Un songe, me devrois—­je inquieter d’un songe?

she seemed in reality to labour under all the anxiety and fatigue arising from it.  That fine scene between Joad and Joas was well given, and the little girl who did the part of Joas performed with a good deal of spirit.  The actor who played Joad recited in a most impressive manner the advice to the young prince terminating in these lines: 

  Vous souvenant, mon fils, que cache sous ce lin,
  Comme eux vous futes pauvre et comme eux orphelin.

The interrogating scene between Athalie and Joad was given spiritedly, but the rather abrupt and uncourtierlike reply to the Queen’s remark, “Ils sont deux puissans dieux”—­“Lui seul est dieu, Madame, et le votre n’est rien”—­ excited a laugh and I fancy never fails to do so, every time the piece is performed.

Racine has several passages in his tragedies which perhaps have rather too much naivete for the dignity of the cothurnus; for instance in the answer of Agamemnon to Achille in the tragedy of Iphigenie: 

  Puisque vous le savez, pourquoi le demander?

A poet of to-day would be quizzed for a line like the above, but who dare venture to point out any defect in an author of whom Voltaire has said and with justice too, that the only criticism to be made of him (Racine) would be to write under every page:  “Admirable, harmonieux, sublime!”

The costume and the decorations at the Theatre francais are so strictly classical and appropriate in every respect, that it is to me a source of high delight to witness the representation of the favourite pieces of Racine, Corneille, Moliere and Voltaire, which I have so often read with so much pleasure in the closet and no small quantity of which I have by heart.

The next piece I saw was the Cinnna of Corneille; and here it was that I beheld Talma for the second time.  I was of course highly pleased, tho’ I was rather far off to hear very distinctly; this was, however, no very great loss, as I was perfectly well acquainted with the tragedy.  Talma’s gestures, his pause’s, his natural mode of acting gave a great relief to the long declamation with which this tragedy abounds.  When this tragedy was given it was during the time that poor Labedoyere’s trial was going on, and the allusions to Augustus’ clemency were eagerly seized and applauded.  It was hoped that Louis XVIII would imitate Augustus.  Vain hope!

I have seen Phedre; the part of Phedre by that admirable actress Mlle Duchesnois, who performs the part so naturally and with so much passion that we entirely forget the extreme plainness of the person.  She acts with far more feeling and pathos than Mlle Georges.  I shall never be able to forget Mlle Duchesnois in Phedre.  She gave me a full idea of the impassioned Queen, nor were it possible to depict with greater fidelity the “Venus toute entiere a sa proie attachee,” as in that beautiful