1826. ] 
ya TF BNO 
aecustomed to perform in comedy as well 
sasotragedy, centirely abaidoned,,the|,sock, 
yands found: himself iw unrivalled-possession 
ofthe oprincipaly-tragic characters. .-Lhis 
-wasyaigtand, epoch jin his.professional, ca- 
ineer.jovAhout ‘this:time; {also | Bounaparte 
-became aistar of the firstimagnitude in the 
een horizon... He hadjseen Talma.be- 
-fore his departure /forn Egypt ;,and after. his 
ereturnehe became) a constant jattendant at 
the) theatre; held, frequent, conversations 
with him, treated him with great distinction, 
-and formed with him the; closest, intimacy. 
It has been said that; the /hero;teok Jessons 
from theractors the reverse,of the position 
is much more probabley, “When. Buona- 
parte was proclaimed Emperor, Talma 
deemed it expedient to terminate the inti- 
macy which dad; some, time, subsisted be- 
tweenthem. That determination, however, 
“was set! asile’ by the Emperor, who gave 
“Orders ‘for his’ idiiission every day at the 
‘oa oF breast. At the morning inter- 
‘views ‘which ensued, long and curious, 
‘amusing and interesting, were the conver- 
‘Sations which occurred: they would of 
“themselves, “if related, form’ a highly ac- 
¢eeptable volume. Much of interest might 
also be told of the performances of Talma 
‘at Evfurt, Weimar, &c., in the presence 
“of Buonaparte, the Emperor Alexander, 
‘&e., m the year 1808; but all this we 
‘imust’ pass ‘over. During the first year of 
“the re-establishment’ of the Bourbons, 
“Talma was much noticed ‘by the King; a 
“circumstance upon’ which he’ was highly 
“complimentéd by Buohaparte on his’ return 
* from" Elba" Ay 40. orgie 
‘’Contitiuing the pursuit of his profession, 
to which he wes passionately’ attached, 
‘Palma, in the year 1825; published a work 
‘relating’ to the art’of ‘acting ; which, how- 
; eee rather @ disappointment than 
“a gratification; to the literary and theatrical 
* world. FYe* married’ in ‘1792, ‘Mile. Van- 
‘Nove, from whoin' he was afterwards sepa- 
ratéd’y and, ‘subsequently to the year 1814, 
“he was attached to the daughter of Bazire, 
“by whom he had the credit of having several 
~ children, who were’ consequently with him 
‘as their reputed father. / In his last illness, 
Made. Talma was desirous of being admit- 
‘ted to his hedside, but he refused to see 
« es hte 
. She didnot insist, but said: “Iam 
"Sorry not: to be permitted to sce him once 
“more. Tell him, I entreat you, that I 
~ ame to offer him to share my fortune with 
"his children.” ‘The lady, it ‘appears, has 
we Eaest of 40,000 franes'a year, which had 
Keen ett! het by Dr. Moreau (De Ja Sarthe) 
with whorn she fiad lived. ‘It was this for- 
“tune, ‘however, whieh prevented the wish- 
 €d-for 'recoriéiliation. | ** As my wife is now 
© Wealthy,” Observed Talma, “it would, no 
dont, be ‘said, that I became reconciled 
toher tirough motives of interest. Her 
~ fortune pli¢es “ait insurmountable barrier 
Detwelip as)" ! 
aaa §", hi’ Ineath had been some time in a 
1990 DB 071 
Eaten io Memoirs of Emment Persons. 
: Betoaadrtt iy 
Ss wpMO Lome ooetl 
declining state + at length he became ‘seri- 
667 
oan 
ously ill;,and, injthe forenoon.of the 19th 
of October, he, expired,,, During the. last 
days of his illness, the Archbishop of Patis 
made, several. attempts, but without suc- 
cess, to have been admitted to his presence. 
Talmais said to be a, Protestant, but his last 
words seemed, to. indicate that he was a 
Deist.... His intellects were, perfect. to the 
latest moment, of his, existence... He fully 
_Tecognized his friends around his bed ; and 
,on seeing., Messrs. Jouy, Arnault,, and 
Dovilliers, he .stretched out his. arms, 
wept, and embraced them. He said to his 
nephew; ‘ The. physicians, know, nothing 
of my disease. Recommend them to gen 
my body, that it may be useful to my fellow 
creatures.”” At one time, he exclaimed, 
“* What do they require of me, to make me 
abjure the art to which I am indebted for all 
my glory—an art that I,idolize? To re- 
nounce tle forty brightest years..of, my 
life; to separate cause of my brethren ; 
and to acknowledge them to be infamous ? 
Never!” Upon another occasion, he ex- 
claimed, “ Let there be no priests! all I 
ask is, not to be buried too:soon.” A. few 
moments before his death, he murmured in 
a faint voice, “ Voltaire! Voltaire! — as 
Voltaire !” at 
In conformity with his request, Talma’s 
body was opened, and the cause, of, his 
death was ascertained to have been. ‘a_ 
complete obliteration for nearly two inches 
in length of the large intestine, at. about 
six inches from its termination.’’ Agreeably 
to the wish expressed in his last moments, 
his remains were taken without interrup- 
tion or ceremony to the place. of interment 
at Pére la Chaise... The procession con- 
sisted ofa magnificent hearse, fifteen 
mourning coaches;. Talma’s own’ carriage, 
‘and several empty carriages... Numbers of 
literary and) theatrical characters, followed 
on foot; and, according to some. state- 
ments, not fewer than 80,000 persons were 
‘assembled at the, cemetery. at the time of 
interment. 
Funeral orations on. the de- 
ceased were delivered atthe grave, by his 
colleague, Lafou, and by the two dramatic 
writers, Jouy and Arnault. A Jarge sub- 
_ scription has since been raised. for the pur- 
pose of erecting a monument to the memory 
of the deceased ; and it-has'been resolved 
that his statue shall be placed: in the vesti- 
bule, or public room: of the ‘Theatre Fran- 
Gois. ; 
Talma’s chief characters were Hamlet, 
in Shakspeare’s| Tragedy, as adapted to 
the French stage; Nero, in Britannicus ; 
Orestes, in Andromache; Brutus, in the 
death of Cwsar; Augustus, and Cinna, in 
Cinna; Achilles, and: Iphigenia, in Aulis ; 
the High Priest Joad, in Athalie; Manlius, 
(2dipus, Scylla, Macbeth, Othello, &c. 
To characterize the acting of this great 
_man within our brief limits, some of the 
French critics, erecting theiv faith. upon 
the traditions of Le Kain, say that ‘Talma 
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