THE THEATRES.
Mr. Mitchell continues to retain the monopoly of theatrical interest; the other establishments having brought out pieces sufficiently successful to preclude the necessity of any change of importance in their bills. But the French theatre, being a subscription house, is subjected to the condition of perpetual variety; for subscribers who expect to go every night during the season are not the persons to create a " run." Moreover, each " star " comes over with a special repertoire in his or her pocket; and the contents thereof must be got through in the course of an engagement, however hard the labour which the permanent members of the company have to undergo in.studying. The "star" at present in the ascendant is M. Perlet; who, after sundry delays-on account of illness, at length appeared yesterday sennight. Being in a weak condition, he still husbanded his strength; and therefore confined himself to L'Homme m Soixante Ans,—a feeble little piece, which, however, while it does not tax the physical powers of an actor, allows him to exhibit great finish and elaboration in working out the principal character. This character is a good-hearted old man, who labours hard to make an obstinate young lady marry a youthful lover instead of himself; and the art of the actor is displayed in making a cheerfulness of disposition and an old-school courtesy shine through the veil of physical infirmity. The next character which M. Perlet represented was that of the valet Saint Jean in L'Ambassadeur,—a part requiring greater force than the sexa- genarian, but still of the quiet order. By making the valet an intriguer of the cold calculating school, instead of the flippant personage so common both on the English and the French stage, M. Perlet was still able to con- sider the bounds of exertion to which he might venture, while the deliberate subtlety with which he clothed the character was given with the greatest perfection. The third piece, Le Comidien d'Etampes, (our He would be an Actor,) requires far greater exertion than the other two, if it were only on account of the frequent change of costume; for the " comedien," in addition to his own proper part, has to assume the characters of a deerepid old man, an uncultivated peasant, and an English lady. The transition from one per- sonage to another is made by M. Perlet with wonderful discrimination, and each several representation is in itself a finished picture. To sum up the several impressions made by M. Perlet's series of performances in all the three pieces, we may remark, that although the decline of strength which is the concomitant of advanced years is most plainly apparent, and COMO- quently mars the illusion when a character in the prime of life is attempted, the fine perception of the varieties of human nature, and the consummate skill shown in the treatment of the minutest details, are such as to com- pensate for any physical defect. In these respects, we do not know the equal of M. Perlet.
By an extension of the engagement of Mademoiselle Brohan, that most fascinating of soubrettes, Mr. Mitchell is enabled to keep his theatre in strong working condition independently of M. Perlet's attraction.
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