,,shadows ,,of ,,the ,,stage  ,,by      
,,william ,,winter       ,the best in   
this kind are but shadows  ,,shakespeare
   ,,new ,,york ,,macmillan ,,and       
,,company ,,and ,,london #ahic          
,,copyright1 #ahib1 ,,by ,,macmillan    
,,co4  ,set up and electrotyped ,may1   
#ahib4 ,large ,paper ,edition printed   
,may4 ,ordinary ,edition reprinted      
,june1 ,august1 ,november1 #ahib2       
,january1 ,june1 ,october1 ,november1   
#ahic4  ,norwood ,press3 ,j4,s4 ,cushing
  ,co4--,berwick  ,smith4 ,boston1      
,mass41 ,u4,s4,a4     ,,to  ,henry      
,irving  ,,in ,,memory ,,and ,,in       
,,honour ,,of ,,all ,,that ,,he ,,has   
,,done ,,to ,,dignify ,,and ,,adorn     
,,the ,,stage ,,and ,,to ,,ennoble      
,,society ,,this ,,book ,,is            
,,gratefully ,,inscribed      ,cui      
laurus ternos honores     ,delmatico    
peperit triumpho     ,,preface4   ,the  
papers contained in this volume1 chosen 
out of hundreds that the author has     
written on dramatic subjects1 are       

assembled with the hope that they may be
 accepted1 in their present form1 as a  
part of the permanent record of our     
theatrical times4 ,for at least thirty  
years it has been a considerable part of
 the constant occupation of the author  
to observe and to record the life of the
 contemporary stage4 ,since #ahfj he has
 written intermittently in various      
periodicals1 and since the summer of    
#ahfe he has written continuously in the
 ,new ,york ,tribune1 upon actors and   
their art2 and in that way he has       
accumulated a great mass of historical  
commentary upon the drama4 ,in preparing
 this book he has been permitted to draw
 from his contributions to the ,tribune1
 and also from his writings in ,harper's
 ,magazine and ,weekly1 in the ,london  
,theatre1 and in ,augustin ,daly's      
,portfolio of ,players4 ,the choice of  
these papers has been determined partly 
by consideration of space and partly    
with the design of supplementing the    
author's earlier dramatic books1 namely3

 ,edwin ,booth in ,twelve ,dramatic     
,characters2 ,the ,jeffersons2 ,henry   
,irving2 ,the ,stage ,life of ,mary     
,anderson2 ,brief ,chronicles1          
containing eighty-six dramatic          
biographies2 ,in ,memory of             
,mc,cullough2 ,the ,life of ,john       
,gilbert2 ,the ,life and ,works of ,john
 ,brougham2 ,the ,press and the ,stage2 
,the ,actor and ,other ,speeches2 and ,a
 ,daughter of ,comedy1 being the life of
 ,ada ,rehan4 ,the impulse of all those 
writings1 and of the present volume1 is 
commemorative4 ,let us save what we can4
      ,sed omnes una manet nox1     ,et 
calcanda semel via leti4  ,w4,w4 ,,april
 #ah1 #ahib4     ,,contents4     ,,chap4
                                        
,,page       ,i4 ,,the ,,good ,,old     
,,times                       #ac       
,,ii4 ,,irving ,,in ,,faust             
#cj     ,,iii4 ,,adelaide ,,neilson     
#dg      ,,iv4 ,,edwin ,,booth          
#fc       ,v4 ,,mary ,,anderson         
#ij      ,,vi4 ,,olivia                 

#aai     ,,vii4 ,,on ,,jefferson',s     
,,autobiography            #acj         
,,viii4 ,,on ,,jefferson',s ,,acting    
#aea      ,,ix4 ,,jefferson ,,and       
,,florence                  #aei        
,x4 ,,on ,,the ,,death ,,of ,,florence  
#afi      ,,xi4 ,,shylock ,,and ,,portia
                      #agh     ,,xii4   
,,john ,mc,c,u,l,l,o,u,g,h              
#ahe    ,,xiii4 ,,charlotte ,,cushman   
#bjf     ,,xiv4 ,,lawrence ,,barrett    
#bae      ,,xv4 ,,irving ,,in           
,,ravenswood                    #bbf    
,,xvi4 ,,merry ,,wives ,,and ,,falstaff 
#bdc    ,,xvii4 ,,ada ,,rehan           
#beh   ,,xviii4 ,,tennyson',s           
,,foresters                    #bfi     
,,xix4 ,,ellen ,,terry3 ,,merchant ,,of 
,,venice         #bhf      ,,xx4        
,,richard ,,mansfield                   
#cja     ,,xxi4 ,,genevieve ,,ward      
#cae    ,,xxii4 ,,edward ,s4 ,,willard  
#cbb   ,,xxiii4 ,,salvini               
#cci    ,,xxiv4 ,,irving ,,as ,,eugene  
,,aram                   #cdh     ,,xxv4

 ,,charles ,,fisher                     
#cfg    ,,xxvi4 ,,mrs4 ,,gilbert        
#cgd   ,,xxvii4 ,,james ,,lewis         
#cgi  ,,xxviii4 ,a ,,leaf ,,from ,,my   
,,journal                  #chc         
--,it so fell out that certain players  
,we o'er-raught on the way3 of these we 
told him2     ,and there did seem in him
 a kind of joy     ,to hear of it4      
,,hamlet4       ,of all the cants which 
are canted in this canting world--though
      the cant of hypocrites may be the 
worst--the cant of criticism is      the
 most tormenting4 ,i would go fifty     
miles on foot1 for ,i have not      a   
horse worth riding on1 to kiss the hand 
of that man who will give      up the   
reins of his imagination into his       
author's hands1--be      pleased he     
knows not why and cares not wherefore4  
,,tristram ,,shandy4     ,,shadows ,,of 
,,the ,,stage4     ,i4  ,,the ,,good    
,,old ,,times4   ,it is recorded of     
,john ,lowin1 an actor contemporary with
 ,shakespeare and associated with       

several of ,shakespeare's greater       
characters 7his range was so wide1      
indeed1 that it included ,falstaff1     
,henry the ,eighth1 and ,hamlet71 that1 
having survived the halcyon days of     
,eliza and our ,james and lingered into 
the drab and russet period of the       
,puritans1 when all the theatres in the 
,british islands were suppressed1 he    
became poor and presently kept a tavern1
 at ,brentford1 called ,the ,three      
,pigeons4 ,lowin was born in #aegf and  
he died in #afed--;his grave being in   
,london1 in the churchyard of ,st4      
,martin-in-the-,fields--so that1        
obviously1 he was one of the veterans of
 the stage4 ,he was in his              
seventy-eighth year when he passed      
away--wherefore in his last days he must
 have been a mine of memories4 ,he could
 talk of the stirring times of          
,leicester1 ,drake1 ,essex1 and         
,raleigh4 ,he could remember1 as an     
event of his boyhood1 the execution of  
,queen ,mary ,stuart1 and possibly he   

could describe1 as an eye-witness1 the  
splendid funeral procession of ,sir     
,philip ,sidney4 ,he could recall the   
death of ,queen ,elizabeth2 the advent  
of ,scottish ,james2 the ruffling1      
brilliant1 dissolute1 audacious ,duke of
 ,buckingham2 the impeachment and       
disgrace of ,francis ,bacon2 the        
production of the great plays of        
,shakespeare and ,ben ,jonson2 the      
meetings of the wits and poets at the   
,apollo and the ,mermaid4 ,he might have
 personally known ,robert ,herrick--that
 loveliest of the wild song-birds of    
that golden age4 ,he might have been    
present at the burial of ,edmund        
,spenser1 in ,westminster ,abbey--when  
the poet brothers of the author of ,the 
,faerie ,queene cast into his grave     
their manuscript elegies and the pens   
with which those laments had been       
written4 ,he had acted ,hamlet1--perhaps
 in the author's presence4 ,he had seen 
the burning of the old ,globe ,theatre4 
,he had been1 in the early days of      

,charles the ,first1 the chief and      
distinguished ,falstaff of the time4 ,he
 had lived under the rule of three      
successive princes2 had deplored the    
sanguinary fate of the martyr-king 7for 
the actors were almost always           
royalists72 had seen the rise of the    
,parliament and the downfall of the     
theatre2 and now1 under the             
,protectorate of ,oliver ,cromwell1 he  
had become the keeper of an humble      
wayside inn4 ,it is easy to fancy the   
old actor sitting in his chair of state1
 the monarch of his tap-room1 with a    
flagon of beer1 and a church-warden pipe
 of tobacco1 and holding forth1 to a    
select circle of cronies1 upon the      
vanished glories of the ,elizabethan    
stage--upon the days when there were    
persons in existence really worthy to be
 called actors4 ,he could talk of       
,richard ,burbage1 the first ,romeo2 of 
,armin1 famous in ,shakespeare's clowns 
and fools2 of ,heminge and ,condell1 who
 edited the ,first ,folio of            

,shakespeare1 which possibly he himself 
purchased1 fresh from the press2 of     
,joseph ,taylor1 whom it is said        
,shakespeare personally instructed how  
to play ,hamlet1 and the recollection of
 whose performance enabled ,sir ,william
 ,davenant to impart to ,betterton the  
example and tradition established by the
 author--a model that has lasted to the 
present day2 of ,kempe1 the original    
,dogberry1 and of the exuberant1 merry  
,richard ,tarleton1 after whom that     
comic genius had fashioned his artistic 
method2 of ,alleyne1 who kept the       
bear-garden1 and who founded the        
,college and ,home at ,dulwich--where   
they still flourish2 of ,gabriel        
,spencer1 and his duel with ,ben        
,jonson1 wherein he lost his life at the
 hands of that burly antagonist2 of     
,marlowe of the mighty line1 and his    
awful and lamentable death--stabbed at  
,deptford by a drunken drawer in a      
tavern brawl4 ,very rich and fine1 there
 can be no doubt1 were that veteran     

actor's remembrances of the good old    
times1 and most explicit and downright1 
it may surely be believed1 was his      
opinion1 freely communicated to the     
gossips of ,the ,three ,pigeons1        
that--in the felicitous satirical phrase
 of ,joseph ,jefferson--all the good    
actors are dead4  ,it was ever thus4    
,each successive epoch of theatrical    
history presents the same picturesque   
image of storied regret--memory         
incarnated in the veteran1 ruefully     
vaunting the vanished glories of the    
past4 ,there has always been a time when
 the stage was finer than it is now4    
,cibber and ,macklin1 surviving in the  
best days of ,garrick1 ,peg ,woffington1
 and ,kitty ,clive1 were always praising
 the better days of ,wilks1 ,betterton1 
and ,elizabeth ,barry4 ,aged play-goers 
of the period of ,edmund ,kean and ,john
 ,philip ,kemble were firmly persuaded  
that the drama had been buried1 never to
 rise again1 with the dust of ,garrick  
and ,henderson1 beneath the pavement of 

,westminster ,abbey4 ,less than fifty   
years ago an ,american historian of the 
stage 7,james ,rees1 #ahde7 described it
 as a wreck1 overwhelmed with gloom and 
eternal night1 above which the genius of
 the drama was mournfully presiding1 in 
the likeness of an owl4 ,the ,new ,york 
veteran of to-day1 although his sad gaze
 may not penetrate backward quite to the
 effulgent splendours of the old ,park1 
will sigh for ,burton's and the         
,olympic1 and the luminous period of    
,mrs4 ,richardson1 ,mary ,taylor1 and   
,tom ,hamblin4 ,the ,philadelphia       
veteran gazes back to the golden era of 
the old ,chestnut ,street theatre1 the  
epoch of tie-wigs and shoe-buckles1 the 
illustrious times of ,wood and ,warren1 
when ,fennell1 ,cooke1 ,cooper1         
,wallack1 and ,j4,b4 ,booth were shining
 names in tragedy1 and ,jefferson and   
,william ,twaits were great comedians1  
and the beautiful ,anne ,brunton was the
 queen of the stage4 ,the ,boston       
veteran speaks proudly of the old       

,federal and the old ,tremont1 of ,mary 
,duff1 ,julia ,pelby1 ,charles ,eaton1  
and ,clara ,fisher1 and is even         
beginning to gild with reminiscent      
splendour the first days of the ,boston 
,theatre1 when ,thomas ,barry was       
manager and ,julia ,bennett ,barrow and 
,mrs4 ,john ,wood contended for the     
public favour4 ,in a word1 the age that 
has seen ,rachel1 ,seebach1 ,ristori1   
,charlotte ,cushman1 and ,adelaide      
,neilson1 the age that sees ,ellen      
,terry1 ,mary ,anderson1 ,edwin ,booth1 
,joseph ,jefferson1 ,henry ,irving1     
,salvini1 ,coquelin1 ,lawrence ,barrett1
 ,john ,gilbert1 ,john ,s4 ,clarke1 ,ada
 ,rehan1 ,james ,lewis1 ,clara ,morris1 
and ,richard ,mansfield1 is a           
comparatively sterile period--,too long 
shut in strait and few1 thinly dieted on
 dew--which ought to have felt the spell
 of ,cooper and ,mary ,buff1 and known  
what acting was when ,cooke's long      
forefinger pointed the way1 and ,dunlap 
bore the banner1 and pretty ,mrs4       

,marshall bewitched the father of his   
country1 and ,dowton raised the laugh1  
and lovely ,mrs4 ,barrett melted the    
heart1 and the roses were bright by the 
calm ,bendemeer4 ,the present writer1   
who began theatre-going in earnest over 
thirty years ago1 finds himself full    
often musing over a dramatic time that  
still seems brighter than this--when he 
could exult in the fairy splendour and  
comic humour of ,aladdin and weep over  
the sorrows of ,the ,drunkard1 when he  
was thrilled and frightened by ,j4,b4   
,booth in ,the ,apostate1 and could find
 an ecstasy of pleasure in the loves of 
,alonzo and ,cora and the sublime       
self-sacrifice of ,rolla4 ,thoughts of  
such actors as ,henry ,wallack1 ,george 
,jordan1 ,john ,brougham1 ,john ,e4     
,owens1 ,mary ,carr1 ,mrs4 ,barrow1 and 
,charlotte ,thompson1 together in the   
same theatre1 are thoughts of brilliant 
people and of more than commonly happy  
displays of talent and beauty4 ,the     
figures that used to be seen on         

,wallack's stage1 at the house he       
established upon the wreck of ,john     
,brougham's ,lyceum1 often rise in      
memory1 crowned with a peculiar light4  
,lester ,wallack1 in his peerless       
elegance2 ,laura ,keene1 in her         
spiritual beauty2 the quaint1 eccentric 
,walcot2 the richly humorous ,blake1 so 
noble in his dignity1 so firm and fine  
and easy in his method1 so copious in   
his natural humour2 ,mary ,gannon1      
sweet1 playful1 bewitching1             
irresistible2 ,mrs4 ,vernon1 as full of 
character as the tulip is of colour or  
the hyacinth of grace1 and as delicate  
and refined as an exquisite bit of old  
china--those actors made a group1 the   
like of which it would be hard to find  
now4 ,shall we ever see again such an   
,othello as ,edwin ,forrest1 or such a  
,lord ,duberly and ,cap'n ,cuttle as    
,burton1 or such a ,dazzle as ,john     
,brougham1 or such an ,affable ,hawk as 
,charles ,mathews8 ,certainly there was 
a superiority of manner1 a tinge of     

intellectual character1 a tone of grace 
and romance about the old actors1 such  
as is not common in the present2 and1   
making all needful allowance for the    
illusive glamour that memory casts over 
the distant and the dim1 it yet remains 
true that the veterans of our day have a
 certain measure of right upon their    
side of the question4  ,in the earlier  
periods of our theatrical history the   
strength of the stage was concentrated  
in a few theatres4 ,the old ,park1 for  
example1 was called simply ,the         
,theatre1 and when the ,new ,york       
playgoer spoke of going to the play he  
meant that he was going there4 ,one     
theatre1 or perhaps two1 might flourish1
 in a considerable town1 during a part  
of the year1 but the field was limited1 
and therefore the actors were brought   
together in two or three groups4 ,the   
star system1 at least till the time of  
,cooper1 seems to have been innocuous4  
,garrick's prodigious success in        
,london1 more than a hundred years ago1 

had enabled him to engross the control  
of the stage in that centre1 where he   
was but little opposed1 and practically 
to exile many players of the first      
ability1 whose lustre he dimmed or whose
 services he did not require2 and those 
players dispersed themselves to distant 
places--to ,york1 ,dublin1 ,edinburgh1  
etc4--or crossed the sea to ,america4   
,with that beginning the way was opened 
for the growth of superb                
stock-companies1 in the early days of   
the ,american theatre4 ,the ,english1   
next to the ,italians1 were the first   
among modern peoples to create a        
dramatic literature and to establish the
 acted drama1 and they have always led  
in this field--antedating1 historically1
 and surpassing in essential things the 
,french stage which nowadays it is      
fashionable to extol4 ,english          
influence1 at all times stern and       
exacting1 stamped the character of our  
early theatre4 ,the tone of society1    
alike in the mother country1 in the     

colonies1 and in the first years of our 
,republic1 was1 as to these matters1    
formal and severe4 ,success upon the    
stage was exceedingly difficult to      
obtain1 and it could not be obtained    
without substantial merit4 ,the youths  
who sought it were often persons of     
liberal education4 ,in ,philadelphia1   
,new ,york1 and ,boston the             
stock-companies were composed of select 
and thoroughly trained actors1 many of  
whom were well-grounded classical       
scholars4 ,furthermore1 the epoch was   
one of far greater leisure and repose   
than are possible now--- when the       
civilised world is at the summit of     
sixty years of scientific development   
such as it had not experienced in all   
its recorded centuries of previous      
progress4 ,naturally enough the dramatic
 art of our ancestors was marked by     
scholar-like and thorough elaboration1  
mellow richness of colour1 absolute     
simplicity of character1 and great      
solidity of merit4 ,such actors as      

,wignell1 ,hodgkinson1 ,jefferson1      
,francis1 and ,blissett offered no work 
that was not perfect of its kind4 ,the  
tradition had been established and      
accepted1 and it was transmitted and    
preserved4 ,everything was concentrated1
 and the public grew to be entirely     
familiar with it4 ,men1 accordingly1 who
 obtained their ideas of acting at a    
time when they were under influences    
surviving from those ancient days are   
confused1 bewildered1 and distressed by 
much that is offered in the theatres    
now4 ,i have listened to the talk of an 
aged ,american acquaintance 7,thurlow   
,weed71 who had seen and known ,edmund  
,kean1 and who said that all modern     
tragedians were insignificant in        
comparison with him4 ,i have listened to
 the talk of an aged ,english           
acquaintance 7,fladgate71 who had seen  
and known ,john ,philip ,kemble1 and who
 said that his equal has never since    
been revealed4 ,the present day knows   
what the old school was1#a when it sees 

,william ,warren1 ,joseph ,jefferson1   
,charles ,fisher1 ,mrs4 ,john ,drew1    
,john ,gilbert1 ,j4,h4 ,stoddart1 ,mrs4 
,g4,h4 ,gilbert1 ,william ,davidge1 and 
,lester ,wallack--the results and the   
remains of it4 ,the old touch survives  
in them and is under their control1 and 
no one1 seeing their ripe and finished  
art1 can feel surprise that the veteran 
moralist should be wedded to his idols  
of the past1 and should often be heard  
sadly to declare that all the good      
actors--except these--are dead4 ,he     
forgets that scores of theatres now     
exist where once there were but two or  
three2 that the population of the       
,united ,states has been increased by   
about fifty millions within ninety      
years2 that the field has been          
enormously broadened2 that the character
 of1 the audience has become one of     
illimitable diversity2 that the         
prodigious growth of the star-system1   
together with all sorts of experimental 
catch-penny theatrical management1 is   

one of the inevitable necessities of the
 changed condition of civilisation2 that
 the feverish tone of this great        
struggling and seething mass of humanity
 is necessarily reflected in the state  
of the theatre2 and that the forces of  
the stage have become very widely       
diffused4 ,such a moralist would        
necessarily be shocked by the changes   
that have come upon our theatre within  
even the last twenty-five years--by the 
advent of the sensation drama1 invented 
and named by ,dion ,boucicault2 by the  
resuscitation of the spectacle play1    
with its lavish tinsel and calcium glare
 and its multitudinous nymphs2 by the   
opera bouffe1 with its frequent         
licentious ribaldry2 by the music-hall  
comedian1 with his vulgar realism2 and  
by the idiotic burlesque2 with its      
futile babble and its big-limbed1       
half-naked girls4 ,nevertheless there   
are just as good actors now living as   
have ever lived1 and there is just as   
fine a sense of dramatic art in the     

community as ever existed in any of the 
palmy days2 only1 what was formerly     
concentrated is now scattered4  ,the    
stage is keeping step with the progress 
of human thought in every direction1 and
 it will continue to advance4 ,evil     
influences impressed upon it there      
certainly are1 in liberal abundance--not
 the least of these being that of the   
speculative shop-keeper1 whose nature it
 is to seize any means of turning a     
penny1 and who deals in dramatic art    
precisely as he would deal in groceries3
 but when we speak of our stage we do   
not mean an aggregation of shows or of  
the schemes of showmen4 ,the stage is an
 institution that has grown out of a    
necessity in human nature4 ,it was as   
inevitable that man should evolve the   
theatre as it was that he should evolve 
the church1 the judiciary tribunal1 the 
parliament1 or any other essential      
component of the ,state4 ,almost all    
human beings possess the dramatic       
perception2 a few possess the dramatic  

faculty4 ,these few are born for the    
stage1 and each and every generation    
contributes its number to the service of
 this art4 ,the problem is one of       
selection and embarkation4 ,of the true 
actor it may be said1 as ,ben ,jonson   
says of the true poet1 that he is made  
as well as born4 ,the finest natural    
faculties have never yet been known to  
avail without training and culture4 ,but
 this is a problem which1 in a great    
measure1 takes care of itself and in    
time works out and submits its own      
solution4 ,the anomaly1 every day       
presented1 of the young person who1     
knowing nothing1 feeling nothing1 and   
having nothing to communicate except the
 desire of communication1 nevertheless  
rushes upon the stage1 is felt to be    
absurd4 ,where the faculty as well as   
the instinct exists1 however1 impulse   
soon recognises the curb of common      
sense1 and the aspirant finds his level4
 ,in this way the dramatic profession is
 recruited4 ,in this way the several    

types of dramatic artist--each type     
being distinct and each being expressive
 of a sequence from mental and spiritual
 ancestry--are maintained4 ,it is not   
too much to say that a natural law      
operates silently and surely behind each
 seemingly capricious chance1 in this   
field of the conduct of life4 ,a        
thoroughly adequate dramatic            
stock-company may almost be said to be a
 thing of natural accretion4 ,it is made
 up1 like every other group1 of the old1
 the middle-aged1 and the young2 but1   
unlike every other group1 it must       
contain the capacity to present1 in a   
concrete image1 each elemental type of  
human nature1 and to reproduce1 with the
 delicate exaggeration essential to     
dramatic art1 every species of person2  
in order that all human life--whether of
 the street1 the dwelling1 the court1   
the camp1 man in his common joys and    
sorrows1 his vices1 crimes1 miseries1   
his loftiest aspirations and most ideal 
state--may be so copied that the picture

 will express all its beauty and        
sweetness1 all its happiness and mirth1 
all its dignity1 and all its moral      
admonition and significance1 for the    
benefit of the world4 ,such a dramatic  
stock-company1 for example 7and this is 
but one of the commendable products of  
the modern stage71 has grown up and     
crystallised into a form of refined     
power and symmetry1 for the purpose to  
which it is devoted1 under the          
management of ,augustin ,daly4 ,that    
purpose is the acting of comedy4 ,mr4   
,daly began management in #ahfi1 and he 
has remained in it1 almost continually1 
from that time to this4 ,many players1  
first and last1 have served under his   
direction4 ,his company has known       
vicissitudes4 ,but the organisation has 
not lost its comprehensive form1 its    
competent force1 and its attractive     
quality of essential grace4 ,no         
thoughtful observer of its career can   
have failed to perceive how prompt the  
manager has been to profit by every     

lesson of experience2 what keen         
perception he has shown as to the       
essential constituents of a theatrical  
troop2 with what fine judgment he has   
used the forces at his disposal2 with   
what intrepid resolution and expeditious
 energy he has animated their spirit and
 guided their art2 and how naturally    
those players have glided into their    
several stations and assimilated in one 
artistic family4 ,how well balanced1 how
 finely equipped1 how distinctively able
 that company is1 and what resources of 
poetry1 thought1 taste1 character1      
humour1 and general capacity it         
contains1 may not1 perhaps1 be fully    
appreciated in the passing hour4 ,non1  
si male nunc1 et olim sic erit4 ,fifty  
years from now1 when perchance some     
veteran1 still bright and cheery in the 
chimney-nook of age1 shall sit in his   
armchair and prose about the past1 with 
what complacent exultation will he speak
 of the beautiful ,ada ,rehan1 so       
bewitching as ,peggy in ,the ,country   

,girl1 so radiant1 vehement1 and        
stormily passionate as ,katherine2 of   
manly ,john ,drew1 with his nonchalant  
ease1 incisive tone1 and crisp and      
graceful method2 of noble ,charles      
,fisher1 and sprightly and sparkling    
,james ,lewis1 and genial1 piquant1     
quaint ,mrs4 ,gilbert6 ,i mark the      
gentle triumph in that aged reminiscent 
voice1 and can respect an old man's     
kindly and natural sympathy with the    
glories and delights of his vanished    
youth4 ,but ,i think it is not necessary
 to wait till you are old before you    
begin to praise anything1 and then to   
praise only the dead4 ,let us recognise 
what is good in our own time1 and honour
 and admire it with grateful hearts4    
99       99       99       99       99  
,,note4--,at the ,garrick club1 ,london1
 ,june #bf1 #ahhe1 it was my fortune to 
meet ,mr4 ,fladgate1 father of the      
,garrick1 who was then aged #hf4 ,the   
veteran displayed astonishing resources 
of memory and talked most instructively 

about the actors of the ,kemble period4 
,he declared ,john ,philip ,kemble to   
have been the greatest of actors1 and   
said that his best impersonations were  
,penruddock1 ,zanga1 and ,coriolanus4   
,mrs4 ,siddons1 he said1 was            
incomparable1 and the elder ,mathews a  
great genius1--the precursor of         
,dickens4 ,for ,edmund ,kean he had no  
enthusiasm4 ,kean1 he said1 was at his  
best in ,sir ,edward ,mortimer1 and     
after that in ,shylock4 ,miss ,o',neill 
he remembered as the perfect ,juliet3 a 
beautiful1 blue-eyed woman1 who could   
easily weep1 and who retained her beauty
 to the last1 dying at #he1 as ,lady    
,wrixon ,becher4  ,footnote #a3 ,this   
paper was written in #ahhh1 and now1 in 
#ahib1 ,mr4 ,jefferson1 ,mr4 ,stoddart1 
,mrs4 ,drew1 and ,mrs4 ,gilbert are the 
only survivors of that noble group4     
,,ii4  ,,henry ,,irving ,,and ,,ellen   
,,terry ,,in ,,faust4   ,it is not      
surprising that the votaries of         
,goethe's colossal poem--a work which1  

although somewhat deformed and degraded 
with the pettiness of provincialism1 is 
yet a grand and immortal creation of    
genius--should find themselves          
dissatisfied with theatrical expositions
 of it4 ,although dramatic in form the  
poem is not continuously1 directly1 and 
compactly dramatic in movement4 ,it     
cannot be converted into a play without 
being radically changed in structure and
 in the form of its diction4 ,more      
disastrous still1 in the eyes of those  
votaries1 it cannot be and it never has 
been converted into a play without a    
considerable sacrifice of its contents1 
its comprehensive scope1 its poetry1 and
 its ethical significance4 ,in the poem 
it is the ,man who predominates2 it is  
not the ,fiend4 ,mephistopheles1 indeed1
 might1 for the purpose of philosophical
 apprehension1 be viewed as an embodied 
projection of the mind of ,faust2 for   
the power of the one is dependent       
absolutely upon the weakness and        
surrender of the other4 ,the object of  

the poem was the portrayal of universal 
humanity in a typical form at its       
highest point of development and in its 
representative spiritual experience4    
,faust1 an aged scholar1 the epitome of 
human faculties and virtues1 grand1     
venerable1 beneficent1 blameless1 is    
passing miserably into the evening of   
life4 ,he has done no outward and       
visible wrong1 and yet he is wretched4  
,the utter emptiness of his life--its   
lack of fulfilment1 its lack of         
sensation--wearies1 annoys1 disgusts1   
and torments him4 ,he is divided between
 an apathy1 which heavily weighs him    
down into the dust1 and a passionate1   
spiritual longing1 intense1 unsatisfied1
 insatiable1 which almost drives him to 
frenzy4 ,once1 at sunset1 standing on a 
hillside1 and looking down upon a       
peaceful valley1 he utters1 in a poetic 
strain of exquisite tenderness and      
beauty1 the final wish of his forlorn   
and weary soul4 ,it is no longer now the
 god-like aspiration and imperious      

desire of his prime1 but it is the      
sufficient alternative4 ,all he asks now
 is that he may see the world always as 
in that sunset vision1 in the perfection
 of happy rest2 that he may be          
permitted1 soaring on the wings of the  
spirit1 to follow the sun in its setting
 7,the day before me and the night      
behind71 and thus to circle forever     
round and round this globe1 the ecstatic
 spectator of happiness and peace4 ,he  
has had enough and more than enough of  
study1 of struggle1 of unfulfilled      
aspiration4 ,lonely dignity1 arid       
renown1 satiety1 sorrow1 knowledge      
without hope1 and age without           
comfort1--these are his present portion2
 and a little way onward1 waiting for   
him1 is death4 ,too old to play with    
passion1 too young not to feel desire1  
he has endured a long struggle between  
the two souls in his breast--one longing
 for heaven and the other for the world2
 but he is beaten at last1 and in the   
abject surrender of despair he          

determines to die by his own act4 ,a    
childlike feeling1 responsive in his    
heart to the divine prompting of sacred 
music1 saves him from self-murder2 but  
in a subsequent bitter revulsion he     
utters a curse upon everything in the   
state of man1 and most of all upon that 
celestial attribute of patience whereby 
man is able to endure and to advance in 
the eternal process of evolution from   
darkness into light4 ,and now it is1    
when the soul of the human being1       
utterly baffled by the mystery of       
creation1 crushed by its own hopeless   
sorrow1 and enraged by the everlasting  
command to renounce and refrain1 has    
become one delirium of revolt against   
,god and destiny1 that the spirit of    
perpetual denial1 incarnated in         
,mephistopheles1 steps forth to proffer 
guidance and help4 ,it is as if his     
rejection and defiance had suddenly     
become embodied1 to aid him in his ruin4
 ,more in recklessness than in trust1   
with no fear1 almost with scorn and     

contempt1 he yet agrees to accept this  
assistance4 ,if happiness be really     
possible1 if the true way1 after all1   
should lie in the life of the senses1   
and not in knowledge and reason2 if1    
under the ministrations of this fiend1  
one hour of life1 even one moment of it1
 shall ever 7which is an idle and futile
 supposition7 be so sweet that his heart
 shall desire it to linger1 then1       
indeed1 he will surrender himself       
eternally to this at present            
preposterous ,mephistopheles1 whom his  
mood1 his magic1 and the revulsion of   
his moral nature have evoked3--         
,then let the death-bell chime the      
token6       ,then art thou from thy    
service free6     ,the clock may stop1  
the hand be broken1       ,and time be  
finished unto me4  ,such an hour1 it is 
destined1 shall arrive1 after many long 
and miserable years1 when1 aware of the 
beneficence of living for others and in 
the imagined prospect of leading1       
guiding1 and guarding a free people upon

 a free land1 ,faust shall be willing to
 say to the moment3 ,stay1 thou art so  
fair2 and ,mephistopheles shall harshly 
cry out3 ,the clock stands still2 and   
the graybeard shall sink in the dust2   
and the holy angels shall fly away with 
his soul1 leaving the ,fiend baffled and
 morose1 to gibe at himself over the    
failure of all his infernal arts4 ,but1 
meanwhile1 it remains true of the man   
that no pleasure satisfies him and no   
happiness contents1 and death is        
desired1 and life a thing unblest4  ,the
 man who puts out his eyes must become  
blind4 ,the sin of ,faust is a spiritual
 sin1 and the meaning of all his        
subsequent terrible experience is that  
spiritual sin must be--and will         
be--expiated4 ,no human soul can ever be
 lost4 ,in every human soul the contest 
between good and evil must continue     
until the good has conquered and the    
evil is defeated and eradicated4 ,then1 
when the man's spirit is adjusted to its
 environment in the spiritual world1 it 

will be at peace--and not till then4    
,and if this conflict is not waged and  
completed now and here1 it must be and  
it will be fought out and finished      
hereafter and somewhere else4 ,it is the
 greatest of all delusions to suppose   
that you can escape from yourself4      
,judgment and retribution proceed within
 the soul and not from sources outside  
of it4 ,that is the philosophic drift of
 the poet's thought expressed and       
implied in his poem4 ,it was ,man1 in   
his mortal ordeal--the motive1 cause1   
and necessity of which remain a         
mystery--whom he desired and aimed to   
portray2 it was not merely the triumph  
of a mocking devil1 temporarily         
victorious through ministration to      
animal lust and intellectual revolt1    
over the weakness of the carnal creature
 and the embittered bewilderment of the 
baffled mind4 ,mr4 ,irving may well say1
 as he is reported to have said1 that he
 will consider himself to have          
accomplished a good work if his         

production of ,faust should have the    
effect of invigorating popular interest 
in ,goethe's immortal poem and bringing 
closer home to the mind of his public a 
true sense of its sublime and           
far-reaching signification4  ,the full  
metaphysical drift of thought and       
meaning in ,goethe's poem1 however1 can 
be but faintly indicated in a play4 ,it 
is more distinctly indicated in ,mr4    
,wills's play1 which is used by ,mr4    
,irving1 than in any other play upon    
this subject that has been presented4   
,this result1 an approximate fidelity to
 the original1 is due in part to the    
preservation of the witch scenes1 in    
part to ,mr4 ,irving's subtle and       
significant impersonation of            
,mephistopheles1 and in part to a weird 
investiture of spiritual mystery with   
which he has artfully environed the     
whole production4 ,the substance of the 
piece is the love story of ,faust and   
,margaret1 yet beyond this is a         
background of infinity1 and over and    

around this is a poetic atmosphere      
charged with suggestiveness of          
supernatural agency in the fate of man4 
,if the gaze of the observer be         
concentrated upon the mere structure of 
the piece1 the love story is what he    
will find2 and that is all he will find4
 ,faust makes his compact with the      
,fiend4 ,he is rejuvenated and he begins
 a new life4 ,in the ,witch's ,kitchen  
his passions are intensified1 and then  
they are ignited1 so that he may be made
 the slave of desire and afterward if   
possible imbruted by sensuality4 ,he is 
artfully brought into contact with      
,margaret1 whom he instantly loves1 who 
presently loves him1 whom he wins1 and  
upon whom1 since she becomes a mother   
out of wedlock1 his inordinate and      
reckless love imposes the burden of     
pious contrition and worldly shame4     
,then1 through the puissant wickedness  
and treachery of ,mephistopheles1 he is 
made to predominate over her vengeful   
brother1 ,valentine1 whom he kills in a 

street fray4 ,thus his desire to        
experience in his own person the most   
exquisite bliss that humanity can enjoy 
and equally the most exquisite torture  
that it can suffer1 becomes fulfilled4  
,he is now the agonised victim of love  
and of remorse4 ,orestes pursued by the 
,furies was long ago selected as the    
typical image of supreme anguish and    
immitigable suffering2 but ,orestes is  
less a lamentable figure than           
,faust--fortified though he is1 and     
because he is1 with the awful but       
malign1 treacherous1 and now impotent   
sovereignty of hell4 ,to deaden his     
sensibility1 destroy his conscience1 and
 harden him in evil the ,fiend leads him
 into a mad revel of boundless          
profligacy and bestial riot--denoted by 
the beautiful and terrible scene upon   
the ,brocken--and poor ,margaret is     
abandoned to her shame1 her wandering1  
her despair1 her frenzy1 her crime1 and 
her punishment4 ,this desertion1 though1
 is procured by a stratagem of the      

,fiend and does not proceed from the    
design of her lover4 ,the expedient of  
,mephistopheles1 to lull his prey by    
dissipations1 is a failure4 ,faust finds
 them tasteless1 and he must return to  
,margaret4 ,he finds her in prison1     
crazed and dying1 and he strives in vain
 to set her free4 ,there is a climax1   
whereat1 while her soul is borne upward 
by angels he--whose destiny must yet be 
fulfilled--is summoned by the terrible  
voice of ,satan4 ,this is the substance 
of what is shown2 but if the gaze of the
 observer pierces beyond this1 if he is 
able to comprehend that terrific but    
woeful image of the fallen angel1 if he 
perceives what is by no means obscurely 
intimated1 that ,margaret1 redeemed and 
beatified1 cannot be happy unless her   
lover also is saved1 and that the soul  
of ,faust can only be lost through the  
impossible contingency of being         
converted into the likeness of the      
,fiend1 he will understand that a       
spectacle has been set before him more  

august1 momentous1 and sublime than any 
episode of tragical human love could    
ever be4  ,henry ,irving1 in his        
embodiment of ,mephistopheles1 fulfilled
 the conception of the poet in one      
essential respect and transcended it in 
another4 ,his performance1 superb in    
ideal and perfect in execution1 was a   
great work--and precisely here was the  
greatness of it4 ,mephistopheles as     
delineated by ,goethe is magnificently  
intellectual and sardonic1 but nowhere  
does he convey even a faint suggestion  
of the god-head of glory from which he  
has lapsed4 ,his own frank and clear    
avowal of himself leaves no room for    
doubt as to the limitation intended to  
be established for him by the poet4 ,i  
am1 he declares1 the spirit that        
perpetually denies4 ,i am a part of that
 part which once was all--a part of that
 darkness out of which came the light4  
,i repudiate all things--because        
everything that has been made is        
unworthy to exist and ought to be       

destroyed1 and therefore it is better   
that nothing should ever have been made4
 ,god dwells in splendour1 alone and    
eternal1 but his spirits he thrusts into
 darkness1 and man1 a poor creature     
fashioned to poke his nose into filth1  
he sportively dowers with day and night4
 ,my province is evil2 my existence is  
mockery2 my pleasure and my purpose are 
destruction4 ,in a word1 this ,fiend1   
towering to the loftiest summit of cold 
intellect1 is the embodiment of cruelty1
 malice1 and scorn1 pervaded and        
interfused with grim humour4 ,that ideal
 ,mr4 ,irving made actual4 ,the         
omniscient craft and deadly malignity of
 his impersonation1 swathed in a most   
specious humour at some moments 7as1 for
 example1 in ,margaret's bedroom1 in the
 garden scene with ,martha1 and in the  
duel scene with ,valentine7 made the    
blood creep and curdle with horror1 even
 while they impressed the sense of      
intellectual power and stirred the      
springs of laughter4 ,but if you rightly

 saw his face1 in the fantastic1        
symbolical scene of the ,witch's        
,kitchen2 in that lurid moment of sunset
 over the quaint gables and haunted     
spires of ,nuremburg1 when the sinister 
presence of the arch-fiend deepened the 
red glare of the setting sun and seemed 
to bathe this world in the ominous      
splendour of hell2 and1 above all1 if   
you perceived the soul that shone       
through his eyes in that supremely awful
 moment of his predominance over the    
hellish revel upon the ,brocken1 when   
all the hideous malignities of nature   
and all those baleful spirits which tend
 on mortal consequence are loosed into  
the aerial abyss1 and only this imperial
 horror can curb and subdue them1 you   
knew that this ,mephistopheles was a    
sufferer not less than a mocker2 that   
his colossal malignity was the delirium 
of an angelic spirit thwarted1 baffled1 
shattered1 yet defiant2 never to be     
vanquished2 never through all eternity  
to be at peace with itself4 ,the        

infinite sadness of that face1 the      
pathos1 beyond words1 of that isolated  
and lonely figure--those are the        
qualities that irradiated all its       
diversified attributes of mind1 humour1 
duplicity1 sarcasm1 force1 horror1 and  
infernal beauty1 and invested it with   
the authentic quality of greatness4     
,there is no warrant for this treatment 
of the part to be derived from ,goethe's
 poem4 ,there is every warrant for it in
 the apprehension of this tremendous    
subject by the imagination of a great   
actor4 ,you cannot mount above the      
earth1 you cannot transcend the ordinary
 line of the commonplace1 as a mere     
sardonic image of self-satisfied1       
chuckling obliquity4 ,mr4 ,irving       
embodied ,mephistopheles not as a man   
but as a spirit1 with all that the word 
implies1 and in doing that he not only  
heeded the fine instinct of the true    
actor but the splendid teaching of the  
highest poetry--the ray of supernal     
light that flashes from the old ,hebrew 

,bible2 the blaze that streams from the 
,paradise ,lost2 the awful glory through
 which1 in the pages of ,byron1 the     
typical figure of agonised but          
unconquerable revolt towers over a realm
 of ruin3--            ,on his brow     
,the thunder-scars are graven2 from his 
eye     ,glares forth the immortality of
 hell4  ,ellen ,terry1 in her assumption
 of ,margaret1 once more displayed that 
profound1 comprehensive1 and particular 
knowledge of human love--that knowledge 
of it through the soul and not simply   
the mind--which is the source of her    
exceptional and irresistible power4     
,this ,margaret was a woman who         
essentially loves1 who exists only for  
love1 who has the courage of her love1  
who gives all for love--not knowing that
 it is a sacrifice--and whose love1 at  
last1 triumphant over death1 is not only
 her own salvation but that also of her 
lover4 ,the point of strict conformity  
to the conception of the poet1 in       
physique and in spiritual state1 may be 

waived4 ,goethe's ,margaret is a        
handsome1 hardy girl1 of humble rank1   
who sometimes uses bad grammar and who  
reveals no essential mind4 ,she is just 
a delicious woman1 and there is nothing 
about her either metaphysical or        
mysterious4 ,the wise ,fiend1 who knows 
that with such a man as ,faust the love 
of such a woman must outweigh all the   
world1 wisely tempts him with her1 and  
infernally lures him to the             
accomplishment of her ruin4 ,but it will
 be observed that1 aside from the       
infraction of the law of man1 the loves 
of ,faust and ,margaret are not only    
innocent but sacred4 ,this sanctity     
,mephistopheles can neither pollute nor 
control1 and through this he loses his  
victims4 ,ellen ,terry's ,margaret was a
 delicious woman1 and not metaphysical  
nor mysterious2 but it was ,margaret    
imbued with the temperament of ,ellen   
,terry1--who1 if ever an exceptional    
creature lived1 is exceptional in every 
particular4 ,in her embodiment she      

transfigured the character3 she         
maintained it in an ideal world1 and she
 was the living epitome of all that is  
fascinating in essential                
womanhood--glorified by genius4 ,it did 
not seem like acting but like the       
revelation of a hallowed personal       
experience upon which no chill worldly  
gaze should venture to intrude4  ,in    
that suggestive book in which ,lady     
,pollock records her recollections of   
,macready it is said that once1 after   
his retirement1 on reading a ,london    
newspaper account of the production of a
 ,shakespearean play1 he remarked that  
evidently the accessories swallow up the
 poetry and the action3 and he          
proceeded1 in a reminiscent and         
regretful mood1 to speak as follows3 ,in
 my endeavour to give to ,shakespeare   
all his attributes1 to enrich his poetry
 with scenes worthy of its              
interpretation1 to give to his tragedies
 their due magnificence and to his      
comedies their entire brilliancy1 ,i    

have set an example which is accompanied
 with great peril1 for the public is    
willing to have the magnificence without
 the tragedy1 and the poet is swallowed 
up in display4 ,mr4 ,irving is the      
legitimate successor to ,macready and he
 has encountered that same peril4 ,there
 are persons--many of them--who think   
that it is a sign of weakness to praise 
cordially and to utter admiration with a
 free heart4 ,they are mistaken1 but no 
doubt they are sincere4 ,shakespeare1   
the wisest of monitors1 is never so     
eloquent and splendid as when he makes  
one of his people express praise of     
another4 ,look at those speeches in     
,coriolanus4 ,such niggardly persons1 in
 their detraction of ,henry ,irving1 are
 prompt to declare that he is a capital 
stage manager but not a great actor4    
,this has an impartial air and a sapient
 sound1 but it is gross folly and       
injustice4 ,henry ,irving is one of the 
greatest actors that have ever lived1   
and he has shown it over and over again4

 ,his acting is all the more effective  
because associated with unmatched       
ability to insist and insure that every 
play shall be perfectly well set1 in    
every particular1 and that every part in
 it shall be competently acted4 ,but his
 genius and his ability are no more     
discredited than those of ,macready were
 by his attention to technical detail   
and his insistence upon total excellence
 of result4 ,it should be observed1     
however1 that he has carried stage      
garniture to an extreme limit4 ,his     
investiture of ,faust was so magnificent
 that possibly it may have tended in the
 minds of many spectators1 to obscure   
and overwhelm the fine intellectual     
force1 the beautiful delicacy1 and the  
consummate art with which he embodied   
,mephistopheles4 ,it ought not to have  
produced that effect--because1 in fact1 
the spectacle presented was1 actually   
and truly1 that of a supernatural being1
 predominant by force of inherent       
strength and charm over the broad       

expanse of the populous and teeming     
world2 but it might have produced it3   
and1 for the practical good of the art  
of acting1 progress in that direction   
has gone far enough4 ,the supreme beauty
 of the production was the poetic       
atmosphere of it--the irradiation of    
that strange sensation of being haunted 
which sometimes will come upon you1 even
 at noon-day1 in lonely places1 on      
vacant hillside1 beneath the dark boughs
 of great trees1 in the presence of the 
grim and silent rocks1 and by the       
solitary margin of the sea4 ,the feeling
 was that of ,goethe's own weird and    
suggestive scene of the ,open ,field1   
the black horses1 and the raven-stone2  
or that of the shuddering lines of      
,coleridge3--      ,as one that on a    
lonesome road       ,doth walk in fear  
and dread1     ,and1 having once turned 
round1 walks on       ,and turns no more
 his head1     ,because he knows a      
frightful fiend       ,doth close behind
 him tread4     ,,iii4  ,,adelaide      

,,neilson ,,as ,,imogen ,,and ,,juliet4 
,shakespeare's drama of ,cymbeline seems
 not at any time in the history of the  
stage to have been a favourite with     
theatrical audiences4 ,in ,new ,york it 
has had but five revivals in more than a
 hundred years1 and those occurred at   
long intervals and were of brief        
continuance4 ,the names of ,thomas      
,barry1 ,mrs4 ,shaw-,hamblin 7,eliza    
,marian ,trewar71 and ,julia ,bennett   
,barrow are best remembered in          
association with it on the ,american    
stage4 ,it had slept for more than a    
generation when1 in the autumn of #ahgf1
 ,adelaide ,neilson revived it at       
,philadelphia2 but since then it has    
been reproduced by several of her       
imitators4 ,she first offered it on the 
,new ,york stage in ,may #ahgg1 and it  
was then seen that her impersonation of 
,imogen was one of the best of her      
works4 ,if it be the justification of   
the stage as an institution of public   
benefit and social advancement1 that it 

elevates humanity by presenting noble   
ideals of human nature and making them  
exemplars and guides1 that justification
 was practically accomplished by that   
beautiful performance4  ,the poetry of  
,cymbeline is eloquent and lovely4 ,the 
imagination of its appreciative reader1 
gliding lightly over its more sinister  
incidents1 finds its story romantic1 its
 accessories--both of the court and the 
wilderness--picturesque1 its historic   
atmosphere novel and exciting1 and the  
spirit of it tender and noble4 ,such a  
reader1 likewise1 fashions its          
characters into an ideal form which     
cannot be despoiled by comparison with a
 visible standard of reality4 ,it is    
not1 however1 an entirely pleasant play 
to witness4 ,the acting version1 indeed1
 is considerably condensed from the     
original1 by the excision of various    
scenes explanatory of the conduct of the
 story1 and by the omission of the      
cumbersome vision of ,leonatus2 and the 
gain of brevity thereby made helps to   

commend the work to a more gracious     
acceptance than it would be likely to   
obtain if acted exactly according to    
,shakespeare4 ,its movement also is     
imbued with additional alacrity by a    
rearrangement of its divisions4 ,it is  
customarily presented in six acts4 ,yet1
 notwithstanding the cutting and editing
 to which it has been subjected1        
,cymbeline remains somewhat inharmonious
 alike with the needs of the stage and  
the apprehension of the public4  ,for   
this there are several causes4 ,one     
perhaps is its mixed character1 its     
vague1 elusive purpose1 and its         
unreality of effect4 ,from the nature of
 his story--a tale of stern facts and   
airy inventions1 respecting ,britain and
 ,rome1 two thousand years ago--the poet
 seems to have been compelled to make a 
picture of human life too literal to be 
viewed wholly as an ideal1 and too      
romantic to be viewed wholly as literal4
 ,in the unequivocally great plays of   
,shakespeare the action moves like the  

mighty flow of some resistless river4   
,in this one it advances with the       
diffusive and straggling movement of a  
summer cloud4 ,the drift and meaning of 
the piece1 accordingly1 do not stand    
boldly out4 ,that astute thinker1       
,ulrici1 for instance1 after much       
brooding upon it1 ties his mental legs  
in a hard knot and says that            
,shakespeare intended1 in this piece1 to
 illustrate that man is not the master  
of his own destiny4 ,there must be      
liberal scope for conjecture when a     
philosopher can make such a landing as  
that4  ,the persons in ,cymbeline1      
moreover--aside from the exceptional    
character of ,imogen--do not come home  
to a spectator's realisation1 whether of
 sympathy or repugnance4 ,it is like the
 flower that thrives best under glass   
but shivers and wilts in the open air4  
,its poetry seems marred by the rude    
touch of the actual4 ,its delicious     
mountain scenes lose their woodland     
fragrance4 ,its motive1 bluntly         

disclosed in the wager scene1 seems     
coarse1 unnatural1 and offensive4 ,its  
plot1 really simple1 moves heavily and  
perplexes attention4 ,it is a piece that
 lacks pervasive concentration and      
enthralling point4 ,it might be defined 
as ,othello with a difference--the      
difference being in favour of ,othello4 
,jealousy is the pivot of both3 but in  
,othello jealousy is treated with       
profound and searching truth1 with      
terrible intensity of feeling1 and with 
irresistible momentum of action4 ,a     
spectator will honour and pity ,othello1
 and hate and execrate ,iago--with some 
infusion1 perhaps of impatience toward  
the one and of admiration for the       
other--but he is likely to view both    
,leonatus and ,iachimo with considerable
 indifference2 he will casually         
recognise the infrequent ,cymbeline as  
an ill-tempered1 sonorous old donkey2 he
 will give a passing smile of scornful  
disgust to ,cloten--that vague hybrid of
 ,roderigo and ,oswald2 and of the      

proceedings of the ,queen and the       
fortunes of the royal family--whether as
 affected by the chemical experiments of
 ,doctor ,cornelius or the bellicose    
attitude of ,augustus ,csar1 in reaching
 for his ,british tribute--he will be   
practically unconscious4 ,this result   
comes of commingling stern fact and     
pastoral fancy in such a way that an    
auditor of the composition is dubious   
whether to fix his senses steadfastly on
 the one or yield up his spirit to      
poetic reverie on the other4            
,coleridge--whose intuitions as to such 
matters were usually as good as recorded
 truth--thought that ,shakespeare wrote 
,cymbeline in his youthful period4 ,he  
certainly does not manifest in it the   
cogent and glittering dramatic force    
that is felt in ,othello and ,macbeth4  
,the probability is that he wrought upon
 the old legend of ,holinshed in a mood 
of intellectual caprice1 inclining      
towards sensuous and fanciful dalliance 
with a remote and somewhat intangible   

subject4 ,those persons who explain the 
immense fecundity of his creative genius
 by alleging that he must steadily have 
kept in view the needs of the           
contemporary theatre seem to forget that
 he went much further in his plays than 
there was any need for him to go1 in the
 satisfaction of such a purpose1 and    
that those plays are1 in general1 too   
great for any stage that has existed4   
,shakespeare1 it is certain1 could not  
have been an exception to the law that  
every author must be conscious of a     
feeling1 apart from intellectual        
purpose1 that carries him onward in his 
art4 ,the feeling that shines through   
,cymbeline is a loving delight in the   
character of ,imogen4  ,the nature of   
that feeling and the quality of that    
character1 had they been obscure1 would 
have been made clear by ,adelaide       
,neilson's embodiment4 ,the personality 
that she presented was typical and      
unusual4 ,it embodied virtue1 neither   
hardened by austerity nor vapid with    

excess of goodness1 and it embodied     
seductive womanhood1 without one touch  
of wantonness or guile4 ,it presented a 
woman innately good and radiantly       
lovely1 who amid severest trials        
spontaneously and unconsciously acted   
with the ingenuous grace of childhood1  
the grandest generosity1 the most       
constant spirit4 ,the essence of        
,imogen's nature is fidelity4 ,faithful 
to love1 even till death1 she is yet    
more faithful to honour4 ,her scorn of  
falsehood is overwhelming2 but she      
resents no injury1 harbours no          
resentment1 feels no spite1 murmurs at  
no misfortune4 ,from every blow of evil 
she recovers with a gentle patience that
 is infinitely pathetic4 ,passionate and
 acutely sensitive1 she yet seems never 
to think of antagonising her affliction 
or to falter in her unconscious         
fortitude4 ,she has no reproach--but    
only a grieved submission--for the      
husband who has wronged her by his      
suspicions and has doomed her to death4 

,she thinks only of him1 not of herself1
 when she beholds him1 as she supposes1 
dead at her side2 but even then she will
 submit and endure--she will but weep   
and sigh and say twice o'er a century of
 prayers4 ,she is only sorry for the    
woman who was her deadly enemy and who  
hated her for her goodness--so often the
 incitement of mortal hatred4 ,she loses
 without a pang the heirship to a       
kingdom4 ,an ideal thus poised in       
goodness and radiant in beauty might    
well have sustained--as undoubtedly it  
did sustain--the inspiration of         
,shakespeare4  ,adelaide ,neilson1 with 
her uncommon graces of person1 found it 
easy to make the chamber scene and the  
cave scenes pictorial and charming4 ,her
 ingenuous trepidation and her pretty   
wiles1 as ,fidele1 in the cave1 were    
finely harmonious with the character and
 arose from it like odour from a flower4
 ,the innocence1 the glee1 the feminine 
desire to please1 the pensive grace1 the
 fear1 the weakness1 and the artless    

simplicity made up a state of gracious  
fascination4 ,it was1 however1 in the   
revolt against ,iachimo's perfidy1 in   
the fall before ,pisanio's fatal        
disclosure1 and in the frenzy over the  
supposed death of ,leonatus that the    
actress put forth electrical power and  
showed how strong emotion1 acting       
through the imagination1 can transfigure
 the being and give to love or sorrow a 
monumental semblance and an everlasting 
voice4 ,the power was harmonious with   
the individuality and did not mar its   
grace4 ,there was a perfect preservation
 of sustained identity1 and this was    
expressed with such a sweet elocution   
and such an airy freedom of movement and
 naturalness of gesture that the        
observer almost forgot to notice the    
method of the mechanism and quite forgot
 that he was looking upon a fiction and 
a shadow4 ,that her personation of      
,imogen1 though more exalted in its     
nature than any of her works1 excepting 
,isabella1 would rival in public        

acceptance her ,juliet1 ,viola1 or      
,rosalind1 was not to be expected3 it   
was too much a passive                  
condition--delicate and elusive--and too
 little an active effort4 ,she woke into
 life the sleeping spirit of a rather   
repellant drama1 and was alone the      
,arabian bird4  ,shakespeare's ,juliet1 
the beautiful1 ill-fated heroine of his 
consummate poem of love and sorrow1 was 
the most effective1 if not the highest  
of ,adelaide ,neilson's tragic          
assumptions4 ,it carried to every eye   
and to every heart the convincing and   
thrilling sense equally of her beauty   
and her power4 ,the exuberant womanhood1
 the celestial affection1 the steadfast 
nobility1 and the lovely1 childlike     
innocence of ,imogen--shown through the 
constrained medium of a diffusive       
romance--were not to all minds          
appreciable on the instant4 ,the gentle 
sadness of ,viola1 playing around her   
gleeful animation and absorbing it as   
the cup of the white lily swallows the  

sunshine1 might well be1 for the more   
blunt senses of the average auditor1    
dim1 fitful1 evanescent1 and            
ineffective4 ,ideal heroism and         
dream-like fragrance--the colours of    
,murillo or the poems of ,heine--are    
truly known but to exceptional natures  
or in exceptional moods4 ,the reckless1 
passionate idolatry of ,juliet1 on the  
contrary1--with its attendant sacrifice1
 its climax of disaster1 and its sequel 
of anguish and death1--stands forth as  
clearly as the white line of the        
lightning on a black midnight sky1 and  
no observer can possibly miss its       
meaning4 ,all that ,juliet is1 all that 
she acts and all that she suffers1 is   
elemental4 ,it springs directly from the
 heart and it moves straight onward like
 a shaft of light4 ,othello1 the        
perfection of simplicity1 is not simpler
 than ,juliet4 ,in him are embodied     
passion and jealousy1 swayed by an awful
 instinct of rude justice4 ,in her is   
embodied unmixed and immitigable        

passion1 without law1 limit1 reason1    
patience1 or restraint4 ,she is love    
personified and therefore a fatality to 
herself4 ,presented in that way--and in 
that way she was presented by ,adelaide 
,neilson--her nature and her experience 
come home to the feelings as well as the
 imagination1 and all that we know1 as  
well as all that we dream1 of beauty and
 of anguish are centred in one image4   
,in this we may see all the terrors of  
the moving hand of fate4 ,in this we may
 almost hear a warning voice out of     
heaven1 saying that nowhere except in   
duty shall the human heart find refuge  
and peace--or1 if not peace1 submission4
  ,the question whether ,shakespeare's  
,juliet be correctly interpreted is not 
one of public importance4 ,it might be  
ever so correctly interpreted without   
producing the right effect4 ,there have 
been many ,juliets4 ,there has1 in our  
time1 been no ,juliet so completely     
fascinating and irresistible as that of 
,adelaide ,neilson4 ,through the medium 

of that ,shakespearean character the    
actress poured forth that strange1      
thrilling1 indescribable power which    
more than anything else in the world    
vindicates by its existence the         
spiritual grandeur and destiny of the   
human soul4 ,neither the accuracy of her
 ideals nor the fineness of her         
execution would have accomplished the   
result that attended her labours and    
crowned her fame4 ,there was an         
influence back of these--a spark of the 
divine fire--a consecration of the      
individual life--as eloquent to inform  
as it was potent to move4 ,adelaide     
,neilson was one of those strange1      
exceptional natures that1 often building
 better than they know1 not only        
interpret the poet's dream but give to  
it an added emphasis and a higher       
symbolism4 ,each element of her         
personality was rich and rare4 ,the     
eyes--now glittering with a mischievous 
glee that seemed never to have seen a   
cloud or felt a sorrow1 now steady1     

frank1 and sweet1 with innocence and    
trust1--could1 in one moment1 flash with
 the wild fire of defiance or the       
glittering light of imperious command1  
or1 equally in one moment1 could soften 
with mournful thought and sad           
remembrance1 or darken with the far-off 
look of one who hears the waving wings  
of angels and talks with the spirits of 
the dead4 ,the face1 just sufficiently  
unsymmetrical to be brimful of          
character1 whether piquant or pensive2  
the carriage of body1--easy yet quaint  
in its artless grace1 like that of a    
pretty child in the unconscious         
fascination of infancy2 the restless1   
unceasing play of mood1 and the         
instantaneous and perfect response of   
expression and gesture1--all these were 
the denotements of genius2 and1 above   
all these1 and not to be mistaken in its
 irradiation of the interior spirit of  
that extraordinary creature1 was a voice
 of perfect music--rich1 sonorous1      
flexible1 vibrant1 copious in volume1   

yet delicate as a silver thread--a voice
            ,like the whisper of the    
woods     ,in prime of even1 when the   
stars are few4  ,it did not surprise    
that such a woman should truly act      
,juliet4 ,much though there be in a     
personality that is assumed1 there is   
much more in the personality that       
assumes it4 ,golden fire in a porcelain 
vase would not be more luminous than was
 the soul of that actress as it shone   
through her ideal of ,juliet4 ,the      
performance did not stop short at the   
interpretation of a poetic fancy4 ,it   
was amply and completely that--but it   
was more than that1 being also a living 
experience4 ,the subtlety of it was only
 equalled by its intensity1 and neither 
was surpassed except by its reality4    
,the moment she came upon the scene all 
eyes followed her1 and every imaginative
 mind was vaguely conscious of something
 strange and sad--a feeling of perilous 
suspense--a dark presentiment of        
impending sorrow4 ,in that was felt at  

once the presence of a nature to which  
the experience of ,juliet would be      
possible2 and thus the conquest of human
 sympathy was effected at the outset--by
 a condition1 and without the exercise  
of a single effort4 ,fate no less than  
art participated in the result4 ,though 
it was the music of ,shakespeare that   
flowed from the harp1 it was the hand of
 living genius that smote the strings2  
it was the soul of a great woman that   
bore its vital testimony to the power of
 the universal passion4  ,never was poet
 truer to the highest truth of spiritual
 life than ,shakespeare is when he      
invests with ineffable                  
mournfulness--shadowy as twilight1 vague
 as the remembrance of a dream--those   
creatures of his fancy who are          
preordained to suffering and a miserable
 death4 ,never was there sounded a truer
 note of poetry than that which thrills 
in ,othello's1 ,if it were now to die1  
or sobs in ,juliet's ,too early seen    
unknown1 and known too late4 ,it was the

 exquisite felicity of ,adelaide        
,neilson's acting of ,juliet that she   
glided into harmony with that tragical  
undertone1 and1 with seemingly a perfect
 unconsciousness of it--whether         
prattling to the old nurse1 or moving1  
sweetly grave and softly demure1 through
 the stately figures of the minuet--was 
already marked off from among the       
living1 already overshadowed by a       
terrible fate1 already alone in the     
bleak loneliness of the broken heart4   
,striking the keynote thus1 the rest    
followed in easy sequence4 ,the ecstasy 
of the wooing scene1 the agony of the   
final parting from ,romeo1 the forlorn  
tremor and passionate frenzy of the     
terrible night before the burial1 the   
fearful awakening1 the desperation1 the 
paroxysm1 the death-blow that then is   
mercy and kindness1--all these were in  
unison with the spirit at first denoted1
 and through these was naturally        
accomplished its prefigured doom4 ,if   
clearly to possess a high purpose1 to   

follow it directly1 to accomplish it    
thoroughly1 to adorn it with every      
grace1 to conceal every vestige of its  
art1 and to cast over the art that      
glamour of poetry which ennobles while  
it charms1 and while it dazzles also    
endears1--if this is greatness in       
acting1 then was ,adelaide ,neilson's   
,juliet a great embodiment4 ,it never   
will be forgotten4 ,its soft romance of 
tone1 its splendour of passion1 its     
sustained energy1 its beauty of speech1 
and its poetic fragrance are such as    
fancy must always cherish and memory    
cannot lose4 ,placing this embodiment   
beside ,imogen and ,viola1 it was easy  
to understand the secret of her         
extraordinary success4 ,she satisfied   
for all kinds of persons the sense of   
the ideal4 ,to youthful fancy she was   
the radiant vision of love and pleasure2
 to grave manhood1 the image of all that
 chivalry should honour and strength    
protect2 to woman1 the type of noble    
goodness and constant affection2 to the 

scholar1 a relief from thought and care2
 to the moralist1 a spring of tender    
pity--that loveliness1 however          
exquisite1 must fade and vanish4        
,childhood1 mindful of her kindness and 
her frolic1 scattered flowers at her    
feet2 and age1 that knows the thorny    
pathways of the world1 whispered its    
silent prayer and laid its trembling    
hands in blessing on her head4 ,she     
sleeps beneath a white marble cross in  
,brompton cemetery1 and all her triumphs
 and glories have dwindled to a handful 
of dust4         99       99       99   
99       99  ,,note ,,on                
,,cymbeline4--,genest records           
productions of ,shakespeare's           
,cymbeline1 in ,london1 as follows3     
,haymarket1 ,november #h1 #agdd2 ,covent
 ,garden1 ,april #g1 #agdf2 ,drury      
,lane1 ,november #bh1 #agfa2 ,covent    
,garden1 ,december #bh1 #agfg2 ,drury   
,lane1 ,december #a1 #aggj2 ,haymarket1 
,august #i1 #aghb2 ,covent ,garden1     
,october #ah1 #aghd2 ,drury ,lane1      

,november #ba1 #aghe1 and ,january #bi  
and ,march #bj1 #aghg2 ,covent ,garden1 
,may #ac1 #ahjj1 ,january #ah1 #ahjf1   
,june #c1 #ahab1 ,may #bi1 #ahaf1 and   
,june #b1 #ahbe2 and ,drury ,lane1      
,february #i1 #ahbi2 ,imogen was        
represented1 successively1 by ,mrs4     
,pritchard1 ,miss ,bride1 ,mrs4 ,yates1 
,mrs4 ,barry1 ,mrs4 ,bulkley1 ,miss     
,younge1 ,mrs4 ,jordan1 ,mrs4 ,siddons1 
,mrs4 ,pope1 ,miss ,smith1 ,mrs4 ,h4    
,johnston ,miss ,stephens1 ,miss ,foote1
 and ,miss ,phillips4 ,later            
representatives of it were ,sally       
,booth1 ,helen ,faucit1 and ,laura      
,addison4     ,,iv4  ,,edwin ,,booth4   
,there was a great shower of meteors on 
the night of ,november #ac1 #ahcc1 and  
on that night1 near ,baltimore1         
,maryland1 was born the most famous     
tragic actor of ,america in this        
generation1 ,edwin ,booth4 ,no other    
,american actor of this century has had 
a rise so rapid or a career so early and
 continuously brilliant as that of      

,edwin ,booth4 ,his father1 the renowned
 ,junius ,brutus ,booth1 had hallowed   
the family name with distinction and    
romantic interest4 ,if ever there was a 
genius upon the stage the elder ,booth  
was a genius4 ,his wonderful eyes1 his  
tremendous vitality1 his electrical     
action1 his power to thrill the feelings
 and easily and inevitably to awaken    
pity and terror1--all these made him a  
unique being and obtained for him a     
reputation with old-time audiences      
distinct from that of all other men4 ,he
 was followed as a marvel1 and even now 
the mention of his name stirs1 among    
those who remember him1 an enthusiasm   
such as no other theatrical memory can  
evoke4 ,his sudden death 7alone1 aboard 
a ,mississippi river steamboat1         
,november #cj1 #aheb7 was pathetic1 and 
the public thought concerning him       
thenceforward commingled tenderness with
 passionate admiration4 ,when his son   
,edwin began to rise as an actor the    
people everywhere rejoiced and gave him 

an eager welcome4 ,with such a prestige 
he had no difficulty in making himself  
heard1 and when it was found that he    
possessed the same strange power with   
which his father had conquered and      
fascinated the dramatic world the       
popular exultation was unbounded4       
,edwin ,booth went on the stage in #ahdi
 and accompanied his father to          
,california in #aheb1 and between #aheb 
and #ahef he gained his first brilliant 
success4 ,the early part of his         
,california life was marked by hardship 
and all of it by vicissitude1 but his   
authentic genius speedily flamed out1   
and long before he returned to the      
,atlantic seaboard the news of his fine 
exploits had cleared the way for his    
conquest of all hearts4 ,he came back in
 #ahef-eg1 and from that time onward his
 fame continually increased4 ,he early  
identified himself with two of the most 
fascinating characters in the drama--the
 sublime and pathetic ,hamlet and the   
majestic1 romantic1 picturesque1 tender1

 and grimly humorous ,richelieu4 ,he    
first acted ,hamlet in #ahed2 he adopted
 ,richelieu in #ahef2 and such was his  
success with the latter character that  
for many years afterward he made it a   
rule 7acting on the sagacious advice of 
the veteran ,new ,orleans manager1      
,james ,h4 ,caldwell71 always to        
introduce himself in that part before   
any new community4 ,the popular         
sentiment toward him early took a       
romantic turn and the growth of that    
sentiment has been accelerated and      
strengthened by every important         
occurrence of his private life4 ,in     
,july #ahfj he was married to a lovely  
and interesting woman1 ,miss ,mary      
,devlin1 of ,troy1 and in ,february     
#ahfc she died4 ,in #ahfg he lost the   
,winter ,garden theatre1 which was burnt
 down on the night of ,march #bb1 that  
year1 after a performance of ,john      
,howard ,payne's ,brutus4 ,he had       
accomplished beautiful revivals of      
,hamlet1 ,othello1 ,the ,merchant of    

,venice1 and other plays at the ,winter 
,garden1 and had obtained for that      
theatre an honourable eminence2 but when
 in #ahfi he built and opened ,booth's  
,theatre in ,new ,york1 he proceeded to 
eclipse all his previous efforts and    
triumphs4 ,the productions of ,romeo and
 ,juliet1 ,othello1 ,richelieu1 ,hamlet1
 ,a ,winter's ,tale1 and ,julius ,csar  
were marked by ample scholarship and    
magnificence4 ,when the enterprise      
failed and the theatre passed out of    
,edwin ,booth's hands 7#ahgd7 the       
play-going public endured a calamity4   
,but the failure of the actor's noble   
endeavour to establish a great theatre  
in the first city of ,america1 like     
every other conspicuous event in his    
career1 served but to deepen the public 
interest in his welfare4 ,he has more   
than retrieved his losses since then1   
and has made more than one triumphal    
march throughout the length and breadth 
of the ,republic1 besides acting in     
,london and other cities of ,great      

,britain1 and gaining extraordinary     
success upon the stage of ,germany4 ,to 
think of ,edwin ,booth is immediately to
 be reminded of those leading events in 
his career1 while to review them1 even  
in a cursory glance1 is to perceive     
that1 notwithstanding calamities and    
sorrows1 notwithstanding a bitter       
experience of personal bereavement and  
of the persecution of envy and malice1  
,edwin ,booth has ever been a favourite 
of fortune4  ,the bust of ,booth as     
,brutus and that of ,john ,gilbert as   
,sir ,peter1 standing side by side in   
the ,players' ,club1 stir many memories 
and prompt many reflections4 ,gilbert   
was a young man of twenty-three1 and had
 been six years on the stage1 before    
,edwin ,booth was born2 and when1 at the
 age of sixteen1 ,booth made his first  
appearance 7,september #aj1 #ahdi1 at   
the ,boston ,museum1 as ,tressil to his 
father's ,richard71 ,gilbert had become 
a famous actor4 ,the younger man1       
however1 speedily rose to the higher    

level of the best dramatic ability as   
well as the best theatrical culture of  
his time2 and it is significant of the  
splendid triumph of tragic genius1 and  
of the advantage it possesses over that 
of comedy in its immediate effect upon  
mankind1 that when the fine and         
exceptional combination was made 7,may  
#ba1 #ahhh1 at the ,metropolitan ,opera 
,house1 ,new ,york71 for a performance  
of ,hamlet for the benefit of ,lester   
,wallack1 ,edwin ,booth acted ,hamlet1  
with ,john ,gilbert for ,polonius1 and  
,joseph ,jefferson for the first        
,grave-digger4 ,booth has had his       
artistic growth in a peculiar period in 
the history of dramatic art in ,america4
 ,just before his time the tragic       
sceptre was in the hands of ,edwin      
,forrest1 who never succeeded in winning
 the intellectual part of the public1   
but was constantly compelled to dominate
 a multitude that never heard any sound 
short of thunder and never felt anything
 till it was hit with a club4 ,the bulk 

of ,forrest's great fortune was gained  
by him with ,metamora1 which is rant and
 fustian4 ,he himself despised it and   
deeply despised and energetically cursed
 the public that forced him to act in   
it4 ,forrest's best powers1 indeed1 were
 never really appreciated by the average
 mind of his fervent admirers4 ,he lived
 in a rough period and he had to use a  
hard method to subdue and please it4    
,edwin ,booth was fortunate in coming   
later1 when the culture of the people   
had somewhat increased1 and when the old
 sledge-hammer style was going out1 so  
that he gained almost without an effort 
the refined and fastidious classes4 ,as 
long ago as #aheg1 with all his natural 
grace1 refinement1 romantic charm1 and  
fine bearing1 his impetuosity was such  
that even the dullest sensibilities were
 aroused and thrilled and astonished by 
him1--and so it happened that he also   
gained the multitude4 ,to think of these
 things is to realise the steady advance
 of the stage in the esteem of the best 

people1 and to feel grateful that we do 
not live in the palmy days--those raw   
times that ,john ,brougham used to call 
the days of light houses and heavy gas  
bills4  ,mrs4 ,asia ,booth ,clarke1 wife
 of the distinguished and excellent     
comedian ,john ,s4 ,clarke1 wrote a life
 of her father1 ,junius ,brutus ,booth1 
in which she has recounted interesting  
passages in his career1 and chronicled  
significant and amusing anecdotes of his
 peculiarities4 ,he was on the stage    
from #ahac to #aheb1 in which latter    
year he died1 aged fifty-six4 ,in his   
youth he served for a while in the      
,british navy1 showed some talent for   
painting1 learned the printer's trade1  
wrote a little1 and dabbled in          
sculpture--all before he turned actor4  
,the powerful hostility of ,edmund ,kean
 and his adherents drove him from the   
,london stage1 though not till after he 
had gained honours there1 and he came to
 ,america in #ahba1 and bought a farm   
near ,baltimore1 where he settled1 and  

where his son ,edwin 7the seventh of ten
 children7 was born4 ,that farm remained
 in the family till #ahhj1 when for the 
first time it changed hands4 ,there is a
 certain old cherry-tree growing upon   
it--remarkable among cherry-trees for   
being large1 tall1 straight1 clean1 and 
handsome--amid the boughs of which the  
youthful ,edwin might often have been   
found in his juvenile days4 ,it is a    
coincidence that ,edwin ,l4 ,davenport  
and ,john ,mc,cullough1 also honoured   
names in ,american stage history1 were  
born on the same day in the same month  
with ,edwin ,booth1 though in different 
years4  ,from an early age ,edwin ,booth
 was associated with his father in all  
the wanderings and strange and often sad
 adventures of that wayward man of      
genius1 and no doubt the many sorrowful 
experiences of his youth deepened the   
gloom of his inherited temperament4     
,those who know him well are aware that 
he has great tenderness of heart and    
abundant playful humour2 that his mind  

is one of extraordinary liveliness1 and 
that he sympathises keenly and cordially
 with the joys and sorrows of others2   
and yet that he seems saturated with    
sadness1 isolated from companionship1   
lonely and alone4 ,it is this           
temperament1 combined with a sombre and 
melancholy aspect of countenance1 that  
has helped to make him so admirable in  
the character of ,hamlet4 ,of his       
fitness for that part his father was the
 first to speak1 when on a night many   
years ago1 in ,sacramento1 they had     
dressed for ,pierre and ,jaffier1 in    
,venice ,preserved4 ,edwin1 as ,jaffier1
 had put on a close-fitting robe of     
black velvet4 ,you look like ,hamlet1   
the father said4 ,the time was destined 
to come when ,edwin ,booth would be     
accepted all over ,america as the       
greatest ,hamlet of the day4 ,in the    
season of #ahfd-fe1 at the ,winter      
,garden theatre1 ,new ,york1 he acted   
that part for a hundred nights in       
succession1 accomplishing a feat then   

unprecedented in theatrical annals4     
,since then ,henry ,irving1 in ,london1 
has acted ,hamlet two hundred           
consecutive times in one season2 but    
this latter achievement1 in the present 
day and in the capital city of the      
world1 was less difficult than ,edwin   
,booth's exploit1 performed in turbulent
 ,new ,york in the closing months of the
 terrible civil war4  ,the elder ,booth 
was a short1 spare1 muscular man1 with a
 splendid chest1 a symmetrical ,greek   
head1 a pale countenance1 a voice of    
wonderful compass and thrilling power1  
dark hair1 and blue eyes4 ,his son's    
resemblance to him is chiefly obvious in
 the shape of the head and face1 the    
arch and curve of the heavy eyebrows1   
the radiant and constantly shifting     
light of expression that animates the   
countenance1 the natural grace of       
carriage1 and the celerity of movement4 
,booth's eyes are dark brown1 and seem  
to turn black in moments of excitement1 
and they are capable of conveying1 with 

electrical effect1 the most diverse     
meanings--the solemnity of lofty        
thought1 the tenderness of affection1   
the piteousness of forlorn sorrow1 the  
awful sense of spiritual surroundings1  
the woful weariness of despair1 the     
mocking glee of wicked sarcasm1 the     
vindictive menace of sinister purpose1  
and the lightning glare of baleful      
wrath4 ,in range of facial              
expressiveness his countenance is thus  
fully equal to that of his father4 ,the 
present writer saw the elder ,booth but 
once1 and then in a comparatively       
inferior part--,pescara1 in ,shiel's    
ferocious tragedy of ,the ,apostate4 ,he
 was a terrible presence4 ,he was the   
incarnation of smooth1 specious1        
malignant1 hellish rapacity4 ,his       
exultant malice seemed to buoy him above
 the ground4 ,he floated rather than    
walked4 ,his glance was deadly4 ,his    
clear1 high1 cutting1 measured tone was 
the exasperating note of hideous        
cruelty4 ,he was acting a fiend then1   

and making the monster not only possible
 but actual4 ,he certainly gave a       
greater impression of overwhelming power
 than is given by ,edwin ,booth1 and    
seemed a more formidable and tremendous 
man4 ,but his face was not more         
brilliant than that of his renowned son2
 and in fact it was1 if anything1       
somewhat less splendid in power of the  
eye4 ,there is a book about him1 called 
,the ,tragedian1 written by ,thomas ,r4 
,gould1 who also made a noble bust of   
him in marble2 and those who never saw  
him can obtain a good idea of what sort 
of an actor he was by reading that book4
 ,it conveys the image of a greater     
actor1 but not a more brilliant one1    
than ,edwin ,booth4 ,only one man of our
 time has equalled ,edwin ,booth in this
 singular splendour of countenance--the 
great ,new ,england orator ,rufus       
,choate4 ,had ,choate been an actor upon
 the stage--as he was before a          
jury--with those terrible eyes of his1  
and that passionate ,arab face1 he must 

have towered fully to the height of the 
tradition of ,george ,frederick ,cooke4 
,the lurid flashes of passion and the   
vehement outbursts in the acting of     
,edwin ,booth are no doubt the points   
that most persons who have seen him will
 most clearly remember4 ,through these a
 spectator naturally discerns the       
essential nature of an actor4 ,the image
 of ,george ,frederick ,cooke1 pointing 
with his long1 lean forefinger and      
uttering ,sir ,giles's imprecation upon 
,marrall1 never fades out of theatrical 
history4 ,garrick's awful frenzy in the 
storm scene of ,king ,lear1 ,kean's     
colossal agony in the farewell speech of
 ,othello1 ,macready's heartrending yell
 in ,werner1 ,junius ,booth's terrific  
utterance of ,richard's ,what do they i'
 the north8 ,forrest's hyena snarl when1
 as ,jack ,cade1 he met ,lord ,say in   
the thicket1 or his volumed cry of      
tempestuous fury when1 as ,lucius       
,brutus1 he turned upon ,tarquin under  
the black midnight sky--those are things

 never to be forgotten4 ,edwin ,booth   
has provided many such great moments in 
acting1 and the traditions of the stage 
will not let them die4 ,to these no     
doubt we must look for illuminative     
manifestations of hereditary genius4    
,garrick1 ,henderson1 ,cooke1 ,edmund   
,kean1 ,junius ,booth1 and ,edwin ,booth
 are names that make a natural sequence 
in one intellectual family4 ,could we   
but see them together1 we should        
undoubtedly find them1 in many          
particulars1 kindred4 ,henderson        
flourished in the school of nature that 
,garrick had created--to the            
discomfiture of ,quin and all the       
classics4 ,cooke had seen ,henderson    
act1 and was thought to resemble him4   
,edmund ,kean worshipped the memory of  
,cooke and repeated many of the elder   
tragedian's ways4 ,so far1 indeed1 did  
he carry his homage that when he was in 
,new ,york in #ahbd he caused ,cooke's  
remains to be taken from the vault      
beneath ,st4 ,paul's church and buried  

in the church-yard1 where a monument1   
set up by ,kean and restored by his son 
,charles1 by ,sothern1 and by ,edwin    
,booth1 still marks their place of      
sepulture4 ,that was the occasion when1 
as ,dr4 ,francis records1 in his book on
 old ,new ,york1 ,kean took the index   
finger of ,cooke's right hand1 and he1  
the doctor1 took his skull1 as relics4  
,i have got ,cooke's style in acting1   
,kean once said1 but the public will    
never know it1 ,i am so much smaller4   
,it was not the imitation of a copyist2 
it was the spontaneous devotion and     
direction of a kindred soul4 ,the elder 
,booth saw ,kean act1 and although      
injured by a rivalry that ,kean did not 
hesitate to make malicious1 admired him 
with honest fervour4 ,i will yield      
,othello to him1 he said1 but neither   
,richard nor ,sir ,giles4 ,forrest      
thought ,edmund ,kean the greatest actor
 of the age1 and copied him1 especially 
in ,othello4 ,pathos1 with all that it  
implies1 seems to have been ,kean's     

special excellence4 ,terror was the     
elder ,booth's4 ,edwin ,booth may be    
less than either1 but he unites         
attributes of both4  ,in the earlier    
part of his career ,edwin ,booth was    
accustomed to act ,sir ,giles           
,overreach1 ,sir ,edward ,mortimer1     
,pescara1 and a number of other parts of
 the terrific order1 that he has since  
discarded4 ,he was fine in every one of 
them4 ,the first sound of his voice     
when1 as ,sir ,edward ,mortimer1 he was 
heard speaking off the scene1 was       
eloquent of deep suffering1 concentrated
 will1 and a strange1 sombre1 formidable
 character4 ,the sweet1 exquisite1 icy1 
infernal joy with which1 as ,pescara1 he
 told his rival that there should be    
music was almost comical in its effect  
of terror3 it drove the listener across 
the line of tragical tension and made   
him hysterical with the grimness of a   
deadly humour4 ,his swift defiance to   
,lord ,lovell1 as ,sir ,giles1 and      
indeed the whole mighty and terrible    

action with which he carried that       
scene--from ,what1 are you pale8 down to
 the grisly and horrid viper pretence   
and reptile spasm of death--were simply 
tremendous4 ,this was in the days when  
his acting yet retained the exuberance  
of a youthful spirit1 before the        
philosophic mind had checked the        
headlong currents of the blood or curbed
 imagination in its lawless flight4 ,and
 those parts not only admitted of bold  
colour and extravagant action but       
demanded them4 ,even his ,hamlet was    
touched with that elemental fire4 ,not  
alone in the great junctures of the     
tragedy--the encounters with the ghost1 
the parting with ,ophelia1 the climax of
 the play-scene1 the slaughter of poor  
old ,polonius in delirious mistake for  
the king1 and the avouchment to ,laertes
 in the graveyard--was he brilliant and 
impetuous2 but in almost everything that
 quality of temperament showed itself1  
and here1 of course1 it was in excess4  
,he no longer hurls the pipe into the   

flies when saying ,though you may fret  
me1 you can not play upon me2 but he    
used to do so then1 and the rest of the 
performance was kindred with that part  
of it4 ,he needed1 in that period of his
 development1 the more terrible passions
 to express4 ,pathos and spirituality   
and the mountain air of great thought   
were yet to be4 ,his ,hamlet was only   
dazzling--the glorious possibility of   
what it has since become4 ,but his ,sir 
,giles was a consummate work of         
genius--as good then as it ever         
afterward became1 and better than any   
other that has been seen since1 not     
excepting that of ,e4,l4 ,davenport4    
,and in all kindred characters he showed
 himself a man of genius4 ,his success  
was great4 ,the admiration that he      
inspired partook of zeal that almost    
amounted to craziness4 ,when he walked  
in the streets of ,boston in #aheg his  
shining face1 his compact figure1 and   
his elastic step drew every eye1 and    
people would pause and turn in groups to

 look at him4  ,the actor is born but   
the artist must be made1 and the actor  
who is not an artist only half fulfils  
his powers4 ,edwin ,booth had not been  
long upon the stage before he showed    
himself to be an actor4 ,during his     
first season he played ,cassio in       
,othello1 ,wilford in ,the ,iron ,chest1
 and ,titus in ,the ,fall of ,tarquin1  
and he played them all auspiciously     
well4 ,but his father1 not less wise    
than kind1 knew that the youth must be  
left to himself to acquire experience1  
if he was ever to become an artist1 and 
so left him in ,california1 to rough it1
 and there1 and in the ,sandwich        
,islands and ,australia1 he had four    
years of the most severe training that  
hardship1 discipline1 labour1 sorrow1   
and stern reality can furnish4 ,when he 
came east again1 in the autumn of #ahef1
 he was no longer a novice but an       
educated1 artistic tragedian1 still     
crude in some things1 though on the     
right road1 and in the fresh1 exultant  

vigour1 if not yet the full maturity1 of
 extraordinary powers4 ,he appeared     
first at ,baltimore1 and after that made
 a tour of the south1 and during the    
ensuing four years he was seen in many  
cities all over the country4 ,in the    
summer of #ahfj he went to ,england1 and
 acted in ,london1 ,liverpool1 and      
,manchester1 but he was back again in   
,new ,york in #ahfb1 and from ,september
 #ba1 #ahfc to ,march #bc1 #ahfg he     
managed what was known as the ,winter   
,garden theatre1 and incidentally       
devoted himself to the accomplishment of
 some of the stateliest revivals of     
standard plays that have ever been made 
in ,america4 ,on ,february #c1 #ahfi he 
opened ,booth's ,theatre and that he    
managed for five years4 ,in #ahgf he    
made a tour of the south1 which1 so     
great was the enthusiasm his presence   
aroused1 was nothing less than a        
triumphal progress4 ,in ,san ,francisco1
 where he filled an engagement of eight 
weeks1 the receipts exceeded #if1jjj1 a 

result at that time unprecedented on the
 dramatic stage4  ,the circumstances of 
the stage and of the lives of actors    
have greatly changed since the          
generation went out to which such men as
 ,junius ,booth and ,augustus ,a4       
,addams belonged4 ,no tragedian would   
now be so mad as to put himself in pawn 
for drink1 as ,cooke is said to have    
done1 nor be found scraping the ham from
 the sandwiches provided for his        
luncheon1 as ,junius ,booth was1 before 
going on to play ,shylock4 ,our theatre 
has no longer a ,richardson to light up 
a pan of red fire1 as that old showman  
once did1 to signalise the fall of the  
screen in ,the ,school for ,scandal4    
,the eccentrics and the taste for them  
have passed away4 ,it seems really once 
to have been thought that the actor who 
did not often make a maniac of himself  
with drink could not be possessed of the
 divine fire4 ,that demonstration of    
genius is not expected now1 nor does the
 present age exact from its favourite   

players the performance of all sorts and
 varieties of parts4 ,forrest was the   
first of the prominent actors to break  
away from the old usage in this latter  
particular4 ,during the most prosperous 
years of his life1 from #ahcg to #ahej1 
he acted only about a dozen parts1 and  
most of them were old4 ,the only new    
parts that he studied were ,claude      
,melnotte1 ,richelieu1 ,jack ,cade1 and 
,mordaunt1 the latter in the play of    
,the ,patrician's ,daughter1 and he     
recovered ,marc ,antony1 which he       
particularly liked4 ,edwin ,booth1 who  
had inherited from his father the       
insanity of intemperance1 conquered that
 utterly1 many years ago1 and nobly and 
grandly trod it beneath his feet2 and as
 he matured in his career1 through      
acting every kind of part1 from a dandy 
negro up to ,hamlet1 he at last made    
choice of the characters that afford    
scope for his powers and his            
aspirations1 and so settled upon a      
definite1 restricted repertory4 ,his    

characters were ,hamlet1 ,macbeth1      
,lear1 ,othello1 ,iago1 ,richard the    
,second1 ,richard the ,third1 ,shylock1 
,cardinal ,wolsey1 ,benedick1           
,petruchio1 ,richelieu1 ,lucius ,brutus1
 ,bertuccio1 ,ruy ,blas1 and ,don ,csar 
de ,bazan4 ,these he acted in customary 
usage1 and to these he occasionally     
added ,marcus ,brutus1 ,antony1         
,cassius1 ,claude ,melnotte1 and the    
,stranger4 ,the range thus indicated is 
extraordinary2 but more extraordinary   
still was the evenness of the actor's   
average excellence throughout the       
breadth of that range4  ,booth's tragedy
 is better than his elegant comedy4     
,there are other actors who equal or    
surpass him in ,benedick or ,don ,csar4 
,the comedy in which he excels is that  
of silvery speciousness and bitter      
sarcasm1 as in portions of ,iago and    
,richard the ,third and the simulated   
madness of ,lucius ,brutus1 and the     
comedy of grim drollery1 as in portions 
of ,richelieu--his expression of those  

veins being wonderfully perfect4 ,but no
 other actor who has trod the ,american 
stage in our day has equalled him in    
certain attributes of tragedy that are  
essentially poetic4 ,he is not at his   
best1 indeed1 in all the tragic parts   
that he acts2 and1 like his father1 he  
is an uneven actor in the parts to which
 he is best suited4 ,no person can be   
said to know ,edwin ,booth's acting who 
has not seen him play the same part     
several times4 ,his artistic treatment  
will generally be found adequate1 but   
his mood or spirit will continually     
vary4 ,he cannot at will command it1 and
 when it is absent his performance seems
 cold4 ,this characteristic is1 perhaps1
 inseparable from the poetic            
temperament4 ,each ideal that he        
presents is poetic2 and the suitable and
 adequate presentation of it1 therefore1
 needs poetic warmth and glamour4 ,booth
 never goes behind his poet's text to   
find a prose image in the pages of      
historic fact4 ,the spectator who takes 

the trouble to look into his art will   
find it1 indeed1 invariably accurate as 
to historic basis1 and will find that   
all essential points and questions of   
scholarship have been considered by the 
actor4 ,but this is not the secret of   
its power upon the soul4 ,that power    
resides in its charm1 and that charm    
consists in its poetry4 ,standing on the
 lonely ramparts of ,elsinore1 and with 
awe-stricken1 preoccupied1 involuntary  
glances questioning the star-lit        
midnight air1 while he talks with his   
attendant friends1 ,edwin ,booth's      
,hamlet is the simple1 absolute         
realisation of ,shakespeare's haunted   
prince1 and raises no question1 and     
leaves no room for inquiry1 whether the 
,danes in the ,middle ,ages wore velvet 
robes or had long flaxen hair4 ,it is   
dark1 mysterious1 melancholy1           
beautiful--a vision of dignity and of   
grace1 made sublime by suffering1 made  
weird and awful by thoughts beyond the  
reaches of our souls4 ,sorrow never     

looked more wofully and ineffably lovely
 than his sorrow looks in the parting   
scene with ,ophelia1 and frenzy never   
spoke with a wilder glee of horrid joy  
and fearful exultation than is heard in 
his tempestuous cry of delirium1 ,nay1  
,i know not3 is it the king8  ,an actor 
who is fine only at points is not1 of   
course1 a perfect actor4 ,the remark of 
,coleridge about the acting of ,edmund  
,kean1 that it was like reading         
,shakespeare by flashes of lightning1   
has misled many persons as to ,kean's   
art4 ,macready bears a similar          
testimony4 ,but the weight of evidence  
will satisfy the reader that ,kean was1 
in fact1 a careful student and that he  
never neglected any detail of his art4  
,this is certainly true of ,edwin       
,booth4 ,in the level plains that lie   
between the mountain-peaks of expression
 he walks with as sure a footstep and as
 firm a tread as on the summit of the   
loftiest crag or the verge of the       
steepest abyss4 ,in #ahgg-gh1 in        

association with the present writer1 he 
prepared for the press an edition of    
fifteen of the plays in which he acts1  
and these were published for the use of 
actors4 ,there is not a line in either  
of those plays that he has not          
studiously and thoroughly considered2   
not a vexed point that he has not       
scanned2 not a questionable reading that
 he has not1 for his own purposes in    
acting1 satisfactorily settled4 ,his    
,shakespearean scholarship is extensive 
and sound1 and it is no less minute than
 ample4 ,his stage business has been    
arranged1 as stage business ought to be1
 with scientific precision4 ,if1 as king
 ,richard the ,third1 he is seen to be  
abstractedly toying with a ring upon one
 of his fingers1 or unsheathing and     
sheathing his dagger1 those apparently  
capricious actions would be found to be 
done because they were illustrative     
parts of that monarch's personality1    
warranted by the text and context4 ,many
 years ago an accidental impulse led    

him1 as ,hamlet1 to hold out his sword1 
hilt foremost1 toward the receding      
spectre1 as a protective cross--the     
symbol of that religion to which ,hamlet
 so frequently recurs4 ,the expedient   
was found to justify itself and he made 
it a custom4 ,in the graveyard scene of 
this tragedy he directs that one of the 
skulls thrown up by the first clown     
shall have a tattered and mouldy        
fool's-cap adhering to it1 so that it   
may attract attention1 and be singled   
out from the others1 as ,yorick's skull1
 the king's jester4 ,these are little   
things2 but it is of a thousand little  
things that a dramatic performance is   
composed1 and without this care for     
detail--which must be precise1 logical1 
profound1 vigilant1 unerring1 and at the
 same time always unobtrusive and       
seemingly involuntary--there can be     
neither cohesion1 nor symmetry1 nor an  
illusory image consistently maintained2 
and all great effects would become      
tricks of mechanism and detached        

exploits of theatrical force4  ,the     
absence of this thoroughness in such    
acting as that of ,edwin ,booth would   
instantly be felt2 its presence is      
seldom adequately appreciated4 ,we feel 
the perfect charm of the illusion in the
 great fourth act of ,richelieu--one of 
the most thrilling situations1 as ,booth
 fills it1 that ever were created upon  
the stage2 but we should not feel this  
had not the foreground of character1    
incident1 and experience been prepared  
with consummate thoroughness4 ,the      
character of ,richelieu is one that the 
elder ,booth could never act4 ,he tried 
it once1 upon urgent solicitation1 but  
he had not proceeded far before he      
caught ,joseph around the waist1 and    
with that astonished friar in his arms  
proceeded to dash into a waltz1 over    
which the curtain was dropped4 ,he had  
no sympathy with the moonlight mistiness
 and lace-like complexity of that weird 
and many-fibred nature4 ,it lacked for  
him the reality of the imagination1 the 

trumpet blare and tempest rush of active
 passion4 ,but ,edwin ,booth1 coming    
after ,forrest1 who was its original in 
,america1 has made ,richelieu so        
entirely his own that no actor living   
can stand a comparison with him in the  
character4 ,macready was the first      
representative of the part1 as everybody
 knows1 and his performance of it was   
deemed magnificent2 but when ,edwin     
,booth acted it in ,london in #ahhj1 old
 ,john ,ryder1 the friend and advocate  
of ,macready1 who had participated with 
him in all his plays1 said to the       
,american tragedian1 with a broken voice
 and with tears in his eyes1 ,you have  
thrown down my idol4 ,two at least of   
those great moments in acting that      
everybody remembers were furnished by   
,booth in this character--the defiance  
of the masked assailant1 at ,rouel1 and 
the threat of excommunication delivered 
upon ,barradas4 ,no spectator possessed 
of imagination and sensibility ever saw1
 without utter forgetfulness of the     

stage1 the imperial entrance of that    
,richelieu into the gardens of the      
,louvre and into the sullen presence of 
hostile majesty4 ,the same spell of     
genius is felt in kindred moments of his
 greater impersonations4 ,his ,iago1    
standing in the dark street1 with sword 
in hand1 above the prostrate bodies of  
,cassio and ,roderigo1 and as the sudden
 impulse to murder them strikes his     
brain1 breathing out in a blood-curdling
 whisper1 ,how silent is this town6 his 
,bertuccio1 begging at the door of the  
banquet-hall1 and breaking down in      
hysterics of affected glee and maddening
 agony2 his ,lear1 at that supreme      
moment of intolerable torture when he   
parts away from ,goneril and ,regan1    
with his wild scream of revenges that   
shall be the terrors of the earth2 his  
,richard the ,third1 with the gigantic  
effrontery of his ,call him again1 and  
with his whole matchless and wonderful  
utterance of the awful remorse speech   
with which the king awakens from his    

last earthly sleep--those1 among many   
others1 rank with the best dramatic     
images that ever were chronicled1 and   
may well be cited to illustrate ,booth's
 invincible and splendid adequacy at the
 great moments of his art4  ,edwin      
,booth has been tried by some of the    
most terrible afflictions that ever     
tested the fortitude of a human soul4   
,over his youth1 plainly visible1       
impended the lowering cloud of insanity4
 ,while he was yet a boy1 and when      
literally struggling for life in the    
semi-barbarous wilds of old ,california1
 he lost his beloved father1 under      
circumstances of singular misery4 ,in   
early manhood he laid in her grave the  
woman of his first love--the wife who   
had died in absence from him1 herself   
scarcely past the threshold of youth1   
lovely as an angel and to all that knew 
her precious beyond expression4 ,a      
little later his heart was well-nigh    
broken and his life was well-nigh       
blasted by the crime of a lunatic       

brother that for a moment seemed to     
darken the hope of the world4           
,recovering from that blow1 he threw all
 his resources and powers into the      
establishment of the grandest theatre in
 the metropolis of ,america1 and he saw 
his fortune of more than a million      
dollars1 together with the toil of some 
of the best years of his life1 frittered
 away4 ,under all trials he has borne   
bravely up1 and kept the even1 steadfast
 tenor of his course2 strong1 patient1  
gentle1 neither elated by public homage 
nor imbittered by private grief4 ,such a
 use of high powers in the dramatic art1
 and the development and maintenance of 
such a character behind them1 entitle   
him to the affection of his countrymen1 
proud equally of his goodness and his   
renown4     ,v4  ,,mary ,,anderson3     
,,hermione3 ,,perdita4   ,on ,november  
#be1 #ahge an audience was assembled in 
one of the theatres of ,louisville1     
,kentucky1 to see the first appearance  
upon any stage of a young lady of       

,louisville1 who was announced to play  
,shakespeare's ,juliet4 ,that young lady
 was in fact a girl1 in her sixteenth   
year1 who had never received any        
practical stage training1 whose         
education had been comprised in five    
years of ordinary schooling1 whose      
observation of life had never extended  
beyond the narrow limits of a provincial
 city1 who was undeveloped1 unheralded1 
unknown1 and poor1 and whose only       
qualifications for the task she had set 
herself to accomplish were the impulse  
of genius and the force of commanding   
character4 ,she dashed at the work with 
all the vigour of abounding and         
enthusiastic youth1 and with all the    
audacity of complete inexperience4 ,a   
rougher performance of ,juliet probably 
was never seen1 but through all the     
disproportion and turbulence of that    
effort the authentic charm of a         
beautiful nature was distinctly         
revealed4 ,the sweetness1 the sincerity1
 the force1 the exceptional superiority 

and singular charm of that nature could 
not be mistaken4 ,the uncommon stature  
and sumptuous physical beauty of the    
girl were obvious4 ,above all1 her      
magnificent voice--copious1 melodious1  
penetrating1 loud and clear1 yet soft   
and gentle--delighted every ear and     
touched every heart4 ,the impersonation 
of ,juliet was not highly esteemed by   
judicious hearers2 but some persons who 
saw that performance felt and said that 
a new actress had risen and that a great
 career had begun4 ,those prophetic     
voices were right4 ,that young lady of  
,louisville was ,mary ,anderson4  ,it is
 seldom in stage history that the       
biographer comes upon such a character  
as that of ,mary ,anderson1 or is       
privileged to muse over the story of    
such a career as she has had4 ,in many  
cases the narrative of the life of an   
actress is a narrative of talents       
perverted1 of opportunity misused1 of   
failure1 misfortune1 and suffering4 ,for
 one story like that of ,mrs4 ,siddons  

there are many like that of ,mrs4       
,robinson4 ,for one name like that of   
,charlotte ,cushman or that of ,helen   
,faucit there are many like that of     
,lucille ,western or that of ,matilda   
,heron--daughters of sorrow and victims 
of trouble4 ,the mind lingers1          
accordingly1 impressed and pleased with 
a sense of sweet personal worth as well 
as of genius and beauty upon the record 
of a representative ,american actress1  
as noble as she was brilliant1 and as   
lovely in her domestic life as she was  
beautiful1 fortunate1 and renowned in   
her public pursuits4 ,the exposition of 
her nature1 as apprehended through her  
acting1 constitutes the principal part  
of her biography4  ,mary ,anderson1 a   
native of ,california1 was born at      
,sacramento1 ,july #bh1 #ahei4 ,her     
father1 ,charles ,joseph ,anderson1 who 
died in #ahfc1 aged twenty-nine1 and was
 buried in ,magnolia cemetery1 ,mobile1 
,alabama1 was an officer in the service 
of the ,southern ,confederacy at the    

time of his death1 and he is said to    
have been a handsome and dashing young  
man4 ,her mother1 ,marie ,antoinette    
,leugers1 was a native of ,philadelphia4
 ,her earlier years were passed in      
,louisville1 whither she was taken in   
#ahfj1 and she was there taught in a    
,roman ,catholic school and reared in   
the ,roman ,catholic faith under the    
guidance of a ,franciscan priest1       
,anthony ,miller1 her mother's uncle4   
,she left school before she was fourteen
 years old and she went upon the stage  
before she was sixteen4 ,she had while a
 child seen various theatrical          
performances1 notably those given by    
,edwin ,booth1 and her mind had been    
strongly drawn toward the stage under   
the influence of those sights4 ,the     
dramatic characters that she first      
studied were male characters--those of  
,hamlet1 ,wolsey1 ,richelieu1 and       
,richard ,,iii4--and to those she added 
,schiller's ,joan of ,arc4 ,she studied 
those parts privately1 and she knew them

 all and knew them well4 ,professor     
,noble ,butler1 of ,louisville1 gave her
 instruction in ,english literature and 
elocution1 and in #ahgd1 at ,cincinnati1
 ,charlotte ,cushman said a few         
encouraging words to her1 and told her  
to persevere in following the stage1 and
 to begin at the top4 ,george           
,vandenhoff gave her a few lessons      
before she came out1 and then followed  
her dbut as ,juliet1 leading to her     
first regular engagement1 which began at
 ,barney ,macaulay's ,theatre1          
,louisville1 ,january #bj1 #ahgf4 ,from 
that time onward for thirteen years she 
was an actress1--never in a stock       
company but always as a star1--and her  
name became famous in ,great ,britain as
 well as ,america4 ,she had eight       
seasons of steadily increasing          
prosperity on the ,american stage before
 she went abroad to act1 and she became 
a favourite all over the ,united        
,states4 ,she filled three seasons at   
the ,lyceum ,theatre1 ,london 7from     

,september #a1 #ahhc1 to ,april #e1     
#ahhd2 from ,november #a1 #ahhd1 to     
,april #be1 #ahhe2 and from ,september  
#aj1 #ahhg1 to ,march #bd1 #ahhh71 and  
her success there surpassed1 in profit1 
that of any ,american actor who had     
appeared in ,england4 ,she revived      
,romeo and ,juliet with much splendour  
at the ,london ,lyceum on ,november #a1 
#ahhd1 and she restored ,a ,winter's    
,tale to the stage1 bringing forward    
that comedy on ,september #aj1 #ahhg1   
and carrying it through the season4 ,she
 made several prosperous tours of the   
,english provincial theatres1 and       
established herself as a favourite      
actress in fastidious ,edinburgh1       
critical ,manchester1 and impulsive but 
exacting ,dublin4 ,the repertory with   
which she gained fame and fortune       
included ,juliet1 ,hermione1 ,perdita1  
,rosalind1 ,lady ,macbeth1 ,julia1      
,bianca1 ,evadne1 ,parthenia1 ,pauline1 
,the ,countess1 ,galatea1 ,clarice1     
,ion1 ,meg ,merrilies1 ,berthe1 and the 

,duchess de ,torrenueva4 ,she           
incidentally acted a few other parts1   
,desdemona being one of them4 ,her      
distinctive achievements were in        
,shakespearean drama4 ,she adopted into 
her repertory two plays by ,tennyson1   
,the ,cup and ,the ,falcon1 but never   
produced them4 ,this record signifies   
the resources of mind1 the personal     
charm1 the exalted spirit1 and the      
patient1 wisely directed and strenuous  
zeal that sustained her achievements and
 justified her success4  ,aspirants in  
the field of art are continually coming 
to the surface4 ,in poetry1 painting1   
sculpture1 music1 and in acting--which  
involves and utilises those other       
arts--the line of beginners is endless4 
,constantly1 as the seasons roll by1    
these essayists emerge1 and as          
constantly1 after a little time1 they   
disappear4 ,the process is sequent upon 
an obvious law of spiritual life1--that 
all minds which are conscious of the art
 impulse must at least make an effort   

toward expression1 but that no mind can 
succeed in the effort unless1 in        
addition to the art impulse1 it         
possesses also the art faculty4 ,for    
expression is the predominant necessity 
of human nature4 ,out of this proceed   
forms and influences of beauty4 ,these  
react upon mankind1 pleasing an instinct
 for the beautiful1 and developing the  
faculty of taste4 ,other and finer forms
 and influences of beauty ensue1        
civilisation is advanced1 and thus      
finally the way is opened toward that   
condition of immortal spiritual         
happiness which this process of         
experience prefigures and prophesies4   
,but the art faculty is of rare         
occurrence4 ,at long intervals there is 
a break in the usual experience of stage
 failure1 and some person hitherto      
unknown not only takes the field but    
keeps it4 ,when ,garrick came out1 as   
the ,duke of ,gloster1 in the autumn of 
#agda1 in ,london1 he had never been    
heard of1 but within a brief time he was

 famous4 ,he at once decided the public 
taste1 said ,macklin2 and ,pope summed  
up the victory in the well-known        
sentence1 ,that young man never had an  
equal1 and will never have a rival4     
,tennyson's line furnishes the apt and  
comprehensive comment--,the many fail1  
the one succeeds4 ,mary ,anderson in her
 day furnished the most conspicuous and 
striking example1 aside from that of    
,adelaide ,neilson1 to which it is      
possible to refer of this exceptional   
experience4 ,and yet1 even after years  
of trial and test1 it is doubtful       
whether the excellence of that          
remarkable actress was entirely         
comprehended in her own country4 ,the   
provincial custom of waiting for foreign
 authorities to discover our royal minds
 is one from which many inhabitants of  
,america have not yet escaped4 ,as an   
actress1 indeed1 ,mary ,anderson was1   
probably1 more popular than any player  
on the ,american stage excepting ,edwin 
,booth or ,joseph ,jefferson2 but there 

is a difference between popularity and  
just and comprehensive intellectual     
recognition4 ,many actors get the one2  
few get the other4  ,much of the        
contemporary criticism that is lavished 
upon actors in this exigent period--so  
bountifully supplied with critical      
observations1 so poorly furnished with  
creative art--touches only upon the     
surface4 ,acting is measured with a tape
 and the chief demand seems to be for   
form4 ,this is right1 and indeed is     
imperative1 whenever it is certain that 
the actor at his best is one who never  
can rise above the high-water mark of   
correct mechanism4 ,there are cases that
 need a deeper method of inquiry and a  
more searching glance4 ,a wise critic1  
when this emergency comes1 is something 
more than an expert who gives an opinion
 upon a professional exploit4 ,the      
special piece of work may contain       
technical flaws1 and yet there may be   
within it a soul worth all the icily    
regular and splendidly null achievements

 that ever were possible to proficient  
mediocrity4 ,that soul is visible only  
to the observer who can look through the
 art into the interior spirit of the    
artist1 and thus can estimate a piece of
 acting according to its inspirational  
drift and the enthralling and ennobling 
personality out of which it springs4    
,the acting of ,mary ,anderson1 from the
 first moment of her career1 was of the 
kind that needs that deep insight and   
broad judgment1--aiming to recognise and
 rightly estimate its worth4 ,yet few   
performers of the day were so liberally 
favoured with the monitions of dullness 
and the ponderous patronage of          
self-complacent folly4  ,conventional   
judgment as to ,mary ,anderson's acting 
expressed itself in one statement--she  
is cold4 ,there could not be a greater  
error4 ,that quality in ,mary           
,anderson's acting--a reflex from her   
spiritual nature--which produced upon   
the conventional mind the effect of     
coldness was in fact distinction1 the   

attribute of being exceptional4 ,the    
judgment that she was cold was a        
resentful judgment1 and was given in a  
spirit of detraction4 ,it proceeded from
 an order of mind that can never be     
content with the existence of anything  
above its own level4 ,he hath1 said     
,iago1 speaking of ,cassio1 a daily     
beauty in his life that makes me ugly4  
,those detractors did not understand    
themselves as well as the wily ,italian 
understood himself1 and they did not    
state their attitude with such          
precision2 in fact1 they did not state  
it at all1 for it was unconscious with  
them and involuntary4 ,they saw a being 
unlike themselves1 they vaguely         
apprehended the presence of a superior  
nature1 and that they resented4 ,the    
favourite popular notion is that all men
 are born free and equal2 which is      
false4 ,free and equal they all are1    
undoubtedly1 in the eye of the law4 ,but
 every man is born subject to heredity  
and circumstance1 and whoever will      

investigate his life will perceive that 
he never has been able to stray beyond  
the compelling and constraining force of
 his character--which is his fate4 ,all 
men1 moreover1 are unequal4 ,to one     
human being is given genius2 to another1
 beauty2 to another1 strength2 to       
another1 exceptional judgment2 to       
another1 exceptional memory2 to another1
 grace and charm2 to still another1     
physical ugliness and spiritual         
obliquity1 moral taint1 and every sort  
of disabling weakness4 ,to the majority 
of persons ,nature imparts mediocrity1  
and it is from mediocrity that the      
derogatory denial emanates as to the    
superior men and women of our race4 ,a  
woman of the average kind is not        
difficult to comprehend4 ,there is      
nothing distinctive about her4 ,she is  
fond of admiration2 rather readily      
censorious of other women2 charitable   
toward male rakes2 and partial to fine  
attire4 ,the poet ,wordsworth's formula1
 ,praise1 blame1 love1 kisses1 tears1   

and smiles1 comprises all that is       
essential for her existence1 and that   
bard has himself precisely described    
her1 in a grandfatherly and excruciating
 couplet1 as      ,a creature not too   
bright and good     ,for human nature's 
daily food4  ,women of that sort are not
 called cold4 ,the standard is ordinary 
and it is understood4 ,but when a woman 
appears in art whose life is not ruled  
by the love of admiration1 whose nature 
is devoid of vanity1 who looks with     
indifference upon adulation1 whose head 
is not turned by renown1 whose composure
 is not disturbed by flattery1 whose    
simplicity is not marred by wealth1 who 
does not go into theatrical hysterics   
and offer that condition of artificial  
delirium as the mood of genius in       
acting1 who above all makes it apparent 
in her personality and her achievements 
that the soul can be sufficient to      
itself and can exist without taking on a
 burden of the fever or dulness of other
 lives1 there is a flutter of vague     

discontent among the mystified and      
bothered rank and file1 and we are      
apprised that she is cold4 ,that is what
 happened in the case of ,mary          
,anderson4  ,what are the faculties and 
attributes essential to great success in
 acting8 ,a sumptuous and supple figure 
that can realise the ideals of statuary2
 a mobile countenance that can strongly 
and unerringly express the feelings of  
the heart and the workings of the mind2 
eyes that can awe with the majesty or   
startle with the terror or thrill with  
the tenderness of their soul-subduing   
gaze2 a voice1 deep1 clear1 resonant1   
flexible1 that can range over the wide  
compass of emotion and carry its meaning
 in varying music to every ear and every
 heart2 intellect to shape the purposes 
and control the means of mimetic art2   
deep knowledge of human nature2 delicate
 intuitions2 the skill to listen as well
 as the art to speak2 imagination to    
grasp the ideal of a character in all   
its conditions of experience2 the       

instinct of the sculptor to give it     
form1 of the painter to give it colour1 
and of the poet to give it movement2    
and1 back of all1 the temperament of    
genius--the genialised nervous          
system--to impart to the whole artistic 
structure the thrill of spiritual       
vitality4 ,mary ,anderson's acting      
revealed those faculties and attributes1
 and those observers who realised the   
poetic spirit1 the moral majesty1 and   
the isolation of mind that she          
continually suggested felt that she was 
an extraordinary woman4 ,such moments in
 her acting as that of ,galatea's mute  
supplication at the last of earthly     
life1 that of ,juliet's desolation after
 the final midnight parting with the    
last human creature whom she may ever   
behold1 and that of ,hermione's despair 
when she covers her face and falls as if
 stricken dead1 were the eloquent       
denotements of power1 and in those and  
such as those--with which her art       
abounded--was the fulfilment of every   

hope that her acting inspired and the   
vindication of every encomium that it   
received4  ,early in her professional   
career1 when considering her acting1 the
 present essayist quoted as applicable  
to her those lovely lines by            
,wordsworth3--      ,the stars of       
midnight shall be dear     ,to her1 and 
she shall lean her ear         ,in many 
a secret place     ,where rivulets dance
 their wayward round1     ,and beauty   
born of murmuring sound         ,shall  
pass into her face4  ,in the direction  
of development thus indicated she       
steadily advanced4 ,her affiliations    
were with grandeur1 purity1 and         
loveliness4 ,an inherent and passionate 
tendency toward classic stateliness     
increased in her more and more4         
,characters of the statuesque order     
attracted her imagination--,ion1        
,galatea1 ,hermione--but she did not    
leave them soulless4 ,in the            
interpretation of passion and the       
presentation of its results she revealed

 the striking truth that her perceptions
 could discern those consequences that  
are recorded in the soul and in         
comparison with which the dramatic      
entanglements of visible life are puny  
and evanescent4 ,though living in the   
rapid stream of the social world she    
dwelt aloof from it4 ,she thought       
deeply1 and in mental direction she took
 the pathway of intellectual power4 ,it 
is not surprising that the true worth of
 such a nature was not accurately       
apprehended4 ,minds that are            
self-poised1 stately1 irresponsive to   
human weakness1 unconventional and      
self-liberated from allegiance to the   
commonplace are not fully and instantly 
discernible1 and may well perplex the   
smiling glance of frivolity2 but they   
are permanent forces in the education of
 the human race4 ,mary ,anderson retired
 from the stage1 under the pressure of  
extreme fatigue1 in the beginning of    
#ahhi and entered upon a matrimonial    
life on ,june #ag1 #ahij4 ,it is        

believed that her retirement is         
permanent4 ,the historical interest     
attaching to her dramatic career        
justifies the preservation of this      
commemorative essay4  ,there is so much 
beauty in the comedy of ,a ,winter's    
,tale--so much thought1 character1      
humour1 philosophy1 sweetly serene      
feeling and loveliness of poetic        
language--that the public ought to feel 
obliged to any one who successfully     
restores it to the stage1 from which it 
usually is banished4 ,the piece was     
written in the maturity of              
,shakespeare's marvellous powers1 and   
indeed some of the ,shakespearean       
scholars believe it to be the last work 
that fell from his hand4 ,human life1 as
 depicted in ,a ,winter's ,tale1 shows  
itself like what it always seems to be  
in the eyes of patient1 tolerant1       
magnanimous experience--the eyes that   
have kept watch o'er man's              
mortality--for it is a scene of         
inexplicable contrasts and vicissitudes1

 seemingly the chaos of caprice and     
chance1 yet always1 in fact1            
beneficently overruled and guided to    
good ends4 ,human beings are shown in it
 as full of weakness2 often as the      
puppets of laws that they do not        
understand and of universal propensities
 and impulses into which they never     
pause to inquire2 almost always as      
objects of benignant pity4 ,the woful   
tangle of human existence is here viewed
 with half-cheerful1 half-sad tolerance1
 yet with the hope and belief that all  
will come right at last4 ,the mood of   
the comedy is pensive but radically     
sweet4 ,the poet is like the forest in  
,emerson's subtle vision of the inherent
 exultation of nature3--      ,sober1 on
 a fund of joy1     ,the woods at heart 
are glad4  ,mary ,anderson doubled the  
characters of ,hermione and ,perdita4   
,this had not been conspicuously done   
until it was done by her1 and her       
innovation1 in that respect1 was met    
with grave disapproval4 ,the moment the 

subject is examined1 however1 objection 
to that method of procedure is          
dispelled4 ,hermione1 as a dramatic     
person1 disappears in the middle of the 
third act of ,shakespeare's comedy and  
comes no more until the end of the      
piece1 when she emerges as a statue4    
,her character has been entirely        
expressed and her part in the action of 
the drama has been substantially        
fulfilled before she disappears4 ,there 
is no intermediate passion to be wrought
 to a climax1 nor is there any          
intermediate mood1 dramatically         
speaking1 to be sustained4 ,the dramatic
 environment1 the dramatic necessities1 
are vastly unlike1 for example1 those of
 ,lady ,macbeth--one of the hardest of  
all parts to play well1 because         
exhibited intermittently1 at long       
intervals1 yet steadily constrained by  
the necessity of cumulative excitement4 
,the representative of ,lady ,macbeth   
must be identified with that character1 
whether on the stage or off1 from the   

beginning of it to the end4 ,hermione1  
on the contrary1 is at rest from the    
moment when she faints upon receiving   
information of the death of her boy4 ,a 
lapse of sixteen years is assumed1 and  
then1 standing forth as a statue1 she   
personifies majestic virtue and         
victorious fortitude4 ,when she descends
 from the pedestal she silently embraces
 ,leontes1 speaks a few pious1 maternal 
and tranquil lines 7there are precisely 
seven of them in the original1 but ,mary
 ,anderson added two1 from ,all's       
,well71 and embraces ,perdita1 whom she 
has not seen since the girl's earliest  
infancy4 ,this is their only meeting1   
and little is sacrificed by the use of a
 substitute for the daughter in that    
scene4 ,perdita's brief apostrophe to   
the statue has to be cut1 but it is not 
missed in the representation4 ,the      
resemblance between mother and daughter 
heightens the effect of illusion1 in its
 impress equally upon fancy and vision2 
and a more thorough elucidation is given

 than could be provided in any other way
 of the spirit of the comedy4 ,it was a 
judicious and felicitous choice that the
 actress made when she selected those   
two characters1 and the fact that her   
impersonation of them carried a         
practically disused ,shakespearean      
comedy through a season of one hundred  
and fifty nights at the ,lyceum ,theatre
 in ,london furnishes an indorsement    
alike of her wisdom and her ability4    
,she played in a stage version of the   
piece1 in five acts1 containing thirteen
 scenes1 arranged by herself4  ,while   
,mary ,anderson was acting those two    
parts in ,london the sum of critical    
opinion seemed to be that her           
performance of ,perdita was better than 
her performance of ,hermione2 but       
beneath that judgment there was1        
apparently1 the impression that         
,hermione is a character fraught with   
superlatively great passions1 powers1   
and qualities1 such as are only to be   
apprehended by gigantic sagacity and    

conveyed by herculean talents and skill4
 ,those vast attributes were not        
specified1 but there was a mysterious   
intimation of their existence--as of    
something vague1 formidable1 and mostly 
elusive4 ,but in truth ,hermione1       
although a stronger part than ,perdita1 
is neither complex1 dubious1 nor        
inaccessible2 and ,mary ,anderson1      
although more fascinating in ,perdita1  
could and did rise1 in ,hermione1 to a  
noble height of tragic power--an        
excellence not possible for her1 nor for
 anybody1 in the more juvenile and      
slender character4  ,hermione has       
usually been represented as an elderly  
woman and by such an actress as is      
technically called heavy4 ,she ought to 
be represented as about thirty years of 
age at the beginning of the piece1 and  
forty-six at the end of it4 ,leontes is 
not more than thirty-four at the        
opening1 and he would be fifty at the   
close4 ,he speaks1 in his first scene1  
of his boyhood as only twenty-three     

years gone1 when his dagger was worn    
muzzled1 lest it should bite its        
master--at which time he may have been  
ten years old2 certainly not more1      
probably less4 ,his words1 toward the   
end of act third1 so sure as this       
beard's gray1 refer to the beard of     
,antigonus1 not to his own4 ,he is a    
young man when the play begins1 and     
,polixenes is about the same age1 and   
,hermione is a young woman4 ,antigonus  
and ,paulina are middle-aged persons in 
the earlier scenes and ,paulina is an   
elderly woman in the statue             
scene--almost an old woman1 though not  
too old to be given in marriage to old  
,camillo1 the ever-faithful friend4 ,in 
,mary ,anderson's presentation of ,a    
,winter's ,tale those details received  
thoughtful consideration and correct    
treatment4  ,in ,hermione is seen a type
 of the celestial nature in             
woman--infinite love1 infinite charity1 
infinite patience4 ,such a nature is    
rare2 but it is possible1 it exists1 and

 ,shakespeare1 who depicted everything1 
did not omit to portray that4 ,to       
comprehend ,hermione the observer must  
separate her1 absolutely and finally1   
from association with the passions4     
,mrs4 ,jameson acutely and justly       
describes her character as exhibiting   
dignity without pride1 love without     
passion1 and tenderness without         
weakness4 ,that is exactly true4        
,hermione was not easily won1 and the   
best thing known about ,leontes is that 
at last she came to love him and that   
her love for him survived his cruel and 
wicked treatment1 chastened him1        
reinstated him1 and ultimately blessed  
him4 ,hermione suffers the utmost       
affliction that a good woman can suffer4
 ,her boy dies1 heart-broken1 at the    
news of his mother's alleged disgrace4  
,her infant daughter is torn from her   
breast and cast forth to perish4 ,her   
husband becomes her enemy and           
persecutor4 ,her chastity is assailed   
and vilified4 ,she is subjected to the  

bitter indignity of a public trial4 ,it 
is no wonder that at last her brain     
reels and she falls as if stricken dead4
 ,the apparent anomaly is her survival  
for sixteen years1 in lonely seclusion1 
and her emergence1 after that1 as       
anything but a forlorn shadow of her    
former self4 ,the poet ,shelley has     
recorded the truth that all great       
emotions either kill themselves or kill 
those who feel them4 ,it is here1       
however1 that the exceptional           
temperament of ,hermione supplies an    
explanatory and needed qualification4   
,her emotions are never of a passionate 
kind4 ,her mind predominates4 ,her life 
is in the affections and therefore it is
 one of thought4 ,she sees clearly the  
facts of her experience and condition1  
and she knows exactly how those facts   
look in the eyes of others4 ,she is one 
of those persons who possess a keen and 
just prescience of events1 who can look 
far into the future and discern those   
resultant consequences of the present   

which1 under the operation of inexorable
 moral law1 must inevitably ensue4      
,self-poised in the right and free from 
the disturbing force of impulse and     
desire1 she can await the justice of    
time1 she can live1 and she can live in 
the tranquil patience of resignation4   
,true majesty of the person is dependent
 on repose of the soul1 and there can be
 no repose of the soul without moral    
rectitude and a far-reaching1           
comprehensive1 wise vision of events4   
,mary ,anderson embodied ,hermione in   
accordance with that ideal4 ,by the     
expression of her face and the tones of 
her voice1 in a single speech1 the      
actress placed beyond question her grasp
 of the character3--                    
,good my lords1     ,i am not prone to  
weeping1 as our sex     ,commonly       
are--the want of which vain dew         
,perchance shall dry your pities--but ,i
 have     ,that honourable grief lodged 
here1 which burns     ,worse than tears 
drown4  ,the conspicuous1 predominant1  

convincing artistic beauty in ,mary     
,anderson's impersonation of ,hermione  
was her realisation of the part1 in     
figure1 face1 presence1 demeanour1 and  
temperament4 ,she did not afflict her   
auditor with the painful sense of a     
person struggling upward toward an      
unattainable identity4 ,she made you    
conscious of the presence of a queen4   
,this1 obviously1 is the main           
thing--that the individuality shall be  
imperial1 not merely wearing royal      
attire but being invested with the royal
 authenticity of divine endowment and   
consecration4 ,much emphasis has been   
placed by ,shakespeare upon that        
attribute of innate grandeur4 ,leontes1 
at the opening of the trial scene1      
describes his accused wife as the       
daughter of a king1 and in the same     
scene her father is mentioned as the    
,emperor of ,russia4 ,the gentleman who1
 in act fifth1 recounts to ,autolycus   
the meeting between ,leontes and his    
daughter ,perdita especially notes the  

majesty of the creature1 in resemblance 
of the mother4 ,hermione herself1 in the
 course of her vindication--expressed in
 one of the most noble and pathetic     
strains of poetical eloquence in our    
language--names herself a great king's  
daughter1 therein recalling those august
 and piteous words of ,shakespeare's    
,katharine3--      ,we are a ,queen1 or 
long have thought so1 certain     ,the  
daughter of a king4  ,poor old          
,antigonus1 in his final soliloquy1     
recounting the vision of ,hermione that 
had come upon him in the night1 declares
 her to be a woman royal and grand not  
by descent only but by nature3--      ,i
 never saw a vessel of like sorrow1     
,so filled and so becoming4 ,in pure    
white robes1     ,like very sanctity1   
she did approach4  ,that image ,mary    
,anderson embodied1 and therefore the   
ideal of ,shakespeare was made a living 
thing--that glorious ideal1 in shaping  
which the great poet from all that are  
took something good1 to make a perfect  

woman4 ,toward ,polixenes1 in the first 
scene1 her manner was wholly gracious1  
delicately playful1 innocently kind1 and
 purely frail4 ,her quiet archness at   
the question1 ,will you go yet8 struck  
exactly the right key of ,hermione's    
mood4 ,with the baby prince ,mamillius  
her frolic and banter1 affectionate1    
free1 and gay1 were in a happy vein of  
feeling and humour4 ,her simple dignity1
 restraining both resentment and grief1 
in face of the injurious reproaches of  
,leontes1 was entirely noble and right1 
and the pathetic words1 ,i never wished 
to see you sorry1 now ,i trust ,i shall1
 could not have been spoken with more   
depth and intensity of grieved affection
 than were felt in her composed yet     
tremulous voice4 ,the entrance1 at the  
trial scene1 was made with the          
stateliness natural to a queenly woman1 
and yet with a touch of pathos--the cold
 patience of despair4 ,the delivery of  
,hermione's defensive speeches was      
profoundly earnest and touching4 ,the   

simple cry of the mother's breaking     
heart1 and the action of veiling her    
face and falling like one dead1 upon the
 announcement of the prince's death1    
were perfect denotements of the collapse
 of a grief-stricken woman4 ,the skill  
with which the actress1 in the monument 
scene--which is all repose and no       
movement--contrived nevertheless to     
invest ,hermione with steady vitality of
 action1 and to imbue the crisis with a 
feverish air of suspense1 was in a high 
degree significant of the personality of
 genius4 ,for such a performance of     
,hermione ,shakespeare himself has      
provided the sufficient summary and     
encomium3--      ,women will love her1  
that she is a woman     ,more worth than
 any man2 men that she is     ,the      
rarest of all women4  ,it is one thing  
to say that ,mary ,anderson was better  
in ,perdita than in ,hermione1 and      
another thing to say that the           
performance of ,perdita was preferred4  
,everybody preferred it--even those who 

knew that it was not the better of the  
two2 for everybody loves the sunshine   
more than the shade4 ,hermione means    
grief and endurance4 ,perdita means     
beautiful youth and happy love4 ,it does
 not take long for an observer to choose
 between them4 ,suffering is not        
companionable4 ,by her impersonation of 
,hermione the actress revealed her      
knowledge of the stern truth of life1   
its trials1 its calamities1 and the     
possible heroism of character under its 
sorrowful discipline4 ,into that        
identity she passed by the force of her 
imagination4 ,the embodiment was        
majestic1 tender1 pitiable1             
transcendent1 but its colour was the    
sombre colour of pensive melancholy and 
sad experience4 ,that performance was   
the higher and more significant of the  
two4 ,but the higher form of art is not 
always the most alluring--never the most
 alluring when youthful beauty smiles   
and rosy pleasure beckons another way4  
,all hearts respond to happiness4 ,by   

her presentment of ,perdita the actress 
became the glittering image and         
incarnation of glorious youthful        
womanhood and fascinating joy4 ,no      
exercise of the imagination was needful 
to her in that4 ,there was an           
instantaneous correspondence between the
 part and the player4 ,the embodiment   
was as natural as a sunbeam4            
,shakespeare has left no doubt about his
 meaning in ,perdita4 ,the speeches of  
all around her continually depict her   
fresh and piquant loveliness1 her innate
 superiority1 her superlative charm2    
while her behaviour and language as     
constantly show forth her nobility of   
soul4 ,one of the subtlest side lights  
thrown upon the character is in the     
description of the manner in which      
,perdita heard the story of her mother's
 death--when attentiveness wounded her  
till1 from one sign of dolour to        
another1 she did bleed tears4 ,and of   
the fibre of her nature there is perhaps
 no finer indication than may be felt in

 her comment on old ,camillo's worldly  
view of prosperity as a vital essential 
to the permanence of love3--      ,i    
think affliction may subdue the cheek1  
,but not take in the mind4  ,in the     
thirty-seven plays of ,shakespeare there
 is no strain of the poetry of sentiment
 and grace essentially sweeter than that
 which he has put into the mouth of     
,perdita2 and poetry could not be more  
sweetly spoken than it was by ,mary     
,anderson in that delicious scene of the
 distribution of the flowers4 ,the      
actress evinced comprehension of the    
character in every fibre of its being1  
and she embodied it with the affluent   
vitality of splendid health and buoyant 
temperament--presenting a creature      
radiant with goodness and happiness1    
exquisite in natural refinement1 piquant
 with archness1 soft1 innocent1 and     
tender in confiding artlessness1 and1   
while gleeful and triumphant in         
beautiful youth1 gently touched with an 
intuitive pitying sense of the thorny   

aspects of this troubled world4 ,the    
giving of the flowers completely        
bewitched her auditors4 ,the startled   
yet proud endurance of the king's anger 
was in an equal degree captivating4     
,seldom has the stage displayed that    
rarest of all combinations1 the         
passionate heart of a woman with the    
lovely simplicity of a child4 ,nothing  
could be more beautiful than she was to 
the eyes that followed her lithe figure 
through the merry mazes of her rustic   
dance--an achievement sharply in        
contrast with her usually statuesque    
manner4 ,it makes old hearts fresh to   
see a spectacle of grace and joy1 and   
that spectacle they saw then and will   
not forget4 ,the value of those         
impersonations of ,hermione and         
,perdita1 viewing them as embodied      
interpretations of poetry was great1 but
 they possessed a greater value and a   
higher significance as denotements of   
the guiding light1 the cheering         
strength1 the elevating loveliness of a 

noble human soul4 ,they embodied the    
conception of the poet1 but at the same 
time they illumined an actual           
incarnation of the divine spirit4 ,they 
were like windows to a sacred temple1   
and through them you could look into the
 soul of a true woman--always a realm   
where thoughts are gliding angels1 and  
feelings are the faces of seraphs1 and  
sounds are the music of the harps of    
heaven4     ,,vi4  ,,henry ,,irving     
,,and ,,ellen ,,terry ,,in ,,olivia4    
,it has sometimes been thought that the 
acting of ,henry ,irving is seen at its 
best in those impersonations of his that
 derive their vitality from the grim1   
ghastly1 and morbid attributes of human 
nature4 ,that he is a unique actor1 and 
distinctively a great actor1 in ,hamlet1
 ,mathias1 ,eugene ,aram1 ,louis ,,xi41 
,lesurque1 and ,dubosc1 few judges will 
deny4 ,his performances of those parts  
have shown him to be a man of weird     
imagination1 and they have shown that   
his characteristics1 mental and         

spiritual1 are sombre4 ,accordingly1    
when it was announced that he would play
 ,dr4 ,primrose--,goldsmith's simple1   
virtuous1 homely1 undramatic            
village-preacher1 the ,vicar of         
,wakefield1--a doubt was felt as to his 
suitability for the part and as to the  
success of his endeavour4 ,he played    
,dr4 ,primrose1 and he gained in that   
character some of the brightest laurels 
of his professional career4 ,the doubt  
proved unwarranted4 ,more than one      
competent observer of that remarkable   
performance has granted it an equal rank
 with the best of ,henry ,irving's      
achievements2 and now1 more clearly than
 before1 it is perceived that the       
current of his inspiration flows as     
freely from the silver spring of        
goodness as from the dark and troubled  
fountain of human misery4  ,on the first
 night of ,olivia1 at the ,lyceum       
,theatre 7it was ,may #bg1 #ahhe1 when  
the present writer happened to be in    
,london71 ,henry ,irving's performance  

of ,dr4 ,primrose was fettered by a curb
 of constraint4 ,the actor's nerves had 
been strained to a high pitch of        
excitement and he was obviously anxious4
 ,his spirit1 accordingly1 was not fully
 liberated into the character4 ,he      
advanced with cautious care and he      
executed each detail of his design with 
precise accuracy4 ,to various auditors1 
for that reason1 the work seemed a      
little ,methodistical2 and drab is a    
colour at which the voice of the scoffer
 is apt to scoff4 ,but the impersonation
 of ,dr4 ,primrose soon became equally a
 triumph of expression and of ideal2 not
 only flowing out of goodness1 but      
flowing smoothly and producing the      
effect of nature4 ,it was not absolutely
 and identically the ,vicar that        
,goldsmith has drawn1 for its           
personality was unmarked by either      
rusticity or strong humour2 but it was a
 kindred and higher type of the simple  
truth1 the pastoral sweetness1 the      
benignity1 and the human tenderness of  

that delightful original4 ,to invest    
goodness with charm1 to make virtue     
piquant1 and to turn common events of   
domestic life to exquisite pathos and   
noble exaltation was the actor's        
purpose4 ,it was accomplished2 and ,dr4 
,primrose1 thitherto an idyllic figure1 
existent only in the chambers of fancy1 
is henceforth as much a denizen of the  
stage as ,luke ,fielding or ,jesse      
,rural2 a man not merely to be read of1 
as one reads of ,uncle ,toby and ,parson
 ,adams1 but to be known1 remembered1   
and loved4  ,wills's drama of ,olivia1  
based upon an episode in ,goldsmith's   
story1 is one of extreme simplicity4 ,it
 may be described as a series of        
pictures displaying the consequences of 
action rather than action itself4 ,it   
contains an abundance of incident1 but  
the incident is mostly devoid of        
inherent dramatic force and therefore is
 such as must derive its chief effect   
from the manner in which it is treated  
by the actors who represent the piece4  

,nevertheless1 the piece was found to   
be1 during its first three acts1 an     
expressive1 coherent1 interesting play4 
,it tells its story clearly and         
entirely1 not by narrative but by the   
display of characters in their relations
 to each other4 ,its language1 flavoured
 here and there with the phraseology of 
the novel1 is consistently appropriate4 
,the fourth and last act is feeble4     
,nobody can sympathise with the late    
remorse of love in a nature so trivial  
as that of ,thornhill1 and the incident 
of the reconciliation between ,olivia   
and her husband1 therefore1 goes for    
nothing4 ,it is the beautiful relation  
between the father and his daughter that
 animates the play4 ,it is paternal love
 that thrills its structure with light1 
warmth1 colour1 sincerity1 moral force1 
and human significance4 ,opinion may    
differ as to the degree of skill with   
which ,wills selected and employed the  
materials of ,goldsmith's story2 but    
nobody can justly deny that he wrought  

for the stage a practical dramatic      
exposition of the beauty and sanctity of
 the holiest relation that is possible  
in human life2 and to have done that is 
to have done a noble thing4  ,many      
persons appear to think that criticism  
falls short of its duty unless it wounds
 and hurts4 ,goldsmith himself observed 
that fact4 ,it was in the story of ,the 
,vicar of ,wakefield that he made his   
playful suggestion that a critic should 
always take care to say that the picture
 would have been better if the painter  
had taken more pains4 ,wills probably   
heard more than enough for his spiritual
 welfare about the faults of his piece2 
yet there is really nothing weak in the 
play except the conclusion4 ,it is not  
easy to suggest1 however1 in what way   
the fourth act could be strengthened1   
unless it were by a recasting and       
renovation of the character of ,squire  
,thornhill4 ,but the victory was gained1
 in spite of a feeble climax4 ,many     
persons also appear to think that it is 

a sort of sacrilege to lay hands upon   
the sacred ark of a classic creation4   
,dion ,boucicault1 perceiving this when 
he made a play about ,clarissa ,harlowe1
 felt moved to deprecate anticipated    
public resentment of the liberties that 
he had taken with ,richardson's novel4  
,yet it is difficult to see why the     
abundant details of that excellent      
though protracted narrative should not  
be curtailed1 in order to circumscribe  
its substance within the limits of a    
practical drama4 ,jefferson was blamed  
for condensing and slightly changing the
 comedy of ,the ,rivals4 ,yet the       
author1 who probably knew something     
about his work1 deemed it a wretchedly  
defective piece1 and expressed the      
liveliest regret for having written it4 
,wills did not reproduce ,goldsmith's   
,vicar upon the stage3 in some          
particulars he widely diverged from     
it--and his work1 accordingly1 may be   
censured4 ,yet ,the ,vicar of ,wakefield
 is far from being a faultless          

production1 such as a divinity should be
 supposed to hedge4 ,critical students  
are aware of this4 ,it is not worth     
while to traverse the old ground4 ,the  
reader who will take the trouble--and   
pleasure--to refer to that excellent    
chapter on ,goldsmith in ,dr4 ,craik's  
,history of ,english ,literature will   
find the structural defects of the novel
 specifically enumerated4 ,if the       
dramatist has ignored many details he   
has at least extracted from the         
narrative the salient points of a       
consistent1 harmonious story4 ,the      
spectator can enjoy the play1 whether he
 has read the original or not4 ,at the  
end of its first act he knows the ,vicar
 and his family1 their home1 their way  
of life1 their neighbours1 the two      
suitors for the two girls1 the motives  
of each and every character1 and the    
relations of each to all2 and he sees1  
what is always touching in the spectacle
 of actual human life1 the contrasted   
states of circumstance and experience   

surrounding and enmeshing all4 ,after   
this preparation the story is developed 
with few and rapid strokes4 ,two of the 
pictures were poems4 ,at the end of act 
first the ,vicar1 who has been apprised 
of the loss of his property1 imparts    
this sad news to his family4 ,the time  
is the gloaming4 ,the chimes are        
sounding in the church-tower4 ,it is the
 hour of evening prayer4 ,the           
gray-haired pastor calls his loved ones 
around him1 in his garden1 and simply   
and reverently tells them of their      
misfortune1 which is to be accepted     
submissively1 as ,heaven's will4 ,the   
deep religious feeling of that scene1   
the grouping1 the use of sunset lights  
and shadows1 the melody of the chimes1  
the stricken look in the faces of the   
women and children1 the sweet gravity of
 the ,vicar--instinct with the nobleness
 of a sorrow not yet become corrosive   
and lachrymose1 as is the tendency of   
settled grief--and1 over all1 the sense 
of blighted happiness and an uncertain  

future1 made up a dramatic as well as a 
pictorial effect of impressive poetic   
significance4 ,in act second--which is  
pictorial almost without                
intermission--there was a companion     
picture1 when the ,vicar reads1 at his  
fireside1 a letter announcing the       
restitution of his estate2 while his    
wife and children and ,mr4 ,burchell are
 assembled around the spinet singing an 
old song4 ,the repose with which ,henry 
,irving made that scene tremulous1      
almost painful1 in its suspense1 was    
observed as one of the happiest strokes 
of his art4 ,the face and demeanour of  
,dr4 ,primrose1 changing from the       
composure of resignation to a startled  
surprise1 and then to almost an         
hysterical gladness1 presented a study  
not less instructive than affecting of  
the resources of acting4 ,only two      
contemporary actors have presented      
anything kindred with ,mr4 ,irving's    
acting in that situation and throughout 
the scene that is sequent on the        

discovery of ,olivia's                  
flight--,jefferson in ,america and ,got 
in ,france4  ,evil is restless and      
irresistibly prone to action4 ,goodness 
is usually negative and inert4 ,dr4     
,primrose is a type of goodness4 ,in    
order to invest him with piquancy and   
dramatic vigour ,henry ,irving gave him 
passion1 and therewithal various        
attributes of charming eccentricity4    
,the clergyman thus presented is the    
fruition of a long life of virtue4 ,he  
has the complete repose of innocence1   
the sweet candour of absolute purity1   
the mild demeanour of spontaneous1      
habitual benevolence1 the supreme grace 
of unconscious simplicity4 ,but he is   
human and passionate2 he shows--in his  
surroundings1 in his quick sympathy with
 natural beauty1 and in his indicated   
rather than directly stated ideals of   
conduct--that he has lived an           
imaginative and not a prosaic life2 he  
is vaguely and pathetically             
superstitious2 and while essentially    

grand in his religious magnanimity he is
 both fascinating and morally formidable
 as a man4 ,those denotements point at  
,henry ,irving's ideal4 ,for his method 
it is less easy to find the right       
description4 ,his mechanical reiteration
 of the words that are said to him by   
,sophia1 in the moment when the fond    
father knows that his idolised ,olivia  
has fled with her lover2 his collapse1  
when the harmless pistols are taken from
 his nerveless hands2 his despairing    
cry1 ,if she had but died62 his abortive
 effort to rebuke his darling child in  
the hour of her abandonment and misery1 
and the sudden tempest of passionate    
affection with which the great tender   
heart sweeps away that inadequate and   
paltry though eminently appropriate     
morality1 and takes its idol to itself  
as only true love can do--those were    
instances of high dramatic achievement  
for which epithets are inadequate1 but  
which the memory of the heart will      
always treasure4  ,it was said by the   

poet ,aaron ,hill1 in allusion to       
,barton ,booth1 that the blind might    
have seen him in his voice and the deaf 
might have heard him in his visage4     
,such a statement made concerning an    
actor now would be deemed extravagant4  
,but1 turning from the ,vicar to his    
cherished daughter1 that felicitous     
image comes naturally into the mind4 ,to
 think of ,ellen ,terry as ,olivia will 
always be to recall one especial and    
remarkable moment of beauty and         
tenderness4 ,it is not her distribution 
of the farewell gifts1 on the eve of    
,olivia's flight--full although that was
 of the emotion of a good heart torn and
 tortured by the conflict between love  
and duty--and it is not the desperate   
resentment with which ,olivia beats back
 her treacherous betrayer1 when1 at the 
climax of his baseness1 he adds insult  
to heartless perfidy4 ,those1 indeed1   
were made great situations by the       
profound sincerity and the rich1        
woman-like passion of the actress4 ,but 

there was one instant1 in the second act
 of the play1 when the woman's heart has
 at length yielded to her lover's will1 
and he himself1 momentarily dismayed by 
his own conquest1 strives to turn back1 
that ,ellen ,terry made pathetic beyond 
description4 ,the words she spoke are   
simply these1 ,but ,i said ,i would     
come6 ,what language could do justice to
 the voice1 to the manner1 to the sweet1
 confiding1 absolute abandonment of the 
whole nature to the human love by which 
it had been conquered8 ,the whole of    
that performance was astonishing1 was   
thrilling1 with knowledge of the passion
 of love4 ,that especial moment was the 
supreme beauty of it4 ,at such times    
human nature is irradiated with a divine
 fire1 and art fulfils its purpose4     
,,vii4  ,,on ,,jefferson',s             
,,autobiography4   ,joseph ,jefferson   
has led a life of noble endeavour and   
has had a career of ample prosperity1   
culminating in honourable renown and    
abundant happiness4 ,he was born in     

,philadelphia1 ,february #bj1 #ahbi4 ,he
 went on the stage when he was four     
years old and he has been on the stage  
ever since4 ,his achievements as an     
actor have been recognised and accepted 
with admiration in various parts of the 
world2 in ,australia and ,new ,zealand  
and in ,england1 ,scotland1 and         
,ireland1 as well as in the ,united     
,states4 ,among ,english-speaking actors
 he is the foremost living              
representative of the art of eccentric  
comedy4 ,he has not1 of late years1     
played a wide range of parts1 but1      
restricting himself to a few characters1
 and those of a representative kind1 the
 manner in which he has acted them is a 
perfect manner--and it is this that has 
gained for him his distinctive eminence4
 ,jefferson1 however1 is not simply and 
exclusively an actor4 ,his mind is many 
sided4 ,he has painted landscape        
pictures of a high order of             
merit1--pictures in which elusive moods 
and subtle sentiments of nature are     

grasped with imaginative insight and    
denoted and interpreted with a free1    
delicate1 and luminous touch4 ,he has   
also addressed the public as an author4 
,he has written an easy1 colloquial     
account of his own life1 and that       
breezy1 off-hand1 expeditious           
work1--after passing it as a serial     
through their ,century ,magazine1--the  
,century ,company has published in a    
beautiful volume4 ,it is a work that1   
for the sake of the writer1 will be     
welcomed everywhere1 and1 for its own   
sake as well as his1 will everywhere be 
preserved4  ,beginning a theatrical     
career nearly sixty years ago 7#ahcc71  
roving up and down the earth ever since1
 and seldom continuing in one place1    
,jefferson has had uncommon             
opportunities of noting the development 
of the ,united ,states and of observing1
 in both hemispheres1 the changeful     
aspect of one of the most eventful      
periods in the history of the world4    
,actors1 as a class1 know nothing but   

the stage and see nothing but the       
pursuit in which they are occupied4     
,whoever has lived much among them knows
 that fact1 from personal observation4  
,whoever has read the various and       
numerous memoirs that have from time to 
time been published by elderly members  
of that profession must have been amused
 to perceive that1 while they           
conventionally agree that all the       
world's a stage1 they are               
enthusiastically convinced that the     
stage is all the world4 ,jefferson's    
book1 although it contains much about   
the theatre1 shows him to be an         
exception in this respect1 even as he is
 in many others4 ,he has seen many      
countries and many kinds of men and     
things1 and he has long looked upon life
 with the thoughtful gaze of a          
philosopher as well as the wise smile of
 a humourist4 ,he can1 if he likes1 talk
 of something besides the shop4 ,his    
account of his life lacks form a little1
 and his indifference to accurate       

statistics--which he declares to be     
somewhat tedious--is now and then felt  
to be an embarrassment4 ,one would like 
to know1 for instance1 while reading    
about the primitive theatrical times1   
when actors sailed the western rivers in
 flatboats1 and shot beasts and birds on
 the bank1 precisely the extent and     
limits of that period4 ,nor is this the 
only queer aspect of the dramatic past  
that might be illumined4 ,the total     
environment of a man's life is almost   
equally important with the life         
itself--being1 indeed1 the scenery amid 
which the action passes--and a good     
method for the writing of a biography is
 that which sharply defines the         
successive periods of childhood1 youth1 
manhood1 and age1 and1 while depicting  
the development of the individual from  
point to point1 depicts also the entire 
field through which he moves1 and the   
mutations1 affecting his life1 that     
occur in the historic and social fabric 
around him4 ,jefferson1 while he has    

painted vigorously and often happily1 on
 a large canvas1 has left many spaces   
empty and others but thinly filled4 ,the
 reader who accompanies him may1        
nevertheless1 with a little care1 piece 
out the story so as to perceive it as a 
sequent1 distinct1 harmonious1 and      
rounded narrative4 ,meanwhile the       
companionship of this heedless historian
 is delightful--for whether as actor1   
painter1 or writer1 ,jefferson steadily 
exerts the charm of a genial            
personality4 ,you are as one walking    
along a country road1 on a golden autumn
 day1 with a kind1 merry companion1 who 
knows all about the trees that fringe   
your track and the birds that flit      
through their branches1 and who beguiles
 the way with many a humorous tale and  
many a pleasant remembrance1 now        
impressing your mind by the sagacity of 
his reflections1 now touching your heart
 by some sudden trait of sentiment or   
pathos1 and always pleasing and         
satisfying you with the consciousness of

 a sweet1 human1 broad1 charitable1     
piquant nature4 ,although an            
autobiographer ,jefferson is not        
egotistical1 and although a moralist he 
is not a bore4 ,there is a tinge of the 
,horatian mood in him--for his reader   
often becomes aware of that composed1   
sagacious1 half-droll1 quizzical mind   
that indicates1 with grave gentleness1  
the folly of ambition1 the vanity of    
riches1 the value of the present hour1  
the idleness of borrowing trouble1 the  
blessing of the golden medium in        
fortune1 the absurdity of flatterers1   
and the comfort of keeping a steadfast  
spirit amid the inevitable vicissitudes 
of this mortal state4  ,jefferson has   
memories of a boyhood that was passed in
 ,washington1 ,baltimore1 and ,new      
,york4 ,he went to ,chicago in #ahch1   
when that place was scarcely more than a
 village--making the journey from ,new  
,york to ,buffalo in a canal-boat1 and  
sailing thence1 aboard a steamer1       
through the lakes of ,erie1 ,huron1 and 

,michigan4 ,he travelled with his       
parents1 and they gave dramatic         
performances1 in which he assisted1 in  
western towns4 ,it was a time of poverty
 and hardship1 but those ills were borne
 cheerfully--the brighter side of a hard
 life being kept steadily in view1 and  
every comic incident of it being seen   
and appreciated4 ,his father was a      
gentleman of the ,mark ,tapley          
temperament1 who came out strong amid   
adverse circumstances1 and the early    
disappearance from the book of that     
delightful person 7who died in #ahdb1 of
 yellow fever1 at ,mobile71 is a        
positive sorrow4 ,his mother1 a refined 
and gentle lady1 of steadfast character 
and of uncommon musical and dramatic    
talents and accomplishments1 survived   
till #ahdi1 and her ashes rest in       
,ronaldson's cemetery1 in ,philadelphia4
 ,jefferson might have said much more   
about his parents1 and especially about 
his famous grandfather1 without risk of 
becoming tedious--for they were         

remarkably interesting people2 but he   
was writing his own life and not theirs1
 and he has explained that he likes not 
to dwell much upon domestic matters4    
,the story of his long ancestry of      
actors1 which reaches back to the days  
of ,garrick 7for there have been five   
generations of the ,jeffersons upon the 
stage71 he has not mentioned2 and the   
story of his own young days is hurried  
rapidly to a conclusion4 ,he was brought
 on the stage1 when a child1 at the     
theatre in ,washington1 ,d4,c41 by the  
negro comedian ,thomas ,d4 ,rice1 who   
emptied him out of a bag2 and thereupon1
 being dressed as a nigger dancer1 in   
imitation of ,rice1 he performed the    
antics of ,jim ,crow4 ,he adverts to his
 first appearance in ,new ,york and     
remembers his stage combat with ,master 
,titus2 and he thinks that ,master      
,titus must remember it also1--since one
 of that boy's big toes was nearly cut  
off in the fray4 ,that combat occurred  
at the ,franklin theatre1 ,september    

#cj1 #ahcg--;a useful fact that the     
autobiographer cares not to mention4 ,he
 speedily becomes a young man1 as the   
reader follows him through the first    
three chapters of his narrative1--of    
which there are seventeen1--and he is   
found to be acting1 as a stock player1  
in support of ,james ,w4 ,wallack1      
,junius ,brutus ,booth1 ,w4,c4          
,macready1 and ,mr4 and ,mrs4 ,j4,w4    
,wallack1 ,jr4 ,upon the powers and     
peculiarities of those actors1 and upon 
the traits of many others who1 like     
them1 are dead and gone 7for there is   
scarcely a word in the book about any of
 his living contemporaries71 he comments
 freely and instructively4 ,he was      
barn-storming in ,texas when the        
,mexican war began1 and he followed in  
the track of the ,american army1 and    
acted in the old ,spanish theatre in    
,matamoras1 in the spring of #ahdf2 and1
 subsequently1 finding that this did no 
good1 he opened a stall there for the   
sale of coffee and other refreshments1  

in the corner of a gambling hell4 ,he   
calls to mind the way of domestic life  
and the every-day aspect of houses1     
gardens1 people1 and manners in         
,matamoras1 and those he describes with 
especial skill--deftly introducing the  
portraiture of a dusky1 black-eyed1     
volatile ,mexican girl1 to whom he lost1
 temporarily1 the light heart of youth1 
and whom he thinks that he might have   
married had he not deemed it prudent to 
journey northward toward a cooler clime4
 ,in ,new ,orleans1 at about that time1 
he first saw the then young comedian    
,john ,e4 ,owens3 and he records the    
fact that his ambition to excel as an   
actor was awakened by the spectacle of  
that rival's success4 ,owens has had his
 career since then1--and a brilliant one
 it was1--and now he sleeps in peace4   
,after that experience ,jefferson       
repaired to ,philadelphia1 and during   
the next ten years1 from #ahdf to #ahef1
 he wrought in that city and in ,new    
,york1 ,baltimore1 ,richmond1 and other 

places1 sometimes as a stock actor1     
sometimes as a star1 and sometimes as a 
manager4 ,he encountered various        
difficulties4 ,he took a few serious    
steps and many comic ones4 ,he was      
brought into contact with some          
individuals that were eminent and with  
some that were ludicrous4 ,he crossed   
the ,allegheny mountains in mid-winter1 
from ,wheeling to ,cumberland1 in a cold
 stage-coach1 and almost perished4 ,he  
was a member of ,burton's company at the
 ,arch ,street theatre1 ,philadelphia1  
and was one of the chorus in that great 
actor's revival of ,antigone--which     
there is little doubt that the chorus   
extinguished4 ,he was the low comedian  
in ,joseph ,foster's amphitheatre1 where
 he sang ,captain ,kidd to fill up the  
carpenter scenes1 and where he sported  
amid the turbulent rhetorical billows of
 ,timour the ,tartar and ,the ,terror of
 the ,road4 ,he acted in ,new ,york at  
the ,franklin theatre and also at the   
,chatham4 ,he managed theatres in ,macon

 and ,savannah1 where he brought out the
 blithe ,sir ,william ,don2 and one of  
the sprightliest episodes of his memoir 
is the chapter in which he describes    
that tall1 elegant1 nonchalant          
adventurer4 ,don was a ,scotchman1 born 
in #ahbf1 who made his first appearance 
in ,america in ,november #ahej at the   
,broadway theatre1 ,new ,york1 and      
afterward drifted aimlessly through the 
provincial theatres4 ,don was married in
 #aheg to ,miss ,emily ,sanders1 and he 
died at ,tasmania1 ,march #ai1 #ahfb1   
and was buried at ,hobartstown4         
,jefferson saw the dawn of promise in   
the career of ,julia ,dean1--when that  
beautiful girl was acting with him1 in  
the stock--and afterwards he saw the    
noonday splendour of her prosperity2 and
 he might have recalled1 but that sad   
touches are excluded from his biography1
 her mournful decline4 ,in #ahec he was 
stage manager of the ,baltimore museum1 
for ,henry ,c4 ,jarrett1 and in #ahed he
 was manager of the ,richmond theatre1  

for ,john ,t4 ,ford4 ,among the players 
whom he met1 and who deeply influenced  
him1 were ,james ,e4 ,murdoch1 ,henry   
,placide1 ,edwin ,forrest1 ,edwin       
,adams1 and ,agnes ,robertson4 ,but the 
actor who most affected the youth of    
,joseph ,jefferson1 whose influence sank
 deepest into his heart and has remained
 longest in his memory and upon his     
style1 was his half-brother1 ,charles   
,burke3 and certainly1 as a serio-comic 
actor1 it may be doubted whether        
,charles ,burke ever was surpassed4     
,that comedian was born ,march #bg1     
#ahbb1 in ,philadelphia1 and he died in 
,new ,york1 ,november #aj1 #ahed4       
,jefferson's mother1 ,cornelia ,frances 
,thoms1 born in ,new ,york1 ,october #a1
 #agif1 the daughter of ,french parents1
 was married in her girlhood to the     
,irish comedian ,thomas ,burke1 who died
 in #ahbd2 and she contracted her second
 marriage1 with ,jefferson's father1 in 
#ahbf4 ,jefferson writes at his best in 
the description of scenery1 in the      

analysis of character1 and in the       
statement of artistic principles4 ,his  
portraiture of ,murdoch1 as a comedian1 
is particularly clear and fine4 ,his    
account of ,julia ,dean's hit1 as ,lady 
,priory1 is excellent and will often be 
cited4 ,his portrayal of the reciprocal 
action of ,burton and ,charles ,burke1  
when they were associated in the same   
piece1 conveys a valuable lesson4 ,his  
anecdotes of ,edwin ,forrest present    
that grim figure as yet again the       
involuntary cause of mirth4 ,it often   
was so4 ,jefferson1 however1 draws a    
veil of gentle charity over those       
misused powers1 that perverse will1 that
 wasted life4 ,the most striking        
dramatic portraiture in the book is that
 bestowed on ,charles ,burke1 ,william  
,warren1 ,george ,holland1 ,tom         
,glessing1 and ,edwin ,adams4 ,those    
were men who lived in ,jefferson's      
affections1 and when he wrote about them
 he wrote from the heart4 ,the sketch of
 ,glessing1 whom everybody loved that   

ever knew him1 is in a touching strain  
of tender remembrance4  ,jefferson      
visited ,england and ,france in #ahef1  
but not to act4 ,at that time he saw the
 famous ,english comedians ,compton1    
,buckstone1 ,robson1 and ,wright1 and   
that extraordinary actor1 fine alike in 
tragedy and comedy1 the versatile       
,samuel ,phelps4 ,in #aheg he was       
associated with ,laura ,keene at her    
theatre in ,new ,york2 and from that    
date onward his career has been upon a  
high and sunlit path1 visible to the    
world4 ,his first part at ,laura        
,keene's theatre was ,dr4 ,pangloss4    
,then came ,our ,american ,cousin1 in   
which he gained a memorable success as  
,asa ,trenchard1 and in which ,edward   
,a4 ,sothern laid the basis of that     
fantastic structure of whim and         
grotesque humour that afterward became  
famous as ,lord ,dundreary4 ,sothern1   
,laura ,keene1 and ,william ,rufus      
,blake1 of course1 gained much of       
,jefferson's attention at that time1 and

 he has not omitted to describe them4   
,his account of ,blake1 however1 does   
not impart an adequate idea of the      
excellence of that comedian4 ,in #aheh  
he went to the ,winter ,garden theatre1 
and was associated with the late ,dion  
,boucicault4 ,his characters then were  
,newman ,hoggs1 ,caleb ,plummer1 and    
,salem ,scudder--in ,nicholas ,nickleby1
 ,the ,cricket on the ,hearth1 and ,the 
,octoroon4 ,mr4 ,boucicault told him not
 to make ,caleb ,plummer a solemn       
character at the beginning--a           
deliverance that ,jefferson seems to    
have cherished as one of colossal       
wisdom4 ,he made a brilliant hit in     
,salem ,scudder1 and it was then that he
 determined finally to assume the       
position of a star4 ,art has always been
 my sweetheart1 exclaims ,jefferson1 and
 ,i have loved her for herself alone4   
,no observer can doubt that who has     
followed his career4 ,it was in #ahei   
that he reverted to the subject of ,rip 
,van ,winkle1 as the right theme for his

 dramatic purpose4 ,he had seen ,charles
 ,burke as ,rip1 and he knew the several
 versions of ,washington ,irving's story
 that had been made for the theatre by  
,burke1 ,hackett1 and ,yates4 ,the first
 ,rip ,van ,winkle upon the stage1 of   
whom there is any record in theatrical  
annals1 was ,thomas ,flynn 7#ahjd-ahdi74
 ,that comedian1 the friend of the elder
 ,booth1 acted the part for the first   
time on ,may #bd1 #ahbh1 at ,albany4    
,charles ,b4 ,parsons1 who afterward    
acted in many theatres as ,rip1 and     
ultimately became a preacher1 was1 on   
that night1 the performer of ,derrick4  
,jefferson's predecessors as ,rip ,van  
,winkle were remarkably clever          
men--,flynn1 ,parsons1 ,burke1 ,chapman1
 ,hackett1 ,yates1 and ,william         
,isherwood4 ,but it remained for        
,jefferson to do with that character    
what no one else had ever thought of    
doing--to lift it above the level of the
 tipsy rustic and make it the poetical  
type of the drifting and dreaming       

vagrant--half-haunted1 half-inspired1 a 
child of the trees and the clouds4      
,jefferson records that he was lying on 
the hay in a barn in ,paradise ,valley1 
,pennsylvania1 in the summer of #ahei1  
taking advantage of a rainy day to read 
,washington ,irving's ,life and         
,letters1 when that plan came to him4   
,it proved an inspiration of happiness  
to thousands of people all over the     
world4 ,the comedian made a play for    
himself1 on the basis of ,charles       
,burke's play1 but with one vital       
improvement--he arranged the text and   
business of the supernatural scene so   
that ,rip only should speak1 while the  
ghosts should remain silent4 ,that      
stroke of genius accomplished his       
object4 ,the man capable of that exploit
 in dramatic art could not fail to win  
the world1 because he would at once     
fascinate its imagination while touching
 its heart4  ,in #ahfa ,jefferson went  
to ,california and thence to ,australia1
 and in the latter country he remained  

four years4 ,he has written a fine      
description of the entrance to the      
harbour at ,sydney4 ,his accounts of the
 skeleton dance1 as he saw it performed 
by the black natives of that land2 of   
his meeting with the haunted hermit in  
the woods2 of the convict audience at   
,tasmania1 for whom he acted in ,the    
,ticket-of-,leave ,man2 and of the      
entertainment furnished in a ,chinese   
theatre1 are compositions that would    
impart to any book the interest of      
adventure and the zest of novelty4 ,such
 pictures as those have a broad         
background2 they are not circumscribed  
within the proscenium frame4 ,the man is
 seen in those passages as well as the  
actor2 and he plays his part well1 amid 
picturesque surroundings of evil and    
peril1 of tragedy and of pathos4 ,in    
,australia ,jefferson met ,charles ,kean
 and his wife 7,ellen ,tree71 of whom   
his sketches are boldly drawn and his   
memories are pleasant4 ,mr4 and ,mrs4   
,kean afterward made their farewell     

visit to the ,united ,states1 beginning1
 when they reached ,new ,york 7from ,san
 ,francisco1 in ,april #ahfe71 with     
,henry ,,viii41 and closing with ,the   
,jealous ,wife4 ,in #ahfe ,jefferson    
went from ,australia to ,south ,america 
and passed some time in ,lima1 where he 
saw much tropical luxury and many       
beautiful ladies--an inspiriting        
spectacle1 fittingly described by him in
 some of the most felicitous of his     
fervent words4 ,in ,june #ahfe he       
reached ,london1 and presently he came  
forth1 at the ,adelphi1 as ,rip ,van    
,winkle1--having caused the piece to be 
rewritten by ,mr4 ,boucicault1 who      
introduced the colloquy of the children1
 paraphrased for it the recognition     
scene between ,king ,lear and ,cordelia1
 and kept ,gretchen alive to be married 
to ,derrick4 ,mr4 ,boucicault1 however1 
had no faith in the piece or the actor's
 plan1 and down to the last moment      
prophesied failure4 ,jefferson's success
 was unequivocal4 ,friends surrounded   

him and in the gentle and genial record 
that he has made of those auspicious    
days some of the brightest names of     
modern ,english literature sparkle on   
his page4 ,benjamin ,webster1 ,paul     
,bedford1 ,john ,billington1 ,john      
,brougham1 and ,marie ,wilton were among
 the actors who were glad to be his     
associates4 ,robertson1 the dramatist1  
was his constant companion--one of the  
most intellectual and one of the        
wittiest of men4 ,planch1 aged yet      
hearty and genial 7and no man had more  
in his nature of the sweet spirit of the
 comrade71 speedily sought him4 ,charles
 ,reade and ,anthony ,trollope became   
his cronies2 and poor ,artemas ,ward    
arrived and joined the party just as    
,jefferson was leaving it--as bright a  
spirit1 as kind a heart1 and as fine and
 quaint a humourist as ever cheered this
 age--from which he vanished too soon   
for the happiness of his friends and for
 the fruition of his fame4 ,i was much  
impressed1 says the comedian1 with      

,ward's genial manner2 he was not in    
good health1 and ,i advised him to be   
careful lest the kindness of ,london    
should kill him4 ,that advice was not   
heeded1 and the kindness of ,london     
speedily ended ,ward's days4  ,jefferson
 came home in #ahff and passed ten years
 in ,america--years of fame and fortune1
 whereof the record is smooth           
prosperity4 ,its most important personal
 incident was his second marriage1 on   
,december #bj1 #ahfg1 at ,chicago1 to   
,miss ,sarah ,warren4 ,in ,july #ahgc he
 made a voyage to ,europe1 with his wife
 and ,william ,warren1 the comedian1 and
 remained there till autumn4 ,from      
,november #a1 #ahge to ,april #bi1 #ahgf
 and from ,easter #ahgg until midsummer 
he was again acting in ,london1 where he
 redoubled his former success4 ,in      
,october #ahgg he returned home1 and    
since then he has remained in ,america4 
,the chronicle that he has written      
glides lightly over these latter years1 
only now and then touching on their     

golden summits4 ,the manifest wish of   
the writer has been to people his pages 
as much as possible with the men and    
women of his artistic circle and        
knowledge who would be likely to        
interest the reader4 ,robert ,browning1 
,charles ,kingsley1 and ,george         
,augustus ,sala come into the picture1  
and there is a pleasing story of        
,browning and ,longfellow walking arm in
 arm in ,london streets till driven into
 a cab by a summer shower1 when         
,longfellow insisted on passing his     
umbrella through the hole in the roof1  
for the protection of the cab-driver4   
,jefferson lived for one summer in an   
old mansion at ,morningside1 ,edinburgh1
 and he dwells with natural delight on  
his recollections of that majestic city4
 ,he had many a talk1 at odd times1 with
 the glittering farceur ,charles        
,mathews1 about dramatic art1 and some  
of this is recorded in piquant          
anecdotes4 ,by many1 says the amiable   
annalist1 he was thought to be cold and 

selfish2 ,i do not think he was so4     
,there is a kind word for ,charles      
,fechter1 whose imitations of ,frederick
 ,lemaitre1 in ,belphegor1 the          
,mountebank1 live in ,jefferson's       
remembrance as wonderfully graphic4     
,there are glimpses of ,james ,wallack1 
,walter ,montgomery1 ,peter ,richings1  
,e4,a4 ,sothern1 ,laura ,keene1 ,james  
,g4 ,burnett1 ,john ,gilbert1 ,tyrone   
,power1 ,lester ,wallack1 ,john         
,mc,cullough1 ,john ,t4 ,raymond1 ,mr4  
and ,mrs4 ,barney ,williams1 ,john ,drew
 7the elder71 ,f4,s4 ,chanfrau1         
,charlotte ,cushman1 ,mrs4 ,drake1 and  
many others2 and the record incorporates
 two letters1 not before published1 from
 ,john ,howard ,payne1 the author of    
,home1 ,sweet ,home--a melody that is   
the natural accompaniment of            
,jefferson's life4 ,there is a pretty   
picture of that ancient supper-room at  
,no4 #b ,bulfinch ,place1 ,boston--,miss
 ,fisher's kitchen--as it appeared when 
,william ,warren sat behind the mound of

 lobsters1 at the head of the table1    
while the polished pewters reflected the
 cheerful light1 and wit and raillery   
enlivened the happy throng1 and many a  
face was wreathed with smiles that now  
is dark and still forever4 ,in one      
chapter ,jefferson sets forth his views 
upon the art of acting2 and seldom      
within so brief a compass will so many  
sensible reflections be found so simply 
and tersely expressed4 ,the book closes 
with words of gratitude for many        
blessings1 and with an emblematic       
picture of a spirit resigned to whatever
 vicissitudes of fortune may yet be     
decreed4  ,jefferson's memoir is a      
simple message to simple minds4 ,it will
 find its way to thousands of readers to
 whom a paper by ,addison or an essay by
 ,hume would have no meaning4 ,it will  
point for them the moral of a good life4
 ,it will impress them with the         
spectacle of a noble actor1 profoundly  
and passionately true to the high art by
 which he lives1 bearing eloquent       

testimony to its beauty and its worth1  
and to the fine powers and sterling     
virtues of the good men and women with  
whom he has been associated in its      
pursuit4 ,it will display to them--and  
to all others who may chance to read    
it--a type of that absolute humility of 
spirit which yet is perfectly compatible
 with a just pride of intellect4 ,it    
will help to preserve interesting traits
 of famous actors of an earlier time1   
together with bright stories that       
illumine the dry chronicle of our       
theatrical history4 ,and1 in its simple 
record of the motives by which he has   
been impelled1 and the artistic purposes
 that he has sought to accomplish1 it   
will remain an eloquent1 vital1         
indestructible memorial to the art and  
the character of a great comedian1 when 
the present reality of his exquisite    
acting shall have changed to a dim      
tradition and a fading memory of the    
past4     ,,viii4  ,,on ,,jefferson',s  
,,acting4   ,fifty years from now the   

historian of the ,american stage1 if he 
should be asked to name the actor of    
this period who was most beloved by the 
people of this generation1 will answer  
that it was ,joseph ,jefferson4 ,other  
actors of our time are famous1 and they 
possess in various degrees the affection
 of the public4 ,jefferson is not only  
renowned but universally beloved4 ,to   
state the cause of this effect is at    
once to explain his acting and to do it 
the honour to which it is entitled4     
,that cause can be stated in a single   
sentence4 ,jefferson is at once a poetic
 and a human actor1 and he is thus able 
to charm all minds and to win all       
hearts4 ,his success1 therefore1 is     
especially important not to himself     
alone but to the people4  ,public taste 
is twofold4 ,it has a surface liking1   
and it has a deep1 instinctive1 natural 
preference4 ,the former is alert1       
capricious1 incessant1 and continually  
passes from fancy to fancy4 ,it scarcely
 knows what it wants1 except that it    

wants excitement and change4 ,those     
persons in the dramatic world who make a
 point to address it are experimental   
speculators1 whose one and only object  
is personal gain1 and who are willing   
and ready to furnish any sort of        
entertainment that they think will      
please a passing caprice1 and thereby   
will turn a penny for themselves4 ,to   
judge the public entirely by this       
surface liking is to find the public    
what ,tennyson once called it--a        
many-headed beast4 ,with that animal    
every paltry and noxious thing can be   
made1 for a time1 to flourish2 and that 
fact leads observers who do not         
carefully look beneath the surface to   
conclude that the public is always      
wrong4 ,but the deep preference of the  
public comes into the question1 and     
observers who are able to see and to    
consider that fact presently perceive   
that the artist1 whether actor or       
otherwise1 who gives to the public1 not 
what it says it wants but what it ought 

to have1 is in the long run the victor4 
,the deep preference is for the good    
thing1 the real thing1 the right4 ,it is
 not intelligent4 ,it does not go with  
thinking and reasoning4 ,it does not    
pretend to have grounds of belief4 ,it  
simply responds4 ,but upon the stage the
 actor who is able to reach it is       
omnipotent4 ,jefferson conspicuously is 
an actor who appeals to the deep1       
instinctive1 natural preference of      
humanity1 and who reaches it1 arouses   
it1 and satisfies it4 ,throughout the   
whole of his mature career he has       
addressed the nobler soul of humanity   
and given to the people what they ought 
to have2 and the actor who is really    
able to do that naturally conquers      
everything4 ,it is not a matter of      
artifice and simulation2 it is a matter 
of being genuine and not a sham4  ,still
 further1 ,jefferson has aroused and    
touched and satisfied the feelings of   
the people1 not by attempting to        
interpret literature but by being an    

actor4 ,an actor is a man who acts4 ,he 
may be an uneducated man1 deficient in  
learning and in mental discipline1 and  
yet a fine actor4 ,the people care not  
at all for literature4 ,they do not read
 it1 and they know nothing about it     
until it is brought home to their hearts
 by some great interpreter of it4 ,what 
they do know is action4 ,they can see   
and they can feel1 and the actor who    
makes them see and feel can do anything 
with them that he pleases4 ,it is his   
privilege and his responsibility4       
,jefferson is one of those artists 7and 
they are few7 who depend for their      
effects not upon what authors have      
written but upon impersonation4 ,he     
takes liberties with the text4 ,it would
 not perhaps be saying too much to say  
that he does not primarily heed the text
 at all4 ,he is an actor2 and speaking  
with reference to him and to others like
 him it would perhaps be well if those  
persons who write criticisms upon the   
stage would come to a definite          

conclusion upon this point and finally  
understand that an actor must produce   
his effects on the instant by something 
that he does and is1 and not by rhetoric
 and elocution1 and therefore that he   
should not be expected to repeat every  
word of every part1 or to be a          
translator of somebody else1 but that he
 must be himself4 ,if we want the full1 
literal text of ,shakespeare we can stop
 at home and read it4 ,what we want of  
the actor is that he should give        
himself2 and the true actor does give   
himself4 ,the play is the medium4 ,a man
 who acts ,romeo must embody1           
impersonate1 express1 convey1 and make  
evident what he knows and feels about   
love4 ,he need not trouble himself about
 ,shakespeare4 ,that great poet will    
survive2 while if ,romeo1 being ever so 
correct1 bores the house1 ,romeo will be
 damned4 ,jefferson is an actor who     
invariably produces effect1 and he      
produces it by impersonation1 and by    
impersonation that is poetic and human4 

,jefferson's performance of ,acres      
conspicuously exemplifies the principles
 that have been stated here4 ,he has not
 hesitated to alter the comedy of ,the  
,rivals1 and in his alteration of it he 
has improved it4 ,acres has been made a 
better part for an actor1 and a more    
significant and sympathetic part for an 
audience4 ,you could not care           
particularly for ,acres if he were      
played exactly as he is written4 ,you   
might laugh at him1 and probably would1 
but he would not touch your feelings4   
,jefferson embodies him in such a way   
that he often makes you feel like       
laughing and crying at the same moment1 
and you end with loving the character1  
and storing it in your memory with such 
cherished comrades of the fancy as ,mark
 ,tapley and ,uncle ,toby4 ,there is but
 little human nature in ,acres as       
,sheridan has drawn him1 and what there 
is of human nature is coarse2 but as    
embodied by ,jefferson1 while he never  
ceases to be comically absurd1 he       

becomes fine and sweet1 and wins        
sympathy and inspires affection1 and    
every spectator is glad to have seen him
 and to remember him4 ,it is not        
possible to take that sort of liberty   
with every author4 ,you can do it but   
seldom with ,shakespeare2 never in any  
but his juvenile plays4 ,but there are  
authors who can be improved by that     
process1 and ,sheridan--in ,the ,rivals1
 not in ,the ,school for ,scandal--is   
one of them4 ,and anyway1 since it ought
 to be felt1 known1 understood1 and     
practically admitted that an actor is   
something more than a telegraph wire1   
that his personal faculty and testimony 
enter into the matter of embodiment and 
expression1 ,jefferson's rare excellence
 and great success as ,acres should     
teach a valuable lesson1 correcting that
 pernicious habit of the critical mind  
which measures an actor by the printed  
text of a play-book and by the          
hide-bound traditions of custom on the  
stage4 ,jefferson has had a royal       

plenitude of success as an actor1       
chiefly with the part of ,rip ,van      
,winkle1 but also with the characters of
 ,caleb ,plummer1 ,bob ,brierly1 ,dr4   
,pangloss1 ,dr4 ,ollapod1 ,mr4          
,golightly1 and ,hugh de ,brass4 ,the   
reason of that success cannot be found  
in conventional adherence to stage      
customs and critical standards4         
,jefferson has gained his great power   
over the people--of which his great fame
 is the shadow--- by giving himself in  
his art--his own rich and splendid      
nature and the crystallised conclusions 
of his experience4 ,as an artist1 when  
it comes to execution1 he leaves nothing
 to chance4 ,the most seemingly artless 
of his proceedings is absolutely defined
 in advance1 and never is what heedless 
observers call impulsive and            
spontaneous4 ,but his temperament is    
free1 fluent1 opulent1 and infinitely   
tender2 and when the whole man is       
aroused1 this flows into the moulds of  
literary and dramatic art and glorifies 

them4 ,when you are looking at          
,jefferson as ,acres in the duel scene  
in ,the ,rivals1 you laugh at him1 but  
almost you laugh through your tears4    
,when you see ,jefferson as ,rip ,van   
,winkle confronting the ghosts on the   
lonely mountain-top at midnight1 you see
 a display of imaginative personality   
quite as high as that of ,hamlet in     
tremulous sensibility to supernatural   
influence1 although wholly apart from   
,hamlet in altitude of intellect and in 
anguish of experience4 ,the poetry of   
the impersonation1 though1 is entirely  
consonant with ,hamlet1 and that is the 
secret of ,jefferson's exceptional hold 
upon the heart and the imagination of   
his time4 ,the public taste does not ask
 ,jefferson to trifle with his art4 ,its
 deep1 spontaneous1 natural preference  
feels that he is a true actor1 and so   
yields to his power1 and enjoys his     
charm1 and is all the time improved and 
made fitter to enjoy it4 ,he has reached
 as great a height as it is possible to 

reach in his profession4 ,he could if he
 chose play greater parts than he has   
ever attempted2 he could not give a     
better exemplification than he gives1 in
 his chose and customary achievement1 of
 all that is distinctive1 beautiful1 and
 beneficent in the art of the actor4    
,,ix4  ,,jefferson ,,and ,,florence ,,in
 ,,old ,,comedy4   ,a revival of ,the   
,heir at ,law was accomplished in the   
,new ,york season of #ahij1 with ,joseph
 ,jefferson in the character of ,dr4    
,pangloss and ,william ,james ,florence 
in that of ,zekiel ,homespun4 ,that play
 dates back to #agig1 a period in which 
a sedulous deference to conventionality 
prevailed in the ,british theatre1 as to
 the treatment of domestic subjects2    
and1 although the younger ,colman wrote 
in a more flexible style than was       
possessed by any other dramatist of the 
time1 excepting ,sheridan1 he was       
influenced to this extent by            
contemporary usage1 that often when he  
became serious he also became artificial

 and stilted4 ,the sentimental part of  
,the ,heir at ,law is trite in plan and 
hard in expression4 ,furthermore that   
portion of it which1 in the character of
 ,dr4 ,pangloss1 satirises the indigent1
 mercenary1 disreputable private tutors 
who constituted a distinct and          
pernicious class of social humbugs in   
,colman's day1 has lost its direct point
 for the present age1 through the       
disappearance of the peculiar type of   
imposture against which its irony was   
directed4 ,dr4 ,pangloss1 nevertheless1 
remains abstractly a humorous personage2
 and when he is embodied by an actor    
like ,jefferson1 who can elucidate his  
buoyant animal spirits1 his gay         
audacity1 his inveterate good-nature1   
his nimble craft1 his jocular           
sportiveness1 his shrewd knowledge of   
character and of society1 and his       
scholar-like quaintness1 he becomes a   
delightful presence2 for his mendacity  
disappears in the sunshine of his       
humour2 his faults seem venial2 and we  

entertain him much as we do the         
infinitely greater and more disreputable
 character of ,falstaff1--knowing him to
 be a vagabond1 but finding him a       
charming companion1 for all that4 ,this 
is one great relief to the hollow and   
metallic sentimentality of the piece4   
,persons like ,henry ,moreland1         
,caroline ,dormer1 and ,mr4 ,steadfast  
would be tiresome in actual life2 they  
belong1 with ,julia and ,falkland and   
,peregrine and ,glenroy1 to the noble   
army of the bores1 and they are insipid 
on the stage2 but the association of the
 sprightly and jocose ,pangloss with    
those drab-tinted and preachy people    
irradiates even their constitutional    
platitude with a sparkle of mirth4 ,they
 shine1 in spite of themselves4         
,colman's humour is infectious and      
penetrating4 ,in that quality he was    
original and affluent4 ,as we look along
 the line of the ,british dramatists for
 the last hundred years we shall find no
 parallel to his felicity in the use of 

comic inversion and equivoke1 till we   
come to ,gilbert4 ,though he was tedious
 while he deferred to that theatrical   
sentimentality which was the fashion of 
his day 7and against which ,goldsmith1  
in ,she ,stoops to ,conquer1 was the    
first to strike71 he could sometimes    
escape from it2 and when he did escape  
he was brilliant4 ,in ,the ,heir at ,law
 he has not only illumined it by the    
contrast of ,dr4 ,pangloss but by the   
unctuous humour and irresistible comic  
force of the character of ,daniel       
,dowlas1 ,lord ,duberly4 ,situations in 
a play1 in order to be invested with the
 enduring quality of humour1 must result
 from such conduct as is the natural and
 spontaneous expression of comic        
character4 ,the idea of the comic       
parvenue is ancient4 ,it did not        
originate with ,colman4 ,his application
 of it1 however1 was novel and his      
treatment of it--taking fast hold of the
 elemental springs of mirth--is as fresh
 to-day as it was a hundred years ago4  

,french minds1 indeed1 and such as      
subscribe to ,french notions1 would     
object that the means employed to elicit
 character and awaken mirth are not     
scientifically and photographically     
correct1 and that they are violent4     
,circumstances1 they would say1 do not  
so fall out that a tallow-chandler is   
made a lord4 ,the ,christopher ,sly     
expedient1 they would add1 is a forced  
expedient4 ,perhaps it is4 ,but ,english
 art sees with the eyes of the          
imagination and in dramatic matters it  
likes to use colour and emphasis4       
,daniel ,dowlas1 as ,lord ,duberly1 is  
all the droller for being a retired     
tallow-chandler1 ignorant1 greasy1      
conventional1 blunt1 a sturdy1 honest1  
ridiculous person1 who thinks he has    
observed how lords act and who intends  
to put his gained knowledge into        
practical use4 ,we shall never again see
 him acted as he was acted by ,burton1  
or by that fine actor ,william ,rufus   
,blake1 or even by ,john ,gilbert--who  

was of rather too choleric a temperament
 and too fine a texture for such an oily
 and stupidly complacent personage4 ,but
 whenever and however he is acted he    
will be recognised as an elemental type 
of absurd human nature made ludicrous by
 comic circumstances2 and he will give  
rich and deep amusement4  ,it is to be  
observed1 in the analysis of this       
comedy1 that according to ,colman's     
intention the essential persons in it   
are all1 at heart1 human4 ,the pervasive
 spirit of the piece is kindly4 ,old    
,dowlas1 restricted to his proper place 
in life1 is a worthy man4 ,dick ,dowlas1
 intoxicated by vanity and prosperity1  
has no harm in him1 and he turns out    
well at last4 ,even ,dr4                
,pangloss--although of the species of   
rogue that subsists by artfully playing 
upon the weakness of human vanity--is   
genial and amiable2 he is a laughing    
philosopher2 he gives good counsel2 he  
hurts nobody2 he is but a mild type of  
sinner--and the satirical censure that  

is bestowed upon him is neither         
merciless nor bitter4 ,pangloss1 in     
,milk ,alley1 spinning his brains for a 
subsistence1 might be expected to prove 
unscrupulous2 but the moraliser can     
imagine ,pangloss1 if he were only made 
secure by permanent good fortune1       
leading a life of blameless indolence   
and piquant eccentricity4 ,from that    
point of view ,jefferson formed his     
ideal of the character2 and1 indeed1 his
 treatment of the whole piece denoted an
 active practical sympathy with that    
gentle view of the subject4 ,he placed  
before his audience a truthful picture  
of old ,english manners2 telling them1  
in rapid and cheery action1 ,colman's   
quaint story--in which there is no      
malice and no bitterness1 but in which  
simple virtue proves superior to        
temptation1 and integrity is strong amid
 vicissitudes--and leaving in their     
minds1 at the last1 an amused conviction
 that indeed ,nature hath framed strange
 fellows in her time4 ,his own          

performance was full of nervous vitality
 and mental sparkle1 and of a humour    
deliciously quaint and droll4 ,dr4      
,panglass1 as embodied by ,jefferson1 is
 a man who always sees the comical      
aspect of things and can make you see it
 with him1 and all the while can be     
completely self-possessed and grave     
without ever once becoming slow or      
heavy4 ,there was an air of candour1 of 
ingenuous simplicity1 of demure         
propriety1 about the embodiment1 that   
made it inexpressibly funny4 ,there was 
no effort and no distortion4 ,the       
structure of the impersonation tingled  
with life1 and the expression of it--in 
demeanour1 movement1 facial play1       
intonation and business--was clear and  
crisp1 with that absolute precision and 
beautiful finish for which the acting of
 ,jefferson has always been             
distinguished4 ,he is probably the only 
,american comedian now left1 excepting  
,john ,s4 ,clarke1 who knows all the    
traditional embellishments that have    

gone to the making of this part upon the
 stage--embellishments fitly typified by
 the bank-note business with ,zekiel    
,homespun2 a device1 however1 that      
perhaps suggests a greater degree of    
moral obliquity in ,dr4 ,pangloss than  
was intended by the author4 ,it was     
exceedingly comical1 though1 and it     
served its purpose4 ,jefferson has had  
the character of ,pangloss in his       
repertory for almost forty years4 ,he   
first acted it in ,new ,york as long ago
 as #aheg1 at ,laura ,keene's theatre1  
when that beautiful woman played ,cicely
 and when ,duberly was represented by   
the lamented ,james ,g4 ,burnett4 ,it   
takes the playgoer a long way back1 to  
be thinking about this old piece and the
 casts that it has had upon the         
,american stage4 ,the ,heir at ,law was 
a great favourite in ,boston thirty     
years ago and more1 when ,william       
,warren was in his prime and could play 
,dr4 ,pangloss with the best of them1   
and when ,julia ,bennett ,barrow was    

living and acting1 who could play       
,cicely in a way that no later actress  
has excelled4 ,john ,e4 ,owens as       
,pangloss will never be forgotten4 ,it  
was a favourite part with ,john         
,brougham4 ,and the grotesque fun of    
,john ,s4 ,clarke in that droll         
character has been recognised on both   
sides of the ,atlantic4  ,in            
,jefferson's impersonation of ,dr4      
,pangloss the predominant beauty was    
spontaneous and perfectly graceful      
identification with the part4 ,the      
felicity of the apt quotations seemed to
 be accidental4 ,the manner was buoyant1
 but the alacrity of the mind was more  
nimble than the celerity of the body1   
and those wise and witty comments that  
,pangloss makes upon life1 character1   
and manners flowed naturally from a     
brain that was in the vigour and repose 
of intense animation4 ,the actor was    
completely merged in the character1     
which nevertheless his judgment         
dominated and his will directed4 ,no    

other representative of ,pangloss has   
quite equalled ,jefferson in the element
 of authoritative and convincing        
sincerity4 ,his demure sapience was of  
the most intense order and it arose out 
of great mental excitement4 ,no other   
actor of the part has equalled him in   
softness and winning charm of humour4   
,his embodiment of ,dr4 ,pangloss has   
left in the memory of his time an image 
of eccentric character not less lovable 
than ludicrous4  ,with ,zekiel          
,homespun1 an actor who is true to the  
author's plan will produce the          
impression of an affectionate heart1    
virtuous principles1 and absolute       
honesty of purpose1 combined with rustic
 simplicity4 ,florence easily reached   
that result4 ,his preservation of a     
dialect was admirably exact4 ,the soul  
of the part is fraternal love1 and when 
,zekiel finds that his trusted friend   
has repulsed him and would wrong his    
sister1 there is a fine flash of noble  
anger in the pride and scorn with which 

he confronts this falsehood and         
dishonour4 ,florence in days when he    
used to act the ,irish ,emigrant proved 
himself the consummate master of simple 
pathos4 ,he struck that familiar note   
again in the lovely manner of ,zekiel   
toward his sister ,cicely1 and his      
denotement of the struggle between      
affection and resentment in the heart of
 the brother when wounded by the        
depravity of his friend was not less    
beautiful in the grace of art than      
impressive in simple dignity and        
touching in passionate fervour4 ,in     
point of natural feeling ,zekiel        
,homespun is a stronger part than ,dr4  
,pangloss1 although not nearly so       
complex nor so difficult to act4 ,the   
sentiments by which it is animated      
awaken instant sympathy and the         
principles that impel command universal 
respect4 ,no actor who has attempted    
,zekiel ,homespun in this generation on 
the ,american stage has approached the  
performance that was given by ,florence1

 in conviction1 in artless sweetness1 in
 truth of passion1 and in the heartfelt 
expression of the heart4  ,purists      
customarily insist that the old comedies
 are sacred2 that no one of their       
celestial commas or holy hyphens can be 
omitted without sin2 and that the       
alteration of a sentence in them is     
sacrilege4 ,the truth stands1 however1  
without regard to hysterics3 and it is a
 truth that the old comedies owe their  
vitality mostly to the actors who now   
and then resuscitate them4 ,no play of  
the past is ever acted with scrupulous  
fidelity to the original text4 ,the     
public that saw the ,heir-at-,law and   
the ,rivals1 when ,jefferson and        
,florence acted in them1 saw condensed  
versions1 animated by a living soul of  
to-day1 and therefore it was impressed4 
,the one thing indispensable on the     
stage is the art of the actor4     ,x4  
,,on ,,the ,,death ,,of ,,florence4     
,the melancholy tidings of the death of 
,florence came suddenly 7he died in     

,philadelphia1 after a brief illness1   
,november #ai1 #ahia71 and struck the   
hearts of his friends not simply with   
affliction but with dismay4 ,florence   
was a man of such vigorous and affluent 
health that the idea of illness and     
death was never associated with him4    
,whoever else might go1 he at least     
would remain1 and for many cheerful     
years he would please our fancy and     
brighten our lives4 ,his spirit was so  
buoyant and brilliant that it seemed not
 possible it could ever be dimmed4 ,yet 
now1 in a moment1 his light was quenched
 and there was darkness on his mirth4   
,we shall hear his pleasant voice no    
more and see no more the sunshine of a  
face that was never seen without joy and
 can never be remembered without sorrow4
 ,the loss to the public was great4 ,few
 actors within the last forty years have
 stood upon a level with ,florence in   
versatility and charm4 ,his gentleness1 
his simplicity1 his modesty1 his        
affectionate fidelity1 his ready        

sympathy1 his inexhaustibly patience1   
his fine talents--all those attributes  
united with his spontaneous drollery to 
enshrine him in tender affection4       
,william ,james ,florence1 whose family 
name was ,conlin1 was born in ,albany1  
,july #bf1 #ahca4 ,when a youth he      
joined the ,murdoch ,dramatic           
,association1 and he early gave evidence
 of extraordinary dramatic talent4 ,on  
,december #i1 #ahdi he made his first   
appearance on the regular stage1 at the 
,marshall theatre in ,richmond1         
,virginia1 where he impersonated        
,tobias1 in ,the ,stranger4 ,after that 
he met with the usual vicissitudes of a 
young player4 ,he was a member of       
various stock companies--notably that of
 ,w4,c4 ,forbes1 of the ,providence     
museum1 and that of the once-popular    
,john ,nickinson1 of ,toronto and       
,quebec--the famous ,havresack of his   
period4 ,later he joined the company at 
,niblo's theatre1 ,new ,york1 under the 
management of ,chippendale and ,john    

,sefton1 appearing there on ,may #h1    
#ahej4 ,he also acted at the ,broadway1 
under ,marshall's management1 and in    
#aheb he was a member of the company at 
,brougham's ,lyceum4 ,on ,january #a1   
#ahec he married ,malvina ,pray1 sister 
of the wife of ,barney ,williams2 and in
 that way those two ,irish comedians    
came to be domestically associated4  ,at
 that time ,florence wrote several      
plays1 upon ,irish and ,yankee subjects1
 then very popular1 and he began to     
figure as a star--his wife standing     
beside him4 ,they appeared at ,purdy's  
,national theatre1 ,june #h1 #ahec1 and 
then1 and for a long time afterward1    
they had much popularity and success4   
,florence had composed many songs of a  
sprightly character 7one of them1 called
 ,bobbing ,around1 had a sale of more   
than #ajj1jjj copies71 and those songs  
were sung by his wife1 to the delight of
 the public4 ,the ,irish drama served   
his purpose for many years1 but he      
varied that form of art by occasional   

resort to burlesque and by incursions   
into the realm of melodrama4 ,one of his
 best performances was that of          
,o',bryan1 in ,john ,brougham's play of 
,temptation1 or the ,irish ,emigrant1   
with which he often graced the stage of 
the ,winter ,garden4 ,in that he touched
 the extremes of gentle humour and      
melting pathos4 ,he was delightfully    
humorous1 also1 in ,handy ,andy1 and in 
all that long line of ,irish characters 
that came to our stage with ,tyrone     
,power and the elder ,john ,drew4 ,he   
had exceptional talent for burlesque1   
and that was often manifested in his    
early days4 ,fra ,diavolo1 ,beppo1      
,lallah ,rookh1 ,the ,lady of the       
,lions1 and ,the ,colleen ,bawn1 were   
among the burlesques that he produced1  
and with those he was the pioneer4      
,engagements were filled by ,mr4 and    
,mrs4 ,florence1 at the outset of their 
starring tour1 in many cities of the    
republic1 and everywhere they met with  
kindness and honour4 ,among the plays   

written by ,florence were ,the ,irish   
,princess1 ,o',neil the ,great1 ,the    
,sicilian ,bride1 ,woman's ,wrongs1     
,eva1 and ,the ,drunkard's ,doom4 ,on   
,april #b1 #ahef ,mr4 and ,mrs4         
,florence sailed for ,england1 and      
presently they appeared at ,drury ,lane 
theatre1 where they at once stepped into
 favour4 ,the performance of the ,yankee
 ,gal by ,mrs4 ,florence aroused        
positive enthusiasm--for it was new1 and
 ,mrs4 ,florence was the first ,american
 comic actress that had appeared upon   
the ,english stage4 ,more than two      
hundred representations of it were given
 at that time4 ,florence used to relate 
that his fortunes were greatly benefited
 by his success in ,london1 and he      
habitually spoke with earnest gratitude 
of the kindness that he received there4 
,from that time onward he enjoyed almost
 incessant prosperity4 ,a tour of the   
,english provincial cities followed his 
,london season4 ,he acted at            
,manchester1 ,liverpool1 ,edinburgh1    

,glasgow1 ,belfast1 and ,dublin1 and    
both his wife and himself became        
favourites--so that their songs were    
sung and whistled in the streets1       
wherever they went4  ,returning to the  
,united ,states ,mr4 and ,mrs4 ,florence
 renewed their triumphs1 all over the   
land4 ,in #ahfa ,florence played some of
 ,burton's characters in ,wallack's     
theatre--among them being ,toodle and   
,cuttle4 ,at a later period he made it a
 custom to lease ,wallack's theatre     
during the summer1 and there he produced
 many burlesques4 ,in #ahfc1 at the     
,winter ,garden1 he offered ,the        
,ticket-of-,leave ,man and acted ,bob   
,brierly1 which was one of the best     
exploits of his life4 ,in #ahfg         
,wallack's old theatre being then called
 the ,broadway and managed by ,barney   
,williams1 he brought to that house the 
comedy of ,caste and presented it with a
 distribution of the parts that has not 
been equalled4 ,the actors were ,mrs4   
,chanfrau1 ,mrs4 ,gilbert1 ,mrs4        

,florence1 ,william ,davidge1 ,owen     
,marlowe1 ,edward ,lamb1 and            
,florence--who played ,george ,d',alroy4
 ,in #ahfh he presented ,no             
,thoroughfare and enacted               
,obenreizer1--a performance that        
established his rank among the leading  
actors of the time4 ,in #ahgf he made a 
remarkable hit as the ,hon4 ,bardwell   
,slote in the play of ,the ,mighty      
,dollar1 by ,benjamin ,e4 ,woolff4 ,that
 was the last important new play that he
 produced4 ,during the last fifteen     
years of his life he offered selections 
from his accepted repertory4 ,for a time
 he was associated with ,jefferson--to  
whom he brought a strength that was     
deeply valued and appreciated1 equally  
by that famous actor and by the         
public--acting ,sir ,lucius ,o',trigger 
in ,the ,rivals and ,zekiel ,homespun in
 ,the ,heir-at-,law4  ,the power of     
,florence was that of impersonation4 ,he
 was imaginative and sympathetic2 his   
style was flexible2 and he had an       

unerring instinct of effect4 ,the secret
 of his success lay in his profound     
feeling1 guided by perfect taste and    
perfect self-control4 ,he was an actor  
of humanity1 and he diffused an         
irresistible charm of truth and         
gentleness4 ,his place was his own and  
it can never be filled4         99      
99       99       99       99  ,an      
,epitaph4  ,here ,rest the ,ashes of    
,,william ,,james ,,florence1 ,comedian4
  ,his ,copious and ,varied ,dramatic   
,powers1 together with the ,abundant    
,graces of his ,person1 combined with   
,ample ,professional ,equipment and a   
,temperament of ,peculiar ,sensibility  
and ,charm1 made him one of the ,best   
and ,most ,successful ,actors of his    
,time1 alike in ,comedy and in ,serious 
,drama4 ,he ranged easily from ,handy   
,andy to ,bob ,brierly1 and from ,cuttle
 to ,obenreizer4 ,in ,authorship1 alike 
of ,plays1 ,stories1 ,music1 and ,song1 
he was ,inventive1 ,versatile1 ,facile1 
and ,graceful4 ,in ,art ,admirable2 in  

,life ,gentle2 he was widely known1 and 
he was known only to be loved4  ,,he    
,,was ,,born ,,in ,,albany1 ,n4,y41     
,,july #bf1 #ahca4 ,,he ,,died ,,in     
,,philadelphia ,,penn41     ,,november  
#ai1 #ahia4         99       99       99
       99       99      ,by ,virtue     
cherished1 by ,affection mourned1       
,by ,honour hallowed and by ,fame       
adorned1     ,here ,,florence sleeps1   
and o'er his sacred rest     ,each word 
is tender and each thought is blest4    
,long1 for his loss1 shall pensive      
,mem'ry show1     ,through ,humour's    
mask1 the visage of her woe1     ,day   
breathe a darkness that no sun dispels1 
,and ,night be full of whispers and     
farewells2     ,while patient ,kindness1
 shadow-like and dim1     ,droops in its
 loneliness1 bereft of him1     ,feels  
its sad doom and sure decadence nigh1-- 
,for how should ,kindness live1 when he 
could die6      ,the eager heart1 that  
felt for every grief1     ,the bounteous
 hand1 that loved to give relief1       

,the honest smile1 that blessed where'er
 it lit1     ,the dew of pathos and the 
sheen of wit1     ,the sweet1 blue eyes1
 the voice of melting tone1     ,that   
made all hearts as gentle as his own1   
,the ,actor's charm1 supreme in royal   
thrall1     ,that ranged through every  
field and shone in all--     ,for these 
must ,sorrow make perpetual moan1       
,bereaved1 benighted1 hopeless1 and     
alone8     ,ah1 no2 for ,nature does no 
act amiss1     ,and ,heaven were lonely 
but for souls like this4     ,,xi4      
,,henry ,,irving ,,and ,,ellen ,,terry  
,,in ,,the ,,merchant ,,of ,,venice4    
,in his beautiful production of ,the    
,merchant of ,venice ,henry ,irving     
restored the fifth act1 the jailer      
scene1 and the casket scenes in full1   
and the piece was acted with strict     
fidelity to ,shakespeare4 ,with ,ellen  
,terry for ,portia that achievement     
became feasible4 ,with an ordinary      
actress in that character the comedy    
might be tedious--notwithstanding its   

bold and fine contrasts of character1   
its fertility of piquant incident1 and  
its lovely poetry4 ,radiant with her    
fine spirit and beautiful presence1 and 
animated and controlled in every fibre  
by his subtle and authoritative         
intellect1 judiciously cast and         
correctly dressed and mounted1 ,henry   
,irving's revival of ,the ,merchant of  
,venice captured the public fancy2 and  
in every quarter it was sincerely felt  
and freely proclaimed that here1 at     
last1 was the perfection of stage       
display4 ,that success has never faded4 
,the performance was round1 symmetrical1
 and thorough--every detail being kept  
subordinate to intelligent general      
effect1 and no effort being made toward 
overweening individual display4         
,shakespeare's conception of ,shylock   
has long been in controversy4 ,burbage1 
who acted the part in ,shakespeare's    
presence1 wore a red wig and was        
frightful in form and aspect4 ,the red  
wig gives a hint of low comedy1 and it  

may be that the great actor made use of 
low comedy expedients to cloak          
,shylock's inveterate malignity and     
sinister purpose4 ,dogget1 who played   
the part in ,lord ,lansdowne's          
alteration of ,shakespeare's piece1     
turned ,shylock into farce4 ,macklin1   
when he restored the original play to   
the stage--at ,drury ,lane1 ,february   
#ad1 #agda--- wore a red hat1 a peaked  
beard1 and a loose black gown1 playing  
,shylock as a serious1 almost a tragic  
part1 and laying great emphasis upon a  
display of revengeful passion and       
hateful malignity4 ,so terrible was he1 
indeed1 that persons who saw him on the 
stage in that character not infrequently
 drew the inference and kept the belief 
that he was personally a monster4 ,his  
look was iron-visaged2 the cast of his  
manners was relentless and savage4 ,quin
 said that his face contained not lines 
but cordage4 ,in portraying the         
contrasted passions of joy for          
,antonio's losses and grief for         

,jessica's elopement he poured forth all
 his fire4 ,when he whetted his knife1  
in the trial scene1 he was silent1      
grisly1 ominous1 and fatal4 ,no human   
touch1 no hint of race-majesty or of    
religious fanaticism1 tempered the      
implacable wickedness of that hateful   
ideal4 ,pope1 who saw that ,shylock1    
hailed it as the ,jew that ,shakespeare 
drew--and ,pope1 among other things1 was
 one of the editors of ,shakespeare4    
,cooke1 who had seen ,macklin's         
,shylock1 and also those of ,henderson1 
,king1 ,kemble1 and ,yates1 adopted1    
maintained1 and transmitted the legend  
of ,macklin4 ,edmund ,kean1 who         
worshipped ,cooke1 was unquestionably   
his imitator in ,shylock2 but it seems  
to have been ,edmund ,kean who1 for the 
first time1 gave prominence to the      
,hebraic majesty and fanatical          
self-consecration of that hateful but   
colossal character4 ,jerrold said that  
,kean's ,shylock was like a chapter of  
,genesis4 ,macready--whose utterance of 

,nearest his heart was the              
blood-curdling keynote of his whole     
infernal ideal--declared the part to be 
composed of harshness1 and he saw no    
humanity in the lament for the loss of  
,leah's ring1 but only a lacerated sense
 of the value of that jewel4 ,brooke1 a 
great ,shylock1 concurred with ,kean's  
ideal and made the ,jew orientally      
royal1 the avenger of his race1 having  
an oath in heaven1 and standing on the  
law of an eye for an eye4 ,edwin        
,forrest1 the elder ,wallack1 ,e4,l4    
,davenport1 ,edwin ,booth1 ,bogumil     
,davison1 and ,charles ,kean steadily   
kept ,shylock upon the stage1--some     
walking in the religious track and some 
leaving it4 ,but the weight of opinion  
and the spirit and drift of the text    
would justify a presentment of the ,jew 
as the incarnation not alone of avarice 
and hate1 but of the stern1 terrible    
,mosaic law of justice4 ,that is the    
high view of the part1 and in studying  
,shakespeare it is safe to prefer the   

high view4  ,there must be imagination1 
or pathos1 or weirdness1 or some form of
 humour1 or a personal charm in the     
character that awakens the soul of      
,henry ,irving and calls forth his best 
and finest powers4 ,there is little of  
that quality in ,shylock4 ,but ,henry   
,irving took the high view of him4 ,this
 ,jew feeds fat the ancient grudge      
against ,antonio--until the law of      
,portia1 more subtle than equitable1    
interferes to thwart him2 but also he   
avenges the wrongs that his sacred      
nation has suffered4 ,his ideal was     
right1 his grasp of it firm1 his        
execution of it flexible with skill and 
affluent with intellectual power4 ,if   
memory carries away a shuddering thought
 of his baleful gaze upon the doomed    
,antonio and of his horrid cry of the   
summons ,come1 prepare6 it also retains 
the image of a father convulsed with    
grief--momentarily1 but sincerely--and  
of a man who at least can remember that 
he once loved4 ,it was a most austere   

,shylock1 inveterate of purpose1        
vindictive1 malignant1 cruel1 ruthless2 
and yet it was human4 ,no creature was  
ever more logical and consistent in his 
own justification4 ,by purity1          
sincerity1 decorum1 fanaticism1 the     
ideal was aptly suggestive of such men  
as ,robert ,catesby1 ,guy ,fawkes1 and  
,john ,felton--persons who1 with prayer 
on their lips1 were nevertheless capable
 of hideous cruelty4 ,the street scene  
demands utterance1 not repression4 ,the 
,jew raves there1 and no violence would 
seem excessive4 ,macklin1 ,kean1 ,cooke1
 and the elder ,booth1 each must have   
been terrific at that point4 ,henry     
,irving's method was that of the intense
 passion that can hardly speak--the     
passion that ,kean is said to have used 
so grandly in giving the curse of       
,junius ,brutus upon ,tarquin4 ,but1    
there was just as much of ,shylock's    
nature in ,henry ,irving's performance  
as in any performance that is recorded4 
,the lack was overwhelming physical     

power--not mentality and not art4 ,at   
,no tears but of my shedding ,henry     
,irving's ,shylock took a strong clutch 
upon the emotions and created an effect 
that will never be forgotten4  ,ellen   
,terry's ,portia long ago became a      
precious memory4 ,the part makes no     
appeal to the tragic depths of her      
nature1 but it awakens her fine         
sensibility1 stimulates the nimble play 
of her intellect1 and cordially promotes
 that royal exultation in the affluence 
of physical vitality and of spiritual   
freedom that so often seems to lift her 
above the common earth4 ,there have been
 moments when it seemed not amiss to    
apply ,shakespeare's own beautiful      
simile to the image of queen-like       
refinement1 soft womanhood1 and         
spiritualised intellect that this       
wonderful actress presented--as if an   
angel dropped down from the clouds4 ,her
 ,portia was stately1 yet fascinating2 a
 woman to inspire awe and yet to        
captivate every heart4 ,nearer to       

,shakespeare's meaning than that no     
actress can ever go4 ,the large1 rich1  
superb manner never invalidated the     
gentle blandishments of her sex4 ,the   
repressed ardour1 the glowing suspense1 
the beautiful modesty and candour with  
which she awaited the decision of the   
casket scene1 showed her to be indeed   
all woman1 and worthy of a true man's   
love4 ,here was no paltering of a puny  
nature with great feelings and a great  
experience4 ,and never in our day has   
the poetry of ,shakespeare fallen from  
human lips in a strain of such          
melody--with such teeming freedom of    
felicitous delivery and such dulcet     
purity of diction4     ,,xii4  ,,john   
,mc,c,u,l,l,o,u,g,h ,,in ,,several      
,,characters4   ,there is no greater    
gratification to the intellect than the 
sense of power and completeness in      
itself or the perception of power and   
completeness in others4 ,those          
attributes were in ,john ,mc,cullough's 
acting and were at the heart of its     

charm4 ,his repertory consisted of      
thirty characters1 but probably the most
 imposing and affecting of his          
embodiments was ,virginius4 ,the massive
 grandeur of adequacy in that           
performance was a great excellence4 ,the
 rugged1 weather-beaten plainness of it 
was full of authority and did not in the
 least detract from its poetic purity   
and ideal grace4 ,the simplicity of it  
was like the lovely innocence that      
shines through the ingenuous eyes of    
childhood1 while its majesty was like   
the sheen of white marble in the        
sunlight4 ,it was a very high1 serious1 
noble work2 yet1--although1 to his      
immeasurable credit1 the actor never    
tried to apply a natural treatment to   
artificial conditions or to speak blank 
verse in a colloquial manner1--it was   
made sweetly human by a delicate play of
 humour in the earlier scenes1 and by a 
deep glow of paternal tenderness that   
suffused every part of it and created an
 almost painful sense of sincerity4     

,common life was not made commonplace   
life by ,mc,cullough1 nor blank verse   
depressed to the level of prose4 ,the   
intention to be real--the intention to  
love1 suffer1 feel1 act1 defend1 and    
avenge1 as a man of actual life would   
do--was obvious enough1 through its     
harmonious fulfilment2 yet the realism  
was shorn of all triteness1 all animal  
excess1 all of those ordinary attributes
 which are right in nature1 and wrong   
because obstructive in the art that is  
nature's interpretation4  ,just as the  
true landscape is the harmonious        
blending of selected natural effects1 so
 the true dramatic embodiment is the    
crystallization of selected attributes  
in any given type of human nature1 shown
 in selected phases of natural          
condition4 ,mc,cullough did not present 
,virginius brushing his hair or paying  
,virginia's school-bills2 yet he        
suggested him1 clearly and beautifully1 
in the sweet domestic repose and        
paternal benignity of his usual         

life--making thus a background of       
loveliness1 on which to throw1 in lines 
of living light1 the terrible image of  
his agonising sacrifice4 ,and when the  
inevitable moment came for his dread act
 of righteous slaughter it was the moral
 grandeur1 the heart-breaking paternal  
agony1 and the overwhelming pathos of   
the deed that his art diffused--not the 
gashed stab1 the blood1 the physical    
convulsion1 the revolting animal shock4 
,neither was there druling1 or dirt1 or 
physical immodesty1 or any other        
attribute of that class of the natural  
concomitants of insanity1 in the        
subsequent delirium4  ,a perfect and    
holy love is1 in one aspect of it1 a    
sadder thing to see than the profoundest
 grief4 ,misery1 at its worst1 is at    
least final3 and for that there is the  
relief of death4 ,but love1 in its      
sacred exaltation1--the love of the     
parent for the child1--is so fair a mark
 for affliction that one can hardly view
 it without a shudder of apprehensive   

dread4 ,that sort of love was           
personified in ,mc,cullough's embodiment
 of ,virginius1 and that same nameless  
thrill of fear was imparted by its      
presence1--even before the tragedian1   
with an exquisite intuition of art1 made
 ,virginius convey his vague            
presentiment1 not admitted but quickly  
thrust aside1 of some unknown doom of   
peril and agony4 ,there was1 in fact1   
more heart in that single piece of      
acting than in any hundred of the most  
pathetic performances of the natural    
school2 and all the time it was         
maintained at the lofty level of classic
 grace4 ,it would be impossible to      
overstate the excellence of all that    
,mc,cullough did and said1 in the forum 
scene--the noble severity of the poise1 
the grace of the outlines1 the terrible 
intensity of the mood1 the heartrending 
play of the emotions1 the overwhelming  
delirium of the climax4 ,throughout the 
subsequent most difficult portraiture of
 shattered reason the actor never1 for  

an instant1 lost his steadfast grasp    
upon sympathy and inspiration4 ,every   
heart knew the presence of a nature that
 could feel all that ,virginius felt and
 suffer and act all that ,virginius     
suffered and acted2 and1 beyond this1 in
 his wonderful investiture of the mad   
scenes with the alternate vacancy and   
lamentable and forlorn anguish of a     
special kind of insanity1 every judge of
 the dramatic art recognised the        
governing touch of a splendid intellect1
 imperial over all its resources and    
instruments of art4  ,virginius as      
embodied by ,mc,cullough was a man of   
noble and refined nature2 lovely in     
life2 cruelly driven into madness2      
victorious over dishonour1 by a deed of 
terrible heroism2 triumphant over crime1
 even in forlorn and pitiable           
dethronement and ruin2 and1 finally1    
released by the celestial mercy of      
death4 ,and this was shown by a poetic  
method so absolute that ,virginius1     
while made an actual man to every human 

heart1 was kept a hero to the universal 
imagination1 whether of scholar or      
peasant1 and a white ideal of manly     
purity and grace to that great faculty  
of taste which is the umpire and arbiter
 of the human mind4  ,the sustained     
poetic exaltation of that embodiment1   
its unity as a grand and sympathetic    
personage1 and its exquisite simplicity 
were the qualities that gave it vitality
 in popular interest1 and through those 
it will have permanence in theatrical   
history4 ,there were many subtle        
beauties in it4 ,the illimitable        
tenderness1 back of the sweet dignity1  
in the betrothal of ,virginia to        
,icilius2 the dim1 transitory1          
evanescent touch of presentiment1 in the
 forecasting of the festival joys that  
are to succeed the war2 the             
self-abnegation and simple homeliness of
 grief for the dead ,dentatus2 the      
alternate shock of freezing terror and  
cry of joy1 in the camp scene--closing  
with that potent repression and         

thrilling outburst1 ,prudence1 but no   
patience6--a situation and words that   
call at once for splendid manliness of  
self-command and an ominous and savage  
vehemence2 the glad1 saving1 comforting 
cry to ,virginia1 ,is she here8--that   
cry which never failed to precipitate a 
gush of joyous tears2 the rapt          
preoccupation and the exquisite music of
 voice with which he said1 ,i never saw 
thee look so like thy mother1 in all my 
life2 the majesty of his demeanour in   
the forum2 the look that saw the knife2 
the mute parting glance at ,servia2 the 
accents of broken reason1 but unbroken  
and everlasting love1 that called upon  
the name of the poor murdered ,virginia2
 and then the last low wail of the dying
 father1 conscious and happy in the     
great boon of death--those1 as          
,mc,cullough gave them1 were points of  
impressive beauty1 invested with the    
ever-varying light and shadow of a      
delicate artistic treatment1 and all the
 while animated with passionate         

sincerity4 ,the perfect finish of the   
performance1 indeed1 was little less    
than marvellous1 when viewed with       
reference to the ever-increasing volume 
of power and the evident reality of     
afflicting emotion with which the part  
was carried4 ,if acting ever could do   
good the acting of ,mc,cullough did4 ,if
 ever dramatic art concerns the public  
welfare it is when such an ideal of     
manliness and heroism is presented in   
such an image of nobility4  ,in ,lear   
and in ,othello1--as in ,virginius1--the
 predominant quality of ,mc,cullough's  
acting was a profound and beautiful     
sincerity4 ,his splendidly self-poised  
nature--a solid rock of truth1 which    
enabled him1 through years of patient   
toil1 to hold a steadfast course over   
all the obstacles that oppose and amid  
all the chatter that assails a man who  
is trying to accomplish anything grand  
and noble in art--bore him bravely up in
 those great characters1 and made him1  
in each of them1 a stately type of the  

nobility of the human soul4 ,as the     
,moor1 his performance was well-nigh    
perfect4 ,there was something a little  
fantastic1 indeed1 in the facial style  
that he used2 and that blemish was      
enhanced by the display of a wild       
beast's head on the back of one of      
,othello's robes4 ,the tendency of that 
sort of ornamentation--however consonant
 it may be deemed with the barbaric     
element in the ,moor--is to suggest him 
as heedful of appearances1 and thus to  
distract regard from his experience to  
his accessories4 ,but the spirit was    
true4 ,simplicity1 urged almost to the  
extreme of barrenness1 would not be out 
of place in ,othello1 and ,mc,cullough1 
in his treatment of the part1 testified 
to his practical appreciation of that   
truth4 ,his ideal of ,othello combined  
manly tenderness1 spontaneous           
magnanimity1 and trusting devotion1 yet 
withal a volcanic ground-swell of       
passion1 that early and clearly         
displayed itself as capable of delirium 

and ungovernable tempest4 ,his method   
had the calm movement of a summer cloud1
 in every act and word by which this was
 shown4 ,for intensity and for          
immediate1 adequate1 large1 and         
overwhelming response of action to      
emotion1 that performance has not been  
surpassed4 ,there were points in it1    
though1 at which the massive serenity of
 the actor's temperament now and then   
deadened the glow of feeling and        
depressed him to undue calmness2 he     
sometimes recovered too suddenly and    
fully from a tempest of emotion--as at  
the agonising appeal to ,iago1 ,give me 
a living reason she's disloyal2 and he  
was not enough delirious in the speech  
about the sybil and the handkerchief4   
,on the other hand1 once yielded to the 
spell of desecrated feeling1 his mood   
and his expression of it were           
immeasurably pathetic and noble4 ,those 
two great ebullitions of despair1 ,o1   
now forever1 and ,had it pleased heaven1
 could not be spoken in a manner more   

absolutely heart-broken or more         
beautifully simple than the manner that 
was used by him4 ,in his obvious though 
silent suffering at the disgrace and    
dismissal of ,cassio2 in the dazed1     
forlorn agony that blended with his more
 active passion throughout the scene of 
,iago's wicked conquest of his          
credulity2 in his occasional quick      
relapses into blind and sweet fidelity  
to the old belief in ,desdemona2 in his 
unquenchable tenderness for her1 through
 the delirium and the sacrifice2 and in 
the tone of soft1 romantic              
affection--always spiritualised1 never  
sensual--that his deep and loving       
sincerity diffused throughout the work1 
was shown the grand unity of the        
embodiment2 a unity based on the simple 
passion of love4 ,to hear that actor say
 the one supreme line to ,iago1 ,i am   
bound to thee forever1 was to know that 
he understood and felt the meaning of   
the character1 to its minutest fibre and
 its profoundest depth4  ,there were    

touches of fresh and aptly illustrative 
business in the encounter of ,othello   
and ,iago1 in the great scene of the    
third act4 ,the gasping struggles of    
,iago heightened the effect of the      
,moor's fury1 and the quickly suppressed
 impulse and yell of rage with which he 
finally bounded away made an admirable  
effect of nature4 ,in the last scene    
,mc,cullough rounded his performance    
with a solemn act of sacrifice4 ,there  
was nothing animal1 nothing barbaric1   
nothing insane1 in the slaughter of     
,desdemona4 ,it was done in an ecstasy  
of justice1 and the atmosphere that     
surrounded the deed was that of awe and 
not of horror4  ,for the character of   
,king ,lear ,mc,cullough possessed the  
imposing stature1 the natural majesty1  
the great reach of voice1 and the human 
tenderness that are its basis and       
equipment4 ,no actor of ,lear can ever  
satisfy a sympathetic lover of the part 
unless he possesses a greatly           
affectionate heart1 a fiery spirit1     

and1--albeit the intellect must be shown
 in ruins1--a regal mind4 ,within that  
grand and lamentable image of shattered 
royalty the man must be noble and       
lovable4 ,nothing that is puny or       
artificial can ever wear the investiture
 of that colossal sorrow4 ,mc,cullough  
embodied ,lear as1 from the first1      
stricken in mind--already the           
unconscious victim of incipient decay   
and dissolution2 not mad but ready to   
become so4 ,there is a subtle           
apprehensiveness all about the presence 
of the king1 in all the earlier scenes4 
,he diffuses disquietude and vaguely    
presages disaster1 and the observer     
looks on him with solicitude and pain4  
,he is not yet decrepit but he will soon
 break2 and the spectator loves him and 
is sorry for him and would avert the    
destiny of woe that is darkly           
foreshadowed in his condition4          
,mc,cullough gave the invectives--as    
they ought to be given--with the        
impetuous rush and wild fury of the     

avalanche2 and yet they were felt to    
come out of agony as well as out of     
passion4 ,the pathos of those tremendous
 passages is in their chaotic           
disproportion2 in their lawlessness and 
lack of government2 in the evident      
helplessness of the poor old man who    
hurls them forth from a breaking heart  
and a distracted mind4 ,he loves1 and he
 loathes himself for loving3 every fibre
 of his nature is in horrified revolt   
against such lack of reverence1         
gratitude1 and affection toward such a  
monarch and such a father as he knows   
himself to have been4 ,the feeling that 
,mc,cullough poured through those       
moments of splendid yet pitiable frenzy 
was overwhelming in its intense glow and
 in its towering and incessant volume4  
,there was remarkable subtlety1 also1 in
 the manner in which that feeling was   
tempered4 ,in ,lear's meeting with      
,goneril after the curse you saw at once
 the broken condition of an aged1       
infirm1 and mentally disordered man1 who

 had already forgotten his own terrible 
words4 ,we'll no more meet1 no more see 
one another is a line to which          
,mc,cullough gave its full eloquence of 
abject mournfulness and forlorn         
desolation4 ,other denotements of       
subtlety were seen in his sad           
preoccupation with memories of the lost 
,cordelia1 while talking with the ,fool4
 ,i did her wrong was never more        
tenderly spoken than by him4 ,they are  
only four little words2 but they carry  
the crushing weight of eternal and      
hopeless remorse4 ,it was in this region
 of delicate1 imaginative touch that    
,mc,cullough's dramatic art was         
especially puissant4 ,he was the first  
actor of ,lear to discriminate between  
the agony of a man while going mad and  
the careless1 volatile1 fantastic       
condition--afflicting to witness1 but no
 longer agonising to the lunatic        
himself--of a man who has actually      
lapsed into madness4 ,edwin             
,forrest--whose ,lear is much extolled1 

often by persons who1 evidently1 never  
saw it--much as he did with the part1   
never even faintly suggested such a     
discrimination as that4  ,to one        
altitude of ,lear's condition it is     
probably impossible for dramatic art to 
rise--the mood of divine philosophy1    
warmed with human tenderness1 in which  
the dazed but semi-conscious vicegerent 
of heaven moralises over human life4    
,there is a grandeur in that conception 
so vast that nothing short of the rarest
 inspiration of genius can rise to it4  
,the deficiences of ,mc,cullough's ,lear
 were found in the analysis of that part
 of the performance4 ,he had the heart  
of ,lear1 the royalty1 the breadth2 but 
not all of either the exalted intellect1
 the sorrow-laden experience1 or the    
imagination--so gorgeous in its         
disorder1 so infinitely pathetic in its 
misery4  ,his performance of ,lear      
signally exemplified1 through every     
phase of passion1 that temperance which 
should give it smoothness4 ,the         

treatment of the curse scene1 in        
particular1 was extraordinarily         
beautiful for the low1 sweet1 and tender
 melody of the voice1 broken only now   
and then--and rightly broken--with the  
harsh accents of wrath4 ,gentleness     
never accomplished more1 as to taste and
 pathos1 than in ,mc,cullough's         
utterance of ,i gave you all1 and ,i'll 
go with you4 ,the rallying of the broken
 spirit after that1 and the terrific    
outburst1 ,i'll not weep1 had an        
appalling effect4 ,the recognition of   
,cordelia was simply tender1 and the    
death scene lovely in pathos and solemn 
and affecting in tragic climax4         
,throughout ,othello and ,king ,lear    
,mc,cullough's powers were seen to be   
curbed and guided1 not by a cold and    
formal design but by a grave and sweet  
gentleness of mind1 always a part of his
 nature1 but more and more developed by 
the stress of experience1 by the        
reactionary subduing influence of noble 
success1 and by the definite            

consciousness of power4 ,he found no    
difficulty in portraying the misery of  
,othello and of ,lear1 because this is a
 form of misery that flows out of       
laceration of the heart1 and not from   
the more subtle wounds that are         
inflicted upon the spirit through the   
imagination4 ,there was no brooding over
 the awful mysteries of the universe1   
nor any of that corroding1 haunted gloom
 that comes of an over-spiritualised    
state of suffering1 longing1            
questioning1 doubting humanity4 ,above  
all things else ,othello and ,lear are  
human2 and the human heart1 above all   
things else1 was the domain of that     
actor4  ,the character of ,coriolanus1  
though high and noble1 is quite as      
likely to inspire resentment as to      
awaken sympathy4 ,it contains many      
elements and all of them are good2 but  
chiefly it typifies the pride of        
intellect4 ,this1 in itself a natural   
feeling and a virtuous quality1         
practically becomes a vice when it is   

not tempered with charity for ignorance1
 weakness1 and the lower orders of mind4
 ,in the character of ,coriolanus it is 
not so tempered1 and therefore it       
vitiates his greatness and leads to his 
destruction4 ,much1 of course1 can be   
urged in his defence4 ,he is a man of   
spotless honour1 unswerving integrity1  
dauntless courage1 simple mind1         
straightforward conduct1 and magnanimous
 disposition4 ,he is always ready to    
brave the perils of battle for the      
service of his country4 ,he constantly  
does great deeds--and would continue    
constantly to do them--for their own    
sake and in a spirit of total           
indifference alike to praises and       
rewards4 ,he exists in the consciousness
 of being great and has no life in the  
opinions of other persons4 ,he dwells in
 the cedar's top and dallies with the   
wind and scorns the sun4 ,he knows and  
he despises with active and immitigable 
contempt the shallowness and fickleness 
of the multitude4 ,he is of an icy      

purity1 physical as well as mental1 and 
his nerves tingle with disgust of the   
personal uncleanliness of the mob4 ,bid 
them wash their faces1 he says--when    
urged to ask the suffrages of the       
people--and keep their teeth clean4 ,he 
rewards his deeds with doing them1 says 
his fellow-soldier ,cominius1 and looks 
upon things precious as the common muck 
of the world4 ,his aristocracy does not 
sit in a corner1 deedless and meritless1
 brooding over a transmitted name and   
sucking the orange of empty             
self-conceit3 it is the aristocracy of  
achievement and of nature--the solid    
superiority of having done the brightest
 and best deeds that could be done in   
his time and of being the greatest man  
of his generation4 ,it is as if a       
,washington1 having made and saved a    
nation1 were to spurn it from him with  
his foot1 in lofty and by no means      
groundless contempt for the ignorance1  
pettiness1 meanness1 and filth of       
mankind4 ,the story of ,coriolanus1 as  

it occurs in ,plutarch1 is thought to be
 fabulous1 but it is very far from being
 fabulous as it stands transfigured in  
the stately1 eloquent tragedy of        
,shakespeare4 ,the character and the    
experience are indubitably              
representative4 ,it was some modified   
form of the condition thus shown that   
resulted in the treason and subsequent  
ruin of ,benedict ,arnold4 ,pride of    
intellect largely dominated the career  
of ,aaron ,burr4 ,more than one great   
thinker has split on that rock1 and gone
 to pieces in the surges of popular     
resentment4 ,no man1 said ,dr4 ,chapin1 
in his discourse over the coffin of     
,horace ,greeley1 can lift himself above
 himself4 ,he who repudiates the        
humanity of which he is a part will     
inevitably come to sorrow and ruin4 ,it 
is perfectly true that no intellectual  
person should in the least depend upon  
the opinions of others--which1 in the   
nature of things1 exist in all stages of
 immaturity1 mutability1 and error--but 

should aim to do the greatest deeds and 
should find reward in doing them3 yet   
always the right mood toward humanity is
 gentleness and not scorn4 ,thou1 my    
father1 said ,matthew ,arnold1 in his   
tribute to one of the best men of the   
century1 wouldst not be saved alone4 ,to
 enlighten the ignorant1 to raise the   
weak1 to pity the frail1 to disregard   
the meanness1 ingratitude1              
misapprehension1 dulness1 and petty     
malice of the lower orders of           
humanity--that is the wisdom of the     
wise2 and that is accordant with the    
moral law of the universe1 from the     
operation of which no man escapes4 ,to  
study1 in ,shakespeare1 the story of    
,coriolanus is to observe the violation 
of that law and the consequent          
retribution4      ,battles1 and the     
breath     ,of stormy war and violent   
death  fill up the first part of the    
tragedy as it stands in ,shakespeare1   
and that portion is also much           
diversified with abrupt changes of      

scene2 so that it has been found        
expedient to alter the piece1 with a    
view to its more practical adaptation to
 the stage4 ,while however it is not    
acted in strict accordance with         
,shakespeare its essential parts are    
retained and represented4 ,many new     
lines1 though1 occur toward the close4  
,mc,cullough used the version that was  
used by ,forrest1 who followed in the   
footsteps of ,cooper1 the elder         
,vandenhoff1 and ,james ,r4 ,anderson4  
,there is1 perhaps1 an excess of        
foreground--a superfluity of fights and 
processions--by way of preparing for the
 ordeal through which the character of  
,coriolanus is to be displayed4 ,yet    
when ,hecuba at last is reached the     
interest of the situation makes itself  
felt with force4 ,the massive presence  
and stalwart declamation of ,edwin      
,forrest made him superb in this        
character2 but the embodiment of        
,coriolanus by ,mc,cullough1 while equal
 to its predecessor in physical majesty1

 was superior to it in intellectual     
haughtiness and in refinement4 ,an      
actor's treatment of the character must1
 unavoidably1 follow the large1 broad   
style of the historical painter4 ,there 
is scant opportunity afforded in any of 
the scenes allotted to ,coriolanus for  
fine touches and delicate shading4      
,during much of the action the spectator
 is aware only of an imperial figure    
that moves with a mountainous grace     
through the fleeting rabble of ,roman   
plebeians and ,volscians1 dreadful in   
war1 loftily calm in peace1 irradiating 
the conscious superiority of power1     
dignity1 worth1 and honourable renown4  
,mc,cullough filled that aspect of the  
part as if he had been born for it4 ,his
 movements had the splendid repose not  
merely of great strength but of         
intellectual poise and native mental    
supremacy4 ,the ,i must be found air of 
,othello was again displayed1 in ripe   
perfection1 through the ,roman toga4    
,his declamation was as fluent and as   

massively graceful as his demeanour4 ,if
 this actor had not the sonorous1       
clarion voice of ,john ,kemble1 he yet  
certainly suggested the tradition of the
 stately port and dominating step of    
that great master of the dramatic art4  
,he looked ,coriolanus1 to the life4    
,more of poetic freedom might have been 
wished1 in the decorative treatment of  
the person--a touch of wildness in the  
hair1 a tinge of imaginative exaltation 
in the countenance1 an air of mischance 
in the gashes of combat4 ,still the     
embodiment was correct in its           
superficial conventionality2 and it     
certainly possessed affecting grandeur4 
,whenever there was opportunity for fine
 treatment1 moreover1 the actor seized  
and filled it1 with the easy grace of   
unerring intuition and spontaneity4 ,the
 delicacy of vocalism1 the movement1 the
 tone of sentiment1 and the manliness of
 condition--the royal fibre of a great  
mind--in the act of withdrawal from the 
senate1 was right and beautiful4 ,it is 

difficult not to over-emphasise the     
physical symbols of mental condition1 in
 the street scene with the voices2 but  
there again the actor denoted a fine    
spiritual instinct4 ,to a situation like
 that of the banishment he proved easily
 equal3 indeed1 he gave that magnificent
 outburst of scorn with tremendous      
power3 but it was in the pathetic scene 
with ,volumnia and ,virgilia that he    
reached the summit of the ,shakespearean
 conception4 ,the deep heart as well as 
the imperial intellect of ,coriolanus   
must then speak4 ,it is1 for the        
distracted son1 a moment of agonised and
 pathetic conflict3 for ,mc,cullough it 
was a moment of perfect adequacy and    
consummate success4 ,the stormy         
utterance of revolted pride and furious 
disgust1 in the denial of ,volumnia's   
request--the tempestuous outburst1 ,i   
will not do it--made as wild1 fiery1 and
 fine a moment in tragic acting as could
 be imagined2 but the climax was        
attained in the pathetic cry--      ,the

 gods look down1 and this unnatural     
scene     ,they laugh at4     ,,xiii4   
,,charlotte ,,cushman4   ,making1 one   
summer day1 a pilgrimage to the grave of
 ,charlotte ,cushman1 ,i was guided to  
the place of her rest by one of the     
labourers employed about the cemetery1  
who incidentally pronounced upon the    
deceased a comprehensive and remarkable 
eulogium4 ,she was1 he said1            
considerable of a woman1 for a          
play-actress4 ,well--she was4 ,the place
 of her sepulture is on the east slope  
of the principal hill in ,mount ,auburn4
 ,hard by1 upon the summit of the hill1 
stands the gray tower that overlooks the
 surrounding region and constantly      
symbolises1 to eyes both far and near1  
the perpetual peace of which it is at   
once guardian and image4 ,all around the
 spot tall trees give shade and music1  
as the sun streams on their branches and
 the wind murmurs in their leaves4 ,at a
 little distance1 visible across green  
meadows and the river ,charles1--full   

and calm between its verdant            
banks1--rise the dreaming spires of     
,cambridge4 ,further away1 crowned with 
her golden dome1 towers old ,boston1 the
 storied city that ,charlotte ,cushman  
loved4 ,upon the spot where her ashes   
now rest the great actress stood1 and1  
looking toward the city of her home and 
heart1 chose that to be the place of her
 grave2 and there she sleeps1 in peace1 
after many a conflict with her stormy   
nature and after many sorrows and pains4
 ,what terrific ideals of the           
imagination she made to be realities of 
life6 ,what burning eloquence of poesy  
she made to blaze6 ,what moments of     
pathos she lived6 ,what moods of holy   
self-abnegation and of exalted power she
 brought to many a sympathetic soul6    
,standing by her grave1 on which the    
myrtle grows dense and dark1 and over   
which the small birds swirl and twitter 
in the breezy silence1 remembrance of   
the busy scenes of brilliant life       
wherein she used to move--the pictured  

stage1 the crowded theatre1 the wild    
plaudits of a delighted multitude--came 
strongly on the mind1 and asked1 in     
perplexity and sadness1 what was the    
good of it all4 ,to her but little4     
,fame and wealth were her cold rewards1 
after much privation and labour2 but she
 found neither love nor happiness1 and  
the fullest years of her life were      
blighted with the shadow of fatal       
disease and impending death4 ,to the    
world1 however1 her career was of great 
and enduring benefit4 ,she was a noble  
interpreter of the noble minds of the   
past1 and thus she helped to educate the
 men and women of her time--to ennoble  
them in mood1 to strengthen them in     
duty1 to lift them up in hope of        
immortality4 ,she did not live in vain4 
,it is not likely that the ,american    
people will ever suffer her name to     
drift quite out of their remembrance3 it
 is a name that never can be erased from
 the rolls of honourable renown4        
,charlotte ,cushman was born on ,july   

#bc1 #ahaf1 and she died on ,february   
#ab1 #ahgf4 ,boston was the place of her
 birth and of her death4 ,she lived till
 her sixtieth year and she was for forty
 years an actress4 ,her youth was one of
 poverty and the early years of her     
professional career were full of labour1
 trouble1 heart-ache1 and conflict4 ,the
 name of ,cushman signifies             
cross-bearer1 and certainly ,charlotte  
,cushman did indeed bear the cross1 long
 before and long after1 she wore the    
crown4 ,at first she was a vocalist1    
but1 having broken her voice by misusing
 it1 she was compelled to quit the lyric
 and adopt the dramatic stage1 and when 
nineteen years old she came out1 at ,new
 ,orleans1 as ,lady ,macbeth4 ,after    
that she removed to ,new ,york and for  
the next seven years she battled with   
adverse fortune in the theatres of that 
city and of ,albany and ,philadelphia4  
,from #ahcg to #ahdj she was under      
engagement at the old ,park as walking  
lady and for general utility business4  

,i became aware1 she wrote1 that one    
could never sail a ship by entering at  
the cabin windows2 he must serve and    
learn his trade before the mast4 ,this  
was the way that ,i would henceforth    
learn mine4  ,her first remarkable hits 
were made in ,emilia1 ,meg ,merrilies1  
and ,nancy--the latter in ,oliver       
,twist4 ,but it was not till she met    
with ,macready that the day of her      
deliverance from drudgery really dawned4
 ,they acted together in ,new ,york in  
#ahdb and #ahdc1 and in ,boston in      
#ahdd1 and in the autumn of the latter  
year ,miss ,cushman went to ,england1   
where1 after much effort1 she obtained  
an opening in ,london1 at the           
,princess's1 and in #ahde made her      
memorable success as ,bianca4 ,since the
 first appearance of ,edmund ,kean1 in  
#ahad1 said a ,london journal of that   
time1 never has there been such a dbut  
on the stage of an ,english theatre4    
,her engagement lasted eighty-four      
nights 7it was an engagement to act with

 ,edwin ,forrest71 and she recorded its 
result in a letter to her mother1       
saying3 ,all my successes put together  
since ,i have been upon the stage would 
not come near my success in ,london1 and
 ,i only wanted some one of you here to 
enjoy it with me1 to make it complete4  
,she acted ,bianca1 ,emilia1 ,lady      
,macbeth1 ,mrs4 ,haller1 and ,rosalind4 
,a prosperous provincial tour followed1 
and then1 in ,december1 #ahde1 she came 
out at the ,haymarket1 as ,romeo1 her   
sister ,susan appearing as ,juliet4 ,her
 stay abroad lasted till the end of the 
summer of #ahdi1 and to that period     
belongs her great achievement as ,queen 
,katharine4  ,from the fall of #ahdi    
till the spring of #aheb ,miss ,cushman 
was in ,america1 and she was everywhere 
received with acclamation1 gathering    
with ease both laurels and riches4 ,when
 she first reappeared1 ,october #h1     
#ahdi1 at the old ,broadway theatre1    
,new ,york--as ,mrs4 ,haller--she       
introduced ,charles ,w4 ,couldock to our

 stage1 on which he has ever since      
maintained his rank as a powerful and   
versatile actor4 ,he acted the ,stranger
 and subsequently was seen in the other 
leading characters opposite to her own4 
,miss ,cushman's repertory then included
 ,lady ,macbeth1 ,queen ,katharine1 ,meg
 ,merrilies1 ,beatrice1 ,rosalind1      
,bianca1 ,julia1 ,mariana1 ,katharine1  
the ,countess1 ,pauline1 ,juliana1 ,lady
 ,gay ,spanker1 and ,mrs4 ,simpson4 ,her
 principal male characters then1 or     
later1 were ,romeo1 ,wolsey1 ,hamlet1   
and ,claude ,melnotte4 ,in #aheb she    
announced her intention of retiring from
 the stage1 and from that time till the 
end of her days she wavered between     
retirement and professional occupation4 
,the explanation of this is readily     
divined1 in her condition4 ,there never 
was a time1 during all those years1 when
 she was not haunted by dread of the    
disease that ultimately destroyed her   
life4 ,from #aheb to #aheg she lived in 
,england1 and in the course of that     

period she acted many times1 in         
different cities4 ,in ,december #ahed1  
when dining with the ,duke of           
,devonshire1 at ,brighton1 she read     
,henry ,,viii4 to the ,duke and his     
guests1 and in that way began her       
experience as a reader4 ,in the autumn  
of #aheg she acted at ,burton's theatre1
 ,new ,york1 and was seen as ,cardinal  
,wolsey1 and in the early summer of     
#aheh she gave a series of farewell     
performances at ,niblo's ,garden--after 
which she again crossed the ,atlantic   
and established her residence in ,rome4 
,in ,june #ahfj the great actress came  
home again and passed a year in         
,america4 ,oliver ,twist was given at   
the ,winter ,garden in the spring of    
#ahfa1 when ,miss ,cushman acted ,nancy1
 and ,j4,w4 ,wallack1 ,jr41 ,j4,b4      
,studley1 ,william ,davidge1 and ,owen  
,marlowe were in the company4 ,in #ahfc1
 having come from ,rome for that        
purpose1 ,miss ,cushman acted in four   
cities1 for the benefit of the ,united  

,states ,sanitary ,commission1 and      
earned for it #hbfg4 ,the seven ensuing 
years were passed by her in ,europe1 but
 in ,october #ahgj she returned home for
 the last time1 and the brief remainder 
of her life was devoted to public       
readings1 occasional dramatic           
performances1 and the society of        
friends4 ,she built a villa at ,newport1
 which still bears her name4 ,she gave  
final farewell performances1 in the     
season of #ahgd-ahge1 in ,new ,york1    
,philadelphia1 and ,boston4 ,her final  
public appearance was made on ,june #b1 
#ahge1 at ,easton1 ,pennsylvania1 where 
she gave a reading4 ,her death occurred 
at the ,parker ,house1 in ,boston1      
,february #ah1 #ahgf1 and she was buried
 from ,king's chapel4  ,there is a      
mournful pleasure in recalling the      
details of ,miss ,cushman's life and    
meditating upon her energetic1 resolute1
 patient1 creative nature4 ,she was     
faithful1 throughout her career1 to high
 principles of art and a high standard  

of duty4 ,nature gave her great powers  
but fettered her also with great        
impediments4 ,she conquered by the spell
 of a strange1 weird genius and by hard1
 persistent labour4 ,in this latter     
particular she is an example to every   
member of the dramatic profession1      
present or future4 ,in what she was as a
 woman she could not be imitated--for   
her colossal individuality dwelt apart1 
in its loneliness1 as well of suffering 
that no one could share as of an        
imaginative life that no one could      
fathom4 ,without the stage she would    
still have been a great woman1 although 
perhaps she might have lacked an        
entirely suitable vehicle for the       
display of her powers4 ,with the stage  
she gave a body to the soul of some of  
,shakespeare's greatest conceptions1 and
 she gave soul and body both to many    
works of inferior origin4 ,there is no  
likelihood that we shall ever see again 
such a creation as her ,meg ,merrilies4 
,her genius could embody the sublime1   

the beautiful1 the terrible1 and with   
all this the humorous2 and it was       
saturated with goodness4 ,if the love of
 beauty was intensified by the influence
 of her art1 virtue was also            
strengthened by the force of her example
 and the inherent dignity of her nature4
     ,,xiv4  ,,on ,,the ,,death ,,of    
,,lawrence ,,barrett4  ,obiit ,march    
#bj1 #ahia4   ,the death of ,lawrence   
,barrett was the disappearance of one of
 the noblest figures of the modern      
stage4 ,during the whole of his career1 
in a public life of thirty-five years1  
he was steadily and continuously        
impelled by a pure and fine ambition and
 the objects that he sought to          
accomplish were always the worthiest and
 the best4 ,his devotion to the dramatic
 art was a passionate devotion1 and in  
an equal degree he was devoted to a high
 ideal of personal conduct4 ,doctrines  
of expediency never influenced him and  
indeed were never considered by him4 ,he
 had early fixed his eyes on the        

dramatic sceptre4 ,he knew that it never
 could be gained except by the greatest 
and brightest of artistic achievements1 
and to them accordingly he consecrated  
his life4 ,whenever and wherever he     
appeared the community was impressed    
with a sense of intellectual character1 
moral worth1 and individual dignity4    
,many other dramatic efforts might be   
trivial4 ,those of ,lawrence ,barrett   
were always felt to be important4 ,most 
of the plays with which his name is     
identified are among the greatest plays 
in our language1 and the spirit in which
 he treated them was that of exalted    
scholarship1 austere reverence1 and     
perfect refinement4 ,he was profoundly  
true to all that is noble and beautiful1
 and because he was true the world of   
art everywhere recognised him as the    
image of fidelity and gave to him the   
high tribute of its unwavering homage4  
,his coming was always a signal to      
arouse the mind4 ,his mental vitality1  
which was very great1 impressed even    

unsympathetic beholders with a sense of 
fiery thought struggling in its fetters 
of mortality and almost shattering and  
consuming the frail temple of its human 
life4 ,his stately head1 silvered with  
graying hair1 his dark eyes deeply      
sunken and glowing with intense light1  
his thin visage pallid with study and   
pain1 his form of grace and his voice of
 sonorous eloquence and solemn music 7in
 compass1 variety1 and sweetness one of 
the few great voices of the current     
dramatic generation71 his tremendous    
earnestness1 his superb bearing1 and his
 invariable authority and               
distinction--all those attributes united
 to announce a ruler and leader in the  
realm of the intellect4 ,the exceeding  
tumult of his spirit enhanced the effect
 of this mordant personality4 ,the same 
sleepless energy that inspired ,loyola  
and ,lanfranc burned in the bosom of    
this modern actor2 and it was entirely  
in keeping with the drift of his        
character and the tenor of his life that

 the last subject that occupied his     
thoughts should have been the story of  
,becket1 the great prelate--whom he     
intended to represent1 and to whom in   
mental qualities he was nearly allied4  
,in losing ,lawrence ,barrett the       
,american stage lost the one man who    
served it with an apostle's zeal because
 he loved it with an apostle's love4    
,the essential attributes that ,lawrence
 ,barrett did not possess were          
enchantment for the public and adequate 
and philosophic patience for himself4   
,he gained1 indeed1 a great amount of   
public favour1 and1--with reference to  
an indisputable lack of universal       
sympathy and enthusiasm1--he was        
learning to regard that as a natural    
consequence of his character which      
formerly he had resented as the         
injustice of the world4 ,men and women  
of austere mind do not fascinate their  
fellow-creatures4 ,they impress by their
 strangeness4 ,they awe by their        
majesty4 ,they predominate by their     

power4 ,but they do not involuntarily   
entice4 ,lawrence ,barrett1--although   
full of kindness and gentleness1 and1 to
 those who knew him well1 one of the    
most affectionate and lovable of        
men1--was essentially a man of austere  
intellect2 and his experience was       
according to his nature4 ,to some       
persons the world gives everything1     
without being asked to give at all4 ,to 
others it gives only what it must1 and  
that with a kind of icy reluctance that 
often makes the gift a bitter one4      
,lawrence ,barrett1 who rose from an    
obscure and humble position1--without   
fortune1 without friends1 without       
favouring circumstances1 without        
education1 without help save that of his
 talents and his will1--was for a long  
time met with indifference1 or frigid   
obstruction1 or impatient disparagement4
 ,he gained nothing without battle4 ,he 
had to make his way by his strength4    
,his progress involved continual effort 
and his course was attended with        

continual controversy and strife4 ,when 
at last it had to be conceded that he   
was a great actor1 the concession was1  
in many quarters1 grudgingly made4 ,even
 then detraction steadily followed him1 
and its voice--though impotent and      
immeasurably trivial--has not yet died  
away4 ,there came a time when his worth 
was widely recognised1 and from that    
moment onward he had much prosperity1   
and his nature expanded and grew calmer1
 sweeter1 and brighter under its        
influence4 ,but the habit of warfare had
 got into his acting1 and more or less  
it remained there to the last4 ,the     
assertive quality1 indeed1 had long     
since begun to die away4 ,the volume of 
needless emphasis was growing less and  
less4 ,few performances on the          
contemporary stage are commensurate with
 his embodiments of ,harebell and       
,gringoire1 in softness1 simplicity1    
poetic charm1 and the gentle            
tranquillity that is the repose of a    
self-centred soul4 ,but his deep and    

burning desire to be understood1 his    
anxiety lest his effects should not be  
appreciated1 his inveterate purpose of  
conquest1--that overwhelming solicitude 
of ambition often led him to insist upon
 his points1 to over-elaborate and      
enforce them1 and in that way his art to
 some extent defeated itself by the     
excess of its eager zeal4 ,the spirit of
 beauty that the human race pursues is  
the spirit that is typified in          
,emerson's poem of ,forerunners--the    
elusive spirit that all men feel and no 
man understands4 ,this truth1           
undiscerned by him at first1 had become 
the conviction of his riper years2 and  
if his life had been prolonged the      
autumn of his professional career would 
have been gentle1 serene1 and full of   
tranquil loveliness4  ,the achievement  
of ,lawrence ,barrett as an actor was   
great1 but his influence upon the stage 
was greater than his achievement4 ,among
 the ,shakespearian parts that he played
 were ,hamlet1 ,macbeth1 ,king ,lear1   

,othello1 ,iago1 ,shylock1 ,leontes1    
,cassius1 ,wolsey1 ,richard ,,iii41     
,romeo1 and ,benedick4 ,outside of      
,shakespeare 7to mention only a few of  
his impersonations7 he acted ,richelieu1
 ,evelyn1 ,aranza1 ,garrick1 ,claude    
,melnotte1 ,rienzi1 ,dan'l ,druce1      
,lanciotto1 ,hernani1 ,king ,arthur1 and
 ,ganelon4 ,the parts in which he was   
superlatively fine1--and in some        
respects incomparable1--are ,cassius1   
,harebell1 ,yorick1 ,gringoire1 ,king   
,arthur1 ,ganelon1 and ,james ,v41 ,king
 of the ,commons4 ,in his time he had   
played hundreds of parts1 ranging over  
the whole field of the drama1 but as the
 years passed and the liberty of choice 
came more and more within his reach1 he 
concentrated his powers upon a few works
 and upon a specific line of expression4
 ,the aspect of human nature and human  
experience that especially aroused his  
sympathy was the loneliness of          
beneficent intellectual grandeur1       
isolated by its supremacy and pathetic  

in its isolation4 ,he loved the         
character of ,richelieu1 and if he had  
acted ,becket1 as he purposed to do1 in 
,tennyson's tragedy1 he would have      
presented another and a different type  
of that same ideal--lonely1 austere1    
passionate age1 defiant of profane      
authority and protective of innocent    
weakness against wicked and cruel       
strength4 ,his embodiment of ,cassius1  
with all its intensity of repressed     
spleen and caustic malevolence1 was     
softly touched and sweetly ennobled with
 the majesty of venerable               
loneliness1--the bleak light of pathetic
 sequestration from human ties1 without 
the forfeiture of human love1--that is  
the natural adjunct of intellectual     
greatness4 ,he loved also the character 
of ,harebell1 because in that he could  
express his devotion to the beautiful1  
the honest impulses of his affectionate 
heart1 and his ideal of a friendship    
that is too pure and simple even to     
dream that such a thing as guile can    

exist anywhere in the world4 ,toward the
 expression1 under dramatic conditions1 
of natures such as those1 the           
development of his acting was steadily  
directed2 and1 even if he fell short1 in
 any degree1 of accomplishing all that  
he purposed1 it is certain that his     
spirit and his conduct dignified the    
theatrical profession1 strengthened the 
stage in the esteem of good men1 and    
cheered the heart and fired the energy  
of every sincere artist that came within
 the reach of his example4 ,for his own 
best personal success he required a part
 in which1 after long repression1 the   
torrent of passion can break loose in a 
tumult of frenzy and a wild strain of   
eloquent words4 ,the terrible exultation
 of ,cassius1 after the fall of ,csar1  
the ecstasy of ,lanciotto when he first 
believes himself to be loved by         
,francesca1 the delirium of ,yorick when
 he can no longer restrain the doubts   
that madden his jealous and wounded     
soul1 the rapture of ,king ,james over  

the vindication of his friend ,seyton1  
whom his suspicions have wronged--those 
were among his distinctively great      
moments1 and his image as he was in such
 moments is worthy to live among the    
storied traditions and the bright       
memories of the stage4  ,censure seems  
to be easy to most people1 and few men  
are rated at their full value while they
 are yet alive4 ,just as mountains seem 
more sublime in the vague and hazy      
distance1 so a noble mind looms grandly 
through the dusk of death4 ,so it will  
be with him4 ,lawrence ,barrett was a   
man of high principle and perfect       
integrity4 ,he never spoke a false word 
nor knowingly harmed a human being1 in  
all his life4 ,although sometimes he    
seemed to be harsh and imperious1 he was
 at heart kind and humble4 ,strife with 
the world1 and in past times uncertainty
 as to his position1 caused in him the  
assumption of a stern and frigid manner1
 but beneath that haughty reserve there 
was a great longing for human affection 

and a sincere humility of spirit4 ,he   
never nurtured hostility4 ,he had no    
memory for injuries2 but a kindness he  
never forgot4 ,his good deeds were as   
numerous as his days--for no day rolled 
over his head without its act of        
benevolence in one direction or another4
 ,he was as impulsive as a child4 ,he   
had much of the woman in his nature1 and
 therefore his views were impetuous1    
strong1 and often strongly stated2 but  
his sense of humour kept pace with his  
sensibility and so maintained the       
equilibrium of his mind4 ,in temperament
 he was sad1 pensive1 introspective1    
almost gloomy2 but he opposed to that   
tendency an incessant mental activity   
and the force of a tremendous will4 ,in 
his lighter moods he was not only       
appreciative of mirth but was the cause 
of it4 ,his humour was elemental and    
whatever aspect of life he saw in a     
comic light he could set in that light  
before the eyes of others4 ,he had been 
a studious reader for many years and his

 mind was stored with ample1 exact1 and 
diversified information4 ,he had a      
scholar's knowledge of ,roman history   
and his familiar acquaintance with the  
character and career of the first       
,napoleon was extraordinary4 ,in acting 
he was largely influenced by his studies
 of ,edmund ,kean and by his association
 with ,charlotte ,cushman4 ,for a few   
years after #ahfd his art was especially
 affected by that of ,edwin ,booth2 but 
the style to which he finally gravitated
 was his own4 ,he was not so much an    
impersonator as he was an interpreter of
 character1 and the elocutionary part of
 acting was made more conspicuous and   
important by him than by any other      
tragedian since the days of ,forrest and
 ,brooke4  ,it was a beautiful life     
prematurely ended4 ,it was a brave1     
strong spirit suddenly called out of the
 world4 ,to the dramatic profession the 
loss is irreparable4 ,in the condition  
of the contemporary theatre there are   
not many hopeful signs4 ,no doubt there 

will be bright days in the future1 as   
there have been in the past4 ,they go   
and they return4 ,the stage declines and
 the stage advances4 ,at present its    
estate is low4 ,few men like ,lawrence  
,barrett remain for it to lose4 ,its    
main hope is in the abiding influence of
 such examples as he has left4 ,the old 
theatrical period is fast passing away4 
,the new age rushes on the scene1 with  
youthful vigour and impetuous tumult4   
,but to some of us1--who perhaps have   
not long to stay1 and to whom1 whatever 
be their fortune1 this tumult is        
unsympathetic and insignificant1--the   
way grows darker and lonelier as we lay 
our garlands of eternal farewell upon   
the coffin of ,lawrence ,barrett4       
,,xv4  ,,henry ,,irving ,,and ,,ellen   
,,terry ,,in ,,ravenswood4   ,merivale's
 play of ,ravenswood1 written in four   
acts1 was acted in six4 ,the first act  
consists of a single scene--an exterior1
 showing the environment of the chapel  
which is the burial place of the ,house 

of ,ravenswood4 ,a rockbound coast is   
visible1 at some distance1 together with
 the ruinous tower of ,wolf's           
,crag--which is ,ravenswood's sole      
remaining possession4 ,this act presents
 the interrupted funeral of ,alan       
,ravenswood1 the father of              
,edgar1--introducing ten of the         
seventeen characters that are implicated
 in the piece1 and skilfully laying the 
basis of the action by exhibiting the   
essential personalities of the story in 
strong contrast1 and denoting their     
relations to each other4 ,each character
 is clearly and boldly drawn and with a 
light touch4 ,the second act consists of
 three scenes--an antique library in the
 ancient manor-house of ,ravenswood1 a  
room in a roadside ale-house1 and a room
 in the dilapidated tower of ,wolf's    
,crag4 ,this act rapidly develops the   
well-known story1 depicting the climax  
of antagonism between the ,lord ,keeper 
,ashton and ,edgar of ,ravenswood and   
their subsequent reconciliation4 ,the   

third act passes in a lovely1 romantic1 
rural scene1 which is called the        
,mermaiden's ,well1--a fairy-like place 
in the grounds of ,ravenswood1--and in  
this scene ,edgar and ,lucy ,ashton1 who
 have become lovers1 are plighted by    
themselves and parted by ,lucy's mother1
 ,lady ,ashton4 ,the fourth and last act
 shows a room at ,ravenswood1 wherein is
 portrayed the betrothal of ,lucy to    
,bucklaw1 culminating in ,edgar's sudden
 irruption2 and finally1 it shows the   
desolate seaside place of the quicksand 
in which1 after he has slain ,bucklaw1  
,edgar of ,ravenswood is engulfed4 ,the 
house that ,scott1 when he wrote the    
novel1 had in his mind as that of ,sir  
,william ,ashton is the house of        
,winston1 which still is standing1 not  
many miles from ,edinburgh4 ,the tower  
of ,wolf's ,crag was probably suggested 
to him by ,fast ,castle1 the ruin of    
which still lures the traveller's eye1  
upon the iron-ribbed and gloomy coast of
 the ,north ,sea1 a few miles southeast 

of ,dunbar--a place1 however1 that      
,scott never visited1 and never saw     
except from the ocean4 ,there is a beach
 upon that coast1 just above            
,cockburnspath1 that might well have    
suggested to him the quicksand and the  
final catastrophe4 ,i saw it when the   
morning sun was shining upon it and upon
 the placid waters just rippling on its 
verge2 and even in the glad glow of a   
summer day it was grim with silent      
menace and mysterious with an air of    
sinister secrecy4 ,in the preparation of
 this piece for the stage all the       
sources and associations of the subject 
were considered2 and the pictorial      
setting1 framed upon the right artistic 
principle--that imagination should      
transfigure truth and thus produce the  
essential result of poetic effect--was  
elaborate and magnificent4 ,and the play
 is the best one that ever has been made
 upon this subject4  ,the basis of fact 
upon which ,sir ,walter ,scott built his
 novel of the ,bride of ,lammermoor is  

given in the introduction that he wrote 
for it in #ahbi4 ,janet ,dalrymple1     
daughter of the first ,lord ,stair and  
of his wife ,margaret ,ross1 had        
privately plighted herself to ,lord     
,rutherford4 ,those lovers had broken a 
piece of gold together1 and had bound   
themselves by vows the most solemn and  
fervent that passion could prompt4 ,but 
,lord ,rutherford was objectionable to  
,miss ,dalrymple's parents1 who liked   
not either his family or his politics4  
,lady ,stair1 furthermore1 had selected 
a husband for her daughter1 in the      
person of ,david ,dunbar1 of ,baldoon2  
and ,lady ,stair was a woman of         
formidable character1 set upon having   
her own way and accustomed to prevail4  
,as soon as she heard of ,janet's       
private engagement to ,lord ,rutherford 
she declared the vow to be undutiful and
 unlawful and she commanded that it     
should be broken4 ,lord ,rutherford1 a  
man of energy and of spirit1 thereupon  
insisted that he would take his         

dismissal only from the lips of ,miss   
,dalrymple herself1 and he demanded and 
obtained an interview with her4 ,lady   
,stair was present1 and such was her    
ascendency over her daughter's mind that
 the young lady remained motionless and 
mute1 permitting her betrothal to ,lord 
,rutherford to be broken1 and1 upon her 
mother's command1 giving back to him the
 piece of gold that was the token of her
 promise4 ,lord ,rutherford was deeply  
moved1 so that he uttered curses upon   
,lady ,stair1 and at the last reproached
 ,janet in these words3 ,for you1 madam1
 you will be a world's wonder4 ,after   
this sad end of his hopes the           
unfortunate gentleman went abroad and   
died in exile4 ,janet ,dalrymple and    
,david ,dunbar meanwhile were           
married--the lady being absolutely      
passive in everything her mother        
commanded or advised4 ,as soon1 however1
 as the wedded pair had retired from the
 bridal feast hideous shrieks were heard
 to resound through the house1          

proceeding from the nuptial chamber4    
,the door was thereupon burst open and  
persons entering saw the bridegroom     
stretched upon the floor1 wounded and   
bleeding1 while the bride1 dishevelled  
and stained with blood1 was grinning in 
a paroxysm of insanity4 ,all she said   
was1 ,take up your bonny bridegroom4    
,about two weeks later she died4 ,the   
year of those events was #affi4 ,the    
wedding took place on ,august #bd4      
,janet died on ,september #ab4 ,dunbar  
recovered1 but he would never tell what 
occurred in that chamber of horror1 nor 
indeed would he permit any allusion to  
the subject4 ,he did not long survive   
the tragic event1--having been fatally  
injured1 by a fall from his horse1 when 
riding between ,leith and ,holyrood4 ,he
 died on ,march #bh1 #afhb4 ,the death  
of ,lord ,rutherford is assigned to the 
year #afhe4 ,such is the melancholy     
story as it may be gathered from        
,scott's preface4 ,in writing his novel 
that great master of the art of         

fiction1--never yet displaced from his  
throne or deprived of his               
sceptre1--adopted fictitious names1     
invented fresh circumstances1 amplified 
and elevated the characters1 judiciously
 veiled the localities1 and advanced the
 period of those tragical incidents to  
about the beginning of the eighteenth   
century4 ,the delicate taste with which 
he used his materials has only been     
surpassed1 in that beautiful            
composition1 by the affluent genius with
 which he vitalised every part of his   
narrative4 ,in no other of his many     
books has he shown a deeper knowledge   
than is revealed in that one of the     
terrible passion of love and of the dark
 and sinuous ways of political and      
personal craft4 ,when ,the ,bride of    
,lammermoor was first published no      
mention was made in it of the true story
 upon which remotely it had been based2 
but by the time ,scott came to write the
 preface of #ahbi other writers had been
 less reticent1 and some account of the 

,dalrymple tragedy had got into print1  
so that no reason existed for further   
silence on that subject4  ,sir ,robert  
,h4,d4 ,elphinstone1 writing in #ahbi1  
gave the tradition as follows3 ,when1   
after the noise and violent screaming in
 the bridal chamber comparative         
stillness succeeded and the door was    
forced1 the window was found open1 and  
it was supposed by many that the lover1 
,lord ,rutherford1 had1 by the          
connivance of some of the servants1     
found means1 during the bustle of the   
marriage feast1 to secrete himself      
within the apartment1 and that soon     
after the entry of the married pair1 or 
at least as soon as the parents and     
others retreated and the door was made  
fast1 he had come out from his          
concealment1 attacked and desperately   
wounded the bridegroom1 and then made   
his escape1 by the window1 through the  
garden4 ,as the unfortunate bride never 
spoke after having uttered the words    
mentioned by ,sir ,walter1 no light     

could be thrown on the matter by them4  
,but it was thought that ,dunbar's      
obstinate silence on the subject        
favoured the supposition of the         
chastisement having been inflicted by   
his rival4 ,it is but fair to give the  
unhappy victim 7who was1 by all         
accounts1 a most gentle and feminine    
creature7 the benefit of an explanation 
on a doubtful point4  ,merivale1 in     
dealing with this story1 gave a         
conspicuous illustration of the         
essential dramatic faculty4 ,the first  
act is the adroit expansion of a few    
paragraphs1 in the second chapter of the
 novel1 which are descriptive of the    
bleak1 misty ,november morning when     
,alan ,ravenswood was borne to the      
grave2 but by the introduction of the   
,lord ,keeper and of the village crones 
into that funeral scene he opened the   
whole subject1 indicated all the        
essential antecedents of the story1 and 
placed his characters in a posture of   
lively action4 ,that the tone is sombre 

must be conceded1 and people who think  
that the chief end of man is to grin    
might condemn the piece for that reason2
 but ,ravenswood is a tragedy and not a 
farce1 and persons who wish that their  
feelings may not be affected should     
avoid tragedies4  ,in the second act    
,ravenswood seeks ,ashton at ,ravenswood
 manor1 intending to kill him in a duel1
 but his hand is stayed when he catches 
sight of ,lucy ,ashton's portrait4 ,the 
incident of ,edgar's rescue of ,lucy is 
used in this scene4 ,in a later scene   
,sir ,william ,ashton and his daughter  
take refuge in ,wolf's ,crag1 and the   
bewitchment of ,ravenswood is           
accomplished4 ,the quarrel between      
,edgar and ,bucklaw is then given1 as a 
basis for the ensuing rivalry and deadly
 conflict between them4 ,in the third   
act there is a beautiful love-scene     
between ,edgar and ,lucy1 the dialogue  
being especially felicitous in          
tenderness and grace and fraught with   
that reverential quality1 that condition

 of commingled ecstasy and nobleness1   
which is always characteristic of the   
experience of this passion in pure      
natures4 ,lady ,ashton's interruption of
 their happiness and the subsequent     
parting have a vigorous dramatic effect4
 ,the character of ,lucy has been much  
strengthened1 so that it differs from   
that of the original precisely as       
,desdemona differs from ,ophelia2 and   
the change is an improvement4 ,the      
fourth act opens with a song of         
choristers heard outside4 ,the letters  
of ,lucy and ,edgar have been           
intercepted4 ,the lady has been told    
that her lover is false4 ,the suit of   
,bucklaw has been urged4 ,the authority 
of the stern mother has prevailed over  
her daughter's will4 ,it is the old     
story4 ,the absent are always wrong--and
 ,ravenswood is absent4 ,lucy ,ashton   
yields to her fate4 ,the marriage       
contract between ,lucy and ,bucklaw has 
just been signed when ,ravenswood bursts
 into the group4 ,from that point the   

action is animated equally with celerity
 and passion4 ,the misery of ,ravenswood
 utters itself in a swift stream of     
burning words4 ,the grief of ,lucy ends 
tragically in a broken heart and sudden 
death4 ,the fight between ,bucklaw and  
,ravenswood clashes for a moment but is 
abruptly finished on the moonlit sands1 
and ,edgar is seen to leap down from a  
rock and rush away toward the manor1    
where1 as his dying foe has told him1   
the faithful and innocent ,lucy lies    
dead4 ,he disappears and comes no more2 
but his old servant takes up from the   
beach a single black plume--the feather 
of a raven--which the tide has washed   
ashore1 and which is the last relic and 
emblem of the vanished master of        
,ravenswood4  ,the tragedy is kindred1  
as to its spirit1 with ,romeo and       
,juliet1 and like that representative   
poem of love and death it is intensely  
passionate1 sombre1 and lamentable4 ,the
 first and second acts of it pass in    
almost unrelieved shadow4 ,it begins    

with a funeral2 it incorporates the     
ingredients of misery1 madness1 and     
death2 it culminates in a fatal duel2   
and it ends in a picture of mortal      
desolation1 qualified only by a mute    
suggestion of spiritual happiness       
conveyed by the pictorial emblem of the 
promise of immortality4 ,it is a        
poetical tragedy1 conceived in the      
spirit and written in the manner of the 
old masters of the poetic art4 ,the     
treatment of ,scott's novel is marked by
 scrupulous fidelity1 not indeed to     
every detail of that noble book1 but to 
its essential quality and tone4 ,the    
structure of the play reproduces in     
action substantially the structure of   
the original story4 ,the scene in which 
,edgar and ,lucy avow their love and    
pledge themselves to each other is      
written with exquisite grace and        
profound tenderness4 ,the picture       
presented upon the stage when the lovers
 are parted was one of astonishing      
animation4 ,the scene of the interrupted

 wedding and of ,lucy ,ashton's agony1  
distraction1 and death was one of       
intense power and dramatic effect4 ,the 
duel of ,ravenswood and ,bucklaw upon   
the desolate1 moon-lit sands was        
invested with the excitement of suspense
 and with weird horror4 ,and the final  
exposition of dramatic contrast1--when  
upon the wide1 bleak beach1 with the    
waste of vacant sea beyond and the      
eastern heaven lit with the first       
splendour of sunrise1 the old man       
stooped to take up the raven's feather1 
the last relic of ,ravenswood--was so   
entirely beautiful that the best of     
words can but poorly indicate its       
loveliness4 ,for an audience able to    
look seriously at a serious subject1 and
 not impatient of the foreground of     
gloom in which1 necessarily1 the story  
is enveloped at its beginning1 this was 
a perfect work4 ,the student of drama   
must go back many years to find a       
parallel to it1 in interest of subject1 
in balance1 in symmetry1 and in         

sympathetic interpretation of character4
  ,there is a quality of ,hamlet in the 
character of ,ravenswood4 ,he is by     
nature a man of a sad mind1 and under   
the pressure of afflicting circumstances
 his sadness has become embittered4 ,he 
takes life thoughtfully and with        
passionate earnestness4 ,he is a noble  
person1 finely sensitive and absolutely 
sincere1 full of kindness at heart1 but 
touched with gloom2 and his aspect and  
demeanour are those of pride1 trouble1  
self-conflict--of an individuality      
isolated and constrained by dark        
thoughts and painful experience4 ,that  
is the mood in which ,henry ,irving     
conceived and portrayed him4 ,you saw a 
picturesque figure1 dark1 strange1      
romantic--the gravity engendered by     
thought and sorrow not yet marring the  
bronzed face and the elastic movement of
 youth--and this personality1 in itself 
fascinating1 was made all the more      
pictorial by an investiture of romance1 
alike in the scenery and the incidents  

through which it moved4 ,around such a  
figure funereal banners well might wave1
 and under dark and lowering skies the  
chill wind of the sea might moan through
 monastic ruins and crumbling           
battlements4 ,edgar of ,ravenswood1     
standing by his lonely hearth1 beneath  
the groined arches of his seaside tower1
 revealed by the flickering firelight1  
looked the ideal of romantic manhood2   
the incarnation of poetic fancy and of  
predestinate disaster4 ,above the story 
of ,ravenswood there is steadily and    
continuously impending1 and ever growing
 darker and coming nearer1 the vague    
menace of terrible calamity4 ,this      
element of mystery and dread was wrought
 into the structural fibre of ,henry    
,irving's performance of the part1 and  
consistently coloured it4 ,the face of  
,edgar was made to wear that haunted    
look which1--as in the countenance of   
,charles the ,first1 in ,vandyke's      
portraits1--may be supposed1 and often  
has been supposed1 to foreshadow a      

violent and dreadful death4 ,his sudden 
tremor1 when at the first kiss of ,lucy 
,ashton the thunder is heard to break   
above his ruined home1 was a fine       
denotement of that subtle quality2 and  
even through the happiness of the       
betrothal scene there was a hint of this
 black presentiment--just as sometimes  
on a day of perfect sunshine there is a 
chill in the wind that tells of         
approaching storm4 ,all this is         
warranted by the prophetic rhymes which 
are several times spoken1               
beginning--,when the last lord of       
,ravenswood to ,ravenswood shall ride4  
,a crone1 ,ailsie ,gourlay by name1     
embodied with grim and grisly vigour by 
,alice ,marriott1--whose ample voice and
 exact elocution1 together with her     
formidable stature and her faculty of   
identification with the character that  
she assumes and with the spirit of the  
story1 made her of great value to this  
play--hovered around ,ravenswood1 and   
aided to keep this presage of evil doom 

fitfully present in the consciousness of
 its victim4 ,henry ,irving gave to the 
part its perfectly distinct             
individuality1 and in that respect made 
as fine a showing as he has ever made of
 his authority as an actor4 ,there was  
never the least doubt as to what        
,ravenswood is and what he means4 ,the  
peculiar elocution of ,henry ,irving1   
when he is under the influence of great 
excitement1 is not effective upon all   
persons2 but those who like it consider 
it far more touching than a more level1 
more sonorous1 and more accurate        
delivery4 ,he wrought a great effect in 
the scene of the marriage-contract4     
,indeed1 so powerful1 sincere1 and true 
was the acting upon all sides1 at this  
point1 that not until the curtain began 
to descend was it remembered that we    
were looking upon a fiction and not upon
 a fact4 ,this points to the peculiar   
power that ,henry ,irving and ,ellen    
,terry conspicuously possess--of        
creating and maintaining a perfect      

illusion4  ,during the earlier scenes   
the character of ,lucy ,ashton is       
chiefly marked by the qualities of      
sweetness and of glee4 ,no one          
acquainted with the acting of ,ellen    
,terry would need to be told how well   
and with what charming grace those      
qualities were expressed by her4 ,in the
 scene of the wooing1 at the            
,mermaiden's ,well1 ,lucy ,ashton was   
not a cold woman trying to make herself 
loved1--which is what most actresses    
habitually proffer upon the stage1--but 
a loving woman1 radiant with the        
consciousness of the love that she feels
 and has inspired4 ,nothing could be    
imagined more delicate1 more delicious1 
more enchanting than the high-bred      
distinction and soft womanlike tone of  
that performance4 ,the character1 at the
 climax of this scene1 is made to       
manifest decision1 firmness1 and force2 
and the superb manner in which she set  
the maternal authority at naught and    
stood by her lover might seem to denote 

a nature that no tyranny could subdue4  
,subdued1 however1 she is1 and forced to
 believe ill of her absent lover1 and so
 the fatal marriage contract is signed  
and the crash follows4 ,when ,ellen     
,terry came on for that scene the glee  
had all vanished2 the face was as white 
as the garments that enswathed her2 and 
you saw a creature whom the hand of     
death had visibly touched4 ,the stage   
has not at any time heard from any lips 
but her own such tones of pathos as     
those in which she said the simple      
words3--      ,may ,god forgive you1    
then1 and pity me--     ,if ,god can    
pity more than mothers do4  ,it is not a
 long scene1 and happily not1--for the  
strain upon the emotion of the actress  
was intense4 ,the momentary wild        
merriment1 the agony of the breaking    
heart1 the sudden delirium and collapse1
 were not for an instant exaggerated4   
,all was nature--or rather the          
simplicity1 fidelity1 and grace of art  
that make the effect of nature4         

,beautiful scenery1 painted by ,craven1 
framed the piece with appropriate       
magnificence4 ,the several seaside      
pictures were admirably representative  
of the grandeur1 the gaunt loneliness1  
and the glorious colour for which       
,scotland is so much loved4  ,the public
 gain in that production was a revival  
of interest in one of the most famous   
novels in the language2 the possession  
of a scenical pageant that filled the   
eye with beauty and strongly moved the  
imagination2 a play that is successful  
in the domain of romantic poetry2 a     
touching exemplification of the great   
art of acting2 and once again the       
presentment of that vast subject1--the  
relation of heart to heart1 under the   
dominion of love1 in human              
society1--that more absorbs the         
attention1 affects the character1 and   
controls the destiny of the human race  
than anything else that is beneath the  
sun4     ,,xvi4  ,,the ,,merry ,,wives  
,,and ,,falstaff4   ,shakespeare wrote  

,the ,merry ,wives of ,windsor in #afja1
 and during the ,christmas holidays of  
that year it was presented upon the     
stage1 before ,queen ,elizabeth and her 
court1 at ,windsor ,castle4 ,in #afjb it
 was published in ,london in quarto     
form1 and in #afai a reprint of that    
quarto was published there4 ,the version
 that appears in the two quartos is     
considered by ,shakespeare scholars to  
be spurious4 ,the authentic text1 no    
doubt1 is that of the comedy as it      
stands in the first folio 7#afbc74      
,shakespeare had written ,henry         
,,iv4--both parts of it--and also ,henry
 ,v41 when this comedy was acted1 and   
therefore he had completed his portrait 
of ,falstaff1 whose life is displayed in
 the former piece and whose death is    
described in the latter4 ,henry ,,iv4   
was first printed in #aeih 7we know not 
when it was first acted71 and it passed 
through five quarto editions prior to   
the publication of it in the folio of   
#afbc4 ,in the epilogue to the second   

part of that play a promise is made that
 the story shall be continued1 with ,sir
 ,john in it1 but it is gravely doubted 
whether that epilogue was written by    
,shakespeare4 ,the continuation of the  
story occurs in ,henry ,v41 in which    
,falstaff does not figure1 although he  
is mentioned in it4 ,various efforts    
have been made to show a continuity     
between the several plays in which      
,falstaff is implicated1 but the attempt
 always fails4 ,the histories contain   
the real ,falstaff4 ,the ,falstaff of   
the comedy is another and less important
 man4 ,if there really were a sequence  
of story and of time in the portraiture 
of this character plays would stand in  
the following order3 #a1 ,henry ,,iv41  
,part ,first2 #b1 ,the ,merry ,wives of 
,windsor2 #c1 ,henry ,,iv41 ,part       
,second2 #d1 ,henry ,v4 ,as no such     
sequence exists1 or apparently was      
intended1 the comedy should be viewed by
 itself4 ,its texture is radically      
different from that of the histories4   

,one of the best ,shakespeare editors1  
,charles ,knight1 ventures the          
conjecture that ,the ,merry ,wives of   
,windsor was written first4 ,shakespeare
 invented the chief part of the plot1   
taking1 however1 a few things from      
,tarlton's ,newes out of ,purgatorie1   
which in turn was founded on a story    
called ,the ,lovers of ,pisa4 ,it is    
possible also that he may have derived  
suggestions from a ,german play by ,duke
 ,henry ,julius of ,brunswick--a        
contemporary1 who died in #afaa--to     
which ,the ,merry ,wives of ,windsor    
bears some resemblance1 and of which he 
may have received an account from       
,english actors who had visited         
,germany1 as the actors of his time     
occasionally did4  ,tradition declares  
that he wrote this comedy at the command
 of ,queen ,elizabeth1 who had expressed
 a wish to see ,falstaff in love4 ,this 
was first stated by ,john ,dennis1 in   
the preface to an alteration of ,the    
,merry ,wives of ,windsor which was made

 by him1 under the name of ,the ,comical
 ,gallant1 or the ,amours of ,sir ,john 
,falstaff1 and was successfully acted at
 ,drury ,lane theatre4 ,that piece1     
which is paltry and superfluous1        
appeared in #agjb4 ,no authority was    
given by ,dennis for his statement about
 ,queen ,elizabeth and ,shakespeare's   
play4 ,the tradition rests exclusively  
on his word4 ,rowe1 ,pope1 ,theobald1   
and other ,shakespeare editors1 have    
transmitted it to the present day1 but  
it rests on nothing but supposition and 
it is dubious4 ,those scholars who      
accept the story of ,dennis1 and believe
 that ,shakespeare wrote the piece to   
order and within a few days1 usually    
fortify their belief by the allegation  
that the comedy falls short of          
,shakespeare's poetical standard1 being 
written mostly in prose2 that it        
degrades his great creation of          
,falstaff2 that it is1 for him1 a       
trivial production2 and that it must    
have been written in haste and without  

spontaneous impulse4 ,if judgment were  
to be given on the quarto version of    
,the ,merry ,wives1 that reasoning would
 commend itself as at least plausible2  
but it is foolish as applied to the     
version in the folio1 where the piece is
 found to be remarkable for nimbleness  
of invention1 strength and variety of   
natural character1 affluent prodigality 
of animal spirits1 delicious quaintness1
 exhilarating merriment1 a lovely       
pastoral tone1 and many touches of the  
transcendent poetry of ,shakespeare4    
,dennis probably repeated a piece of    
idle gossip that he had heard1 the same 
sort of chatter that in the present day 
constantly follows the doings of        
theatrical people1--and is not accurate 
more than once in a thousand times4 ,the
 ,merry ,wives of ,windsor is a         
brilliant and delightful comedy1 quite  
worthy of its great author 7though not  
in his most exalted mood71 who probably 
wrote it because his mind was naturally 
impelled to write it1 and no doubt      

laboured over it exactly as he did over 
his other writings3 for we know1 upon   
the testimony of ,ben ,jonson1 who      
personally knew him and was acquainted  
with his custom as a writer1 that he was
 not content with the first draught of  
anything1 but wrote it a second time1   
and a third time1 before he became      
satisfied with it4 ,dr4 ,johnson1 who   
had studied ,shakespeare as carefully as
 any man ever studied him1 speaking of  
,the ,merry ,wives of ,windsor1 says    
that its general power--that power by   
which all works of genius should finally
 be tried--is such that perhaps it never
 yet had reader or spectator who did not
 think it too soon at an end4 ,a comedy 
that deserves such praise as this--which
 assuredly is not misplaced--need not be
 dismissed as a pot-boiler4  ,knight's  
conjecture that ,the ,merry ,wives was  
written before the histories were       
written is a plausible conjecture1 and  
perhaps worthy of some consideration4   
,it is not easy to believe that         

,shakespeare1 after he had created      
,falstaff and thoroughly drawn him1 was 
capable of lessening the character and  
making it almost despicable with        
paltriness--as certainly it becomes in  
,the ,merry ,wives4 ,that is not the    
natural way of an artistic mind4 ,but it
 is easier to credit the idea that the  
,falstaff of ,the ,merry ,wives was the 
first study of the character1 although  
not first shown1 which subsequently     
expanded into the magnificent humorous  
creation of the histories4 ,falstaff in 
the comedy is a fat man with absurd     
amorous propensities1 who is befooled1  
victimised1 and made a laughing-stock by
 a couple of frolicsome women1 who are  
so much amused by his preposterous folly
 that they scarcely bestow the serious  
consideration of contempt and scorn upon
 his sensuality and insolence4 ,no      
creature was ever set in a more         
ludicrous light or made more            
contemptible1--in a kindly1             
good-humoured way4 ,the hysterical note 

of offended virtue is never sounded1 nor
 is anywhere seen the averted face of   
shocked propriety4 ,the two wives are   
bent on a frolic1 and they will merrily 
punish this presumptuous                
sensualist--this silly1 conceited1 gross
 fellow1 old1 cold1 withered1 and of    
intolerable entrails4 ,if we knew no    
more of ,falstaff than the comedy tells 
us of him we should by no means treasure
 him as we do now2 but it is through the
 histories that we learn to know and    
appreciate him1 and it is of the man    
portrayed there that we always          
unconsciously think when1 in his        
humiliating discomfiture1 we hear him   
declare that wit may be made a          
,jack-a-lent when 'tis upon ill         
employment4 ,for the ,falstaff of the   
histories is a man of intellect1 wisdom1
 and humour1 thoroughly experienced in  
the ways of the world1 fascinating in   
his drollery1 human1 companionable1     
infinitely amusing1 and capable of      
turning all life to the favour of       

enjoyment and laughter--a man who is    
passionate in the sentiment of          
comradeship1 and who1 with all his      
faults 7and perhaps because of some of  
them1 for faultless persons are too good
 for this world71 inspires affection4   
,would ,i were with him1 cries the      
wretched ,bardolph1 wheresome'er he is1 
either in heaven or in hell4 ,it is not 
,bardolph only whose heart has a warm   
corner for the memory of the poor old   
jovial sinner1 wounded to death by the  
falling off of friendship--the          
implacable hardness of new-born virtue  
in the regenerated royal mind4  ,a      
comprehensive view of ,falstaff--a view 
that includes the afflicting            
circumstances of his humiliation and of 
his forlorn and pathetic death not less 
than the roistering frolics and jocund  
mendacity of his life and character--is 
essential to a right appreciation of the
 meaning of him4 ,shakespeare is never a
 prosy moralist1 but he constantly      
teaches you1 if you have eyes to see and

 ears to hear1 that the moral law of the
 universe1 working continually for      
goodness and not for evil1 operates in  
an inexorable manner4 ,yet it is not of 
any moral consideration that the        
spectator of ,falstaff upon the stage   
ever pauses to think4 ,it is the humour 
of the fat knight that is perceived1 and
 that alone4 ,the thoughtful friends of 
,falstaff1 however1 see more in him than
 this1 and especially they like not to  
think of him in a deplorable            
predicament4 ,the ,falstaff of ,the     
,merry ,wives is a man to laugh at2 but 
he is not a man to inspire the comrade  
feeling1 and still less is he a man to  
impress the intellect with the sense of 
a stalwart character and of illimitable 
jocund humour4 ,falstaff's              
friends--whose hearts are full of       
kindness for the old reprobate--have sat
 with him in my ,dolphin chamber1 at the
 round table1 by a sea-coal fire1 and   
have heard the chimes at midnight in his
 society1 and they know what a jovial   

companion he is--how abundant in        
knowledge of the world2 how radiant with
 animal spirits2 how completely         
inexhaustible in cheerfulness2 how      
copious in comic invective2 how         
incessantly nimble and ludicrous in wit 
and in waggery2 how strange a compound  
of mind and sensuality1 shrewdness and  
folly1 fidelity and roguery1 brazen     
mendacity1 and comic selfishness6 ,they 
do not like to think of him as merely a 
fat old fool1 bamboozled by a pair of   
sprightly1 not over-delicate women1 far 
inferior to him in mental calibre1 and  
made a laughing-stock for ,fenton and   
sweet ,anne ,page1 and the lads and     
lassies of ,windsor1 and the chattering 
,welsh parson4 ,have ,i lived1 cried    
,falstaff1 in the moment of his         
discomfiture1 to stand at the taunt of  
one that makes fritters of ,english8 ,he
 is a hard case1 an inveterate sinner1  
as worthless as any man well could be1  
in the eyes of decorum and              
respectability2 but those who know him  

well grow to be fond of him1 even if    
they feel that they ought to be ashamed 
of it1 and they do not quite forgive the
 poet for making him contemptible4  ,you
 can find many other figures that will  
make you laugh1 but you can find no     
other figure that makes you laugh with  
such good reason4 ,it seems incredible  
that ,shakespeare1 with his             
all-embracing mind and his perfect      
instinct of art1 should deliberately    
have chosen to lessen his own           
masterpiece of humour4 ,for ,shakespeare
 rejoiced in ,falstaff1 even while he   
respected and recorded the inexorable   
justice of the moral law that decrees   
and eventually accomplishes his         
destruction4 ,there is no one of his    
characters whose history he has traced  
with such minute elaboration4 ,the      
conception is singularly ample4 ,you may
 see ,falstaff1 as ,shallow saw him1    
when he was a boy and page to ,thomas   
,mowbray1 ,duke of ,norfolk2 you may see
 him all along the current of his mature

 years2 his highway robberies on        
,gadshill2 his bragging narrative to    
,prince ,henry2 his frolicsome1         
paternal1 self-defensive lecture to the 
prince2 his serio-comic association with
 the ragamuffin recruits at ,coventry2  
his adroit escape from the sword of     
,hotspur2 his mendacious                
self-glorification over the body of     
,harry ,percy2 his mishaps as a suitor  
to ,mrs4 ,ford and ,mrs4 ,page2 his     
wonderfully humorous interviews with the
 ,chief-,justice and with ,prince ,john 
of ,lancaster2 his junketings with      
,justice ,shallow in ,gloucestershire1  
and his rebuff and consternation at his 
first and last meeting with ,king ,henry
 ,v42 and finally you may see him1 as   
,mrs4 ,quickly saw him1 on his          
death-bed1 when 'a cried out ,god6 ,god6
 ,god6 three or four times1 and when his
 nose was as sharp as a pen1 and 'a     
babbled o' green fields4  ,a good and   
faithful study of ,king ,henry ,,iv41   
and especially of the second part of    

that play1 is essential for a right     
appreciation of ,falstaff4 ,those scenes
 with the ,chief-,justice are unmatched 
in literature4 ,the knight stands       
royally forth in them1 clothed with his 
entire panoply of agile intellect1      
robust humour1 and boundless comic      
effrontery4 ,but the arrogant and       
expeditious ,falstaff of ,the ,merry    
,wives--so richly freighted with        
rubicund sensuality1 so abundant in     
comic loquacity1 and so ludicrous in his
 sorry plights--is a much less complex  
person1 and therefore he stands more    
level than the real ,falstaff does with 
the average comprehension of mankind4   
,the ,american stage1 accordingly1 by   
which more than by the printed book he  
has become known to our people1 has     
usually given its preference to the     
,falstaff of the comedy4 ,the ,merry    
,wives was first acted in ,new ,york on 
,october #e1 #aghh at the ,john ,street 
theatre1 with ,harper as ,falstaff4 ,on 
,april #a1 #ahjg it was produced at the 

old ,park1 and the ,falstaff then was   
,john ,e4 ,harwood4 ,the same stage     
offered it again on ,january #af1 #ahbi1
 with ,hilson as ,falstaff4 ,a little   
later1 about #ahcb1 ,james ,h4 ,hackett 
took up the character of ,falstaff1 and 
from that time onward performances of   
,the ,merry ,wives occurred more        
frequently in different cities of       
,america4 ,nor was the historical play  
neglected4 ,on ,august #g1 #ahdh a      
remarkably fine production of the comedy
 was accomplished at the ,astor ,place  
,operahouse1 ,new ,york1 with ,hackett  
as ,falstaff1 who never in his time was 
equalled in that character1 and has not 
been equalled since4 ,another ,falstaff1
 however1 and a remarkably good one1    
appeared at ,burton's theatre on ,august
 #bd1 #ahej1 in the person of ,charles  
,bass4 ,on ,march #ad1 #ahec ,the ,merry
 ,wives was again given at ,burton's    
theatre1 and ,burton himself played     
,falstaff1 with characteristic humour2  
but ,burton never acted the part as it  

stands in ,henry ,,iv4 ,hackett1 who    
used both the history 7,part ,i47 and   
the comedy1 continued to act ,falstaff  
almost to the end of his life and       
,hackett did not die till #ahga4 ,a     
distinguished representative of         
,falstaff in the early days of the      
,american theatre--the days of the      
renowned ,chestnut in ,philadelphia--was
 ,william ,warren 7#agfg-ahcb71 who came
 from ,england in #agif4 ,in recent     
years the part has been acted by        
,benedict ,de ,bar and by ,john ,jack4  
,the latest ,falstaff in ,america was   
that embodied by ,charles ,fisher1 who  
first assumed the character on ,november
 #ai1 #ahgb1 at ,daly's theatre1 and    
whose performance was picturesque and   
humorous4  ,on the ,english stage the   
historical play of ,henry ,,iv4 was     
exceedingly popular in ,shakespeare's   
time4 ,the first ,falstaff1 according to
 ,malone1 whom everybody has followed as
 to this point1 was ,john ,heminge      
7#aeee-afcj74 ,after him came ,john     

,lowin 7#aegb-afed71 who is thought to  
have acted the part in the presence of  
,charles ,i4 ,his successor seems to    
have been ,lacy1 who died in #afha4     
,next came ,cartwright1 and in #afii or 
#agjj the great ,betterton 7#afce-agaj7 
assumed the fat knight1 acting him in   
both parts of the history and in the    
comedy4 ,genest records twenty-two      
revivals of the first part of ,henry    
,,iv4 upon the ,london stage1 at five   
different theatres1 between #affg and   
#ahbf2 fifteen revivals of the second   
part between #agbj and #ahba2 and       
sixteen revivals of ,the ,merry ,wives  
of ,windsor between #affg and #ahaa4    
,many ,english actors have played       
,falstaff since ,betterton's time1 an   
incomplete though sufficiently ample    
list of them comprising ,estcourt1      
#agjd2 ,f4 ,bullock1 #agac2 ,j4 ,evans  
and ,j4 ,hall1 #agae2 ,mills1 #agaf2    
,quin1 dignity and declamation1 #agch2  
,berry1 #agdg2 ,love 7whose true name   
was ,james ,dance71 #agfb2 ,shuter1     

#aggd2 ,john ,henderson1 one of the     
greatest actors that ever lived1 #aggd2 
,mrs4 ,webb 7once only71 #aggf2 ,ryder1 
#aghf2 ,palmer1 #aghh2 ,king1 #agib2    
,fawcett1 #agie2 ,stephen ,kemble1 who  
was so fat that he could play it without
 stuffing or bladder1 #ahjb2 ,blissett1 
#ahjc2 ,george ,frederick ,cooke1 #ahjd2
 ,bartley1 #ahab2 ,charles ,kemble1     
#ahbd2 ,dowton1 #ahbd2 ,elliston1 #ahbf2
 and ,samuel ,phelps1 #ahdf4 ,the latest
 representative of ,falstaff in ,england
 was ,h4 ,beerbohm-,tree1 who1 although 
a man of slender figure1 contrived to   
simulate corpulence1 and who manifested 
in his acting a fine instinct as to the 
meaning of the character and            
considerable resources of art in its    
expression1 although the predominant    
individuality and the copious luxuriance
 of ,falstaff's rosy and juicy humour   
were not within his reach4 ,upon the    
,american stage the part is practically 
disused2 and this is a pity1 seeing that
 a source of great enjoyment and one of 

the most suggestive and fruitful topics 
that exist in association with the study
 of human nature are thus in a great    
degree sequestered from the public mind4
 ,still it is better to have no         
,falstaff on the stage than to have it  
encumbered with a bad one2 and certainly
 for the peculiar and exacting play of  
,henry ,,iv4 there are now no actors    
left3 at least they are not visible in  
,america4     ,,xvii4  ,,ada ,,rehan4   
,in browsing over the fragrant evergreen
 pages of ,cibber's delightful book     
about the stage1 and especially in      
reflecting upon the beautiful and       
brilliant women who1 drawn by his magic 
pencil1 dwell there1 perpetual1 in life1
 colour1 and charm1 the reflective      
reader may perhaps be prompted to       
remember that the royal line of stage   
beauties is not extinct1 and that stage 
heroines exist in the present day who   
are quite as well worthy of             
commemoration as any that graced the    
period of ,charles the ,second or of    

good ,queen ,anne4 ,our age1 indeed1 has
 no ,cibber to describe their loveliness
 and celebrate their achievements2 but  
surely if he were living at this hour   
that courtly1 characteristic1 and       
sensuous writer--who saw so clearly and 
could portray so well the peculiarities 
of the feminine nature--would not deem  
the period of ,ellen ,terry and ,marie  
,wilton1 of ,ada ,rehan and ,sarah      
,bernhardt and ,genevieve ,ward1 of     
,clara ,morris and ,jane ,hading1       
unworthy of his pen4 ,as often as fancy 
ranges over those bright names and      
others that are kindred with them--a    
glittering sisterhood of charms and     
talents--the regret must arise that no  
literary artist with just the gallant   
spirit1 the chivalry1 the sensuous      
appreciation1 the fine insight1 and the 
pictorial touch of old ,cibber is extant
 to perpetuate their glory4 ,the hand   
that sketched ,elizabeth ,barry so as to
 make her live forever in a few brief   
lines1 the hand that drew the           

fascinating and memorable portrait of   
,susanna ,mountfort 7,down goes her     
dainty diving body to the ground1 as if 
she were sinking under the conscious    
load of her own attractions7--what might
 it not have done to preserve for the   
knowledge of future generations the     
queens of the theatre who are crowned   
and regnant to-day6 ,cibber could have  
caught and reflected the elusive charm  
of such an actress as ,ada ,rehan4 ,no  
touch less adroit and felicitous than   
his can accomplish more than the        
suggestion of her peculiar allurement1  
her originality1 and her fascinating    
because sympathetic and piquant mental  
and physical characteristics4  ,ada     
,rehan1 born at ,limerick1 ,ireland1 on 
,april #bb1 #ahfj1 was brought to       
,america when five years old1 and at    
that time she lived and went to school  
in ,brooklyn4 ,no one of her progenitors
 was ever upon the stage1 nor does it   
appear that she was predisposed to that 
vocation by early reading or training4  

,her elder sisters had adopted that     
pursuit1 and perhaps she was impelled   
toward it by the force of example and   
domestic association1 readily affecting 
her innate latent faculty for the       
dramatic art4 ,her first appearance on  
the stage was made at ,newark1 ,new     
,jersey1 in #ahgc1 in a play entitled   
,across the ,continent1 in which she    
acted a small part1 named ,clara1 for   
one night only1 to fill the place of a  
performer who had been suddenly disabled
 by illness4 ,her readiness and her     
positive talent were clearly revealed in
 that effort1 and it was thereupon      
determined in a family council that she 
should proceed2 so she was soon         
regularly embarked upon the life of an  
actress4 ,her first appearance on the   
,new ,york stage was made a little      
later1 in #ahgc1 at ,wood's museum 7it  
became ,daly's theatre in #ahgi71 when  
she played a small part in a piece      
called ,thorough-bred4 ,during the      
seasons of #ahgc-gd-ge she was          

associated with the ,arch ,street       
theatre1 ,philadelphia1--that being her 
first regular professional engagement4  
7,john ,drew1 with whom1 professionally1
 ,ada ,rehan has been long associated1  
made his first appearance in the same   
season1 at the same house47 ,she then   
went to ,macaulay's theatre1            
,louisville1 where she acted for one    
season4 ,from ,louisville she went to   
,albany1 as a member of ,john ,w4       
,albaugh's company1 and with that       
manager she remained two seasons1 acting
 sometimes in ,albany and sometimes in  
,baltimore4 ,after that she was for a   
few months with ,fanny ,davenport4 ,the 
earlier part of her career involved     
professional endeavours in company with 
the wandering stars1 and she acted in a 
variety of plays with ,edwin ,booth1    
,adelaide ,neilson1 ,john ,mc,cullough1 
,mrs4 ,bowers1 ,lawrence ,barrett1 ,john
 ,brougham1 ,edwin ,adams1 ,mrs4        
,lander1 and ,john ,t4 ,raymond4 ,from  
the first she was devotedly fond of     

,shakespeare1 and all the ,shakespearian
 characters allotted to her were studied
 and acted by her with eager interest   
and sympathy4 ,while thus employed in   
the provincial stock she enacted        
,ophelia1 ,cordelia1 ,desdemona1 ,celia1
 ,olivia1 and ,lady ,anne1 and in each  
of those parts she was conspicuously    
good4 ,the attention of ,augustin ,daly 
was first attracted to her in ,december 
#ahgg1 when she was acting at ,albaugh's
 theatre in ,albany1 the play being     
,katharine and ,petruchio 7,garrick's   
version of the ,taming of the ,shrew71  
and ,ada ,rehan appearing as ,bianca2   
and subsequently ,daly again observed   
her as an actress of auspicious         
distinction and marked promise at the   
,grand ,opera ,house1 ,new ,york1 in    
,april #ahgi4 ,fanny ,davenport was then
 acting in that theatre in ,daly's      
strong ,american play of ,pique--one of 
the few dramas of ,american origin that 
aptly reflect the character of ,american
 domestic life--and ,ada ,rehan appeared

 in the part of ,mary ,standish4 ,she   
was immediately engaged under ,daly's   
management1 and in ,may #ahgi she came  
forth at the ,olympic theatre1 ,new     
,york1 as ,big ,clemence in that        
author's version of ,l',assommoir4 ,on  
,september #ag1 #ahgi1 ,daly's theatre  
7which had been suspended for about two 
years7 was opened upon its present site1
 the southwest corner of ,thirtieth     
,street and ,broadway1 and ,ada ,rehan  
made her first appearance there1        
enacting the part of ,nelly ,beers in a 
play called ,love's ,young ,dream4 ,the 
opening bill on that occasion comprised 
that piece1 together with a comedy by   
,olive ,logan1 entitled ,newport4 ,on   
,september #cj a revival of ,divorce1   
one of ,daly's most fortunate plays1 was
 effected1 and ,ada ,rehan impersonated 
,miss ,lu ,ten ,eyck--a part originally 
acted 7#ahgc7 by ,fanny ,davenport4     
,from that time to this 7#ahib7 ,ada    
,rehan has remained the leading lady at 
,daly's theatre2 and there she has      

become one of the most admired figures  
upon the contemporary stage4 ,in five   
professional visits to ,europe1 acting  
in ,london1 ,paris1 ,edinburgh1 ,dublin1
 ,berlin1 and other cities1 she pleased 
judicious audiences and augmented her   
renown4 ,daly took his company of       
comedians to ,london for the first time 
in #ahhd1 where they fulfilled an       
engagement of six weeks at ,toole's     
theatre1 beginning ,july #ai4 ,the      
second visit to ,london was made two    
seasons later1 when they acted for nine 
weeks at the ,strand theatre1 beginning 
,may #bg1 #ahhf4 ,at that time they also
 played in the ,english provinces1 and  
they visited ,germany--acting at        
,hamburg and at ,berlin1 where they were
 much liked and commended4 ,they        
likewise made a trip to ,paris4 ,their  
third season abroad began at the ,lyceum
 theatre1 ,london1 ,may #c1 #ahhh1 and  
it included another expedition to the   
,french capital1 which was well         
rewarded4 ,ada ,rehan at that time      

impersonated ,shakespeare's ,shrew4 ,it 
was in that season also that she        
appeared at ,stratford-upon-,avon1 where
 ,daly gave a performance 7,august #c1  
#ahhh7 in the ,shakespeare ,memorial    
theatre1 for the benefit of that        
institution4 ,the fourth season of      
,daly's comedians in ,london began on   
,june #aj1 #ahij1 at the ,lyceum        
theatre1 and lasted ten weeks2 and this 
was signalised by ,ada ,rehan's         
impersonation of ,rosalind4 ,the fifth  
,london season extended from ,september 
#i to ,november #ac1 #ahia4  ,this is an
 outline of her professional story2 but 
how little of the real life of an actor 
can be imparted in a record of the      
surface facts of a public career6 ,most 
expressive1 as a comment upon the       
inadequacy of biographical details1 is  
the exclamation of ,dumas1 about ,aime  
,descle3 ,une femme comme celle-l n'a   
pas de biographie6 ,elle nous a mus1 et 
elle en est morte4 ,voil toute son      
historie6 ,ada ,rehan1 while she has    

often and deeply moved the audience of  
her riper time1 is happily very far from
 having died of it4 ,there is deep      
feeling beneath the luminous and        
sparkling surface of her art2 but it is 
chiefly with mirth that she has touched 
the public heart and affected the public
 experience4 ,equally of her1 however1  
as of her pathetic sister artist of the 
,french stage1 it may be said that such 
a woman has no history4 ,in a           
civilisation and at a period wherein    
persons are customarily accepted for    
what they pretend to be1 instead of     
being seen and understood for what they 
are1 she has been content to take an    
unpretentious course1 to be original and
 simple1 and thus to allow her faculties
 to ripen and her character to develop  
in their natural manner4 ,she has not   
assumed the position of a star1 and     
perhaps the ,american community1        
although favourable and friendly toward 
her1 may have been somewhat slow to     
understand her unique personality and   

her superlative worth4 ,the moment a    
thoughtful observer's attention is      
called to the fact1 however1 he         
perceives how large a place ,ada ,rehan 
fills in the public mind1 how           
conspicuous a figure she is upon the    
contemporary stage1 and how difficult it
 is to explain and classify her whether 
as an artist or a woman4 ,that blending 
of complexity with transparency always  
imparts to individual life a tinge of   
piquant interest1 because it is one     
denotement of the temperament of genius4
  ,the poets of the world pour          
themselves through all subjects by the  
use of their own words4 ,in what manner 
they are affected by the forces of      
nature--its influences of gentleness and
 peace or its vast pageants of beauty   
and terror--those words denote2 and also
 those words indicate the action1 upon  
their responsive spirits1 of the        
passions that agitate the human heart4  
,the actors1 on the other hand1 assuming
 to be the interpreters of the poets1   

must pour themselves through all        
subjects by the use of their own        
personality4 ,they are to be estimated  
accordingly by whatever the competent   
observer is able to perceive of the     
nature and the faculties they reveal    
under the stress of emotion1 whether    
tragic or comic4 ,perhaps it is not     
possible--mind being limited in its     
function--for any person to form a full1
 true1 and definite summary of another  
human creature4 ,to view a dramatic     
performance with a consciousness of the 
necessity of forming a judicial opinion 
of it is often to see one's own thought 
about it rather than the thing itself4  
,yet1 when all allowance is made for    
difficulty of theme and for infirmity of
 judgment1 the observer of ,ada ,rehan  
may surely conclude that she has a rich1
 tender1 and sparkling nature1 in which 
the dream-like quality of sentiment and 
the discursive faculty of imagination1  
intimately blended with deep1 broad1 and
 accurate perceptions of the actual1 and

 with a fund of keen and sagacious      
sense1 are reinforced with strong       
individuality and with affluent and     
extraordinary vital force4 ,ada ,rehan  
has followed no traditions4 ,she went to
 the stage not because of vanity but    
because of spontaneous impulse2 and for 
the expression of every part that she   
has played she has gone to nature and   
not to precept and precedent4 ,the stamp
 of her personality is upon everything  
that she has done2 yet the thinker who  
looks back upon her numerous and various
 impersonations is astonished at their  
diversity4 ,the romance1 the misery1 and
 the fortitude of ,kate ,verity1 the    
impetuous passion of ,katharine1 the    
brilliant raillery of ,hippolyta1 the   
enchanting womanhood of ,rosalind--how  
clear-cut1 how distinct1 how absolutely 
dramatic was each one of those          
personifications6 and yet how completely
 characteristic each one was of this    
individual actress6 ,our works of art   
may be subject to the application of our

 knowledge and skill1 but we ourselves  
are under the dominance of laws which   
operate out of the inaccessible and     
indefinable depths of the spirit4       
,alongside of most players of this      
period ,ada ,rehan is a prodigy of      
original force4 ,her influence1         
accordingly1 has been felt more than it 
has been understood1 and1 being elusive 
and strange1 has prompted wide          
differences of opinion4 ,the sense that 
she diffuses of a simple1 unselfish1    
patient nature1 and of impulsive        
tenderness of heart1 however1 cannot    
have been missed by anybody with eyes to
 see4 ,and she crowns all by speaking   
the ,english language with a beauty that
 has seldom been equalled4     ,,xviii4 
,,tennyson',s ,,comedy ,,of ,,the       
,,foresters4   ,besides1 the ,king's    
name is a tower of strength4 ,thousands 
of people all over the world honour1 and
 ought to honour1 every word that falls 
from the pen of ,alfred ,tennyson4 ,he  
is a very great man4 ,no poet since the 

best time of ,byron has written the     
,english language so well--that is to   
say1 with such affluent splendour of    
imagination2 such passionate vigour2    
such nobility of thought2 such          
tenderness of pathos2 such pervasive    
grace1 and so much of that distinctive  
variety1 flexibility1 and copious and   
felicitous amplitude which are the      
characteristics of an original style4   
,no poet of the last fifty years has    
done so much to stimulate endurance in  
the human soul and to clarify spiritual 
vision in the human mind4 ,it does not  
signify that now1 at more than          
fourscore1 his hand sometimes trembles a
 little on the harp-strings1 and his    
touch falters1 and his music dies away4 
,it is still the same harp and the same 
hand4 ,this fanciful1 kindly1 visionary1
 drifting1 and altogether romantic      
comedy of ,robin ,hood is not to be     
tried by the standard that is author    
reared when he wrote ,ulysses and       
,tithonus and ,the ,passing of          

,arthur--that imperial1 unapproachable  
standard that no other poet has         
satisfied4      ,cold upon the dead     
volcano sleeps the gleam of dying day4  
,but though the passion be subdued and  
the splendour faded1 the deep current of
 feeling flows on and the strong and    
tender voice can still touch the heart  
and charm the ear4 ,that tide of emotion
 and that tone of melody blend in this  
play and make it beautiful4 ,the passion
 is no longer that of ,enone and        
,lucretius and ,guinevere and ,locksley 
,hall and ,maud and ,the ,vision of     
,sin4 ,the thought is no longer that of 
,in ,memoriam1 with its solemn majesty  
and infinite pathos4 ,the music is no   
longer that of ,the ,may ,queen and the 
,talking ,oak and ,idle ,tears4 ,but why
 should these be expected8 ,he who      
struck those notes strikes now another2 
and as we listen our wonder grows1 and  
cannot help but grow1 that a bard of    
fourscore and upward should write in    
such absolute sympathy with youth1 love1

 hope1 happiness1 and all that is free  
and wandering and martial and active in 
the vicissitudes of adventure1 the      
exploits of chivalry1 and the           
vagabondish spirit of gypsy frolic4 ,the
 fact that he does write in that mood   
points to the one illuminative truth now
 essential to be remembered4 ,the voice 
to which we are privileged to listen1   
perhaps for the last time1 is the voice 
of a great poet--by which is meant a    
poet who is able1 not through the medium
 of intellect but through the medium of 
emotion1 to make the total experience of
 mankind his own experience1 and to     
express it not only in the form of art  
but with the fire of nature4 ,the       
element of power1 in all the expressions
 of such a mind1 will fluctuate2 but    
every one of its expressions will be    
sincere and in a greater or less degree 
will be vital with a universal and      
permanent significance4 ,that virtue is 
in ,alfred ,tennyson's comedy of ,robin 
,hood1 and that virtue will insure for  

it an abiding endurance in affectionate 
public esteem4  ,the realm into which   
this play allures its auditor is the    
realm of ,ivanhoe--the far-off1 romantic
 region of ,sherwood forest1 in the     
ancient days of stout king ,richard the 
,first4 ,the poet has gone to the old   
legends of ,robin ,hood and to the      
ballads that have been made upon them1  
and out of those materials--using them  
freely1 according to his fancy--he has  
chosen his scene and his characters and 
has made his story4 ,it is not the      
,england of the mine and the workshop   
that he represents1 and neither is it   
the ,england of the trim villa and the  
formal landscape2 it is the ,england of 
the feudal times--of gray castle towers1
 and armoured knights1 and fat priests1 
and wandering minstrels1 and crusades   
and tournaments2 ,england in rush-strewn
 bowers and under green boughs2 the     
,england in which ,wamba jested and     
,blondel sung4 ,to enter into that realm
 is to leave the barren world of prose2 

to feel again the cool1 sweet winds of  
summer upon the brow of youth2 to catch1
 in fitful glimpses1 the shimmer of the 
,lincoln green in the sunlit1 golden    
glades of the forest1 and to hear the   
merry note of the huntsman commingled1  
far away1 with horns of ,elfland faintly
 blowing4 ,the appeal is made to the    
primitive1 elemental1 poetical instinct 
of mankind2 and no detail of realism is 
obtruded1 no question of probability    
considered1 no agony of the sin-tortured
 spirit subjected to analysis1 no       
controversy promoted and no moral lesson
 enforced4 ,for once the public is      
favoured with a serious poetical play1  
which aims simply to diffuse happiness  
by arousing sympathy with pleasurable   
scenes and picturesque persons1 with    
virtue that is piquant and humour that  
is refined1 with the cheerful fortitude 
that takes adversity with a smile1 and  
with that final fortunate triumph of    
good over evil which is neither         
ensanguined with gore nor saddened with 

tears1 nor made acrid with bitterness4  
,the play is pastoral comedy1 written   
partly in blank verse and partly in     
prose1 and cast almost wholly out of    
doors--in the open air and under the    
greenwood tree--and1 in order to stamp  
its character beyond doubt or question1 
one scene of it is frankly devoted to a 
convocation of fairies around ,titania1 
their queen4  ,the impulse that         
underlies this piece is the old1        
incessant1 undying aspiration1 that men 
and women of the best order feel1 for   
some avenue of escape1 some relief1 some
 refuge1 from the sickening tyranny of  
convention and the commonplace1 and from
 the overwhelming mystery with which all
 human life is haunted and oppressed4 ,a
 man who walks about in a forest is not 
necessarily free4 ,he may be as great a 
slave as anybody4 ,but the exalted      
imagination dwells upon his way of life 
as emancipated1 breezy1 natural1 and    
right4 ,that way1 to the tired thinker1 
lie peace and joy4 ,there1 if           

anywhere--as he fancies--he might escape
 from all the wrongs of the world1 all  
the problems of society1 all the dull   
business of recording1 and analysing1   
and ticketing mankind1 all the clash of 
selfish systems that people call        
history1 and all the babble that they   
call literature4 ,in that retreat he    
would feel the rain upon his face1 and  
smell the grass and the flowers1 and    
hear the sighing and whispering of the  
wind in the green boughs2 and there     
would be no need to trouble himself any 
more1 whether about the past or the     
future4 ,every great intellect of the   
world has felt that wild longing1 and   
has recorded it--the impulse to revert  
to the vast heart of ,nature1 that knows
 no doubt1 and harbours no fear1 and    
keeps no regret1 and feels no sorrow1   
and troubles itself not at all4 ,matthew
 ,arnold dreamily and perhaps austerely 
expressed it in ,the ,scholar ,gypsy4   
,byron more humanly uttered it in four  
well-remembered lines1 of ,childe       

,harold3      ,oh1 that the desert were 
my dwelling-place1       ,with one fair 
spirit for my minister1     ,that ,i    
might all forget the human race1        
,and1 hating nothing1 love but only her4
  ,robin ,hood1 as technical drama1 is  
frail4 ,its movement1 indeed1 is not    
more indolent than that of its lovely   
prototypes in ,shakespeare1 ,as ,you    
,like ,it and ,a ,midsummer ,night's    
,dream4 ,with all the pastorals ,time   
ambles4 ,but1 on the other hand1        
,tennyson's piece is not a match for    
either of those ,shakespearean works1 in
 massiveness of dramatic signification  
or in the element of opportunity for the
 art of acting4 ,character1 poetry1     
philosophy1 humour1 and suggestion it   
contains2 but it contains no single     
scene in which its persons can amply put
 forth their full histrionic powers with
 essentially positive dramatic effect4  
,its charm resides more in being than in
 doing1 and therefore it is more a poem 
than a play1 and perhaps more a picture 

than a poem4 ,it is not one of those    
works that arouse1 agitate1 and impel4  
,it aims only to create and sustain a   
pleased condition2 and that aim it has  
accomplished4 ,no spectator will be     
deeply moved by it1 but no spectator    
will look at it without delight4 ,while1
 however1 ,robin ,hood as a drama is    
frail1 it is not destitute of the       
dramatic element4 ,it depicts a central 
character in action1 and it tells a     
representative love story--a story in   
which the oppressive persecutor of      
impoverished age is foiled and          
discomfited1 in which faithful affection
 survives the test of trial1 and in     
which days of danger end at last in days
 of blissful peace4 ,traces of the      
influence of ,shakespeare--exerted by   
his pastoral comedies and by the ,merry 
,wives of ,windsor--are obvious in it4  
,there is no imitation2 there is only   
kinship4 ,the sources that ,scott       
explored for some of the material used  
in ,ivanhoe also announce themselves4   

,many stories could be derived from the 
old ,robin ,hood ballads4 ,the poet has 
only chosen and rearranged such of their
 incidents as would suit his            
purpose--using those old ballads with   
perfect freedom1 but also using them    
with faultless taste4  ,robin ,hood was 
born at ,locksley1 in the county of     
,nottingham1 about #aafj1 when ,henry   
the ,second was king4 ,his true name was
 ,robert ,fitzooth--a name that popular 
mispronunciation converted into ,robin  
,hood--and he was of noble lineage4 ,old
 records declare him to have been the   
,earl of ,huntingdon4 ,he was           
extravagant and adventurous1 and for    
reasons that are unknown he preferred to
 live in the woods4 ,his haunts were    
chiefly ,sherwood ,forest1 in           
,nottinghamshire1 and ,barnsdale1 in    
,yorkshire4 ,among his associates were  
,william ,scadlock1 commonly called     
,scarlet2 ,much1 a miller's son2 ,friar 
,tuck1 a vagabond monk2 and ,little     
,john1 whose name was ,nailor4 ,robin   

,hood and his band were kind to the     
poor2 but they robbed the rich and they 
were specially hard on the clergy4      
,there is a tradition that a woman named
 ,maid ,marian went with ,robin into the
 forest1 but nothing is known about her4
 ,robin lived till the age of           
eighty-seven1 and he might have lived   
longer but that a treacherous relative1 
the prioress of ,kirkley--to whose care 
he had entrusted himself in order that  
he might be bled--allowed him to bleed  
to death4 ,at the time indicated in     
,tennyson's comedy--the year #aaid1     
which was the year of ,king ,richard's  
return from captivity in ,germany--he   
was thirty-four years old4 ,it is the   
year of ,ivanhoe1 and in the play as in 
the novel1 the evil agent is the usurper
 ,prince ,john4  ,fifteen characters    
take part in this comedy4 ,act first is 
called ,the ,bond and the ,outlawry4    
,the action begins in a garden before   
,sir ,richard ,lea's castle--or rather  
the dialogue begins there1 by which the 

basis of the action is revealed4 ,maid  
,marian is ,marian ,lea1 the daughter of
 ,sir ,richard4 ,walter ,lea1 the son of
 ,sir ,richard1 has been captured by the
 ,moors1 and in order to pay the boy's  
ransom ,sir ,richard has borrowed a     
large sum of money from the ,abbot of   
,york4 ,that debt must presently be     
paid2 but ,sir ,richard does not see his
 way clear to its payment1 and if he    
does not pay it he must forfeit his     
land4 ,the ,sheriff of ,nottingham1 a   
wealthy suitor for the hand of ,marian1 
is willing to pay that debt1 in case the
 girl will favour his suit4 ,but ,marian
 loves the ,earl of ,huntingdon and is  
by him beloved2 and all would go well   
with those lovers1 and with ,sir        
,richard1 but that the ,earl of         
,huntingdon is poor4 ,poor though he be1
 however1 he makes a feast1 to celebrate
 his birthday1 and to that festival ,sir
 ,richard and his daughter are bidden4  
,act first displays the joyous          
proceedings of that good meeting and the

 posture of those characters toward each
 other4 ,the ,sheriff of ,nottingham    
intrudes himself upon the scene1        
accompanied by ,prince ,john1 who is    
disguised as a friar4 ,the ,prince has  
cast a covetous eye upon ,marian1 and1  
although he outwardly favours the wish  
of the ,sheriff1 he is secretly         
determined to seize her for himself4    
,the revellers at ,huntingdon's feast1  
unaware of the ,prince's presence1      
execrate his name1 and at length he     
retires1 in a silent fury4 ,robin gives 
to ,marian a remarkable ring that he has
 inherited from his mother4 ,later a    
herald enters and reads a proclamation  
from ,prince ,john1 declaring the ,earl 
of ,huntingdon to be a felon1 and       
commanding his banishment4 ,robin cannot
 forcibly oppose that mandate1 and he   
therefore determines to cast in his lot 
with ,scarlet and ,friar ,tuck and other
 minions of the moon1 and thenceforward 
to live a free and merry life under the 
green boughs of ,sherwood ,forest4 ,a   

year is supposed to pass4 ,act second1  
called ,the ,flight of ,marian1 begins  
with a song of the ,foresters1 in the   
deep wood--,there is no land like       
,england4 ,that is a scene of much      
gentle beauty1 enhanced by ,robin       
,hood's delivery of some of the finest  
poetry in the play1 and also by the     
delicious music of ,sir ,arthur         
,sullivan4 ,robin descants upon freedom1
 and upon the advantage of dwelling     
beneath the sky rather than beneath a   
groined roof that shuts out all the     
meaning of heaven4 ,there is a colloquy 
between ,little ,john1 who is one of    
,robin's men1 and ,kate1 who is         
,marian's maid4 ,those two are lovers   
who quarrel and make it up again1 as    
lovers will4 ,kate has come to the      
forest1 bringing word of the flight of  
her mistress4 ,prince ,john has tried to
 seize ,marian1 and that brave girl has 
repulsed and struck him2 and she and her
 father have fled--intending to make for
 ,france1 in which land the old knight  

expects to find a friend who will pay   
his debt and save his estate4 ,while    
,robin is considering these things he   
perceives the approach of ,prince ,john 
and the ,sheriff of ,nottingham1 and1   
thereupon1 he takes refuge in the hut of
 an old witch and disguises himself in  
some of her garments4 ,prince ,john and 
the ,sheriff1 who are in pursuit of ,sir
 ,richard and ,marian1 find ,robin in   
this disguise1 and for a time they are  
deceived by him2 but soon they penetrate
 his masquerade and assail              
him--whereupon some of his people come  
to his assistance1 and he is reinforced 
by ,sir ,richard ,lea4 ,prince ,john and
 his party are beaten and driven away4  
,sir ,richard is exhausted1 and ,robin  
commits him to the care of the          
,foresters4 ,marian1 arrayed as a boy1  
and pretending to be her brother        
,walter1 has been present at this       
combat1 as a spectator1 and a sparkling 
scene of equivoke1 mischief1 and        
sentiment ensues between ,marian and    

,robin4 ,that scene ,tennyson wrote and 
inserted for ,ada ,rehan1 to whose      
vivacious temperament it is fitted1 and 
whose action in it expressed with equal 
felicity the teasing temper of the      
coquette and the propitious fondness of 
the lover4 ,robin discovers ,marian's   
identity by means of the ring that he   
gave her1 and1 after due explanation1 it
 is agreed that she and her father will 
remain under his protection4 ,act third 
is called ,the ,crowning of ,marian1 and
 is devoted to pictures1 colloquies1 and
 incidents1 now serious and now comical1
 showing the life of the ,foresters and 
the humorous yet discriminative justice 
of their gypsy chief4 ,sir ,richard ,lea
 is ill and he cannot be moved4 ,the    
outlaws crown ,marian1 with an oaken    
chaplet1 and declare her to be their    
queen4 ,robin ,hood vindicates his      
vocation1 and in a noble speech on      
freedom--deriving his similes from the  
giant oak tree1 as ,tennyson has ever   
loved to do--declares himself the friend

 of the poor and the servant of the     
king2 the absent ,richard of the ,lion  
,heart1 for whose return all good men   
are eager4 ,various beggars1 friars1 and
 other travellers are halted on the     
road1 in practical illustration of      
,robin's doctrine2 comic incidents from 
the old ballads are reproduced2 and so  
the episode ends merrily of these       
frolics in the wood4 ,at that point a   
delicious fairy pageant is introduced1  
presenting ,queen ,titania and her elves
 and illustrating at once the grievance 
of the fairies against the men whose    
heavy feet have crushed their toads and 
bats and flowers and mystic rings1 and  
,marian's dream of love4 ,sir ,arthur   
,sullivan's music is here again used1   
and again it is felt to be              
characteristic1 melodious1 and          
uncommonly sweet and tender4 ,act fourth
 begins in a forest bower at sunrise4   
,marian and ,robin meet there and talk  
of ,sir ,richard and of his bond to the 
,abbot of ,york--soon to fall due and   

seemingly to remain unpaid4 ,robin has  
summoned the ,abbot and his justiciary  
to come into the forest and to bring the
 bond4 ,king ,richard1 unrecognised1 now
 arrives1 and in submission to certain  
laws of the woodland he engages in an   
encounter of buffets1 and prevails over 
all his adversaries4 ,at the approach of
 the ,abbot1 however1 fearing premature 
recognition1 the monarch will flit away2
 but his gypsy friends compel him to    
accept a bugle1 upon which he is to blow
 a blast when in danger4 ,the ,abbot and
 his followers arrive1 and ,robin ,hood 
offers the money to redeem ,sir         
,richard's bond2 but1 upon a legal      
quibble1 the ,abbot declines to receive 
it--preferring to seize the forfeited   
land4 ,prince ,john and the ,sheriff of 
,nottingham appear1 and ,robin and his  
,foresters form an ambuscade4 ,sir      
,richard ,lea has been brought in1 upon 
his litter1 and ,marian stays beside    
him4 ,prince ,john attempts to seize    
her1 but this time he is frustrated by  

the sudden advent of ,king              
,richard--from whose presence he slinks 
away4 ,the myrmidons of ,john1 however1 
attack the ,king1 who would oppose them 
single-handed2 but ,friar ,tuck snatches
 the ,king's bugle and blows a blast of 
summons--whereupon the ,foresters swarm 
into the field and possess it4 ,john's  
faction is dispersed1 ,marian is saved1 
the absent ,walter ,lea reappears1 ,sir 
,richard is assured of his estate1 the  
,abbot and the ,sheriff are punished1   
and ,robin ,hood and ,maid ,marian may  
wed--for now the good ,king ,richard has
 come again to his own4  ,the lyrics in 
the piece possess the charm of fluent   
and unaffected sweetness1 and of        
original1 inventive1 and felicitous     
fancy1 and some of them are tenderly    
freighted with that indescribable but   
deeply affecting undertone of pathetic  
sentiment which is a characteristic     
attribute of ,tennyson's poetry4  ,the  
characters in the comedy were creatures 
of flesh and blood to the author1 and   

they come out boldly1 therefore1 on the 
stage4 ,marian ,lea is a woman of the   
,rosalind order--handsome1 noble1       
magnanimous1 unconventional1 passionate 
in nature1 but sufficient unto herself1 
humorous1 playful1 and radiant with     
animal spirits4 ,ada ,rehan embodied her
 according to that ideal4 ,the chief    
exaction of the part is                 
simplicity--which yet must not be       
allowed to degenerate into tameness4    
,the sweet affection of a daughter for  
her father1 the coyness yet the         
allurement of a girl for her lover1 the 
refinement of high birth1 the blithe    
bearing and free demeanour of a child of
 the woods1 and the predominant dignity 
of purity and honour--those are the     
salient attributes of the part4 ,ada    
,rehan struck the true note at the      
outset--the note of buoyant health1 rosy
 frolic1 and sprightly adventure--and   
she sustained it evenly and firmly to   
the last4 ,every eye was pleased with   
the frank1 careless1 cheerful beauty of 

her presence1 and every ear was soothed 
and charmed with her fluent and         
expressive delivery of the verse4 ,in   
this1 as in all of the important        
representations that ,ada ,rehan has    
given1 the delightful woman-quality was 
conspicuously present4 ,she can readily 
impersonate a boy4 ,no actress since    
,adelaide ,neilson has done that so     
well4 ,but the crowning excellence of   
her art was its expression of essential 
womanhood4 ,her acting was never trivial
 and it never obtruded the tedious      
element of dry intellect4 ,it           
refreshed--and the spectator was happier
 for having seen her4 ,many pleasant    
thoughts were scattered in many minds by
 her performance of ,maid ,marian1 and  
no one who saw it will ever part with   
the remembrance of it4     ,,xix4       
,,ellen ,,terry3 ,,the ,,merchant ,,of  
,,venice4   ,it was perhaps an          
auspicious portent1 it certainly is an  
interesting fact1 that the first play   
that was ever acted in ,america at a    

regular theatre and by a regular        
theatrical company was ,shakespeare's   
comedy of ,the ,merchant of ,venice4    
,such at least is the record made by    
,william ,dunlap1 the first historian of
 the ,american theatre1 who names       
,williamsburg1 ,virginia1 as the place  
and ,september #e1 #ageb as the date of 
that production4 ,it ought to be noted1 
however 7so difficult is it to settle   
upon any fact in this uncertain world71 
that the learned antiquarian ,judge     
,c4,p4 ,daly1 fortified likewise by the 
scrupulously accurate ,ireland1 dissents
 from ,dunlap's statement and declares  
that ,cibber's alteration of            
,shakespeare's ,richard the ,third was  
acted by a regular company in a large   
room in ,nassau ,street1 ,new ,york1 at 
an earlier date1 namely1 on ,march #e1  
#agej4 ,all the same1 it appears to have
 been ,shakespeare's mind that started  
the dramatic movement in ,america4 ,the 
,american stage has undergone great     
changes since that time1 but both ,the  

,merchant of ,venice and ,richard the   
,third are still acted1 and in the      
,merchant1 if not in ,richard1 the      
public interest is still vital4 ,in ,new
 ,york1 under ,edwin ,booth's           
management1 at the ,winter ,garden      
theatre1 ,january #bh1 #ahfg1 and       
subsequently at ,booth's theatre1 and in
 ,london1 under ,henry ,irving's        
management1 at the ,lyceum theatre1     
,november #a1 #ahgi1 sumptuous          
productions of the ,merchant have       
brilliantly marked the dramatic         
chronicle of our times4 ,discussion of  
the great character of ,shylock steadily
 proceeds and seems never to weary      
either the disputants or the audience4  
,the sentiment1 the fancy1 and the      
ingenuity of artists are often expended 
not only upon the austere1 picturesque1 
and terrible figure of the vindictive   
,jew1 but upon the chief related        
characters in the comedy--upon ,bassanio
 and ,portia1 ,gratiano and ,nerissa1   
,lorenzo and ,jessica1 the princely and 

pensive ,antonio1 the august ,duke and  
his stately senators1 and the shrewd and
 humorous ,gobbo4 ,more than one        
painting has depicted the ardent        
,lorenzo and his fugitive infidel as    
they might have looked on that delicious
 summer night at ,belmont when they saw 
how the floor of heaven is thick inlaid 
with patines of bright gold1 and when   
the blissful lover1 radiant with        
happiness and exalted by the sublime1   
illimitable1 unfathomable spectacle of  
the star-strewn firmament1 murmured1 in 
such heaven-like cadence1 of the        
authentic music of heaven4  ,it is not  
to be denied that lovely words are      
spoken to ,jessica1 and that almost     
equally lovely words are spoken by her4 
,essayists upon the ,merchant have      
generally accepted her without a        
protest--so much do youth and beauty in 
a woman count in the scale when weighed 
against duty and integrity4 ,there is no
 indication that ,shylock was ever      
unjust or unkind to ,jessica4 ,whatever 

he may have been to others he seems     
always to have been good to her2 and she
 was the child of that lost ,leah of his
 youthful devotion whom he passionately 
loved and whom he mourned to the last4  
,yet ,jessica not only abandoned her    
father and his religion1 but robbed him 
of money and jewels 7including the      
betrothal ring1 the turquoise1 that her 
mother had given to him71 when she fled 
with the young ,christian who had won   
her heart4 ,it was a basely cruel act2  
but probably some of the vilest and     
cruelest actions that are done in this  
world are done by persons who are       
infatuated by the passion of love4 ,mrs4
 ,jameson1 who in her beautiful essay on
 ,portia extenuates the conduct of      
,jessica1 would have us believe that    
,shylock valued his daughter far beneath
 his wealth1 and therefore deserved to  
be deserted and plundered by her2 and   
she is so illogical as to derive his    
sentiments on this subject from his     
delirious outcries of lamentation after 

he learned of her predatory and         
ignominious flight4 ,the argument is not
 a good one4 ,fine phrases do not make  
wrong deeds right4 ,it were wiser to    
take ,jessica for the handsome and      
voluptuous girl that certainly she is1  
and to leave her rectitude out of the   
question4 ,shakespeare in his drawing of
 her was true to nature1 as he always   
is2 but the student who wants to know   
where ,shakespeare's heart was placed   
when he drew women must look upon       
creatures very different from ,jessica4 
,the women that ,shakespeare seems      
peculiarly to have loved are ,imogen1   
,cordelia1 ,isabella1 ,rosalind1 and    
,portia--,rosalind1 perhaps1 most of    
all2 for although ,portia is finer than 
,rosalind1 it is extremely probable that
 ,shakespeare resembled his fellow-men  
sufficiently to have felt the preference
 that ,tom ,moore long afterward        
expressed3      ,be an angel1 my love1  
in the morning1     ,but1 oh6 be a woman
 to-night4  ,when ,ellen ,terry embodied

 ,portia--in ,henry ,irving's           
magnificent revival of ,the ,merchant of
 ,venice--the essential womanhood of    
that character was for the first time in
 the modern theatre adequately          
interpreted and conveyed4 ,upon many    
play-going observers indeed the         
wonderful wealth of beauty that is in   
the part--its winsome grace1 its        
incessant sparkle1 its alluring because 
piquant as well as luscious sweetness1  
its impetuous ardour1 its enchantment of
 physical equally with emotional        
condition1 its august morality1 its     
perfect candour1 and its noble          
passion--came like a surprise4 ,did the 
great actress find those attributes in  
the part 7they asked themselves71 or did
 she infuse them into it8 ,previous     
representatives of ,portia had placed   
the emphasis chiefly1 if not            
exclusively1 upon morals and mind4 ,the 
stage ,portia of the past has usually   
been a didactic lady1 self-contained1   
formal1 conventional1 and oratorical4   

,ellen ,terry came1 and ,portia was     
figured exactly as she lives in the     
pages of ,shakespeare--an imperial and  
yet an enchanting woman1 dazzling in her
 beauty1 royal in her dignity1 as ardent
 in temperament as she is fine in brain 
and various and splendid in personal    
peculiarities and feminine charm4 ,after
 seeing that matchless impersonation it 
seemed strange that ,portia should ever 
have been represented in any other      
light1 and it was furthermore felt that 
the inferior1 mechanical1 utilitarian   
semblance of her could not again be     
endured4 ,ellen ,terry's achievement was
 a complete vindication of the high view
 that ,shakespearean study has almost   
always taken of that character1 and it  
finally discredited the old stage notion
 that ,portia is a type of decorum and  
declamation4  ,aside from ,hazlitt1 who 
thought that ,portia is affected and    
pedantic1 and who did not like her      
because he did not happen to appreciate 
her1 the best analytical thinkers about 

,shakespeare's works have taken the high
 view of that character4 ,shakespeare   
himself certainly took it2 for aside    
from her own charming behaviour and     
delightful words it is to be observed   
that everybody in the play who speaks of
 her at all speaks her praise4 ,it is   
only upon the stage that she has been   
made artificial1 prim1 and preachy4     
,that misrepresentation of her has1     
perhaps1 been caused1 in part1 by the   
practice long prevalent in our theatre  
of cutting and compressing the play so  
as to make ,shylock the chief figure in 
it4 ,in that way ,portia is shorn of    
much of her splendour and her meaning4  
,the old theatrical records dwell almost
 exclusively upon ,shylock1 and say     
little if anything about ,portia4 ,in   
,shakespeare's time1 no doubt1 ,the     
,merchant of ,venice was acted as it is 
written1 the female persons in it being 
played by boys1 or by men who could     
speak small4 ,alexander ,cooke          
7#aehh-afad7 played the light heroines  

of ,shakespeare while the poet was      
alive4 ,all students of the subject are 
aware that ,burbage was the first       
,shylock1 and that when he played the   
part he wore a red wig1 a red beard1 and
 a long false nose4 ,no record exists as
 to the first ,portia4 ,the men who were
 acting female characters upon the      
,london stage when that institution was 
revived immediately after the           
,restoration were ,kynaston1 ,james     
,nokes1 ,angel1 ,william ,betterton1    
,mosely1 and ,floid4 ,kynaston1 it is   
said1 could act a woman so well that    
when at length women themselves began to
 appear as actors it was for some time  
doubted whether any one of them could   
equal him4 ,the account of his life1    
however1 does not mention ,portia as one
 of his characters4  ,indeed the play of
 ,the ,merchant of ,venice1 after it    
languished out of sight in that         
decadence of the stage which ensued upon
 the growth of the ,puritan movement in 
,england1 did not again come into use   

until it was revived in ,lord           
,landsdowne's alteration of it produced 
at the theatre in ,lincoln's ,inn       
,fields in #agja1 and even then it was  
grossly perverted4 ,forty years later1  
however1 on ,st4 ,valentine's ,day      
#agda1 at ,drury ,lane1 when ,macklin   
regenerated the character of ,shylock1  
the original piece was restored to the  
theatre4 ,women in the meantime had come
 upon the stage4 ,the garrulous and     
delightful ,pepys1 who had seen         
,kynaston play a female part1 records in
 his marvellous ,diary that he first saw
 women as actors on ,january #c1 #affa4 
,those were members of ,killigrew's     
company1 which preceded that of         
,davenant by several months1 if not by a
 year2 and therefore the common         
statement in theatrical books that the  
first woman that ever appeared on the   
,english stage was ,mrs4 ,sanderson1 of 
,davenant's company1 at ,lincoln's ,inn 
,fields1 is erroneous3 and indeed the   
name of the first ,english actress is as

 much unknown as the name of the first  
,portia4 ,when ,macklin restored        
,shakespeare's ,merchant of ,venice to  
the stage it is not likely that the     
character of ,portia was dwarfed1 for   
its representative then was ,kitty      
,clive1 and that actress was a person of
 strong will4 ,with ,clive the long list
 begins of the ,portias of the stage4   
,she was thirty years old when she      
played the part with ,macklin1 and it is
 probable that she played it with       
dignity and certain that she played it  
with sparkling animation and piquant    
grace4 ,the ,german ,ulrici1 whose      
descriptive epithets for ,portia are    
roguish and intellectual1 would         
doubtless have found his ideal of the   
part fulfilled in ,clive4 ,the ,nerissa 
that night was ,mrs4 ,pritchard1 then   
also thirty years old1 but not so famous
 as she afterward became4  ,the greatest
 actress on the ,british stage in the   
eighteenth century undoubtedly was      
,margaret ,woffington 7#agai-agfj74     

,sarah ,siddons1 to whom the sceptre    
passed1 was only five years old when    
,woffington died4 ,both those brilliant 
names are associated with ,portia4      
,augustin ,daly's ,life of              
,woffington--the best life of her that  
has been written1 and one of the most   
sumptuous books that have been          
made--contains this reference to her    
performance of that part3 ,all her      
critics agree that her declamation was  
accurate and her gesture grace and      
nature combined2 but in tragic or even  
dramatic speeches her voice probably had
 its limits1 and in such scenes1 being  
overtaxed1 told against her4 ,as ,portia
 she appeared to great advantage2 but   
when ,lorenzo says1 ',this is the voice1
 or ,i am much deceived1 of ,portia1'   
and ,portia replies1 ',he knows me1 as  
the blind man knows the cuckoo1 by the  
bad voice1' the audience laughed        
outright1 and ,woffington1 conscious of 
her deficiency1 with great good-humour  
joined with them in their merriment4    

,the incident is mentioned in the ,table
 ,talk 7#ahbe7 of ,richard ,ryan1 to    
which book ,daly refers4 ,mrs4 ,siddons 
made her first appearance on the ,london
 stage as ,portia ,december #bi1 #agge1 
and conspicuously failed in the part on 
that occasion1 but she became           
distinguished in it afterward2 yet it is
 probable that ,mrs4 ,siddons expressed 
its nobility more than its tenderness1  
and much more than its buoyant and      
glittering glee1 which was so entirely  
and beautifully given by ,ellen ,terry4 
,after ,peg ,woffington and before ,mrs4
 ,siddons the most conspicuous ,portia  
was ,mrs4 ,dancer1 whom ,hugh ,kelley1  
in his satirical composition of         
,thespis1 calls a moon-eyed idiot1--from
 which barbarous bludgeon phrase the    
reader derives a hint as to her aspect4 
,some of the tones of ,mrs4 ,dancer's   
voice were so tender that no one could  
resist them4 ,spranger ,barry could not1
 for he married her1 and after his death
 she became ,mrs4 ,crawford4 ,miss      

,maria ,macklin1 daughter of the first  
true ,shylock of the stage1 acted       
,portia1 ,april #ac1 #aggf1 with her    
father4 ,she is recorded as an          
accomplished woman but destitute of     
genius--in which predicament she        
probably was not lonesome4 ,on ,june    
#aa1 #aggg ,portia was acted at the     
,haymarket by ,miss ,barsanti1 afterward
 ,mrs4 ,lister1 an actress who1 since   
she excelled in such parts as were      
customarily taken by ,fanny ,abington   
7the distinct opposite of ,portia-like  
characters71 must have been unsuited for
 it4 ,the names of ,miss ,younge1 ,miss 
,farren1 ,miss ,e4 ,kemble1 ,miss       
,ryder1 ,mrs4 ,pope1 ,miss ,de ,camp1   
and ,miss ,murray are in the record of  
the stage ,portias that comes down to   
#ahjj4 ,probably the best of all those  
,portias was ,mrs4 ,pope4  ,the         
beautiful ,mrs4 ,glover played ,portia  
in #ahji at the ,haymarket theatre4     
,mrs4 ,ogilvie played it1 with ,macready
 as ,shylock 7his first appearance in   

that part71 on ,may #ac1 #ahbc4 ,those  
figures passed and left no shadow4 ,two 
,english actresses of great fame are    
especially associated with              
,portia--,ellen ,tree1 afterward ,mrs4  
,charles ,kean1 and ,helen ,faucit1 now 
,lady ,martin2 and no doubt their       
assumptions of the part should be marked
 as exceptions from the hard1 didactic1 
declamatory1 perfunctory method that has
 customarily characterised the ,portia  
of the stage4 ,lady ,martin's written   
analysis of ,portia is noble in thought 
and subtle and tender in penetration and
 sympathy4 ,charlotte ,cushman read the 
text superbly1 but she was much too     
formidable ever to venture on assuming  
the character4 ,portia is a woman who   
deeply loves and deeply rejoices and    
exults in her love1 and she is never    
ashamed of her passion or of her        
exultation in it2 and she says the      
finest things about love that are said  
by any of ,shakespeare's women2 the     
finest because1 while supremely         

passionate1 the feeling in them is      
perfectly sane4 ,it is as a lover that  
,ellen ,terry embodied her1 and while   
she made her a perfect woman1 in all the
 attributes that fascinate1 she failed  
not1 in the wonderful trial scene1 to   
invest her with that fine light of      
celestial anger--that momentary thrill  
of moral austerity--which properly      
appertains to the character at the      
climax of a solemn and almost tragical  
situation4  ,on the ,american stage     
there have been many notable            
representatives of the chief characters 
in ,the ,merchant of ,venice4 ,in ,new  
,york1 when the comedy was done at the  
old ,john ,street theatre in #aggc1     
,hallam was ,shylock and ,mrs4 ,morris  
,portia4 ,twenty years afterward1 at the
 same house1 ,shylock was played by     
,john ,henry1 and ,portia by ,mrs4      
,henry1 while the brilliant ,hodgkinson 
appeared as ,gratiano4 ,cooper1 whose   
life has been so well written by that   
ripe theatrical scholar ,joseph ,n4     

,ireland1 in one of the books of the    
,dunlap ,society1 assumed ,shylock in   
#agig at the theatre just then opened in
 ,greenwich ,street4 ,the famous ,miss  
,brunton 7then ,mrs4 ,merry71 was the   
,portia1 and the cast included ,moreton 
as ,bassanio1 ,warren as ,antonio1      
,bernard as ,gratiano1 and ,blissett as 
,tubal4 ,how far away and how completely
 lost and forgotten those once          
distinguished and admired persons are6  
,yet ,cooper in his day was idolised3 he
 had a fame as high1 if not as widely   
spread1 as that of ,henry ,irving or    
,edwin ,booth at present4 ,william      
,creswick--lately dead at an advanced   
age in ,london--was seen upon the ,new  
,york stage as ,shylock in #ahdj2       
,macready in #ahda2 ,charles ,kean in   
#ahde4 ,with the latter1 ,ellen ,tree   
played ,portia4 ,charles ,w4 ,couldock  
enacted ,shylock on ,september #f1      
#aheb1 at the ,castle ,garden theatre1  
in a performance given to commemorate   
the alleged centenary of the            

introduction of the drama into ,america4
 ,the elder ,wallack1 the elder ,booth1 
,edwin ,forrest1 ,g4,v4 ,brooke1 ,george
 ,vandenhoff1 ,wyzeman ,marshall1 and   
,e4,l4 ,davenport are among the old     
local representatives of the ,jew4      
,madam ,ponisi used to play ,portia1 and
 so did ,mrs4 ,hoey4  ,in ,december     
#aheh1 when ,the ,merchant of ,venice   
was finely revived at ,wallack's        
theatre1 with the elder ,wallack as     
,shylock1 the cast included ,lester     
,wallack as ,bassanio1 ,john ,brougham  
as ,gratiano1 ,a4 ,w4 ,young--a quaintly
 comic actor1 too soon cut off--as      
,launcelot ,gobbo1 ,mary ,gannon--the   
fascinating1 the irresistible--as       
,nerissa1 and handsome ,mrs4 ,sloan as  
,jessica4 ,the eminent ,german actor    
,davison played ,shylock1 in ,new ,york1
 in his own language2 and many ,german  
actors1 no one of them comparable with  
him1 have been seen in it since4        
,lawrence ,barrett often played it1 and 
with remarkable force and feeling4 ,the 

triumphs won in it by ,edwin ,booth are 
within the remembrance of many playgoers
 of this generation4 ,when he last acted
 the ,jew ,helena ,modjeska was         
associated with him as ,portia4 ,booth  
customarily ended the piece with the    
trial scene1 omitting the last act2 and 
indeed that was long the stage custom2  
but with the true ,portia of ,ellen     
,terry and a good cast in general the   
last act went blithely and with superb  
effect4 ,the comedy was not written for 
,shylock alone4 ,he is a tremendous     
identity1 but he is not the chief       
subject4 ,the central theme is ,portia  
and her love4 ,that theme takes up a    
large part of the play1--which is like a
 broad summer landscape strewn with     
many-coloured flowers that flash and    
glitter in the sun1 while slowly a      
muttering thunder-storm gathers and     
lowers1 and presently sweeps overhead1  
casting one black shadow as it passes1  
and leaving the fragrant and glistening 
plain all the brighter and sweeter for  

the contrast with its defeated menace   
and vanishing gloom4     ,,xx4          
,,richard ,,mansfield ,,as ,,richard    
,,the ,,third4   ,the ideal of ,richard 
that was expressed by this actor did not
 materially differ from that which has  
been manifested by great tragic actors  
from ,garrick to ,booth4 ,he embodied a 
demoniac scoffer who1 nevertheless1 is a
 human being4 ,the infernal wickedness  
of ,richard was shown to be impelled by 
tremendous intellect but slowly         
enervated and ultimately thwarted and   
ruined by the cumulative operation of   
remorse--corroding at the heart and     
finally blasting the man with desolation
 and frenzy4 ,that1 undoubtedly1 was    
,shakespeare's design4 ,but ,richard    
,mansfield's expression of that ideal   
differed from the expression to which   
the stage has generally been accustomed1
 and in this respect his impersonation  
was distinctive and original4  ,the old 
custom of playing ,richard was to take  
the exaggerated statements of the       

opening soliloquy in a literal sense1 to
 provide him with a big hump1 a lame    
leg1 and a fell of straight black hair1 
and to make him walk in1 scowling1 with 
his lower lip protruded1 and declare    
with snarling vehemence and guttural    
vociferation his amiable purpose of     
specious duplicity and miscellaneous    
slaughter4 ,the opening speech1 which is
 in ,shakespeare's juvenile manner--an  
orotund1 verbose manner1 which perhaps  
he had caught from ,marlowe1 and which  
he outgrew and abandoned--was thus      
utilised for displaying the character in
 a massed aspect1 as that of a loathsome
 hypocrite and sanguinary villain2 and1 
that being done1 he was made to advance 
through about two-thirds of the tragedy1
 airily yet ferociously slaying         
everybody who came in his way1 until at 
some convenient point1 definable at the 
option of the actor1 he was suddenly    
smitten with a sufficient remorse to    
account for his trepidation before and  
during the tent-scene2 and thereafter he

 was launched into combat like a        
meteoric butcher1 all frenzy and all    
gore1 and killed1 amid general          
acclamation1 when he had fenced himself 
out of breath4  ,that treatment of the  
character was1 doubtless1 in part a     
necessary consequence of ,shakespeare's 
perfunctory adoption of the ,tudor      
doctrine that ,richard was a            
blood-boltered monster2 but in a larger 
degree it was the result of ,cibber's   
vulgar distortion of the original piece4
 ,the actual character of the king1--who
 seems to have been one of the ablest   
and wisest monarchs that ever reigned in
 ,england--has never recovered1 and it  
never will recover1 from the odium that 
was heaped upon it by the ,tudor        
historians and accepted and ratified by 
the great genius of ,shakespeare4 ,the  
stage character of the king has been    
almost as effectually damned by the     
ingenious theatrical claptrap with which
 ,cibber misrepresented and vulgarised  
,shakespeare's conception1 assisted by  

the efforts of a long line of           
blood-and-thunder tragedians1 only too  
well pleased to depict a gory1          
blathering1 mugging miscreant1 such as  
their limited intelligence enabled them 
to comprehend4 ,the stage ,richard1     
however1 may possibly be redeemed4 ,in  
,cibber he is everything that ,queen    
,margaret calls him1 and worse than a   
brute4 ,in ,shakespeare1 although a     
miscreant1 he is a man4 ,the return to  
,shakespeare1 accordingly1 is a step in 
the right direction4 ,that step was     
taken some time ago1 although not       
maintained1 first by ,macready1 then by 
,samuel ,phelps1 then by ,edwin ,booth1 
and then by ,henry ,irving4 ,their good 
example was followed by ,richard        
,mansfield4 ,he used a version of the   
tragedy1 made by himself1--a piece      
indicative of thoughtful study of the   
subject as well as a keen intuitive     
grasp of it4 ,he did not stop short at  
being a commentator4 ,aiming to         
impersonate a character he treated      

,shakespeare's prolix play in such a    
manner as to make it a practicable      
living picture of a past age4 ,the      
version was in five acts1 preserving the
 text of the original1 much condensed1  
and introducing a few lines from        
,cibber4 ,it began with a bright        
processional scene before the ,tower of 
,london1 in which ,elizabeth1 ,queen of 
,edward ,,iv41 was conspicuous1 and     
against that background of glorious     
summer it placed the dangerous figure of
 the ,duke of ,gloster4 ,it comprised   
the murder of ,henry ,,vi41 the wooing  
of ,lady ,anne1--not in a ,london       
street1 but in a rural place1 on the    
road to ,chertsey2 the lamentation for  
,king ,edward ,,iv42 the episode of the 
boy princes2 the condemnation of        
,hastings1--a scene that brilliantly    
denotes the mingled artifice and        
savagery of ,shakespeare's ,gloster2 the
 ,buckingham plot2 the priest and mayor 
scene2 the temptation of ,tyrrel2 the   
fall of ,buckingham2 the march to       

battle2 the episode of the spectres2 and
 the fatal catastrophe on ,bosworth     
,field4 ,enough of the story was thus   
related to satisfy the ,shakespeare     
scholar4  ,the notable peculiarity was  
the assumption that there are           
considerable lapses of time at intervals
 during the continuance of the story4   
,the effort to reconcile poetry with    
history produced little if any          
appreciable practical result upon the   
stage1--seeing that an audience would   
not think of lapses of time unless those
 lapses were mentioned in the play-bill4
 ,an incessant continuity of action1 a  
ceaseless rush and whirl of events1 is  
the essential life of the play4 ,no     
auditor can feel that ,richard has      
waited twelve years before making any   
movement or striking any blow1 after his
 aspiration that heaven will take ,king 
,edward and leave the world for him to  
bustle in4 ,that word bustle is a       
favourite word with ,richard4 ,and      
furthermore there is no development of  

his character in ,shakespeare's play3   
there is simply the presentation of it1 
complete and rounded at the outset1 and 
remaining invariably and inflexibly the 
same to the close4  ,mansfield1 however1
 deduced this effect from his           
consideration of the flight of time3 a  
contrast between ,richard at nineteen   
and ,richard at thirty-three1 a contrast
 strongly expressive of the reactionary 
influence that an experience of evil    
deeds has produced upon a man who at    
first was only a man of evil thoughts   
and evil will4 ,this imported into the  
performance a diversity of delineation  
without1 however1 affecting the         
formidable weight of the figure of      
,richard1 or its brilliancy1 or its     
final significance4 ,the embodiment was 
splendid with it1 and would be just as  
splendid without it4 ,the presence of   
heart and conscience in that demoniac   
human creature is denoted by            
,shakespeare and must be shown by the   
actor4 ,precisely at what point his     

heaven-defying will should begin to     
waver is not defined4 ,mansfield chose  
to indicate the operation of remorse and
 terror in ,richard's soul as early as  
the throne scene and before yet the king
 has heard that the royal boys have been
 murdered4 ,the effect of his action1   
equally with the method of it1 was      
magnificent4 ,you presently saw him     
possessed of the throne for which he had
 so terribly toiled and sinned1 and     
alone upon it1 bathed in blood-red      
light1 the pitiable personification of  
gorgeous but haunted evil1 marked off   
from among mankind and henceforth       
desolate4 ,throughout that fine scene   
,mansfield's portrayal of the fearful   
struggle between wicked will and human  
weakness was in a noble vein of         
imagination1 profound in its sincerity1 
affecting in its pathos1 and pictorial  
in its treatment4 ,in the earlier scenes
 his mood and his demeanour had been    
suffused with a cool1 gay1 mockery of   
elegant cynicism4 ,he killed ,king      

,henry with a smile1 in a scene of      
gloomy mystery that might have come from
 the pencil of ,gustave ,dore4 ,he      
looked upon the mourning ,lady ,anne    
with cheerful irony and he wooed her    
with all the fervour that passion and   
pathos can engender in the behaviour of 
a hypocrite4 ,his dissimulation with the
 princes and with the mayor and the     
nobles was to the last degree specious4 
,one of his finest points was the       
temptation of ,buckingham to murder the 
princes4 ,there1 and indeed at all      
points1 was observed the absence of even
 the faintest reminiscence of the       
ranting1 mouthing1 flannel-jawed king of
 clubs who has so generally strutted and
 bellowed as ,shakespeare's ,gloster4   
,all was bold and telling in the manner1
 and yet the manner was reticent with   
nature and fine with well-bred          
continence4  ,with the throne scene     
began the spiritual conflict4 ,at least 
it then began to be disclosed2 and from 
that moment onward the state of ,richard

 was seen to be that of ,orestes pursued
 by the furies4 ,but ,mansfield was     
right1 and was consistent1 in making the
 monarch faithful in his devotion to    
evil4 ,richard's presentiments1 pangs1  
and tremors are intermittent4 ,in the   
great1 empty1 darkening throne-room1    
with its shadowy nooks and dim corners1 
shapeless and nameless spectres may     
momentarily come upon him and shake his 
strong spirit with the sinister menace  
of hell4 ,along the dark plains1 on the 
fateful night before the battle1 the sad
 ghosts may drift and wander1 moaning   
and wailing in the ghastly gloom2 and in
 that hour of haunted desolation the    
doomed king may feel that1 after all1 he
 is but mortal man1 and that his        
pre-ordered destruction is close at hand
 and not to be averted2 but ,richard    
never deceives himself2 never palters   
with the goodness that he has scorned4  
,he dies as he has lived1 defiant and   
terrible4  ,mansfield's treatment of the
 ghost scenes at ,bosworth was novel1   

original1 and poetic1 and his death     
scene was not only a display of personal
 prowess but a reproduction of          
historical fact4 ,with a detail like    
this the truth of history becomes       
useful1 but in general the actor cannot 
safely go back of the ,shakespearean    
scheme4 ,to present ,richard as he      
probably was would be to present a man  
of some virtue as well as great ability4
 ,mansfield's acting revealed an amiable
 desire to infuse as much goodness as   
possible into the ,shakespearean        
conception1 but he obtained his chief   
success by acting the part substantially
 according to ,shakespeare and by       
setting and dressing the play with      
exceptional if not altogether exact     
fidelity to the time1 the places1 and   
the persons that are implicated in the  
story4  ,shakespeare's ,richard is a    
type of colossal will and of restless1  
inordinate1 terrific activity4 ,the     
objects of his desire and his effort are
 those objects which are incident to    

supreme power2 but his chief object is  
that assertion of himself which is      
irresistibly incited and steadfastly    
compelled by the overwhelming1 seething1
 acrid energy of his feverish soul1     
burning and raging in his fiery body4   
,he can no more help projecting himself 
upon the affairs of the world than the  
malignant cobra can help darting upon   
its prey4 ,he is a vital1 elemental     
force1 grisly1 hectic1 terrible1        
impelled by volcanic heat and           
electrified and made lurid and deadly by
 the infernal purpose of restless       
wickedness4 ,no actor can impersonate   
,richard in an adequate manner who does 
not possess transcendent force of will1 
combined with ambitious1 incessant1 and 
restless mental activity4 ,mansfield in 
those respects is qualified for the     
character1 and out of his professional  
resources he was able to supply the     
other elements that are requisite to its
 constitution and fulfilment4 ,he       
presented as ,richard a sardonic1       

scoffing demon1 who nevertheless1       
somewhere in his complex nature1 retains
 an element of humanity4 ,he embodied a 
character that is tragic in its ultimate
 effect1 but his method was that of the 
comedian4 ,his portrayal of ,richard1   
except at those moments when it is      
veiled with craft and dissimulation1 or 
at those other and grander moments1     
infrequent but awful and agonising1 when
 it is convulsed with terror or with the
 anguish of remorse1 stood forth boldly 
in the sunshine1 a crystallised and     
deadly sarcasm1 equally trenchant upon  
itself and all the world1 equally       
scornful of things human and things     
divine4 ,that deadly assumption of keen 
and mordant mockery1 that cool1         
glittering1 malignant lightness of      
manner1 was consistently sustained      
throughout the performance1 while the   
texture of it was made continuously     
entertaining by diversity of colour and 
inflection1 sequent on changing moods2  
so that ,richard was shown as a creature

 of the possible world of mankind and   
not as a fiction of the stage4  ,the    
part was acted by him3 it was not       
declaimed4 ,he made1 indeed1 a skilful  
use of his uncommon voice--keeping its  
tones light1 sweet1 and superficial     
during the earlier scenes 7while yet1 in
 accordance with his theory of          
development1 ,gloster is the            
personification of evil purpose only    
beginning to ripen into evil deed71 and 
then permitting them to become deeper   
and more significant and thrilling as   
the man grows old in crime and haggard  
and convulsed in self-conflict and      
misery4 ,but it was less with vocal     
excellence that the auditor was         
impressed than with the actor's         
identification with the part and his    
revelation of the soul of it4 ,when     
first presented ,gloster was a mocking  
devil4 ,the murder of ,king ,henry was  
done with malice1 but the malice was    
enwrapped with glee4 ,in the wooing of  
,lady ,anne there was both heart and    

passion1 but the mood was that of       
lightsome duplicity4 ,it is not until   
years of scheming and of evil acts1     
engendering1 promoting1 and sustaining a
 condition of mental horror and torture1
 have ravaged his person and set their  
seal upon him1 in sunken cheek and      
hollow eye1 in shattered nerves and deep
 and thrilling voice1 surcharged at once
 with inveterate purpose and with       
incessant agony1 that this light manner 
vanishes1 and the demeanour and action  
of the wicked monarch becomes ruthless1 
direct1 and terrible4 ,whether1 upon the
 basis of a play so discursive1 so      
episodical1 so irresolutely defined as  
,shakespeare's ,richard the ,third1 that
 theory of the development of its       
central character is logically tenable  
is a dubious question4 ,in ,shakespeare 
the character is presented full-grown at
 the start1 and then1 through a confused
 tangle of historical events1 is        
launched into action4 ,nevertheless in  
his practical application of it         

,mansfield made his theory effective by 
a novel1 powerful1 interesting          
performance4 ,you could not help        
perceiving in ,mansfield's embodiment   
that ,gloster was passing through phases
 of experience--that the man changed1 as
 men do change in life1 the integral    
character remaining the same in its     
original fibre1 but the condition       
varying1 in accordance with the reaction
 of conduct upon temperament and        
conscience4  ,mansfield deeply moved his
 audience in the repulse of ,buckingham1
 in the moody menace of the absent      
,stanley1 in the denunciation of        
,hastings1 and in the awakening from the
 dream on the night before the battle4  
,playgoers have seldom seen a dramatic  
climax so thrilling as his hysterical   
recognition of ,catesby1 after the      
moment of doubt whether this be not also
 a phantom of his terrific dream4 ,it   
was not so much by startling theatrical 
effects1 however1 as by subtle          
denotements1 now of the tempest and now 

of the brooding horror in the king's    
heart1 that the actor gained his        
victory4 ,the embodiment lacked         
incessant fiery expedition--the         
explosive1 meteoric quality that        
astounds and dazzles4 ,chief among the  
beauties was imagination4 ,the attitude 
of the monarch toward his throne--the   
infernal triumph1 and yet the remorseful
 agony and withering fear--in the moment
 of ghastly loneliness when he knows    
that the innocent princes have been     
murdered and that his imperial pathway  
is clear1 made up one of the finest     
spectacles of dramatic illumination that
 the stage has afforded4 ,you saw the   
murderer's hideous exultation1 and then1
 in an instant1 as the single ray of red
 light from the setting sun streamed    
through the ,gothic window and fell upon
 his evil head1 you saw him shrink in   
abject fear1 cowering in the shadow of  
his throne2 and the dusky room was      
seemingly peopled with gliding spectres4
 ,that treatment was theatrical1 but in 

no derogatory sense theatrical--for it  
comports with the great speech on       
conscience2 not the fustian of ,cibber1 
about mutton and short-lived pleasure1  
but the speech that ,shakespeare has put
 into ,richard's mouth2 the speech that 
inspired ,mansfield's impersonation--the
 brilliant embodiment of an intellectual
 man1 predisposed to evil1 who yields to
 that inherent impulse1 and thereafter1 
although intermittently convulsed with  
remorse1 fights with tremendous energy  
against the goodness that he scorns and 
defies1 till at last he dashes himself  
to pieces against the adamant of eternal
 law4     ,,xxi4  ,,genevieve ,,ward3   
,,forget ,,me ,,not4   ,in the season of
 #ahhj-ha ,genevieve ,ward made a       
remarkably brilliant hit with her       
embodiment of ,stephanie ,de ,mohrivart1
 in the play of ,forget ,me ,not1 by    
,herman ,merivale1 and since then she   
has acted that part literally all round 
the world4 ,it was an extraordinary     
performance--potent with intellectual   

character1 beautiful with refinement1   
nervous and steel-like with indomitable 
purpose and icy glitter1 intense with   
passion1 painfully true to an afflicting
 ideal of reality1 and at last          
splendidly tragic3 and it was a shining 
example of ductile and various art4     
,such a work ought surely to be recorded
 as one of the great achievements of the
 stage4 ,genevieve ,ward showed herself 
to possess in copious abundance peculiar
 qualities of power and beauty upon     
which mainly the part of ,stephanie is  
reared4 ,the points of assimilation     
between the actress and the part were   
seen to consist in an imperial force of 
character1 intellectual brilliancy1     
audacity of mind1 iron will1 perfect    
elegance of manners1 a profound         
self-knowledge1 and unerring intuitions 
as to the relation of motive and conduct
 in that vast network of circumstance   
which is the social fabric4 ,stephanie  
possesses all those attributes2 and all 
those attributes ,genevieve ,ward       

supplied1 with the luxuriant adequacy   
and grace of nature4 ,but ,stephanie    
superadds to those attributes a bitter1 
mocking cynicism1 thinly veiled by      
artificial suavity and logically        
irradiant from natural hardness of      
heart1 coupled with an insensibility    
that has been engendered by cruel       
experience of human selfishness4 ,this1 
together with a certain mystical touch  
of the animal freedom1 whether in joy or
 wrath1 that goes with a being having   
neither soul nor conscience1 the actress
 had to supply--and did supply--by her  
art4 ,as interpreted by ,genevieve ,ward
 the character was reared1 not upon a   
basis of unchastity but upon a basis of 
intellectual perversion4 ,stephanie has 
followed--at first with self-contempt1  
afterward with sullen indifference1     
finally with the bold and brilliant     
hardihood of reckless defiance--a life  
of crime4 ,she is audacious1            
unscrupulous1 cruel2 a consummate       
tactician2 almost sexless1 yet a siren  

in knowledge and capacity to use the    
arts of her sex2 capable of any         
wickedness to accomplish an end1 yet    
trivial enough to have no higher end in 
view than the reinvestiture of herself  
with social recognition2 cold as snow2  
implacable as the grave2 remorseless2   
wicked2 but1 beneath all this depravity1
 capable of self-pity1 capable of       
momentary regret1 capable of a little   
human tenderness1 aware of the glory of 
the innocence she has lost1 and thus not
 altogether beyond the pale of          
compassion4 ,and she is1 in             
externals1--in everything visible and   
audible1--the ideal of grace and melody4
  ,in the presence of an admirable work 
of art the observer wishes that it were 
entirely worthy of being performed and  
that it were entirely clear and sound as
 to its applicability--in a moral sense1
 or even in an intellectual sense--to   
human life4 ,art does not go far when it
 stops short at the revelation of the   
felicitous powers of the artist2 and it 

is not altogether right when it tends to
 beguile sympathy with an unworthy      
object and perplex a spectator's        
perceptions as to good and evil4        
,genevieve ,ward's performance of       
,stephanie1 brilliant though it was1 did
 not redeem the character from its bleak
 exile from human sympathy4 ,the actress
 managed1 by a scheme of treatment      
exclusively her own1 to make ,stephanie1
 for two or three moments1 piteous and  
forlorn2 and her expression of that     
evanescent anguish--occurring in the    
appeal to ,sir ,horace ,welby1 her      
friendly foe1 in the strong scene of the
 second act--was wonderfully subtle4    
,that appeal1 as ,genevieve ,ward made  
it1 began in artifice1 became profoundly
 sincere1 and then was stunned and      
startled into a recoil of resentment by 
a harsh rebuff1 whereupon it subsided   
through hysterical levity into frigid   
and brittle sarcasm and gay defiance4   
,for a while1 accordingly1 the feelings 
of the observer were deeply moved4 ,yet 

this did not make the character of      
,stephanie less detestable4 ,the blight 
remains upon it--and always must        
remain--that it repels the interest of  
the heart4 ,the added blight likewise   
rests upon it 7though this is of less   
consequence to a spectator71 that it is 
burdened with moral sophistry4 ,vicious 
conduct in a woman1 according to        
,stephanie's logic1 is not more culpable
 or disastrous than vicious conduct in a
 man3 the woman1 equally with the man1  
should have a social license to sow the 
juvenile wild oats and effect the       
middle-aged reformation2 and it is only 
because there are gay young men who     
indulge in profligacy that women        
sometimes become adventurers and moral  
monsters4 ,all this is launched forth in
 speeches of singular terseness1        
eloquence1 and vigour2 but all this is  
specious and mischievous perversion of  
the truth--however admirably in         
character from ,stephanie's lips4 ,every
 observer who has looked carefully upon 

the world is aware that the consequences
 of wrongdoing by a woman are vastly    
more pernicious than those of wrongdoing
 by a man2 that society could not exist 
in decency1 if to its already           
inconvenient coterie of reformed rakes  
it were to add a legion of reformed     
wantons2 and that it is innate          
wickedness and evil propensity that     
makes such women as ,stephanie1 and not 
the mere existence of the wild young men
 who are willing to become their        
comrades--and who generally end by being
 their dupes and victims4 ,it is        
natural1 however1 that this             
adventurer--who has kept a gambling-hell
 and ruined many a man1 soul and body1  
and who now wishes to reinstate herself 
in a virtuous social position--should   
thus strive to palliate her past        
proceedings4 ,self-justification is one 
of the first laws of life4 ,even ,iago1 
who never deceives himself1 yet         
announces one adequate motive for his   
fearful crimes4 ,even ,bulwer's         

,margrave--that prodigy of evil1 that   
cardinal type of infernal1 joyous1      
animal depravity--can yet paint himself 
in the light of harmless loveliness and 
innocent gayety4  ,forget ,me ,not tells
 a thin story1 but its story has been   
made to yield excellent dramatic        
pictures1 splendid moments of           
intellectual combat1 and affecting      
contrasts of character4 ,the dialogue1  
particularly in the second act1 is as   
strong and as brilliant as polished     
steel4 ,in that combat of words         
,genevieve ,ward's acting was delicious 
with trenchant skill and fascinating    
variety4 ,the easy1 good-natured1       
bantering air with which the strife     
began1 the liquid purity of the tones1  
the delicate glow of the arch satire1   
the icy glitter of the thought and      
purpose beneath the words1 the          
transition into pathos and back again   
into gay indifference and deadly        
hostility1 the sudden and terrible mood 
of menace1 when at length the crisis had

 passed and the evil genius had won its 
temporary victory--all those were in    
perfect taste and consummate harmony4   
,seeing that brilliant1 supple1         
relentless1 formidable figure1 and      
hearing that incisive1 bell-like voice1 
the spectator was repelled and attracted
 at the same instant1 and thoroughly    
bewildered with the sense of a power and
 beauty as hateful as they were         
puissant4 ,not since ,ristori acted     
,lucretia ,borgia has the stage         
exhibited such an image of imperial     
will1 made radiant with beauty and      
electric with flashes of passion4 ,the  
leopard and the serpent are fatal1      
terrible1 and loathsome2 yet they       
scarcely have a peer among nature's     
supreme symbols of power and grace4     
,into the last scene of ,forget ,me     
,not1--when at length ,stephanie is     
crushed by physical fear1 through       
beholding1 unseen by him1 the man who   
would kill her as a malignant and       
dangerous reptile1--,genevieve ,ward    

introduced such illustrative business1  
not provided by the piece1 as greatly   
enhanced the final effect4 ,the backward
 rush from the door1 on seeing the      
,corsican avenger on the staircase1 and 
therewithal the incidental1 involuntary 
cry of terror1 was the invention of the 
actress3 and from that moment to the    
final exit she was the incarnation of   
abject fear4 ,the situation is one of   
the strongest that dramatic ingenuity   
has invented3 the actress invested it   
with a colouring of pathetic and awful  
truth4     ,,xxii4  ,,edward ,s4        
,,willard ,,in ,,the ,,middleman ,,and  
,,judah4   ,e4,s4 ,willard accomplished 
his first appearance upon the ,american 
stage 7at ,palmer's theatre1 ,november  
#aj1 #ahij71 in the powerful play of    
,the ,middleman1 by ,henry ,arthur      
,jones4 ,a representative audience      
welcomed the modest and gentle stranger 
and the greeting that hailed him was    
that of earnest respect4 ,willard had   
long been known and esteemed in ,new    

,york by the dramatic profession and by 
those persons who habitually observe the
 changeful aspects of the contemporary  
stage on both sides of the ocean2 but to
 the ,american public his name had been 
comparatively strange4 ,the sentiment of
 kindness with which he was received    
deepened into admiration as the night   
wore on1 and before the last curtain    
fell upon his performance of ,cyrus     
,blenkarn he had gained an unequivocal  
and auspicious victory4 ,in no case has 
the first appearance of a new actor been
 accompanied with a more brilliant      
exemplification of simple worth2 and in 
no case has its conquest of the public  
enthusiasm been more decisive4 ,not the 
least impressive feature of the night   
was the steadily increasing surprise of 
the audience as the performance         
proceeded4 ,it was the actor's way to   
build slowly1 and at the opening of the 
piece the poor inventor's blind         
ignorance of the calamity that is       
impending is chiefly trusted to create  

essential sympathy4 ,through those      
moments of approaching sorrow the sweet 
unconsciousness of the loving father was
 expressed by ,willard with touching    
truth4 ,in this he astonished even as   
much as he pleased his auditors2 for    
they were not expecting it4  ,one of the
 most exquisite enjoyments provided by  
the stage is the advent of a new actor  
who is not only new but good4 ,it is the
 pleasure of discovery4 ,it is the      
pleasure of contact with a rich mind    
hitherto unexplored4 ,the personal      
appearance1 the power of the eye1 the   
variety of the facial expression1 the   
tones of the voice1 the carriage of the 
person1 the salient attributes of the   
individual character1 the altitude of   
the intellectual development1 the       
quality of the spirit1 the extent and   
the nature of those artistic faculties  
and resources that constitute the       
professional equipment1--all those      
things become the subject first of      
interested inquiry and next of pleased  

recognition4 ,willard is neither of the 
stately1 the weird1 the mysterious1 nor 
the ferocious order of actor4 ,there is 
nothing in him of either ,werner1       
,manfred1 or ,sir ,giles ,overreach4 ,he
 belongs not to either the tradition of 
,john ,kemble or of ,edmund ,kean4 ,his 
personality1 nevertheless1 is of a      
distinctive and interesting kind4 ,he   
has the self-poise and the exalted calm 
of immense reserve power and of tender  
and tremulous sensibility perfectly     
controlled4 ,his acting is conspicuously
 marked by two of the loveliest         
attributes of art--simplicity and       
sincerity4 ,he conceals neither the face
 nor the heart4 ,his figure is fine and 
his demeanour is that of vigorous mental
 authority informed by moral purity and 
by the self-respect of a manly spirit4  
,goodness1 although a quality seldom    
taken into the critical estimate1       
nevertheless has its part in spiritual  
constitution and in consequent effect4  
,it was1 for instance1 an element of    

artistic potentiality in the late ,john 
,mc,cullough4 ,it operated              
spontaneously2 and just so it does in   
the acting of ,willard1 who1 first of   
all1 gives the satisfying impression of 
being genuine4 ,a direct and thorough   
method of expression naturally          
accompanies that order of mind and that 
quality of temperament4 ,every movement 
that ,willard makes upon the stage is   
clear1 free1 open1 firm1 and of an      
obvious significance4 ,every tone of his
 rich and resonant voice is distinctly  
intended and is distinctly heard4 ,there
 are no flaws and starts4 ,he has formed
 a precise ideal4 ,he knows exactly how 
to embody and to utter it1 and he makes 
the manifestation of it sharp1 defined1 
positive1 and cogent4 ,his meaning      
cannot be missed4 ,he has an unerring   
sense of proportion and symmetry4 ,the  
character that he represents is shown1  
indeed1 all at once1 as a unique        
identity2 but it is not all at once     
developed1 the manifestation of it being

 made gradually to proceed under the    
stress of experience and of emotion4 ,he
 rises with the occasion4 ,his feelings 
are deep1 and he is possessed of        
extraordinary power for the utterance of
 them--not simply vocal power1 although 
that1 in his case1 is exceptional1 but  
the rare faculty of becoming convulsed1 
inspired1 transfigured1 by passion1 and 
of being swept along by it1 and of      
sweeping along his hearers4 ,his manner 
covers1 without concealing1 great       
intensity4 ,this is such a combination  
of traits as must have existed--if the  
old records are read aright--in that    
fine and famous actor1 ,john ,henderson1
 and which certainly existed in the late
 ,benjamin ,webster4 ,it has1 however1  
always been rare upon the stage1 and1   
like all rare jewels1 it is precious4   
,the actor who1 from an habitual mood of
 sweet gravity and patient gentleness1  
can rise to the height of delirious     
passion1 and there sustain himself at a 
poise of tempestuous concentration which

 is the fulfilment of nature1 and never 
once seem either ludicrous or           
extravagant1 is an actor of splendid    
power and extraordinary self-discipline4
 ,such an actor is ,willard4 ,the blue  
eyes1 the slightly olive complexion1 the
 compact person1 the picturesque        
appearance1 the melodious voice1 the    
flexibility of natural action1 and the  
gradual and easy ascent from the calm   
level of domestic peace to the stormy   
summit of passionate ecstasy recall     
personal peculiarities and artistic     
methods long passed away4 ,the best days
 of ,edwin ,l4 ,davenport and the       
younger ,james ,wallack are brought to  
mind by them4  ,in the drama of ,the    
,middleman ,willard had to impersonate  
an inventor1 of the absorbed1           
enthusiastic1 self-regardless1 fanatical
 kind4 ,cyrus ,blenkarn is a potter4    
,his genius and his toil have enriched  
two persons named ,chandler1 father and 
son1 who own and conduct a porcelain    
factory in an ,english town of the      

present day4 ,blenkarn has two          
daughters1 and one of them is taken from
 him by the younger ,chandler4 ,the     
circumstances of that deprivation point 
at disgrace1 and the inventor conceives 
himself to have suffered an odious      
ignominy and irreparable wrong4 ,young  
,chandler has departed and so has ,mary 
,blenkarn1 and they are eventually to   
return as husband and wife2 but ,cyrus  
,blenkarn has been aroused from his     
reveries over the crucible and          
furnace1--wherein he is striving to     
discover a lost secret in the potter's  
art that will make him both rich and    
famous1--and he utters a prayer for     
vengeance upon these ,chandlers1 and he 
parts from them4 ,a time of destitution 
and of pitiful struggle with dire       
necessity1 sleepless grief1 and the     
maddening impulse of vengeance now comes
 upon him1 so that he is wasted almost  
to death4 ,he will not1 however1 abandon
 his quest for the secret of his art4   
,he may die of hunger and wretchedness2 

he will not yield4 ,at the last moment  
of his trial and his misery--alone--at  
night--in the alternate lurid blaze and 
murky gloom of his firing-house--success
 is conquered3 the secret is found4     
,this climax1 to which the preliminaries
 gradually and artfully lead1 affords a 
great opportunity to an actor2 and      
,willard greatly filled it4 ,the old    
inventor has been bowed down almost to  
despair4 ,grief and destitution1 the    
sight of his remaining daughter's       
poverty1 and the conflict of many       
feelings have made him a wreck4 ,but his
 will remains firm4 ,it is not1 however1
 until his last hope has been abandoned 
that his success suddenly comes--and the
 result of this is a delirium4 ,that    
situation1 one of the best in modern    
drama1 has been treated by the author in
 such a manner as to sustain for a long 
time the feeling of suspense and to put 
an enormous strain upon the emotion and 
the resources of an actor4 ,willard's   
presentment of the gaunt1 attenuated    

figure of ,cyrus ,blenkarn--hollow-eyed1
 half-frantic1 hysterical with grief and
 joy--was the complete incarnation of a 
dramatic frensy2 and this1 being        
sympathetic1 and moving to goodness and 
not to evil1 captured the heart4 ,it was
 a magnificent exhibition1 not alone of 
the physical force that sometimes is so 
essential in acting but of that fervour 
of the soul without which acting is a   
mockery4  ,the skill with which ,willard
 reserved his power1 so that the        
impersonation might gradually increase  
in strength1 was one of the best merits 
of his art4 ,blenkarn's prayer might    
readily be converted into the climax of 
the piece1 and it might readily be      
spoken in such a way that no effect     
would be left for the culmination in the
 furnace-room4 ,those errors were       
avoided1 and during three out of the    
four acts the movement of the piece was 
fluent1 continuous1 and cumulative4 ,in 
this respect both the drama and the     
performance were instructive4 ,henry    

,arthur ,jones has diversified his      
serious scenes with passages of sportive
 humour and he has freighted the piece  
with conventional didacticism as to the 
well-worn question of capital and       
labour4 ,the humour is good3 the        
political economy need not detain       
attention4 ,the value of the play does  
not reside in its teaching but in its   
dramatic presentation of strong         
character1 individual experience1 and   
significant story4 ,the effect produced 
by ,the ,middleman is that of moral     
elevation4 ,its auditor is touched and  
ennobled by a spectacle of stern trial1 
pitiable suffering1 and stoical         
endurance4 ,in the purpose that presides
 over human destiny--if one may accept  
the testimony equally of history and of 
fiction--it appears to be necessary     
first to create strong characters and   
then to break them2 and the manner in   
which they are broken usually involves  
the elements alike of dramatic effect   
and of pathos4 ,that singular fact in   

mortal experience may have been noticed 
by this author4 ,his drama is a forcible
 exposition of it4 ,the ,middleman was  
set upon ,palmer's stage in such a way  
as to strengthen the dramatic illusion  
by the fidelity of scenery4 ,the        
firing-house1 with its furnaces in      
operation1 was a copy of what may be    
seen at ,worcester4 ,the picture of     
,english life was excellent4  ,when     
,willard played the part of ,judah      
,llewellyn for the first time in        
,america 7,december #bi1 #ahij71 he     
gained from a sympathetic and judicious 
audience a verdict of emphatic          
admiration4 ,judah ,llewellyn is a good 
part in one of the most striking plays  
of the period--a play that tells an     
interesting and significant story by    
expressive1 felicitous1 and incessant   
action2 affects the feelings by         
situations that are vital with dramatic 
power2 inspires useful thought upon a   
theme of psychological importance2      
cheers the mind with a fresh breeze of  

satirical humour2 and delights the      
instinct of taste by its crisp and      
pungent style4 ,alike by his choice of a
 comparatively original subject and his 
deft method in the treatment of it      
,henry ,arthur ,jones has shown a fine  
dramatic instinct2 and equally in the   
evolution of character and the          
expression of experience and emotion he 
has wrought with feeling and vigour4    
,most of the plays that are written1 in 
any given period1 pass away with the    
period to which they appertain4 ,judah  
is one of the exceptions2 for its       
brilliantly treated theme is one of     
perennial interest1 and there seems     
reason to believe1 of a work so vital1  
that long after the present generation  
has vanished it still will keep its     
place in the theatre1 and sometimes be  
acted1 not as a quaint relic but as a   
living lesson4  ,that theme is the      
psychic force in human organism4 ,the   
author does not obtrude it2 does not    
play the pedant with it2 does not       

lecture upon it2 and above all does not 
bore with it4 ,he only uses it2 and he  
has been so true to his province as a   
dramatist and not an advocate that he   
never once assumes to decide upon any   
question of doctrine that may be        
involved in the assertion of it4 ,his   
heroine is a young woman who thinks     
herself to be possessed of a certain    
inherent restorative power of curing the
 sick4 ,this power is of psychic origin 
and it operates through the medium of   
personal influence4 ,this girl1 ,vashti 
,dethick1 has exerted her power with    
some success4 ,other persons1 having    
felt its good effect1 have admitted its 
existence4 ,the father of ,vashti1 an   
enterprising scamp1 has thereupon       
compelled the girl to trade upon her    
peculiar faculty2 little by little to   
assume miraculous powers2 and finally to
 pretend that her celestial talent is   
refreshed and strengthened by abstinence
 from food1 and that her cures are      
wrought only after she has fasted for   

many days4 ,he has thus converted her   
into an impostor2 yet1 as her heart is  
pure and her moral principle naturally  
sound1 she is ill at ease in this false 
position1 and her mental distress has   
suddenly become aggravated1 almost to   
the pitch of desperation1 by the arrival
 of love4 ,she has lost her heart to a  
young clergyman1 ,judah ,llewellyn1 the 
purity of whose spirit and the beauty of
 whose life are a bitter and burning    
rebuke to her enforced deceitfulness of 
conduct4 ,here is a woman innocently    
guilty1 suddenly aroused by love1 made  
sensitive and noble 7as that passion    
commonly makes those persons who really 
feel it71 and projected into a condition
 of aggrieved excitement4 ,in this      
posture of romantic and pathetic        
circumstances the crisis of two lives is
 suddenly precipitated in action4       
,judah ,llewellyn also is possessed of  
spiritual sensibility and psychic force4
 ,in boyhood a shepherd1 he has dwelt   
among the mountains of his native       

,wales1 and his imagination has heard   
the voices that are in rocks and trees1 
in the silence of lonely places1 in the 
desolation of the bleak hills1 and in   
the cold light of distant stars4 ,he is 
now a preacher1 infatuated with his     
mission1 inspired in his eloquence1     
invincible in his tremendous sincerity4 
,he sees ,vashti and he loves her4 ,it  
is the first thrill of mortal passion   
that ever has mingled with his devotion 
to his ,master's work4 ,the attraction  
between these creatures is human2 and   
yet it is more of heaven than of earth4 
,it is a tie of spiritual kindred that  
binds them4 ,they are beings of a       
different order from the common         
order--and1 as happens in such cases1   
they will be tried by exceptional       
troubles and passed through a fire of   
mortal anguish4 ,for what reason        
experience should take the direction of 
misery with fine natures in human life  
no philosopher has yet been able to     
ascertain2 but that it does take that   

direction all competent observation     
proves4 ,to ,vashti and ,judah the time 
speedily comes when their love is       
acknowledged1 upon both sides--the      
preacher speaking plainly2 the girl1    
conscious of turpitude1 shrinking from a
 spoken avowal which yet her whole      
personality proclaims4 ,yielding to her 
father's malign will she has consented  
to make one more manifestation of       
curative power1 to go through once      
more1--and for the last time1--the      
mockery of a pretended fast4 ,the scene 
is ,lord ,asgarby's house2 the patient  
is ,lord ,asgarby's daughter--an only   
child1 cursed with constitutional       
debility1 the foredoomed victim of      
premature decline4 ,this frail creature 
has heard of ,vashti and believes in    
her1 and desires and obtains her        
society4 ,to ,professor ,dethick this   
is1 in every sense1 a golden            
opportunity1 and he insists that the    
starvation test shall be thoroughly     
made4 ,lord ,asgarby1 willing to do     

anything for his idolised daughter1     
assents to the plan1 and his scientific 
friend1 cynical ,professor ,jopp1       
agrees1 with the assistance of his      
erudite daughter1 to supervise the      
experiment4 ,vashti will fast for       
several days1 and the heir of ,asgarby  
will then be healed by her purified and 
exalted influence4  ,the principal scene
 of the play shows the exterior of an   
ancient1 unused tower of ,asgarby       
,house1 in which ,vashti is detained    
during the fast4 ,the girl is supposed  
to be starving4 ,her scampish father    
will endeavour to relieve her4 ,miss    
,jopp is vigilant to prevent fraud4 ,the
 patient is confident4 ,judah1 wishful  
to be near to the object of his         
adoration1 has climbed the outer wall   
and is watching1 beneath the window1    
unseen1 in the warder's seat4 ,the time 
is summer1 the hour midnight1 and the   
irrevocable vow of love has been spoken4
 ,at that supreme instant1 and under    
conditions so natural that the picture  

seems one of actual life1 the sin of    
,vashti is revealed and the man who had 
adored her as an angel knows her for a  
cheat4 ,with a difference of            
circumstances that situation--in the    
fibre of it--is not new4 ,many a lover1 
male and female1 has learned that every 
idol has its flaw4 ,but the situation is
 new in its dramatic structure4 ,for    
,judah the discovery is a terrible one1 
and the resultant agony is convulsive   
and lamentable4 ,he takes1 however1 the 
only course he could be expected to     
take3 he must vindicate the integrity of
 the woman whom he loves1 and he commits
 the crime of perjury in order to shield
 her reputation from disgrace4  ,what   
will a man do for the woman whom he     
loves8 ,the attributes of individual    
character are always to be considered as
 forces likely to modify passion and to 
affect conduct4 ,but in general the     
answer to that question may be given in 
three words--anything and everything6   
,the history of nations1 as of          

individuals1 is never rightly read until
 it is read in the light of knowledge of
 the influence that has been exerted    
over them by women4 ,cleopatra1 in      
ancient ,egypt1 changed the history of  
,rome by the ruin of ,marc ,antony4     
,another heroine recently toppled       
,ireland down the fire-escape into the  
back-yard4 ,so goes the world4 ,in      
,judah1 however1 the crime that is done 
for love is pursued to its consequence  
of ever-accumulative suffering1 until at
 length1 when it has been expiated by   
remorse and repentance1 it is rectified 
by confession and obliterated by pardon4
 ,no play ever taught a lesson of truth 
with more cogent dramatic force4 ,the   
cynical1 humorous scenes are delightful4
  ,willard's representation of ,cyrus   
,blenkarn stamped him as one of the best
 actors of the age4 ,his representation 
of ,judah ,llewellyn deepened that      
impression and reinforced it with a     
conviction of marked versatility4 ,in   
his utterance of passion ,willard showed

 that he has advanced far beyond the    
,romeo stage4 ,the love that he         
expressed was that of a                 
man--intellectual1 spiritual1 noble1 a  
moral being and one essentially true4   
,man's love1 when it is real1 adores its
 object2 hallows it2 invests it with    
celestial attributes2 and beholds it as 
a part of heaven4 ,that quality of      
reverence was distinctly conveyed by the
 actor1 and therefore to observers who  
conceive passion to be delirious        
abandonment 7of which any animal is     
capable71 his ardour may have seemed dry
 and cold4 ,it was nevertheless true4   
,he made the tempestuous torrent of     
,judah's avowal the more overwhelming by
 his preliminary self-repression and his
 thoughtful gentleness of reserve2 for  
thus the hunger of desire was beautiful 
with devotion and tenderness2 and while 
the actor's feelings seemed borne away  
upon a whirling tide of irresistible    
impulse his exquisite art kept a perfect
 control of face1 voice1 person1        

demeanour1 and delivery1 and not once   
permitted a lapse into extravagance4    
,the character thus embodied will long  
be remembered as an image of dignity1   
sweetness1 moral enthusiasm1 passionate 
fervour1 and intellectual power2 but1   
also1 viewed as an effort in the art of 
acting1 it will be remembered as a type 
of consummate grace in the embodiment of
 a beautiful ideal clearly conceived4   
,the effect of spiritual suffering1 as  
conveyed in the pallid countenance and  
ravaged figure1 in the last act1 was    
that of noble pathos4 ,the delivery of  
all the speeches of the broken1         
humiliated1 haunted minister was deeply 
touching1 not alone in music of voice   
but in denotement of knowledge of human 
nature and human suffering and          
endurance4 ,the actor who can play such 
a part in such a manner is not an       
experimental artist4 ,rather let him be 
called--in the expressive words of one  
of his country's poets--      ,sacred   
historian of the heart     ,and moral   

nature's lord4     ,,xxiii4  ,,salvini  
,,as ,,king ,,saul ,,and ,,king ,,lear4 
,salvini was grander and finer in ,king 
,saul than in any other embodiment that 
he presented4 ,he seized the idea       
wholly1 and he executed it with affluent
 power4 ,he brought to the part every   
attribute necessary to its grandeur of  
form and its afflicting sympathy of     
spirit4 ,his towering physique          
presented1 with impressive accuracy1 the
 ,hebrew monarch1 chosen of ,god1 who   
was lifted a head and shoulders above   
the people4 ,his tremulous sensibility1 
his knowledge of suffering1 his skill in
 depicting it1 his great resources of   
voice1 his vigour and fineness of       
action1 his exceptional commingling of  
largeness and gentleness--all these     
attributes combined in that performance1
 to give magnificent reality to one of  
the most sublime conceptions in         
literature4 ,by his personation of ,saul
 ,salvini added a new and an immortal   
figure to the stage pantheon of kings   

and heroes4  ,alfieri's tragedy of ,saul
 was written in #aghb-hc1 when the      
haughty1 impetuous1 and passionate poet 
was thirty-four years old1 and at the   
suggestion of the ,countess of ,albany1 
whom he loved4 ,he had suffered a       
bereavement at the time1 and he was in  
deep grief4 ,the ,countess tried to     
console him by reading the ,bible1 and  
when they came upon the narrative of    
,saul the idea of the tragedy was struck
 out between them4 ,the work was written
 with vigorous impulse and the author   
has left1 in his autobiography1 the     
remark that none of his tragedies cost  
him so little labour4 ,saul is in five  
acts and it contains #aefg lines--of    
that ,italian versi sciolti which       
inadequately corresponds to the blank   
verse of the ,english language4 ,the    
scene is laid in the camp of ,saul's    
army4 ,six persons are introduced1      
namely1 ,saul1 ,jonathan1 ,david1       
,michel1 ,abner1 and ,achimelech4 ,the  
time supposed to be occupied by the     

action--or rather1 by the suffering--of 
the piece is a single day1 the last in  
the king's life4 ,act first is devoted  
to explanation1 conveyed in warnings to 
,david1 by ,jonathan1 his friend1 and   
,michel1 his wife4 ,act second presents 
the distracted monarch1 who knows that  
,god has forsaken him and that death is 
at hand4 ,in a speech of terrible       
intensity he relates to ,abner the story
 of the apparition of ,samuel and the   
doom that the ghost has spoken4 ,his    
children humour and soothe the broken   
old man1 and finally succeed in         
softening his mind toward ,david--whom  
he at once loves1 dreads1 and hates1 as 
the appointed instrument of his         
destruction and the successor to his    
crown4 ,act third shows ,david playing  
upon the harp before ,saul1 and chanting
 ,saul's deeds in the service and       
defence of ,israel--so that he calms the
 agonised delirium of the haunted king  
and wins his blessing2 but at last a    
boastful word makes discord in the      

music's charm1 and ,saul is suddenly    
roused into a ghastly fury4 ,acts fourth
 and fifth deal with the wild caprices  
and maddening agonies of the frenzied   
father2 the ever-varying phenomena of   
his mental disease2 the onslaught of the
 ,philistines2 the killing of his sons2 
the frequent recurrence1 before his     
mind's eye1 of the shade of the dead    
prophet2 and finally his suicidal death4
 ,it is1 in form1 a classical tragedy1  
massive1 grand1 and majestically simple2
 and it blazes from end to end with the 
fire of a sublime imagination4  ,ardent 
lovers of ,italian literature are fond  
of ranking ,saul with ,lear4 ,the claim 
is natural but it is not valid4 ,in     
,lear--not to speak of its profound     
revelations of universal human nature   
and its vast philosophy of human        
life--there is a tremendous scope of    
action1 through which mental condition  
and experience are dramatically         
revealed2 and there is the deepest deep 
of pathos1 because the highest height of

 afflicted goodness4 ,in ,saul there is 
simply--upon a limited canvas1 without  
adjuncts1 without the suggestion of     
resources1 without the relief of even   
mournful humour1 and with a narrative   
rather than a dramatic background--the  
portraiture of a condition2 and1 because
 the man displayed is neither so noble  
nor so human1 the pathos surcharging the
 work is neither so harrowing nor so    
tender4 ,yet the two works are akin in  
majesty of ideal1 in the terrible topic 
of mental disease that shatters a king1 
and in the atmosphere of desolation that
 trails after them like a funeral pall2 
and it is not a wonder that ,alfieri's  
,saul should be deemed the greatest     
tragedy ever originated in the ,italian 
language4 ,it attains a superb height1  
for it keeps an equal pace with the     
severe simplicity of the ,bible         
narrative on which it is founded4 ,it   
depicts the condition of an imaginative 
mind1 a stately and robust character1 an
 arrogant1 fiery spirit1 a kind heart1  

and a royal and regally poised nature1  
that have first been undermined by sin  
and the consciousness of sin1 and then  
crazed by contact with the spirit world 
and by a nameless dread of the impending
 anger of an offended ,god4 ,it would be
 difficult to conceive of a more        
distracting and piteous state4 ,awe and 
terror surround that august sufferer1   
and make him both holy and dreadful4 ,in
 his person and his condition1 as those 
are visible to the imaginative mind1 he 
combined elements that irresistibly     
impress and thrill4 ,he is of vast      
physical stature1 that time has not     
bent1 and of great beauty of face1 that 
griefs have ravaged but not destroyed4  
,he is a valiant and sanguinary warrior1
 and danger seems to radiate from his   
presence4 ,he is a magnanimous king and 
a loving father1 and he softens by      
generosity and wins by gentleness4 ,he  
is a maniac1 haunted by spectres and    
scourged with a whip of scorpions1 and  
his red-eyed fury makes all space a hell

 and shatters silence with the shrieks  
of the damned4 ,he is a human soul1     
burdened with the frightful             
consciousness of ,divine wrath and      
poised in torment on the precipice that 
overhangs the dark1 storm-beaten ocean  
of eternity4 ,his human weakness is     
frighted by ghastly visions and         
indefinite horrors1 against which his   
vain struggle only makes his forlorn    
feebleness more piteous and drear4 ,the 
gleams of calm that fall upon his       
tortured heart only light up an abyss of
 misery--a vault of darkness peopled by 
demons4 ,he is already cut off from     
among the living1 by the doom of        
inevitable fate1 and while we pity him  
we fear him4 ,his coming seems attended 
with monstrous shapes2 he diffuses      
dissonance2 his voice is a cry of       
anguish or a wail of desolation2 his    
existence is a tempest2 there can be no 
relief for him save death1 and the death
 that ends him comes like the blessing  
of tears to the scorched eyelids of     

consuming misery4 ,that is the ,saul of 
the ,bible and of ,alfieri's tragedy2   
and that is the ,saul whom ,salvini     
embodied4 ,it was a colossal monument of
 human suffering that the actor         
presented1 and no one could look upon it
 without being awed and chastened4      
,salvini's embodiment of ,king ,lear was
 a remarkable manifestation of physical 
resources and of professional skill4    
,the lofty stature1 the ample and       
resonant voice1 the copious animal      
excitement1 the fluent elocution and the
 vigorous1 picturesque1 and often       
melodramatic movements1 gestures1 and   
poses of ,salvini united to animate and 
embellish a personality such as would   
naturally absorb attention and diffuse  
excitement4 ,every artist1 however1     
moves within certain specific and       
positive limitations--spiritual1 mental1
 and physical4 ,no actor has proved     
equal to every kind of character4       
,salvini1 when he acted ,hamlet1 was    
unspiritual--giving no effect to the    

haunted tone of that part or to its     
weird surroundings2 and when he acted   
,macbeth he was unimaginative1 obscure1 
common1 and therefore inadequate4 ,the  
only ,shakespearean character that he   
excelled in is ,othello1 and even in    
that his ideal displayed neither the    
magnanimity nor the tenderness that are 
in ,shakespeare's conception4 ,the chief
 attributes of the ,moor that he        
interpreted were physical2 the loftiest 
heights that he reached were terror and 
distracted grief2 but he worked with a  
pictorial method and a magnetic vigour  
that enthralled the feelings even when  
they did not command the judgment4  ,his
 performance of ,king ,lear gave new    
evidence of his limitations4 ,during the
 first two acts he made the king a      
merely restless1 choleric1 disagreeable 
old man1 deficient in dignity1 destitute
 of grandeur1 and especially destitute  
of inherent personal fascination--of the
 suggestiveness of ever having been a   
great man4 ,lear is a ruin--but he has  

been a ,titan2 the delight of all hearts
 no less than the monarch of all minds4 
,the actor who does not invest him with 
that inherent1 overwhelming personal    
fascination does not attain to his      
altitude4 ,the cruel afflictions that   
occur in the tragedy do not of          
themselves signify3 the pity is only    
that they should occur to him4 ,that is 
the spring of all the pathos4 ,in       
,salvini's ,lear there were beautiful   
moments and magnificent bits of action4 
,i gave you all and ,i'm cold myself    
were exquisite points4 ,he missed       
altogether1 however1 the more subtle    
significance of the reminiscent         
reference to ,cordelia--as in ,no more  
of that1 ,i have noted it well--and he  
gave1 at the beginning1 no intimation of
 impending madness4 ,in fact he         
introduced no element of lunacy till he 
reached the lines about red-hot spits in
 ,edgar's first mad scene4  ,much of    
,salvini's mechanism in ,lear was crude4
 ,he put the king behind a table1 in the

 first scene--which had the effect of   
preparation for a lecture2 and it       
pleased him to speak the storm speech   
away back at the upper entrance1 with   
his body almost wholly concealed behind 
painted crags4 ,with all its moments of 
power and of tenderness the embodiment  
was neither royal1 lovable1 nor great4  
,it might be a good ,italian ,lear3 it  
was not the ,lear of ,shakespeare4      
,salvini was particularly out of the    
character in the curse scene and in the 
frantic parting from the two daughters1 
because there the quality of the man1   
behind the action1 seemed especially    
common4 ,the action1 though1 was        
theatrical and had its due effect4      
,,xxiv4  ,,henry ,,irving ,,as ,,eugene 
,,aram4   ,henry ,irving's impersonation
 of ,eugene ,aram--given in a vein that 
is distinctly unique--was one of strange
 and melancholy grace and also of weird 
poetical and pathetic power4  ,more than
 fifty years ago1 just after ,bulwer's  
novel on the subject of ,eugene ,aram   

was published1 that character first came
 upon the stage1 and its first          
introduction to the ,american theatre   
occurred at the ,bowery1 where it was   
represented by ,john ,r4 ,scott4 ,aram  
languished1 however1 as a dramatic      
person1 and soon disappeared4 ,he did   
not thrive in ,england1 neither1 till1  
in #ahgc1 ,henry ,irving1 who had       
achieved great success in ,the ,bells1  
prompted ,w4,g4 ,wills to effect his    
resuscitation in a new play1 and acted  
him in a new manner4 ,the part then     
found an actor who could play           
it1--investing psychological subtlety   
with tender human feeling and romantic  
grace1 and making an imaginary          
experience of suffering vital and       
heartrending in its awful reality4 ,the 
performance ranks with the best that    
,henry ,irving has given--with ,mathias1
 ,lesurques1 ,dubosc1 ,louis ,,xi41 and 
,hamlet2 those studies of the night-side
 of human nature in which his           
imagination and intellect and his sombre

 feeling have been revealed and best    
exemplified4  ,eugene ,aram was born at 
,ramsgill1 in ,nidderdale1 ,yorkshire1  
in #agjd4 ,his father1 ,peter ,aram1 was
 a man of good family but becoming      
reduced in circumstances he took service
 as a gardener on the estate of ,sir    
,edward ,blackett1 of ,newby ,hall4 ,in 
#agaj ,peter ,aram and his family were  
living at ,bondgate1 near ,ripon1 and   
there ,eugene went to school and learned
 to read the ,new ,testament4 ,at a     
considerably later period he was        
instructed1 during one month1 by the    
,rev4 ,mr4 ,alcock1 of ,burndall4 ,this 
was the extent of the tuition that he   
ever received from others4 ,for the rest
 he was self-taught4 ,he had a natural  
passion for knowledge and he displayed  
wonderful industry in its acquisition4  
,when sixteen years old he knew         
something of ,latin1 ,greek1 and        
,hebrew1 and later he made himself      
acquainted with ,chaldaic and ,arabic4  
,his occupation1 up to this time1 was   

that of assistant to his father1 the    
gardener2 but about #agbj he was        
employed in ,london as a clerk to a     
merchant1 ,mr4 ,christopher ,blackett1 a
 relative to his father's patron1 ,sir  
,edward4 ,he did not remain there long4 
,a serious illness prostrated him1 and  
on recovering he returned to            
,nidderdale1 with which romantic region 
his fate was to be forever associated4  
,he now became a tutor1 and not long    
after he was employed as such at a      
manor-house1 near ,ramsgill1 called     
,gowthwaite ,hall1 a residence built    
early in the seventeenth century by ,sir
 ,john ,yorke1 and long inhabited by his
 descendants4 ,while living there he met
 and courted ,anna ,spance1 the daughter
 of a farmer1 at the lonely village of  
,lofthouse1 and in #agca he married her4
 ,the ,middlesmoor registry contains the
 record of this marriage1 and of the    
baptism and death of their first child4 
,in #agcd ,eugene ,aram removed to      
,knaresborough1 where he kept a school4 

,he had1 all this while1 sedulously     
pursued his studies1 and he now was a   
scholar of extraordinary acquirements1  
not only in the languages but in botany1
 heraldry1 and many other branches of   
learning4 ,his life seemed fair and his 
future bright3 but a change was at hand4
 ,he had not resided long at            
,knaresborough before he became         
acquainted with three persons most      
unlike himself in every way4 ,these men 
were ,henry ,terry1 ,richard ,houseman1 
and ,daniel ,clarke4 ,houseman was a    
flax-dresser4 ,clarke was a travelling  
jeweller4 ,all of them were intemperate2
 and it is supposed that the beginning  
of ,eugene ,aram's downfall was the     
appetite for drink4 ,the confederacy    
that he formed with these men is not    
easily explicable1 and probably it never
 has been rightly explained4 ,the       
accepted statement is that it was a     
confederacy for fraud and theft4 ,clarke
 was reported to be the heir presumptive
 to a large fortune4 ,he purchased      

goods1 was punctual in his payments1 and
 established his credit4 ,he was        
supposed to be making purchases for a   
merchant in ,london4 ,he dealt largely  
in gold and silver plate and in watches1
 and soon he made a liberal use of his  
credit to accumulate valuable objects4  
,in #agdd he disappeared1 and he never  
was seen or heard of again4 ,his frauds 
became known1 and the houses of ,aram   
and ,houseman1 suspected as his         
associates1 were searched1 but nothing  
was found to implicate either of them4  
,soon after this event ,aram left       
,knaresborough--deserting his wife--and 
proceeded to ,london1 where for two     
years he had employment as a teacher of 
,latin4 ,he was subsequently an usher at
 the boarding school of the ,rev4       
,anthony ,hinton1 at ,hayes1 in         
,middlesex1 and there it was observed   
that he displayed an extraordinary and  
scrupulous tenderness and solicitude as 
to the life and safety of even worms and
 insects--which he would remove from the

 garden walks and put into places of    
security4 ,at a later period he found   
employment as a transcriber of acts of  
,parliament1 for registration in        
chancery4 ,still later he became an     
usher at the ,free ,school of ,lynn1 in 
,norfolk1 where1 among other labours1 he
 undertook to make a comparative        
lexicon1 and with this purpose collated 
over #cjjj words in ,english1 ,latin1   
,greek1 ,hebrew1 and ,celtic4 ,he had   
ample opportunity to leave ,england but 
he never did so4 ,at length1 in #agei1 a
 labourer who was digging for limestone1
 at a place known as ,st4 ,robert's     
,cave1 ,thistle ,hill1 near             
,knaresborough1 came upon a human       
skeleton1 bent double and buried in the 
earth4 ,suspicion was aroused4 ,these   
bones1 it was surmised1 might be those  
of ,daniel ,clarke4 ,his mysterious     
disappearance and his associates were   
remembered4 ,the authorities sent forth 
and arrested ,terry1 ,houseman1 and     
,eugene ,aram1 and those persons were   

brought to their trial at ,york4 ,a bold
 front would have saved them1 for the   
evidence against them was weak4 ,aram   
stood firm1 but ,houseman quailed1 and  
presently he turned state's evidence and
 denounced ,aram as the murderer of     
,clarke4 ,the accused scholar spoke in  
his own defence1 and with astonishing   
skill1 but he failed to defeat the      
direct and decisive evidence of his     
accomplice4 ,houseman declared that on  
the day of the murder ,clarke1 ,aram1   
and himself were in company1 and were   
occupied in disposing of the property   
which they had obtained2 that ,aram     
proposed to walk in the fields1 and that
 they proceeded1 thereupon1 at          
nightfall1 to the vicinity of ,st4      
,robert's ,cave4 ,clarke and ,aram1 he  
said1 went over the hedge and advanced  
toward the cave1 and ,aram struck       
,clarke several times upon the breast   
and head1 and so killed him4 ,it was a  
dark night1 and in the middle of winter1
 but the moon was shining through       

drifting clouds1 and ,houseman said he  
could see the movement of ,aram's hand  
but not the weapon that it held4 ,he was
 about twelve yards from the spot of the
 murder4 ,he testified that the body of 
,clarke was buried in the cave4 ,the    
presiding justice charged against the   
prisoner and ,eugene ,aram was convicted
 and condemned4 ,he subsequently1 it is 
said1 confessed the crime1 alleging to  
the clergyman by whom he was attended   
that his wife had been led into an      
intrigue by ,clarke1 and that this was  
the cause of the murder4 ,here1         
doubtless1 is the indication of the true
 nature of this tragedy4 ,aram1 prior to
 his execution1 was confined in ,york   
,castle1 where he wrote a poem of       
considerable length and some merit1 and 
also several shorter pieces of verse4   
,on the morning of his execution it was 
found that he had opened a vein in his  
arm1 with the intent to bleed to death1 
but the wound was staunched1 and he was 
taken to ,knaresborough and there       

hanged1 and afterward his body was hung 
in chains in ,knaresborough ,forest4    
,his death occurred on ,august #ac1     
#agei1 in the fifty-fifth year of his   
age4 ,on the night before his execution 
he wrote a rhythmical apostrophe to     
death3--      ,come1 pleasing rest6     
eternal slumber fall6     ,seal mine1   
that once must seal the eyes of all6    
,calm and composed my soul her journey  
takes2     ,no guilt that troubles and  
no heart that aches4  ,such is the story
 of ,eugene ,aram--a story that has     
furnished the basis of various fictions1
 notably of ,bulwer's famous novel1 and 
which inspired one of the best of the   
beautiful poems of ,thomas ,hood4 ,wills
 gathered hints from it1 here and there1
 in the making of his play2 but he      
boldly departed from its more hideous   
and repulsive incidents and from the    
theory of the main character that might 
perhaps be justified by its drift4 ,in  
the construction of the piece ,henry    
,irving made many material suggestions4 

,the treatment of the character of ,aram
 was devised by him1 and the management 
of the close of the second act denotes  
his felicity of invention4  ,the play   
opens in the rose-garden of a rural     
rectory in the sweet1 green valley of   
the shining ,nidd4 ,the time is         
twilight2 the season summer2 and here1  
in a haven of peace and love1 the       
repentant murderer has found a refuge4  
,many years have passed since the       
commission of his crime1 and all those  
years he has lived a good life1 devoted 
to study1 instruction1 and works of     
benevolence4 ,he has been a teacher of  
the young1 a helper of the poor1 and he 
has gained respect1 affection1 and      
honourable repute4 ,he is safe in the   
security of silence and in the calm     
self-poise of his adamantine will4 ,his 
awful secret sleeps in his bosom and is 
at rest forever4 ,he has suffered much  
and he still suffers2 yet1 lulled into a
 false security by the uneventful lapse 
of years and by that drifting1 desolate1

 apathetic recklessness which is sequent
 on the subsiding storm of passionate   
sorrow1 he has allowed himself to accept
 a woman's love and to love her in      
return1 and half to believe that his    
long misery has expiated his sin and    
that even for him there may be a little 
happiness yet possible on earth4 ,eugene
 ,aram1 the village school-master1 and  
,ruth ,meadows1 the vicar's daughter1   
are betrothed lovers2 and now1 on the   
eve of their wedding morning1 they stand
 together among the roses1 while the sun
 is going down and the sweet summer wind
 plays softly in the leaves1 and from   
the little gray church close by a solemn
 strain of music--the vesper            
hymn--floats out upon the stillness of  
the darkening day4 ,the woman is all    
happiness1 confidence1 and hope2 the    
man1 seared and blighted by conscious   
sin and subdued by long years of patient
 submission to the sense of his own     
unworthiness1 is all gentleness1        
solicitude1 reverence1 and sorrow4 ,at  

this supreme moment1 when now it seems  
that everything is surely well1 the one 
man in the world who knows ,eugene      
,aram's secret has become1 by seeming   
chance1 a guest in the vicarage2 and    
even while ,ruth places her hand upon   
her lover's heart and softly whispers1  
,if guilt were there1 it still should be
 my pillow1 the shadow of the gathering 
night that darkens around them is       
deepened by the blacker shadow of       
impending doom4 ,the first act of the   
play is simply a picture4 ,it involves  
no action4 ,it only introduces the      
several persons who are implicated in   
the experience to be displayed1 denotes 
their relationship to one another1 and  
reveals a condition of feeling and      
circumstance which is alike romantic1   
pathetic1 and perilous1 and which is    
soon to be shattered by the disclosure  
of a fatal secret4 ,the act is a        
preparation for a catastrophe4  ,in the 
second act the opposed characters clash3
 the movement begins1 and the           

catastrophe is precipitated4 ,the story 
opens at nightfall1 proceeds the same   
evening1 and ends at the dawn of the    
ensuing day4 ,the scene of act second is
 a room in the vicarage4 ,aram and      
,parson ,meadows are playing chess1 and 
,ruth is hovering about them and        
roguishly impeding their play4 ,the     
purpose accomplished here is the        
exhibition of domestic comfort and      
content1 and this is further emphasised 
by ,ruth's recital of a written tribute 
that ,aram's pupils have sent to him1 on
 the eve of his marriage4 ,wounded by   
this praise the conscience-stricken     
wretch breaks off abruptly from his     
pastime and rushes from the room--an act
 of desperate grief which is attributed 
to his modesty4 ,the parson soon        
follows1 and ,ruth is left alone4       
,houseman1 their casual guest1 having   
accepted the vicar's hospitable offer of
 a shelter for the night1 has now a talk
 with ,ruth1 and he is startled to hear 
the name of ,eugene ,aram1 and thus to  

know that he has found the man whose    
fatal secret he possesses1 and upon     
whose assumed dread of exposure his     
cupidity now purposes to feed4 ,in a    
coarsely jocular way this brutish       
creature provokes the indignant         
resentment of ,ruth1 by insinuations as 
to her betrothed lover's past life2 and 
when1 a little later1 ,ruth and ,aram   
again meet1 she wooingly begs him to    
tell her of any secret trouble that may 
be weighing upon his mind4 ,at this     
moment ,houseman comes upon them1 and   
utters ,aram's name4 ,from that point to
 the end of the act there is a sustained
 and sinewy exposition1 strong in spirit
 and thrilling in suspense1--of keen    
intellect and resolute will standing at 
bay and making their last battle for    
life1 against the overwhelming odds of  
heaven's appointed doom4 ,aram defies   
,houseman and is denounced by him2 but  
the ready adroitness and iron composure 
of the suffering wretch still give him  
supremacy over his foe--till1 suddenly1 

the discovery is announced of the bones 
of ,daniel ,clarke in ,st4 ,robert's    
,cave1 and the vicar commands ,aram and 
,houseman to join him in their          
inspection4 ,here the murderer suffers a
 collapse4 ,there has been a greater    
strain than even he can bear2 and1 left 
alone upon the scene1 he stands         
petrified with horror1 seeming1 in an   
ecstasy of nameless fear1 to look upon  
the spectre of his victim4 ,henry       
,irving's management of the apparition  
effect was such as is possible only to a
 man of genius1 and such as words may   
record but never can describe4  ,the    
third act passes in the churchyard4     
,aram has fled from the sight of the    
skeleton1 and has fallen among the      
graves4 ,it is almost morning4 ,the     
ghastly place is silent and dark4 ,the  
spirit of the murderer is broken1 and   
his enfeebled body1 long since          
undermined by the grief of remorse and  
now chilled by the night dews1 is in the
 throes of death4 ,the incidents of the 

closing scene are simple1 but they are  
heart-breaking in their pathos and awful
 in their desolation4 ,the fugitive     
,houseman finds ,aram here1 and spurns  
him as a whimpering lunatic4 ,then1 in  
this midnight hour and this appalling   
place1 alone in the presence of ,god1   
the murderer lifts his hands toward     
heaven1 confesses his crime1 and falls  
at the foot of the cross4 ,here ,ruth   
finds him1 and to her1 with dying lips1 
he tells the story of the murder and of 
all that he has since endured4 ,and just
 as his voice falters into silence and  
his heart ceases to beat1 the diamond   
light of morning gleams in the eastern  
sky and the glad music of an anthem     
floats softly from the neighbouring     
church4 ,upon that beautifully          
significant picture the final curtain   
fell4  ,wills's literary framework for  
the display of character and experience 
is scarcely to be considered a perfect  
play4 ,it begins by assuming on the part
 of its auditor a knowledge of the      

mystery upon which it is based4 ,such a 
knowledge the auditor ought certainly to
 have1 but in presence of an exact drama
 he derives it from what he sees and not
 from remembrance of what he has read4  
,the piece is1 perhaps1 somewhat        
irrational in making ,aram a resident1  
under his own name1 of the actual       
neighbourhood of his crime4 ,it lowers  
the assumed nobility of his character1  
furthermore1 by making this remorseful  
and constantly apprehensive murderer    
willing to yoke a sweet1 innocent1 and  
idolised woman to misery and shame by   
making her his wife4 ,and it mars its   
most pathetic scene--the awful scene of 
the midnight confession in the          
churchyard--by making ,eugene ,aram     
declare1 to the woman of his love1 the  
one human being who comforts and        
sustains him on the brink of eternity1  
that he has loved another woman for     
whose sake he did the murder4 ,since the
 whole story was to be treated in a     
fanciful manner1 a still wider license  

in the play of fancy would1 perhaps1    
have had a more entirely gracious and   
satisfying effect4 ,the language is     
partly blank verse and partly prose2    
and1 while its tissue is rightly and    
skilfully diversified by judicious      
allowance for the effect of each        
character upon the garment of individual
 diction1 and while its strain1 here and
 there1 rises to eloquence of feeling   
and beauty of imagery1 there is a       
certain lack of firmness in its verbal  
fibre4 ,the confession speech that has  
to be spoken by ,aram comprises upward  
of ninety lines--and that is a severe   
and perilous strain upon an actor's     
power of holding the public interest4   
,the beauties of the play1 however1 are 
many and strong4 ,its crowning          
excellence is that it gives dramatic    
permanence to a strangely interesting   
character4  ,the knowledge of human     
nature that ,henry ,irving revealed in  
this part and the manner in which he    
revealed it were nothing less than      

wonderful4 ,the moment he walked upon   
the scene you saw the blighted figure of
 a man who has endured1 and is enduring1
 spiritual torment4 ,the whole          
personality was suffused with a mournful
 strangeness4 ,the man was isolated and 
alone4 ,it was a purely ideal view of   
the character that the actor denoted2   
for he made ,eugene ,aram a noble1      
tender1 gentle person1 whom ungovernable
 passion1 under circumstances of        
overwhelming provocation1 had once      
impelled to an act of half-justifiable  
homicide1 and who had for years been    
slowly dying with remorse4 ,he touched  
no chord of terror1 but only the chord  
of pity4 ,like his portrayal of         
,mathias1 the picture showed the        
reactionary effect of hidden sin in the 
human soul2 but the personality of the  
sufferer was entirely different4 ,each  
of those men has had experience of crime
 and of resultant misery1 but no two    
embodiments could possibly be more      
dissimilar1 alike in spiritual quality  

and in circumstances4 ,mathias is       
dominated by paternal love and          
characterised by a half-defiant1        
ever-vigilant1 and often                
self-approbative pride of intellect1 in 
being able to guard and keep a terrible 
and dangerous secret4 ,eugene ,aram is  
dominated by a saint-like tenderness    
toward a sweet woman who loves him1 and 
characterised by a profound1 fitful     
melancholy1 now humble and submissive1  
now actively apprehensive and almost    
frenzied4 ,only once does he stand at   
bay and front his destiny with a        
defiance of desperate will2 and even    
then it is for the woman's sake rather  
than for his own4 ,henry ,irving's      
acting made clear and beautiful that    
condition of temperament4 ,a noble and  
affectionate nature1 shipwrecked1 going 
to pieces1 doomed1 but making one last  
tremendous though futile effort to avert
 the final and inevitable ruin--this    
ideal was made actual in his            
performance4 ,the intellectual or       

spiritual value of such a presentment   
must depend upon the auditor's capacity 
to absorb from a tragedy its lessons of 
insight into the relations of the human 
soul to the moral government of the     
world4 ,many spectators would find it   
merely morbid and gloomy2 others would  
find it superlatively illuminative and  
eloquent4 ,its artistic value the actor 
himself made evident to every           
comprehension4 ,there is a moment of the
 performance when the originally massive
 and passionate character of ,eugene    
,aram is suddenly asserted above his    
meekness1 contrition1 and sorrow2 when1 
at the sound of his enemy's voice1 he   
first becomes petrified with the sense  
of peril1 and then calmly gathers all   
his powers to meet and conquer the      
danger4 ,the splendid concentration1 the
 perfect poise1 the sustained intensity1
 the copious and amazing variety and    
force of emotion1 and the positive1     
unerring1 and brilliant art with which  
,henry ,irving met that emergency and   

displayed that frightful and piteous    
aspect of assailed humanity1 desperate  
and fighting for life1 made up such an  
image of genius as seldom is seen and   
never will be forgotten4 ,rapid         
transition has ever been one of the     
commonest and most effective expedients 
used in histrionic art4 ,this1 on the   
contrary1 was an example of sustained1  
prolonged1 cumulative1 artistic         
expression of the most harrowing and    
awful emotions with which the human soul
 can be convulsed2 and it was a wonder  
of consummate acting4 ,the same         
thoroughness of identification and the  
same astonishing adequacy of feeling    
pervaded the scene in the churchyard4   
,at first1 in the dusky starlight1 only 
a shapeless figure1 covered with a black
 cloak1 was seen among the gravestones1 
crouched upon a tomb2 but the man that  
rose1 as if out of the grave1 pallid1   
emaciated1 ghastly1 the spectre of      
himself1 was the authentic image of     
majestic despair1 not less sublime than 

pitiable1 and fraught with a power that 
happiness could never attain4 ,not in   
our time upon the stage has such a      
lesson been taught1 with such           
overwhelming pathos1 of the utter       
helplessness of even the strongest human
 will1 when once the soul has been      
vitiated by sin and the eternal law of  
right defied by mortal passion4 ,in the 
supplication to his astonished          
accomplice the actor seemed like one    
transfigured1 and there the haunted     
effect was extremely awful4     ,,xxv4  
,,charles ,,fisher4   ,in old times     
,charles ,fisher often figured in the   
old comedies1 and he was one of the last
 of the thin and rapidly lessening group
 of actors capable of presenting those  
pieces--wherein1 although the substance 
be human nature1 the manner is that of  
elaborate and diversified artifice4     
,when he played ,lieutenant             
,worthington1 in ,the ,poor ,gentleman1 
he was a gentleman indeed--refined1     
delicate1 sensitive1 simply courageous1 

sustained by native integrity1 and      
impressive with a dignity of manner that
 reflected the essential nobility of his
 mind2 so that when he mistook ,sir     
,robert ,bramble for a bailiff1 and     
roused that benevolent baronet's        
astonishment and rage1 he brought forth 
all the comic humour of a delightful    
situation with the greatest ease and    
nature4 ,he played ,littleton ,coke1    
,sir ,harcourt ,courtly1 old            
,laroque--in which he gave a wonderful  
picture of the working of remorse in the
 frail and failing brain of age--and    
,nicholas ,rue1 in ,secrets worth       
,knowing1 a sinister and thrilling      
embodiment of avarice and dotage4 ,he   
played ,dr4 ,bland1 the elegant medical 
cynic of ,nos ,intimes2 ,de la ,tour1   
the formidable1 jealous husband of      
,henriette1 in ,le ,patte de ,mouche2   
,horace1 in ,the ,country ,squire2      
,goldfinch1 in which he was airy1       
sagacious1 dashing1 and superb1 in ,the 
,road to ,ruin2 and ,captain ,cozzens1  

the nonchalant rascal of ,the ,knights  
of the ,round ,table1 which he embodied 
in a style of easy magnificence1 gay1   
gallant1 courageous1 alert1             
imperturbable1 and immensely comic4 ,he 
was the original ,matthew ,leigh in     
,lester ,wallack's romantic play of     
,rosedale 7#ahfc74 ,he acted ,joseph    
,surface in the days when ,lester       
,wallack used to play ,charles1 and he  
always held his own in that superior    
part4 ,he was equally fine in ,sir      
,peter and ,sir ,oliver4 ,when the good 
old play of ,the ,wife's ,secret was    
revived in ,new ,york1 in #ahfd1 he gave
 a dignified and impetuous performance  
of ,sir ,walter ,amyott4 ,i remember him
 in those parts1 with equal wonder at   
his comprehensive variety of talent and 
admiration for his always adequate      
skill4 ,i saw him as the volatile       
,ferment1 in ,the ,school of ,reform1   
and nothing could be more comic than his
 unwitting abuse of ,general ,tarragon1 
in that blustering officer's presence1  

or his equally ludicrous scene of cross 
purposes with ,bob ,tyke4 ,he was a     
perfect type1 as ,don ,manuel ,velasco1 
in ,the ,compact1 of the gallant1       
stately ,spanish aristocrat4 ,he        
excelled competition when1 in a company 
that included ,george ,holland1 ,w4     
,holston1 ,a4,w4 ,young1 ,mark ,smith1  
,frederick ,c4,p4 ,robinson1 and ,john  
,gilbert1 he enacted the convict in     
,never ,too ,late to ,mend4 ,he was     
equally at home whether as the ,king in 
,don ,csar de ,bazan or as ,tom ,stylus 
the literary hack1 in ,society4 ,he     
passed easily from the correct and      
sentimental ,sir ,thomas ,clifford1 of  
,the ,hunchback1 to the frivolous ,mr4  
,willowear1 of ,to ,marry or ,not to    
,marry4 ,no one could better express    
than he did1 when playing ,wellborn1    
both pride of birth and pride of        
character4 ,one of his most             
characteristic works was ,hyssop1 in    
,the ,rent ,day4 ,his scope and the rich
 resources of his experience are denoted

 in those citations4 ,it is no common   
artist who can create and sustain a     
perfect illusion1 and please an audience
 equally well1 whether in such a part as
 ,gilbert ,featherstone1 the villain1 in
 ,lost in ,london1 or old ,baptista1 in 
,the ,taming of the ,shrew4 ,the        
playgoer who never saw ,charles ,fisher 
as ,triplet can scarcely claim that he  
ever saw the part at all4 ,the quaint   
figure1 the well-saved but threadbare   
dress1 the forlorn air of poverty and   
suffering commingled with a certain     
jauntiness and pluck1 the profound      
feeling1 the unconscious sweetness and  
humour1 the spirit of mind1 gentility1  
and refinement struggling through the   
confirmed wretchedness of the almost    
heart-broken hack--who that ever laughed
 and wept at sight of him in the garret 
scene1 sitting down1 all joy and        
hilarity1 to write his comedy1 can ever 
forget those details of a true and      
touching embodiment8 ,his fine skill in 
playing the violin was touchingly       

displayed in that part1 and gave it an  
additional tone of reality4 ,i once saw 
him acting ,mercutio1 and very admirable
 he was in the guise of that noble1     
brave1 frolicsome1 impetuous young      
gentleman4 ,the intense vitality1 the   
glancing glee1 the intrepid spirit--all 
were preserved2 and the brilliant text  
was spoken with faultless fluency4 ,it  
is difficult to realise that the same   
actor who set before us that perfect    
image of comic perplexity1 the bland and
 benevolent ,dean1 in ,dandy ,dick1     
could ever have been the bantering      
companion of ,romeo and truculent       
adversary of fiery ,tybalt4 ,yet this   
contrast but faintly indicates the      
versatile character of his mind4 ,fisher
 was upon the ,american stage for       
thirty-eight years1 from ,august #cj1   
#aheb1 when he came forth at ,burton's  
theatre as ,ferment4 ,later he went to  
,wallack's1 and in #ahgb he joined      
,daly's company1 in which he remained   
till #ahij4 ,it may be conjectured that 

in some respects he resembled that fine 
comedian ,thomas ,dogget1 to whom ,sir  
,godfrey ,kneller1 the painter1 said1 ,i
 can only copy ,nature from the         
originals before me1 while you vary them
 at pleasure and yet preserve the       
likeness4 ,like ,dogget he played1 in a 
vein of rich1 hearty1 jocose humour1 and
 with great breadth of effect and       
excellent colour1 the sailor ,ben1 in   
,love for ,love4 ,the resemblance was in
 mental characteristics1 not            
physique--for ,dogget was a slight and  
sprightly man1 whereas ,fisher could    
represent majesty as well as frolic4    
,after he went to ,daly's theatre he    
manifested a surprising range of        
faculty4 ,he first appeared there on    
,october #bh1 #ahgb1 as ,mr4 ,dornton1  
in ,the ,road to ,ruin1 and on ,november
 #ai1 following1 he acted ,falstaff for 
the first time4 ,he presented there the 
other ,shakespearean parts of ,leonatus1
 ,armado1 and ,malvolio--the last of    
these being a model of fidelity to the  

poet1 and now a classic in reputation4  
,he also assumed ,adam and ,jaques4 ,he 
presented the living image of           
,shakespeare himself1 in ,yorick1 and   
his large1 broad1 stately style gave    
weight to ,don ,manuel1 in ,she ,would  
and ,she ,wouldn't2 to that apt type of 
the refined ,british aristocrat1 ,sir   
,geoffrey ,champneys1 in ,our ,boys2 and
 to many a noble father or benevolent   
uncle of the adapted ,french society    
drama4 ,just as ,dogget was supreme in  
such parts as ,fondlewife1 so was       
,fisher superb in the uxorious husband  
whom the demure child-wife bamboozles1  
in the comedies of ,molire4 ,no man has 
ever better depicted than he did a sweet
 nature shocked by calamity and bowed   
down with grief1 or1 as in ,joe         
,chirrup1 in ,elfie1 manliness chastened
 by affliction and ennobled by true     
love3 yet his impersonation of ,fagin   
was only second to that of ,j4,w4       
,wallack1 ,jr42 his ,moody1 in ,the     
,country ,girl1 was almost tragic in its

 grim and grizzled wretchedness and     
snarling wrath2 and ,i have seen him    
assume to perfection the gaunt figure   
and crazy mood of ,noah ,learoyd1 in    
,the ,long ,strike1 and make that       
personality a terrible embodiment of    
menace4 ,from the time he first acted   
the comic ,major ,vavasour1 in ,henry   
,dunbar1 no actor of equal quaintness   
has trod our stage4 ,he died on ,june   
#aa1 #ahia1 and was buried at ,woodlawn4
     ,,xxvi4  ,,mrs4 ,g4,h4 ,,gilbert4  
,students of the ,english stage find in 
books on that subject abundant          
information about the tragedy queens of 
the early drama1 and much likewise1     
though naturally somewhat less 7because 
comedy is more difficult to discuss than
 tragedy71 about the comedy queens4     
,mrs4 ,cibber still discomfits the      
melting ,mrs4 ,porter by a tenderness   
even greater than the best of           
,belvideras could dispense4 ,mrs4       
,bracegirdle and ,mrs4 ,oldfield still  
stand confronted on the historic page1  

and still their battle continues year   
after year4 ,all readers know the sleepy
 voice and horrid sigh of ,mrs4         
,pritchard in ,lady ,macbeth's awful    
scene of haunted somnambulism2 the      
unexampled and unexcelled grandeur of   
,mrs4 ,yates in ,medea2 the infinite    
pathos of ,mrs4 ,dancer 7she that became
 in succession ,mrs4 ,spranger ,barry   
and ,mrs4 ,crawford7 and her memorable  
scream1 as ,lady ,randolph1 at ,was he  
alive82 the comparative discomfiture of 
both those ladies by ,mrs4 ,siddons1    
with her wonderful1 wailing cry1 as     
,isabella1 ,o1 my ,biron1 my ,biron1 her
 overwhelming ,lady ,macbeth and her    
imperial ,queen ,katharine4 ,the        
brilliant story of ,peg ,woffington and 
the sad fate of ,mrs4 ,robinson1 the    
triumphant career of ,mrs4 ,abington and
 the melancholy collapse of ,mrs4       
,jordan--all those things1 and many     
more1 are duly set down in the          
chronicles4 ,but the books are          
comparatively silent about the ,old     

,women of the stage--an artistic line no
 less delightful than useful1 of which  
,mrs4 ,g4,h4 ,gilbert is a sterling and 
brilliant representative4 ,mrs4         
,jefferson1 the great-grandmother of the
 comedian ,joseph ,jefferson1 who died  
of laughter1 on the stage 7#agff-fh71   
might fitly be mentioned as the dramatic
 ancestor of such actresses as ,mrs4    
,gilbert4 ,she was a woman of great     
loveliness of character and of great    
talent for the portrayal of old women1  
and likewise of certain old men in      
comedy4 ,she had1 says ,tate ,wilkinson1
 one of the best dispositions that ever 
harboured in a human breast2 and he adds
 that she was one of the most elegant   
women ever beheld4 ,mrs4 ,gilbert has   
always suggested that image of grace1   
goodness1 and piquant ability4 ,mrs4    
,vernon was the best in this line until 
,mrs4 ,gilbert came2 and the period     
which has seen ,mrs4 ,judah1 ,mrs4      
,vincent1 ,mrs4 ,germon1 ,mary ,carr1   
,mrs4 ,chippendale1 ,mrs4 ,stirling1    

,mrs4 ,billington1 ,mrs4 ,drew1 ,mrs4   
,phillips1 and ,madam ,ponisi1 has seen 
no superior to ,mrs4 ,gilbert in her    
special walk4 ,she was in youth a       
beautiful dancer1 and all her motions   
have spontaneous ease and grace4 ,she   
can assume the fine lady1 without for an
 instant suggesting the parvenu4 ,she is
 equally good1 whether as the formal and
 severe matron of starched domestic     
life1 or the genial dame of the pantry4 
,she could play ,temperance in ,the     
,country ,squire1 and equally she could 
play ,mrs4 ,jellaby4 ,all varieties of  
the eccentricity of elderly women1      
whether serious or comic1 are easily    
within her grasp4 ,betsy ,trotwood1     
embodied by her1 becomes a living       
reality2 while on the other hand she    
suffused with a sinister horror her     
stealthy1 gliding1 uncanny personation  
of the dumb1 half-insane ,hester        
,dethridge4 ,that was the first great   
success that ,mrs4 ,gilbert gained1     
under ,augustin ,daly's management4 ,she

 has been associated with ,daly's       
company since his opening night as a    
manager1 ,august #af1 #ahfi1 when1 at   
the ,fifth ,avenue theatre1 then in     
,twenty-fourth ,street1 she took part in
 ,robertson's comedy of ,play4 ,the     
first time ,i ever saw her she was      
acting the ,marquise de ,st4 ,maur1 in  
,caste1 on the night of its first       
production in ,america1 ,august #e1     
#ahfg1 at the ,broadway theatre1 the    
house near the southwest corner of      
,broadway and ,broome ,street1 that had 
been ,wallack's but now was managed by  
,barney ,williams4 ,the assumption of   
that character1 perfect in every        
particular1 was instinct with pure      
aristocracy2 but while brilliant with   
serious ability it gave not the least   
hint of those rich resources of humour  
that since have diffused so much        
innocent pleasure4 ,most of her         
successes have been gained as the       
formidable lady who typifies in comedy  
the domestic proprieties and the        

,nemesis of respectability4 ,it was her 
refined and severely correct demeanour  
that gave soul and wings to the wild fun
 of ,a ,night ,off4 ,from ,miss ,garth  
to ,mrs4 ,laburnum is a far stretch of  
imitative talent for the interpretation 
of the woman nature that everybody1 from
 ,shakespeare down1 has found it so     
difficult to treat4 ,this actress has   
never failed to impress the spectator by
 her clear-cut1 brilliant identification
 with every type of character that she  
has assumed2 and1 back of this1 she has 
denoted a kind heart and a sweet and    
gentle yet never insipid                
temperament--the condition of goodness1 
sympathy1 graciousness1 and cheer that  
is the flower of a fine nature and a    
good life4 ,scenes in which ,mrs4       
,gilbert and ,charles ,fisher or ,james 
,lewis have participated1 as old married
 people1 on ,daly's stage1 will long be 
remembered for their intrinsic          
beauty--suggestive of the touching      
lines3      ,and when with envy ,time1  

transported1       ,shall think to rob  
us of our joys1     ,you'll in your     
girls again be courted1       ,and ,i'll
 go wooing with my boys4     ,,xxvii4   
,,james ,,lewis4   ,a prominent         
representative type of character is the 
humorous man1 and that is ,shakespeare's
 phrase to describe him4 ,wit is a      
faculty2 humour an attribute4 ,joseph   
,addison1 ,laurence ,sterne1 ,washington
 ,irving--whatever else they might have 
been they were humourists4 ,sir ,roger  
de ,coverley1 ,tristram ,shandy1 ,uncle 
,toby1 ,diedrich ,knickerbocker1        
,ichabod ,crane--these and other        
creations of their genius stand forth   
upon their pages to exemplify that      
aspect of their minds4 ,but the         
humourist of the pen may1 personally1 be
 no humourist at all4 ,addison's        
character was austere4 ,irving1 though  
sometimes gently playful1 was           
essentially grave and decorous4         
,comical quality in the humorous man    
whom nature destines for the stage must 

be personal4 ,his coming brings with it 
a sense of comfort4 ,his presence warms 
the heart and cheers the mind4 ,the     
sound of his voice1 speaking oft1 before
 he emerges upon the scene1 will set the
 theatre in a roar4 ,this was notably   
true of ,burton and of ,william ,warren4
 ,the glance1 motion1 carriage1 manner1 
and the pause and stillness of such a   
man1 instil merriment4 ,cibber says that
 ,robert ,nokes had a palpable          
simplicity of nature which was often as 
unaccountably diverting in his common   
speech as on the stage1 ,john ,e4       
,owens1 describing the conduct of a big 
bee in an empty molasses barrel1 once   
threw a circle of his hearers1 of whom  
,i was one1 almost into convulsions of  
laughter4 ,artemas ,ward made people    
laugh the moment they beheld him1 by his
 wooden composure and indescribable     
sapience of demeanour4 ,the lamented    
,daniel ,e4 ,setchell1 a comedian who   
would have been as famous as he was     
funny had he but lived longer1 presented

 a delightful example of spontaneous    
humour4 ,it is ludicrous to recall the  
simple gravity1 not demure but perfectly
 solemn1 with which1 on the deck of a   
,hudson ,river steamboat1 as we were    
passing ,west ,point1 he indicated to me
 the ,kosciuszko monument1 saying       
briefly1 ,that's the place where        
,freedom shrieked4 ,it was the quality  
of his temperament that made his        
playfulness delicious4 ,setchell was the
 mental descendant of ,burton1 as       
,burton was of ,reeve and as ,reeve was 
of ,liston4 ,actors illustrate a kind of
 heredity4 ,each species is distinct and
 discernible4 ,lester ,wallack          
maintained the lineage of ,charles      
,kemble1 ,william ,lewis1 ,elliston1 and
 ,mountfort--a line in which ,john ,drew
 has gained auspicious distinction4     
,john ,gilbert's artistic ancestry could
 be traced back through ,farren and     
,munden to ,king and ,quin1 and perhaps 
still further1 to ,lowin and ,kempe4    
,the comedian intrinsically comical1    

while in his characteristic quality     
eccentric and dry1 has been exemplified 
by ,fawcett1 ,blisset1 ,finn1 and       
,barnes1 and is conspicuously presented 
by ,james ,lewis4 ,no one ever saw him  
without laughter--and it is kindly      
laughter1 with a warm heart behind it4  
,the moment he comes upon the stage an  
eager gladness diffuses itself          
throughout the house4 ,his refined      
quaintness and unconscious drollery     
capture all hearts4 ,his whimsical      
individuality never varies2 yet every   
character of the many that he has       
portrayed stands clearly forth among its
 companions1 a distinct1 unique         
embodiment4 ,the graceful urbanity1 the 
elaborate yet natural manner1 the brisk 
vitality1 the humorous sapience of ,sir 
,patrick ,lundy--how completely and     
admirably he expressed them6 ,how       
distinct that fine old figure is in the 
remembrance of all who saw it6 ,but he  
has never played a part that he did not 
make equally distinct4 ,a painter might 

fill a gallery with odd1 characteristic 
creations by merely copying his         
compositions of make-up4 ,the amiable   
professor in ,a ,night ,off1 the senile 
,gunnion in ,the ,squire1 ,lissardo in  
,the ,wonder1 ,grumio in ,the           
,shrew--those and many more he has made 
his own2 while in the actor's province  
of making comic characters really       
comical to others there is no artist who
 better fulfils the sagacious1          
comprehensive injunction of ,munden     
7imparted to a youthful actor who spoke 
of being natural in order to amuse71    
,nature be d----d6 ,make the people     
laugh6 ,that1 aside from all subtleties1
 is not a bad test of the comic faculty1
 and that test has been met and borne by
 the acting of ,james ,lewis4           
,,xxviii4  ,a ,,leaf ,,from ,,my        
,,journal4   ,november #bc1 #ahfg4      
,thirty years hereafter many who are now
 active and honoured in dramatic life   
will be at rest--their work concluded1  
their achievements a fading tradition4  

,but they will not be wholly forgotten4 
,the same talisman of memory that has   
preserved to our time the names and the 
deeds of the actors of old will preserve
 to future times the names and the deeds
 that are distinguished now in the mimic
 world of the stage4 ,legend1 speaking  
in the voice of the veteran devotee of  
the drama1 will say1 for example1 that  
of all the actors of this period there  
was no light comedian comparable with   
,lester ,wallack2 that he could         
thoroughly identify himself with        
character1--though it did not always    
please him to do so2 that his acting was
 so imaginative and so earnest as to    
make reality of the most gossamer       
fiction2 and that his vivacity--the     
essential element and the crown of      
comedy-acting--was like the dew on the  
opening rose4 ,and therewithal the      
veteran may quaff his glass to the      
memory of another member of the ,wallack
 family1 and speak of ,james ,wallack as
 ,cassius1 and ,fagin1 and the          

,man-in-the-,iron-,mask1 and the ,king  
of the ,commons1 and may say1 with      
truth1 that a more winning embodiment of
 bluff manliness and humour was never   
known to our stage than the versatile   
actor who made himself foremost in those
 characters4 ,it will be impossible to  
remember him without recalling his      
intimate professional associate1 ,edwin 
,l4 ,davenport4 ,he was the only ,brutus
 of his time1 our old friend will say1  
and in his prime the best ,macbeth on   
the ,american stage2 and he could play  
almost any part in the drama1 from the  
loftiest tragedy to mere trash2 and he  
was an admirable artist in all that he  
did4 ,there will be plenty of evidence  
to fortify that statement2 and if the   
veteran shall also say that ,wallack's  
company contained1 at the same time1 the
 best old men in the profession1 no     
dissentient voice1 surely1 will         
challenge the names of ,george ,holland1
 ,john ,gilbert1 ,james ,h4 ,stoddart1  
and ,mark ,smith4 ,cibber could play    

,lord ,foppington at seventy-three2 but 
,george ,holland played ,tony ,lumpkin  
at seventy-seven4 ,a young part1--but   
the old man was as joyous as a boy and  
filled it with a boisterous1 mischievous
 humour at once delightful and          
indescribable4 ,you saw him to the best 
advantage1 though1 in ,mr4 ,sulky1      
,humphrey ,dobbin1 and kindred parts1   
wherein the fineness of his temperament 
was veiled under a crabbed exterior and 
some scope was allowed for his superb   
skill in painting character4 ,so the    
discourse will run2 and1 when it touches
 upon ,john ,gilbert1 what else than    
this will be its burden8--that he was   
perfection as the old fop2 that his     
,lord ,ogleby had no peer2 that he was  
the oddest conceivable compound of dry  
humour1 quaint manners1 frolicsome love 
of mischief1 honest1 hearty mirth1 manly
 dignity1 and tender pathos4 ,to ,mark  
,smith it will render a kindred tribute4
 ,squire ,broadlands1 ,old ,rapid1 ,sir 
,oliver ,surface--they cannot be        

forgotten4 ,extraordinary truthfulness  
to nature1 extraordinary precision of   
method1 large humanity1 strong          
intellect1 and refined and delicate     
humour that always charmed and never    
offended--those were the qualities that 
enrolled him among the best actors of   
his time4 ,and it will not be strange if
 ,old ,mortality passes then into the   
warmest mood of eulogium1 as he strives 
to recall the admirable1 the            
incomparable old woman ,mrs4 ,vernon4   
,she was a worthy mate of those         
worthies1 he will exclaim4 ,she could be
 the sweet and loving mother1 gentle and
 affectionate2 the stately lady1        
representative of rank and proud of it  
and true to it2 and the most eccentric  
of ludicrous old fools4 ,she was the    
ideal ,mrs4 ,malaprop1 and she surpassed
 all competitors in the character of    
,mrs4 ,hardcastle4 ,mary ,gannon was her
 stage-companion and her foil1 he will  
add--the merriest1 most mischievous1    
most bewitching player of her time1 in  

her peculiar line of art4 ,as ,hester1  
in ,to ,marry or ,not to ,marry1 and as 
,sophia1 in ,the ,road to ,ruin1 she was
 the incarnation of girlish grace and   
delicious ingenuousness1 and also of    
crisp1 well-flavoured mirth4 ,no taint  
of tameness marred her acting in those  
kindred characters1 and no air of effort
 made it artificial4 ,nor was ,fanny    
,morant less remarkable for the glitter 
of comedy and for an almost matchless   
precision of method4 ,so will our friend
 of the future prose on1 in a vein that 
will be tedious enough to matter-of-fact
 people2 but not tedious to gentle      
spirits who love the stage1 and         
sympathise with its votaries1 and keep  
alive its traditions--knowing that this 
mimic world is as real and earnest as   
the strife that roars and surges around 
it2 that there as everywhere else       
humanity plays out its drama1 whereof   
the moral is always the same--that      
whether on the stage or in the mart1 on 
the monarch's throne or in the peasant's

 cot1                      ,we are such 
stuff     ,as dreams are made on1 and   
our little life     ,is rounded with a  
sleep4   ,,the ,,end4     ,,the ,,works 
,,of  ,,william ,,winter4               
,,shakespeare',s ,,england4 #ah,,mo1    
,,cloth1 #ge ,,cents4  ,,gray ,,days    
,,and ,,gold4 #ah,,mo1 ,,cloth1 #ge     
,,cents4  ,,shadows ,,of ,,the ,,stage4 
#ah,,mo1 ,,cloth1 #ge ,,cents4          
,,shadows ,,of ,,the ,,stage4 ,second   
,series4 #ah,,mo1 ,,cloth1 #ge ,,cents4 
,,old ,,shrines ,,and ,,ivy4 #ah,,mo1   
,,cloth1 #ge ,,cents4  ,also a ,small   
,limited ,,large ,,paper ,,edition4 #d  
,vols4 ,uniform4 #h4jj4  ,,wanderers3 ,a
 ,collection of ,poems4 ,,new ,,edition4
 ,,with ,a ,,portrait4 #ah,,mo1 ,,cloth1
 #ge ,,cents4  ,the supreme need of this
 age in ,america is a practical         
conviction that progress does not       
consist in material prosperity1 but in  
spiritual advancement4 ,utility has long
 been exclusively worshipped4 ,the      
welfare of the future lies in the       

worship of beauty4 ,to that worship     
these pages are devoted1 with all that  
implies of sympathy with the higher     
instincts1 and faith in the divine      
destiny of the human race4--,from the   
,preface to ,gray ,days and ,gold4      
,,macmillan  ,,co41  #ff ,,fifth        
,,avenue1 ,,new ,,york     ,,wanderers2 
,,being  ,a ,collection of the ,poems of
 ,william ,winter4  ,new ,edition1      
,revised and ,enlarged4 ,with a         
,portrait of the ,author4  #ah,,mo1     
,,cloth1 #ge ,,cents4  ,also a ,limited 
,,large ,,paper ,,edition1 printed on   
,english ,hand-made ,paper4 ,price      
#b4ej4   ,but it has seemed to the      
author of these poems--which of course  
are offered as absolutely               
impersonal--that they are the expression
 of various representative moods of     
human feeling and various representative
 aspects of human experience1 and that  
therefore they may possibly possess the 
inherent right to exist4--,from the     
,preface4  ,the verse of ,mr4 ,winter is

 dedicated mainly to love and wine1 to  
flowers and birds and dreams1 to the    
hackneyed and never-to-be-exhausted     
repertory of the old singers4 ,his      
instincts are strongly conservative2 his
 confessed aim is to belong to 'that old
 school of ,english ,lyrical ,poetry1 of
 which gentleness is the soul1 and      
simplicity the garment4'--,saturday     
,review4  ,the poems have a singular    
charm in their graceful                 
spontaneity4--,scots ,observer4  ,free  
from cant and rant--clear cut as a      
cameo1 pellucid as a mountain brook4 ,it
 may be derided as trite1 born1         
unimpassioned2 but in its own modest    
sphere it is1 to our thinking1          
extraordinarily successful1 and         
satisfies us far more than the          
pretentious mouthing which receives the 
seal of over-hasty                      
approbation4--,athenum4   ,,macmillan   
,,co41  #ff ,,fifth ,,avenue1 ,,new     
,,york4     ,,shadows ,,of ,,the        
,,stage4  #ah,,mo1 ,,cloth1 #ge ,,cents4

   ,the fame of the actor more than that
 of any other artist is an evanescent   
one--a 'bubble reputation'--indeed1 and 
necessarily so from the conditions under
 which his genius is exercised4 ,while  
the impression it makes is often more   
vivid and inspiring for the moment than 
that of the poet and the painter1 it    
vanishes almost with the occasion which 
gave it birth1 and lives only as a      
tradition in the memory of those to whom
 it had immediately appealed4 ',shadows 
they are1 and shadows they pursue4'     
,the writer1 therefore1 who1 gifted with
 insight and a poetic enthusiasm which  
enables him to discern on the one hand  
the beauties in a dramatic work not     
perceived by the many1 and on the other 
the qualities in the actor which have   
made him a true interpreter of the      
poet's thought1 at the same time        
possessing the faculty of revealing to  
us felicitously the one1 and the other  
is certainly entitled to our grateful   
recognition4  ,such a writer is ,mr4    

,william ,winter1 easily the first1--for
 we know of none other living in this   
country1 or in the ,england he loves so 
much1 in whose nature the critic's      
vision is united with that of the poet  
so harmoniously4444  ,over and above all
 this1 there is in these writings the   
same charm of style1 poetic glamour and 
flavor of personality which distinguish 
whatever comes to us from ,mr4 ,winter's
 pen1 and which make them unique in our 
literature4--,home ,journal1 ,new ,york 
,,macmillan  ,,co41  #ff ,,fifth        
,,avenue1 ,,new ,,york4     ,,old       
,,shrines ,,and ,,ivy4  #ah,,mo1        
,,cloth1 #ge ,,cents4   ,,contents4     
,,shrines ,,of ,,history4      ,i4      
,storied ,southampton4     ,,ii4        
,pageantry and ,relics4    ,,iii4 ,the  
,shakespeare ,church4     ,,iv4 ,a      
,stratford ,chronicle4      ,v4 ,from   
,london to ,dover4     ,,vi4 ,beauties  
of ,france4    ,,vii4 ,ely and its      
,cathedral4   ,,viii4 ,from ,edinburgh  
to ,inverness4     ,,ix4 ,the ,field of 

,culloden4      ,x4 ,stormbound ,iona4  
,,shrines ,,of ,,literature4     ,,xi4  
,the ,forest of ,arden3 ,as ,you ,like  
,it4    ,,xii4 ,fairy ,land3 ,a         
,midsummer ,night's ,dream4   ,,xiii4   
,will o' the ,wisp3 ,love's ,labour     
,lost4    ,,xiv4 ,shakespeare's ,shrew4 
,,xv4 ,a ,mad ,world3 ,anthony and      
,cleopatra4    ,,xvi4 ,sheridan1 and the
 ,school for ,scandal4   ,,xvii4        
,farquhar1 and the ,inconstant4         
,,xviii4 ,longfellow4    ,,xix4 ,a      
,thought on ,cooper's ,novels4     ,,xx4
 ,a ,man of ,letters3 ,john ,r4,g4      
,hassard4  ,whatever ,william ,winter   
writes is marked by felicity of diction 
and by refinement of style1 as well as  
by the evidence of culture and wide     
reading4 ',old ,shrines and ,ivy' is an 
excellent example of the charm of his   
work4--,boston ,courier4   ,,macmillan  
,,co41  #ff ,,fifth ,,avenue1 ,,new     
,,york4     ,,shakespeare',s ,,england4 
#ah,,mo1 ,,cloth1 #ge ,,cents4   444 ,it
 was the author's wish1 in dwelling thus

 upon the rural loveliness1 and the     
literary and historical associations of 
that delightful realm1 to afford        
sympathetic guidance and useful         
suggestion to other ,american travellers
 who1 like himself1 might be attracted  
to roam among the shrines of the        
mother-land4 ,temperament is the        
explanation of style2 and he has written
 thus of ,england because she has filled
 his mind with beauty and his heart with
 mingled joy and sadness2 and surely    
some memory of her venerable ruins1 her 
ancient shrines1 her rustic glens1 her  
gleaming rivers1 and her flower-spangled
 meadows will mingle with the last      
thoughts that glimmer through his brain 
when the shadows of the eternal night   
are falling and the ramble of life is   
done4--,from the ,preface4  ,he offers  
something more than guidance to the     
,american traveller4 ,he is a convincing
 and eloquent interpreter of the august 
memories and venerable sanctities of the
 old country4--,saturday ,review4  ,the 

book is delightful reading4--,scribner's
 ,monthly4  ,enthusiastic and yet keenly
 critical notes and comments on ,english
 life and scenery4--,scotsman4          
,,macmillan  ,,co41  #ff ,,fifth        
,,avenue1 ,,new ,,york4     ,,gray      
,,days ,,and ,,gold4  #ah,,mo1 ,,cloth1 
#ge ,,cents4   ,,contents4  ,classic    
,shrines4   ,haunted ,glens and ,houses4
     ,old ,york4 ,the ,haunts of ,moore4
   ,beautiful ,bath4     ,the ,lakes and
 ,fells of ,wordsworth4 ,shakespeare    
,relics at ,worcester4   ,byron and     
,hucknall ,torkard4     ,historic ,nooks
 and ,corners4       ,shakespeare's     
,town4 ,up and ,down the ,avon4         
,rambles in ,arden4     ,the ,stratford 
,fountain4       ,bosworth ,field4      
,the ,home of ,dr4 ,johnson4 ,from      
,london to ,edinburgh4   ,into the      
,highlands4     ,highland ,beauties4    
,the ,heart of ,scotland4         ,sir  
,walter ,scott4 ,elegiac ,memorials4    
,scottish ,pictures4     ,imperial      
,ruins4       ,the ,land of ,marmion4   

,at ,vesper ,time4  ,this book1 which is
 intended as a companion to             
,shakespeare's ,england1 relates to the 
gray days of an ,american wanderer in   
the ,british ,isles1 and to the gold of 
thought and fancy that can be found     
there4   ,,macmillan  ,,co41  #ff       
,,fifth ,,avenue1 ,,new ,,york4         
,,gray ,,days ,,and ,,gold4  #ah,,mo1   
,,cloth1 #ge ,,cents4   ,,press         
,,notices4  ,mr4 ,winter's graceful and 
meditative style in his ,english        
sketches has recommended his earlier    
volume upon 7,shakespeare's7 ,england to
 many readers1 who will not need urging 
to make the acquaintance of this        
companion book1 in which the traveller  
guides us through the quiet and romantic
 scenery of the mother-country with a   
mingled affection and sentiment of which
 we have had no example since ,irving's 
day4--,the ,nation4  ,as friendly and   
good-humoured a book on ,english scenes 
as any ,american has written since      
,washington ,irving4--,daily ,news1     

,london4  ,much that is bright and best 
in our literature is brought once more  
to our dulled memories4 ,indeed1 we know
 of but few volumes containing so much  
of observation1 kindly comment1         
philosophy1 and artistic weight as this 
unpretentious little book4--,chicago    
,herald4  ,they who have never visited  
the scenes which ,mr4 ,winter so        
charmingly describes will be eager to do
 so in order to realize his fine        
descriptions of them1 and they who have 
already visited them will be incited by 
his eloquent recital of their           
attractions to repeat their former      
pleasant experiences4--,public ,ledger1 
,philadelphia4   ,,macmillan  ,,co41    
#ff ,,fifth ,,avenue1 ,,new ,,york4     
,,the ,,novel3 ,,what ,,it ,,is4   ,by  
,f4 ,,marion ,,crawford1  ,,author ,,of 
,,children ,,of ,,the ,,king1 ,a ,,roman
 ,,singer1 ,,saracinesca1 ,,etc4  ,with 
,photogravure ,portrait of the ,author4 
#ahmo4 ,cloth4 #ge cents4   ,,the       
,,choice ,,of ,,books1 ,,and ,,other    

,,literary ,,pieces4  ,by ,,frederic    
,,harrison1  ,,author ,,of ,,oliver     
,,cromwell1 ,,etc4  #ahmo4 ,cloth4 #ge  
cents4   ,mr4 ,harrison is an able and  
conscientious critic1 a good logician1  
and a clever man2 his faults are        
superficial1 and his book will not fail 
to be valuable4--,n4,y4 ,times4  ,mr4   
,,john ,,morley1 in his speech on the   
study of literature at the ,mansion     
,house1 #bfth ,february1 #ahhg1 said3   
,those who are curious as to what they  
should read in the region of pure       
literature will do well to peruse my    
friend ,frederic ,harrison's volume     
called ,the ,choice of ,books4 ,you will
 find there as much wise thought1       
eloquently and brilliantly put1 as in   
any volume of its size4  ,mr4 ,harrison 
furnishes a valuable contribution to the
 subject4 ,it is full of suggestiveness 
and shrewd analytical criticism4 ,it    
contains the fruits of wide reading and 
rich research4--,london ,times4         
,,macmillan  ,,co41 ,publishers1  ,,new 

,,york4