"It is not so mach jnestion of pecuniary damage," he replied, "as of interference with the playwright's liberty. I maintain that a play is the property of its author, and that he ought to be' able to make any alterations he pleases in it until he presents it to ao the pete} but this would be impossi sig new system is to Preval. In the past, when things were better managed than they are now, the ition generale was attended by aly ahity or fo people. whose sr suther 5 fre their verdict has led the author to material alterations before the first public performance. In my own experience I remember my play," Ferande," la which T originally sade the heroine commit suicide by throwing herself out of the window. Immediately the repetition generale wan over, everybody rushed at me and told me that the ending spoiled the whole play, and that it ought to be a happy one. I had 90 much confidence in this unanimous opinion, that I sat down in the manager's room at once and altered the entire dénouement. In 90 doing, as it happened, I was merely reverting to the original, by Diderot, who aleo gave his story a happy ending. On another occasion I cut an entire scene out of "Nos Bons i;|was unnecessary and made the play drag. Ifa play is to be described to the public by someone who tes seen the repetition generale only, the author cannot alter his play at the last moment without having it completely misunderstood by the public. It must also be bered that the orritics are scdmitted to this rehearsal simply as a convenience to themselves, 6o that they may have at least a day to think orer their articles and make them I lose my action, the readers of daily newspapers will get nothing but mere news, so far as new plays are concerned, and it will be death-blow to genttine criticism, because nobody can do justice to a play in an article hastily dashed off after repetition generale, which may not finish till one o'clock in the morning."
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.