ame, that he only acted comic parts: they should see him obtain a
_succes de larmes_, throw a whole theatre into tears, by his exquisite
feeling and pathos in serious ones. No actor more thoroughly makes his
audience forget that he is one. His identification with his part is
complete. The two lines of characters he usually takes are old men and
lads, even very young boys. And in both he perfectly succeeds. We are
doubtful in which to prefer him. As the noisy, lively, mischievous
urchen in the _Gamin de Paris_, and as the griping old miser in the
_Fille de l'Avare_, he is equally excellent. His countenance is
remarkable. A clever critic has said of him, that he has the physiognomy
of a Mephistopheles and the eye of an angel. The observation is
singularly happy. There _is_ something Mephistophelian in the curve of
his nose, and in the lines around his mouth. His command of expression
is extraordinary; his eyes, especially, alternately flash fire and grow
dim with melancholy or tenderness. His figure is short, thin, and frail;
his general appearance sickly, and not without cause, for poor Bouffe
is consumptive, and, to judge from his looks, not long for this world.
The only actor upon the French or English stage with whom we can compare
him is the veteran Farren. But the comparison is to the advantage of the
Frenchman, whose chief characteristic is his entire freedom from
mannerism and stage trick. Mr. Farren is of the old and sterling school
of actors, of which, unfortunately, so few remain. He stands first in
his line upon the English boards, and deserves to be spoken of with all
respect. Would that we had a dozen as good. But he has his faults, and
the chief one is mannerism, certain peculiar ways that prevent the
spectator from forgetting the actor in the person he represents,
trifles, which it may be hypercritical to cavil at, but which
nevertheless spoil the illusion, and compel the exclamation, "There is
Farren." Take for example his favourite trick of scratching his upper
lip with his forefinger. We have seen Bouffe many times--less
frequently, certainly, than we have Farren--but we never perceived in
him any of these peculiarities. His creations are original and new
throughout; the mime disappears, and we have before as the gossiping old
man, the rough shipboy, the simple-hearted recruit. We are really at a
loss to point out a fault or suggest an improvement in Bouffe's acting.
"If the public," says M. Eugene Briffa