a living, mobile mask, through which he could register his facial expres- sion as clearly as could Pierrot.

It was not without considerable apprehension that Fredon faced his pub- lic that night. The effect of his innovation might well be displeasing to the audience. The experiment proved to be a triumph, however. The public waj delighted to be able to read Fredon' s face, as well as Brignancourt ' s , and Fredon proved himself to be an artist of ability in this respect. After the performance the other members of the troupe were warm in their congratula- tions and praise but Brignancourt was silent. A short time thereafter, at the expiration of his contract, Brignancourt withdrew from Fredon1 s company.

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CHAPTER XXI RISE OF PANTOMIME IN THE MIDI

During the years in which the popularity of pantomime was steadily de- clining in Paris, it was gaining proportionately in the larger cities of the south of France. This increasing favor was strongly stimulated by Charles De- burau and Paul Legrand during their tours through the Midi. Not many years after the closing of the Funambules in Paris, Marseilles came to be regarded as the capital of pantomime in Franca, with Bordeaux a close second in im- portance. Marseilles counted a succession of no less than six different the- aters in which pantomime predominated or constituted a special feature. Chief among them was the Alcazar, a second Funambules, which was regarded for a period of a number of years as the Theatre-Fran cais of pantomime.

A few names which achieved a certain distinction in the earlier panto- mime theaters of Marseilles and Bordeaux were later discovered at the Funam- bules or elsewhere in Paris, while after the closing of the Funambules, there was a steady emigration of mimes from Paris to Marseilles and Bordeaux. Among these, naturally, Charles Deburau and Paul Legrand occupied first place in importance.

Among the mimes native to Marseilles, the first name to stand out as

a distinguished artist was Louis Rouffe. It was due to Rouffe, because of

the high degree of artistry attained by him in his pantomimic interpretation,

that the classic pantomime, by this time considered dead and buried in Paris,

lived anew, not only in Marseilles but throughout the entire Midi.

Louis Rouffe was born on April 10, 1849. Left an orphan while still a child, he became dependent upon a relative who, as soon as Louis was old

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enough, placed him as an apprentice to a jeweler. Behind the Grand Theatre, the opera house of Marseilles, was a small amusement hall, the Menus-Plaisirs, where pantomime was featured together with other entertainments of a miscel- laneous order, Rouffe developed the habit of dropping in at this little cafe- concert nearly every evening. Although it was the pantomime particularly which attracted him, he felt dissatisfied with the mimes and believed that the pantomimes themselves, which were all on a broad slapstick order, could be much improved.

One night Rouffe went to the Alcazar, where Charles Deburau was near- ing the end of a two-year engagement. Deburau' s work was for Rouffe a verit- able revelation of what pantomime could and should be. from having been fond of this art, Rouffe now became wildly enthusiastic ovar it and made the most of his opportunity of studying Deburau night after night at the Alcazar. Shortly after this, Rouffe succeeded in securing an engagement as a mime him- self. This was not, however, at the Alcazar. He did not yet dare aim so high. It was at the modest little Menus-Plaisirs that he made his debut in about 1871, playing a variety of roles during his first season, vdth the ex- ception of the part of Pierrot.

After a period of about six months Rouffe considered that he had serv- ed his apprenticeship and had outgrown the Menus-Plaisirs. He approached the manager of the Cafe Vivaux, a large cafe-concert in which pantomime was, as everywhere in fact, in great vogue. At the Cafe Vivaux, beside playing the role of Pierrot, Rouffe was also given the directorship. He produced from memory the pantomimes which he had seen played by Charles Deburau at the Al- cazar, as well as others which he had seen or in which he had taken part him- self at the Menus-Plaisirs. Rouffe soon commenced to win a reputation for

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hi mself at the Cafe Vivaux, Monsieur Corny, the director of the Alcazar, heard of this new mime, went to see him play, and as a result offered him an engagement at the Alcazar, which offer, needless to say, Kouffe accepted with alacrity.

As a pantomimist, Rouffe possessed a decided advantage at the outset in that he was a native of the Midi, that classic land of demonstrative ges- ture, of dialogue in which the hands, the face, the entire body hold as much place as the spoken word. Though Rouffe became exceedingly popular with the public, he regarded this success as superficial and felt that he was not yet doing either what he wanted to do or what he believed himself capable of do- ing in the art. He sensed that his instincts were true but realized that he lacked the proper technical foundation. In addition to his natural gift of physical expressiveness, to his innate ability to sense and feel as his fel- low-men sensed and felt, his instinctive knowledge of which expressions to employ injprder to produce tears or laughter, Rouffe appreciated the necessity for real technical study. The desired opportunity presented itself when Rouffe had been playing for about a year at the Alcazar. Deburau returned to Marseilles for a short sojourn and without Rouffe's knowledge Corny re-engaged him as Pierrot. After having completed his arrangements with Deburau, Corny broke the news to Rouffe as tactfully as possible, explained the situation and expressed the earnest hope that Rouffe would take this temporary substi- tution in good part. Far from being hurt in his professional pride, Rouffe welcomed this opportunity to study Deburau again at such close range. During the month that Deburau remained at the Alcazar Rouffe did not miss a single performance or rehearsal, avidly absorbing every move made by the master-mime

Usually at the close of a performance Rouffe would go to Deburau, express his pleasure and discuss particular points of interest in the pantomime just pre-

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seated. In this way a sympathetic relationship was established between the two which was to mean much to Rouffe.

"■hen Deburau1 s short engagement was terminated, Corny wished to retain him at the Alcazar but Deburau had already signed a contract as director of the Alcazar de la Bastide in Bordeaux, the rival theater of the Alcazar in Marseilles. Since ho could not retain Deburau, Corny turned again to Rouffe, fully expecting him to resume his former place as Pierrot. But Rouffe had a surprise in store for the manager of the Alcazar. He told Corny that he did not feel himself capable of succeeding so great an artist as Deburau, that out of respect for the art of pantomime he could not bring himself to present before the public such unfinished work as his own. He then announced that he had signed a contract with Deburau and was to accompany him to Bordeaux.

Rouffe' s training under Deburau at the Alcazar de la Bastide in Bordea\ continued for about a year. During this time Deburau was far from well and frequently unable to play. He made a special protege of Rouffe, taught him all of his own roles, instructed him in how to direct pantomimes, familiarizec him with the entire Deburau repertory and from time to time, as occasion ne- cessitated, Rouffe had the opportunity of substituting for Deburau in the rol< of Pierrot. Deburau recognized Rouffe's artistic capabilities and expressed the opinion that he had a promising future in store for him as a pantomimist.

Thanks to this intensive period of training under Deburau, Rouffe re- turned to Marseilles after the latter' s death in 1372, feeling himself in ful] possession of his art. He again took his place as Pierrot and also as direct- or at the Alcazar, where he remained for the rest of his life, the only ex- ceptions being an occasional tour during the summer season to Bordeaux, Touloi or Nice. Evening after evening Rouffe's appearance was greeted by long and

enthusiastic applause. Under his direction the little stage of the Alcazar was the scene of some unforgetable performances. It was during this period that Marseilles came to be regarded as the capital of pantomime in France and Louis Rouffe was proclaimed the King of Pierrots throughout the Midi.

Like Gaspard Deburau, Rouffe made pantomime the paramount interest and study of his life, applying himself to it heart and soul. Like Deburau, he became the idol of pantomime enthusiasts in his community and it was due to his success that the Alcazar became the theater a la mode in Marseilles.

Rouffe* s career divides itself into three distinct periods of evolu- tion. The first was that period in which he became acquainted with pantomime and commenced his training in it. In the earlier part of this period, partic- ularly in the pantomimes presented at the Menus-Plaisirs, the material with which Rouffe worked was largely, as in Deburau' s case, the pantomime sautante

In this stage of his career Rouffe learned to be an acrobat and a buffoon, re- sorting to broad farce for his effects. The audiences at the Alcazar were of a cosmopolitan make-up, - street urchins, sailors, rough types of men and women of the streets, as well as people of the more cultured social classes, with usually a generous sprinkling of tourists passing through the port of Marseilles. It was prone to be a somewhat intractable public, in the habit of talking incessantly during the vaudeville novelties. But the instant the pan- tomime commenced and Rouffe appeared, they would suddenly become silent. At the outset, the reason for this was no doubt because the subject matter of the pantomimes appealed to the lowest tastes of the popular element in the audi- ence. With little effort and less imagination they were able to understand the pantomime and laughed uproariously at it. Many of . the spectators attended solely for the sake of the pantomime, as had been the case in Paris when Gas- pard Deburau reigned supreae at the Funambules.

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On the other hand, although Rouffe had quickly succeeded in winning over the rougher element among his audience, the more cultured classes re- garded the pantomime as an inferior form of entertainment and beneath their notice. They would be drawn to the theater by some well-known singer or vaud villa entertainer imported from Paris but were inclined to be restive and bored by the pantomime. It was not at all infrequent, in the earlier days, for the entire orchestra section to rise in a body and leave the theater as soon as the curtain had descended on the vaudeville and the stage was being prepared for the pantomime. Rouffe might well have become discouraged in the face of such an attitude but on the contrary it served to stimulate and chal- lenge him. These more cultured people were not conquered immediately. It was a long and difficult struggle but eventually Rouffe not only won them over but became their idol. At this point, Rouffe attained the first goal which he had Bet for himself.

Having first learned something of the language of pantomime himself, Rouffe undertook to teach this language to his public. The foundation hav- ing been laid, his second step was to enlarge the art of pantomime, extend its possibilities and raise its standards. His own artistic sense had devel- oped and made its impression and he now felt the need of educating his audi- ences to an appreciation of the artistic. Once sure of the interest of his public, he set himself the task of elevating its taste. Discarding the earli- er and cruder pantomimes, he confined himself from now on to the classic repei tory of Gaspard and Charles Deburau, which he re-wrote and revised, constantly seeking, according to his point of view, to improve the pantomimes. Later he wrote a large number of pantomimes himself or in collaboration with Horace Bert in, editor of the Semaphore in Marseilles, who was also an ardent panto- mime enthusiast. Another element in conjunction with pantomime which was

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considerably improved under Rouffe's administration was the musical accompani merit. Although not a trained musician, Rouffe had an innate musical sense an always arranged himself the musical settings for his pantomimes, which hither to had usually been put together in a hit-or-miss and ineffective fashion.

Rouffe searched carefully for what he considered the right sort of mimes to make up his company. There was no dearth of pseudo-pan tomi mists, amateurs and semi-professionals, but most of these were of the acrobatic or buffoon type. Rhat Rouffe wanted was performers with a sense of real panto- mime. In order to develop the sort of talent which he desired, he opened a school of pantomime at the Alcazar in which he continued to learn much more about the art himself while teaching it to his pupils. Having assembled a troupe made to his own order, Rouffe worked steadily through the next five years toward the highest possible form of the art, that in which pure panto- mime played an exclusive or an almost exclusive part.

The third period in Rouffe's career is characterized by the change whi he effected in the character of Pierrot. He transformed him from the classic Pierrot, clad in the traditional white pa jama-style costume, to a Pierrot in the modem dress of the time. He always remained a stylized type as far as his whitened face was concerned, but under this white make-up Pierrot now pre- sented the everyday types of people whom the audience of that time was accus- tomed to encounter in the salons or on the streets.

Rouffe was essentially a typical mime of the classic French school. His face was unusually mobile and he was able to portray the subtlest senti- ments by means of it alone. He was eminently meticulous in the preparation of a part, leaving nothing to chance or to inspiration. Every minutest de- tail in his action was planned and rehearsed with religious care, by which means he arrived at a fine conception and complete comprehension of the role

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he was to play. According to modern pantomime standards, however, Rouffe de- parted from the plane of the true pantomime artist when he reached the point where he dreamed of making pantomime replace the spoken drama word for word, evolving a stylized language of gestures, bodily positions end movements. In working toward such an artificial end, he was of course tending definitely away from the fundamental significance of true pantomimic art.

Rouffe died at the early age of thirty-six. Though he had always cher- ished the hope of playing some day in Paris, he never realized that desire. Among the pupils whom he left at the Alcazar, few achieved more than a medi- ocre success with the exception, - and a brilliant exception, - of Severin, who not only succeeded Rouffe in Marseilles but later enjoyed many years of popularity in Paris and who became the last of the truly great French mimes.

Severin was born on May 19, 1863, in Ajaccio but while still an infant his family moved to Marseilles. The father was an ardent pantomime enthusi- ast and during the child's boyhood he was taken one day to see Deburau play at the Alcazar. At this time Severin was probably too young for Deburau to have made any great impression on him as an artist but even at this early age the great mime succeeded in making the child laugh, cry, and shiver with fear. When the boy was about eleven years old he was again taken to this theater to see Louis Rouffe, who was already the idol of Marseilles. From this time on, Severin insisted on going every Sunday to the pantomime. Like Paul Legrand,

like Francois Fred on, like countless other youngsters who were destined to

find their way into the theater, he became an amateur mime himself, organizing

his own company among his schoolmates and re-enacting at home everything he

saw at the Alcazar.

Severin was not a model student and therefore was taken out of school at a comparatively early age and apprenticed to a silk-merchant . But in this

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capacity he proved no more successful than he had as a student. If he were sent out on errands he invariably made his way to the stage entrance of the Alcazar and hung about waiting to see the artists go in and out. When he was about seventeen years old he arrived at a momentous decision, toward which he had been steadily tending since the time he had first seen Houffe. He decid- ed to become a mime. Without his parents1 knowledge, he secured an interview with Rouffe and requested that he be accepted as a pupil. Rouffe tried the boy out and came to the conclusion that he had marked ability. However, the consent of Severin 'e parents was necessary before Rouffe would admit the boy to the school. On this point Severin lied glibly, affirming that his parents were perfectly willing. Therefore, Rouffe instructed him to report for his first lesson the next morning at ten o'clock, accompanied by one of his par- ents. Again Severin lied, saying that his father could not leave his work at that time and that his mother was away on a visit in Corsica.

So great was his excitement, Severin scarcely closed his eyes that night and was on hand at nine- thirty the next morning at the entrance of the theater, where he had an impatient period of waiting before the master put in his appearance. For this first lesson, the novice was assigned to one of Rouffe' s outstanding pupils, Virgile, who began the boy's instruction in the fundamental principles of pantomime, explaining how to work to develop sup- pleness end harmony in the body and limbs, how to walk, how to execute har- monious gestures and the various expressive attitudes of the body. At the conclusion of this first lesson, Virgile reported to Rouffe that he had found the boy promising pantomime material. Severin was then told to appear an hou3 before the regular pantomime lesson on the following morning, his time to be divided between various masters who would give him lessons in boxing, fencing and gymnastic exercises for limbering the body. Each lesson was to be of fif-

244

teen minutes' duration, followed by a brief rest period. Then, following another short respite and a change into dry clothing, the lesson in gesture and general pantomime would commence. In the afternoon he was to look on at the regular pantomime rehearsals in the theater, in order to familiarize him- self with the repertory and to learn the actual staging of the pantomime. In his spare time he was advised to swim as much as possible, as this exercise was considered of great assistance in developing muscular coordination in the body. Any exercises with weights, or anything which would tend to over-devel- op the muscles of the arms and legs were strictly forbidden.

After two months of strenuous preparation, Severin was rewarded with his first role, that of a young valet. Although an insignificant part, he acquitted himself creditably and won a word of commendation from Rouffe.

For six months, by some good fortune, Severin succeeded in keeping his budding pantomime career a secret from his parents. When it was eventually discovered, the father was beside himself with rage. Although fond of panto- mime as an entertainment, he had no intention of allowing his son to become a professional mountebank. A dramatic scene ensued between the father and Rouffe. Severin was severely reprimanded by the latter for having lied about his parents' consent and was promptly dismissed from the theater. In dis- grace, he was sent away from home on a visit of some weeks and returned only just as the Alcazar was closing, Rouffe being about to take his company on a several months1 tour of the south of France.

Contrary to Severin senior's hope, the boy refused to abandon his idea of becoming a pantomimist and at length the father was obliged to bow to the inevitable. He reconciled himself as best he could. Shortly after his re- turn to Marseilles, Severin went to see a pantomime in a new and rather un-

245

important little theater there. He was disgusted with the performance and sought out the manager to tell him exactly what he thought of it. He inform- ed the manager that he himself had been a mime at the Alcazar and was a pupil of Louis Rouffe. Thereupon, he was engaged at this little theater as Pierrot and director and was given a welcome opportunity to experiment with some of his theories and ideas. After a short but successful period in this theater, he succeeded in placing himself in a larger and more important one. Mien Rouffe returned to Marseilles and the Alcazar was re-opened, Severin returned there, this time with his father's full consent.

Severin continued to study and play under Rouffe for several seasons, playing in Marseilles during the winter and going on tour to various other cities and towns in the south of France during the summer when the Alcazar was closed. It was during this period that the Alcazar in Marseilles reached the height of its glory and was regarded as the Theatre-Fran cais of panto- mime. When Rouffe died in 1885, Severin succeeded him as the outstanding Pi- errot of the time, the undisputed master of pantomime in the south of France.

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CHAPTER XXII EBB-TIDE IN THE CAPITAL

For nearly twenty years before the demolition of the Funambules one became accustomed to hear at regular intervals the plaint, "Pantomime is dy- ing - pantomime is dead," And for a quarter of a century after the disap- pearance of the Funambules the same cry could be heard periodically. It is true that with the passing of this historic little theater the art was des- tined to sink to a lamentably low ebb in Paris. The Funambules was the last theater to be devoted either exclusively or predominantly to pantomime. Its closing did mark the end of an epoch in the history of pantomime in Paris. A deterioration had already set in, as has been noted, not long after the death of Gaspard Deburau. The classic pantomime, as typified by the work of the Prince of Pierrots when the Funambules was at the height of its glory, was to become no more than a tradition in Paris. But in its broad sense, the art of pantomime did not die.

A large number of variety theaters, music halls and circuses continued to include pantomimes among their divertissements for many years after 1862, though the genre had undergone a distinct metamorphosis. That which now pas- sed for pantomime was in reality a hybrid form, based largely upon the later English harlequinade and circus clowning, or else simply a music-hall di- vertissement. It consisted of a melange of gymnastic feats, acrobatic danc- ing, comic songs and dialogue in verse, and depended very largely upon elab- orate costuming and startling scenic devices rather than upon pantomimic in- terpretation for its effectiveness.

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The dominant element of pantomime, as it was inherited from the Ital- ian players of the 15th century, was interpretation. John Bull, remarks Hugounet, made it predominantly physical activity, acrobatics per se.

La ou les Italians avaient voulu la peinture des idees par le geste, les Anglais substituent un va et vient perpetual de tourbillons humains. C'est le cyclone faisant invasion dans l»art mimique. (1)

The French pantomime, continues Hugounet, may be compared to the quiet little street of a peaceful, provincial French town, where simple people greet each other quietly, politely, sometimes playing naive tricks on each other and giving the time to laugh at these pleasantries. By way of contrast^ the English pantomime may be likened to the busy, turbulent, traffic-filled streets of London, Tvith their forests of waving arms and scampering legs, a human ant-hill of harried individuals scurrying ceaselessly about their af- fairs.

The plot of the English pantomime was eccentric, exaggerated to the point of being grotesque. In the earlier days of English pantomime Harle- quin had been the principal personage but his place gradually came to be usurped by Clown, a character which, in spite of his whitened face, in no wise resembled his supposed prototype, the French Pierrot, so far as his in- terpretative characteristics were concerned. »0u son ancetre italo-francais trempait le petit doigt, il fourre les deux poings et les deux pieds." (2)

Emily Goby, in comparing the various national methods of playing pan- tomime, has written,

En Italie, 1' exuberance, la nervosite, sont de rigueur; en Angleterre, on joue la pantomime en clowns. Mon

(1) Paul HUGOUNET, Mimes et Pierrots, p. 195.

(2) Emile GOBI, Pantomimes de Gaspard et de Charles Deburau. p. 275.

DieuJ chaque genre a son charae et son merite. Mais mimer tranqui 11 anient, se faire cosaprendre ou plutot entendre, avec un doigt, par un clignement d'oeil, voila l'art, l'art vrairaent francais. (1)

The French understood the English Clown as little as the English un- derstood the French Pierrot, As early as 1340 a troupe of English mimes ap- peared at the Varietes in Paris, presenting a pantomime supposedly patterned after the old Italian type of production. In the piece, Pierrot was condemn- ed to death, ^en a guillotine appeared on the stage the Parisian audience became definitely and uncomfortably squeamish. Even the comic business of Pierrot chasing after his own head following the decapitation failed to diminish their horror or appeal to their sense of humor. It v/as altogether too crude for the French and the majority of the audience left the theater with the avowed intention of never again setting foot in it. After an inter- im of some thirty years the French public proved more broad-minded and re- ceived the English Hanlon-Lees most enthusiastically when they appeared at the Folies-Bergere, . They accepted them not as pantomiiaists, however, but rather for what they were in reality, skilful and entertaining acrobatic clowns.

The period between the closing of the Funambules in 1862 and the foun- dation of the Cercle Funambulesque in 1888 is characterized by Hugounet as "l'epilepsie dans la pantomime."

••• Le genre dechoit; il quitte le theatre ou l'ap- plaudissaient les deli cats et roule ver3 la farce du cirque. Ce sout les convulsions d'un art en ab- solue decadence. (2)

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(1) Entile GOBY, op. cit., p. 275.

(2) Paul HUGOUNET, op. cit., pp. 189-190.

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One certain link between the classic Pierrot and the circus clown is found in the person of Agoust, the most important French clown of the seven- ties. Agoust had begun his career as a juggler and minor mime at the Funam- bules. He passed later to the circus and eventually became manager of the Nouveau-Cirque. Due to his influence, many of the pantomime traditions of the Funambules were transferred to the sawdust ring. Among the most famous of a number of other circus performers whose early training included more or less pantomime were the three Fratellini brothers. In their first pantomime two of these boys were ignominiously cast as girls. The third represented a chick in an egg but when his cue to hatch out came along, he had fallen fast asleep.

The famous troupe of English clowns known as the Hanlon-Lees was largely responsible for the vogue which this type of pantomime enjoyed for a time in Paris. These three brothers, George, Robert and Henry Hanlon, were born in Manchester and received their professional training under a man by the name of Lees, the most outstanding English gymnast of the period. These performers took London by storm with their combined clowning and acrobatic turns when they made their debut in 1847, playing at the Adelphi and Olympic theaters. Their popularity continued for many years and their professional journeying took them on successful tours through Europe, the near-East and to America. TTnile in America they came into contact with Agoust, who passed on to them many of the lessons he himself had learned at the Funambules.

The Hanlon-Lees enjoyed a triumphal run at the Folies-Bergere in Paris

in 1372, presenting a show compounded of Deburau, circus tricks and English

harlequinade. In reviewing their work, Jean Richepin gave them due credit

for what they were but tempered his admiration for their ability with the com- ment that "... ce sont des clowns et ils no sauraient m'empecher de regreter

•

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les mimes." In Richepin's opinion, real pantomime was definitely dead.

Depuis longtemps deja elle 6tait malade, et palissait devant sa rivale, la pantomime anglaise. Maintenant, c'est fini. Ce}le-ci l'a tuee avec see gifles d'as- sommeure et ses coups de pied d'acrobate. Dfun saut perilleiix, les Hanlon-Lees sont retombes a pieds joints sur son ventre et lui ont fait faire le dernier couac. (l)

Plans to establish a successor to the Funambules and carry on the old traditions were envisages simultaneously by two different persons, of whom one was none other than Champfleury. Immediately after the closing of the Funambules Champfleury had taken steps to open a new theater of the same name on the Boulevard des Amandiers. Aided by Sainte-Beuve in the pulling of of- ficial strings, he procured a licence for his theater in the spring of 1865 but a sudden change in his personal plans prevented the carrying out of the scheme. Two years later he did join forces with Martinet at a theater which operated for a short time under the title of Fantaisies-Parisiennes, starring Charles Deburau. But the vogue for pantomime seemed to have died out. Light- er entertainment was veering more and more toward comic opera and vaudeville and the Fantaisies-Parisiennes was short-lived.

The second project was developed by a Monsieur Poiret, manager of a little marionette theater on the Boulevard de Strasbourg. Poiret* s intention in 1862 was to transform his establishment into a pantomime theater and to adopt the name of "les Funambules1', reaping the benefit of the reputation of the original Funambules * Billion heard of the plan, however, and blocked it on the grounds that he alone held the right to this title, having bought it originally from Birtrand in 1843. Several years later this obstacle was over- come and for a few years a pale shadow of the old Funambules eked out a meagr

(1) Jean RICHEPIH, unidentified art., Rondel Collection.

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existence, making no contribution to pantomime history. In 1879 Hippolyte, one of the former minor mimes at the old Funambules, became co-manager with Poiret. An unhappy remnant of the last company at the old theater establish- ed itself in this dirty, smoky, dingy little auditorium, so different from the dream theater promised them by the glittering figure of "Progress" in the final performance at the mother theater, Among the troupe were poor old Vautier, the famous Polichinelle, and also Kalpestri, who sustained the lead- ing roles. Each year the miserable mimes would pull their belts a little tighter and hope a little harder, but they failed to revive the glories of the past. Both Vautier and Kalpestri died in abject poverty a few years later.

This second Funambules, poor as it was, did serve a certain purpose in

its humble way, nevertheless. It was not without certain devotees among the

younger generation who had been bom too late to know the original theater.

Among them was Jean Fdchepin, who was to be an outstanding advocate of the

traditional classic pantomime during the last decade of the century. Riche-

pin had never seen Gaspard Deburau but he was familiar with the viork of his

immediate successors, Charles Deburau, Legrand, Guyon, Kalpestri, as ?;ell as

the two outstanding mimes of southern France, Rouffe and Barbarani.

... Chez tous ces descendants du grand Deburau, j'ai admire ce jeu essantiellement francais, tout en physionomie, en psychologie, qui s'adresse a 1 'intelligence, et qui demande un public fin, pret a s'ouvrir 1» esprit autant qu'a se dilater la rate. Cela ne vaut-il done pas les sauts de carpe des autres, qui n'arrivent a vous faire tenir les cotes qu'en risquant de se casser les leurs? (1)

Learning by chance one day that the theater had gone out of existence, (1) Jean RICHEPIN, op* cit.

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and without an advance notice which would have enabled him to be present at

its final performance, Richepin wrote,

Cette petite s&lle des Funambules, c'est tout ce qui restait a Paris de la pantomime classique. Ce rideau qui tombe a jamais, c'est le lincoul d'un art tres original, francais jusqu'au bout des doigts, et qui merite un mot d' adieu. ... Nous autres, nous n'avons vu que son fils, puis Paul Legrand et Kalpestri, et enfin les pauvres Funambules du boulevard Strasbourg. Can fut assez pour adorer cet art exquis, et pour re- gretter la petite salle qui n'est plus. (1)

No doubt the story of pantomime in Paris through the third quarter of the 19th century might have been considerably altered had Gaspard Deburau »s immediate successors established themselves permanently in the capital. But neither his son, Charles, nor his pupil, Paul Legrand, the sole outstanding survivors of the classic pantomime, became a fixture here. Some years be- fore the fatal year of 1862 both had become imbued with the spirit of wander- lust. As early as 1847 Legrand had crossed the Channel to London and althoug he performed in Paris at frequent intervals during a long and successful ca- reer, much of his time was devoted to touring not only through various parts of France but also through a certain number of foreign countries.

Charles Deburau "went on the road" for the first time in 1857. In the course of this tour he was engaged by Emile Goby, manager of theaters in both Tours and Orleans, for a single performance at Tours. This one appearance proved such an overwhelming success that a partnership was arranged between Goby and Deburau and the latter remained for a run of some length. At the same time, Goby also became Deburau' s brother-in-law, for in consequence of their relationship Deburau met and fell in love with Mademoiselle Goby, his associate's sister, who before long became his devoted wife. It was Emile

(1) Jean RICHEPIN, op. cit.

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Goby who collected and published the pantomimes of the two Deburaus in 1389, with a preface by Champfleury.

In 1358 Deburau attempted to establish his ov?n pantomime theater on the Boulevard des Champs-Ely sees, but the project resulted in failure. This was followed by another successful tour of the provinces and an engagement at the Delassements-Comiques. The following year found him embarked on his evenl ful ten-months' tour of Egypt, during which he covered this country from one end to the other vuth his own company. He carried with him a unique portable theater which was transported over the desert on camel back. The venture proved tremendously successful, particularly in Alexandria, Cairo and Suez, and it was said that Deburau was never more worthy of his illustrious name than during this period. Upon returning to France, he appeared from time to time in Paris and in various towns in northern and central France but much of the latter part of his career was spent in the south of France, divided be- tween the two rival theaters in Marseilles and Bordeaux.

The lure of the capital drew Deburau back to Paris again for a short time in 1865, where he was starred at the newly-opened Fantaisies-ParisienneSj under the joint managership of Champfleury and Iflartinet. His debut here was made in a new pantomime written especially for the occasion by Champfleury, but which failed to make any lasting impression.

In 1872 Deburau became director of the Alcazar in Bordeaux and it was at this time that Rouffe came into intimate contact with him. Deburau' s dream had been to become a professor of pantomime, either at the National Con- servatory or at the Opera in Paris, but he was unsuccessful in securing eithei appointment and died at Bordeaux on December 18, 1875, at the age of forty- four years, without having realized his cherished ambition.

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Paul Legrand is of particular significance in the history of pantomime, not merely because of his merit as a mime but also because he was one of the few direct links between the Funambules and the Cerde Funambulesque. He had become a popular idol to the theater-going public of Paris at the Folies-Nou- velles when that establishment succeeded the Funambules as the theater a la mode on the boulevard. After an engagement in Bordeaux in 1862, Legrand crossed the ocean to South America and played for two years in PJLo de Janeiro, In 1864 he returned to Bordeaux and after several years divided between ap- pearances in the Midi, in Paris and in various provincial towns and cities, he followed Deburau's example and made a tour of Egypt in 1870-71. His reper^ tory included a great variety of classical and non-classical pantomimes, many of which he wrote himself. Among his offerings he made somewhat of a special- ty of the monomime, a form which was to be popularized by Paul Margueritte anc Eaoul de Najac in the later eighties, and which was also to figure to a certain extent in the repertory of the Cercle Funambulesque.

During Legrand Ts frequent and often extended absences from Paris, his public remained faithful to him and was always ready with an enthusiastic wel-| come whenever he returned, no matter in what theater he might appear, - the Tertullia, the Folies-Marigny, the Athenee, or others of the many houses spec- ialising in variety programs. He was highly regarded in the profession it- self and a zealous member of the Society of Dramatic Artists.

It has already been noted that Legrand »s Pierrot was a very different type from that created by Deburau. He was not fitted, either physically or temperamentally, to imitate his master's interpretation. Although on occasion he was capable of giving an effective emotional portrayal, in general his Pi- errot was a slap-stick comedian, employing the broadest, most farcical sort

(

of horseplay, rather than the pathetic character of Deburau' s Pierrot, which

evoked sympathy and tears as weH as laughs from his audience. Banville never

ceased to regard Gaspard Deburau as the Napoleon of pantomime. With reference

to Legrand he remarked, "On n'imite pas Napoleon." The Pierrot of Legrand,

comments Banville,

. .. n'a pas la truculence de celui de Deburau. Soit. Mais il est bien de son 6pocue; il a la gaite inquiete d'un siScle decadent. Paul Le- grand n'a pas voulu imiter Deburau, et il a eu raison, car il n'aurait pas pu. (1)

As Hugounet comments in the same connection, "II n'avait de plus nul besoin

d'etre un reflet, pouvant sans inferiority etre lui-meme." (2)

After the war of 1870 Legrand settled permanently in Paris, residing

on the sixth floor of a modest dwelling in Montmartre, his rooms filled with

theatrical photographs, programs and souvenirs of his art. He played from

time to time and intended to pass his last years assembling his memoirs and

pantomimes for publication. The memoirs, unfortunately, were never completed

but a collection of his pantomimes was brought out by Felix and Eugene Lar-

cher in 1887,

In his latter years Paul Legrand was looked up to as the dean of French mimes, the sole survivor of the classic art of Gaspard Deburau. It was his privilege and delight, before his death in 1898, to witness and assist in the re-birth of the art which he so loved.

(1) Theodore de BANVILLE, quoted by Felix LARCHER, Preface to Pantomimes de Paul Legrand, p. xvii.

(2) Paul HUGOUNET, op. cit., p. 152.

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CHAPTER XXIII

PRECURSORS OF THE RE-BIRTH

The Pierrot legend, thanks to Deburau, established itself not only within the confines of the theater but in literature, in art, and in the Bo- hemian phase of French life itself. This fact has been remarked by C. H. C. Wright, who writes in The Background of French Literature,

Though he (Deburau) died in 1846, his memory lived, and to the influence of Deburau1 s impersonations are due the Pierrots of carnival masquerades, the senti- mental and romantic Pierrots of Willette, the silhou- ette plays (ombres chinoises) of the Chat Noir the- ater, and the vogue of the type in the art and liter- ature of Montmartre. (1)

Severin himself affirmed not long before his death that "Pierrot, par la po-

esie, la litterature, la peinture, le theatre, sera immortel." (2)

Although by the eighties the majority of the general public were haey as to the significance of the Funambules and tended to confuse Gaspard and Charles Deburau if they knew them at all, there were still a few of the old- er generation who had enjoyed first or second-hand contacts with the earlier flowering of the art, such as Champfleury, Theodore de Banville, Jean Riche- pin, Paul Legrand, and Alexandre Guyon, as well as a select new group of initiates whose predilection for this old art was to culminate in its re- birth, despite their inexperience with the traditions.

Guyon had passed from pantomime to the spoken drama at a relatively early date, playing at the Folies-Dramatiques, the Varietes, the Nouveautes,

(1) C. H. C. WRIGHT, The Background of French Literature, p. 156.

(2) SEVERIN, L^Homroe blanc. souvenirs d'un Pierrot, p. 246.

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and various other theaters in Paris. But from time to time through the sev- enties and early eighties he was seized with nostalgia and would return to pantomime as the occasion presented itself, usually for special benefit per- formances. Guyon himself wrote a number of the pantomimes in which he appear- ed at these times. One of the most noteworthy of these benefit performances was that of Pierrot aas_as_sia,, by Jean Richepin, given at the Trocadero on April 28, 1883. Guyon both directed and played in it. This scenario is worthy of special attention in that it records an interesting transition in the history of pantomime writing and clearly reflects the scientific natural- ism then dominant in literature in general. Scene I - The Assassination

Colombine and the elderly widow Cassandre occupy rooms side by side in the same house. Colombine learns that her neighbor has a large sack of money hidden away and cannot suppress her desire to get a look at it. The old lady divines her intentions and engages a professional guard, Flamberge, to protect herself and her treasure.

Pierrot comes to call on Colombine, more in love with her than ever. She is cold and unreceptive to his advances. He is neither handsome nor rich, she reproaches him, and furthermore he hasn't even the gumption to acquire a fortune for himself. Pierrot swears that she has only to demand a specific proof of his passion and he will make any sacrifice for her.

Colombine lets him in on the secret of her neighbor's treasure and de- mands, as the price of her love, that he murder Dame Cassandre and appropriate her hoard of gold. Pierrot is true to his promise but the guard at first pre- sents a difficulty. However, Colombine disposes of this problem by first flirting with him and then by offering him sufficient wine to put him comfort-

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ably to sleep. Pierrot dons the guard's clothes, enters Dame Cassandre's room, precipitates himself upon her and quickly dispatches her in accordance with his lady love's instructions.

Now the police commissioner, with hi3 attendant officers, arrives, ac- companied by a medico to ascertain the cause of death and write the official certificate. The doctor is followed by a bevy of young medical students with pencils and notebooks poised that they may jot down prolific notes on every- thing the doctor reports or does. The doctor, upon investigation, decides that the old lady has been murdered and the police are about to arrest Pier- rot when Colombine steps forward and denounces Flamberge as the murderer.

The guard, who by this time is coming out of his stupor, is questioned by the doctor, who, on the strength of the uncertainty and incoherence of Flan berge's replies, pronounces him to be insane. At these terrifying words, Flan berge flies off, followed by the procession of the commissioner, the officers, the doctor and the medical students still jotting down their notes.

Scene II - The Phantom

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Colombine is setting out a celebration supper for herself and her lov- er. From time to time she cannot resist a peep into Dame Cassandre's money bag, jubilantly running the coins through her avaricious little fingers. Pi- errot arrives with a gift for Colombine. As he wants it to be a complete sur- prise, he asks her to leave the room for a moment while he opens it. Sudden- ly the specter of Dame Cassandre materializes before Pierrot's horrified eyesj snatches the gift from his hands, and vanishes. When Colombine returns, Pier- rot begins to recount his frightful experience when the phantom reappears and Pierrot and Colombine run off together, terrified.

Dame Cassandre's ghost makes herself at home. She first appropriates

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her stolen property, then seats herself at Colombine* s table and enjoys the meal set out upon it. Replete, at length, she stretches herself out on the bed for a rest. Cautiously, Pierrot and Colombine tiptoe in. Their unwel- come gue3t jumps up and demands some wine. This gives Colombine a happy op- portunity. She surreptitiously pours a vial of poi3on into it. Her victim quaffs it off and vanishes. Grabbing up the money-bag left behind by its own- er in her hasty evaporation, Pierrot and Colombine start to make their es- cape but are met at the door by the police, the doctor, the note-taking satel-r lites and Flamberge, who has denounced Pierrot. The doctor seizes upon the bottle of wine, hastily subjects it to a chemical analysis, accompanied by copious note-taking on the part of his students, and discovers the poison. Pierrot is put to the question and this time it is he who is pronounced in- sane and he is dragged off to an asylum.

Scene III - Madness

The scene opens as the doctor is continuing his examination of Pierrot, lecturing and demonstrating to his troupe of pupils, who avidly note down his every observation. As a result of listening to the doctor's dissertation, Pi<- errot does actually become crazed. He bursts from the room and comes upon Flamberge and Colombine, who have become the best of friends and are preparing

to run off together and live a life of ease on Dame Cassandre's fortune. The; recapture Pierrot and return him to the asylum. Here he first launches into a tirade of furious reproaches and accusations against Colombine, then sinks exhausted into a state of morbid despair as his eyes are opened at last to th< perfidy of woman. Bitterly, he realizes at last what a woman is worth, what his love is worth.

In this final scene a wholly new conception of Pierrot is born, the

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Pierrot fin de siecle. who was to reign supreme at the Cercle Funambulesque.

The pantomime was well mounted and exceptionally well supported music- ally by an orchestra of thirty pieces. This production bears several points of particular interest. In addition to the re-appearance of Alexandre Guyon, who played Dame Cassandre, and of the circus clown Agoust, who played Flam- berge, it introduced Jean Richepin as a pantomime writer. But most interest- ing of all is the fact that the role of Pierrot was sustained by none other than the divine Sarahl "Cette pointe de Sarah Bernhard dans le domaine muet fut vivement goutee," comments Hugounet. (l) But in view of conflicting opini- ions, one is tempted to regard it rather as a succes d' as time. Champfleury did not agree with Hugounet.

Ayant epuise" le repertoire du theatre ancien et mo- derne, lactrice a visa dans un coin de son imagination la blanche defroque du Pierrot des Funambules. ... Que d^nthousiasme a son entre'e en sclhe! Que d'applaudis- sementsl Que de fleursl Trop d' enthousiasmel Trop d'applaudissementsl Trop de fleursl Le masque israel- Ite de l'actrice ne rendait en quoi que ce soit ... la spirituelle bonhomie du Pierrot consacre, la finesse de son regard, sa bouche a la fois grave et moqueuse, la sobriete qui rappelle celle des figures peintes sur les vases grecs. Pas de liant, point de charme dans 1 ensemble, une defroque blanche sur un porte-manteau, des fils de fer s'agitant maladroitement sous les plis classiques du pan talon etoffe, telle fut la fantaisie quelque peu macabre qui laissa les spectateurs con- sterne3, sans voix pour acclamer, sans mains pour ap- plaudir. ... Un desastrel - "Ahl mes amis, quelle vestel " disait Sarcey. Et pourtant ce fiasco, que l'actrice avait reve un triomphe, n'fetait-il pas dans son essence, si malvenu qu'il fut, un hommage rendu a l'ancienne panto- mime. (2)

During the early eighties, parlor entertainments were coming into in- creasing favor in Paris salons. Hard on the heels of the charade, the mono-

(1) Paul HUGOUNET, op. cit., p. 152.

(2) champfleury, prefqce t<? Eaataatasa 4e Qaspard et Charles Deburau, Emile GOBY, pp. viii-ix.

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logue and the tableau vivan,^. came the pantomime. This latter was found to particularly adaptable and effective for so intimate a type of entertainment. Because of production limitations, the pantomimes used for this purpose were necessarily greatly reduced in their general scale and pretentiousness, as compared with the professionally produced pantomimes of the theater. A nat- ural outcome of the salon pantomime was the adoption of the monomime, a form which had been introduced by Paul Legrand. As its name indicates, the mono- mime is a pantomime in which one person alone carries all or nearly all of the action of the piece.

Such restrictions as were necessarily encountered in parlor presenta- tion had the salutary effect of bringing pantomime back more nearly to its original status, compelling it to rely more upon clear and definite story- tel- ling action alone and less upon elaborate settings and accessory effects. It constituted the precursor of the type of pantomime which was to be the back- bone of the repertory at the Cercle Funambulesque.

Prominent among the pioneers in salon pantomimes was Raoul de Najac, son of Emile de Najac, author of pivorconsl and Fiacre 11,7. Early in the spring of 1887, Najac was approached by one of his friends in Versailles, where Najac was living, and asked to write a parlor entertainment for a cer- tain social event. Setting himself to work, Najac developed a monodrama which he entitled le Re tour d'Arleauin. The more he worked on it, the less necessary the spoken words seemed and he decided, as an experiment, to pre- sent it wholly in pantomime.

The sole protagonist of this monomime is Arlequin, who, having desert- ed Colombine and gone off to the wars, now returns, in his soldiers uniform, his gun over his shoulder. No one is at home as he enters. He regrets hav-

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ing left his beloved Colombine for so long and seeing her portrait on the wall blows ardent kisses to it. But whose is this picture of a man hanging beside that of Colombine? It is Pierrot. Arlequin1 s eyes are opened. Dur- ing his absence, his place has been usurped by Pierrot. And there in the corner of the room is a cradle - and a baby, Pierrot* s and Colombine* s baby. Arlequin decides to revenge himself; he will kill the baby, shoot it with his gun. But on second thought, the sound of a gun being fired would attract at- tention. He must find a less obtrusive method. Ah - the point of the roast- ing spit will serve. The fowl impaled upon it is already done to a turn. Arlequin removes the fowl and approaches the cradle, holding the spit before him in a menacing attitude. But the savoury fumes of the freshly roasted meat pervade the room. Arlequin inhales the tempting aroma and wavers in his purpose. Gluttony carries the day. He decides to sample the fowl first and then see to his revenge.

Arlequin sits down at the table, carves the fowl and opens a bottle of wine. But how depressing it is to sit down to so delicious a repast all alone. There should be a congenial companion to enjoy it with him. Of course; the baby over there in his cradle - why not invite him to the feast? He lifts the infant from the cradle and props him in a chair across from him. He fills another plate with chicken, another glass with wine. This is decid- edly more like it. Arlequin can now enjoy his feast to the utmost. Having emptied both plates and both glasses of wine himself, Arlequin executes a dance of joy about the room. His exuberance increases and he catches the baby up in his arms, making him join in the dance. At last, replete and ex- hausted, Arlequin sinks into a comfortable chair before the fire and falls asleep, the baby still in his arms.

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After a brief cat-nap, Arlequin awakens with a start. Where is he?

Recollection dawns. He looks at the sleeping baby in his arms and recalls his resolution to kill it as a means of revenge upon Pierrot and Colombine. But

lis heart softens. He cannot bring himself to commit the deed. Tenderly, he replaces the child in his cradle without waking him. He accords full pardon to Colombine for her faithlessness. He will slip away and she need never know of his return.

Martial music is heard. His own regiment is passing along the street. About to open the door, Arlequin hears someone approaching. Undoubtedly it is Colombine. He must not be found here. Quickly opening a window, he springs out through it and goes to rejoin his companions in arms, (l)

Raoul de Najac had never been trained in pantomime and was rather sur- prised at the genuine enthusiasm with which his experiment was received. Word of his success spread quickly beyond the suburban society of Versailles to Paris and he was requested to appear in several salons there. The novelty of his presentation attracted the attention of a number of newspaper reviewers, who commented favorably on his innovation. In le Temps, March 13, 1887, ap- peared the following notice:

M. Raoul de Najac a entrepris de remettre en honneur la pantomime, et, pour ne pas compliquer la mise en scene, il en a compose une a un seul personnage, qui a deja1 fait la joie de plusieurs salons parisiens.

And in le Figaro, March 19, 1887, we read,

Apres les tableaux vivants, les pantomimes reviennent a la mode, et M. Raoul de Najac recueillait hier, de- vant un public des plus choisis, de nombreux applaudis- sements avec le Re tour dtArlequi,nT une charmante bouf-

(1) Jules LEMAITRE, art. in le Journal des Debats. May 23, 1887.

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fonnerie mimee, dont il est auteur, bouffonnerie accompagn^e d'une tres jolie partition d1 Andre Martinet.

With this, his first essay in this genre, Raoul de Najac made an im- portant contribution to pantomime in the attention given to the musical ac- companiment. This he had especially composed as a faithful interpretation of the action of the piece, rather than resorting to the old method of assemblin in hit-or-miss fashion unrelated bits and pieces of miscellaneous selections and attempting to make them fit the action, or adjusting the action to fit th music. This departure represented a significant step forward in the evolutioi of modern pantomime.

Najac' s success proved to be more than a mere flash in the pan. He

came to be increasingly in demand as a popular entertainer in the homes of

the socially elite in Paris. In le Gaulois. May 23, 1887, came proof of his

continued success and his influence on parlor entertaining.

M. Raoul de Najac ... a essay! de faire revivre la vieille pantomime en la mettant a la portee des gens du monde. ... A l'heure ou je parle, la par- tition du Re tour d'Arlequin a deja ete expedite dans plusieurs chateaux et au prochain automne, plus d'un due ou d'un baron endossera le cellbre habit bigarre. ...

Even the celebrated literary critic and dramatic author, Jules Le-

maitre, paid tribute to this monomime in an article of some length in le

Journal des Debats. May 23. 1887. a review worth all the more in that Le- ys

maitre was not personally acquainted with Najac. "En attendant que l'heure

, a soit venue des grandes comedies mimees," wrote Lemaitre, "M. Raoul de Najac

nous presente une pantomime en un acte, a un seul personnage: le Re tour d'Ar-<

le^uin." After a detailed synopsis of the story, Lemaitre concluded with this comment:

Mais cela n'est-il pas piquant dans sa simplicite?

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Cet enfantillage de l'homme aux losanges, n'est-ce pas l'universel enfantillage humain? Cette mobilite d1 impressions, cette continuelle et inconsciente su- jetion aux accidents exterieurs, ce passage des senti- ments les plus farouches aux plus innocents et aux plus attendris, l'odeur d'un poulet arretant net une tragldie, puis la tournant en comedie et en elegie discrete. . . . Ne pensez-vous pas qu'il y ait la autant de v£rit% humaine que dans beaucoup de drames en cinq actes?

Taking immediate advantage of his sudden and unexpected establishment of himself as a mime, Najac brought out in April of this same year, 1887, a Petit traite de pantomime a 1 'usage des. .gens, .du. jaonde, in which he discusses at some length his dream of founding an "Academie funambulesque", a sort of experimental semi-professional theater based on the subscription plan, the purpose of which should be to specialize in pantomime. After reading the brochure, Francisque Sarcey, the dramatic critic, exclaimed, "Si jamais cette Academie se cree, je demande a en etre."

Parlor entertainments were organized not alone for the amusement of purely social groups but also for the delectation of select literary and art- istic coteries. Some years before Raoul de Najac made his debut, the novelis Paul Margueritte was already proving himself a pantomimist of considerable ability in private appearances before his own circle of intimates. For a time, pantomime became a veritable mania with him.

Le manque de treteaux funambulesque s m' empecha de

pousser cette vocation excentrique, vraie folie

d'art qui m'avait agrippee, et a. laquelle j'ai

du des depouillements de personnalite singuliers,

d'etranges sensations nerveuses, et le lendemain

des griseries cerebrales, comme celles du haschich. (l)

Margueritte had never seen a pantomimist, not even Paul Legrand. He

(1) Paul MARGUERITTE, Preface to 21S££^3^I^jjL^S£u£mS^f p. 6

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had read nothing on the subject end was completely ignorant of its technique.

He entered the lists wholly unhampered by any traditional preconceptions as

to the interpretation of Pierrot.

J'iitaginai done un Pierrot personnel, conforme a mon moi in time et esthetique. Tel que je le sent- ais, et que je le traduisis, parait-il, ce fut un etre moderne, nevrose, tragique, fantdmal. (1)

The best known and most striking of Margueritte1 s monomimes is Pierrot

assassin de sa femme, written and published in 1882. It was suggested by

Theophile Gautier*s lines -

... L'histoire du Pierrot qui chatouilla sa femme,

Et lui fit de la sorte, en riant, rendre l'arae. ...

The pantomime is a lugubrious study in revenge, remorse and retribution, and more than a little reminiscent of Zola's There se Raqtyi/i. Into his bedroom, which is only partially illuminated through the combined efforts of a single candle and the rays of the moon, comes Pierrot. He is returning from the burial of his wife, Colombine, and he pantomimes in vivid detail the ordeal through which he has just passed, the digging of the grave, the lowering of the coffin, the prayers of the priest, the tears and condolences of his friends, and the final filling-in of the grave. Now all is over. He is alone. He abandons himself to a paroxysm of grief. In an attempt to drowi his sorrow, he pours himself glass after glass of cognac, then takes off his shoes and prepares to get into bed.

But as he is about to draw the bed curtains, Pierrot becomes overwhelm- ed by his memories. He indicates that it is he who has murdered Colombine, killed her because she stole his money, drank his wine, beat him and was un- faithful to him. He now re-enacts his crime, living the past ever again, com-

(1) Paul MARGUERITTE, loc. cit.

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mencing with his resolution to do away with the unfaithful Colombine. Consid ering the various methods he might use, - a rope about the neck, a knife, poison, a revolver, - he rejects them all for varying reasons. By chance he knocks his stockinged foot against a chair and as he takes the" foot in his hands to rub the injury he happens to tickle himself. Although it makes him laugh, it is a most unpleasant sensation. This gives him an idee. He will tickle the soles of Colombine' s feet. She will first laugh and laugh; then she will suffer; eventually she will go into convulsions and will die. De- tail by detail, Pierrot goes through the sequence which eventually produced the assassination, working himself into a frenzy of emotion.

But now, as he re-enacts his crime, Pierrot's own feet begin to agi- tate as if being tickled in their turn by an invisible tormentor. Pierrot throws himself before a large portrait of Colombine, imploring her pardon, bei seeching her mercy, and finally heaping recriminations upon her for his own suffering. Again and again he has recourse to the bottle of cognac. At length he again attempts to go to bed. Candle in hand, he staggers to the bed but, unnoticed by him, the flame from the candle ignites the curtains. Meanwhile, the tickling sensation in his feet has increased to such an agoniz- ing point that Pierrot throws himself upon the bed, rolling about in a mad St. Vitus' dance. The pantomime comes to a gruesome finish as the bed curtail burst into flames and envelope our poor hero in their inferno. (1)

With reference to this pantomime, so different from his own Retour

d'Arlequin, Raoul de Najac wrote,

Tandis qu'on avait la bonte de sourire aux £bats de mon Arlequin et de son bebl de carton, un Pierrot

(1) Paul MARGUERITTE, op. cit.

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tragique (Paul Margueritte) , flanque d'un croque- mort, terrorisait le plus agreablement du monde les milieux artistiques et littgraires. (l)

The originality and novelty of Margueritte' s startling Pierrot struck the fancy of certain poets and artists of the epoch, among whom were numbered Claudel, Mallarme and Huysmans. But Theodore de Banville was a gentleman of the old school so far as pantomime was concerned. Margueritte admits that Ban- ville, "dans une lettre Itincelante d1 esprit, me dissuadait, alleguant le public mondain trop ... spirituel, et les beaux jours de la pantomime en- voles." (2)

Still another contribution to the furtherance of an interest in panto- mime at this time was the publication in 1887 of a collection of Paul Le- grand's pantomimes by two other enthusiasts of the art among the younger gene ration, Felix and Eugene Larcher. Of these two brothers, the former was a dramatic critic and the latter a budding amateur pantomimist. Both of them achieved prominence at a later date in Paris as theatrical managers and pro- ducers.

Thus it developed that independently and wholly unknown to each other at the outset, these several pantomime enthusiasts, Raoul de Najac, Paul Mar- gueritte and the Larcher brothers, were all preparing the way and working by parallel routes toward a common goal - the revival of pantomime.

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PART IV - THE CERCLE FUN AMBULESQUE (1888-1896)

CHAPTER XXIV

FOUNDATION OF THE CERCLE FUN AMBULESQUE

Early in 1888, Fglix and Eugene Larcher, Raoul de Najac and Paul Mar- gueritte were brought into direct contact with each other and passed many hours together discussing their common interest and common wish, namely that the almost forgotten art of pantomime, which possessed such an attraction for each of them, might be reinstated in public favor. The problem was, how coul< their ambition be worked out in practicable form.

This was a period when the cercle, the exclusive and highly specialize< society, was in great vogue in Paris. The most prominent and worthy group of this type was the Theatre-Libre, then in its second season. This intrepid lii tie theater was already attracting considerable attention by its novel experi-l* ments and passing rapidly from its original amateur status to that of a worthj competitor to the professional theaters. In the strictly amateur category there existed numerous musical societies, dramatic societies, and others de- voted exclusively to poetry, literature and art. Why not, said our pantomime enthusiasts, a new society consecrated specifically to pantomime?

Both Felix and Eugene Larcher were more than mere dreamers. They were indefatigable workers and excellent organizers. Without the intelligent plan- ning, common sense and untiring efforts of these two brothers the Cercle Fu- nambulesque might quite plausibly never have achieved actual accomplishment. Felix Larcher1 s profession of journalist and his friendly contacts with many members of the press undoubtedly helped to publicize the project and further

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its aims. At any rate, the idea took root quickly, found favor in increasing degree and in March of 1888 the society was officially organized under the title of the Cercle Funambulesque. The appeal for subscribers brought a sur- prisingly gratifying response. The charter membership list numbered one hun- dred and forty pantomime devotees recruited from the literary, artistic, dram-f atic and musical 61ite of the day, with, in addition, a fair representation oi the social "four hundred" of Paris. At this first meeting in March the by- laws were drawn up, general plans discussed and formulated, and Fe"lix Larcher, regarded as having the most initiative and the greatest journalistic influ- ence, was elected president. Raoul de Najac was nominated to the vice-presi- dency.

To cite but a few among the many prominent names of those who rallied to the cause, there were Jean Richepin, Jacques Normand, L£on Hennique, Auguste

Vitu, Francisque Sarcey, Jules Lemaitre, Huysmans, Georges Feydeau, Paul Eudel and Edmond Stoullig, representing literature and journalism. From the musical world came Jules Massenet, Vidal, Francis Thome and Arthur Pougin. Coquelin the younger and Galipaux, the popular comedian, were recruited from the the- ater, and from the Opera came Mesdemoiselles Pepa Invernizzi and Sanlaville.

The general idea of the Cercle Funambulesque was patently inspired by that of the Theatre-Libre and was not unlike that of many of our more recent experimental or laboratory amateur theater projects in this country. Its spe^ cific purpose was to revive the favorite pantomime classics of Gaspard and Charles Deburau and of Paul Legrand, modernizing them when necessary; to fur- ther the writing of new pantomimes by modern authors; to encourage modern mu- sicians to compose special musical accompaniments for these new pantomimes; tc provide authors and composers with the opportunity of having their works pro-

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duced before the public; to include from time to time among their presenta- tions the revival of some of the ancient parades and improvised farces of the forain theaters and commedia dell* arte, as well as new comedies in verse or in prose, provided these were closely related to the pantomime and harlequin- ade theme.

It was proposed to plan a program of five or six productions during eateh theatrical season, between the first of October and the middle of June. There was no intention of making it a money-making venture in any sense. Each pro- duction was to have but two performances, the first expressly for the benefit of the gentlemen of the press and the second open only to subscribers and their guests. In contrast to the Theatre des Funambules, which catered pri- marily to the hoi-polloi and represented the lowest of the low-brow in art, Champf leury 1 s pantomimes excepted, the Cercle Funembulesque was consecrated to a select few among the social, intellectual and artistic "upper crust" and typified the highest of the high-brow.

The Cercle was signally honored in including among its original sub- scribers both Paul Legrand and Champfleury, which linked it definitely with the mainstream of French pantomime, though its own expression was to invest itself with a new form, a form often far afield from the classic pantomime of the Deburaus.

During the weeks immediately following the official organization of the Cercle Funembulesque, the press rallied generously to its cause. The ef- fusions of the new "pantomimophiles" provoked a counter-current of protest from a certain number of "pantomimophobes". One of the most characteristic and telling of these attacks came from the pen of Georges Montorgueil, in which he accused the newly-organized society of endeavoring to achieve the im- possible, that is. to replace the spoken drama hy pan -homim ft. snhst.i tilting

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"le geste" for "le verbe". He terminated his article with the despairing plea, "C'est ici le pays de Corneille et de Mblierel Arriere, pantomime, bouche df ombre I Et vive le rythme triomphant." (1)

Felix Larcher made answer to Montorgueil in an article published a month later in the Revue d'art Dramatique. in which he states that if Montor- gueil regards pantomime as a substitute for spoken words, his cause is won at the start. But Larcher takes the stand that his adversary is basing his case on a false premise. The Cercle Funambulesque has no intention of trying to substitute Deburau for Moliere, affirms Larcher. (At this point, he raps Montorgueil by pointing out that it is Deburau and not Debureaii.) Larcher ad- mits that there are among his associates certain members who are more intrans: geant than himself as regards the illimitableness of pantomimic expression. Among them are Raoul de Najac, vice president of the association, and natural- ly Dr. Charles Hacks, author of that very commendable work le Geste, whose model had been Louis Rouffe of Marseilles. It will be recalled that toward the end of his career Rouffe had endeavored to institute a conventional and wholly artificial gesture language, with specific movements and gestures to represent definite words and subjective ideas. Larcher himself takes the stand that this over-confidence in the ability of pantomime to express any- thing and everything without discrimination is one of the causes of the dis- credit into which the art has fallen. He classifies himself as a "moderate", or one who believes that the domaine of exact and specific intellectual ideas is a closed realm to pantomime, which is capable of expressing itself com- pletely only in a circumscribed domaine of general ideas. "... Le verbe est et restera la langue de la raison; le geste n'est que la langue de sentiment.

(1) Georges MONTORGUEIL, art. in Paris, March 21, 1888.

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N'est-ce point encore la une autre raison de l'affection que lui portent nos poetes, eux qui vivent surtout de sentiment?"

Larcher challenges his opponent to explain why it is that such ack- nowledged literary lights as Theodore de Banville and Jean Richepin, to cite only two among many, dare openly avow their predilection for the silent art. There must be something in it, he claims, which satisfies these poets, these dreamers*

... Tenez, j'ai prononce le mot de la charade: la pantomime est en effet un reve vivant. Souvent, n'est-ce pas, etendu sur votre divan, vous avez vu passer devant vos yeux fermes et devant le regard ouvert de votre pensee des figures corame la fume"e de votre cigarette. Ces ombres, ces personnages de votre imagination ne parlaient-ils pas une langue savante, plus expressive que la nStre, moins re- belle, et avec laquelle vous n'aviez point a lutter pour materialiser l'idee? . . . Le reVe parle lui-meme sa langue, facilement, sans efforts, sans s'accrocher aux epines de la grammaire ou de la syntaxe. N^st- ce pas la cause du gout des grands pontes - ces grands dompteurs de mots, - pour cet art qui leur permet de sentir leur reve directement, sans un interme'diaire qui trahit si souvent? Ici, le reve seul agit et s'agit. Qu'a-t-il besoin de la langue? ...

In refutation of Montorgueil1 s plea for the rhythm of Corneille and

Moliere, Larcher questions by what authority the terms "hythm" and "harmony"

relate only to the spoken word. In pantomime, is there not rhythm in the

gait, harmony in the entire movement of the body? As an example, he applies

this theory to sculpture.

... La sculpture peuple nos jardins de fantoraes blancs - comme Pierrot - qui possedent, eux aussi, la grace dans les attitudes: mais cette eurythmie, saisi a un moment de la duree, est fig6e dans l1 immobilite: le mime y ajoute le mouvement; il est k la fois et en meme temps le statuaire et la statue. La pantomime, c'est la plastique animle. Voila. pourquoi, dans la hierarchie des arts, elle occupe une place interme'diaire entre le3 arts plastiques et les arts de son. ...

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Another of Montorgueil 1 s accusations against pantomime was its lack of clarity, its obscurity. Larcher replies to this by stating that whenever a pantomime is unintelligible it is invariably either the fault of the mime him- self or of the author, who sometimes attempts to demand too much of the art.

In concluding, Larcher invites his worthy opponent to come himself to

the Cercle Funambulesque.

... Nous vous convaincrons ... si vous y mettez un peu de bonne volontl. En matidre de critique, et qui veut sincerement s^clairer, cette bonne volonte est indis- pensable. ... Si vous n'etes pas convert!, eh bienl nous suivrons chacun notre route. Mais nous aureus sur vous une superiority celle de comprendre et d* aimer autant que vous le beau langage et, en outre, de gouter les jouissances qui s*attachent a la culture d'une autre forme d'art. C'est bien quelque choses il a'y a pas tant de plaisirs au monde; prenons ceux qu'il nous off re, d'ou qu'ils viennent.

Cette opinion sent bien un peu son libertinage, com- me on disait au grand siecle, mais elle est si commode et d'une pratique si agreablel (l)

A month after the organization of the Cercle, Felix Larcher was dining at the home of a friend when he met a man who was presented to him as the grand-nephew of Champfleury. This naturally turned their conversation to a discussion of pantomime, in the course of which the gentleman remarked, "You know, my uncle is most unhappy over the present state of pantomime." Larcher opened his eyes in astonishment. Since Champfleury had vanished from the Pari scene some years before, Larcher had concluded that he was dead. He now learn ed, to his joy, that the great champion of pantomime in by-gone days was liv- ing near by at Sevres, serving as curator of the museum there. He decided to look him up and dropped a note to him immediately. Champfleury responded graciously, inviting Larcher to visit him at Sevres, since he was too old and

(1) Felix LARCHER, art. in Rev^e d.1 Art PnaaUftttB, Apr. 1, 1888, pp. 51-54.

feeble to make the trip to Paris himself.

Upon his arrival, Larcher was ushered into an old-fashioned living- room while the maid went to notify her master. Larcher describes his intro- duction to the venerable celebrity in these words:

Un pas tratnant en pantoufles, une porte qui s'ouvre; je me retourne et j'aperc^pis une bonne figure de vieil- lard, des moustaches blanches et un nez rouge, et, der- riere des lunettes, une paire de petits yeux vifs, fouil- leurs, malins et bien veillants tout ensemble; c'est Champfleury. (1)

Larcher had rather redoubted his reception by Champfleury, fearing he would not care to be bothered with a young up-start who knew nothing of the traditions of the art he was endeavoring to foster. Shortly before this, an attempt to establish connections with Banville had met with a disconcerting rebuff. No doubt the ultra-realistic turn given to pantomime by Paul Mar- gueritte in his Pierrot assassin, de sa femme had strengthened Banville in an attitude which was already inclined to be uncooperative. As Larcher put it, Banville considered this art his own particular private property and resented anyone's else stepping foot on it. But with Champfleury, the story was diffejjj- ent. When Larcher explained the new organization, its ideals and its plans, the older man was at once interested and sympathetic. "You are very ambi- tious," he said. "You have undertaken a difficult task, that of reinstating pantomime today. But if you have confidence and plenty of money ... " Champ- fleury was thinking back to his own disappointing experiment with the Fantaisies Parisiennes and the fiasco resulting from the perversity of public taste at that time.

(1) Felix LARCHER, unidentified art., Recueil Stoullig.

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"We haven't a cent," admitted Larcher, "but we have plenty of faith." He then explained how they expected to defray expenses by subscription and re- ported proudly the encouraging response to their appeal given by prominent authors and artists. Furthermore, he expressed confidence that times had changed since Champfleury' s own unhappy experiment. A new taste for pantomime was indisputably "in the air" and the time seemed ripe for a successful restor ation of it.

Champfleury then launched into reminiscences of the Funambules and per- mitted Larcher to examine his own manuscripts, documents and souvenirs of the art, a valuable collection which was unfortunately dispersed after Champ- fleury' s death without Larcher' s learning of its availability until too late. Among his manuscripts, Champfleury came across a comedy partly in verse and partly in pantomime, an outline of which had been published anonymously in J.a Vie Parisienne in the issue for March 17, 1866. Its reception at that time had been so disheartening that Champfleury had abandoned all idea of try-^ ing to produce it. Now, as the idea came back to him, he believed that the dialogue could well be deleted and that it had the makings of a good pantomime Its title was la Statue du Commandeur and it began as a pastiche of Moliere's Don Juan, ou le Festin de Pierre, but Champfleury had given it an original de- nouement. Larcher was most enthusiastic over the idea and induced Champfleury to half promise to permit its presentation by the Cercle Funambulesque.

As a final result of the interview, Champfleury manifested his good- will by expressing the desire to become a subscriber to the Cercle himself, though he was to die a little over a year later without having been able to witness a single performance.

Proof that pantomime was truly "in the air" at this time was evidenced

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by the fact that the Theatre-Libre included on its program for March 23d Paul Margueritte' s chef-d'oeuvre, Pierrot assassin de sa femme. with An to in e himself, director of the theater, playing the role of the undertaker' s as- sistant who appears at the opening of the pantomime. The appearance of a pantomime on the bill of fare of this particular theater was sufficient in itself to attract due comment from the critics. In les Anna3.es du Theatre, et de la Musique appeared the following:

Apres le melodrame naturaliste (l), venait la panto- mime, toujours naturaliste; . . . composee et jouee par M. Paul Margueritte. ... Pierrot, vexe d'etre ... cocu, - au theatre naturaliste, on peut appeler les choses par leur nom, - a impun6raent fait mourir sa femme en lui chatouillant la plante des pieds. ... Rien de mo ins gai, mais rien de plus joliment mimee que cette scene lugubre. M. Margueritte est un Pierrot tres fin que nous voudrions voir autrement qu'au retour du cimetie're. Les Hanlon, les Charles Deburau et les Paul Le grand avaient bien du talent, eux aussi, et moins de melan- colie. Tous nos eloges a la musique de M. Paul Vidal, qui accompagne d'une facon charmante la pantomime de M. Margueritte. (2)

Emile Morlot expressed himself in similar vein in the Revue d'Art

Dramatique for March 1, 1888:

La seule chose un peu interessante de la soiree a ete une pantomime, Pierrot assassin de sa femme. . . . Pier- rot ... revient du cimetiere en compagnie d'un croque- mort (ils ont toujours la note macabre au Theatre-Libre). . . . Cette manifestation du genre que cherche si courageuse- ment a ressusciter notre ami Felix Larcher, a "fete ac- cueillie avec beaucoup de plaisir. Mais franchement, Messieurs du Theatre-Libre, soyez moins lugubres, plus originaux et plus gais. (3)

(1) Reference to La Pelote, by Paul Bonnetain and Lucien Descaves, which opened the program.

(2) Edouard NOEL et Edmond STOULLIG, Les Annales du Theatre et de la Musique, 1888, pp. 324-325.

(5) Emile MORLOT, art, in Revue d'Art Dramatique, Mar. 1. 1888, pp. 507-8.

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Through March and April the members of the Cercle Funambulesque met

regularly every Thursday evening in a little hall at number 53, rue de Chateajji- dun, perfecting their plans and rehearsing assiduously for their opening. Since pantomime was envisaged as of an essentially intimate nature, small- scale productions were purposely planned. Sporadic attempts which had been made from time to time to re-popularize pantomime in the larger theaters had proved that any great distance between stage and spectators rendered subtle- ty and finesse in facial expression extremely difficult. Consequently, a tiny concert hall situated at number 42, rue Rochechouart, was selected for the inaugural performance, which took place on the 13th and 15th of May. It was decidedly a gala event for the restricted number of its select little audience.

The program opened with a specially written prologue in verse by Jacques Normand, entitled le R£veil. with a musical accompaniment composed by Auguste Chapuis. This number constituted a sort of ode to pantomime, with a promise of the rich delights in store for those who had cooperated in the am- bition to revive this ancient and naive art. As the curtain rose, the tradi- tional harlequinade characters, Pierrot, Arlequin, Polichinelle, Cassandre, and Colombine, were discovered lying asleep up stage. A gentleman entered, discoursing to himself on the ancient glories of pantomime and expressing re- gret that the good old days of the Funambules had disappeared. As his eye was caught by the row of sleeping figures, a scroll bearing the words "Cercle Funambulesque" unrolled above the mimes and awakened them one by one. The last to come to life was Pierrot, played by none other than Paul Legrand, now seventy- two years of age. His appearance was greeted by an enthusiastic and respectful ovation from the audience, which must have warmed the heart of

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this patriarchal Pierrot.

The balance of the program included four miscellaneous numbers, two in

pantomime and two in dialogue. Of the latter, the first, Arlequin barbier,

was a succession of scenes adapted from Resnard, while the other, Leandre am-

bassadeur, was an old parade adapted by Alfred Copin.

Sapristi, elle £tait gauloise, la paradel Heureuse- ment qu'on avait averti, dans un joli prologue, qu'on allait en entendre des "raides" . Elles n'effarouch- aient pas nos peres, nous assurait le poete. (l)

The first pantomime, Colombine pardonnee, was written by Paul Mar- gueritte in collaboration with Fernand Beissier. It ran true to the form in- augurated by Margueritte 1 s first pantomime, for once again Pierrot murders his wife. Having one day surprised Colombine in the arms of a lover, Pierrot had driven her from his house. But he continued to love her and regretted his hasty action. One evening, - a bleak, winter evening, naturally, - she returns to him. He makes a valiant effort to resist her seductive charms but at length capitulates, takes her in his arms and pardons her. But Colombine has the bad sense to tease him for his weakness. This fires him to fury. He recovers his masculine dignity, seizes a knife and stabs her.

M. Margueritte, qui parait aimer le genre macabre, traduit avec une tres grande clarte et beaucoup d1 intensity les passions de Pierrot, (2)

Mademoiselle Pepa Invernizzi of the Opera attracted considerable attention by her admirable portrayal of Colombine.

Of this pantomime, the critic Emile Blavet, writing under the pseudo- nym of "un Monsieur de l'Orchestre", wrote:

(1) Anonvmous. art. in Rpvue d'Art Drama tiaue. June 1. 1888 r p. 291.

(2) Loc. cit.

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La Colombine pardonnee, de MM, Paul Margueritte et de Fern and Beissier, est le pendant de Pierrot as- sassin de sa fernnie , ... C'est M. Margueritte lui- meme qui fait Pierrot, et j 'ai dSja1 dit tout le bien que je pense de son jeu puissant et d'une verite si cruelle. ... Le Pierrot de M. Margueritte, c'est le Pierrot macabre. Je confesse que je lui prefere, pour mon gout, le Pierrot bon enfant, spirituel, ingenument vicieux et plus conforme a la tradition, dont M. Saint-Germain nous a montre la bleme sil- houette dans une autre pantomime, 1* Amour de l'Art. (1)

The pantomime to which Blavet refers in his last line was the second or the program. Its author, Raoul de Najac, was somewhat uncertain of its suc- cess and therefore signed it with a pseudonym, "Charles Lunel". His appre- hensions proved groundless, however, for the pantomime was extremely well re- ceived. Eugene Larcher appeared as Arlequin, while the heavier role of Pier- rot was excellently interpreted by the popular comedian, Saint-Germain. The latter particularly was acclaimed not only by the enthusiastic audience but was accorded the generous and sincere plaudits of Paul Legrand himself, look- ing on from the wings. To Legrand, this more conventional type of pantomime was infinitely more acceptable than Paul Margueritte 's modern naturalism.

The story of 1* Amour de 1'Art presents an interesting study of one phase of the traditional character of Pierrot. In this pantomime he is rep- resented as stealing first by force of necessity and then continuing out of

sheer love of the art of stealing. Jules Lemaitre was particularly pleased by this piece and resumed its scenario in detail in le Journal des Debats for May 28, 1888. The gist of the story is as follows: Arlequin is in love with Colombine but since he is poor her father frowns on the suit. Arlequin re- ceives a letter announcing that he has come into a heritage. This changes thfe picture and Colombine' s hand is accorded him. But alas, Arlequin runs into

(1) Emile ELAVET, unidentified critique, Recueil Stoullig.

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Pierrot, who proposes a game of dice. As may be expected, the dice are load- ed and Arlequin' s newly-acquired fortune melts away almost as suddenly as it had come into his hands in the first place. At this point, Leiaaitre gives rein to an interesting psychoanalysis of Pierrot.

Arlequin ne gagne pas un coup et s'en 6tonne, tandis que Pierrot empocha les mises avec un mouvement regulier, dont la repetition devient fort plaisante, et d'un air de beatitude enfantine qui montre bien que Pierrot est voleur comme il est blanc - de naissance - et qu'il vole pour le plaisir beaucoup plus que pour le gain. Vous me direz que le gain est aussi un plaisir. Qui, mais Pierrot en connait un plus noble, celui de se sentir plus malin que le commun des mortels et celui de narguer la marSchaussee et les in- stitutions de son pays. 11 est voleur enfin, comme beau- coup de jolis animaux, comme le chat, la pie ou la bergeron- nette^ par un instinct nature! qui le pousse k ramener vers sa gracieuse personne le plus possible des biens de la ter- re, et parce que rien ne lui parait plus legitime. ... Bref, c'est pour des raisons tout a fait ^llgantes que Pierrot est un grec et un escroc. Pierrot est charmant. 11 repre- sente les vices des hommes avec un air d'inconscience et d' innocence qui les rend extremament aimables. Pierrot est en dehors de la loi, et par suite en dehors du peche. 11 nous fait rever d'une vie purement sensuelle et affranchie du joug de la conscience morale: ce qui est peut-etre la de- finition de la parfaite felicite. Pierrot, c'est le fils de Lilith, l'Adam ingenu qui n'a pas mange la pomme, et continue a promener, parmi nos soci'etes compliquees, l'ame ignorante d'un habitant du paradis terrestre. ... (1)

Tffhen Colombine's father learns that Arlequin is again penniless, he

shows him the door with little ceremony and precipitates his daughter into th

arms of the plutocrat Pierrot. But Pierrot is incapable of letting well enouj

alone:

... Pierrot gate son affaire, parce qu'il est poete et qu'il se laisse aller a commettre un tas de vols inutiles, des vols d' artiste. 11 reprend a. 1' hotelier Mezzetin 1' argent de son terme qu'il vient de lui payer. 11 derobe la montre de son futur beau-pere. 11 soustrait sa tabatiere a Monsieur Polichinelle. Enfin, et cela touche au sublime,

(1) Jules LEMAITRE. art. in le Journal des Debats, May 28, 1888.

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il enleve le collier de perles et le medallion de sa fiancee Colombine, - et tout cela avec des mines de chat voluptueux et une expression d'allegresse qui va croissant de larcin en larcin. ... C'est du delire, cfest du vertige. II finit par se faire pincer. Uh bon gendarme l'apprehende a la collerette. On le fouille; et tandis qu'on extrait de quoi gamir un bazar, Pierrot, ironique et serein, par un mouvement profondement artistique et desinteresse, vole le sabre du bon gendarme.

EUe est fort amusante, cette pantomime; elle est rapide et parfaitement claire; et j'an ai joui moins laborieusement que de la fantaisie tragique de M. Paul Margueritte. Au moins les personnages etaient de vieilles connaissancas, et il y avait dans le plaisir qu'ils me donnaient plus de securite: je confesse ici la timidite de mon esprit. (1)

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Of Saint-Germain's interpretation of the role of Pierrot, Lemaitre com- mented,

II n' avait pas grand1 chose a changer a son jeu pour etre parfait dans ce role. II lui suffisait d'etre un peu plus aphone que d' habitude. Vous ne sauries imaginer un masque plus souple, plus malleable: les moindres mouvements do l'ame enfantine et malicieuse de Pierrot y transparaissaient avec une precision et une nettete merveilleuses . Et le geste de 1' excel- lent artiste, si sobre et si sur, venait achever la traduction. ... (2)

All in all, the Cercle Funambulesque had reason to feel proud. It had

amply justified its foundation and the indisputable success of its opening

production augured well for its successful continuation through the season to

follow.

(1) Jules LEMAITRE, op. cit.

(2) Loc. cit.

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CHAPTER XXV

THE FIRST SEASON (1888-89) AND "BARBE-BLEUEITE"

After its auspicious beginning in May, 1888, the Cercle Funambulesque was unfortunate in getting off to a sIovy start for its first full season the following fall. Felix Larcher had counted on obtaining Champfleury' s la Statue du Commandeur for the opening program but his request met with a dis- appointingly evasive answer. It was not difficult to read between the lines and understand that Champfleury was not yet quite ready to trust his panto- mime to the Cercle. Thus far, it had sponsored only one performance and al- though this had been distinctly creditable, it was hardly sufficient to estab-f lish a reputation. Before risking his work, Champfleury wished to test the new venture further, to make certain that the Cercle Funambulesque was really capable of presenting the pantomime properly and that the public of this day was ready to appreciate it. This set-back meant a delay in getting under way and it was not until the first week in December that the first program of 1888-89 was ready.

For this presentation the Cercle Funambulesque moved into a small the- ater at number 10 rue St.-Lazare, owned by Bodinier and hence known sometimes as la Bodiniere, though more often it was referred to as the Theatre d' Appli- cation. This was a nev* theater operating in conjunction with the Conservatory for the purpose of permitting its students an opportunity to appear before the public in a semi-professional capacity in varied productions, on occasions other than the annual dramatic contest performances sponsored by the Conserva- tory. By its intimate and experimental nature, this little theater fitted in

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perfectly with the requirements of the Cercle Funambulesque and became its permanent quarters.

The program presented during the first week of December measured up to the standard set the proceeding May, although it produced nothing of perma- nent interest. In accordance with its policy of reviving classic pantomime, Pierrot coiffeur, an old favorite by Gaspard Deburau, was selected as one of

the numbers. Pierrot, servant to Cassandre, is called upon to shave his mas- ter. This episode furnishes opportunity for considerable conventional, slap- stick comedy. Pierrot assembles his implements, a shaving brush as large as i broom and a gargantuan razor. In beginning his operations, he ties a towel about Cassandre 's neck and nearly strangles him. The lathering process re- sults in Cassandre 's eyes, nose and mouth being filled with suds. "Never mind, I»ll fix it," Pierrot promises obligingly and nearly gouges out his mas- ter^ eyes digging out the soap. Cassandre howls with pain and retaliates by biting Pierrot's fingers as the latter attempts to scoop the soap out of his mouth. When Pierrot sharpens the formidable razor, Cassandre believes his last moment has come but he survives the operation, escaping with a few minor cuts to his nose and ears and a set of badly jangled nerves. The curling of his moustache with a red-hot iron is attended by further harrowing incidents and narrow escapes.

A later scene is definitely reminiscent of the lazzi of the old Italiax improvised comedies. An itinerant pastry merchant appears and setting down his basket of wares, he takes out a sock and begins to count up his day's re- ceipts. Pierrot slips up behind his back and samples the cakes, placing them one by one, after tasting each, into his hat, which he conceals behind him. Cassandre enters and takes a lesson of Pierrot. Kneeling behind the thief, Cassandre filches the cakes from Pierrot ' s hat, depositing them one by one in

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his own headgear. Arlequin and Colombine dance on and are ravished at sight of the comedy. Arlequin in his turn transfers the cakes from Cassandra's hat to Colombine *s apron and off these two pirouette to enjoy their booty. When the pastry merchant has finished casting up his accounts, he discovers the theft of his merchandise and sees Cassandre and Pierrot standing beside him, each innocently holding his hat carefully pressed against his chest. Mutual accusations and recriminations end in a scrimmage in which all three fare equally badly.

Cast evidemment la le vieux jeu, avec ces farces naives qui servant a mettre en relief le talent des acteurs. La pantomime doit avoir des visees plus hautcw et comme tous les arts nous prendre a 1' esprit, au coeur, a l'ame. (1)

Pierrot coiffeur proved amusing but the day for this type of trivial play had passed and this pantomime was distinctly over-shadowed by the modern pieces which comprised the balance of the program.

The most outstanding number on the program ?/as le Papillon, composed by the Larcher brothers and Paul Legrand, with music by Francis Thome. They labelled it a "paravent pantomime", since it represented a dramatiaed vignette of what might well have served as an illustration on one of the Japanese screens so popular at this epoch. This is but one illustration of the many varied manifestations of the cult for things Japanese launched by the Goncourtjt brothers. A glance at the periodicals of the time brings to our attention, for instance, Salade japonaise, a revue presented at the Sslle de 1' Avenue Lowendal in April, 1888; la Marchande de sourires. a five-act Japanese drama given at the Odeon in May, 1888, in which Madame Marie Sanlaville, active at the Cercle Funambulesque, played the part of "Hour de Roseau"; and in the

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(1) L. NOEL, critique in Revue d'Art Dramatique, Dec, 15, 1888, p. 567.

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April 1st and 15th issues of the Revue d'Art Dramatize for this year appeared, an enlightening study of Japanese drama by Monsieur A. Lequeux, French consul to Yokahama.

In le Papillon an innovation is introduced by presenting Pierrot not in his traditional costume and classic character but as "un Japonais", a fan in one hand and a parasol held daintily above his head upon his entrance. The scene is a Japanese garden, in the center of which blooms an exquisite rose. Pierrot falls in love with the rose, recites it a sonnet, plays it a serenade and declares to it his passion. But a rival appears in the form of a butter- fly, which coquettes about the rose, arousing Pierrot's jealousy. The lover becomes enraged upon seeing the butterfly issue forth from the very heart of the full-blown flower and kills both butterfly and rose. Attempting to flee, he is besieged by a cloud of angry butterflies, who bar his way and bitterly reproach him for the murder of their brother. In expiation of his crime, Pi- errot buries his two victims together in a common grave and sorrowfully steals away from this beautiful garden in which his love was born only to die.

... L'oeuvre est exquise et nous a tenu sous le charme

jusqu'a. la fin. Nous n'eprouvions aucune deception a

ne pas entendre la voix du heros de ce petit drame,

nous lui savions meme gre de ne pas parler et de lais-

ser notre esprit dans les regions du reve et de 1' ideal. ...

Tout cela est charmant et a ete joue par M. Larcher (Eugene) avec un talent tr£s remarquable. II a detaille et mime' les nuances de ce joli role avec une finesse et un art extraordinaires . La musique accompagne pas a pas 1' action et la soutient en meme temps qu'elle lui donne du relief. Le decor de M. Marquet ainsi que les cos- tumes dessin6s par M. Choubrac sont charmants. Le Papil- lon forme un spectacle qui satisfera les plus deli cats. (1)

The third of the pantomimes on this program, Blanc et Noir, was also

(1) L. NOEL, op. cit., pp. 367-368

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in modern vein but less original in theme and treatment than le Papillon. Colombine has thoughtlessly given rendezvous to Pierrot Blanc and Pierrot Noir at the same time. When they appear together, they demand that she make a choice between them. She promises to accord her favors to the one who best expresses his love for her. But as lovers, they prove to be equally adept and another solution is demanded. The Pierrots suggest that they divide Col- ombine into two parts but this seems to be somewhat impracticable. Unable to solve the difficulty in any other way, the two Pierrots resort to the time- honored duel, in which both are fatally wounded. Untouched by the tragic de- nouement, Colombine plucks a rosebud from the lapel of each of her two ill- fated lovers and pirouettes off unconcernedly. This light end poetic trifle afforded an excellent opportunity for the charming mimicry of Mademoiselle Sanlaville as Colombine, supported by Georges Berr and Tarride as the two Pierrots.

To furnish spice and variety to the program, a one-act opera bouffe, Monsieur Pulcinella. was included.

... Le sujet est un peu scabreux, mais il y a de si jolie musique et elle a ete si gentiment chantee ... que nous avons applaudi - malgre' la morale outragee. (1)

Le Papillon attracted so much attention at its first presentation that its repetition was requested on the February program. The pantomimes assembled for the first week of February, 1883, proved to be decidedly a family affair. Its first number, le Papillon, was the work of Felix and Eugene Larcher in collaboration with Paul Legrand, as already noted. Lysic, the second panto- mime, was written by Eugene Larcher, but modestly offered at this time under the pseudonym of M. de Servigny, The two additional numbers, one a comedy

(1) L. NOEL, op. cit., p. 568.

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and one a pantomime, were both by Raoul de Najac, though the pantomime ?;as presented under the pseudonym of "Charles Lunel", as had been the case with his 1' Amour de l*Art.

Lysic is a character study of a young country wench who arrives in Paris to enter the service of the Baroness Dolmen de Pierre-Levee as a do- mestic servant. The prologue informs us that the Baroness has been having servant trouble. None of the highly-recomuiended candidates from the agencies have proved satisfactory. In despair, she has commissioned her brother, count Robert de Biberon, to find a country girl in the locality of his chateau in Finisterre. This he obligingly does and the pantomime opens as Lysic ar- rives at the home of the baroness in her wooden sabots, on her arm a basket containing her personal effects, and clutching a serviceable looking red cot- ton umbrella. She is ushered into the richly appointed salon by a footman in imposing livery and while awaiting the summons of her new mistress, Lysic marvels at the new world into which she has been precipitated. She is amazed by everything she sees. As she steps forward on the thick, soft carpet be- neath her feet she is charmed by the sensation, but fearing to damage it, she removes her wooden sabots and tiptoes carefully in her stockinged feet to de- posit them, with her basket and her umbrella, on the mantelpiece. From a table she picks up a pair of eighteen-button gloves and examines them in per- plexity. She concludes that they must be stockings. But she does not think much of them. These solid knitted stockings of her own, which she pulls from her basket, are far more serviceable. In the corner of the salon she comes upon a statuette of Phryne in the nude and the little maid trembles as thougt it were she herself who had suddenly been stripped of her clothing. Dropping to her knees, she prays to the Virgin for guidance that she be preserved froii. eternal damnation from gazing on such a sight. Her prayer is answered. Ris4

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ing, she picks up one of her heavy woolen stockings and closing her eyes tightly moves to the statuette and covers it over. Having at length exhausted the variety of novelties about her, Lysic becomes sleepy and drowses off. Heij slumber is interrupted by the entrance of the footman, who informs the girl that her new mistress is ready to receive her. Lysic jumps up vdth a start, runs to the mantelpiece to retrieve her sabots, her basket and her precious umbrella, and disappears with a series of low curtseys to the elegant footman.

The non -pantomimic hors-d » oeuvre by Raoul de Najac, Metamorphoses com- iques, was a lively piece in one act in which a charoel i on-like actor changes his own character in accordance with each change of his role and costume. The famous actor, Coquelin the elder, who was a close friend of Raoul 's father, Qnile de Najac, the well-known dramatist, had tried for some to inspire the eon to emulate his father. This little comedy was a result of Coquelin' s en- couragement but its complete lack of success cured Raoul of any desire to con-* tinue in this line. By contrast to this failure, however, his second contribir- tion to the evening, the pantomime Earbe-Bleuette » not only turned out to be the clou of the program but was the first of the offerings of the Cercle Fu- nambulesque to create a genuine sensation. It was to pass from private and amateur showings to the professional theater at a later date and is one of the few pantomimes of this epoch which has stood the test of time.

Najac tells us that he had received his first inspiration for writing this pantomime upon seeing the familiar old comedy trick of cutting off heads in circus antics. He decided that he would like to use the idea in a comic, not macabre, treatment in pantomime. Decapitated heads naturally suggested the familiar legend of Bluebeard and it was froa this that he developed his theme. The pantomime had been written in 1887 and submitted for publication to the Revue illustree. in whose files it languished for nearly a year. Najac

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presented it for consideration by the Cercle Funambulesque when its inaugural program was being organized but the committee rejected it in favor of 1' Amour

de l'Art. Less than two weeks before the program scheduled for February,

1889, the Cercle found itself obliged to make an unexpected change in its plans and needed an additional pantomime in a hurry. They fell upon Barbe- Bleuette to help them out of the difficulty. In less than ten days Francis

Thome composed the musical accompaniment and Felicia LJallet, Eugene Larcher and Tarride completed rehearsals.

In this pantomime it is the heroine who fulfills the role of blood- thirsty villain. Colombine, or ngarbe-Bleuette", goes off to do her marketing, leaving her husband, Arlequin, playing dominoes with his crony, Pierrot. She has forbidden her husband to open the door of a certain mysterious closet but unknown to her, Arlequin has stolen her keys and now ciiriosity gets the bette: 1 of him. Opening the forbidden door, Arlequin and Pierrot are thrown into con-- steroation at being confronted by four decapitated heads. Hearing Colombine returning, the door of the closet is hastily closed and Pierrot rushes from the house in terror. Colombine perceives her keys dangling from the lock and realises that her husband has disobeyed her. Seizing a carving knife, she stalks her fifth victim and Arlequin pays for his disobedience and curiosity as his head goes to join the four in the closet.

Pierrot returns presently and with considerable apprehension asks for Arlequin. Bursting into tears, Colombine throws herself on Pierrot's breast and admits her bloody crimes. But, says she, there were extenuating circum- stances in every case. She tells Pierrot that she has cut off Arlequin 's head in self-defense as he was about to beat her cruelly. Of the other four victims, she relates that she was obliged to kill the first because he was a drunkard, the second because he was an inveterate gambler, the third because

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he deceived her and gallivanted after other women, and the fourth because he was a stupid, doddering old man, always coughing and spitting, always with a cold in his head, and a most unsatisfactory lover. Surely Pierrot cannot but appreciate that it was impossible for her to continue to live with any of them Pierrot, completely under her spell, sympathizes and condones each crime as having been completely justifiable.

For some time Pierrot has been attracted by Colombine 's charms and now he would like to ask her to marry him, but a sidewise glance at the fateful closet makes him apprehensive. He hesitates. However, upon thinking the mat- ter over he reassures himself by figuring that he possesses none of the de- fects of his five predecessors in Colombine' s affections and accordingly he falls to his knees before her and takes the fatal step. Colombine accepts his offer of marriage but as she presses his head against her breast we see her run her fingers across Pierrot's throat tentatively, lingeringly, sug- gestively, with an irrepressible glance in the direction of the closet which makes us sense that he, alas, may not be her last husband.

The novelty of this guignolesque pantomime, in which, however, the em- phasis is upon the comedy element rather than upon the macabre, the simplicity of its construction, the finesse of its acting, especially on the part of Fe- licia Mallet as Colombine, all of this combined with the excellence of Thome's musical score, took the audience by storm and the critics outdid themselves in commendation of it. Everywhere protests were voiced against its being re- stricted to but two performances and those to a comparatively limited audience. It at once became popular in many of the Paris salons and from thence spread to some of the smaller provincial theaters. Its active popularity was to con- tinue for a period of some twelve years.

Barbe-Bleuette appeared again at the Cercle Funambulesque the following

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season, in April of 1890, once more being substituted for another pantomime which failed to materialize at the last moment. At this second appearance it was greeted Ydth the same enthusiastic reception as previously. On the 22nd of October, 1591, the insistent demand of the general public to have the op- portunity of seeing this novelty was gratified and the pantomime appeared pro- fessionally at the Nouveau-Theatre, later known as the Theatre-Re" jane, where it played eight-two successive performances. This was distinctly a record feat for this genre of entertainment.

A third revival took place at the Cercle Funambulesque in 1895, follow^ ing which the critic Jean Jullien read into it a symbolism which had not been commented upon hitherto. In the opinion of Jullien, the true role of panto- mime lies in its symbolism, "dans l1 expression saisissante des sentiments d'humanite generale, at non dans le re'cit d'une histoire meme drainatique. "

... Cette pantomime est estimable entre toutes, en dehors des joliesses de la mimique et de la musique, par les pensees, on peut dire philosophiques, qui s'y trouvent condensees. Cette Barbe-Bleuette qui, un a un, fait perir ses maris, nTest-ce pas la personnifi cation de la coquet- terie cruelle de la feanae se plaisant a faire souffrir ceux qui l'aiment, quelquefois jusqu'a la mort, et pas- sant ensuite a d'autres amours? Arlequin est le malin qui veut voir dans le jeu de la femme, mais qui nfen est pas moins sa victime, et quant a Pierrot, il est bien I'homme. N'est-ce pas tout I'orgueil et toute la vanite humaine qui poussent ce Pierrot, connaissant la terrible fin d' Arlequin et de ses predecesseurs, a demander la main de Barbe-Bleuette? Se croire irreprochable, s'ima- giner qu'on ne les trompe pas eux, se flatter enfin d'etre ainie pour soi-meme, n'est-ce pas la toquade de tous les amour eux? (1)

Together with its brilliant success, however, Barbe-Bleuette furnisher occasion for an unhappy contretemps for the Cercle Funambulesque. Misunder- standings and differences of opinion over royalties and publication rights

(1) Jean JULLIEN, art. in Paris, June 19, 1893.

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arose between the author and Francis Thome, the composer, which resulted in Najac's severing completely his relationship with the Cercie Funambulesque .

The third collection of offerings for this season was ready for pre- sentation in March. As planned, it was to have comprised three pantomimes an a parade, la Danse de Saint-Guy. But a 3udden illness prevented the appear- ance of Paul Legrand, scheduled to appear in his own pantomime, le Reve de Pi- errot, which consequently had to be withdrawn. The opening number was a re- vival of an old pantomime which had first appeared in 1352 at the Folies- Nouvelles, entitled la Fiancee de Carton. Its theme is trite. Pierrot, a toymaker, is about to be married. Carried away by his emotion at the pros- pect, he imagines that one of his dolls is Colombine and declares his passion to her. Unfortunately, Colombine has slipped unseen into the Y/orkshop and mistakes her fiance's declarations for infidelity to her. Unable to control her jealousy, she comes forth from her hiding place and delivers a masterly slap which brings Pierrot to his senses. He explains the situation, she for- gives him and all is well.

... Ce n'est pas grand1 chose, comme vous voyez; mais ce qui est beaucoup, c'est 1' esprit, la finesse, l'in- genuosite de M. Eugene Larcher, un Pierrot remarquable, et la grace toute charmante de Mile Marie Sanlaville, une Colombine exquise. Avec de tels interpret es, la pantomime devient infiniment plus claire que bien des comedies qu'on qualifie de joliment dialoguees. (1)

The concluding pantomime of the evening was an amusing fantasy in thre< tableaux by Fernand Beissier, entitled la Lune, with a musical score composed by M. E. Andran, executed by a small stringed orchestra. The first scene takes place on the terrace before Pierrot's home. At the back may be seen th face of the full moon gazing down at Pierrot from the skies. Our hero falls

(1) "FRIMOUSSE", unidentified critique, Recueil Stoullig.

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in love with the moon, who, however, makes no response to his protestations. Vainly he sighs, offers her flowers, gold, sings a serenade to her. But she continues to gaze coldly down.

Colombine endeavors to distract Pierrot from his hopeless infatuation but the tempting morsels of food, the choice wines she sets before him are pushed aside as coldly as the moon refuses his own offerings. When her cares- ses, too, are repulsed, Colombine becomes irritated and leaves Pierrot to his futile sighing. Suddenly, the expression on the face of the moon seems to change. Can it be - ? Yes - she is winking provocatively at him. With one bound, Pierrot springs to a pillar of the garden wall and from thence a gi- gantic leap carries him straight into the mouth of the moon, which opens to receive him.

The second scene shows Pierrot transported into the land of the moon. In the distance far below may be seen the earth, with its five continents and vast oceans appearing infinitesimally small. His sudden ascension seems to have restored Pierrot's appetite. Near at hand is an inn, appropriately nam- ed "Au clair de la terren. Pierrot knocks at the door and a lovely moon creature answers his call. But when he requests something to eat she informs him that here on the moon one does not eat; one is nourished solely by the perfume of the flowers and one drinks only drops of dew. In lieu of wine, therefore, Pierrot decides to assuage his thirst by sipping a few kisses from the lady 9 s lips but she repulses him coldly. Here on the moon, one is chaste. Love, like nourishment, is purely platonic. Pierrot is completely disillusioned. He has had enough of the moon. Once more he makes a mighty leap and in the third scene we find him back home on the earth again, falling contritely on his knees before Colombine, grateful at last for her delectable soup and her still more delectable kisses. Before disappearing with her into

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the cottage, Pierrot seizes a paintbrush and across the face of the moon in- solently traces the word "Zutl", signing it with the initials D," - Voila une signature suggestive, une signature mimee."

• •• C'est K. D., ou Cadet, dit Coquelin, qui joue Pierrot avec ses ahurissements, ce sour ire gouail- leur que vous lui connaissez et qu'il accentue en- core dans la pantomime, II a ete desopilant, (1)

This was the first appearance in pantomime at the Cercle Funambulesque by Coquelin the younger, following in his father's footsteps as a popular comedian at the Comedie Francaise. The roles of both Colombia e and the Lady in the Moon were portrayed by the charming Pepa Invernizzi.

In addition to the plaudits showered on the program by the usual group

of pantomime enthusiasts, among whom a number were themselves members of the

Cercle, it is interesting to note the reaction of a new recruit from outside

the ranks. The dramatic critic writing under the pseudonym of "Frimousse"

expressed himself thus:

Ce cercle a pour membres de jeunes et aimables f ana- tiques, amour eux des arts dechus. Leur but: rehabi- liter la pantomime et la parade; leur moyen: en faire et en jouer. Plusieurs representations ont deja ete donnees par ces sympathiques amateurs, mais la fatalite m'avait tou jours empeche d*y assister, pour cause de premieres soi-disant plus import antes. Hier enfin, j'ai pu profiter d'une liberte bien gagnee et faire la con- naissance du Cercle-Funambulesque. J'oserai dire que je ne le regrette pas. (2)

After a detailed and sympathetic analysis of the various numbers on the program, "Frimousse" closed his article by saying, "Grand succes et grand succes merite pour tout le monde,"

Paul Legrand recovered from his illness in time to appear in his mono-

(1) (2)

unidentified critique, Hecueil Stoullig,

"FRIMOUSSE", art, in Revue d'Art Dramatique, Mar. 15, 1889, p. S75

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mime, le Rave de Pierrot, for the closing program of the year, late in the

spring, Although the monomime itself was conventional, Legrand proved that

he had lost none of his power as master of his art. In contrasting it with

the modern pantomimes which preceded it, one reviewer commented.

Tout cela est tres gai; c'est de la pantomime; ce n'est pas I1 art de la pantomime. M. Paul Legrand va nous le rendre dans le R&ve de Pierrot, cet art in- genieux et sobre. (lj"

The Cercle Funambulesque was beginning to experiment more and more fre quently with contemporary ideas and with the modernization of Pierrot, both in costume and in character. In le Papillon we have seen him costumed not as the conventional Pierrot but as a Japanese, In Pierrot fils de la Lune, Pier rot, impersonated by Eugene Larcher, was presented in the conventional modem dress of the period. He encounters the mythological Phoebe, goddess of the moon, who has been exiled to the earth, and steals her diamond-studded cres- cent, which represents the moon. He tries to pawn it but the pawnbroker re- fuses to bargain with him, where so unusual an item is concerned, A prosper- ous and influential engineer chances to pass by and his fancy is caught by the gleaming crescent. He has a modern and very practical idea. He buys the moon to place on the top of the Eiffel Tower to illuminate Paris, As for Pi- errot, thanks to the protection of the powerful engineer, who is political master in the republic, Pierrot is rewarded with the office of minister!

The most bizarre of the three pantomimes on this program was Lulu, by Felicien Champsaur, It was referred to as a "pantomime a idees." Lulu has lost her heart. It is picked up by the philosopher Schopenhauer, He is curious as to its composition, subjects it to analysis, opens it with his

(1) Unidentified critique, Recueil Stoullig,

scalpel and discovers that its essence is a matter as hard as a diamond. As it seems to be of no use to him personally, he consents to return it to Col- ombia e. At this point Arlequin arrives. He steals the heart from Colombine and Schopenhauer is amazed to note that its composition undergoes a curious transformation. It begins to throb and becomes a thing of living flesh. The kiss of love has accomplished this miracle. But this is beyond the bounds of Schopenhauer » s comprehension. He lights a candle and holds it aloft, endeav- oring to throw light into the obscurity of his philosophy. It then occurs to him that he may have been made sport of. Angrily he extinguishes the candle, only to find that his philosophy becomes more obscure than ever.

The two spring program^ for this^ear were on the whole interesting, well received, and of a satisfactory standard but nothing on either of them approached in any way the outstanding success of Barbe-Bleuette . which went on record as the high spot for the year 1888-89.

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CHAPTER XXVI

"JONAH" YEAR (1889-90)

Its second fall season, 1889-90, was a difficult and disheartening one for the directors of the Cercle Funambulesque. One set-back after another disrupted the plans and all arrangements had to be re-made several times over. During the fall of 1889 the closing days of the Paris Exposition were in pro- gress and all the legitimate theaters suffered from the effects of its compe- tition. This state of affairs reacted indirectly but none the less poignant- ly upon the Cercle Funambolesque. Having no permanent company of its own, this society was obliged to depend for its performers upon legitimate actors and actresses for whom pantomime was an avocation and who, by force of neces- sity, sandwiched in such work as they could at the Cercle between their pro- fessional engagements.

The first program of the second season was planned for the 15th of De- cember, since it seemed wise to wait until after the closing of the Exposition, which was scheduled for November 6th. An additional cause for delay was the contemplated enlarging of the stage and auditorium of the Bodiniere, although this proposed renovation was not carried out, after all. Plans for the open- ing program were drawn up by the Cercle as early as September but rehearsals did not get under way until November, when it was hoped that the legitimate theaters were in a more stable condition so far as their own presentations were concerned.

Four pantomimes were selected, with the idea of using only three of them, the wise directors having the intention of holding one in readiness as

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a reserve In ease of emergency. This precaution was well taken, as was proved later. Contrary to expectations, one after another of the legitimate the- aters continued to make last-minute changes in repertory during this fall season, rushing together a new play or reviving a previous hit in the hope of enticing the public away from the Exposition for a few hours. In consequence of this policy, actors were recalled one after another from the Cercle Funam- bulesque. An entire cast would be disrupted for them, rehearsals having to be commenced anew. By the 20th of November not one of the four original casts remained intact.

Four days before the scheduled December opening, the final bomb-shell exploded. An epidemic of influenza broke out in Paris and at once three of the principal pantomimists took to their beds. Others were called upon by the legitimate theaters to replace members of their own casts who had been stricken ill. As a result, the Cercle Funambulesque was forced to cancel ar- rangements for the theater and postpone its opening indefinitely.

It was not until the middle of January, after the Christmas and New Tear festivities had spent themselves, that another fresh start could be made. Again new casts had to be selected, since many of the actors previously count- ed upon were now demanded by professional theater engagements. Two of the four pantomimes originally chosen had to be discarded completely and last- minute substitutes put in their places. But patience and unremitting labor ultimately had their reward and the second season of the Cercle Funambulesque was formally opened on the 4th and 5th of February, 1890, nearly nine months after its final program of the preceding season.

This February program included three pantomimes and a one-act comedy in verse by Michel Carre and P. Fauney, entitled Aj^jaggifl flpqre, 3-ui-meme. Of

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the three pantomimes, only one commanded particular notice from the review- ers. In Colombine pour deuxf a one-act pantomime bv Henri Amic. with music by Pierre Joret, Felicia Mallet, as Colombine, gave further evidence of a trulv remarkable Dantomimlc ability in spite of a negligible vehicle. La Re- verence, a one-act pantomime written by Le Corbeiller* for which Paul Vidal composed the music, was passed off simply as a "pantomime philosophique", in which Jane May, Chantard, Tarride and Eugene Larcher were the protagonists.

The only number among the offerings for this evening which stood out in anv particular way was Theodore Massiac's En bonne fortune!, a modern pan- tomime in two scenes, with music by Laurent Grillet. In it we find no Arle- quin, no Colombine, no Cassandre. Of the traditional characters, Pierrot alone remains, portrayed by Eugene Larcher. Here he appears as a sophisti- cated mondain. At a ball he meets the ravishing Madame du Bel-air, with whom he promptly falls in love. When he whispers the suggestion that she go to supper with him he receives a slap from the lady for his presumption. At this moment he finds himself face to face with the lady's husband, who has slipped up unobtrusively. Monsieur du Bel-air proposes that Pierrot Join him in a game of cards, at the conclusion of which, Monsieur du Bel-air departs in rare good humor, leaving Pierrot without a penny to his name.

It is at this inauspicious moment that Madame du Bel-air returns and finding the coast clear, explains to Pierrot that her abrupt response to his invitation was wholly for the benefit of her husband, whom she had seen ap- proaching. She would be delighted to go to supper with him. Unwilling to ex plain the recent financial reverse which he has suffered, Pierrot allows him- self to be led off by the lady, trusting that Providence may in some manner come to his aid.

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The second scene finds them cozily installed in a private dining room at a smart restaurant. Madame du Bel-air appropriates the menu and orders an elaborate supper which evokes a succession of harrowing grimaces from poor Pierrot. As the dinner progresses, the coachman, who has brought them hither, grows tired of waiting and enters, demanding his payment. A dispute arises which develops into a battle when Pierrot refuses to settle. Hearing foot- steps outside the door, Madame du Bel-air retires discretely behind a screen. The intruder proves to be none other than Monsieur du Bel-air himself, who has been enjoying a pleasant little supper-party of his own in the adjoining room. He has come to find out the cause of the disturbance. Pierrot, on recognizing Monsieur du Bel-air, believes his last moment has come. As for the lady, she faints conveniently behind the screen at sight of her husband. This gentleman, something of a gallant himself, soon takes in Pierrot's em- barrassing situation, - both angles of it, - generously returns the winnings he had taken from Pierrot, winks slyly and leaves Pierrot to his inamorata, never suspecting that this lady is none other than his own wife.

The theme of this triangular situation was obviously inspired by the popular type of alcove play which was beginning to take the stage in Paris at this epoch.

Troubles never come singly. Having got off on the wrong foot, the Cercle continued to limp along during this fateful season, pursued by a re- lentless hoodoo. The program for April again proved to be jinxed. Once more there were the now all-too-familiar last-minute changes, due to sudden de- mands made upon the players by the legitimate theaters. Finally, one number planned, which had been intended as the pieca djj raaistanea of the program, had to be completely abandoned and it was at this time that Barbe-Bleua-hta was

again happily substituted. The final arrangements, though the best that could be made under the circumstances, were not at all what might have been desired.

Saint-Germain, who was to play the role of Pierrot in the opening pan- tomime, les Treize jours de Pierrot, was also appearing this same week at the Palais-Royal in a play which required his entrance early in the first act. In concession to this contretemps « the Cercle advanced the hour of its own performance. Due warning was sent out at the last moment by couriers, word of mouth and personal letters, urging the members to be in their seats in time for a prompt eight o'clock curtain, if they did not want to miss Saint- Germain, who was a great favorite. Exactly on the second of eight o'clock the curtain went up, - or rather down, for at the Bodiniere the curtain de- scended beneath the stage instead of ascending above it.

Les Treiqe Jours de Pierrot was an amusing comedy depicting the vi- cissitudes of military life. Pierrot's wife, played by Felicia Mallet, takes quarters in a hotel directly opposite her soldier husband's barracks. Dis- guising herself as a soldier, she manages to get herself put on guard duty in Pierrot's place. Eventually, when Pierrot lands in a tight spot, she suc- ceeds in saving him from the death penalty by bestowing a kiss upon his su- perior officer. The situations were highly comic and the pantomime had all the makings of being hilariously entertaining but unfortunately, so solicitous was the audience in its desire that Monsieur Saint-Germain get through the pantomime and reach the Palais-Royal on time for his entrance cue that they had little attention to concentrate on the pantomime itself, despite its ex- cellent portrayal. The storm of applause that greeted Saint-German at the conclusion of the pantomime was promptly arrested at the sight of this actor'

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strained and anxious countenance when he appeared for a brief curtain-call, his expression saying only too plainly, "Can I possibly make the Palais-Royal on time?" The intermission between the first and second pantomimes was filled with a steady buzz of anxious conversation as the members of the audience whispered the all-important question to each other, "Do you think Saint-Ger- main will make the Palais-Royal on time?"

The second number, Pntir une bouffee de tabaer was a monomime, or "mono- logomime', as it was termed, written and acted by the popular comedian, Felix Galipaux, The monomime was not a new genre. Paul Le grand and Paul Marguer- itta had already used it successfully. But this was a novelty rather on the order of the monodramas made popular recently in this country by Cornelia Otis Skinner. Setting, properties and supplementary characters were purely imagin- ary and the actor portrayed the entire story by means of his miming alone.

As the pantomime begins, Pierrot is taking his ease in a cafe, enjoy- ing his perusal of the newspaper. He interprets the various articles and news items which strike his fancy. But a gentleman at the next table makes a nuisance of himself by wafting heavy clouds of tobacco smoke in Pierrot's face. The latter expresses annoyance, but without effect. At length, his temper gets the better of him and he strikes his inconsiderate neighbor. Cards are exchanged and a duel arranged for the next day. Returning home, Pi- errot meditates on what is in store for him. He feels feverish and cannot settle down to sleep, reflecting that by this time tomorrow he will no doubt be dead. He regards Colombine, peacefully sleeping, and decides that he had better draw up his will. His furniture will go to his wife. He selects vari- ous articles to be left to different friends. This duty attended to, he un- dresses and blows out his candle.

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The next morning we discover Pierrot arriving bright and early at the dueling grounds. As he awaits the arrival of his adversary, he reacts to the beautiful day, the sunshine, the flowers, the singing birds, and regrets that he is probably enjoying them for the last time. He looks about for the best spot in which to place himself and selects a strategic point which will put the sun in his opponent's eyes. But when the latter arrives, he indignantly refuses to face the sun. A coin is tossed and Pierrot has the good luck to draw the advantageous position for himself. The combat begins and it is not long before Pierrot is wounded slightly in the knee, but he continues to fight bravely. He succeeds at length in mortally wounding his antagonist. Pierrot looks down at him regretfully, then comforts himself by reflecting that if luck had not been on his side it would be he himself stretched out there on the ground. Consoled by this philosophic point of view, Pierrot lifts his hat respectfully to his victim and strides off, grateful to be alive himself.

Galipaux, like Saint-Germain, was a particular favorite with the Cercle Funambulesque audience but full appreciation of his novel monomime was impos- sible due to the continued concern over Saint-Germain's reaching the Palais- Royal on time. Despite their anxiety, however, their persistent applause at the conclusion of his pantomime demanded a curtain call from Galipaux. He did not respond. In his stead, Felix Larcher appeared before the curtain and in a tense manner explained that Monsieur Galipaux, too, was doubling elsewhere that night and had been obliged to dispense with his curtain call and hurry off as quickly as possible in order not to miss his entrance cue at the other theater. Larcher then apologised for the fact that one of the pan- tomimes scheduled for the evening, le Debat du coeur et de Maglftlftrib had

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bad to be postponed to a later program as several of its cast were playing that night at the Odeon In response to a last-minute change at that theater. Disappointment on the part of the spectators at having to miss this number was obviously tempered with relief at not having to worry, in this one case at least, lest its members fail to make their entrances on time in another theater*

The concluding number for this evening, l'Hgure du bergerr by Henri Piazza, with musical accompaniment by Paulin, presents the traditional charac- ters of Pierrot and Arlequin in a risque treatment of the eternal triangle. Pierrot, played by Eugene Larcher, is in love with Pierrette. It is interest- ing to note that this is one of the extremely infrequent occasions when Pier- rot' s feminine partner appears under this name rather than the usual Colom- bine. Before agreeing to marriage and according her favors, Pierrette impos- es certain conditions upon Pierrot. He is too fond of drink. He must give up this bad habit, if she is to marry him. He is also a gambler. He must promise to give up cards, too. Pierrot accedes to Pierrette's impositions and the marriage is concluded.

Pierrot's friend, Arlequin, who is also in love with Pierrette, is in- vited to the wedding supper, during which he manages to steal a few surrepti- tious kisses from Pierrette on the sly. At the conclusion of the supper, Pi- erette decides to retire, forbidding Pierrot to come to the bridal chamber be- fore midnight. Left alone, Pierrot is offered wine by Arlequin and yields to temptation. Forgetting his promise to Pierrette not to gamble, he is en- veigled into a game of cards, during which he loses not only his money but also his clothes. When Pierrot has succumbed to a drunken stupor, Arlequin seizes his opportunity. Putting on Pierrot's clothes and whitening his face,

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he tiptoes into Pierrette's chamber. Pierrot, coining out of his stupor a lit- tle later, is astounded at seeming to see this counterpart of himself issuing from his bride's room. Pierrette comes upon the scene at this point and she, too, is aghast upon being confronted with two Pierrots. Which one is her hus- band? Pierrot attempts to identify himself by showing the wedding ring he wears, but Arlequin offers as counter-balancing evidence the bridal bouquet, which he has appropriated. In a quandary, Pierrette proposes that the two Pi- errots draw lots for her. Arlequin accepts this suggestion with alacrity but Pierrot refuses to bandy his wife about in this promiscuous fashion. By this stand, Pierrette recognises Pierrot as her true husband and falls into his arms, forgiving him his defection. As for Arlequin, he accepts his defeat philosophically enough, contenting himself with abstracting a souvenir rose- bud from the bridal bouquet.

This pantomime, too, unfolded itself with the audience still nervously concerned, continuing to demand of each other at intervals whether or not Saint-Germain had reached the Palais -Royal on time. It was not until the evening's entertainment reached its conclusion that the happy announcement was made of good news having just been relayed to Larcher. Not only had Saint-Germain arrived in time for his entrance cue but he had achieved out- standing success in his performance at the Palais-Royal 1

On the June program the Cercle Funambulesque endeavored to outdo it- self by presenting a program consisting of a comic opera and four pantomimes, of which one was in three acts. In reviewing the evening, the critic Richard O'Monroy opened his article thus:

Tout grandit, les arbres, les enfants, la reputation de Felicia Mallet, le Cercle Funambulesque. Je com- prends ce succes et j'avoue que, pour ma part, y adore ce genre pimp ant, joyeux, poudre, ces scenes racontant

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l'eternel chanson de Pierrot et de Colombine dans les paysages ensoleilles de Watteau. D'&illeurs la chanson, si eternelle qu'elle soit, se prete a des variations infinies. ... (1)

If the season of 1889-90 had commenced inauspiciously, it came to a close in a blaze of glory for the Cercle by its achievement in bringing out lf Enfant pro digue. This work made pantomime history to such a degree that it must be considered separately. It completely overshadowed the other num- bers which accompanied it* The comic opera, Pierrot punl. and one of the pan- tomimes, les Noces de Pierrot, were passed over by the critics with mention of their titles only. Doctoresse. which will be considered in a later chap- ter, was an interesting example of the ultra-modern vein and was to enjoy several revivals. Saint-Pierrot, a one-act pantomime by Ferdinand Beissier, was original and artistic and deserved greater consideration than was accord- ed it. Richard O'Monroy, who did appreciate it, described it as "tout simple- ment ravissante."

The single act of Saint-Pierrot takes place in Pierrots austerely ap- pointed room. A prie-dieu, above which hangs a painting of Saint Francis, occupies a conspicuous place. Pierrot reads pious books, prays and contem- plates the portrait of Saint Francis. He is obsessed with the idea of becom- ing a saint and takes Saint Francis as his model. Colombine1 s wiles make not the slightest impression upon him. From an itinerant second-hand clothes dealer he purchases a sackcloth garment which he puts on over his own white satin clothes. Studying the portrait, he concludes that if he is to resemble Saint Francis he must have a halo. A copper saucepan is converted to this purpose. From a passing flower vendor he obtains a long-stemmed cala lily,

(1) Richard O'MONROY, unidentified critique, Recueil Stoullig.

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which he fastens in his girdle. Thus accoutred, he paces slowly up and down, meditating piously, until Colombine returns from market. She comes in gaily, her basket laden with delectable delicacies. As she lays the table, Pierrot turns his back. Worldly concerns are not for him. Henceforth, he will live a frugal and celibate life.

Colombine sits down and enjoys her supper alone, Pierrot placing him- self at a small table apart, valiantly dining on a crust of bread washed down with water. But alas, he discovers that the flesh is weak. In spite of him- self, his eyes turn to the tempting array on Colombine1 s table. Furtively, he slips a morsel of pastry and then a glass of wine to his own table without being seen by Colombine. Warmed by the wine, the flesh at length conquers the spirit. Saint Pierrot tears off his sackcloth robe, thrusts his lily igno- miniously into his pocket, sends his aureole to the devil, and precipitates himself at Colombine 's feet adoringly, renouncing sainthood on this earth.

"La soiree s'est terminee a une heure et demie," reports O'Monroy. "Quand je vous disais que tout grand! ss ait ... meme la duree des representa- tions." (1)

(1) Richard O'lfiONROI, op. cit.

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CHAPTER XVII

CHEF-D'OEUVRE - "L1 ENFANT PRODIGUE"

The Cercle Funambulesque attained the highest peak not only of its own career but of the entire history of French pantomime by its presentation of 1' Enfant prodigue, - "la piece qui devait repandre dans la foule et le nom du Cercle Funambulesque et le gout de la pantomime. Le 10 juin sera pour l'his- toire de la pantomime une date climaterique." (l) Partisans and non-partisans of the Cercle were equally lavish in their delighted praise of the pantomime itself, its novel musical setting and its delicately dramatic interpretation It was hailed at once as the outstanding chef-d'oeuvre of the art of panto- mime*

Its story, suggested by the biblical legend of the prodigal son and brought up to date, is of the simplest. As the pantomime opens we find the adolescent Pierrot sitting languidly at the supper table with father and moth- er Pierrot. The young Pierrot, it would appear, na du vague a l'ame". For some indefinable reason he is listless, pensive, unable to enjoy his food or take interest in any of the varied devices which his solicitous parents con- jure up in a vain effort to rouse their only son from his lethargy. Instinct- ively Mother Pierrot senses that her son's trouble is of the heart. And she is right. Pierrot is ripe for love but, having as yet no object upon which to fasten his tender passion, he himself is not conscious of the nature of his strange malady. This state of affairs is quickly rectified when

(1) Francisque SARCEI, Preface to Lea Soirees FnnflmhiilftsquftBf by Felix Larcher and Paul Hugounet.

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Phrynette, a pretty little laundress, comes in to deliver the clean linens. Pierrot proceeds to lose his heart to her, immediately, completely and irrevoc- ably. He persuades her to run away with him that night. The practical-minded Phrynette, however, warns him that it would be wise to line his pockets well before starting off together. Having no resources of his own, Pierrot yields to temptation and as his parents doze peacefully in the evening lamp-light, he appropriates his father's carefully hoarded savings and disappears into the night.

We next find the young couple in Phrynette' s luxuriously appointed boudoir in Paris. By this time Pierrot's modest supply of funds has been ex- hausted and as a succession of creditors press to be paid for the hats, the gowns and the jewels which Phrynette has lavished upon herself, Pierrot is in despair. Reduced almost to a state of madness when Phrynette threatens to leave him unless he reimburses the exchequer by some means or other, Pierrot resolves to try his luck at the gambling table and in order to insure suc- cess he takes with him a deck of marked cards.

During Pierrot's absence, Phrynette is visited by a wealthy baron who lures her away with him, showering her with expensive gifts, offering to pay her debts and, at her insistence, making an obviously false promise of mar- riage. So when Pierrot returns, flushed with success, his pockets overflow- ing with his ill-gotten gains, he is greeted by an empty room and a cruel note of farewell from his adored one.

The final scene brings us to the comfortless home of Pierrot's unhappy parents. Life no longer holds any savour for either of the ageing couple. Mother Pierrot's thoughts are continually on the son who has been lost to her. She tries her pitiful best to conceal her feelings from her husband, who has

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banished all thought of his ungrateful and erring son from his own heart as he has endeavored also to banish it from hers.

While father Pierrot is absent from the house on an errand, Pierrot, clothed in rags and tottering from weakness, knocks at the door and begs a crust of bread. Mother Pierrot recognizes her son and there is a joyful re- union between the two. But presently father Pierrot is heard returning and mother Pierrot hurriedly attempts to hide her son from the wrath which she knows is certain to fall upon him. But Pierrot insists upon facing his fath- er. On his knees he implores pardon but his father is relentless and in frenzied anger orders Pierrot to leave his house forever.

At this melodramatic moment the martial strains of the Marseillaise are heard, faintly at first, and then louder, accompanied by the footsteps of soldiers marching up the street. Here is Pierrot's opportunity for salvation He tears the tri-color from its place of honor on the wall and stands at salute. He will expiate his sins by offering himself in defense of his coun- try. Pierrot receives complete forgiveness and goes off with his parents' blessing to redeem himself in service to France.

In simplicity of theme, absolute clarity, emotional appeal and in per- fection of musical support, this pantomime by Michel Carre fils, with ac- companiment composed by Andre Wormser, has never been equalled, before or since.

Felix Larcher was at this time associated with the direction of the Bouffes-Parisiens and as this theater had just closed for the season, Larcher was able to instal 1* Enfant pro digue in it on June 14th in response to the immediate and overwhelming demand that the production which had created such a sensation at the Cercle Funambulesque be made available to the general pub-

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lie.

... Les Bouffes ont done bien fait d'emprunter au Cercle que dirige fort habilement notre ami Felix Larcher ce fin joyau qui s'appelle lf Enfant prodigue, et au meme coup, MM. 0. de Lagoanere et Eugene Larcher (frere du prfce'dent) ont le bonheur de produire en la personne de M. Andre" Wormser, un veritable musiclen, qui a mis dans sa partition autant de malice, de finesse et de grace que de sentiment sclnique. - Done, vous pouvez aller en toute confiance au theatre du passage Choiseul: vous y passerez une soiree d61icieuse. (l)

It is difficult to determine where the chief credit for the success of the performance lay, whether with the author, the composer or the interpret- ers. "Les artistes n'avaient pas 6te moins fetes que les auteurs, et e'est certainement aux uns autant qu'aux autres qu'on avait du le triomphe gene- ral. ... " (2)

Andre Wormser, responsible for the score for this pantomime, was a promising young composer and an exceptionally fine interpreter himself at the piano.

... l'une des plus serieuses esperances que l'Ecole de Rome ait promises a l'Academie nationale de musique, qui ne se hate pas assez de lui ouvrir ses portes. Sa partition est absolument exquise, aussi originale par sa conception que par sa tessiture. Elle est Scrite tout enti&re pour le piano, que M. Andre Wormser tient lui-meme avec sa virtuosite si appreciee de tous les musiciens ses collogues. L^rchestre intervient au moment voulu, pour renforcer le dessein melodique et le colorer de son prisme. ... Le nom de M. Wormser a ete acclame et les musiciens de l'orchestre lui ont fait une ovation, lorsqu'il a passe dans leurs rangs, quittant son piano k queue pour regagner l'interieur du theatre. (5)

The original cast of the inaugural performance at the Cercle Funambu-

(1) "FRACASSE", unidentified critique, Recueil Stoullig.

(£) Auguste VITU, unidentified critique, Recueil Stoullig.

(3) Loc. cit.

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lesque continued to play in the production at the Bouffes-Parisiens and, with

the exception of the role of the Baron, were again procured, with no little

difficulty, for the revival at this same theater in the spring of 1895.

... Un directeur vraiment artiste trouve tou jours le moyen de sfaf firmer et l'on ne peut trop savoir gre, a 1* habile impressario ... de n1 avoir menage aucun ef- fort, aucun sacrifice pour nous restituer 1* incompar- able distribution d1 autrefois. On ne concoit pas vrai- ment 1' Enfant prodigue sans Mmes Felicia Pallet, Biana Buhamel, Crosnier et M. Courtis. Seul, M. Minart est nouveau venu, mais son intervention est toute a l'avant- age de lfoeuvre. (1)

Already established as a pantomimist of outstanding ability, Felicia

Mallet's rendition of the young Pierrot in this production classed her in the

foremost ranks of the art and constituted at the same time the triumph of her

career.

• • • Tous, nous a von 3 admire cette etonnante petite Mal- let - virtuose primo cartello - qui est la vivante incarnation de l'art delicat et charmant que veut res- susciter le Cercle Funambulesque. ... incamant ... avec autant d* esprit que d'adresse, le Pierrot gamin, filou, noceur et repentant. ... (g)

Raoul Pugno said of her, "Cette femme incarne le genie mimique et possede le

temperament le plus artiste que l'on puisse rencontrer. " (5)

All of the roles were filled by professional actors. Biana Duhamel,

"la gracieuse Phrynette, la blanchisseuse pervertie, aux regards petillants

de malice, aux gestes finement provocants," was to become a popular success

in Miss Helvett. which succeeded 1' Enfant prodigue at the Booffes-Parisiens

in November of 1895. Courtes, of the Vaudeville, and Madame Crosnier, of the

Odeon, came in for their well-merited share of commendation for their interp-

(1) Unidentified critique, Recueil Stoullig.

(2) "FRACASSE", op. cit.

(5) Unidentified critique, Recueil. Stoullig.

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rotations of Father and Mother Pierrot, "traduisant en come'diens consommes

les anxiltes et les douleurs des grands-parents. ... Tous deux si touchants,

si attendrissants, si simplement vrais. ... Dans la composition de ces deux

personnages, 11 7 a de 1'art, et du bon." (1)

•••La bonhomie de Courtes, dans le pere Pierrot, sa douleur concentree lorsqu*il voyait son fils le voler. ... Et Mme Crosnier, dans la mere Pierrotl Quelle ex- pression vraie, quelle simplicity poignantel Je garde to a jours une vive reconnaissance aux auteurs et aux interpretes de cette pantomime pour la belle impression d'art qu,ils me donnerent ce soir-la. (2)

In passing from the amateur to the professional stage, lf Enfant pro- digue directed public attention more widely to the recent revival of the art Among the many critics who gave it their consideration at this time, Auguste Vitu pointed out that pantomime, which had once proudly boasted theaters of its own but which had lost them one by one over the years, seemed to be be- coming once again A 3.S mode. He gave credit for this return to favor to the Cercle Funambulesque and congratulated Felix Larcher not only upon what he had done for the Cercle but particularly upon having opened the doors of the Bouffes-Parisiens to this hobby of his for the benefit of the public at large He warned his readers, however, that in the rejuvenated form of the art they must not expect to find the purely comic effects which had once been the de- light of the Foire Saint-Laurent and the Boulevard du Temple. Of the stock types consecrated to pantomime by tradition, only one is retained, says Vitu; that of Pierrot, regarded by the disciples of the painter Willette as the primordial type representing in himself alone the whole of humanity. The mod- ern Pierrot has become fin dc siecla. that is to say, explains Vitu, symbolic

(1) Unidentified critique, Recueil Stoullig

(2) SEVERIN, Ljla—a Blaflg, p. 167.

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apocalyptic, psychological, pessimistic and macabre* However, he adds, Car- re fils, author of 1» Enfant prodigue, does not go to such grievous extremes with this Pierrot, portraying him primarily as dramatic.

L'Enfant prodigue is almost unique among pantomimes in that it gives the impression not of fantasy but of real life, and possesses genuine emotion- al appeal.

L'on a fremi ... comme a une reprise des Deux orphelines ou de la Grace de Dleu. (1)

L'histoire a la moderne, histoire claire, simple et touchante. ... (2)

And three years after the premiere, Francisque Sarcey wrote,

... C'est surtout l'inexprimable emotion dont il (le public) fut saisi a* la fin du dernier acte; nous pleur- ions tousj et ces larmes, le public les a versees deux cents fois de suite. On les verse encore dans les deux mondes, ou la piece de venue cosmopolite se joue tou- jours. (3)

Throughout the dead season of the summer months of 1890, this panto- mime drew audiences night after night at the Bouffes-Parisiens, continuing for one hundred and forty-six consecutive performances, closing only in November when the fall theatrical season was already well advanced and the Bouffes had other obligations. Of all the pantomimes brought out by the Cercle Funambu- lesque, and a creditable number of them passed into the professional theater, l1 Enfant prodigue is the only one which really made money on its own merits. Though its receipts could not be considered brilliant Judged by general the- ater standards, they were nevertheless appreciably satisfactory and distinctly unusual for a genre which, it must be conceded, makes its appeal to a limited

(1) Augusts Vitu, op. cit.

(2) "FBACASSE", op. cit.

(3) Francisque SARCEI, Preface to fras Soirees Ftinamhol(asqne3r by Felix Lar- cher and Paul Hogounet.

public.

The reputation made by lf Enfant prodigue at the Bouffes-Parisiens did not take long to penetrate to the south of France. Severin, then at the height of his glory, was playing at the Palais de Cristal at Marseilles. When word of the sensational new pantomime reached his ears, he could not rest until he had obtained leave of absence from his director and made the trip to Paris to see it for himself. "Ahl la splendide soiree que je passai au theatre des Bouffes," he said. "La belle pantomime'. La jolie et pimpante musiquel" (l)

Severin1 s impressions are interesting since he viewed the production as a true initil, a pantomimist of the first order himself, looking at it through the eyes of an artist deeply serious in his art. For the story in general, the music and the acting, he had nothing but praise, with the excep- tion of a minor reservation made with regard to Felicia Mallet* s eyes.

... Felicia Mallet avait une physionomie tres expressive, les yeux gris, un peu mechants, il est vrai; lorsque le masque devenait riant, les yeux demeuraient durs. Par contre, dans les moments de colore et de cruaute, cela devenait de tout premier ordre. (2)

He cites a particular bit of by-play in which Pierrot stalks a fly which per- sists in annoying Phrynette as she lies asleep. He succeeds in catching the fly and holding it carefully between thumb and forefinger, he first admonish- es it and then is on the point of crushing it underfoot. "Le regard de Pier- rot devient iapitoyable. ... A ce moment les yeux de Mallet donnalent le fris- son: c*etait beau!" But the poor fly buzzes plaintively, supplicatingly, "parlait peut-etre de ses enfants," as Severin interpreted it.

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(1) SEVERIN, op. cit., p. 166.

(2) SEVERIN, 0p. cit., p. 167.

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••• Pierrot s ' attendrissait et son regard devait s'adoucir. Eh bienl la, 1* expression des yeux de l1 artiste n1 etait evidemment aussi cruelle; pour- tant ils demeuraient d'une froideur d'acier, presque durs encore. ••• Mais dans d'autres passages, combien elle etait prenantel (1)

From this analysis it is easy to comprehend the effectiveness of Felicia Mal- let* s interpretation of such a role as Barbe-Bleuette.

Severin was profoundly shocked by the appearance of a father and moth- er Pierrot. Pierrot is one, he maintained. Deburau, the artist who created Pierrot, conceived him so. He gave him neither father, mother, brother, sis- ter, nor child. He should be in himself alone all of humanity, with all its beauty and all its ugliness, its ingenuousness and its vices, its laughter and its tears, its gentleness and its passion, its courage and its cowardice. WI1 n'est pas une vie, il est la vie. II n'est pas un Pierrot, il est Pier- rot." (2)

A certain Parisian commentator cited the success of lf Enfant prodigue

as proof that one did not necessarily have to be brought up in the traditions

of this specialized dramatic art form in order to become a good pantomimist.

Severin refuted this statement by pointing out the fact that Felicia Mallet

herself had received specific training in pantomime under one of Louis

Rouffefs former pupils, through whom had been transmitted to her the classic

traditions of the Deburaus. Furthermore, Courtes was a close friend of Paul

Le grand, which meant that he, too, had been exposed to classic traditions.

... On ne saurait done parler de pantomime instinctive, a propos de Courtes ou au Felicia Mallet. La pantomime ne leur etait pas venu, croyez-le, en ecoutant chanter le rossignol. (3)

(1) SEVERIN, op. cit., p. 167.

(2) SEYERIN, op. cit., p. 169.

(3) idem. _______

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A production of such appeal and of such unquestionable merit as this could not long hide its light under a bushel by remaining in Paris, The year following its premiere at the Cercle Funambulesque it commenced its pere- grinations abroad, appearing in England first at the Prince of Wales theater in London and later in Manchester. Since then this enterprising little panto- mime visited Milan, Brussels, Budapest, Vienna, eventually touring most of the principal cities of the world. By 1894 it had migrated to New York, where it was produced under the auspices of the Vaudeville Club. In Paris it was re- vived periodically from time to time in one theater after another, at the Bouffes-Parisiens in the spring of 1893 and again in 1900. In 1899 it had a run of sixty-three performances at the Theatre-Lyrique. Its most recent re- vival in Paris was at the Theatre Fendna in May of 1928, when it was estimat- ed that it had probably had over ten thousand public performances to its cred- it. Our own country has witnessed two professional revivals of it, since its introduction here in 1900, one in 1916 when, with a French cast, it opened in New York and subsequently made a successful tour of the larger cities of the United States, and again in 1925 when Laurette Taylor appeared in the title role for a series of special matinees in New York. Its most recent profes- sional revival took place in London in 1941.

Time was to prove that the enthusiastically favorable first impres- sions of this pantomime were not unduly exaggerated. In the opinion of a long line of critics, it has lost nothing of its original charm or appeal with the passing of the years. On the occasion of its first revival in 1893, it was said, "La celebre pantomime de MM. Michel Carre et Andre Worms er reste sans rival, je dirai sans seconde en son genre. » (1) Likewise, after its re-

(1) Unidentified critique, Recueil Stoullig.

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vival at the Femina in 1928, a critic of the new generation wrote of it,

... Cet ouvrage, qui se joue dans le monde entier d£- puis bientot quarante ana, n'a rien perdu de sa fraich- eur; il a conserve, a travers le temps, comme une saveur de nouveaute\ II est neuf , en effet, par son humanite profonde. Il pent se passer de paroles parce qu'il ex- prime des sentiments eternels et que les mots memes en viendraient diminuer 1' emotion. ... Cette pantomime de Michel Carre est rest 6 le modele du genre. ... (1)

(1) Unidentified critique, Recueil Stoullig.

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CHAPTER XXVIII CHAMPFLEURT'S "STATUE DO COMMANDEOR"

It has been noted that Felix Larcher had set his heart on producing Champfleury' s fita^ua Commandenr during the season following the founding of the Cercle Funambulesque but that Chanpfleury had been unwilling to take the risk until the new organisation had proved itself capable of presenting his pantomime advantageously. Through the season of 1888-89 Chanpfleury followed with keen interest the newspaper reviews of the various performances and ap- parently was satisfied with them. In the late spring of 1889 he voluntarily brought up the subject again. He wrote to Larcher, inviting him to lunch with him at Sevres and talk over plans for the production of his pantomime during the following season * Unfortunately, an important business matter came up un- expectedly and prevented Larcher from keeping the appointment. Champfleury then wrote that he was leaving shortly to pass the summer months in the coun- try and would get in touch with Larcher again upon his return to Sevres in the fall. Shortly after this, however, Champfleury died.

Not knowing just how to go about securing the manuscript of the panto- mime, Larcher first had the idea of going through the back numbers of la Vie Parisienne for 1866 and see what he could do with the outline published orig- inally in that periodical. In the meantime, however, it chanced that Paul Eudel, one of the most faithful and enthusiastic adherents of the Cercle Fu- nambulesque, was appointed by the Champfleury estate to go over the writer's personal papers and put them in order. Coming across Larcher' s correspond- ence relative to the pantomime, Eudel made a search and discovered the menu-

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script. Upon reading it over, Eudel realised its possibilities and shared Larcherts enthusiasm over it. The original manuscript was not developed in full, but the general plan was completely sketched, it had been intended not as pure pantomime but as a comedy in which only the Commander, a statue come to life, expressed himself in pantomime. Eudel agreed with Larcher that, as Champfleury himself had felt, it had the makings of pure pantomime and Eudel set to work in collaboration with a friend, Evariste Mangin, to adapt it and develop the action detail. When the manuscript was completed it was turned over to Adolphe David for composition of the musical score. David had al- ready composed the music for an opera and a ballet and stimulated by Wormser* successful accompaniment for l1 Enfant prodlffuef welcomed the opportunity of trying his own hand at this form of musical interpretation.

Champfleury had drawn the idea for the plot of his pantomime from the well-known classic legend of how Don Juan invited to supper the statue of the Commander whom he had murdered and of how justice was finally meted out when Don Juan was in his turn killed by the statue.

The action opens on a street In the public square, which is ornamented by an imposing statue of the town's late hero, the Commander who has been murdered by the profligate Don Juan. Don Juan and his follower, Sganarelle, are serenading their mistresses, Rosaura, a singer, and Sylvia, a dancer. The two roues decide to give a gala supper for the ladies and as a joke Don Juan conceives the idea of extending an invitation to the statue of his vic- tim. To their amazement, the statue begins to move, pantomimes that he ac- cepts their invitation with the greatest of pleasure, and stiffly the marble figure descends from his pedestal to the street.

At the supper that night the living statue becomes the life of the party. Apparently he holds no grudge against his murderer, since Don Juan

has made ample reparation by opening the doors to a hitherto unknown paradise of gallantry and debauchery. The Commander flirts In turn with Rosaura and Sylvia, who vie jealously with each other for his favors. Having not the slightest suspicion of the true identity of their guest, the convives crown him with a wreath of roses, ply him with wine and thoroughly lionise the dis- tinguished-looking personage, who proceeds to enjoy the time of his life.

As morning dawns, the guests not yet having departed from the supper party, stupefaction is rife among the townspeople upon discovering the pedes- tal of their revered statue standing denuded in the middle of the square. Their amazement quickly changes to consternation when they behold their idol, his dignified helmet replaced by a wreath of faded roses falling over one eye staggering from a near-by house in company with his fellow-roisterers. With an indignation equal to their astonishment, the people regard their erstwhile idol, the dignified, majestic, upright, virtuous and puritanical model of righteousness and propriety, whose statue had been erected in a place of honor by virtue of his noble feats, thus reduced to the disgraceful level of a lib- ertine. As the fallen hero weaves drunkenly about his pedestal, vainly en- deavoring to remount it, the incensed townspeople pick up stones and begin to hurl them furiously at the Commander. Don Juan, sword in hand, springs to the defense of his friend, waving h±3 weapon menacingly in the face of the threatening mob. Since the Commander has not sufficient equilibrium at his command to regain his pedestal unaided, Don Juan and Sganarelle offer their shoulders as supports. Placing a heavy hand upon each, the Commander hoists himself up but his excessive weight proves fatal to the two mortals, who fall to the ground, crushed by the overpowering stone.

... Puis, avec majeste* et ayant fait justice, l'homme de pierre remonte sur son pedestal ou 11 reprend la

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rigide attitude d'une statue: il n'a rien de change sur terre, il n'y a desormais qu,un debauche de moins. (1)

Perhaps the greatest merit of this pantomime lies in the clarity of its story.

... C'est a la clarte que 1' Enfant prodigue dut son succes legendaire; c'est a la clarte que la Statue du Commandeur doit et devra le sien. La qualite' maitresse, essentielle, primordiale d'une pantomime, c'est la clarte. Le langage mime' demandant, pour etre bien compris dans ses nuances, une extreme tension d' esprit, si le sujet est obscur, le spec- tat ear se fatigue a le suivre et n'y prend qu'un in- terest mediocre. ... (2)

This pantomime was not produced 1892. It was the first signal success be the most outstanding achievement of

Toward the end of his life, not Funambul e s que , Champfleury wrote these general disillusion of the period:

until the 12th and 15th of January, since l1 Enfant prodigue and proved to the 1891-92 season for the Cercle. long before the founding of the Cercle melancholy lines, which reflect the

Finis, morts a jamais Arlequin, Colombine, Pierrot, Cassandre, Polichinelle et Leandrel Aussi anciens que les acteurs des Atellanes! Ce sont main tenant des vieillards que tous les directeurs de theatre censes renvoient au cabinet d'accessoires en compagnie du chariot de Thesplsl Un vent devastateur et modeme a souffle sur ces vieilles reliques et les a abbatues avec bien d'autres croyances. (3)

"My dear friend," replies Paul Eudel, "pantomime has never lived, so

it cannot be dead. Pierrot, - who can refute it? - is an immortal.

To admit the disappearance of these symbolic person- ages, Colombine the coquette, Arlequin the seducer,

(1) Unidentified critique, Recueil Stoullig.

(2) Loc. cit.

(3) CHAMPFLEURY, quoted by Paul EUDEL, in unidentified art., Recueil Stoullig.

Cassandre the moralist, Polichinelle the sceptic, would he to deny that, as Theophile Gautier has ex- pressed it, human life is a perpetual comedy. These fanciful characters have existed in the past, exist now in the present and will continue to exist for all future time. Moreover, these types possess the happy faculty of being capable of assimilating and reflecting all the modifications of the manners of the epoch while still remaining their distinctive selves. (1)

How it would have warmed Champfleury1 s heart could he have lived long

enough to witness the enthusiastic reception accorded to his pantomime.

... La mort n'a pas permis a Champfleury d'assister a cette resurrection d'un art qui lui etait cher et qui l'avait fait surnommer le "Corneille de la panto- mime". (2)

The names of Paul Eudel and Evariste Mangin appeared on the program as authors, with mention that they had drawn the pantomime from a scenario by Champfleury. In the opinion of some of the critics, insufficient credit was given to the creator of the original idea. "On salt que Champfleury fut l'apotre perseverant de ce genre de spectacle. II y a peut-etre a l'heure du succes, quelque ingratitude a. l'oublier." (5)

When the pantomime had its premiere at the Cercle Funambulesque, Henri Micheau, director of the Nouveautes, attended one of the performances and was sufficiently impressed by its promise to make arrangements for offering it professionally at his theater on the rue des Italiens. "La Comedie-Fran- caise et l'Odlon ayant emprunte des pieces au Theatre -Libre, il n' est pas etonnant que les Nouveautes en aient demande une au Theatre d1 Application." No matter how successful a pantomime may have been in the intimate surround- ings of a selected group, it was always regarded as hazardous to transplant

525

(1) Paul EUDEL, unidentified art., Recueil Stoullig.

(2) Loc. cit.

(5) Unidentified critique, Recueil Stoullig.

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it to the larger setting and more catholic audience of a professional the- ater but la Statue du Commandeur stood the test. The critics were generous in their commendation following its opening at the Nouveautes on March 7th.

... II va sans dire que la direction des Nouveautes a en cadre l'ouvrage de decors in edits et habille les heros de costumes aussi neufs que brillants. Et il resulte de tout cela 1' ensemble le plus charmant, le plus agreable et le mo ins naturalists qu'on puisse voir. ...

... Charmante pantomime, delicieuse d'irreel, de fantaisie brillante et legere, de trouvailles risibles. Au lieu du drame pour sourds et muets ou se mo r fond en t les actes sans paroles, voici la mimique artistique toute de grace, de caprice et de fine ironie. •«•

... La pantomime etant fort a la mode - qu'on se presse, le genre ne durera pas long temps - la Statue du Command- eur, inspire'e par Champ fleury, a droit de s' inscrire en bon rang. Mo ins accessible au grand public que 1 1 Enfant prodigue. qui jusqu'a present reste le modele du genre, elle n'en demeure pas moins pleine d'adroite invention, et sous son apparente futilite, elle s' en tend a dissimuler avec infiniment de tact une haute id£e philosophique. ...

... Ce pauvre Commandeur, qui represente la famille, la loi, le devoir, l'honneur rigide, la vertu sociale, est invite a souper par ce scelerat de don Juan, qui l'a tue. II semble que le chatiment doit suivre cette bravade et que le Ciel (comme disait MolieVe) accordera a la Statue de revivre un jour pour punir don Juan. ...

••• II est vrai que le commandeur se degrise et qu'il fait a 1' opinion publique le sacrifice de redevenir statue. Mais comme il s'y resigne mal et de quel air ennuyel Je gage que sur son pieclestal, tres ebranle dans ses convictions vertueuses, le Commandeur va aedi- ter jusqu'i la fin des siecles le mot de M. Renan que nla beaute vaut la vertu". ...

... Aux Nouveautes la Statue ... a obtenu un tres vif et tres legitime succes* Elle est delicieuse, cette fantaisie delicatement sacrilege, ou l'ame d'un mort se revet de marbre, s'anime, s'oublie en des ivresses variees et retrouve sa froide durete pour chatier l*impie et de- bauche don Juan. J1 imagine que tout le monde prendre plaisir a. cette evocation faite sous le patronage des ombres de Moliere et de Mozart. II faut le voir (le Commandeur) frappant ferme sur la table du festin pour de- mander qu'on remplisse sa coupe, et au choc se brisant le

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•

doigt. 11 y a dans son Stonnement d'homme de pierre devenu fragile, cosme un regret du temps ou, simplement fait de chair et d'os, ses muscles, plus souples, re- sisteraient mieux. 11 y a aussi bien du chagrin dans ce re'cidiviste de la vi«, lorsque, repris par les dieux, 11 reintdgre son bagne d'immobilite et reprend lentement sa place sur son socle. ...

... Voilei la vraie fantaisie, celle derriere laquelle 11 y a quelque chose et qui peut aller ou elle veut dans ses imaginations sans que l'art disparaisse et que la raison s*afflige. ...

... La fable est classique. La part des auteurs, assez belle du reste, consiste dans lf originality de 1' adapta- tion et des details, et sur tout dans 1 1 allure delicate- ment litteraire qu'ils ont su lui con server. (l)

Unlike 1* infant prodi^ue. there was no question in the case of this pantomime but that the greatest credit for success was due to the scenario it- self. The accompaniment , though adequate, lacked the outstanding merit and particularly the originality of Wormser's music.

... Ce theme tout a fait plaisant et ingenieux est servi, comment e par une spirituelle et pimpante par- ti tionnette de M. Adolphe David. ...

... La partition est jolie ... et accompagne le livret sans le forcer ou I'e eraser. ...

... Le commentaire musical ... e'est bien. fort bien meme, de la musique de pantomime, mais 1' original! te manque et 11 y a souvent surabondance de reminiscences. ... (2)

As for the actors,

... Le succes des interpretes a egale celui de l'oeuvre, qui a €te tres grand, et a ma joie. ... (3)

Of Ac hard, who played the part of Don Juan, it was remarked,

... 11 est difficile de mieux mourir, et les larmes qu'il fait verser a ses deux charmantes convives

(1) Miscellaneous unidentified critiques, Recueil Stoullig.

(2) Idem. (5) Idem.

doivent le consoler, et lui falre esperer de belles heures pour charmer son eteraelle damnation. • • . (1)

But it was Clerget, in the role of the Commander, who took the lion's share of honors from the critics. Langier, who had created the role at the Theatre d1 Application for the original Cercle Funambulesque production, had been unable to engage himself for the Nouveautes run and had been replaced at the last minute by Clerget, an actor whose name figures frequently in the per- formances of the Cercle.

... Clerget fait le commandeur avec une finesse, un esprit et surtout une mesure qui en font le premier mime de ce temps. •••

... Tour a tour comique et tragique. ...

... II n'est point qui appro che de la fantaisie, de la belle humeur, du geste vif et clair, de la mimique expressive de M. Clerget. En cinq jours il nous a com- pose un homme de pierre d&Licieux, une statue facetieuse qui mene au milieu des petite s dames des ebats chore- graphiques, dans la rigidite du marbre, de meme que fige sur son socle, il evoque aussi le souvenir de Pier- rot. • ••

... Clerget a detaille avec infiniment d1 esprit et de sure -be son personnage. ... (2)

It is worthy of note that in this pantomime the character of Pierrot is for once absent. This omission is indicative of a trend which was becom- ing increasingly noticeable at this time, more particularly insofar as experi- ments with modern material and naturalist themes were concerned.

When la Statue du Commandeur opened for the general public at the Nouveautes, a popularity equal to that of l1 Enfant prodigue was enthusiastical- ly predicted for it. But it lacked the simplicity and the universal appeal

528

(1) Unidentified critique, Recueil Stoullig.

(2) Idem.

529

in its dramatic situation that was possessed in such striking degree by

1' Oaf ant prodigue and although it ran successfully for several months it did

not fulfil the promise expected of it as a popular success.

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CHAPTER XXII REALISTIC PANTOMIME - THE MUiODRAMA

Just as the Theatre-Libre came to be irrevocably associated, though un- justly so, with naturalism in an extreme form, so did the Cercle Funambulesque come to be regarded as the stronghold of a similar trend in the realm of pan- tomime, in this case with perhaps less injustice. From its opening season the Cercle Funambulesque was labelled as "modern11 in its viewpoint and tended to become "ultra-modern" with the passing of time. Theoretically, its aim was to keep alive the traditional classic pantomimes of the Funambules, as well as to encourage new types of productions, but the classic experiments proved outmod- ed in their appeal to the sophisticated public of the nineties and were rele- gated more and more consistently to the background while the stage of the 80- diniere became increasingly a proving-ground for modernistic experiments by new scenario writers, eager to try their hands at a renovation of the genre.

Certain adherents of the Cercle Funambulesque, ardent converts to "modern" pantomime, took a definite stand for more genuinely dramatic action and less fantasy in pantomime. Among these Paul Hugounet was one of the lead- ers, seconded by Michel Carre filsf author of 1* Enfant, prndlgueT which panto- mime exemplifies in embryo the more serious type of dramatic expression to- ward which this group was tending. Another eloquent spokesman for the modems was the well-known dramatic critic, Francisque Sarcey. From the very first, Sarcey had been an ardent supporter of the Cercle. He said himself, refer- ring to his relationship with this organization,

... Je fus un de ceux qui pousserent de meilleur coeur a la roue du succes: je fus un des herauts

qui sonnerent de la trompette, a pleines fanfares, en l'honneur de l*art nouveau ou tout au moins re- nouvele. ... (1)

Sarcey defined the ideal pantomime as a miniature drama told in action, sup- ported by a musical accompaniment which accentuates the action and gives it rhythm.

Only one of the dramatic pantomimes, or mimodramas, as they began to be termed, to be considered in this chapter came out under the aegis of the Cercle Funambulesque itself, though several were written by its members. All however, definitely took their inspiration from those successes sponsored originally by the Cercle, each representing a distinct departure from the tra- ditionally classic type of pantomime, and each of which had been well receiv- ed in professional theaters.

The obvious pitfall in concentrating on the dramatic element in panto- mime was to render the piece overly melodramatic, to such an extent as to mitigate against its artistic merit. Let it be said here that it was not the Cercle Funambulesque that sinned the most flagrantly in this respect but ra- ther the popular boulevard theaters that tried to cash in on the popularity of such successes as VBafant prodi^e and B»rbft-.Bleuette by presenting medi- ocre imitations which succeeded gloriously in degenerating into the rankest melodrama.

The first and most notorious of these imitations, entitled un Pere prodigue. came out at the Eden-Concert in October, 1890, while 1' Enfant pro- digue was still running at the Bouffes. It frankly announced itself as the counterpart of lf Enfant prodigue. It represents Father Pierrot as a good-

331

(l) Francisque SARCEY, Preface to Les Soirees Funambulesques. by Felix Larcher and Paul Hugounet.

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1 1

for-no thing sot who appropriates his poor wife's hard-earned wages and squanders them on drink and gambling in company with his unscrupulous compan- ion, Macaire, a bully and thief who keeps Father Pierrot's feet entrained on the downward path. Toung Pierrot is a model of virtue and filial devotion to his mother. When she is on the point of being beaten by Father Pierrot for refusing to sell her wedding ring to Macaire for ten francs so that her hus- band can throw it away on drink, Toung Pierrot springs to her defense and ma- jestically orders his father from the house.

Toung Pierrot is of course in love with Colombinette, a pretty little modiste, who in her turn is pursued by a rich and elderly gallant whose se- ductions she virtuously spurns.

Toung Pierrot's dreams of becoming one day a great artist are sacri- ficed heroically and he hires himself out as a humble messenger boy in order to keep the wolf from his mother's door. Macaire learns one day that the young Pierrot has been commissioned by a merchant to carry a large sum of money to the bank for deposit. Macaire orders Father Pierrot to steal the money box from the youth but the Father's conscience revolts at the idea of treating his own son thus and he refuses to obey. Macaire then lies in wait for the boy himself, overpowers him and as he is about to stab his victim the father throws himself between the combattants, receiving in his own heart the dagger- thrust intended for his son. Mother Pierrot arrives opportunely and forgives her spouse as he expires.

... Un bon nmeloN mais, dans les details, une imi- tation flagrante et vraiment trop servile des meil- leures scenes de la piece des Bouffes. (l)

(1) Unidentified critique, Recueil Stoullig.

■

Surprisingly enough, this unscrupulous steal was a definite success, to such a point, in fact, that Carre and Wormser seriously considered taking the matter to court.

Toward the end of the nineteenth century there was a marked re-awaken- ing of national pride in France, an intensified cult of the flag, the army and historic national traditions, which made itself felt in the theater as well as in literature. We find several instances of this spirit among the more dramatic pantomimes of the last decade of the century, of which Jeanne d* Arc, produced at the Hippodrome in Paris during June of 1890, was one of the first striking examples. Circus pantomimes are somewhat off the beaten track of the conventional pantomime under consideration here but this partic- ular presentation is a sufficiently striking exception to the general rule to merit consideration.

A spectacular pantomime has constituted the traditional concluding feature of the program at the permanent circuses of Paris since their inaugura- tion during the last years of the 18th century at the Cirque Olympique. Al- though usually termed pantomimes, they were rather what we should designate as pageants, having little consideration for closely unified dramatic plot or genuine pantomimic acting. Like the earlier pantomimes of the Funambules and the English harlequinades, they depended to a great extent upon slapstick buf- foonery, although they also had frequent recourse to exaggerated fairy fan- tasy. The space afforded by the arena, the opportunity to make use of an as- sortment of wild and domesticated animals, and also the large numbers of actors available made it possible for the circus to produce a type of spec- tacle not afforded to a theater. In general, however, the circus pantomime

had little in common with the theatrical pantomime except that it did not, ordinarily, make use of dialogue. Jeanne d'Arc is in its very essence a

333

mimodrama, however. That is, it is a genuinely realistic and dramatic story- developed in pantomimic action. Its purpose was not to amuse or entertain in a light manner, nor merely to please the eye by its pictorial elements, but to stir the emotions of its audience. It was written by Auguste Dorchain and C.-M. Widor, with Jane Litini appearing in the title-role as Jeanne.

It would be difficult to imagine more propitious circumstances under which to produce such a legend as that of Jeanne d'Arc. The opening scene portrays the calm village life of Domremy. At one side may be seen the fa- cades of a row of cottages, with their little gardens. In the doorways of the dwellings village women gossip over their handwork. Before them stretch- es the village street, along which groups of children play together, dogs ffrolic and bark, and here and there a beggar plies his trade. Gathered about a pool a knot of women and girls scrub and rinse their linens, laughing hap- pily together. Other parts of the arena represent fields and meadows. We see a cart drawn by a yoke of oxen crossing a field. At one point a flock of sheep is grazing, tended by a shepherd playing on his pipe. In another part of the panorama a peasant leads a mare and her foal to pasture. Overhead flocks of pigeons fly back and forth.

The serenity of Domremy is shattered by the sudden appearance of marauders, who immediately appropriate a mule-drawn cart driven by a helpless peasant. Troopers ride up and begin to maltreat the peaceful, inoffensive village folk. It marks the beginning of the invasion and "la grand1 pi tie du royaume de France."

Jeanne comes from her cottage and trembles with indignation at sight of the ruthless depredations committed by the enemy. She falls to her knees and prays for guidance as to how she may aid her stricken country. Domremy and its environs are now blotted out by clouds of white vapor which rise

534

from the ground. The figure of vanquished France appears, extending her arms to Jeanne in mute appeal for aid and vengeance. Overhead, in a resplendence of azure, gold and purple, two archangels descend slowly. Between them may be seen the figure of Saint Michael brandishing his sword. Celestial voices are heard chanting from a distance. The archangels lean down toward the kneeling peasant and place in her hands the avenging sword. Then, in a burst of blue flame, the vision disappears. Jeanne's resolution is quickly taken. Bidding farewell to her weeping parents and friends, she leaps upon her horse and brandishing her sword, departs for the combat.

Beleaguered Orleans forms the background to the second scene. Behind the walls, surrounded by its moat and uplifted drawbridges, the English are intrenched. On the outside of the walls the French soldiers are making the most of a brief period of respite. Girls in colorful mediaeval costumes dance and sing. The merrymaking comes to a halt and the dancers disperse as Jeanne appears clad in her white armor. A trumpet call sounds the order to attack. The battle engages, with realistic sword-play and hand to hand fight- ing, until the English are at length dislodged and Jeanne's banner flies tri- umphantly from the ramparts of the city which she has delivered.

The final scene, a triumph of pictorial effectiveness, represents the market place at Rouen. An immense circular curtain descends, enveloping the arena. At first, it seems to be nothing more than a blank piece of cloth but as lighting effects are brought into play the audience sees outlined before its eyes the silhouettes of the historic mediaeval buildings and shops which surrounded the square, reconstructed from authentic 15th century documents. In the center is the platform with its stake and pyre.

A cart rumbles up to the square, bearing the executioners who have come to perform the final preparations for the ordeal. Then the arena begins

335

to fill up with crowds of soldiers and populace. From the distance comes the dismal chant of the miserere, through which tolls the death knell. And now, robed in white, Jeanne herself appears, supported by a chaplain and surround- ed by a file of penitents bearing lighted candles. She is helped onto the platform and as she takes her place at the stake the pyre bursts into flames.

.en the conflagration has died down, a reproduction of Fremiet' s famous equestrian statue of Jeanne d'Arc makes its appearance amidst a fanfare of trumpets. At the feet of the Maid kneels the figure of modern France, sur- rounded by her children, - townspeople, peasants, artisans and soldiers. There is no question but that this spectacle, described as a "drame dfheroisme et de douleurw, was unusually artistic, effective and impressive for a circus entertainment .

In the spring of 1891 Michel Carre fils collaborated with Henri Remond on a four-act mimo drama which went considerably further into the realm of realism and melodrama than 1T Enfant prodigue had done. This was le Petit Savoyard, produced at the Theatre des Nouveaute's. Although its principal protag-

556

onist was named Pierrot, he was not presented as the conventional pantomime Pierrot. The first scene is laid in a forest in Savoy, where we are intro- duced to father Mathias, a poor wood-cutter, whose only joy in life is his daughter, Tvette. Pierrot, who is a simple shepherd, falls in love with Yvette but Mathias refuses to sanction their betrothal because Pierrot is penniless. Thereupon, Pierrot decides to go to Paris, promising to make a fortune in short order and return to marry Tvette.

Two months later, in the dead of winter, we find the shivering little Savoyard playing his flute and begging on the streets of Pari3. A street walker takes pity on the youth, wraps her fur coat about him and takes him to her luxuriously appointed rooms. Here for a time the 3hepherd enjoys a life

of ease but one night, in a vision, be comes to a realisation of the error of his ways. In his dream, voices counsel him to return to Tvette before it is too late.

In the meantime, Tvette has given up hope of Pierrot's return and has decided to become a nun. On the very day on which she is to take the veil, the prodigal returns in the nick of time, "pret a l'epouser, a la place du bon Dieu.w

This pantomime was patently an imitation of the theme of 1' Enfant pro- digue, and unfortunately a most unworthy successor to it. The acting was medi

ocre, the musical accompaniment by Andre Gedalge was in no way remarkable, anc the piece attracted no attention from the critics. It is mentioned here simply to show the increasing trend toward the aimo drama as a genre. Carre redeemed his prestige the following year with the scenario of a pantomime- ballet, Roknedin. ou le Vieux de la Mrmta.gner produced at the Eden-Concert in April, 1892, which was definitely an artistic success.

From time to time the Folies-Bergere included pantomimes of a more pop- ular type on its bill of fare. The Martinetti, a troupe of Italian mimes, at- tracted considerable attention to themselves at this theater in September, 1892, in a pantomime entitled Robert Macabre f based on the exploits of the famous villain created by Frederick Lemaitre in that popular melodrama of the early twenties, l'Auberffe, des Adrets. This pantomime made no claim to being high art. It was frankly on a popular level but it was acclaimed as excellent entertainment and its actors were recognized for the mimes of merit that they were.

... Le clou de la soiree, sans contests, eta it la merveilleuse pantomime des Martinetti. Robert Macaire. Combien en a-t-on abuse, Seigneur! de la pantomime et combien d* artistes, de talent ou non, se sont cms

557

338

mimes acheves, sans connaitre les plus elementalres prlnclpes de cet art qui demands, comme tous les autres, de tres speciales Etudes! ...

... Les Martinetti, dans cette immortelle fantaisle | si connue, deploient une somme prodlgleuse de talent,

" cfest de la come'die, puis du drame ... sombre, terrible

et d'une verity psychologique a falre pamer d'aise

An to in e lui-meme. ...

... Tout cela est du grand art et 11 est Impossible de provoquer par des mobiles plus simples et plus vrais, le rire et les larmes. ... La pantomime, ainsi comprise, est de l*art, et du tres grand art. ...

... C'est un spectacle qui attirera la foule aux Folies-Bergere, car il est a la port^e de tous, et d'une rare limpidite. ... (1)

After the success of Ttarbe-Blauette f revived at the Nouveau-Theatre in 1891, this theater continued for a time to specialize in pantomimes and panto- mime-ballets. Barha-Rl euette was followed by an elaborate pantomime-ballet, SearamoucheP starring Felicia Mallet, which ran for over a hundred perform- ances. When it came time for a change of bill the managers of this theater commissioned the prominent critic and journalist, Aurelian Scholl, to create a new piece for them. Just as an increasing number of legitimate actors and actresses were tickling their palates by dabbling in pantomime acting, so a file of journalistic and dramatic writers began to feel the urge to try their hands at pantomime scenario writing.

••• Qui aurait pu pre voir qu' Aurelian Scholl, le maitre de la chronique, le dilettante du mot de la fin, deviendrait auteur de pantomime? ...

... Lasse de falre de 1* esprit avec des mots, - nul nfen a fait autant que lui, - Scholl a eu la fan- taisle d'en falre avec des tours de bras et des ) ronds de jambe. ... (2)

(1) Unidentified critiques, Recueil Stoullig.

(2) Idem.

539

Another journalist, Jules Roques, collaborated with Scholl in the writ- ing of this pantomime, which they entitled la Dannenaa de corde. while the composition of the musical setting was entrusted to Raoul Pugno.

... De la collaboration d'Aurelian Scholl, le plus moderne des chroniqueurs, et de Raoul Pugno, le com- positeur de Josephine, la plus moderne des operettes, 11 ne pouvait resulter qu'une oeuvre d'un modernisme aigu. C'est dire que dans la Danseuse de corde, qui ▼lent de triompher au Nouveau-Theatre, on ne retrouve ni Colombine, ni Cassandre, ni Pierrot, ni aucun des personnages classiques de la pantomime. C'est dans le monde des cirques, des 6quilibristes et des aero- bates que se deroule Paction. ... (1)

The story concerns the love and jealousy of Rosy, a circus tight-rope dancer, played by Felicia Mallet, "la meilleure artiste de pantomime qui soit a cette heure." The first scene is laid in the artists1 green-room, from which opens the main entrance into the circus ring. Performers come and go for their various turns, lending movement and color to the scene. Rosy is making her debut with the Renz circus. Prince Lapenskoff and a wealthy bank- er, Rosen dall, as well as a group of lesser lights among the young bloods of society, surround Rosy and press their attentions upon her. This arouses the jealousy of Toby Flack, the circus strong man, who loses no time in declaring his own passion for Rosy and discovers that it is reciprocated on her part. At the close of the performance, these two fly off together to London with a marriage in view. But the wedding bells miss their cue and in the second act we find that Tobyfs affection for Rosy has already cooled.

This second scene is a realistic representation of life in a bar on Tork Road, London. It is frequented by a motley assortment of soldiers, horse-guards, boxers and London low life, who congregate here to gamble and

(1) "UN MONSIEUR DU BALCON", unidentified critique, Recueil Stoullig.

drink.

••• Grosse consomnation: stout, pale ale, half-and-half, gin, whiskey. Si tous les breuvages sont exacts, ce realisms dans les accessoires liquides devra singuliere- ment corser les frais quotidiens. ... (1)

Mistress Pluck, keeper of the bar, becomes enamoured of the circus per- former and when his luck is out at cards she lends him funds whereby to re- establish himself and continue his gambling, thus putting him at her mercy. Rosy refuses to admit her abandonment and comes to the bar to attempt to win Toby back. To forestall her, Mistress Pluck announces publicly that Toby is her affianced husband. Under the shackles of his debt to this lady, Toby is powerless to deny her statement.

The final scene is again an effectively colorful one, representing the stage of the Alhambra Theater in London, where Rosy is performing. During her act, the tightrope dancer notices Toby and Mistress Pluck together in a box and in a flash of inspiration plots her revenge. This scene is an undis- guised "steal" from Alexandre Dumas1 drama Keen. Tearing a steel button from her costume, Rosy inserts it in the gun which serves her as a balancing rod, takes aim at her seducer and fires. The projectile proves ineffectual as a bullet, however, its chief effectiveness being in giving Mistress Pluck the fright of her life. This lady promptly washes her hands of Toby and sends him to the devil, her motivation for so doing being kept a deep secret from the audience. The drama ends weakly by Toby's precipitating himself at Rosy* feet and receiving her forgiveness for his defection. Apparently, he harbor- ed no resentment for having been shot at. The lack of consistency in the de- nouement did not seem to detract from the enjoyment of the mimodrama, which

540

(1) Unidentified critique, Recueil Stoullig.

was gratifyingly successful.

... Succes pour les auteurs, y comprls le musicien, et succes pour les interpretes a* tous les degres. La Danseuse de corde est eigne de ses aines, Sgarft- mouche et Barbe-Bleuette. qui^ont si justement etabli la vogue du Nouveau-Theater. ... (1)

Paul Hugounet, who had already tried his hand at a variety of short pantomimes on fantastic as well as realistic themes, was itching to put his pen into something dramatically important. He succeded in persuading Michel Carre to collaborate with him on a drame in time f based not on fantasy or on a familiar legend but upon a contemporary, real-life idea. The plot was drawn from a short story written by Hugounet in 1887. At that time Hugounet had been asked by the editor of a magazine entitled l'Art dans lf Horticul- ture, to do a series of twelve short stories, each having a flower as a sub- ject. Among them was one which he called lea Clochettes bleues, in which a German spy posed as a botanist, collecting bluebells for scientific purposes. This idea furnished the plot for l'Hote, which turned out to be one of the more meritorious of the mimodramas produced during this epoch and the only one on a large scale sponsored by the Cercle Funambulesque.

L'Hote was read before the manuscript committee of the Cercle on De- cember 17, 1892, and passed by it. Early in February the co-authors, desig- nated as "les deux plus devoues champions de la pantomime moderne", set to work with Edmond Hissa on the music in Carre's study, Carre and Hugounet act- ing out the various parts while liissa sketched the musical themes. In Carre* home was a small private theater and it was here that the pantomime began its first regular rehearsals with its full cast.

341

(1) "FRACASSE", unidentified critique, Recueil Stoullig

342

Since this pantomime was conceived on a considerably more ambitious scale than those usually making up the programs of the Cercle at the Theatre d* Application, and also because of the greatly increased demand for invita- tions which was greater than could be accommodated at the usual little the- ater, l^ote made its debut at the Nouveau Theatre on May 23, 1893. It was considered a success, though it ran for only two weeks. The reason given for its early withdrawal was the lateness of the season. It was revived at the Bouffes-Parisiens the following October, however, where it continued to run for several months.

The story takes place in a little tavern near a fort on the eastern boundary of Alsace. The tavern is frequented by officers and soldiers from the fort, to whom Rosel, the charming daughter of Hans, the tavern keeper, dispenses wine and a friendly welcome. One evening as Hans is absent from the tavern a terrific thunderstorm comes up, in the midst of which a stranger pushes open the door and requests shelter. Rosel hesitatingly admits him and allows him to dry his clothing by the fire. As she absents herself for the purpose of preparing something for him to eat, we are apprised of the strang- er's identity. He discovers on one of the tables a small despatch case in- advertently left there by Pierre, one of the officers from the fort. With a hasty glance at the contents of the case, the stranger indicates that he has come upon valuable information. He quickly hides the papers under his coat, branding himself thereby as a spy.

When Hans returns he is surprised to find Rosel harboring a stranger but the man explains himself as a botanist. He asks for permission to remain for a while at the tavern in order to study the medicinal herbs of the woods in the vicinity. Hans agrees, though somewhat reluctantly, and before the

545

curtain descends on the first act a budding romance has sprung up between Rosel and the guest. In the meantime, Pierre has returned in haste, having discovered that his despatch case is missing. On finding the stranger at the tavern, Pierre becomes suspicious but keeps his fears to himself for the time being.

Six weeks later we find festivities in progress at the tavern for the announcement of the betrothal of Rosel and the stranger, to whom Hans has tak- en a great fancy. During the celebration Pierre feels constrained to reveal to Hans that he believes the guest to be a spy but Hans refuses to give credence to this accusation without proof. Meanwhile, a secret agent appears to the guest with a letter from his superior officer demanding the results of his in- vestigations. The guest takes out the despatch case, removes several import- ant papers, and prepares a letter for the agent to deliver for him later. He places the case, with the remainder of its contents, in a secretary belonging to Hans, where it is subsequently discovered by Pierre. Not yet, however, will Hans believe that his prospective son-in-law is a spy.

The third act takes place a few minutes later in the stranger's bedroom. Pierre has persisted in his claims and has at last prevailed upon Hans to help him search the guest's room. Together they come upon the incriminating letter and Hans is now convinced that Pierre is right. Rosel enters and is crushed by the news that her fiance is a German spy. Hans and Pierre go out to post soldiery about the tavern to prevent the escape of the spy.

When the stranger returns to his room Rosel clings to him, weeping, and tells him that he has been discovered. She urges him to flee at once be- fore it is too late. As he escapes through the window Hans rushes into the room, followed by Pierre, who is armed. Shots are heard fired by the soldiers posted without but Hans twice indicates that they have missed their mark.

Seising the gun from Pierre, Hans himself brings down the spy. Then, turning to his daughter, he realizes that in doing his duty to his country he has brok- en his daughter's heart. He falls to his knees before her, imploring her un- derstanding and pardon. Rosel bravely accords him complete forgiveness and signifies that he has done the only thing a patriot could have done.

Court es, who had made such an impression in the role of Father Pierrot in l1 Enfant prodlgue. created the part of Hans, Rosel 's father in l'Hote. Rosel was to have been played by Mademoiselle Meuris, who had won distinction in Ibsen's The Wild Duck and as Melisande in Maeterlinck's Pelleas et Meli- sande. but three days before the opening she was called home by the serious

illness of her mother and Mademoiselle Debaule stepped into her part. The

last-minute substitute proved equal to the test and won the generous plaudits

of the critics, who agreed that she seemed made for the part or that the part

might well have been created expressly for her.

... Mile Debaule a fait du personnage de Rosel une creation qui la classe parmi les grandes artistes. C'est en trois jours qu'elle a appris le role, et per sonne ne se serai t douts d'un pareil tour de force, ... (1)

All of the other parts in the pantomime were filled by members of the Cercle Funambulesque company. When the production passed to the Bouffes-Pari- siens in the fall, the cast remained intact with but one exception. Courtis had gone to America and was replaced in the part of Hans by Taillade, an elder- ly actor, whose essay in the realm of pantomime redounded to his credit.

••• Le vieil artiste est, comme tou jours, un admirable artiste. II a, comme on dit, le drama dans la peau, et sa mi mi que est plus eloquent e, plus decisive que la plupart des morceaux de prose qu'il a du debit er dans

(1) Unidentified critique, Recueil Stoullig.

544

345

sa langue carriers. C est vraiment beau et in- teressant. (1)

The pantomime was well reviewed by the critics as a whole, following both of its productions,

••• Le public fut profondement emu par 1' action si dramatique et si touchante. ... A vrai dire, c'est plutot un malodrame et meme un ouvrage patriotique. ... (2)

Henry Fauquier, who saw it first at the Nouveau-Theatre and again upon its re- vival at the Bouffes, wrote of it,

Les deux premiers actes sont agreables et le dernier est vraiment d'une emotion poignant e, a la- quell e il est difficile de se soustraire. ... L'Hote est d'ailleurs tres bien joue" d« ensemble, et la mu- sique de M. Missa, charmante et souvent originale, gagne a etre entendu une fois de plus. ... (3)

In addition to the usual unreserved journalistic rhapsodies, such as

Richard O'Monroy^ "II y a la un veritable clou", there was noticeable after

the production of this pantomime a marked tendency on the part of a number of

critics to veer away from the realistic and back toward the fantastic, as is

evidenced in the following quotations:

• •• Mimodrames sur mimodraraesl II me semble qu'un naufrage m'a conduit dans un pays de sauvages et que j'en suis reduit a parler par gestes. . .. Serieuse- ment la mode des acteurs muets me par ait un peu outree. ... Si aimable et si dramatique que soit la pantomime, le geste ne vaut pas la parole. ...

... Peut-etre pourrait-on trouver que nos mod ernes au- teurs abusent un peu de la pantomime, qui tend a r em- placer de plus en plus tout ce qui fait I'agrement du theatre; 1* esprit, la vivacite et 1» arrangement du dia- logue. ...

(1) Unidentified critique, Recueil Stoullig.

(2) Idem.

(5) Henry FOUQUIER, unidentified critique, Recueil Stoullig.

546

••• Aux Bouffes comme au Cercle l'effet produit par les dernieres scenes a ete grand, et il faut avouer que ces scenes demeurent singulierement emouvantes et curieuses. D'ailleurs, en leur vehemence tragi que, ne r eleven t- elles pas directement de la pantomime? Dans l'etat d' esprit ou sent alors les personnages dans 1* emotion terrible, ou ils se trouvent, nous ne nous etonnons point qu'ils aient perdu le pouvoir de la parole et leur mutisme ajoute encore a la poignance des situations, a la verite dramatique, pour a in si dire. Mais il n'en est pas de meme des deux premiers actes dont 1 1 allure prosa- ique s'ac commode mal de l'au-dela tres vague du geste. Plus on voudra mettre du realisms dans la pantomime, plus on f era sentir crueHement 1' inferiority de ses moyens d' expression. Cette infer! orite peut devenir une superi- orite, en quelque sorte, si la representation funambu- lesque reste oeuvre de fantaisie imprecise et irreelle, de poesie largement evocatrice. L' effort inter essant, createur et moderns devrait done tendre non pas a la suppression du Pierrot, mais a son "evolution symbolique et humaine. . .. (1)

Whether or not this last criticism made an impression on Hugounet end Carre, they turned this pantomime into a very successful lyric drama three years later. It had its premiere and a gratifying run at Lyon in February, 1897, and was re-introduced to Paris in its new dress in the fall of 1899 at the Theatre Lyrique de la Renaissance. The consensus was that as lyric drama it was considerably more satisfying than as mimodrama.

Nothing daunted by occasional adverse criticisms, the professional the- aters continued to gamble on mimodramas from time to time and in most instanc- es this popular type of entertainment proved satisfactory as box-office at- tractions regardless of their lack of any real artistic merit. An illustra- tion in point is Jean Mayeux. a mimodrama in a prologue and three acts by Blan chard de la Bretesche, with music by Thony. It ran successfully through a good part of the winter and spring of 1895, first at the Bouffes-du-Nord and in June at the Folies-Dramatiques, though it was characterized by at least

(1) Miscellaneous unidentified critiques, Hecueil Stoullig.

547

one reviewer as a "mimodrame qui n'avalt rien de bien nouveau, une musique quj n ' avait rien de bien extraordinaire. " "Ce melodrame sans paroles r amen a cet hiver le Tout-Paris vers les Bouf f es-du-N ord , ou il apparut," reports another journalist.

The plot of Jean Mayeux was lifted predominantly from that classic of

melodramas, les Deux orphelines, flavored with reminiscent suggestions from

the old fairy tale of Beauty and the Beast, as well as of Hugo's "Quasimodo".

,,, Cette muette anthologie de tant de chefs-d'oeuvre a, de plus, le rare merit e de ne pas choquer, au point de vue de l'ecriture, les gouts ou les prejuges d'aucune e cole litteraire. 11 est loisible a chaque spectateur de traduire dans la forme qu'il prefere les gestes, grimaces et con torsions des heros de la piece, . (1)

In the prologue we find Jeanne de la Libiere, a demoiselle of good fam- ily and gentle breeding, arriving at Montparnasse station upon her return home from boarding school. She is accosted by a persistent young tout and in endeavoring to evade his attentions seeks refuge in a public dance hall. Here a worse fate awaits her, for she falls into the clutches of an old hag, La Chenille, who entices the girl home with her. Here Jeanne's sufferings are heightened when La Chenille's son, Alphonse, tries to seduce her. An un expect ed protector appears in the person of Alphonse 's younger brother, Jean Mayeux, a miserable cripple, Jean Mayeux intervenes on behalf of the girl, whom he idolizes from afar and the pandemonium of the epic battle which ensues between the two brothers brings the police to the scene. Jeanne is restored to her parents, who, out of gratitude, take the miserable hunchback into their home, where he continues to worship Jeanne like a faithful watchdog.

All goes well until Jeanne's betrothal to a young officer takes place,

(1) Unidentified critique, Hecueil Stoullig,

•

Unable to restrain himself any longer, the hunchback declares his love to the girl, Jeanne bursts spontaneously into irrepressible laughter at such a ridic- ulous idea, whereupon Jean Mayeux goes berserk, draws a knife, plants it in the girl's throat, and then runs off, crazed when he realizes what he has done. As the doctor signifies that there is hope for Jeanne *s life, Jean Mayeux makes the supreme sacrifice by casting himself from a rocky crag into the treacherous waters of the river below.

One reviewer contrasted this mimodrama with the original melodrama, to the detriment of the latter,

,,, Je ne sais si I'auteur de Jean Mayeux l'a fait ex- pres, mais, s'il a voulu nous prouver combien gagnent les Deux orphelines a. n'etre plus ecrites par Dennery, il y est j oilmen t arrive. En enlevant le disc ours, c'est com- ma si l'on avait enleve" les scories. II est etonnant combien de gens das sin en t passablement et ne sont point coloristes, Le dialogue, c'est le couleur, et c'est par la que pechent les hommes comme Dennery. L'ouvrage a plus de merite quand elle est effacee, ,., (1)

Thony's musical accompaniment, however, fared deplorably at the hands

of the press,

Il s'y fait entendre une musique d'accompagnement, suite de danses, de quadrilles, de valses, de gros sons bruyants conformes au scenario, Mais pourquoi manque-t-on de con- sequence en n'etendant pas la pantomime jusqu'a 1' orchestra? .,, Nulls mediocrite n'est possible dans les interpreta- tions de mimodrame, ... (2)

As with l'Hote. Jean Mayeux provoked a certain amount of critical de- bate on the subject of modem versus classic pantomime.

,,, Si vous pretendez faire vivre la pantomime sur une fantaisie leg ere, gracieuse, spirituelle, teintee de poesie et de legende, comme I'exquise Statue du Com- mandeur. je n'y contredirai pas, Mais ceci est un spec- tacle populaira. ,..

(1) Unidentified critique, Recueil Stoullig.

(2) Idem.

549

... Bq chassant Pierrot de la pantomime, nos modemes dramaturges esperent sans doute apporter la verite^ le realisme en un genre de pore convention et voila que, prive de son classique protagoniste, cet art tombe aueeitot aux bas-fonds du melo banal et vul- gaire. ... (1)

The patriotic theme comes again to the fore in Pour le drapeau. pre- sented at the Ambigu in February, 1895. It was the work of H. Amic, who had served his apprenticeship as a writer of pantomime scenarios at the Cercle Funambulesque. The musical accompaniment was composed by Raoul Pugno, who ha won his laurels in this tvoe of composing with his accompaniment for la Dans- euse de corde. The pantomime depicts the drama of a family divided against itself by civil war and takes place in the eventful year of 1895, when Repub- licans and Royalists were bitterly pitted against each other in the Vendee. The opening scene takes place in the village square, before the church, which is flanked on one side by a shrine and on the other by the hotel de la Reine, from which flies the white flag of the Royalists. Sylvandre, who has passed over to the Revolutionists, manages to return home to see his wife when the village has been surrounded by the Revolutionary soldiers. He shows the tri- color to his son, Tannick, and causes him to swear that he, too, will honor and serve this banner.

When Sylvandre has slipped back to the lines again, the townspeople, loyal to the royalist party, congregate and prepare to take up arms against the Revolutionaries. They choose as their leader the venerable Kerouan, Tan- nick's maternal grandfather. The Royalists have no sooner quitted the vil- lage, led by Kerouan, than it is invaded by a company of the enemy, led by the young lieutenant Marius. Tannick is taken prisoner and is ordered to

(1) Unidentified critiques, Recueil Stoullig.

350

guide the invaders after the Royalists. The boy refuses to betray his grand- father and is on the point of being shot when he sees the tricolor. Recog- nizing it as the flag his father follows and which he, too, has promised to serve, he capitulates and follows Marius' bidding.

In the second scene, deep in the forest, we find that the vanguard of Revolutionaries, of which Sylvandre is a member, has overcome the Royalists led by Sylvandre1 s father-in-law, Kerouan. When the second contingent of Revolutionaries, guided by Yannick, comes upon the scene, Sylvestre recog- nizes his son and runs forward to embrace him. As he does so, he is mortally wounded by a knife thrown by one of the enemy. lannick demands that his fa- ther's death be avenged and Marius prepares to have the enemy prisoners shot in a body when Kerouan steps forward and Yannick recognizes him. Torn be- tween his desire for vengeance for his father and affection for his grand- father, the boy now begs that Kerouan' s life be spared, to which Marius ac- cedes. The old Vendeen at first scornfully refuses but his companions per- suade him to accept this boon in order to save their white banner and to pun- ish his grandson's treachery. The old man is led away, a prisoner, and the boy flees in desperation over his conflicting loyalties.

The final scene is laid in old Kerouan 's inn, which has been appropri- ated by the Revolutionary soldiers, who are celebrating their victory. Vil- lage girls are singing and dancing. Lieutenant Marius makes a conquest of T venue, Yannick' s sweetheart, and persuades her to go away with the regiment as vivandiere. When Yannick arrives, Yvonne mocks at him, saying he is only a beardless youth. Kerouan returns and is on the point of killing Yannick but finds he cannot bring himself to murder his own flesh and blood. In- stead, he strikes him and orders him out of the inn. In utter despair, Yan- nick thrusts into his own heart the knife which has killed his father and

351

seizing the tricolor, dies enveloped In Its folds*

. .. II est bien evident que cette action a quelque naivete' et que. notamment, republicains et Vendeens ont des f aeons d'entrer et de sortir qui n'ont rien de commun avec les ruses et les prudences de la guerre. Mais cette imagerle d'Epinal est falte pour plalre aux yeux par des tableaux pittoresques qui 7 sont excel- lents et nombreux. • . . (1)

The pantomime offered ample opportunity for picturesque costuming.

groupings and settings and the staging proved particularly effective in an

artistic sense.

... ingenieuse. artisticiue, plelne de trouvailles tan tot charmantes, tan tot salsissantes, et elle (la mlse en scene) ne contribuera pas peu au succes de ce nouveau spectacle. ... (2)

The music, too. shared honors in the success of the production.

... La pantomime est pulssamment animee par la musique de M. Raoul Pugno qui nous fait penetrer profondement dans l'ame des personnages, en commente les ardeurs avec precision, en elargit les emotions et enveloppe tout le drame dans une saisissante atmosphere de valllance et d'ardeur guerriere.

... Cette musique de M. Pugno est un veritable chef dToeuvre. Dfune pre'eision parfaite, commentant l1 action, tour a tour gracieuee. spirituelle, trlste ou dramatique, elle merite qu'on s'attache a elle pendant ces trois actes. ... (3)

The actor Taillade, who had scored as Hans in the revival of PEote,

again came in for a generous share of praise in his interpretation of Kerouan

the old Chouan.

... Quand le grand artiste, designe par ses compagnons, a accept^ le commanded en t et a mis, dans un seul mouve- ment de son epee, le sacrifice de sa vie, la volonte de vainer e, son imouvable foi dans la grandeur de sa cause,

(1) (2) (3)

Unidentified critique, Recueil Stoullig.

Idem.

352

un grand frisson a passe dans la salle. ... (l) Felicia Mallet, as the youthful Tannick, walked off with the pantomim- ic honors, as usual, for her superb miming.

• . . Mile Felicia Mallet y epuise les ressources les plus expressives, les plus douloureuses, les plus fris- sonantes de sa mimique eloquent. ...

... Ideale de grace juvenile, de spirituelle fantalsie, superbe de puissance dramatique, grande artiste dans toute l'acception du mot. ... Ce rfile est vraiment ecrasant, mais la tres habile artiste s'en est tiree a sa gloire et y a eu un grand succes. ... (2)

A happy blending of dramatic realism with the pictorial was achieved

in this mlmo drama, which constituted a far more artistic production than most

of its predecessors which had regarded the melodramatic element of paramount

importance.

(1) Unidentified critique, Recueil Stoullig.

(2) Idem.

♦

553

CHAPTER XXX TRANSFORMATION OF THE MUSICAL SETTING

In the old days of the Funambules the musical accompaniment to the pan- tomime was a relatively minor consideration. A score composed expressly for the piece which it accompanied was unknown. The musical selections were re- cruited more or less at random and constituted a pot-pourri of miscellaneous selections, short bits drawn principally from operas, operettas and ballets, and adapted taflt bjep que mal to the characters and situations in the panto- mime. The majority of them were dance airs, waltzes and minuets. Entrances and exits were usually accompanied by long-drawn-out tremolos such as we often hear today at the conclusion of an animal or acrobatic act at the circus. As a scene reached a dramatic climax, the orchestra almost invariably swung into a stirrincr march rhvthmf such as the old favorite r Marche des Tartares.

With the classical pantomime, therefore, music constituted primarily a conventional background for the action, with only a perfunctory attempt at making it an interpretation in a dramatic sense. "Loisible a la vieille ecole mimique d^ccompagner ses gambades de n'importe quoi," says Hugounet. "Petits menuets de Boccherini, lambeaux de morceaux italiens ou francais, tout cela ne servait qu'a combattre pour le spectateur la tristesse du silence et la penib] impression d'un theatre de sourds-muets . "

In the earlier days of the classic pantomime, the mime was fairly close ly tied down by the musical accompaniment so far as phrasing was soncerned. A certain amount of music was selected for a particular episode in the action and the mime was obliged to limit himself to that bit. In many instances, the

i »

554

action was regulated with the music step by step as in a dance. At the Funam- bules, Deburau was the one exception to the rule so far as remaining within mu- sical bounds was concerned. If he was moved to vary his interpretation during a performance he had the privilege of making use of certain conventional sig- nals which informed the orchestra leader that he wished a repeat or an extensi of music. Paul Legrand continued Deburau* s practice, exercising considerable independence in his action and bending the musical accompaniment to his requin nents.

The Funambules orchestra frequently resorted to the bad habit of employ ing music with which familiar words were associated. This is contrary to the fundamental principle of pantomime, which presupposes that no articulated lan- guage exists. "Si vous faites entendre un air qui evoque des paroles," states Sarcey, "vous trichezj ce n*est plus jouer franc jeu.w

As early as the late forties Champfleury had expressed himself very def initely on the subject of music for pantomime. In describing that of the Fu- aambules he tells us that the' orchestra comprised three violins, a tenor violii a clarinet, a horn and a double bass. As the pantomime opens, says Champfleur; the musicians begin "sans le savoir, a jouer du Mozart, du Gluck, petit s mor- ceaux qu'on coupe dans de vieux cahiers." In Champfleury 1 s opinion, brasses were out of place in accompanying pantomime. While conceding their value in opera, he felt that they were too heavy for pantomime, too likely to dominate the action and should be replaced by an oboe, a flute and a cello. "... aux mimes, il faut une musique douce, tantot vive et tan tot melancolique, qui ne trouble pas ce monde si plein de calme."

According to Champfleury, in selecting musical backgrounds for this genre of accompaniment the orchestra leader should limit himself to the com-

on J—

355

posers of the 18th century, talcing Gretry as the boundary line. "L1 instru- mentation de ce compositeur est simple et naive. Mais le chef d'orchestre, s'il a 1' amour du furetage, a toute une mine dans la musique allemand, ital- ienne des siecles passes."

With all its faults, however, Champfleury stated that the orchestra of the Funambules, "tout mal compose qu'il soit, m*a jete souvent dans des ex- tases que ne me donnerait pas l^rchestre du Conservatoire." (1)

The modern point of view with regard to the part to be played by music in conjunction with pantomime was naturally stimulated by the Wagnerian mu- sic-dramas. It was Wagner who first realized and put into practice the dramai ic potentialities in music and stressed the importance of synchronizing it wi1 song and action in such a way as to make these three elements interdependent and of equal importance in their significance. Music constitutes in itself a language which is universal in its appeal and the moderns began to realize that it is as integral a part of pantomime as it is of opera or ballet. In pantomime, music may be regarded as a substitute not for words but for the tones of the voice, which are in themselves universally expressive of feeling. In its own distinctive way music possesses the power of portraying as diverse a variety of emotions as does dramatic action itself. Accordingly, the moderr point of view was that music should become the voice of the actor, as it were, and that it should stress, develop and comment on the action throughout the entire pantomime. It should establish and support the mood or atmosphere of the story through stimulating the imagination and exciting the emotions of both audience and mimes through sound. It was not sufficient that the- score

(1) CHAMPFLEURY, Souvenir? d?P Fmaiqbules, p. 216.

r i

556

for the pantomime be specially composed by a real musician. One can be a good musician and still not be capable of understanding pantomime accompani- ment. In addition to being a good musician, he must also have a strongly de- veloped dramatic sense, must be at the same time, as in the case of the oper- atic composer, musician and dramatist.

In the portrayal of a story in pantomime, action and music must be re- garded as equal in importance and through the linking of these two elements, one of which appeals to the sight and the other to the hearing of the spec- tator, a stronger and more vital appeal is made than could be produced by either action or music alone. Francisque Sarcey was among the first of the modern group to give expression to the new viewpoint.

... II y avait a trouver pour la pantomime une musique qui eveillat, par des combinaisons de sons, dans 1* esprit du public des sentiments que les personnages en scene ex- priment par le geste: qui fit plus encore, qui traduisit a sa facon, par des arrangements du rythme, les moments et le caractere des actions qui sont figurees dans la pantomime* II fallait done que cette musique fut a la fois impression- nan te et descriptive. ... (1)

Before the founding of the Cercle Funambulesque, the reciprocity be- tween music and action in pantomime was already beginning to be recognized by Paul Margueritte and particularly by Raoul de Najac. The latter was one of the first of the modern group to give serious consideration to pantomime ac- companiment in practical experiment as well as in theory and the specially composed score for his Re tour dlArlequin» by Andre Martinet, helped greatly to inaugurate the new era.

The modern composers agreed with Champ fleury that in the main panto- mimes demand a soft and delicate musical background. The pantomime should

(1) Francisque SARCEI, unidentified article, Recueil Stoullig.

557

never be dominated by the music but always supported by it. An audience should not be made to feel that it is either to the composer or to the author that it is the more indebted. The two elements, music and script, should be synchronized so as to form a coordinated whole. Since in pantomime the music replaces dialogue in a certain sense, it is the duly of the composer to pro- vide music that will speak and that will be listened to. In this regard, Adolphe David, composer of the score for la Statue du (foinmandeiirr cites Halew who remarked, "Soft music is listened to, loud music is heard." If you deafen an audience it cannot listen. This does not mean to imply, however, that bras ses should not be used upon occasion. On this point the attitude of the mod- ern composers disagreed with Champfleury1 s contention that brasses had no plac in pantomime accompaniment. Pueno made use of them in J,a Danseuse de eord,e when he felt they contributed to the dramatic effect. David, too, resorted to them for the more violentlv emotional scenes in la Sta-feuR d.U CgTjyuflndeur. Wormser explains it, MIf you have a Lohengrin, an Alexander, a person of great stature, a heroic atmosphere, do you think one should hesitate to employ all the resources of the modern orchestra?" In developing the score for his opera Don Quichotte. Wormser exemplified this theory, making predominant use of bas- ses because they were typical of the character.

The distinctive type of descriptive music employed by opera is the leit motif, a distinguishing theme or melodic phrase which brings out the personal- ity of an individual character, suggests a particular mood or graphically in- terprets definite thoughts or emotions. Andre Wormser considered the leit- motif more useful and more suitable for pantomime than anywhere else because of its extreme adaptability and because it is necessary in pantomime to attain

not only the maximum of expression but also the maximum of suggestive signifi- •

cance.

•

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Each principal character in the story is usually fitted with a distinct- ive music theme which is expressive of the individual portrayed by him and this special bit of music is repeated, with variations, upon the different ap- pearances of the character or references to him by other characters. Pugno maintains that from the composer's point of view, the ideal pantomime should have four musical personages. Beyond that it becomes too difficult to mount and with the system of leit-motifs the music becomes too intricate for the audience to follow.

... Quatre themes au contraire se peuvent marier, contre- dire, opposer, denaturer, avec toute la virtuosite de- sirable et sans fatigue; avec deux personnages, deux mo- tifs, vous tombez dans des redites et des variations fati- gantes. ... (l)

It is upon characteristic, descriptive and emotional themes, infinitely varied in their content and possibilities, that falls the greatest demand in the se- lection of music themes*

The method resorted to by most of the composers for the pantomimes pro- duced by the Cercle Funambulesque was that of outlining the action of the pan- tomime in preliminary rehearsals and then of fitting the music to it, although there were a few who preferred to compose the bulk of the music from the script alone and then have the action adapted to the music. This was the case with Adolphe David in developing the music for la Status flu Copnandeiir. For the most part the music of this pantomime was recitative, forming a more or less neutral background. Exception was made at certain points, as for instance the efforts of the inebriated Commander to remount his pedestal, where David impro- vised a succession of chords to fit the Commander's action. The weeping of

(1) Raoul PUGNO, quoted in Les Soirees Funambulesqiies r Felix Larcher and Paul Hugounet.

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the two girls upon the death of Don Juan was also worked out during rehearsals to fit the dramatic action exactly.

The high spot in pantomime accompaniment was reached by Andre Wormser in his score for ^'Enfant prodiime. It was Wormser' s first essav in this field* Raoul Pugno had been approached originally by the Cercle Funambulesque but was too busy with other work at the time to be able to take it on. Carre therefore approached Wormser, a promising young composer who had been awarded the Prix de Rome in 1875 and who was now striving for recognition in Paris.

ther absent-mindedly and promptly forgot about his promise. One day Larcher appeared and put a manuscript into his hands with the announcement, "Here's jrour script."

"What script'" questioned Wormser, perplexed.

"The script of the pantomime for which you are doing the music." "The devil I" exclaimed the young musician, nonplussed. "And we must hurry," continued Larcher, "for it goes on in a month. That gives you just thirty days ..."

"You're stark, staring mad," interpolated the composer. "... plus thirty nights," concluded Larcher imperturbably. "Is it long?" "Three acts."

Wormser was dumbfounded. One month in which to compose the score for a three-act pantomime. It would require nothing less than a tour de force to accomplish it. But in taking stock of the situation he came to the conclusion that since he was a young and unknown composer making a desperate effort to nake himself known, this presented at least an opportunity of getting himself xeard in Paris. True. It promised to be for only one or at best two perform-

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ances, which was not much In view of the effort demanded, but he concluded wisely that it was better to be played once than not at all. Furthermore, he was not ignorant of the strong support given the Cercle Funambulesque perform- ances by the press. He would have the opportunity of being heard not only by a sympathetic and intelligent general audience but also before the dreamed-of jury of music and drama critics. So Wormser set to work. His first step was to attend a rehearsal of the pantomime, the first act of which was already com- pletely set. He jotted down notes, returned home and proceeded to block out his themes, fitting them to the action at subsequent rehearsals. When he had the general idea of the first act fairly well outlined he attempted to pro- ceed along the line of conventional music composition but finding at the end of two weeks that he had completed only a quarter of the first act he was obliged to renounce this system.

Wormser relates how the action and music grew together in rehearsal. He had worked out a charming madrigal for the episode in which Pierrot de- clares his love to Phrynette. When it was played for the first time at re- hearsal, the actors protested that it was too long. Wormser obligingly cut it down to four measures. At the next rehearsal, however, he increased it to eight, saying nothing about the change. The actors sensed a difference but managed to fill the music and made no comment. Several days later, noting that the action in this episode was growing in detail as it was enriching it- self in nuances, Wormser played the entire madrigal as originally conceived by him. Without realizing it, the actors responded and filled it all. This is an example of the ideal reciprocity, the composer identifying himself with both author and actors.

Wormser depends primarily upon the leit-motif in his accompaniment.

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For instance, the love theme which is developed when Pierrot first meets Phrynette is brought back again and again, either for Pierrot and Phrynette together or for Pierrot alone when his thoughts are of Phrynette, but varied each time in accordance with Pierrot's different states of mind. Likewise, the music for the openings of the first and third acts are different rendi- tions of the identical theme. In the first act it depicts the calm, homey at- mosphere, the conjugal contentment of father and mother Pierrot. Later in this same act when Pierrot, realizing his love for Phrynette, throws off his melancholy and breaks out into a joyful dance into which he draws his father and mother, the same theme becomes expansively exuberant and gay. But when the third act opens and we discover father and mother Pierrot sadly conscious of their son's vacant chair, the theme is sadly plaintive, giving an atmos- phere of mourning, expressing the void in the hearts of the unhappy couple.

The practice of varying the leit-motif following the evolution of the story appealed particularly to Raoul Pugno, who remarked, "... rien n'est d'amusant comme de jongler avec un theme, de le denaturer, de le modifier d* aspect et de tonalite." Pugno does just this in la Danaeuae de eordef weav- ing variations of God Save the Queen throughout the entire second act, which takes place in a London tavern. The last act of the pantomime is a musical re- capitulation of all the important character and emotional themes of the first two acts. Next to a symphonic piece, Pugno regarded a pantomime score as the most interesting type of work a composer can set his hand to, since in it he is able to give absolutely free rein to his fancy, imagination and personal- ity. He greatly preferred it to operatic composition.

... Ici plus d» intervention absurde de directeur reclamant un motif banal, pas de chant eurs a co- co ttes, pas de tenors reclamant equivalence de mar- ceaux a chanter, rien, en fin, de tout ce qui m'avait

couche vivant sur le grll de l'operette* ••• (1) The script for la Danseuse de corder by Scholl and Roques, was exceed- ingly meagre and gave Pugno little to go on in advance. It was Felicia Mallet who amplified it, working at home, acting out all of the parts and building them up out of her own fertile imagination* Pugno took the habit of watching her, constructing his music upon her action, blocking out the themes, determin- ing their length and type of action. After rehearsal he returned home and worked through the night on such indications as these: Rosy*s flight, 65 meas- ures, 2/4 time; mothers surprise, 13 measures; clown1 s soliloquy, 6 measures. The first act proved stubborn and was slow in taking shape. Pugno spent be- tween four and five weeks on it. The second act, on the contrary, forged ahead by itself and was completed in five days. Pugno says he went ahead with an inspiration comparable to that of Rossini who, when he awakened one morn- ing, drew his music pad from under his pillow and completely re-wrote a cer- tain operatic duo rather than take the trouble to reach down under his bed and locate the fallen sheet which bore his first inspiration.

As for the instrumentation for pantomime accompaniment, both Wormser and Pugno concur in the opinion that for a short pantomime piano alone is suf- ficient. It has a practical value in that with a single instrument the ac- companist, if he is clever, can make the score elastic at need, can follow the actors, make up for any mistakes or lapses in action on the part of the play- ers without the audience being conscious of it. This is an asset to be reck- oned with, particularly in amateur productions. An orchestral score has not this adaptability, cannot make spontaneous readjustments as it goes along.

(1) Raoul PUGNO, op. cit.

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Piano alone becomes too monotonous, however, if used as a background for a long pantomime. Because of the variety which it affords, an orchestra is in- dispensible for a three-act piece, "La variete de timbres qu*il fournit," says Pugno, "sert extraordinairement le compositeur car la deformation des themes reclame des sonorites speciales." But continued use of full orchestra becomes heavy and may prove as monotonous as piano alone if employed continu- ously throughout three acts. Both Wormser and Pugno advocate a combination of orchestra and piano alone in the longer pantomime. Make use of the piano, a prosaic instrument, for the more prosaic parts of the pantomime, counsels Wormser. When the piece becomes dramatic and works toward a climax, use the orchestra. "Bref , pour emprunter une comparaison au langage des peintres, le piano fournit le fond neutre et les instruments les vigueurs." (l) In short sentimental, delicate and subtle episodes use a simple combination of violin or clarinet with the piano to give color and variety.

Raoul de Najac believed that though the music should support the panto- mime consistently throughout, it should not be too rigid. He did not approve of tying each step and each gesture to specific notes in the music. Though he did feel that it was necessary for inexperienced mimes to be tied more or less closely to the music in order to keep them on the track and prevent their run- ning away with themselves, he was an advoeate for a certain amount of freedom and elasticity in the accompaniment. Wormser, however, ranged himself among those who believed in tying pantomime and music fairly exactly and his score for 1' Enfant prodigne is an outstanding example of a close and sympathetic collaboration between composer, author and actors in this respect. Paul Le-

(1) Andre WORMSER, quoted in Las Soirees Funaiabiilesquesr Felix Larcher and Paul Hugounet.

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grand disapproved of Wormse^s point of view. He felt that many of the mod- ern pantomimes made a fetich of holding themselves too rigidly controlled by the music.

... Je pease qu'il devrait etre tout autre. La musique maintenant est trop reglee, trop precise; elle enferme l'acteur comme dans un £tau et lui ote le meilleur de ses moyens, puisqu'il faut que son geste se limite a la nuance musicale. Plus de sail- lies personnelles, plus de fantaisie possible. On fait des choses tres jolies, c'est vrai, mais ce n'est plus ma pantomime. (1)

The phenomenal world-wide success of l1 Enfant prodigue would seem to invali- date Legrand's criticism, however.

Music, at the Funambules, had been regarded as a purely incidental mat- ter and was never taken into consideration in judging a pantomime. But from the moment that Raoul de Najac and Paul Margueritte began to place the accom- paniment on an equal plane with the action, this important phase of the pro- duction took on its proper proportions and began to receive its just due from a publicity standpoint. The Cercle Funambulesque particularly encouraged mu- sicians in this form of composition and provided a practical workshop in which to experiment with their efforts. It became increasingly common for the composers to attract considerable attention from the critics, as the follow- ing excerpts indicate.

... La partition de la Corde de pendu est signee L. Maupeau. Elle comptera parmi les oeuvres les plus aimables du distingue compositeur dont tout Paris a applaudi 1 ' Amour venge a l'OpeVa-Comique et divers po ernes symboliques, MiSB&f dffldH.nonf Le Noel des Bereers . (2)

(1) Paul LEGRAND, art. in La Justice, Feb. 10, 1892.

(2) Unidentified critique, Recueil Stoullig.

... (Noel trlste) ... La tres heureuse partition de M. George Bariel souligne m^lodiquement chaque geste et su4-t pas a pas, sans fatigue pour l'auditeur, tous les details du scenario. C'est la une oeuvre aussi inte'ressante pour le public que pour les musicians qui y reconnaitront main d'ouvrier. ••• (l)

... (Pierrot poete) ... Et il y aura pour les raf fines regal a entendre la partition que M. Pali cot a signe et qui realise avec le poeme de H. A. Lafrique 1* union la plus heureuse et la plus in time. ... (2)

A goodly proportion of the critical comment on I1 Enfant prodigue concerned it- self with Wormser's musical composition. In the evolution of the modem pan- tomime special credit is due to the Cercle Funambulesque for its renovation of the musical setting, in which it showed a point of view fully as revolution- ary as its modern attitude toward the scenario itself.

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(1) Unidentified critique, Recueil Stoullig.

(2) Idem.

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CHAPTER XXXI

CHARACTERISTIC TENDENCIES AND TRENDS

Founded in all good faith for the purpose of reviving pantomime, it

was perhaps inevitable that the Cercle Funambulesque should soon swing into

the general current of the times and consequently the result of its efforts

constituted less of a revival than a complete renovation. The keynote of the

transition is sounded by Galipaux in his reply to Sarcey's rather conventional,

old-school contention that the plot of a pantomime must necessarily be drawn

from some fairy tale or legend so familiar to the audience that the story

needs no explanation. This field, points out Galipaux, is in the first place

limited and in the second place innocuous.

... Apres avoir epuise' les contes celebres, les auteurs seraient promptement a court. . .. Ou serai t l'interet, je vous le demande, de voir le rideau se lever sur le premier acte d*une pantomime ayant pour titre: le Petit Poucet ou le non mo ins Petit chaperon rouge, (l)

No, assuredly, Hop p* fly ThWBfr and Little Red TH<Hplff ffcnd would be far too in- genuous for fin de siecle tastes. As for the action, blows, kicks and simi- lar horseplay were all very well in the early days, when all pantomime plots consisted of the loves of Pierrot and Arlequin for Colombine, with Cassandre favoring sometimes one, sometimes the other, but today, says Galipaux, these charming personages have grown antiquated and have been relegated, quite prop- erly, to the attic. What interests us primarily today, in pantomime as well as in drama in general, he continues, is character study, analysis of human

(1) Felix GALIPAUX, quoted in Les Soirees Funambulesque. Eugene Larcher and Paul Hugounet.

emotions and passions, in short, psychology. "Mais surtout, oh! surtout," he admonishes with passion, "soyez modern, modernissimel N'oubliez pas non plus que la verite et la polsie n'excluent pas la fantaisie, la fantaisie ailee!" Galipatc^s enthusiastic disciples fell dutifully into line on his first pre- cept but the second failed to impress them. Pure poetic fantasy was indeed a rarity in the repertory of the Cercle.

In conformance with the fin de siecle spirit, the naive farces and fan- tasies of classic pantomime and even of the earlier days of the Cercle Funambu- lesque, soon came to be superseded by etudes jig m,Qeursf the majority of them reflecting, as did so much of the drama of the period, the decadence, pes- simism, scepticism and disillusionment of the times. They were examples of modern realism, sensational "slices" of drab, sordid life, taking as their themes the menage a _trpis? unrequited love, illicit love, infidelity, suicide and murder. As one reviewer expressed it after the completion of the Cercle^ third season,

... Les auteurs de pantomime ont fait ... defiler la plupart des situations de la vie de tous les jours. ... Le Cercle Funambulesque est sans pi tie. C'est en son sein qu'il faudrait rechercher les deraieres manifesta- tions de 1* activity humaine si elle etait banni du reste de la terre. ... (1)

Of the original pantomime characters traditional to the classic panto- mime, Pierrot alone was more or less consistently retained, accompanied oc- casionally by Colombine or her more modern prototype, Pierrette. Even Pierrot was frequently missing. But the Pierrot of the Cercle Funambulesque was as complete a metamorphosis from the Pierrot of the Funambules, both in character- ization and dress, as Gaspard Deburau's creation was different from the earli-

(1) Unidentified art., Recueil Stoullig.

(

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est Pierrot of the 16th century Italian farces. By 1890 Pierrot had come of age.

... Devenu contemporain sous son habit noir, le Pierrot fin de siecle s'est dessine a notre horizon artistique. Deli cat de corps et d' esprit, la cervelle tourmentee d' ideas sinistres et macabres, il s'est imbu des lit- teratures desesperees et, sur son masque blafard trans- parent l'epouvante secrete de la mort. ... (1)

... Pale, morose, famelique, nourissant des reves inces- sant s de fortune et d' amour, tou jours dequ et tou jours anime par l'espoir, ce Pierrot exprime asses exact ement 1' ideal des poetes a cravat es flottantes, a pan talons larges et a chapeaux noirs aux larges bords. II n ' etait plus le poltron, le souraois, 1'effronte, le gourmand, le voleur de la pantomime traditionnelle. II etait boheme. II etait pourtant chanoin. II alii ait gentiment le ni- hilisme mis a* la mode par le roman russe et le respect du del. ... (2)

Among the small minority of pantomimes on the classic order, so-called of which most were rather pastiches of the traditional French and Italian scenarios rather than original conceptions, la Momie (February 7, 1894) is worthy of mention not because of any intrinsic merit but for the fact that its Pierrot was played by Paul Legrand, now seventy-six years old and «... tout joyeux de voir que les Pierrots, dont il fut l'ame, sent toujours en favour." The intrigue of this little pantomime is ingenuous and clear. Pierrot, serv- ant to a dealer in antiques, opens an Egyptian sarcophagus and of course falls in love with the charming mummy who comes to life and issues forth from it. Thwarted in his ambition to run away with the lady because of his usual lack of funds, Pierrot manages to get his master drunk and then locks him in the sarcophagus. He sells this objet d*art to an unsuspecting customer and finds

(1) (2)

Paul EUDEL, quoted in Les Soirees Funambulesques , Eugene Larcher and Paul Hugounet.

unidentified article, Recueil Stoullig.

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his pockets sufficiently well lined to be able to fly with his love. This is an almost unique example of the classic type of Pierrot in modern use.

The Pierrot in la Corde de pendu (February 15, 1892) , by F. Boussenod, is fairly traditional in spirit, though the plot of the pantomime is a melange

of mediaeval farce and fin de siecle philosophy. Pierrot, in love with Colom- bine, is plunged into the depths of despair at seeing shadowed on the window shade of her apartment her figure enlaced in the arms of his rival, Arlequin. He decides to end it all and after passing in review the gamut of possibilities, - poison, a bullet and a rope, - proposes to make it hanging. In order to make doubly sure of the result, however, he shoots his pistol immediately after slip- ping the noose about his neck. He proves an execrable marksman, however. The bullet misses his head but cuts the rope and Pierrot finds himself once more on terra firma, as alive as ever. But here is luck indeed, for Pierrot now finds himself in possession of a powerful fetich, a piece of genuine hangman' s rope.

Seeing Arlequin ' s hat and cloak where they have been forgotten in the garden, Pierrot appropriates them and hides until Arlequin has finished his visit and gone home* Then, disguising himself in Arlequin' s clothing, he knocks at Colombia e 1 s door. When she appears, mistaking him for Arlequin, Pi- errot maltreats her with such vigor that she runs into the house in a rage and bangs the door in his face, which is just what Pierrot wanted. Delightedly, he quickly doffs his disguise and again knocks at the door, this time present- ing himself in his own character. He is greeted with encouraging friendliness by Colombine and loses no time in pressing his advantage. Catching sight of the rope hanging from Pierrot's pocket, her curiosity is aroused. When she learns what it is, she insists that Pierrot give it to her and he is obliged to part with his precious talisman.

Now Arlequin returns in search of bis hat and cloak. Finding Colom- bine accepting the attentions of Pierrot, he sets upon her brutally and pun- ishes her unmercifully, at which Pierrot is not displeased, believing that it will but strengthen further his own suit. But the ways of women are past all reckoning. Colombine repulses Pierrot's efforts to save her and yields to her cave-man. So Pierrot has again lost his love, and with her his fetich. "Pi- errot desillusionne, memo des talismans, en appelle a la lune de l'infidelite de la femme et de la sottise des traditions. "

In le Bahut. written by Eugene Larcher in collaboration with Achilla Melandri, we have a Pierrot who is modem in characterization and dress. Employed as clerk by a high government official, Pierrot is too preoccupied with his own diversion with Zigouillette, a demi-mondaine . to notice that his own wife is having an affair with his employer. When Pierrot goes off for a rendezvous with his inamorata, Pierrette receives the minister but as the price of her concessions to his demands obliges him to promise a decoration for Pierrot.

As Pierrot and Zigouillette, en deshabille, are finishing an intimate little supper together in the lady's apartment, Zigouillette recognizes a per emptory knock at the door as that of her lover. She quickly pushes Pierrot into an antique chest and locks it before admitting the newcomer. The latter immediately becomes suspicious and accuses Zigouillette of having someone hid- den in the chest. She denies this with vigor. His attention having been at- tracted to the chest, and no doubt too because his suspicions are not wholly allayed, the lover insists upon purchasing the chest at a price which the lady cannot bring herself to refuse. Porters are summoned and the chest is carried off.

The final scene takes place in a public square in a pouring rain. The

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porters, as a result of a series of visits to one tavern after another en route, are now too inebriated to be able to read the address at which they are supposed to deliver the chest. They drop it in the street with such force that the lock is broken and without a backward glance they go into the nearest cafe for another drink, Pierrot, hugging his dressing gown about him in barrassment, climbs out of the chest. His love for Zingouillette has cooled. He will go home to Pierrette, But at this moment, whom does he see but his wife in person, issuing forth from a gay cafe on the arm of M. le Ministre. Boss or no boss, this is too much. Pierrot precipitates himself upon the astonished dignitary, knocks him down, relieves him of his trousers, coat, hat, umbrella and lady friend, locks his victim in the chest, crayons an ad- dress on it in large letters - "Chicago" - and sets out for home, forgetting even to reproach his spouse. This pantomime is a modern and sophisticated comedie da moeurs treated as amusing farce.

Seme of the pantomimes were developed directly from contemporary trag- edies or crimes recounted in the daily newspapers. Such was the case with Noel triste. by Paul Leclerq, It gives evidence particularly of the Mont- mart re Influence, Pierrot is a poor artist, -

... Pardon, mais e'est une vertu essentielle a Pierrot que d'etre pauvre. Un Pierrot avenue de Villi ers dans un hotel parti culier, ce ne serai t plus un Pierrot, mime dans las conceptions si artistiquement modern es de Hennique ou de Cherat, ,,. (1)

We find Pierrot and Colombine starving together in the artist's proverbial

garret, Colombine is sleeping, vainly trying to keep warm beneath the covers

With fingers so stiff with cold that he can scarcely move them, Pierrot is en-

(1) Unidentified critique, Recueil Stoullig.

deavoring to paint, At midnight church balls peal out. It is Christmas Eve, - and Pierrot had completely forgotten it. He notices with bitterness that Colombine has trustingly placed her little shoes on the hearth in antici- pation of a visit from Father Christmas. Pierrot is sick with despair. His eye is caught by his mandolin, his most precious possession. That is the so- lution. He will sell it and buy a Christmas gift for Colombine.

No sooner is Pierrot safely out of the way than a knock comes at the door. As Colombine sleeps on, oblivious to it, Geronte, the rich landlord, enters. He is delighted at finding Colombine alone. He wakens her, presents her with a bouquet of flowers, declares his passion, tempts her with jewels and rosy promises, and swears that he will kill himself if she will not go off with him. Colombine loves Pierrot. She hesitates, but, as may be expected, yields to her baser nature and off she goes with the elderly Lothario.

Pierrot returns, starry-eyed, and tiptoes toward the hearth with his gift, - a cat I How delighted Colombine will be, for a cat is almost the same as a baby. But the shoes have vanished; - and so has Colombine. Stupefaction bewilderment, unbelief, realisation. Collapsing into a chair, overwhelmed with grief, he notices the bouquet which Colombine has left behind her in her precipitate departure. Taking a single flower from it, Pierrot plucks the petals one by one. "She loves me - she loves me not - she loves me I" Then why has she left me? - Naturally, for gold. And she will not return. Pierrot takes his muffler, knots it about his neck, and hangs himself to the gas jet as the Christmas bells peal out joyously. The real-life drama, from which this pantomime was taken, was recounted in a news item in the Courrier Fran- cais.

Fin d ' amour . similar in type, might likewise have been taken from just such a journalistic aotualite as Noel triste. Here we have a suicide pact

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agreed upon between Pierrot and Colombia e. In despair because they cannot be- long to each other, since Colombia e is the wife of another, they take a long- drawn-out farewell on this earth and each fires the fatal shot which they be- lieve will make possible their reunion in a happier world. This start drama proved rather too rosse for the taste of at least one reviewer.

• •• Je ne voudrais point qu'on m'accusat de n* avoir pas su penetrer le symbolisme de ce petit drame in- time, symbolisms fort musical, j 'en conviens, mais qui, a la scene, revet una forme de f ait-divers dent le realisms exaspere ne s1 applique nullement aux ne- cessity de la pantomime. ... (1)

Periodically the Japanese vogue, at its height at this period, would crop up again but more often than not it proved to be a superficial expression which did little more than furnish opportunity for variety and picturesqueness in setting and costuming. Such was the case with Conte de prin temps, for ex- ample. The story concerns itself with Sabouro, a fan painter. His wife, Oritzou, is bored with life but not ambitious beyond pleasing her husband, whom she believes to be perfectly contented. But Sabouro, too, is bored. He has had his fill of fan painting and verses, of flowers and birds; he has had enough of being peacefully and un excitingly pampered by a woman who does not understand him and whom he no longer loves. He is ripe for the plucking and when Tola, the courtisan, Tola the Tigress, comes to the shop to buy a fan, Sabouro falls in love with her and they run off together. Upon discovering this desertion, Oritzou becomes demented.

Wandering about the countryside in search of her husband, Oritzou final- ly comes upon the cottage where Sabouro and Tola have been living a somewhat tempestuous idyll. Oritzou recognizes Tola and pleads with her to give Sabouro

(1) Unidentified critique, Recueil Stoullig

back to her. Already tired of him, Tola is glad enough to yield and welcomes a former and more romantic lover into the cottage as night falls,

Sabouro returns and becomes enraged upon finding Oritzou, who throws herself at his feet, imploring him to return with her and informing him that Tola is not even faithful to him. This he refuses to believe until she points out their intermingled shadows on the window shade, (It will be remembered that this was also the period of great popularity of the ombres chinoises, or shadowgraphs, in Paris and this idea was employed effectively upon more than one occasion in the pantomimes at the Cercle Funambulesque,) Sabouro goes berserk at the sight which greets his eyes. He throws Oritzou to the ground, draws his sabre, decapitates her and brandishes her head aloft triumphantly. He is ready then to take his revenge on Tola but by this time she and her lov- er have made their escape in a boat on the lake.

As Sabouro* s passion cools and he takes cognizance of his crime, he is stricken with remorse, plunges his sabre into his stomach and dies. The panto- mime is saved from being pure melodramatic realism by a return to the first scene, where we find Sabouro asleep in his garden. The colorless and faithful Oritau comes in and wakens her husband with a chaste kiss. He jumps up, start- led, and then relaxes in comforting relief as he realizes that 'twas but a dream. This production fell far short of Larcher's much less pretentious "paravent-pantomimen, le Papillon, in artistic and authentically Japanese fla- vor.

In the search for the sensational it was not always modem material that triumphed. Galipaux and Ponsevrez went back to Boccaccio on one occasion and drew Pierrot confesseur from a tale in the Decameron . In its original concep- tion this pantomime was apparently too audacious even for this admittedly audacious milieu, for Michel Carre and Georges Berr, the "terribles repre-

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sentants de la censure du Cercle," did a bit of red pencilling on the rosse elements before it was permitted to go into rehearsal. Their doubts as to those that remained were allayed by the hope that all would be forgiven since one scene of the pantomime was laid in the confessional of a church. Pierrot suspicious that his wife is unfaithful to him, as of course she is, bribes the sacristan and disguised in priestly robes instals himself behind the grille oi the confessional. He hears his wife's confession, which richly confirms his worst fears. Unable to contain himself, he rushes forth and reveals himself to his wife. Calmly she waits until his tirade has spent itself, then coldly, accusingly, she informs him that she had recognized him in the confessional and to punish his jealous suspicions had made up her confession out of whole cloth. Her credulous husband throws himself contritely at her feet, demand- ing forgiveness, and Madame Pierrot is free to continue to tread the primrose path of dalliance, Pierrot confesseur did not achieve the success expected of it. The clarity of the plot was marred by the inclusion of unnecessary and ambiguous side-issues. One critic questioned the good taste of resorting to the confessional scene. "Est-ce que cette parodie des pratiques religieuses a quelque chose de penible meme pour les plus incroyants?"

When it became bruited about that the Theatre -Libre »s dramatic theorist, Jean Jullien, originator of the famous phrase tranche de vie, was doing a pan- tomime for the Cercle Funambulesque, the devotees of the latter were all agog. But the most that can be said of Jullien fs pantomime, which he entitled Illusions perdues. is that it is characteristically rosse. fin de siecle and

montmart roise . Eugenie Nau, who had done an outstanding piece of work in the

title role of la Fille Elisa at the Theatre -Libre, portrayed the part of Mademoiselle Ninoche, a charming little dressmaker of Montmartre. She is sur- prised one evening by portentous sounds issuing from the chimney, followed by

576

the unconventional entrance through the fireplace of a young chimney sweep, Clampin, who has missed his footing and fallen. Clampin is possessed of most un chimney-sweep-like attractions, a fit subject to be preyed upon by Mademoi- selle Ninoche, ever on the alert for a new emotional adventure. Though in- nocent in the ways of love, Clampin proves a ready pupil and before many minutes have elapsed he has requested the honor of her hand from Ninoche, who blushingly accords it.

They are interrupted by a series of admirers who call to see Ninoche. Before admitting the first two, she conceals her latest conquest in a ward- robe and after tactfully ridding herself of these less welcome guests, explains them away to the satisfaction of the gullible youth. A third caller is more precipitate, however, and enters before Clampin can be got out of the way. This newcomer, a blustering soldier, not at ell abashed by the presence of Clampin, gathers Ninoche in his arms and kisses her tempestuously. Clampin - Galahad orders the soldier to desist, on the ground that Ninoche is his affi- anced bride. At this announcement, Ninoche becomes convulsed with uncontrol- lable laughter. The soldier in his turn roars at the innocent, explaining that Ninoche is everybody's fiancee. Realising that he has been duped, made a fool of by a common prostitute, Clampin dissolves into bitter tears of disil- lusionment. The soldier leads the desolate youth to the fireplace and an un- ceremonious kick sends him on his homeward way up the chimney.

The Cercle Funambulesque clientele had expected nothing less than a pantomimic ultimatum from this eminent leader of the free movement in drama, who, in his Theatre vjvant had defended nsa pretention inoui'e de vouloir entrer seul en presentant au public un ouvrage ecrit par lui seul et selon ses idees, sans que les dlrecteurs, les critiques ou les maitres aient promene leurs lourdes pattes sur le manuscrit." What they found in the production was

nothing more than "un amusement de lettre."

La Fontaine furnished the inspiration for a characteristically esprit gaulois type of pantomime entitled Instantanees, which proved to be a distinct ;

success. The rather scabrous subject was drawn from La Fontaine's conte, la Servante justifiee. Behind his wife»s back, Pierrot plays fast and loose

with the maid net se permet memo de flirt er avec elle au-dela des limit es per- mises en Amerique." His nosey neighbor, a sour old maid disappointed in love, surprises them at their tricks and determines to take a mean revenge for her own thwarted instincts. Armed with a camera, she shadows them, concealing her- self at strategic vantage points about the garden and ultimately at an open window, snapping them in a series of increasingly compromising situations. When Pierrot discovers the trick which has been played upon him, his first im- pulse is to murder the snooping old trouble-maker but his wit and sense of humor save her life. When Madame Pierrot returns home, she is amazed to dis- cover her husband in amorous mood. With her, Pierrot repeats the routine previously followed out by him in company with the maid and when the thin-lip- ped neighbor triumphantly confronts Madame Pierrot with the set of snapshots, the latter blushingly recognizes, not the maid, but herself.

Topping the list for rosserie, stands lEcole des vierges. co-authored by Michel Carre and Collias . Pier rot-Dap hnis and Agnes -Col ombine enter their nuptial chamber following the ceremony which has just made them man and wife. "Sur ce menage ideal point ne plane 1 ombre d'une belle-mere et nolle amie donneuse de conseils n'est venue souffler le pollen des fleurs d' or angers." The newly-weds are escorted by a group of snickering young attendants who con- siderately take their departure after having discretely laid on a convenient table a "Guide to Love", "edite a Bruxelles probablement, avec des illustra- tions a faire palir celles de La Fontaine, edition des fermiers generaux."

577

Pierrot requests that Colombine withdraw her wedding veil and wreath of flow- ers, for which purpose she modestly retires behind a screen. Left alone, Pi- errot rehearses the role which lies before him. First, he must fall on his knees and declare his love; next, he must take Colombine in his arms and kiss her; then, - but he finds no answer to question number three.

Supper over, Colombine cannot suppress a yawn, "Time to go to bed," suggests Pierrot,

"But there is only one bed," Colombine demurs,

"Apparently they forgot mine," reasons Pierrot, "Unfortunately it is too late to do anything about it now. We'll have to make the best of it for tonight. You take the bed and 1*11 sleep in the armchair,"

While Colombine disrobes behind the screen, Pierrot's attention is caught by the "Guide to Love" and he opens it inquisitively. Aghast at what he reads, he calls to Colombine to come and look at it. Terrified and revolt- ed, the two innocents close the book and push it away, looking piteously at each other as they dissolve into tears,

Colombine crawls into bed alone and Pierrot prepares to do lonely vigil in his chair. But somehow, the book has a strange attraction for him. He cannot keep his eyes from straying toward it. Soon he is deep in its myster- ies.

,,, Pierrot finit par diviner qu'il y a autre chose dans le mariage. ••• II souffle les bougies, il souf- fle meme la lune qui regarded t par la fen etre, et, quand le rideau baisse, il exprime par une physionomie signi f icatif qu'il est enfin au courant et que nous commenccns a etre de trop, ,., C'est d'un risque si discret qu'il est impossible de s'en effaroucher, ,,, (1)

578

(1) Unidentified critique, Recueil Stoullig.

One of the most amusing and original of the modern pantomimes was Doctoresse. by Paul Hugounet and G. Villeneuve, with music by Edmond Missa.

This entertaining satire on naturalism and the contemporaneous esprit scien- tifique was included on the famous program of June 14, 1890, which inaugurated 1' Enfant prodigue. As the pantomime opens, we find Pierrot painting away at

an easel at one side of his and Isabella's common work room. The opposite side of the studio is fitted up as a scientific laboratory and library. Feel- ing suddenly faint, Pierrot is obliged to stop work. He must be ill. Ah, no, - it is only that he is hungry. Why doesn't Isabelle come home and fix his dinner. Why doesn't she at least entrust him with the key to the money box so that he can go out himself and buy something to eat. Assuredly, this modern woman of his leaves much to be desired so far as the domestic virtues are concerned.

Here, at last, is Isabelle, "une jolie personne, une fine grenouille tombee dans le mare cage medical." She enters with a professional air and sets down a large basket which Pierrot eyes with gluttonous anticipation. Surely it must contain a nice leg of mutton. But opening it, what does Pierrot dis- cover but a human leg which the "doctoresse" has just amputated. Despite his revulsion, Pierrot investigates further and this time believes himself to be rewarded as he lifts out a large bottle marked "Bouillon". But alas, it is not the sort of bouillon he expected. It is a scientific preparation for microbe culture. Disgust kills Pierrot's appetite for the moment. He launches into a tirade of reproaches against Isabelle for her inadequacy as a proper sort of helpmate. She pays no attention to the meals, her housekeeping is a disgrace, and his clothes are falling off his back. Isabelle pulls off his coat and says she will take it over to the seamstress for mending.

When Isabelle returns, she buries herself in her scientific experi-

379

580

ments, ignoring Pierrot. The cheery eong of his beloved canary inspires Pi- errot's soul; the warm spring sunshine kindles his heart. Slipping quietly up behind Isabelle as she works, he implants a kiss on the nape of her neck. His reward is to be told coldly not to bother her. Subdued for a moment, Pierrot wanders disconsolately about the room. He picks up his guitar and tinkles it softly. Angrily, Isabelle orders him to put it away. But the canary continues to carol gayly. In exasperation, Isabelle opens the cage and lets the bird fly out of the window. This is the last straw for Pierrot. He snatches up a stool and advances threateningly on Isabelle. But she, too, has had enough. Taking her money box and such^cientific paraphernalia as she can carry, she wipes the dust of the place from her feet without so much as a backward glance at Pierrot.

Pierrot's anger quickly dissolves when he finds himself alone. True, Isabelle was not much of a companion but she was better than no one at all. Now, it were best to end it all. Closing the window tightly, he lights the stove and lies down close beside it, prepared to float gently into eternal sleep.

After a timid knock, at which Pierrot jumps up quickly, postponing his eternal sleep, the door opens and Colombia e, the little seamstress, comes in with Pierrot's coat neatly mended. She is quick to sise up the situation and offers comfort as Pierrot pours out his woes. Here at last, he discovers, is the ideal woman, simple and feminine, with none of Isabelle 's modem scientif. pretentions. The two decide to run off together. 7?hile Pierrot is lettering a sign reading, "Room for rent - furniture sacrificed - reason divorce", Col- ombine investigates the laboratory equipment. Unable to restrain her curi- osity, she opens and sniffs at various bottles. By misadventure, one of them contains a powerful anaesthetic, after one whiff of which Colombine drops in-

(

381

sensible to the floor. Believing her dead, Pierrot, too, inhales deeply of the same drug and drops prostrate at Colombine's side*

Isabelle, in her hasty departure, has forgotten her precious leg. Upon returning for it she is struck by a significant odor which assails her nostrils when she re-enters the room. She then sees the two bodies stretched out at her feet. The empty bottle gives her a clue and here she is in her element, ap- plying restoratives in her best medical manner. But as one effort after anoth- er proves unavailing, she is at length obliged to admit herself baffled. Plac- ing a lighted candelabrum at the feet of the apparently defunct lovers, she prepares to leave them in peace when suddenly she realizes that she has not yet resorted to electric shock. Her eyes gleam with professional inspiration She draws up a complicated and formidable looking machine and connects its maze of wires. As the first shock buzzes terrifyingly, Pierrot and Colombine sit up with a jerk; at the second, they sneeze simultaneously, extinguishing the lighted candles at their feet. Rising jerkily, they march like automatons to the door, then burst into happy laughter as they run off hand in hand.

Dispassionately, Isabelle watches them go, then an expression of satis- faction inundates her face as she realizes that now she has her laboratory in peace to herself. Noticing Pierrot's sign, she turns it over and traces in large letters on the back, "Isabelle - Doctoresse - Specialist in resuscita- tions."

The success of the premiere of Doctoresse in 1890 was overshadowed by the much greater success of 1' Enfant prodigue. But it was too good a panto- mime to be shelved. It was revived at the Cercle Funambulesque at a later date and was also produced at the Bouffes-Parisiens.

The Cercle Funambulesque is typical of a goodly number of similar or- ganizations which flourished at this epoch in Paris. Many of them existed as

miniature tributary theaters which came to be a force with which to reckon.

Commenting on the phenomenon of the amateur subscription theater one critic

wrote in May of 1895,

... Les "theatres d»a cote" ont pris, dans la vie de Paris et dans la question theatrale, une importance considerable. . .. Les Theatres spdciaux, theatres d 'amateurs, de societes, de cercles, multiplient leurs representations. lis font une serieuse concurrence aux theatres d'ordre: et, de plus, les essais qu'on y donne sent un symptoms nouveau de I1 inquietude du gout du public, a l'affut de nouveautes. ... (1)

These organizations constituted exclusive little coteries operating for the specific purpose of providing amateurs in the true sense of the word with an outlet for some particular, highly specialized interest. At the Theatre-Libre the major concern was for free dramatic expression in writing, producing and acting, untrammelled by outworn and unnatural rules and con- ventions. The Theatre d»Art, founded by Paul Fort in 1890, specialized in plays of a poetic, mystical and symbolic nature. The Cercle Funambulesque, though admitting other genres from time to time for the sake of variety, was predominantly consecrated to pantomime.

... La pantomime se propage. Apres avoir timi dement montre le bout de son nez enfarine, la voila. qui s1 in- stalls carrement dans nos moeurs. . .. (2)

••• On abuse peut-etre de la pantomime; mais il par ait que ce genre de spectacle a un public special qui n' ad- met guere autre chose. ... (5)

Aside from their interest in the productions themselves, the members of the Cercle enjoyed to the full the material advantages of their little the- ater, the Bodiniere, its comfortable seats, its modem equipment, its intimate

582

(1) (2) (5)

Unidentified art., Recueil Stoullig. Unidentified art., (1892), Recueil Stoullig. Unidentified art., Recueil Stoullig.

atmosphere , and above all the social and intellectual contacts made possible by the common interest of the elite audience*

In its aim with regard to pantomime, the Cercle Funambulesque had much in common with the Theatre -Libre and the attitude of the latter toward the drama in general. In fact, a number of its members, - audience, actors and authors, - were also associated with the Theatre-Libre and there was inevitably an inter-penetration of the same ideals. On two different occasions the The- atre-Libre included a pantomime on its own program, Paul Marguerltte's Pierro'

583

assassin de sa feme, on March 25, 1888, and Asian ts eternels. by Andre' Cor-

neau and H. Gerbault, on December 26, 1893.

Participants for the productions at the Cercle were drawn in part from the professional theaters and supplemented by eager recruits from the non-pro- • fessional ranks. Comparatively few of them, even among the professionals, ha<L ever received any specific technical training in pantomime. It must not be forgotten that prior to the late eighties pantomime had been practically a dead art in Paris for about a quarter of a century. Severin, when he arrived in Paris, was not at all favorably impressed by the majority of pseudo-mimes whom he found playing there. "La pantomime etant remise en vogue a Paris, ce fut une pluie de mimes qui tomba de Je ne sais ou...« pas du ciel, a s sure- men t. " (1) He took exception to the indiscriminate praises, reiterated ad nauseam, such as, "Mile Nichonnette etait exquise et venait de se reveler mime prestigieuse." (2)

The Cercle, as it taught itself in its own practical school of experi- mentation, developed a commendable set of standards and constantly endeavored

(1) SEVERIN, L' Homme blanc. p. 225.

(2) Loc. eit>

384

to achieve a high artistic level. Felix Galipaux, who later became instructor

of pantomime at the Paris Conservatory, wrote in 1891,

••• Ce qu'il y a de certain, c'est que la pantomime exige une bonne interpretation. Cet art exquis, ideal, ne supporte pas la mediocrite du rendu. Aujourd'hui surtout ou grace a* cette fameuse Evolution - avec un grand E - artistique, litteVaire, musicale, etc. etc., nous nous rapprochons de plus en plus de la verite, il faut pour toute oeuvre theatrale des protagonistes talentueux. Et dam! ils ne courent pas les rues, les talentueux protagonistes 1 ... C'est extraordinairement difficile de jouer la pantomime! - J'entends de bien la jouer. ... (1)

Gallpaux was both a theorist and an exponent of modern methods in pantomime

acting. The two most important things to be avoided in pantomime, he pointed

out, are over-expression and under-expression. He was the sworn enemy of the

exaggerated gestures and artificial style of acting of the old school, whether

in pantomime or in spoken drama.

... Que diable, moi spectateur, je ne suis pas tout a. fait une brute et nul be so in de se draper a la Mounet- Sully pour exprimer les actes coutumiers de la vie moderne. ... En effet, il joue avec ses yeux seulement et non avec ses bras, le mime de talent. Son regard expressif doit remplacer les traits du dialogue, les mots d'auteur. ... (2)

Severin, steeped as he was in classic technique and traditions was as greatly

antagonized by the modern theorists of Paris as by what he regarded as the

half-baked miming.

••• Certains de ces mauvais maitres, ayant un certain vernis dart et de litterature, se melent enfin de perorer, de disserter, dfemettre des theories, et comme il ny a personne pour refuter leurs arguments en connaissance de cause, ils peuvent faire illusion a des gens de bonne foi. (3)

(1) Felix GALIPAUX, Comment on monte une pantomimer in LfiS Soirees Funfiffibji- lesques, by Felix Larcher and Paul Hugounet.

(2) Felix GALIPAUX, op. cit.

(5) SE7BBIH. pp. pit., p. 225.

585

So long as Felix Larcher remained at the helm, the Cercle Funambulesqm prospered and progressed. But by 1896 his duties as director of the Bouffes- Parisiens demanded an increasing amount of his time and attention and he was unable to continue his former activity on behalf of his avocation. Without his energetic leadership, the Cercle languished and died. In the eight short years of its existence, however, it sponsored well over fifty new pantomimes of varying lengths and types. Although the premieres were always restricted to the select little group of subscribers to the Cercle, a certain number of the more meritorious successes were transported to professional theaters and thus eventually reached the general public, where they found favor. It was not long before the popular entertainment theaters began to make a periodic feature of pantomimes themselves as variety numbers. In October, 1908, the Album Comique published a special issue devoted exclusively to pantomime. It lists a chronology of the pantomimes produced in various professional the- aters of Paris from June, 1890, through the spring of 1908. (l) Exclusive of the Cercle Funambulesque performances, over two hundred pantomimes are listed as having been given production in over fifty theaters and amusement halls. The Casino de Paris averaged one a year over this period. The record is held by the Folies-Bergere, with a total of twenty-eight productions, and the Olympia comes in a close second with twenty-seven. The Cercle Funambulesque deserves the major portion of the credit for having made a definite contribu- tion to the amusement world of Paris in having given pantomime a recognized place in the professional theater of France.

(1) Album Cnmioue. Dramatioue et Mnsir.alr Oct., 1908, pp. 25-52.

PART V - "THE LAST OF THE PIERROTS"

CHAPTER XXXII

SEVERIN DESERTS THE MIDI

After Severing journey to Paris to aee Enfant prodlpue in 1890, his one ambition was to establish himself in the capital himself* When his con- tract at the Crystal Palace in Marseilles expired, therefore, he announced his intention not to renew it, to the consternation of his manager, Monsieur Pompei, who was prepared to sign him up for a five-year period. Pompei warn- ed him that pantomime would not last in Paris and that after a failure there, Severin would be unable to re-establish himself in Marseilles. Against Pom- pei1 s protestations, objections and importunities, however, Severin maintained a firm stand, stating, "Je ne veux plus jouer que des pantomimes sensees, logiques, avec des sentiments vrais, ecrites par des auteurs et des musiciens dignes de ces noms." (1) Such is the evolution produced in Severin by the Cercle Funambulesque production of l'Ehfant prodigue.

On February 6, 1891, Severin made his debut in Paris at the Eldorado in a short pantomime entitled Pauvre Pierrot, on apres le bal. Realizing ful- ly that the outmoded classic pantomime which he was accustomed to play was wholly unsuitable for the modern taste of a Parisian audience, he undertook to replace it with something simple and dramatic, based on human sentiments. Pauvre Pierrot was therefore created especially for the occasion by Severin,

386

(1) SEVERIN, L'Eomme blanp. p. 173

587

in collaboration with Thales, one of his associates. Thale's, like Severin, was a native of Marseilles and a pupil of Rouffe. The score was composed by- Leopold Gangloff. Modest as this little pantomime is, it shows that although Severin was to remain a classic to the end of his days as regards the tech- nique of pantomimic acting, he had been quickly and completely converted to modem methods so far as the pantomime scenario was concerned.

The pantomime was interpreted by a company made up partly of mimes whom Severin himself secured and partly from the regular company at the Eldo- rado. The latter, in spite of being first-class professional singers and comedians, nearly turned Severing hair gray due to their complete lack of comprehension of the technique of pantomime. From first to last, Severin was a technician. He had little faith in "natural born" mimes or purely inspira- tional miming by those not grounded in a methodical and disciplined pantomime technique, no matter how good they might be as actors of the spoken drama.

... II faut avoir entendu Severin declarer; "Un

tel mime est un mime d'ecole," pour comprendre,

au ton meme dont ce jugement est prononce, tra-

hissant une entiere approbation, combien il en

reste peu pour les mimes qui ne sont pas "d^cole". (1)

It is of interest to note that shortly before the premiere Severin was advised by certain of his well-wishers to cultivate contacts with some of the critics. But such a practice was contrary both to his professional ethics an<i to his character. As he said, nMon echine est rebelle aux courbettes . " Throughout his entire career he had the highest respect for his art. He re- fused to try to curry favor with the press, preferring that they judge him sincerely and impartially on his merits as an artist.

(1) AT hum Cnmigue, Oct. 1908, p. 5.

388

The debut at the Eldorado proved all that Severin could have wished fo In the way of a success. The pantomime overshadowed all the other numbers on the program and the critics were most enthusiastic and generous in their praise. One of the most superlative among them, a dramatic reviewer writing under the pseydonym of "Asmodee", confessed that he had attended the perform- ance with some misgivings, for his idea of the southern temperament had pre- pared him for an exaggerated exhibition of over-acting. "Ah bien, les plus difficiles parmi les amateurs de cette farce interessante de l'art n'auront pas a se plaindre.M The troupe, he said, "est tout simplement incomparable" and the pantomime itself, to which he referred as "une piece veritable", was also "tout simplement merveilleux. "

... C'a fete un succes colossal, et je suis sur que tout Paris ira voir les artistes prodigieux qui nous ont tour a tour fait rire et pleurer, sans que nous puissions nous en defendre, avec une incroyable in- tensity de sensations. ... (1)

For three months Severin continued his successful appearances in Paris At the end of this time, however, the serious illness of his mother made a re- turn to the warmer climate of the Midi advisable. Since Pompei still had no faith in Severin' s new-fangled ideas on pantomime, an engagement was secured at the Alcazar instead of at the Crystal Palace and it was here that Severin introduced his "modem" pantomime to the Midi. It was enthusiastically re- ceived once the audience became adjusted to Severin* s new conception of Pier- rot. Hitherto, in the pantomimes to which Bordeaux and Marseilles were ac- customed, Pierrot had always been a hero, dominating all situations, overcom- ing all obstacles and emerging triumphant at the end. In Pauvre Pierrot, how- ever, after having been grossly deceived by Colombine and then mortally wound-

(1) SEVERIN, op. cit., p. 179.

•

ed in a duel, Pierrot clasps Colombine in his arms, forgives her deceptions,

and dies. At this point, on the evening of the opening, an impressionable

gallery god- cried out with passion, "Imbecile I flanque-lui un tas a cette

garcel" But when the curtain descended, after a moment of stupefied silence,

a storm of applause burst forth.

On eut dit que le public se recueillait, se concertalt sur cette mort inattendue. ... Desormais, Pierrot pouvait souffrir et meme mourir, comme tout 8tre hu- main. ... (1)

In consequence of Severin* s innovation there developed an epidemic of fatal endings to the pantomimes produced in Marseilles, all of his rivals con- cluding their pieces with Pierrot* s death.

One day Severin chanced to come across an article by Paul Arene, en- titled Au Pavs dfi ]^ PflPtfO'tiffl^r gracing the front page of the Echo de Paris. Arene opened by remarking that "les Meridionaux en general et tons les Mar- seillais en particulier etaient mimes de naissance, ne pouvant parler sans faire des gestes." (£) He then reviewed enthusiastically one of Severing pantomimes which he had recently seen played at the Alcazar. (Incidentally, Severin was to tour the world with this little pantomime, Remords, and it was at one time adapted into a moving picture under the title of Conscience.) "Comme BSoliere et Shakespeare," said Arene, "Severin ecrit et joue ses pieces and he continued his article by expressing the highest admiration for the pan- tomimist.

Severin wrote to Arene to express his appreciation of the article and not long after, since he was on vacation at the time, he accepted an invita- tion from Arene to perform at a private entertainment in a little pantomime

(1) SEVERIN, op. cit., p. 179. (g) SEVERIN, pp. cit., p. 181.

589

adapted by Arene himself. The occasion of the soiree, given at Sceaux, was an assembly of those poets and prose writers interested particularly in the literature of Provence. For some unexplainable reason it was presided over by Zola, who discoursed at some length with Severin on the art of pantomime.

The members of the society were exceedingly cordial and appreciative of Severing work. Clovis Hugues, writer of provencal verse, commented on the difference between this artist* s interpretation of Pierrot and the contempo- rary conception of him in Paris. "lou are truly a Pierrot from our part of the country," he said, referring to his native Midi. "It is not to the moon that you sing, it is to the sun. The latter is infinitely warmer and a great deal more cheerful." And why, after all, ask3 Severin, should Pierrot not sing to the sun rather than to the moon? Since Lulli's time, Pierrot has in- variably contemplated the moon. But all nights are not moonlit. Surely, when the moon is hidden the poet may well permit Pierrot to sleep at night, for a change, and pass his days singing to the sun. He will not melt away in its rays. Although so white, Pierrot is not made of snow!

In Paris the following day Paul Arene arranged to have Severin meet Paul Legrand, who was a friend of his. In advance of the meeting, Arene hatched a little scheme for his own amusement. Since Legrand did not know Severin, the latter was to approach him alone and present himself wholly in pantomime. Accordingly, when they entered the cafe agreed upon for the rendez- vous, Severin went to the table at which the venerable Legrand was seated, saluted him respectfully and indicated in gesture, "You are the great Pier- rot?"

Legrand immediately understood and replied, in pantomime, that he was, in fact, "Pierrot Legrand." He then questioned in his turn, "But who are yog?*

590

Still wordlessly, Severin replied, "I am a little, a very little Pier- rot."

Legrand knit his brows. "How is it, then, if you are a Pierrot, that I do not know you?"

"I am not of Paris," explained Severin. "I come from far away, from the very warm country."

Paul Arehe was delighted with the success of his little comedy. "But how was it possible," he asked Legrand, "that without a word you were able to understand?"

"It was very simple," explained Legrand. "Severin, like myself, knows the pantomime of the Deburaus. He is Pierrot, from the warm country, far from Paris. That means that he must be from Marseilles, a pupil of Rouffe, who was Charles Deburau's pupil. It was really all quite clear."

Several days later Slverin again appeared in a private performance un- der the patronage of Arene in another pantomime written by the latter. On this occasion he had the good fortune to make the acquaintance of Catulle BJendes, an association which was to mean everything to the future of his pro- fessional career. Mende3 had already joined the ranks of pantomime enthusi- asts in Paris, but, like Bainville and Paul Legrand, he was a traditionalist He had not allied himself with the Cercle Funambulesque and disapproved of the methods of this group. He had already tried his own hand at pantomime writ in on two occasions, both productions adhering fundamentally to the old school rather than to the modern. The first of these, le Collier de saphir3« with music by Gabriel Piern6, was a fantasy written during the summer of 1891 and produced originally at Spa. On November 3, 1891, it was revived at the Nou- veau-Theatre in Paris, with relative success, liendes1 second undertaking in this field was le Docteur blanc. Pierne again being responsible for the score

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This pantomime proved a failure when produced at the Menus-Plaisirs in 1893. Mendes1 purpose in both of these pantomimes, but particularly in the latter, was to enlarge the scope of this type of production, expanding it from the diminutive piecette3 to which the greater majority of pantomimes of the time belonged. He succeeded with a vengeance in le Dncteur blanc. which comprised five acts and twelve tableaux.

After having seen Severin play, Mendes was fired with the desire to write a pantomime for him for professional production in Paris. It was not possible to put definite plans in motion at this time, however, as Severin was under contract at the Alcazar in Marseilles for a period of two years. He returned to the Midi, therefore, at the conclusion of his vacation, but kept in touch with Mende3 from time to time.

Mendes1 idea proved to be more than a passing fancy, though for a time he seemed to have forgotten about it. One day, as he was working with his young secretary, Paul Franck, the latter came across Gautier's famous article, Shakespeare aux Funambules, which had appeared originally in the Revue de Paris on September 4, 1842. (1) Franck was a youth with poetic aspirations and was in addition a fervent pantomime enthusiast. A few years later he was to become a professional mime himself, playing in a creditably long list of pantomimes in the popular music halls of Paris. Still later, he was to be- come the manager of the Olympia. When Franck discovered Gautier* s compte xfi&sili of Cot d»Ordan's 'Chand d! habits, the grandfather of the modern mimodrama, he cried out with sudden inspiration, MWhat possibilities this scenario has!"

"Sit down and write," ordered Mendes.

(1) Included in Souvenirs de theatrer d»«rt. et de critique T by Theophile Gautier. Pub. by Charpentier, 1893.

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"Write what?" inquired the secretary. "The pantomime, parbleul"

And thus was conceived the modernized version of fChand d1 habits by Catulle Mendes, destined to serve as the vehicle for Severin's triumphal es- tablishment of himself as a mime of the first rank, the greatest since Debu- rau.

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CHAPTER XXXIII "•CHAND D» HABITS"

'Chand d* habits was presented for the first time in its new form on May 16, 1896, at the Theatre-Salon, a new little theater which was later to become the Grand-Guignol. As it was the inaugural performance for the the- ater it was a gala occasion and all the important critics of Paris, headed by "Uncle Sarcey", were there, as were also the leading literary lights of the day. Both Severin and the pantomime itself were a signal triumph. To the oldest among the spectators, Severin seemed to be a reincarnation of Paul Le- grand or Charles Deburau. Legrand himself exclaimed, after the performance, "Ah, ce Severin, ce Severin, c'est... c'est moi quand j'avais vingt ansl" No sooner had the curtain run down than Mendes rushed to Severin1 s dressing room, threw his arms about him and cried, "You have given me one of the great- est emotions of my life. Thanks to you, my work will pass down to posterity."

The reviewers not only at this time but also those discussing this pan- tomime upon the occasions of its various revivals in later years, invariably share the honors of authorship between Gautier and Mendes. Pericaud, in his Histoire des Funambulesr is one of the first to call attention to the fact that the original pantomime was the work of Cot d'Ordan, assistant manager at the Funambules.

'Chand d1 habits evoked even more attention from the press than 1* En- fant prodigue had done six years earlier.

...C'est un tres grand artiste que M. Severin. Souple, elegant, distingue, tragique, sans jamais cesser, - vertu rare, actuellement que tout le monde joue la pantomime sans se douter un instant

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des regies tres rigides de cet art merveilleux, - sans dis-je, jamais cesser d'etre funambulesque. Ses gestes ne traduisent point des paroles silenci- euses. lis sont la parole meme. Et nulle phrase n'aurait 1' eloquence, la finesse et la grandeur d'un clin d'oeil malin, d'une levre goulue de baisers, d'un effroi terrifiant et poignant qui tord la bouche en une grimace de douleurs.

Nous avons a Paris un grand artiste de plus, et il faut remercier Mendes de nous avoir dote d'une oeuvre tres belle, pour laquelle M. Jules Bouval a Icrit une ausique, peut-^tre pas assez congruante au sujet, mais d'une belle allure drama tique, et d'un interprete qui ▼a renover et revivifier un art admirable que la des- accoutuoance avait chez nous laisse pericliter. (1)

Lefevre's last statement in the above review indicates that he, too, had held aloof from the Cercle Funambulesque and did not accord much credit to its ef- forts.

Severin was supported by Jane Litini in the role of Musidora, the danc- er. Mile Litini, it will be remembered, had distinguished herself in Jeanne d'Arc at the Hippodrome in 1890 and had also appeared on occasion in various

pantomimes presented by the Cercle Funambulesque.

Closing after a two-weeks' engagement at the Theatre-Salon, the new pantomime was at once snapped up by Marchand, manager of the Folies-Bergere, for the following autumn. Severin found himself engaged at a salary which seemed to him fabulous, - two hundred francs per performance for the run of the piece, as against the nine hundred francs per month which had been his maximum in Marseilles. 'Chand d' habits opened at the Folies-Bergere on No- vember 19, 1896, where it ran for a hundred and fifty performances.

In its general plan, Mendes' adaptation follows Cot d'Ordan's original version, as recorded by Theophile Gautier, but varies the intrigue and par- ticularly the details of the first scene. When asked who was the veritable

(1) Maurice LEFEVRE, unidentified article, Recueil Stoullig.

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author of the pantomime, Mendes modestly claimed that he had done nothing more than add certain scenes to knit the action more closely and fill up the gaps left in Gautier's analysis. "C'est de moi de3 que c'est mediocre et ce n'est pas de moi partout ou c'est admirable." In effect, the reverse of this statement is nearer the truth.

In Mendes* version, Pierrot, suffering from an empty stomach and a brol en heart, opens the pantomime by hanging himself from a lamp post outside the theater where Musidora is engaged as dancer in the ballet. He is cut down by Musidora, who arrives opportunely, resuscitates him, persuades him to forget his old love, and invites him to join her at a ball which she is giving at hei home this evening. Pierrot, - "the gay, irresponsible, frail, impulsive, in- human Pierrot", - falls a prey to Musidora1 s charms and promises to present himself at the ball.

Left alone, Pierrot realizes to his dismay that he has nothing but hi3 white breeches and blouse to wear to such a festivity. In the midst of his d« spair, he hears the voice of a second-hand clothes man crying hi3 wares as he approaches down the street. Pierrot stops him and, since he has no money, begs for the loan of a suit. But the merchant pushes him off and proceeds un- heeding on his way. The clothes dealer has just acquired a handsome uniform from a retired national guardsman. Under his arm he carries the sword which completes the outfit. The sight of the sword suggests a solution to Pierrot1 i problem. Stealthily, he creeps up behind the old man, slips the sword from under his arm and runs him through the body with it. Appropriating the covet- ed costume, as well as the merchant's purse, Eierrot stuffs the body down in- to a convenient coal hole and prepares to deck himself out for the ball.

Proud, happy, triumphant? On the contrary, Pierrot is gripped by his conscience and henceforth, wherever he may go, he is to be haunted by his

crime. At the barber* s, as he is being fitted to a wig, he hears the scream- ing cry - "Old clothes - old clothes" - and in the mirror appears, not his own reflection, but the face of his victim staring at him accusingly. Terror- stricken, Pierrot rushes from the scene.

In vain does the conscience-ridden Pierrot throw himself feverishly in- to the festivities at the ball that night. The awful vision reappears and snatches from his hand the goblet from which he is drinking. It is the face of the old clothes man which appears from under the comic mask in the cotil- lion. The ball at an end and the guests departed, Pierrot leans over Musidora as she reclines upon her couch. But when, at her bidding, he prepares to em- brace her, it is the spectre, not Musidora, who receives his kiss.

A certain young nobleman who is enamoured of Musidora himself and whose Jealousy has been aroused by Pierrot's attentions to her during the evening, returns. He provokes Pierrot and challenges him to a duel. But when the two retire to the street and draw their swords, it is the spectre, not the viscount who is Pierrot1 s opponent. The assassin tries to flee but the spectre holds him spellbound. In vain, Pierrot frantically pleads for forgiveness; his vie tim is relentless. Advancing slowly toward his murderer, the point of the sword protruding gruesomely from his breast, the spectre forces Pierrot back against the wall and transfixes him upon the point of the same weapon by which he had met his own death. In the final scene, the "Apotheose infernale", we find Pierrot transported to the nether regions where he recognizes the old clothes man transformed into Pluto and prepares to expiate his crime.

The generation of the nineties was accustomed to looking back to Charles Deburau and Paul Legrand as their models. "I do not believe," stated one reviewer after seeing Severin in 'Chand d' habits, that either Paul Legranc

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or Deburau could ever have had a more vivid, more impressionable, more expres- sive physiognomie." Another critic reminds us of the fact that Severin was a Corsican, born in Ajaccio, and traces to this fact the reason for the differ- ence he seemed to find between Severin 's style of miming and that of the French tradition, "This is a mime of Italy, who has no need to be costumed as Pierrot, for he is not of the French school of Deburau and Legrand. His is not a sprightly, light, comical, childlike mask; he is a silent tragedian."

In contrast to the write-ups of the successes of the Cercle Funambu- lesque, which as a rule concentrated more largely on the pieces themselves as dramatic works rather than upon the participants, most of the critiques of Severin' s pantomimes were centered upon the genius of this mime himself, upon his style of interpretation, his own superbe technique and upon the technique of pantomimic acting in general. This difference in viewpoint is exemplified in the following critical excerpts, which are but a modest sample of the wealth of material written about him.

His success, let us say rather his triumph, was su- perb. The audience, always so prone to be difficult and hypercritical when it is a question of launching a new fashion or of consecrating a new reputation, broke out into endless bravos, recalls and hurrahs, (l)

All Paris will be going to see him, including dram- atic artists and students at the Conservatory, and it will be for their profit, I assure you, as much as for their pleasure. (2)

Look here, do you like pantomime? If so, go to see the one which Ca tulle Blendes has developed from Gau tier's synopsi3l And if you don't like pantomime, go anyway to learn to like it, while applauding in a strikingly dram- atic moral tale an absolutely remarkable mime, M. Seve- rin.

Our public of today has known only mediocre samples of

Ch. G. M. , art. in La France , May 17, 1896.
Unidentified art., Recueil Stoullig.

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pantomimes played by unqualified amateurs. Severin leaves the lot of them far behind him. He is dramatic, powerful, comic; his visage says everything, expresses everything with equal verity* His gestures suggest a thousand ideas, his sensitive and graceful hands speak in the air with an astonishing loquacity. Thi3 voluntary mute is a superb chatterbox. (1)

It is not easy, and may be in a sense unjust, to attempt a comparison between the artistic merits of two men as widely separated in their dates as Gaspard Deburau and Severin. Antoine, however, has brought out an interest- ing contrast between their characteristics as interpreters of Pierrot in an article written following the 1920 revival of 'Chand d* habits in Paris.

No, this is not Deburau, neither the touching, melan- choly Deburau as conceived by Sacha Guitry, nor that of Jules Janin, so bedraggled, yet so ingenuous and so good- natured. Severin fs Gilles is not like Deburau1 s, a per- sonification of the common people. He does not hold up a mirror to the slum3. Those who go to the Olympia do not look for the reflection of their own wretchedness in the plastic whiteness of his face. He is not the clown, acrobatic and tragic at the same time, adored yesterday on the Boulevard du Temple by those lusty guzzlers of cheap wine.

That which was once referred to as "le theatre ignoble" no longer exists, or at least the sense of the words has changed. Pantomime has become a noble art, one of the most noble and most rare. ... No, assuredly, Severin is not of the common people. He is of no soeial class. He is a human. He is a Shakespearean puppet, a buffoon who inspires terror, a mute sometimes so terrible that one trembles lest he speak aloud. Even his laugh has no drol- lery in it; that laugh never lightens his white visage with the mock lugubriousness of the classic Pierrot. It is a distorted and agonized laugh, the laugh of a philoso- pher or of a vagabond.

It is not in a rose-colored aura that he moves, but in a rain-and-crime-colored fog. ... (2)

(1) Adolph MAYER, art. in Le Soir. May 18, 1896.

(2) ANTOINE, art., Las Grands artistes - Severin", Recueil Stoullig.

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CHAPTER XXXIV THE END OF THE NINETIES

Following the conclusion of the run of 'Chand d1 habits at the Folies- Bergere in 1896, Severin entered upon a routine which was to mean a busy pro- fessional life for him up to the outbreak of the war in 1914. His time was divided between tours of the French provinces and other European countries during the winter season, supplemented with frequent appearances at the fash- ionable resorts during the summer months. He made at least one important ap- pearance each season at one or the other of the larger variety theaters in Paris, most frequently either at the Folies-Bergere or at the Olympia.

His biggest success for the season of 1896-97 was in Mendes1 le Docteur blanc, rewritten for him from the original version produced unsuccessfully in 1893. This time it succeeded in playing a hundred and fifty consecutive per- formances. At the time of its first presentation, Mendes had been outspokenly criticized for the fact that his story was not clear without recourse to the detailed printed argument in the program. If the spectator is obliged to keep his eyes glued to the scenario in order to know what is happening, point- ed out one critic, the actors might just as well speak. The obscurity of the story offset the ingenuity and imagination which had been put into the panto- mime. Mendes profited by the constructive criticism advanced in 1893 and greatly improved the piece when he rewrote it three years later. It was cut down to four tableaux in two acts from its original five acts and twelve tab- leaux.

In le Docteur blsncf Severin was again called upon to portray a Pierrot

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victim of terror end apprehension. It is a mimodrama of the naturalist school. Pierrot is a quack doctor of spiritualism, who travels about with a carnival. In the opening scene of the pantomime the carnival is installed on a boulevard in Montmartre. Pierrot is married but neglects his wife and re- fuses to provide properly for her. He is loved by a young acrobat, Maravilkaj who is in her turn adored by Frisselis, another carnival performer. Pierrot's wife, reduced to dire straits by Pierrot's neglect of her, becomes a prosti- tute. As she is plying her trade along the boulevard one night, Pierrot, who does not recognize her, follows her into a disreputable hotel for the purpose of robbing her. He stabs her and flees. Overcome by terror, he inadvertently takes refuge in the Grevin waxworks museum, where he remains hidden after closing time* Exhausted by his flight and his emotion, he falls asleep and in a nightmare sees the wax figures come to life. All the great murderers of history press about and felicitate him but he is subsequently arrested, con- ducted before a phantom judge and sentenced to be executed. As the sentence is about to be carried out, Pierrot is rudely awakened to find himself being actu- ally arrested. But Frisselis, whose love for Maravilka is so great that he cannot bear to think of her grief upon learning that her lover is a murderer, declares himself to be the culprit. He is imprisoned but manages later to escape and rejoins the carnival in Nijni-Novogarov, where it is now making a stand.

The police, convinced now that it is Pierrot and not Frisselis who com~ mitted the murder, have trailed the carnival. Pierrot, expecting this eventu- ality, has prepared a spectacular seance by which he hopes to deceive his pur- suers. In his act, he causes first Eve and then Salome to "materialize." They are to be followed by the apparition of his wife, impersonated by Mara- vilka. Bat before the latter can take her place « the actual spectre of Pier-

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rot's wife appears and accuses Pierrot, who is led off to prison and the ex- piation of his crime. Maravilia, her eyes opened at last to Pierrot* s true character, yields to the honorable devotion of Frisselis and the pantomime concludes with a poetic apotheosis.

Once definitely established in Paris, Severin dreamed of founding a little theater of his own in the image of the old Funambules. His dream be- came a reality and on November 29, 1898, he inaugurated the Nouveau Funam- bules. opening appropriately enough with a revival of the now classic 'Chand d» habits. A special feature of the policy of the little theater was a series of Thursday matinees devoted exclusively to classic pantomimes from the Debu- rau repertory. The evening performances were not restricted to pantomimes alone, however. Severin welcomed poetic or dramatic one-act plays and par- ticularly good musical numbers to vary his programs.

Throughout the venture, unfortunately short-lived, Severin maintained the highest standards in every way. The little theater itself was a model of artistic perfection and mechanical equipment. Any commercial connotation in connection with his theater was most distasteful to him. In order to do away with the practice of tipping the ushers, which was customary elsewhere, he paid his workers higher wages than was usual. He refused to admit any adver- tising matter in his printed programs, "ne voulant pas que la reclame d'un marchand de chaussures vint pietiner une jolie chose." It goes without say- ing that such a venture was doomed to bankruptcy and Severin gave it up at the conclusion of its first brief season.

During the latter nineties Severin made several trips to England, play ing at His Majesty's Theater, the Palace and the Coliseum. While in London he was proud to make the acquaintance of both Beerbohm Tree and Sir Henry Irv ing. One evening during a dinner at which Severin was a guest, an English

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gentleman remarked to him, "It is curious how much you resemble Napoleon when you have your face whitened."

To which Severin replied, "Perhaps that is the cause of my mediocre success in England." For, with the exception of a limited group of artists and literary men, the English did not take to Severin' s French pantomimes wit) much more enthusiasm than had been accorded to Paul Legrand a half century be- fore. In fact, the only pantomime which has been a genuine success In England is lf Enfant prodipue. "En art. comme en beaucoup de choses." remarks Severin philosophically, "les Francais ne voient pas de la meme maniere que les Anglais." (1)

Things turned out differently in Germany, however, contrary to Severin1 expectations. After turning down several offers of a tour in that country, he eventually capitulated and agreed to appear at the Metropol theater in 1899. He was given a group of German actors for his supporting mimes and as none of them understood French at all and the interpreter assigned to him un- derstood it but slightly, Severin1 s pantomimic ability stood him in particu- larly good stead in teaching his German troupe the routine of the pantomime. He found them patient and willing to do their best.

... lis m'obeissaient comme au regiment a un instruct- eur militaire. Je dois dire en toute conscience qu'ils voulaient bien faire et qu'ils arriverent a bien faire; certains jouaient un peu me'caniquement, c'etait un peu fro id, mais lf ensemble etait bien. (2)

Prince Galitzine, who was exceptionally fond of pantomime and had be- come a friend of Severin1 s, was very curious to see how the Germans would re-

(1) SEVERIN. l»Homme blanc. p. 252.

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act to fChand d* habits and followed Severin to Berlin for the express pur- pose of viewing the effect with his own eyes. While the pantomime was in re- hearsal, the Prince happened to come across a brochure which recounted the ex- perience of a troupe of Italian mimes who had gone to Germany to perform in the 18th century. They had been hissed at, spit upon and obliged to flee ig- nominiously from the country, while poor Arlequin was burned in effigy. This in Prince Galitzine's view, did not augur well for Severin. He therefore com- posed an article for the newspapers, explaining what pantomime was and giving Severin as effective a build-up as he could. Whether or not it was this that really paved the way, the opening was a genuine success and was favorably re- viewed by the press. Credit is therefore due Severin, aided perhaps in some measure by Prince Galitzine, for making French pantomime known to Germany. Appearing subsequently throughout Austria, Hungary and Bohemia, his panto- mimes were everywhere understood and well received.

In 1900 Severin went to Italy, sensing no little apprehension at pre- suming to play pantomime in its mother country. La Scale had long been re- garded as the great school of pantomimists. But even in Milan Severin was recognized for the genius that he was and enjoyed a successful engagement there.

While playing in Moscow during the late nineties, Severin and his wife were both struck by a young Spanish dancer who was also appearing there. In addition to her striking personality, her vivid and prolific use of pantomime attracted them to her work. This dancer, who had yet to appear in Paris, was Argentina.

Severin had married one of his most outstanding pupils, who played un- der the professional name of Maya. Vowing that he was judging her dispassion- ately and not as a devoted husband, Severin states in his autobiography that

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she was an exceptionally gifted pantomimist. "I can affirm that today (1928) Maya knows all there is to be known of our art, its technique and its tradi- tions. As a teacher, she can replace me. She is inexorable as a critic. She plays excellently the entire repertory, classic and modern, with the sole ex- ception of Musidora in 'Chand df habits, which happens to require a trained ballet dancer. However, this blasted woman insists upon hiding behind me and refuses to play any more herself." (1)

Madame Severin became her husband* s devoted shadow and during the lat- ter years of his career insisted upon superintending the care of his costumes and serving as his dresser at the theater. Relating an interview with the two of them during a revival of 'Chand d1 habits in Paris, Barrett H. Clark refers to Madame Severin as Sp'varin'g alter egof who, while competently and meticu- lously supervising the last phases of his making up and dressing before the performance, "prompts Monsieur, invariably furnishing an appropriate text for discussion, and tactfully indicating the direction of the conversation." (2)

'Chand d' habits came to be for classic pantomime what l'Enfant prodigy had become for modern pantomime, its chef-d'oeuvre and its war horse. It is as indissolubly associated with the name of Severin as 1* Enfant prodi^ue is linked with that of Felicia Mallet, despite her numerous successors in the ro^e of Phrynette. 'Chand d' habits has been revived again and again through the years. It, too, has toured the world and, like its rival, has been produced on several occasions in comparatively recent years.

In recognition of his contribution to the art of the theater by his

(1) SEVERIN, op. cit., p. 232.

(2) Barrett H. CLARK, art. The fogVpf the Pierrots, in The Drama, Aug. -Sept., 1923.

superb miming in 'Chand d* habits particularly, Severin was made a member of the Academy, through the efforts of Mendes, Arene, Coppee and other poets and writers who were lovers of the art of pantomime. When Pompei, his former man- ager at the Crystal Palace in Marseilles, heard this news he burst out into a fit of laughter and exclaimed, "Us sont done fous a Paris?"

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CHAPTER XXXV. AFTER THE TURN OF THE CENTURY

By the turn of the century, the second great vogue of pantomime in Paris had already spent itself. But if the vogue had passed, the art itself did not deteriorate and die as had been the case following the closing of the Funambules. Pantomime continued to hold its place as an accepted feature of the music hall and popular variety show and did not fade completely out of sight even though driven from these popular theaters by the war.

Nor did the subject of pantomime become a closed issue so far as the press was concerned. In 1907, for instance, there occurred a little journal- istic tilt between Catulle Mendes and Guillaume Linet on the question of classic versus modern technique in pantomime. Mendes, championing the side of Severin and the classics, again stressed the need for a strictly special- ized technical foundation for the mime, a foundation which had little in com- mon with preparation for the spoken drama. He stated that it is absurd for an ordinary actor to imagine himself a mime simply because by chance he has consented to play silently. He warned ordinary actors against aspiring to play both pantomime and spoken drama, unless willing to risk being inferior in both. (1)

Li vet replied to Mendes, taking up the cudgels for the modern non-tech- nical viewpoint, as it had been exemplified by the Cercle Funambulesque. He pointed to the success of l1 Enfant prodispae as his justification, calling at-

(1) Catulle MENDES, art. in Le Journal. Sept. 5, 1907,

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tention to the fact that none of the protagonists who had won such a phenom- inal reputation both for themselves and for the pantomime, were professional mimes. Felicia Mallet was a music hall singer. Hesdames Crosnier and Biana Duhamel were members of the company at the Odeon and Courtes a popular comedi an of the Ambigu. Perhaps these four remarkable actors were not capable of playing the so-called classic pantomime, which in Livet' s opinion was often a complicated language intelligible only to its initiates. Nevertheless, they had succeeded in producing unforgetable impressions and arousing genuine emotional responses in their countless audiences by their superior artistry.

Livet did not realize, however, as has been pointed out by Severin since then, that both Felicia Mallet and Courtes had had at least an intro- duction to classical technique, Felicia Mallet from one of Rouffe's pupils and Courtes through his association with Paul Legrand.

This argument between Mendes and Livet is unimportant in itself; it simply indicates that pantomime was not a dead issue and that the subject still made acceptable "copy" in the dramatic pages of the journals at this time.

During the first decade of the century Severin was introduced to the New World by a tour first in South America and then in the United States. Before war broke in 1914, he had come twice to this country, playing in most of our larger cities. In his professional experience here he was impressed particularly by the consideration accorded the performers, the atmosphere of good-fellowship back stage, the professional seriousness of the stage hands, and above all by the material conveniences with which most of the big theater

(1) Guillaume LIVET, art. Reponse a M. Catulle Mendes. in Figaro. Sept. 8, 1907.

(1)

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were equipped, - clean, comfortable dressing rooms with hot and cold running water, bathrooms, and in some instances even showers.

His engagements were usually for one or two-week stands at the big- time vaudeville houses, the first performance taking place after but one re- hearsal with the orchestra. It was considerable of an ordeal for run-of-the- mill musicians to jump into a difficult musical score with so little prepara- tion. On one occasion while on tour with fChand d1 habits, relates Severin, the music began to go from bad to worse during an opening performance until at length the orchestra leader threw down his baton in despair. Silencing his men, he resorted to the expedient of whistling the accompaniment by him- self. He managed to keep this up throughout the entire performance and stole the show completely by his feat. It was the exhausted, parched and perspir- ing conductor rather than Severin who received the ovation at the conclusion of the pantomime, though certainly Severin deserved his share of recognition for keeping the pantomime going without a hitch despite the tremendous nerv-

ous strain under which he was laboring. Needless to say, the musicians were called at an early hour the next day and spent a morning of rigorous rehears- ing, after which no further difficulty was encountered.

Contracts had been signed for a third tour of the United States, to be followed by one in Japan, when the outbreak of war necessitated cancellation of these plans. In 1915, although fifty- two years of age, Severin enlisted. He took part in some of the bloodiest battles of the war, - the Somme, Verdun, the retreat from Coucy-le-Chateau to Chateau-Thierry. He was among the first to enter Strasbourg. By the end of the war he was a sergeant and had won three citations. Demobilized on December 19, 1918, and finding his finances at low ebb, he returned immediately to his old profession, securing an en- gagement at the Alcazar in Marseilles, the same theater in which his career

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had been begun.

The year before the outbreak of the war, 1* Enfant prodlgue was present- ed again, playing twenty-seven performances at the Varietes during the summer of 1912. This pantomime was the subject of an interesting experiment in 1916 when it was adapted into a motion picture which was enthusiastically reviewed as follows:

Je viens de voir et d» entendre, a l'Omnia-Pathe, une chose si francaise, delicate et charmante, que je veux vous la reveler sur 1 ' heure . Vous souvenes- vous de l1 Enfant prodigue. ce bijou de grace, de senti- ment naif, qui fit courir naguere tout Paris aux Bouffes-Parisiens, puis aux Varietes? Et bienl un Parisian, tres artiste eut I1 idee tres nette de ce que ndonneraitR au cinema la celebre pantomime. ... Ce fut un sue c as. ... Ce sera un long triomphe. ... Vous qui aimez la Pensee claire, la beaut e que la souff ranee et le rdve idealisent, allez demands a a ce film si francais 1 ' enchantemant que je vous pro- met s ici. (1) *

The birth of the motion picture provided a new topic for debate. "Clas- sic1 versus "modem" technique fell into the discard and the subject of the mo- ment became, "Has the motion picture killed pantomime?" This discussion fills many pages of copy through the twenties, stimulated particularly by revivals of iphand d* habits in 1920, 1921 and 1922, and those of 1« Enfant prodigue in 1922 and 1928. pantomime is dead, contended those on the affirmative side, disregarding these revivals as being merely relics of a by-gone day. Panto- mime has been replaced by the motion picture, which is in itself a modernized version of pantomime. (It must be recalled that this was before the invention of the talking picture.) In defense of the negative there rose up a goodly representation of connoisseurs of pantomime, Sever in among them, who pointed out that although the two arts have a common parentage, as have all dramatic

[%) Unidentified critique, Recueil Stoullig.

forms, pantomime and cinema acting are two totally different dramatic expres- sions. "Indeed," states Severin, "true pantomime on the screen is rendered unnecessary by the childish expedient of announcing in letters a foot high the significance of each change of expression - or what is taken for such - on the face of the actor." (1) True mimes can always be detected on the screen, Se- verin elucidates further, by the degree to which they are able to make their gestures and actions intelligible without recourse to sub-titles. By this standard, Charlie Chaplin, "lf unique Chariot", is a true mime and the great- est on the screen. But Chaplin is not Pierrot. Chariot is a caricature; Pi- errot is universal. Chariot will die when Chaplin dies. Pierrot, by virtue of his place in poetry, literature, art, theater, is immortal. (2)

Ever and again came the time-worn lament, "Alas, pantomime is dead," only to be refuted by another successful revival of one or the other of the two greatest representatives of the pantomimic art, giving rise periodically to the question as to whether there would be a re-birth of pantomime. In 1920 Severin 1 s old friend and colleague, Paul Franck, who was now manager of the Olympia, decided to revive 'Chand d' habits, at which time it met with all the enthusiastic response of its earlier days.

... La r entree de Severin doit etre tenue pour l^vene- ment capital de cette saisoo. ...

... Vieil art, genre use? Nonl Severin a tout recree. ...

... Le triomphe actual de Severin sera-t-il de nouveau le signal d'une renaissance parisienne de la panto- mime? ... L'age n'a point affaibli sensiblement les moy- ens du grand Pierrot.

(1) SEVERIN, quoted by Barrett H. Clark, art. The Last of the Pierrots, in The Drama. Aug. -Sept., 1925, p. 554.

(2) SEVERIN, op. cit., p. 247.

411

412

... Sever in a garde toute sa puissance d' expression. 11 passe avec aisance du tragique a la farce. Son jeu est leger et graVe, Ses mains sent intelligentes et gracieuses. 11 n 'a plus la desinvolture de jadis. Son corps s'est un peu alourdi. Mais e'est un bel artiste. ...

... On n'a pas 1* impression de se trouver devant un spectacle demode. Cost plutot un spectacle ancien et de style, ...

... Voici plus de quinze ans que 'Chand d» habits n'a ete represents: ceux qui l'ont vu en parlent avec devotion, ••• ceux qui ne connaissent ni l'oeuvre ni Sever in, se pro- met tent une joie rare qu'ils eprouveront certainement, ... Car ni la pantomime ni son createur n'ont vieilli. ... (1)

Following the 1920 revival at the Olympia, Sever in again appeared in this pantomime during two successive years in Paris, at the Theatre des Champ; Elysees in 1921 and at the Theatre de la Gaite in 1922. In addition to his Paris engagements, he took the pantomime on a tour of winter and summer re- sorts. At the 1922 revival it was reported that the initial success of ' Chanc d» habits at the Nouveau-T heat re could have been no greater than that of the Theatre des Champs-Ely sees, for the success of this pantomime rests predomin- antly upon the genius of its incomparable interpreter and -

... jamais Sever in n'apparut plus admirable. Si le temps a alourdi quelque peu notre ami Pierrot, il semble qu'il ait r enforce la puissance tragique du mime. ... (2)

Sever in himself created or had created for him other pantomimes in which he appeared from time to time through the twenties, despite his advanc- ing years, but his name was as indissolubly associated with 'Chand d' habits

as is that of Pierrot with pantomime.

L» Enfant prodigue. in its turn, was also standing the test of time.

(1) Miscellaneous unidentified critiques, Recueil Stoullig.

(2) Unidentified critique, Recueil Stoullig.

413

It 8 last revival in Paris was at the Femina Theater on May 28, 1928, just

three months after the death of Felicia Mallet.

••• Quelle joie de retrouver, sur la scene, notre ami Pierrot.

... Kile (la pantomime) a le charme d'un bibelot deli- cat amen t suranne; mais le dernier acte fait tou jours couler des larmes. ... L1 Enfant prodigue cree il y a pres de quarante ans ... n'a rien perdu, pour ce public d'apres-guerre, de son charme et de sa poesie; ce qui prouve que la pantomime, si brillamment illustree jadis par tant d* artistes fameux, pourrait bien connaitre une renaissance fe'conde s'il se trouvait des auteurs et des compositeurs comme Michel Carre et Andre Worms er pour lui tendre la main. (1)

The point of view expressed in the conclusion of the above apprecia- tion coincides with that of Severin, who maintains that the sole reason for the non-existence of a real vogue for pantomime, which can be made an artistic expression of high aesthetic and intellectual merit, is the dearth of quali- fied and persistent champions of the art. After all, he points out, what is a ballet? And certainly there are many ballets which obtain outstanding suc- cess today.

The relatively frequent reappearances of the two chefs-d'oeuvre of the

pantomimic art through the twenties gave rise to another debate: "Which is the

greater of the two?"

... L1 Enfant prodigue demeure le fin du fin, le chef- d'oeuvre. ...

... ('Chand d' habits) - Voila la vraie pantomime fran-

caise dans la tradition de Deburau. ...

... Ne me demandea pas quelle est la meilleure pantomime de ce temps-ci. ... Les uns disent que c'est 1' Enfant prodigue. de Michel Carre et Wormserj les autres pre- tendent que c'est 'Chand d' habits, de Mendes. ... C'est

(1) Unidentified critique, Recueil Stoullig.

peut-etre Pierrot assassin de sa femmef de Paul Mar- gueritte et Paul Vidal. ... Est-ce qu'on sait? ... (1)

From the perspective of our study of the development of pantomime in France during the 19th century, it seems just to conclude that as a classic type 'Chand d1 habits stands alone, while 1' Enfant prodigue, which has been re- ferred to as "un instant de la vie artistique parisienne", has never been sur- passed as a representative of modem pantomime.

Adolphe Brisson raised an interesting point for consideration with re- gard to the attitude of the public toward pantomime. (2) He commented that there is opportunity for a very instructive study on pantomime, not of the genre itself, for from that point of view Gautier, Banville, Champfleury, Mendes and Eudel have said everything there is to say, but rather a study on the destiny of the pantomime scenarios themselves, of the favor or indiffer- ence with which they have been received at different epochs. Pantomime has had periodic "re-births" followed by periods of decadence and desuetude. In turn the spectators make a fad of it, abandon it, go crazy over it again, and allow it to disappear once more. A study of this fluctuation of public taste, of which the intermittent rise and fall of favor toward pantomime is typical, would prove the curious instability of public opinion in general.

Pantomime has been likened poetically to the Sleeping Beauty in the Wood, but one whose slumbers do not necessarily last a hundred years. Severin too, declared shortly before his death, "Pierrot is not dead, he is only sleep- ing." L* Enfant prodigue has awakened most recently in war-torn London, no longer ago than 1941, Noting this, we are inclined to agree with the critic

414

(1) Unidentified critique, Recueil Stoullig.

(2) Adolphe BRISSON, unidentified art. (1928), Recueil Stoullig

who commented in 1928, at the time of its last Paris revival, that "On a pro- claims un peu vite la mort de ce genre theatrale." And when we read today that "once again in the midst of disaster and destruction the naive and en- gaging story told in music and movement found a warm welcome from English audiences" (1) we cannot but have faith that from time to time, perhaps when least looked for, this Sleeping Beauty will again awaken, if only for a brief moment, and that she will not fail to find an audience ready to understand and to enjoy her.

415

(1) Unsigned art,, Pantomime, in Theater Arts. Sept. 1942, p. 590

416

ABSTRACT OF THESIS

Pantomime is that form of dramatic expression in which the story is portrayed wholly through gesture and facial play without recourse to spoken dialogue. Although basically a universal expression, common to all peoples in the infancy of their evolution, it is to France that the credit is due for developing and perfecting it, creating the stylised dramatic genre which con- stitutes this art in its modem significance.

The important periods of popularity for pantomime in France fall with- in the limits of the 19th century but like most phases of French culture, this art in its turn goes back to ancient Greece and Rome for its sources. Its introduction into France followed three separate avenues of approach, the earliest of them being through the crude and usually obscene buffoonery of strolling mountebanks and jongleurs who performed in the village squares and at the great fairs during the middle ages. In this latter connection the element of pantomime was of particular significance in that it was compre- hensible to traders representing a diversity of languages and dialects. Thes« early forain entertainers were the direct descendants of the popular mimes of ancient Rome.

Another avenue of approach, and the first to establish itself in the professional theater in France, was through the Italian commedia dell" arte, which enjoyed so great a vogue in Paris during the late 16th and early 17th centuries. These comedies consisted of dialogue improvised on stock plots, elaborated by pantomime, dancing, acrobatics and popular songs. The panto- mimic element was resorted to particularly for comic effects, often replacing the dialogue entirely. These pieces employed a set of conventional stock chai

417

actors, which not only became the traditional types in both ballet and panto- mime but also flooded the legitimate theater in France throughout the 17th and 18th centuries in the comedies of Moliere, Lesage, Marivaux and their con- temporaries.

The banishment of the Italian players from the regularly licensed the- aters of Paris opened up a new epoch in the development of pantomime. Seek- ing refuge with the forain entertainers outside the city limits, the Italian players became so popular that the Comedie Francaise, thinking to put an end to this irritating competition, retaliated by obtaining an injunction for the suppression of the spoken word in the forain theaters. The forain players circumvented the prohibition by resorting to pantomime and continued to per- form with even greater success.

Parallel with its development in the commedia dell1 arte farces and forain comedies, pantomime also made notable progress in the ballet. Though the element of pantomime was more or less negligible in the ballet de cour popular during the reign of Louis XIV, it was greatly strengthened by Noverre, who made wide use of emotional situations and constructed plots of strong dramatic movement in his ballets during the last quarter of the 18th century.

By the end of the 18th century the last of the great fairs had passed out of existence. These were replaced, so far as entertainment was concerned, by a number of popular little theaters which established themselves along the Boulevard du Temple, on the outskirts of the city. Their specialties were acrobatic and trained animal acts, ballets, pantomimes, comic operas and melo- dramas. It was at one of these theaters, the obscure little Theatre des Fu- nambules, that Deburau, founder of the classic French pantomime, made his de- but in 1817.

At this time pantomime was featured at a number of theaters in this locality but with the acquisition of Deburau the Funambules gradually cams to take precedence over all of them. It was due to the inimitable genius of this great mime that Pierrot, the symbol of French pantomime, was bom and that the art of pantomime took on a wholly new and characteristic signifi- cance.

During the late thirties and early forties the Funambules came to be a theater a la mode for Parisians of all classes and a popular rendez-vous for such prominent litterateurs as Nodier, Jules Janin, George Sand, Alfred de Musset, Theophile Gautier, Gerard de Nerval and Champfleury, who publiciz- ed the little theater and its star in prolific and unrestrained articles and appreciations. If their exaggerated enthusiasm seems to us today grossly im- moderate and overdrawn, it must be remembered that to these writers romanti- cism was irrevocably tied up with the foreign, the fantastic, the eccentric. This explains why the bizarre pantomimes of the Funambules appealed so strong ly to them and were so avidly seized upon as a convenient means of letting off some of their romantic steam.

Pantomime suffered a serious deterioration following the death of De- burau in 1846 but the Funambules continued to function until 1862, when this little theater was ordered torn down to make way for the cutting through of the new Boulevard du Prince Eugene, one of Baron HaussmanYs projects. For nearly three decades thereafter, pantomime was virtually forgotten in Paris. During this period, however, itinerant pantomime troupes, many of whose play- ers were former members of the Funambules company, were actively touring the provinces and the art was also flourishing in the south of France in both Marseilles and Bordeaux. Here the classic traditions of Gaspard Deburau were

418

419

passed on through Deburau»s son, Charles, and through his pupil, Paul Legrand, to Louis Rouffe, the greatest mine of this period in the Midi. Rouffe, in his turn, handed down these traditions to his own pupil, Sever in, who was to reintroduce them to Paris during the last years of the century.

A taste for pantomime reappeared in Paris during the latter eighties. It was first resorted to as a form of amateur "parlor" entertainment. In 1888 a group of young pantomime enthusiasts conceived the idea of founding a society which would devote its efforts to the revival of the classic panto- mime and which would also serve as a proving ground for new experiments in the genre. This organization, known as the Cercle Funambulesque, was enthusi- astically supported by leading writers, critics, musicians and actors of the day, as well as by a fair representation of Parisian society.

Under the aegis of the Cercle Funambulesque, the art of pantomime un- derwent a complete metamorphosis rather than a mere restoration. Just as the Theatre -Libre came to be irrevocably associated with naturalism in an exag- gerated form so far as the spoken drama was concerned, so did the Cercle Fu- nambulesque come to be regarded as the stronghold of a similar trend in the realm of pantomime. The naive buffoonery and fantasy of the earlier classic pantomime of Deburau's day gave way to mi mo dramas and comedies of manners, the greater number of which reflected the modem realism, the decadence, pes- simism, scepticism and disillusionment of the epoch.

One of the most important contributions of the Cercle Funambulesque to the development of pantomime was its renovation of the musical setting. In contrast to the heterogeneous collection of excerpts from operettas, ballets and classical selections, which was the method employed by the Funambules, the pantomimes produced by the Cercle Funambulesque had their accompaniments

420

composed ©specially for them, the music constituting a running commentary on the dramatic interpretation, as in Wagner's music-dramas. The greatest single contribution of the organization was its production of 1' Enfant prodigue, the chef-d'oeuvre of modem pantomime, which has appeared successfully in most of the capitals of the world and has been revived again and again.

Severin, "the last of the Pierrots", as Barrett H. Clark has called him, failed in an attempt to create a new Funambules theater in Paris in 1898 but succeeded in popularizing pantomime in the leading variety theaters of the French capital up to the eve of the war of 1914-18. His best-known ve- hicle, 'Chand d' habits, adapted by Catulle Mandes from an old Funambules pro- duction, is regarded as the chef-d'oeuvre of classic pantomime as 1 ' Enfant prodigue represents its modern perfection.

These two outstanding representatives of the pantomimic art, 'Chand d' habits and 1' Enfant prodigue. have been revived on numerous occasions since 1919, the most recent of them being a production of 1* Enfant prodigue in Lon- don in 1941, The success of each revival proves that although pantomime is no longer a popular form of entertainment, it still has its niche in the the- ater and never fails to find an appreciative, if limited, audience.

:- •

421

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Books

BANVILLE, THEODORE DE

Has spuvenjrs

(Ch. IX - Les Anciens Funambules au Boulevard du Temple) G. Charpentier, Editeur; Paris, 1882.

BEAULIEU, HENRI

Les Theatres du Boulevard du Crime

(Cabinets Galants - Cabarets - Theatres - Cirques - Bateleurs - de Nicolet i. Dejazet - 1752-1862)

H. Daragon, Libraire-Editeur; Paris, 1885.

BERNARDIN, NAPOLEON MAURICE

La Come'die Itallenne en France - et les Theatres de la Foire et du Boulevard (1750-1791)

Editions de la Revue Bleue; Paris, 1902.

BROADBENT, R. J.

Simpkin, Marshall, Hamilton, Kent & Co., Ltd.; London, 1901.

BUTLER, KATHLEEN T.

A History of French Literature (2 vols.) E. P. Dutton & Co.; New York, 1925.

CHAMPFLEURY (See FLEURY, JULES FRANCOIS)

CHENEY, SHELDON

The Theater - Three Thousand Years of Drama Tudor Press, 1939.

DISHER, M. WILLSON

Constable & Co., Ltd.; London, 1925.

DUDEVANT, JEAN FRANCOIS (MAURICE SAND, pseud.) Masques e-fr BoufXpas (2 vols.)

Michel Levy Freres; Paris, 1860. (Trans.) The History of the Harlequinade (2 vols.) Seeker; London, 1915.

FLEURY, JULES FRANCOIS (CHAMPFLEURY, pseud.) Souvenirs des Funambules

Michel Levy Freres; Paris, 1859.

422

GAUTIER, THEOPHILE

Souvenirs 4? theatre, 4 'art st 4e crtttaae

(Art. "Shakespeare aux Funambules", p. 55) G. Charpentier, Editeur; Paris, 1883.

GOBY, EMILE

Pantomimes de Gaspard et Charles Deburan (Preface by Champfleury)

E. Dentu, Editeur; Paris, 1889.

HACKS, CHARLES Le Geste

Librairie Marpou et Flammarion; Paris.

HUGOUNET, PAUL

Ii3 Musigue et 1» Pflntomj.me

Kolb, Editeur; Paris, 1892. Hfofff et- Pierrots

(Notes et Documents inedits pour servir a l'histoire de la pantomime)

Librairie Fischbacher; Paris, 1889.

HUGOUNET, PAUL and LARCHER, FELIX Les Soirees Fun ambule s que s

(Notes et Documents inedits pour servir a l'histoire de la pantomime)

(Preface by Francisque Sarcey) Kolb, Editeur; Paris, 1891.

LARCHER, FELIX et EUGENE

Pantomimes de Paul Legrand

Librairie Theatrale, Paris, 1887.

MAWER, IRENE

The Art of Mime

Methuen & Co., Ltd.; London, 1932.

MARGUERITTE, PAUL

Preface to Pierrot Assassin de sa Femme Calmann Levy, Editeur; Paris, 1886.

MUSSET, PAUL EDME DE

gi.ogra.Ptae, fl* Alfred tie Bus get (3rd ed.) Charpentier; Paris, 1877.

NAJAC, RAOUL DE

Les Exploits d,1*^ Af'.ftTtir? t autobiographie d'un mime

Hennuyer, Imprimeur-Editeur; Paris, 1888. Spu,vep;Lrs 4* Iff Miff?

Emile-Paul, Editeur; Paris, 1909.

423

PERICAUD, LOUIS

Le Theatre des Fugambules

(Ses mimes, ses acteurs et ses pantomimes depuis sa fondation jusqu*a sa demolition)

Leon Sapin, Editeur; Paris, 1897.

SAND, MAURICE (See DUDEVANT, JEAN FRANCOIS)

SEVERIN

L' Homme blanc. Souvenirs d'un Mime Librairie Plon; Paris, 1929.

WRIGHT, C. H. C.

The Background of French Literature Ginn & Co.; Boston, 1926.

ARTICLES

CLARK, BARRETT H.

"The Last of the Pierrots"

The Drama f Aug. -Sept., 1925.

GAUTIER, THEOPRTLE

"Shakespeare aux Funambules"

Beyqe de Paris, Sept. 4, 1842.

JANIN, JULES

Art. in Figaro. Sept. 22, 1829.

(unsigned, attributed to Janin) "La Semaine Drama tique"

Journal des Debats. July 6, 1846.

JULLIEN, JEAN

Art. in Paris, June 19, 189S.

LARCHER, FELIX

Art. in Revue d'Art Drama tiaue. Apr. 1, 1888, pp. 51-54.

LEGRAND, PAUL

Art. in La Justice. Feb. 10, 1892.

LEMAITRE, JULES

Articles in Journal des Debats. May 25, 1887 and May 28, 1888.

LI VET, GUILLAUME

"Reponse a M. Catulle Mendes" Figaro, Sept. 8, 1907.

424

MAYER, ADOLPH

Art. in Le Soir, May 18, 1896.

MENDES, CATULLE

Art. in Le Journal. Sept. 5, 1907.

MONNIER, ALBERT

Art. in Journal Pour Rire. May 19. 1855.

MONTORGUEIL, GEORGES

Art. in Paris. March 21, 1888.

MORLOT, EMILE

Art. in Revue d'Art Dramatiaue. Mar. 1. 1888r pp. 507-508.

NODIER, CHARLES

Art. in Pandore. Julv 19. 1828.

NOEL, EDODARD et STOULLIG, EDMOND

Art. in Les Annales du Theatre et de la Musiquer 1888f pp. 324-S2S.

NOEL, L.

Art. in Revu.e S'Axt Pr«ftfltAflHe> Dec. 15, 1888.

SAND, GEORGE

Art. in Le Constitutionnel, 1846.

W00LC0TT, ALEXANDER

Art. "Pierrot and Pantomime" (unidentified)

MISCELLANEOUS UNIDENTIFIED ARTICLES

Album Comique, Drama tique et Musical Oct. 1908

Almanach des Spectacles 1823

Figaro

March 19, 1887

Le Gaulois

March 25, 1887

Gazette des Tribunaux May 22, 1856

La France

May 17, 1896 (Art. signed "Ch. G. M.")

425

Le Journal des Debats May 25, 1887 May 28, 1888

Revue dTArt Dramatique June 1, 1888, p. 291 Mar. 15, 1889, p. 375

Le Temps

March 13, 1887

Theater Arts Magazine

Art. "Pantomime"; p. 590 Sept., 1942

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