« Le Bouffon »
Hippodrome, Paris.
The jester, or Bouffon, of a young prince has a beautiful daughter whom he has reared in great secrecy. A Hebrew sees the girl and struck by her charm, arranges to kidnap and present her to the prince. The girl, thrown into the arms of the prince, is horrified and refuses to grant him even a kiss. In the struggle she falls heavily on the marble floor and dies from the shock. The jester learns the whole story and swears revenge. He is compelled to continually smile and crack jokes in the presence of his master, the murderer of his daughter, but secures a poison, which he empties into the wine of the prince and gleefully watches him die. He pays some outlaws to remove the body to the side of a lake, himself takes a boat, steers to the deepest part and throws the prince's remains into the water, still cursing him as it slowly sinks. It is a realistic picture of life in the middle ages, but somewhat lugubrious.(Eclair Co.) E. G. Kendrew.
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