"This play recalls the drunken slave which the Lacedémonians used to point out to their children to disgust them with drunkenness, and it ought to lead the public, if such a thing be possible, to purer and more reasonable ideals in dramatic literature. The object of the authors was to compare the corruption of the nobility with the virtue of the people, and, starting with this view, which is of no value nowadays, there is no vice, immorality or infamy that they have not accumulated in the person of their émigré le Marquis de Bray and of his worthy son; it is a mass of turpitudes, a sequence of scenes as false as they are ignoble, which it would disgust us to enumerate. The public permitted M. Dumas's La Tour de Nesle, but, this time, it has not been so complaisant: it hooted, hooted outrageously a monstrous production which made all parts of the theatre, pit, boxes and galleries, turn sick with disgust and avert their eyes with horror. It is to be hoped that this severe and deserved lesson will impel the author of Henri III., of Christine and of Antony and Richard Darlington, not to prostitute his talent again by putting his hand to such works."
The article, it will be seen, does not mince words (and between ourselves, be it said, dear reader, without reaching Anicet's ears, it seemed to be an execrable thing!) But, take careful notice that it is to me M. Lesur addresses himself, I, who had not been named and whose name was not on the bills; he had taken good care to expose me after a failure, but took equal care to conceal me when it was a question of success.
Here is the proof:—
"THÉÂTRE DE LA PORTE-SAINT-MARTIN (3 Sep. 1832)
"First performance of Périnet Leclerc, a prose drama in five acts by MM. ANICET BOURGEOIS and LOCKROY.
"Fine scenes, noise, stir and magnificent decorations and, above all, a situation of the supremest interest in the fifth act, have made this drama a complete success. It bears witness to literary and historic studies very rare in modern dramatists, and has in general the great advantage over most of the plays of this theatre, particularly LE FILS DE L' ÉMIGRÉ, of not revolting the spectator constantly by a jumble of crimes and pictures of debauchery each more horrible than the last."
Caught, Monsieur Dumas! But there is something stronger still. Some time after I collected my Scènes historiques into two volumes a paper noticed it, and accused me of having literally copied the principal scenes of my fictitious historical book from the fine drama by MM. Anicet Bourgeois and Lockroy!
Ah! my dear good fellow, are you simply ignorant or do you write in bad faith? You would rather not reply? Then let us ask M. Lireux.
[1] See Appendix.