_Saturday._--_Faust._ "House full." _The_ Princess and Princesses present. MELBA'S "Jewel song" a gem. M. PLANÇON, whose name, Britishly pronounced, suggests "Mr. PLAIN-SONG," rather ecclesiastical than diabolical, a highly-coloured but generally effective _Mephistopheles_. Mdlle. BRAZZI appears to-night as "the new woman" in the part of _Siebel_. "She rouses enthusiasm," quoth WAGSTAFF, "no Siebil-lation." _Exeunt omnes._
_Interviewer._ As a keen student of your fascinating works, permit me to render to you my respectful homage.
_Distinguished Foreigner in London._ Certainly. I observe that you speak the French of the capital with fluency.
_Int._ You flatter me. I am only an ordinary journalist. Possibly you prefer to converse in our local language?
_D. F._ On the contrary, I have only recently acquired the English word, "Yes." Curiously enough, this is my first voyage of discovery to your shores. I had, of course, often heard of England, and your literature is not unfamiliar to me. My secretary reads to me the works of your popular poet, ROBERT BROWNING.
_Int._ Do you not, with your--er--limited knowledge, if I may so say, of our language, find that writer's meaning somewhat obscure?
_D. F._ Oh no; for my secretary translates him into idiomatic French verse at sight.
_Int._ M. ZOLA has also only recently discovered us. How do your novelists find the necessary models for their English types?
_D. F._ Nothing simpler. Tradition, _voilà tout_. The Englishwoman, with her large feet, projecting teeth, and execrable French--we know her because we have always known her. It is not necessary to have seen her in the flesh. Indeed, it is only a marvel to me that I find the type so rare in its own country.
_Int._ Might I dare to ascribe such traditional views to the prejudice of ignorance? Your Press, I believe, does not educate itself by foreign travel.
_D. F._ I cannot speak for others, but personally, if I do not offend the laws of courtesy by saying this in the city whose hospitality I now enjoy, I detest your race. I regard you as insular.
_Int._ We cannot, of course, help being born on an island. But we correct this defect by constant visits to the mainland, and from these we have learnt a profound respect for the tastes of our neighbours.