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Show "IF VILLON WERE THE KING OF FRANCE." The following verses, which E. H. gothern recites re-cites to his boon companions of the Fir Cone In i, during the first act of "If I Were King," in ignorance ignor-ance of the fact that the King himself is there in disguise, were translated from the original by Mr. Justin Huntly McCarthy: All French folk, wheresoe'er ye be, Who love your country, soil and sand, From Paris to the Breton sea, And back again to Norman strand, Forsooth ye seem a silly band, Sheep without shepherd, left to chance Far otherwise our Fatherland If Villon were the King of France! The figure on the throne you see Is nothing but a puppet planned To wear the regal bravery Of silken coat and gilded wand; Not so we Frenchmen understand The lord of lion's heart and glance And such an one would take command If Villon were the King of France! His counsellors are rogues Pardie, While men of honest mind are banned, To creak upon the Gallows Tree, Or squeal in prisons over-manned; We want a chief to bear the brand And bid the damned Burgundians dance; God! where the Oriflamme should stand If Villon were the King of France. Envoi. Louis, the little, play the grand; Buffet the foe with sword and lance; 'Tis what would happen, by this hand, If "T,llon were the King of France! t icfr t Harry Corson Clarke came back to Salt Lake this week and gladdened the hearts of large audiences au-diences on Thursday and Friday evenings with the frolicksome farce, "His Absent Son." There is very little to say anent the play Itself, as it is too fragile to be handled, but there are nothing but flowers and encominums to be showered upon the work of our old friend Clarke in the role of M the gaysome sire. He gets everything out of this M plotless play that is coming and does it In an in- fM imitable manner which Avon him corps of ad- M mirers among the play-goers of Zion years ago. M His support is very acceptable, particularly Miss M Owen, who enacts the part of the be-worrled wife WM with distinguished skill. There is not much to bo IH said about the others, but always in the center M of the stage is Harry Corson, and in this line of M work he is a whole hippodrome in himself. |