VERNET, the Muannaz of the Parisian stage, appeared at the
French Theatre on Monday ; and now, instead of the gentle murmurs of merri- ment and short interjectional cachinnations that have hitherto marked the scanty pleasantries of the performances, hearty and prolonged peals of laughter echo through the house. It was paying a heavy penalty, h rw- ever, for the enjoyment of VERNET'S inimitable drollery, to have to sit ant the three-act absurdity called L'Extase, which introduced Madame Doan to the English public ; for, were the talents of the debutante more remarkable than they appear to be, such a preposterous vehicle for their exhibition would have been enough to neutralize their effect. She is young, and possesses an agreeable person, and a sweet, full-toned speaking voice ; sings well, though a little out of tune now and then ; and acts in a graceful, unaffected manner but we wait for a better op- portunity of estimating her powers. The entrance of VERNET, as that "'walking thumb-bottle of aquafortis," Serinet the old piano-tuner, in Ara Femme et mon Parapluie, changed the scene entirely : the first sight of his little, long-backed, duck-legged figure, with a chimney-pot of a hat stuck on the top of his head, and black blotches of eyebrows, shambling along, box in hand, with a dogged air of discontent, would have sufficed to convince any one who had neither seen nor heard of VERNET that a low comedian of rare talent was on the stage. There stood a living character ; an eccentric individual, but one of a class to to met with in the streets of Paris ; every look, word, and movement, had its significance, according with the idea that his first appearance suggested, and assisting to develop the idiosyncracy his acid looks anticipated the fancied insults which galled his pride, and which his pertinacious manner provoked. The character is a mere sketch ; there is little to be done, and not much to be said ; but this slight outline is fi' i up with an infinity of slight and expressive touches, that give it the completeness and body of a finished picture. His reading of a letter for the old restaurateur is inimitable. After- wards he appeared as an old woman, in a piece called Madame Gibon et Madame Pochet, ou le The chez la Ravadeuse : the metamorphosis was surprising, and the character equally well sustained; he not only talked, dressed, and waddled like an old crone, but took snuff like one. VERNET and GAMARD making the " tea" in a great red pan, stirring it with a ladle as each of the queer ingredients was put into the mess, looked like a couple of witches in holyday-clothes concocting some hell-broth : the frequent tastings out of the ladle, and the rinsing of the cup in the " tea," were so incidentally done as to appear like habi- tual tricks of nastiness. So perfectly natural is VERNET, that his very drolleries seem peculiar to the character, not belonging to himself: he appears to think and feel, as well as look and act, like the assumed person. This is the secret of true personation, and the test of perfect acting.
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