Atlantic Monthly, Volume 10 (PDF)

BATHOS and pathos are closely allied in sound as well as in sense. Mr. FECHTER evidently regards them as completely identical; and in his acting, as in his pronunciation, uniformly prefers the former to the latter. He has recently exemplified this by his personation of CLAUDE MELNOTTE, in that most tawdry specimen of the cotton-velvet drama, the LADY OF LYONS. This melancholy event took place a few nights since at the French Theatre, that mausoleum of the illegitimate French drama. Miss CARLOTTA LECLERCQ, an actress who deserves the highest praise, and who would receive it were it not that a doubt as to the proper pronunciation of her name prevents the bashful critic from mentioning her when flushed with the generous enthusiasm of beer, played PAULINE, and a number of Uncertain People played the dickens with the rest of the dramatis personæ. Every one knows the play, and no one cares to hear how the Uncertain People mangled it. The audience naturally took no interest in it until the third scene of the first act was reached, and shouts of "Long live CLAUDE MELNOTTE" were heard from behind the scenes. After which everybody remarked, "Now he's coming," and rubbed their lorgnettes with looks of expectation and corners of pocket-handkerchiefs.