Life — February 22, 1883 — page 13: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

~ (fete oo erect FL EART and Hand,” Lecocq’s new alleged comic operay opened at the Bijou, Thursday of last week, some thoughtless Judge having inadvertently refused to grant an in- junction. The plot is the old one of the husband, who, through a case of mistaken identity, falls in love with his own wife ; and the libretto seems to have been furnished by the gas machinist, The music was seldom tuneful and frequently reminiscent, while the orchestration, having been done from a piano score, was spirit- less. Miss Conway was pleasing and pretty as Michaela, but failed to give the piquant touches that make an opera-bouffe a success. The rest of the cast did their best to make something out of the material they had to deal with, Digby Bell deserving especial praise for his acting and singing asGztau. John Howson, after a series of successes, could not make a hit with the unyielding and vulgar part of the King of Aragon. A KNOWLEDGE of the German language is generally considered conducive tu a thorough understanding of the plays brought out at the Thalia, But any one can spend an enjoyable evening there during the engagement of Herr Barnay. The play of “ Graf Essex,” in which I saw him last, would hardly be popular in English, some of the speeches being fully forty minutes pass- ing a given point, but there is abundant opportunity for good _ acting, which is taken advantage of by the company, which, with the exception of two spurious imitations of Lords Cecil and Nottingham, was uniformly excellent. Herr Barnay was bril- liant and picturesque as “ Essex,” but his ‘‘ Lear” still remains a unique and splendid characterization. AvuGUSTIN DALY announces the production soon of another original comedy from the German, with the mysterious title “728.” Perhaps Mr. Daly attributes his numerous failures to unlucky names, and has taken to numbering, instead. THE original Count of Monte Cristo’s watchword was ‘‘ Re- venge,” and the public are now taking their revenge out of Mr. O’Neill for attempting to star with a comany that instead of sup- porting him, crowds him down. The old play, with new scenery, at times raised the house to enthusiasm, but there was a lack of spontaneity and a commonplaceness about it all that does not fore- bode a long run. Ha! ha! ha! ha! ha! ha! Such was the verdict of the audience who witnessed the San Francisco Minstrels perform on Tuesday night. For four years had I struggled against the al- lurement of posters and good notices to visit the burnt-corkers, and on Tuesday I succumbed. As one by one the old jokes came up from the dead years, often to be repeated later in the evening, repentance came too late. But the people enjoyed it. What would be the effect of a new joke? We shall never know ! Tue Sunday concerts at the Casino are a popular feature at that beautiful house. ‘‘ Standing room only ” is the regular no- tice after half-past eight. THE Cosmopolitan, the made-over Alcazar, is now running “Fritz in Ireland” to big houses. The new horse-shoe gallery seems to be bringing good luck to the new management. Ir was probably at this time of year that gaily the troubadour touched his catarrh, MAN in Colorado poisoned a biscuit for the rats. Mother-in- law ate biscuit. This was rats for the man in Colorado, who now believes in especial providences. A WoMAN named Marie Marey has killed her lover in Canada. Carry the noose to Marey ! A COLD CUT. Mss Laura Alicia F. Jones Always spoke in the freezingest tones. The warmest spots south— When she opened her mouth— Froze up like the frigidest zones. A in Then away she would skate on the Nile In her bon-ton Fifth-Avenue style, And even Lord Brown, When he slipped and fell down, She cut with a cynical smile. MEDITATIONS. A GERMAN in Cincinnati has started a new temperance drink which he calls Jewish Beer.—St. Louis Globe-Democrat. He-brews it himself, probably. Tue asphalt pavement in front of the Hotel Bruns- wick is a failure as a coup de tar. : “PorT FROM woop,” often turns out to be only Port from logwood. UNPRECEDENTED trade announcement.—The pig market was quiet. The Reno (Nev.) Gazette says there is in its office a pet crow that chews tobacco. A case-of guid pro crow, as it were. Mr. F. J. Rotiincton, of Petaluma, Cal., blew the lid off his thinking box last week because he could not learn telegraphy. He gathered no Morse, so to speak. Tue report is incorrect that $75 has been offered the Metropolitan Museum for the Cesnola Collection, the antiquities to be used as “filling in” for the found- ation of the Bartholdi statue. Mr. X——,, the contractor, denies ever having offer- ed such a sum. comicbooks.com