r all, was only
one of weapons; in the first period it was the knife, in the second the
razor--and perhaps the latter was the more deadly of the two.

The theatre was fitted up with the taste of a people more essentially
theatrical than any other in the world. For not merely the eye, but the
tongue, is theatrical; and not merely the stage, but every portion of
private life. Every sentiment, every sound, is theatrical; and the stage
itself is the only natural thing in the country, from Calais to Bayonne.

As we took our seats in the little gilded box, which was made only for
two; though probably for _tete-a-tetes_ of a more romantic order than
ours, Elnathan observed to me, "You will now see two of the most
remarkable _artistes_ in France--Talma, beyond all comparison our first
actor; and another, an amateur, whom I think altogether one of the
finest women in existence. You may pronounce, that she ought to be
younger for perfection; but there is beauty in the fruit as well as in
the flower, and not the less beautiful though it is of a different kind.
But you shall see."

The curtain now drew up, and we saw the commencement of the little
_drame_ of _Paul et Virginie_. St Pierre's charming story has since been
worn out on all the boards of Europe; but it was then new to the stage,
and the audience gazed and listened, smiled and wept, with all the
freshness of delicious novelty. All the earlier portions of the
performance were what we have since so repeatedly seen them; we had the
scenery of the Mauritius, painted with habitual French skill, the
luxuriant vegetation, the rosy sky, and the deep purple of the ocean.
The negro-dances were exhibited, by _ballerine_ from the opera; and all
was in suspense for the appearance of the two stars of the night. Paul's
_entre_ was received with unbounded plaudits; he was so simply dressed,
and looked so completely the young wanderer of the groves, that I could
not conceive him to be the grand pillar of tragedy in France. He was
incomparably the handsome peasant of the tropics; yet, as his part
advanced, I could discover in his deep eye and powerful tone, the actor
capable of reaching the heights of dramatic passion. He was scarcely
above the middle size, with features whose magic consisted in neither
their strength nor beauty, but in their flexibility. I had never seen a
countenance so capable of change, and in which the change was so
instantaneous and so total. From the most sportive