Illustrated London Letter.

Auckland Star, Volume XXII, Issue 295, 12 December 1891, Page 4 (Supplement)

Illustrated London Letter.

(FKO_t our own correspondent.)

London, October 8,

The sketch,writes my Paris correspondent of the scene of the„.suicido of tho ill-fated General ■ Boulanger which I send you, is from a photograph taken on the spot by a Brussels photographer, who had tho good fortune bo be presenb in the lxelles Cemetery engaged in photographing ot the very momenb chosen by the General for his desperate ;.cb. Hearing tho explosion, he hurried lup and was able to obtain the photographic presentment of one of the most poignant minor tragedies of the year. The first proof of the photograph thus obtained was purchased by Prince de Chimay, tha Minister of Foreign A Hair- in Belgium. It is...perhaps, rather late to speak of the tragedy itself, whilst the astonishing triumph of his funera', which excited more interest and sympathy than tho funeral of any Frenchman sineo Gambetta or Hugo, is now a matter of common knowledge. I should like, however, bu be permitted to say thab since his death public feeling in Fratice has a greao revulsion, and that thousands who a week ago were indifferent both bo the personality and the politics of the General, are now his posthumous partisans. As Rocheforb said in the article %vhich he telegraphed to his journal on the day of tho suicide ot his old friend, " Boulanger will be one of those who survive bhe tomb," and there is every indication that those who are triumphing now may ere long coma'to stumble over the modest tomb in the Urussels fauboicrg. It would be indeed surprising if so generous a people as the French should withhold their sympathy from a man who, even after his tragic death, has been so vilely attacked. Boulanger was no better and no worse as a politician than hoc genus omne, but as a man he was kind-hearted and sympathetic in the extreme. He had a great respect for tho laws of his country, and stedfastly refused to sanction any coup d'etat, though pressed daily by his friends to do so. Had he cared to turn traitor ha would in al! certainty to-day bo at the Elyseo, instead of lying a suicide and an exile in a foreign land. For my parb, terrible a3 suicide may he, I cannot bub think that he acted wisely if not well. Ho had drunk to tho lees'the draught of disappointrnenb Hs is dead now, and I am glad of this lasb opportunity of saying a good word for a man who was nay friend, and, to me, all that a friend can be. Boulanger's Lady-love. In bhe case of the Boulanger suicide there is no nssd- to search for the woman, -'he extraordinary infatuation of "le bray general " for Madame de Bonnemain was an open secret to his party, his friends—his. wife. Boulanger, who was created by women, was destroyed through his creators. There is little doubt if Madame de Bonnemain had lived,Boulanger would still bo in existence. It was for her and with hor tbab he escaped to Jersey and to Brussels, regardless of tho hubbub that followed tho retreating clatter of his military boots. Ib was the woman, rather bhan the man, who dreaded the prologue of the military court-martial and the denouement of bho firing-party.. Bike all Boulanger'a amour.'-, J \!.iir.tr.o do Bonnemain was titled, rich, n<Ki divorced from

ber husband. .She fell desperately in love with him during his great boom when Paulus and the black charger, plus bhe adoration of the women,were doing more for him than ho ever could achieve for himself. But to do Boulanger juntica. be seems to have remained true to tho end to tho woman who sacrificed both honour and wea-h in hi- cause Lasb winter, Madame, de Bonnemkiii's private fortune was a_e.ro.atd by a ie'-'a"V of £60,000, and the whole ol it wont frfpoiitical subsidies. She was a nervous, fovp'-ish highly-wrought womar, w.bh more ambition in he littlo . finger than the general possessed in tho whole of hie dapper tittle body. Curiously enough, she died or the w*mo di-ease-consumpwon-as that which would soon enough havo brought Boulanger to his grave.

The Birmingham Festival. Widespread disappointment prevailed, I i 1 in I'.inmm'ru.m, when it became lea ' hat Mi dame Albani, the gifted know „ fiat Mai ur T'Tn n hT hor medical advisers to fulfil forbiddan by hu m. hor engagement _t m .f o rtunube omns to a euno .cow • d , orable on occurrence was nH tP {v tho account oi W\. c '£ ~ A]bani was onprogramme._ 11 ,'. « Elijah " (second gap ad to smg mtnj „ Xd J ori » an d the p, "'^.^.W' S byHerr Dvorak. Thus new , R f i uie - ra ;. hft y EO nranc music m tho

t E,ij i a f " „?- d " Me9siah " l»ad to be translerred to Miss Macintyre, whilst the first

soprano parbs in the " Eden" and the " Requiem " were entrusted to Miss Anna Williams. Of course, ib is round Dvorak's " Requiem " thab interest centres. During tho rehearsals of the great Bohemian's latest, a fanvastic element has been imported into the conductors' desks owing bo the composer's inability to communicate with the band iv English, Dr. Richter having to acb as his interpreter. The spectacle of these two eminent musicians standing side by sido, and often beating time ab once with independent vigour and gesture, clamoured aloud for the presence of tho caricaturist and the facility of a Phil May. Arthur B,andy Roberts. Tho second edition of " Joan of Arc " has come to the Gaiety, and has been received with great favour by whab may be called Mr George Elwardos' indigenous audience of masher Mahatmas. Since his appearance ab the Opera Comiquo, Mr Arthur Roberts has changed his personality from Stanley, and the guest of Emm, to Randy, the Boer Badgerer. His song, " Randy OI" although far from being auother " Bogie Man," is still smart enough to serve the brief life of a topical ditty, aJid of course extra point is given it by Arthur's

really wonderful make up as the pnw =p»cfal correspondent. Bub Mr Roberts unrivalled facial powers are besb illustrated in a very cleverly-rendered dumb show scone a la VEnfant frodiguc bebween himse'f and Mons. Marius, in which Arthur, whitened like a Pierrot, tosses n\> with tho kino- to determine whether the treacherous subTect shall be beheaded or not. In this his imitation of Mdlle. Jane May was marvellovsly life-like and subtle. For the rest tho new burlesque rs splendidly cba«'ed, and furnished with those unem-b-in-hed attractions which lind such favour in your masher s eyes. The New Under-Secretary. ' The promotion, now officially announced, of Mr James William Low titer, M.P. lor Mid-Cumberland, to the post left vacant by the uromobion of Sir James Ferguson to the Post Office, is regarded by some as a si-ntihuant sign on the part of the Premier tliat ho intends to retain his foreign policy in his own hands, for Mr Lowther is the husband of Lord Salisbury's niece and a youi-g *nan who is said to be thoroughly amenable to Hatfield supervision. Be this as it may, the new Under-Secretary stands well in tho inner political rings, and as he is ambitious and energebic.no doubt he will, with experience, justify his selection.

A Scott fop- Manchester

Tho absorbing interest which has centred round the contest at Manchester has brought a good deal of that fierce light which beats aboub the polling booths to bear Mr C P Scobb, the Liberal candidate ot \i .......r.pi.'t of Sir James Fergusson tor bhe and M ! f»TdhSion of the city. Mr Scott is "° S;SI ■ htor who will take a lot of beS Is responsible editor for the ''Manchester Guardian " be has borne the banner of Liberalism aloft on the point of a S»t pen. Nor is he a nov lC e in bhe

thousand and one devices of a toughly contested election. Five years ago he fought the same battle with the same opponent. Although on thab occasion he failed bo win bhe seat, he reduced his opponent's majority from 1,448, ab which it stood at the end of the previous year, to 327. The Exorcism of "The Guinea-Pig." We should look for something more than the proverbial pie-crust from the new Lord Mayor's promises. Tho City and society demand that they shall be faithfully kepb, and the honourable career of Alderman Evans (the Lord Mayor-elect) is proof suffi-

cienb thab during his reign, at Jeasb, no breath of scandal will cross the civil chair. The exorcism of tho guinea-pig from civic officio is now, we hope, finally decreed, for in the past record of Mr Alderman Evans' life wo have proof of honesty, integrity, and a worthy desire to uphold the best traditions of tho City. In this the worthy Welshman should gain loyal support from the newly installed sheriffs, Alderman Tyler and Mr H. S. Foster, who have long held views in accordance with the aspirations of

their chief. With the installation of theso gentlemen, in November, leb us hope the new era will begin, and thab whab bhe Lord Mayor-elect now pretiches may prove bo be his own sermon, and nob one borrowed from another priest's brains.