tand that all these scenic appliances
are subdued to the Piece, instead of the Piece being sacrificed to them;
and that every group and situation has to be considered, not only with a
reference to each by itself, but to the whole story.

Beauseant's speaking the original contents of the letter was a decided
point, and the immense house was quite breathless when the Tempter and
the Tempted stood confronted as he made the proposal.

There was obviously a great interest in seeing a Frenchman play the
part. The scene between Claude and Gaspar (the small part very well
done) was very closely watched for the same reason, and was loudly
applauded. I cannot say too much of the brightness, intelligence,
picturesqueness, and care of Fechter's impersonation throughout. There
was a remarkable delicacy in his gradually drooping down on his way home
with his bride, until he fell upon the table, a crushed heap of shame
and remorse, while his mother told Pauline the story. His gradual
recovery of himself as he formed better resolutions was equally well
expressed; and his being at last upright again and rushing
enthusiastically to join the army, brought the house down.

I wish you could have been there. He never spoke English half so well as
he spoke your English; and the audience heard it with the finest
sympathy and respect. I felt that I should have been very proud indeed
to have been the writer of the Play.

Ever affectionately.

[Sidenote: Mr. James T. Fields.]

[86]_October, 1867._

MY DEAR FIELDS,

I hope the telegraph clerks did not mutilate out of recognition or
reasonable guess the words I added to Dolby's last telegram to Boston.
"_Tribune_ London correspondent totally false." Not only is there not a
word of truth in the pretended conversation, but it is so absurdly
unlike me that I cannot suppose it to be even invented by anyone who
ever heard me exchange a word with mortal creature. For twenty years I
am perfectly certain that I have never made any other allusion to the
republication of my books in America than the good-humoured remark,
"that if there had been international copyright between England and the
States, I should have been a man of very large fortune, instead of a
man of moderate savings, always supporting a very expensive public
position." Nor have I ever been such a fool as to charge the absence of
int