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Show WOULDN'T STAND THE PLAY. Gurdnu'a Therinldor" Kirltes the French so That it Hei to be Withdrawn. Tahis, Jan. 29. After tho second performance of Sardou's "Thermidor" Tuesday night there was a riot in the streets near the theater, caused by the disorderly conduct of tho extreme partisans par-tisans of tho theater. They hissed the audience as it left the theater and shouted: ' Down with Sardou!" "Long live the republic!" In the streets a free fight followed between the extremists and police, and a number of arrests were made. More . ( violent scenes were expected last night, , ' ' -fc. "jut the play was withdrawn. The rais-ing rais-ing o( the curtain was the signal for t violent rival cries. The tumult in-creaserj in-creaserj in violence until the younger " Coquelm stepped before the "curtain' and s-id ho was compelled to announce that ihe performance would proceed no furuicr, nnd the ticket money would be rel.irned. The theater loses HOO.000 francs in advance ad-vance bookings, iu addition to the cost of maintaining the play. In connection connec-tion with the matter lleinaet will question ques-tion the government in the deputies, whether it intends to assure order without with-out detriment to liberty iu the dramatic art. Sardou's play, "Thermidor," is as much a political pleading as a purely theatrical piece, llo wanted to depict French society under the "Terreur" regime ami he chose the month of Thermidor, or.lulv, 1794, during which Robespierre, St. .fust and Couthon, the three principal leaders of the revolutionary revolu-tionary committee of publicsafety were tent to the guillotine. Sardou, a former for-mer favorite of the imperial court and author of the play "Kabagas," in which ho attempted to caricature (iambetta, .handled without gloves those irreat re- publican revolutionists. They had as a colleague Carnot, grandfather of the man who is now president of the French republic, and despite the terriolo deeds forced npon their will by patriotic necessity, ne-cessity, they hare been most admired anil forgiven in a measure by such imperial im-perial or conservative historians as Michelet and Lamartine. M. Sardou having painted the epoch of "Terreur" in still darker colors than was warranted by strict impartiality, might have expected that the liberal nnd republic sentiment in the Paris schools, workshops, and studios would loudly protest against his "Thermidor." |