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 _Théâtre français_ 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, Molière 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 Labédoyère'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 _Phèdre_; the part of Phèdre 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 _Phèdre_. She gave me a full idea of the
impassioned Queen, nor were it possible to depict with greater fidelity the
"Vénus toute entière à sa proie attachée," as in that beautiful speech of