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SKETCHES OF SOCIETY AND MANNERS IN LONDON AND PARIS.

LETTER XVII.

From SIR CHArles Darnley, Bart. to the Marquis de Vermont.

MY DEAR DE VERMONT,

Paris.

THE numerous theatrical exhibitions (or spectacles as you call them) which occupy so much of the time of the inhabitants of this gay eity, afford also to strangers a never failing source of variegated amusement. Though the imperfect manner in which the Opera-house is lighted diminishes the splendour of the first coup d'œil, while the large bonnets and morning dresses in which your ladies appear on these occasions in the boxes, and the great coats and boots of the gentlemen, present rather unseemly objects to the eye of an Englishman accustomed to the very different attire of the corresponding classes at the Theatre in the Haymarket; yet if the spectator directs his eye to the stage, and looks there only for his amusement, he must be fastidious indeed, if not gratified with the performance of one of those classical ballets which are exhibited in the utmost perfection, and accompanied by an orchestra, which, I believe I may say it without exaggeration, is composed of nearly two hundred musicians. When I complain of the Parisian habit of frequenting such places en déshabillé, Î must in can dour observe, that we are all so governed by early impressions, that my criticism may be solely occasioned by the opposite custom of my own country. I lately dined in company with a Swedish officer, who stated among the inconveniences which, he said, he had experienced in London, that when he wished to go to the opera, he was compelled to throw off those boots in which he had passed his life, and in which (as he belonged to the cavalry) he was allowed to appear at the Court of his Sovereign. Tin vain reminded him that individuals must sacrifice their own inclinations to the advantage of the public, and that certainly a well-dressed audience contributed in no trifling degree to augment the Eur. Mag. May, 1823.

liveliness of a theatrical representation. This was a kind of reasoning which this northern hero by no means understood, and I found the French ladies and gentlemen, who formed the rest of the society, seemed to think that it would be an intolerable burden were they under the necessity, before they appeared in the presence of a crowded audience, to comb their hair, to change their linen, and to throw off the dirty habiliments in which their morning exercise had been taken. such subjects, as well as several similar ones, I can only observe, qu'on ne peut pas disputer sur des sujets de gout.

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Your National Theatre, or Les François, (as it is commonly called) is the one which I am fondest of attending, because I find there both the most interesting dramatic compositions, and the best performers. You must pardon me for not admiring the pompous tones and violent gestures of your most celebrated tragedians: La Fond, Talma, and Mademoiselle Duchénois, are tainly performers of no ordinary merit; but in witnessing their exertions I calmly commend, rather than strongly feel, the talent they display. But barbarous as this judgment may sound to your ear, my bad taste may, perhaps, in part be pardoned when I declare, that in comedy I commonly give unqualified praise to your performers; while many French plays, particularly those of Moliere, are exact representations of real life "Not overstepping the modesty of nature." Your actors in this line are equally careful, in performing the parts assigned them, not to go beyond the limits which she has prescribed. Mademoiselle Mars, though she has now been thirty years on the stage, is still beautiful, and still presents an unrivalled model of dramatic excellence. Many others of the leading performers might be mentioned, but even those to whom the lowest characters are allotted

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do such justice to their comparatively trifling share of the general exhibition, that in witnessing the representation of a play thus uniformly well acted, I have experienced the kind of illusion which Dr. Johnson thought impossible-I mean that of fancying myself actually present at an occurrence in real life.

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I went a few evenings since to Les François, and never do I remember to have been so highly amused. Le Chevalier à la Mode was the first piece, in which Arnaud portrayed the character of a coxcomb of the old school with such happy taste that, while assuming all the hauteur and levity which belonged to the part, he forgot not to display at the same time that elegance and refinement of manner which, in those days, threw a gloss over the most infamous vices; and when he declared, that he had made the purses of his mistresses contribute no less his pleasures than the harvests of his farmers, he said so with a grace which made one, for the moment, admit an excuse both for the depravity of the libertine and the credulity of his victims. But the principal attraction of the evening was Le Malade Imaginaire, which succeeded Le Chevalier à la Mode, and in which all the best actors were employed. While enjoying this incomparable peformance I could not help remarking and admiring the deep insight into the human heart which Moliere had obtained. Though this play was written 140 years ago, and in the time which has since elapsed, civilization is supposed to have advanced with rapid strides, we find that quacks, not only in medicine but in almost every condition of life, are now just as common as they were when this play first appeared; and the satire which it conveys on the folly of mankind is no less applicable to the present than to the then state of private society. With regard to the particular foible which he here attacks, I hope you read in one of the English newspapers the account of a trial which lately occurred on one of the circuits, the circumstances of which prove that Le Malade Imaginaire is by no means overdrawn. It was an action brought by a country apothecary against the executors of a gentleman, for attend

ance given, and medicine supplied to the deceased; and the amount of the charge was so excessive, (I think £700,) though the bill was not of long standing that his representatives thought it their duty to resist the payment of the account; the particulars of which were accordingly laid before a jury. Among the items, I recollect, there was one for fifty thousand pills, sent to the patient on setting out on a journey, with directions for their use. Ten of these he was to take on rising from bed, in order to give him an appetite for his breakfast, as many more by way of assisting his digestion, ten before dinner, and an equal number afterwards, besides emollients, astringents, sodorifics, diuretics, emetics, febrifuge powders, and aperients of all sorts and descriptions.

Now any person who will examine this bill, which was read in open court, will find it is almost a translation or counterpart of the one, in perusing the articles of which, the hero of Le Malade Imaginaire begins that excellent play.

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he says,

But to return to the performance. was much amused at the eulogy pronounced by Dr. Diafoirus on his pedantic son, of whom, in allusion to the discovery of the circulation of the blood, which was then recent, "Mais sur toute chose, ce que me plait en lui, et en quoi il suit mon exemple, c'est qu'il s'attache aveuglement aux opinions de nos anciens, et qu'il n'a jamais voulu comprendre, ni écouter les raisons et les experiences des pretendues decouvertes de notre siècle, touchant la circulation du sang et autres opinions de la meme forme.”

Now, how many pompous blockheads have we still existing, whọ boast, like Dr. Diafoirus, that they have educated their children in those prejudices which they themselves had been taught, and in profound contempt of all the discoveries and inventions of the more enlightened age, in which it is the good fortune of the latter to begin their career. It appears also from this passage, that Dr. Harvey met with quite as much opposition from the ignorance and bigotted obstinacy of his contemporaries, in propagating a truth, since universally

acknowledged, as our equally illustrious countryman (Dr. Jenner) experienced, in teaching the virtues of a discovery scarcely less important to the interests of humanity. You are so well acquainted both with the comedy, and the actors by whom it was performed, that I will say no more of the merits of either. I cannot dismiss the subject, how ever, without telling you how much I was delighted with the ballet, or decoration with which the play was concluded; I mean the representation of the ceremony of receiving M. Argent (Le Malade Imaginaire) as a member of the College of Physicians. Though in the exhibition there were some indelicacies rather discordant to our English ideas of propriety, I confess that on the whole I never witnessed a more laughable scene. The stage fitted up to resemble a medical school, with benches on each side, and two rostra placed in the centre; the higher one being destined for the president, and the lower for the candidate.

The procession beginning with a cavalcade of apothecaries and surgeons; each carrying on his shoulder, in lieu of a firelock, a certain emblem of his profession of colossal size, and these humbler practitioners performing a military salute with these instruments (for even the sons of Esculapius cannot in France meet without military ceremonies), and then seated themselves with becoming modesty on the ground! Then a regiment of doctors following, clad in scarlet gowns, marching two by two in solemn state, turning round as they approached the pit, and bowing first to the audience and then to their companions, and taking

First Doctor

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their posts with gravity. whole was perfect in its way, nor was it the least interesting circumstance attending the performance, that all the principal actors and actresses of the theatre were deputed to represent these learned personages; and the public therefore enjoyed an opportunity, which they did not neglect, of expressing, as they passed before them in review, the sense they entertained of their respective merits. Many a pretty woman wore on the occasion the solemn garb of science, and Mademoiselle Mars's fine eyes lost none of their lustre from the contrast of her doctor's robes. It is almost needless to add, that that lady engrossed the largest share of popular applause. When the conclave was formed, and the president and the candidates were seated in their pulpits, the examination began, and various questions were suggested with due solemnity by different Members of the College. Dr. Diafoirus, by the importance which he assumed, and the deliberation with which he put his interrogatories, was, in my opinion, not the least amusing. But nothing seemed so much to divert the audience as the hesitation of M. Argent, who never ventured to give an answer till standing up and whispering the president (who sat above him) he had received a friendly hint from him, though, after all this preparation, the replies were nearly the same. examination, which you know is carried on in a dialect of mixed French and Latin, ran in my head all the night afterwards. Í have endeavoured to paraphrase it in English, and I shall now venture to send you my humble attempt.

What is the system, learned sir,
to Candidate. Which skill and science should prefer?
How wouldst thou treat cold, bile, or phthisic?
Candidate.-I'd sweat and vomit, bleed and physic.
CHORUS OF DOCTORS.

Well hast thou answered, so may we
In solemn conclave grant degree,
And hail thee brother and M.D.

Second Doctor.-If patient break his arm or head?

Candidate.

He should be sweated, dosed, and bled.

CHORUS.

Well hast thou answered, so may we

In solemn conclave grant degree,

And hail thee brother and M.D.

The

Third Doctor.-How wouldst thou treat a fevered brain?
Candidate.-I'd physic, bleed, and bleed again.

CHORUS.

Well hast thou answered, so may we
In solemn conclave grant degree,
And hail thee brother and M.D.

Fourth Doctor.-How conquer measles or small-pox?
Candidate. By lancet, syringe, and pill-box.
CHORUS.

Well hast thou answered, so may we
In solemn conclave grant degree,
And hail thee brother and M.D.

Fifth Doctor. How ease the pangs of torturing gout?
Candidate.-By a like process, rout 'em out.

CHORUS.

Well hast thou answered, so may we
In solemn conclave grant degree,
And hail thee brother and M.D.

Sixth Doctor.-How cure a cancer or consumption?
Candidate.-Might I opine without presumption,
I'd say the ills which now you name
Should all be treated just the same.
CHORUS.

Well hast thou answered, so may we
In solemn conclave grant degree,
And hail thee brother and M.D.

Seventh Doctor.-Should a young girl grow pale and thin,
What wouldst thou order? (Candidate.) I'd begin
By sweating, dosing, bleeding well.

Eighth Doctor.-But should these fail to cure the belle?
Candidate.-I'd bid her without loss of time,

To seek for health at Hymen's shrine.
CHORUS.

Well hast thou answered, so may we
In solemn conclave grant degree,
And hail thee brother and M.D.

At the conclusion of this notable examination I was much amused by the form of the oath taken by the candidate, by which he pledges himself not only to obey all the laws and ordinances of the College, but even to let his patients die rather than to administer to them any medicine not sanctioned by ancient usage, or authorised by the fiat of his brotherhood. As soon as M. Argent in pronouncing the word "Juro,' had assented to these becoming engagements so read to him by the president, he received from the latter the doctor's bonnet, with license to vomit, physic, blister, cut, mangle and kill with impunity. Apropos, I find it mentioned in the life of Moliere prefixed to his works, that the author himself performed the part of Le Malade Imaginaire, and on the third representation of his

incomparable play, just as he had said "Juro," he was seized with a convulsive fit, and having broken a blood vessel, was removed from the stage to his own house, where a few minutes afterwards he expired. I find this melancholy occurrence took place on the 17th February, 1673, when he had only just attained his fifty-third year.

For saying so much to you on a subject with which you are so familiar I have but one apology to offer, that you have more than once desired me to state without disguise the result of my first impressions, and certainly few things have pleased me more, since my arrival at Paris, than the performance which has formed the subject of the present letter.

Adicu,

CHARLES DARNLEY.

LETTER XVIII.

From the MARQUIS DE VERMONT to SIR CHArles Darnley, Bart.

MY DEAR DARNLEY,

London.

YOUR last letter has given me much satisfaction, because by the observations made in it I perceive that you begin to derive amusement from our theatrical exhibitions, and they form so material a part of the pleasures of Paris, that till a taste for them is contracted, a stranger cannot properly appreciate the French capital. With regard to your criticisms I must be permitted to remark that the faults of which you complain. (if they deserve that name,) are solely occasioned by the difference which exists between your manners and our's. When your countrymen go to the play or Operahouse in the evening, they go thi

ther

"To see and to be seen,"

precisely as they frequent Hydepark or Bond-street in the morning; and the attractions of the drama would be powerless without that additional stimulus.

We, on the contrary, look alone to the stage for our amusement, and neither desire to make a display ourselves nor to derive any pleasure from the appearance, however splendid, of those around us.

Consuming a much less portion of time at table than the English, dining very frequently at home, or in unceremonious parties at the houses of our relations or intimate friends, we should find it highly inconvenient to be under the necessity of altering our dress before we adjourned to one of the many theatres which are opened every night at Paris. It happens frequently, while taking an afternoon's walk in the Thuilleries or the Boulevard, or in paying a visit at the hotel of an acquaintance, that a proposal is suddenly made to go and see the performance of some favorite actor or actress, whose appearance is announced for that evening; the motion meets with general approbation, the family coach, or a hackney coach is ordered, and a whole company soon find themselves enjoying

a dramatic treat, of which no one had indulged a thought ten minutes before the party had been suggested. Now if the etiquette of making a toilet, (to adopt our phrase,) were indispensably necessary, such impromptu arrangements (which constitute a material ingredient in the pleasures of a Parisian life) would no longer be possible. With respect to the want of light, our ladies deem an excessive glare unfavorable to beauty, and we think by keeping the rest of the house in comparative darkness, that an additional splendour is thrown on the stage, for which all the brilliancy of illumination is reserved.

The tastes of nations on such subjects differ no less than the tastes of individuals, and such variations should make us very careful before we condemn in a foreign country that to which we have been unaccustomed at home; for it by no means follows that, because a custom is the reverse of our own, that the habit is an improper one. If I may be permitted to return to the subject of your Opera House, I should observe that females of character and consideration have not the means of habitually frequenting that theatre, unless rich enough to command a yearly seat in one of those boxes, the acquisition of which is no trifling object of ambition in the eyes of the vain. But as your lords and ladies, in spite of all their haughtiness and boasted wealth, condescend to traffic in such possessions, and deign occasionally to let them at a price of exorbitant profit, it happens now and then that a party from the city or the country is enabled, by a temporary sacrifice, to enjoy for a few hours the envied pleasure and éclat of occupying these privileged places. Still as they cannot be obtained without some previous arrangement, ample time is found for preparing and putting on those articles of fashionable attire, which if your women had not the opportunity of displaying on such occasions, even an opera box would lose all its attractions.

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