Page:The life and writings of Alexandre Dumas (1802-1870) (IA lifewritingsofal00spurrich).pdf/151

 Still another rôle was reserved for this Protean man—that of lecturer. Dumas was persuaded into giving a chatty, vivid talk on the paintings of his old friend Delacroix. These lectures, which were given at the "Fantaisies-Parisiens," were packed, as they deserved to be. It was probably this success which aroused one of the lecturer's sleeping ambitions, for early in the next year he engaged the "Grand-Théâtre Parisiens" in the Rue de Lyon, and produced his version of "Catherine Blum" there. But the play was a failure; Dumas's secretary, who was nominally the lessee of the building, turned out to be a rogue and embezzled the money, and the scheme came to naught.

In the following year, still clinging to his belief that the sons of his old patrons would inherit the tastes of their fathers, the dramatist appealed to his "unknown friends" the public, to subscribe to a species of co-operative play-house, a new "Théâtre Historique," with an eminent banker for treasurer and himself as the manager. The very slight and