The Sun.
London, England, 1864-01-18 00:00:00

blind Father of Greelt poetry would he fi less ap-
propriate memorial than a temple. We give statues
to those whom we wish to immortalise, not to those
who are already immortal. A cathedral is the only
fitting monument that England could erect to
Shakspeare. The notion of a statue originally pro-
ceeded from a clumsy but well-meant desire to do
national honour to a genius whose art will make
the English language classical to all time. If it is
not too late to reconsider the scheme, it is to be
hoped it may be reconsidered in the interests both
of good taste and of art. Thousands of lovers of
Shakspeare will never contribute to such a plan, con-
taining, as it does, endless possibilities of ludicrous
failure and fiasco. Who is to choose the man to
make the statue ? Is it to he Sir Joseph Paxton, the
Lord Mayor, and Mr. William Tite, whose names
occupy so conspicuous a place on the committee, to
nominate the site, or are we to have universal
suffrage, the ballot-boxes to be held by Mr. Hep-
worth Dixon ? Before everything else, the public
naturally asks in whose hands so great a piece of
artistic patronage is to lie. There are many indi-
viduals who would use it well, but not so many so
well known as to command general confidence and
respect. It is in vain to summon the country to
follow without informing them definitely who is to
be their leader. Mr. Paigrave proposes to substi-
tute for the present unwieldy executive of the
nascent association a small knot of four or five first-
rate men, whose judgment may be trusted and who
are known for their genius and good sense. He is
right in believing that the present course will end
in disappointment ; and, if the association are wise,
they will listen to his suggestion. A decisive reason
for altering the constitution of the managing com-
mittee is, that they have begun with remarkable
energy to quarrel among themselves. Those who
know the way in which societies and associations
are got np, need not be surprised to hear it. Efforts
for promoting somebody's benefit, or for doing some
one honour, are usually set on foot by the nobodies
of various professions. The work is easy, and re-
quires no ability. Barristers without business are
very fond of promoting something. Second-rate
literary men have the same morbid wish to create
some sensation in the world. They are glad to look
forward to seeing their names in the advertisement
columns of the Times, in close proximity to noble-
men and bishops. The first step is to meet and
form a committee. The next thing is to get a few
illustrious outsiders to lend their names to leaven the
lump. This is plain sailing; for if the object of
the organisation be plausible, the illustrious out-
siders never refuse ; and noblemen are gregarious
animals and go together for public purposes in
droves. The management remains with the ener-
getic nobodies, while the great outsiders are used
as deco3aducks to attract attention, and to lend
lustre to the whole. This suits everybody, especially
the outsiders. It also affords perpetual gratification
to the virtuous promoters. They reap their re-
ward in sitting by Lord Brougham in council, in
being on a joint sub committee with the Archbishop
of Canterbury, or perhaps in fetching the Lord
Chancellor an orange when he is in the middle of a
speech to a public meeting. These are the gentle-
men who are usually so active in getting up asso-
ciations and demonstrations, and it is very natural
that they should begin to quarrel when once the
scheme is in full swing. The prominent members
of the Shakspeare Committee do not seem to be ex-
empt from the failings that are incidental to their
position. They have the passions of their kind.
Tee proceedings recorded in the papers seem very
much on a par with the regular proceedings of a
public meeting of shareholders in a railway com-
pany. Every body is dissatisfied with everybody
else—especially with the directors—and has not the
slightest hesitation in saying so. Votes of censure
upon the managing committee are freely bruited to
and fro. Mr. Hepworth Dixon disagrees with Mr.
Towiins, and Mr. Marston rises " to order " amidst
"considerable confusion." Mr. Martin attempts to
address the meeting in the midst of such manifes-
tations of impatience and cries of "spoke " that he
is completely " inaudible." Irregular skirmishing
takes place as to whether amendments ere " regu-
lar," and whether Mr. Hepworth Dixon and his
coadjutor have not taken too much upon themselves.
This is the national committee which is to do honour
to Shakspeare. Most of the speakers are utterly
unknown beyond their own clique, and some of those
who arc known are known to be second-rate in
their profession. Of the illustrious outsiders who
are so conspicuously advertised we see and hear
nothing. Like Essex, they know better than to be
there. The consequences of their absence are per-
ceptible. Already an unseemly piece of bad taste
has brought the managers of the concern into dis-
grace, with respect to one great man who has sud-
denly passed away from us. Nor until a very dif
ferent Directory takes the lead will the country
give the association any but the mos'e limited confi-
dence. The best advice to be bestowed on one and
all of them is that the committee should purge it-
self. A self-denying ordinance is wanted. Those
whom the public does not know at all, as well as
those whom the literary public knows too well, will
do good service to the cause by retiring into that
honourable obscurity from which they are right in
I wishing to emerge, but from which they are wrong
ie trying to use Shakespeare as a stepping-stone.
Where are those gentlemen who ought in so great
manifestation to be acting as managers and secre-
tarit s Where is Monckton Milnes, the Dean of St.
Paul's, Sir C. Eastlake, Lord Granville, Cllr. Foley ?
Their names are on the list, but the reins do not
seem to be in their hands. They may rest assured
that the sooner they take the conduct of the matter,
the sooner the world at large will begin to interest
itself warmly in its success.
SPECTATuß.—Centenary celebrations are exotics
in this country. The idea comes from Germany,
and has been acclimatised in England by the enter-
prising speculators of the Crystal Palace. Atter all
there is something to be said for a musics) festival in
honour of Handel or Mozart; their risusic is
always charming to listen to; and it may
be performed with equal appropriateness ors
one day as on another. There is, however,
something exquisitely absurd in the notion of pass-
ing a national vote of thanks by acclamation to
Shakespeare, and the projectors of this ingenious
scheme seem painfully aware of the absurdity of
their own rroposal. Nobody can suggest any mode
of celebration which is not either impossible or ludi-
crous. The original conception of the great London
Committee was to erect a statue in one of the central
parks in honour of the great dramatist, Whether
there exists any authentic likeness of Shakespeare at
all is a question on which opinions are divided, and
it is quite within the bounds of possibility that the
proposed statue, even if it ever gets beyond the hypo-
thetical stage, might be a likeness of some person
who bore no more resemblance to Shakespeare than
to Messrs. Collyer or Halliwell. Leaving aside this
initial difficulty, we all know beforehand that such
a statue would be certain to be an eyesore and a nui-
sance. The Iron Duke at Hyde Park Corner and the
Guards' Memorial in Waterloo-place are quite bad
enough, without our disfiguring London with a third
and even more unsuccessful attempt of a similar kind.
Moreover, such a project would entail a large outlay
of money, and the public has remained utterly and
obstinately deaf to any appeal for money on behalf
of the Shakespeare memorial. One hundred thou-
sand was the first amount demanded, then twenty
thousand was suggested as a compromise, and finally
we hear of rumours that "a neat thing in stone"
might be put up for some twentieth part of the ori-
ginal demand. Practically, therefore, we may assume
that the idea of a statue has been abandoned, and in
default of that we are offered a performance of
Shakesperian music—whatever that may be—a
representation of one of Shakespeare's plays at the
two national theatres, and a conversazione in
Westminster Hall, at which the characters of
Hamlet and Lady Macbeth are to be discussed
between the intervals of tea and sherry negus.
The Stratford-on-Avon Committee has not quite
equalled its London compeers in absurdity, from the
simple fact that this body has a sort of faint shadowy
raison d'etre. The sole glory of Stratford is in con-
nection with Shakespeare. In the words of Steevens,
" All that is known with any degree of certainty
concerning Shakespeare is, that ho was born et
Stratford-on-Avon, married, and had children
there, went to London, where he commenced actor,
and wrote plays and poems, returned to Stratford,
made his will, died, and was buried." If therefore,
the memory of the dramatist has a local habitation
anywhere it is at Stratford; and if the neighouring
gentry like to put up a monument to Shakespeare
in his native town nobody can object to their doing
so. This very rearonable proposal, however, is coupled
with aphlao wnties to seehsahtalltheltiohnesseafidElniognlas,nsdh,aaluldspeveneria-
body who
week at Stratford, in solemn contemplation of the
genius of Shakespeare—a plau which, doubtless,
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wickshire town, but is not likely to find favourlor
with the public. The amateur suggestions
doing honour to the tercentenary are even more
wonderful thau those put forward by its profes-
sional patrons. A tradesman suggests. a commemo-
rative medal, to be struck, of course, under his own
superintendence. A correspondent to one London
journal proposes a gigantic monument en the top of
Primrose-hill; another wishes for a " boulevard"
leading from Charing-cross to Hampstead-hill; a
third proposes the erection of a new city in a thriv-
ing district to be called Shakespeare-town, and
containing Hamlet-street, Verona-crescent, e Rom o -
square, and soon. Finally, a grave public newspaper
recommends a general holiday, on the idea that
admiration of Shakespeare's genius will thus
be diffused amidst our working classes, just es
loyalty is implanted ie. the hearts of our school
boys by an extra week's vacation on the occasion
of a royal marriage. The manner in which the