Letter to the Countess of T. on a Second French Theater in Paris

exclusively. O fatality! Another injustice just committed against the Ambigu-Comique a popular variety theater; his envious rivals have just obtained an order to reduce his Orchestra, and to fix it at a certain number of Musicians: they even forbade him from presenting his beautiful Pantomimes (*) silent plays consisting of gesture and movement which attracted the influx of the beautiful people; a thing for which they make a crime of, saying that it harms the major Theaters. Allow me, Madame, an Episode on this subject. It is amusing that, through their privileges, the Opera and the French [Theater] oppose the amusement of the Public, when it is contrary to their interests: consequently, they only perform at these two mobile Theaters (Nicolet and Audinot), weak plays without intrigue, which contain only frivolities, where one can put fashionable wit but not sentiment. I have even been told that these two Entrepreneurs were obliged to send the Plays they received from Authors to an Italian Actor who judged the French, before being able to obtain permission from the Police. This Italian Histrion actor/mummer strikes through, crosses out, and erases at random; so much so that

(*) The Sleeping Beauty, The Nets of Vulcan, The Village Magician, The Power and Triumph of Love, etc.