I was so
charmed by him that nearly two years later I introduced a few
unimportant words of his about Moliere's _Misanthrope_ into my
lectures on the first part of _Main Currents in European
Literature_, simply for the pleasure of mentioning his name.
It was, moreover, a very pleasant thing to pay him a visit, even when he
was interrupted. For actors streamed in and out of his house. One day,
for instance, the lovely Agar burst into the room to tell her tale of
woe, being dissatisfied with the dress that she was to wear in a new
part. I saw her frequently again when war had been declared, for she it
was who, every evening, with overpowering force and art, sang the
_Marseillaise_ from before the footlights.
The theatrical performances were a delight to me. I had been charmed as
much only by Michael Wiehe and Johanne Luise Heiberg in my salad days
when they played together in Hertz's _Ninon_. But my artistic
enjoyment went deeper here, for the character portrayal was very much
more true to life. The best impressions I had brought with me of Danish
art were supremely romantic, Michael Wiehe as Henrik in _The
Fairies_, as the Chevalier in _Ninon_, as Mortimer in Schiller's
_Mary Stuart_. But this was the real, living thing.
One evening I saw _Ristori_ play the sleep-walking scene in Macbeth
with thrilling earnestness and supreme virtuosity.
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