The Sun.
London, England, 1866-06-14 00:00:00

THEATRE

INOESS'S.

Mr. Charles Bean's Hamlet.

The character of Hamlet, as traditionally inter-
preted by an uninterrupted succession of great
actors--according to Shakspere's own conception of
how that wonderful and paradoxical character
ought to be realised to sight and hearing upon
the British Stage—finds its last representa-

five (take the words literally, its last re-
presentative) in the person of Mr. Charles
Kean. The Traditional Hamlet, remember ! The
very Hamlet of Shakspere! The character of Hamlet
as Shakspere himself intended that character to be
impersonated ! Generation after generation that
Shaksperian interpretation of the part has come
down to our own time. Tragedian after tragedian
has carried our great dramatist's own notion
of the character down to us, turn by turn
—as we have already expressed it, uninter-
ruptedly. Burbage, Taylor, Betterton, Booth,
Garrick, John Kemble, Edmund Kean, Charles
Young—until the series is completed, and closed, so

far as we have yet any reason whatever to know,
by the distinguished actor who last evening per-

formed the character once more upon the boards of
the Princess's. As to the part itself, it is pro-
verbially the most arduous in the whole range of
the drama. It is, to this day, an enigma all-
but inscrutable to the most astute of Shaks-
perian Commentators. Technically speaking,
it is well known, in regard to the mere

length of it, as beyond all comparison the longest
part upon the stage—a part extending, if we re-
member rightly at this moment, to no less than thirty-
two " lengths," otherwise to upwards of twelve hun-
dred lines, according to the Acting Version of the
great Tragedy. As for the Prince himself, " Ham-
let the Dane"—Coleridge speaks of him by no means
extravagantly when he calls him " the darling of every
country where the literature of England has been fos-
tered." Yet, beloved thus though the character of
Hamlet is by all those who have eyes to see and ears
to hear, brains to think and hearts to feel, it is so far
an enigma, as we have already said, all-but in-
scrutable, that Schlegel is forced to the conclusion in
regard to it, that it is a work resembling " those irra-
tional equations in which a fraction of unknown
magnitude always remains that will in no way ad-
mit of solution." Perhaps, indeed, of ter all,
Goethe's clue through the labyrinth, is the

surest—guiding us through most of its entangled
involutions to the central heart of it—
where (is it not in Wilhelm Meister) he suggests
that " the key to Hamlet's whole procedure" is dis-
coverable in his own agonised ejaculation—
" The time is out of joint, 0 cursed spite!
That ever I was born to set it right !"

And it is as the last (shall we say, lineal ?)
descendant of the traditionally Shaksperian imper-
sonators of this exquisite and marvellous creation,
that Mr. Charles Kean, whenever he assumes
the character, captivates the attention
.of his
audience, no matter where the stage may be
erected upon which his representation of the
part appears, as at once upon a pedestal and
within a framework—whether here in England
or at our Australian antipodes ! After him
—other impersonators of it there will be, as a matter
of course. But—so far as we have yet any reason
to know—there will be no traditional delineation of
the character as it has descended from Burbage to
himself. Contemporary with Mr. Charles Kean's
Hamlet, one remarkable impersonator of the part
there happily still is no doubt yet remaining to us.
B ut his Hamlet is distinctly, and avowedly, and recog-
nizably, and undeniably, an innovation—an innova-

tion even to his very aspect, a blonde Hamlet being
absolutely unknown to the stage until the appearance
of Mr. Fechter. But the Hamlet who has been
more or less familiar to the boards of our great
English theatres during these last 300 years or
thereabouts—Hamlet, as he has come down
to us not only from the hand of Shakspere
as Dramatist, but from the guiding and directing
influenceof Shakspere as Actor and Stage-Manager.
—that is the view of Hamlet's character, of
which Mr. Charles Kean has the con-
spicuous but mournful eminence of being the
very last traditional representative. Any-
thing like an analysis here of his inter-
pretation of the part would be worse than
merely supererogatory would be little else
than simply tedious—would be certainly out of place
as far more than a thrice-told tale, would be hardly
less than an impertinence. Enough, if we content our-
selves with remarking, here very briefly, that it was
applauded to the echo, this world-famous represen-
tation of Hamlet—applauded at times with abso-
lute enthusiasm by the audience, assembled
last night to welcome it back once more to the
boards of the Princess's—Boards upon which
the chief points of Charles Kean's impersona-
tion of Hamlet have so often and often before
now been greeted, as they were last evening, with
frequent bursts of acclamations. How far this
impersonation still continues to be appreciated by
our contemporaries here in London, the following ex-
pressions of opinion will significantly serve' to indicate.
It would be ungracious, however, if we did not add,
no matter how tersely, that the Gertrude of the
play last night, as interpreted by Mrs. Charles
Bean's rare abilities as a tragic actress, was again
noticeable as a most pathetic and impressive
performance. Mr. Mead looked the part of
Claudius far better than he acted it. Whereas Mr.
Cathcart acted the part of Laertes far better than
he looked it. Miss Chapman both looked and acted
Ophelia very gracefully. Mr. Vollaire's Polonius
was senile and unexaggerated. Mr. Robins's Rosen-
crantz was simply simpering—Mr. Everett's Horatio
a mere nonentity—Mr. Shore's Osrick was in its way
excellent—and Mr. Dominick Murray's First Grave-
digger drily, perhaps a little too drily, humorous.

The Times, always enthusiastic about Mr. Charles
Kean's impersonation of Hamlet, reserves its opinion of last
night's performance, we presume until to-morrow.
The Morning Herald says emphatically, "Doubtless, the
Prince of Denmark is Mr. Kean's most finished achievement,
and through it in an especial manner his name will be
handed down to posterity."
The Morning Post observes—" Mr. Charles Kean appeared
last night as Hamlet, the part in which he first acquired
his reputation, and which he has performed more fre-
quently than any other in the course of his professional
career."

The Star says of the impersonation that "It unquestion-
ably exhibits marked intelligence, and gives abundant
evidence of diligent and conscientious study." Adding, a
little later on —"it will suffice to state thatla,st evening Mr.
Charles Kean, adhering in all respects to his old reading
of the character, made all his familiar points in the familiar
manner, and was rewarded with frequent and cordial
applause by a large and evidently most appreciative
audience."

The Morning Advertiser goes so far as to say that "Per-
haps of all the Shaksperean characters performed by Mr.
Kean there is none more immediately associated with his
dramatic reputation and histrionic fame than that of
Hamlet. The conception itself is impressive throughout
and Mr. Kean's rendering conveys a more clear notion of
a sustained individuality than any other in his usual
range."
The Daily News contents itself with remarking—" Mr.
Charles Kean has given up ' Louis Xl.,' in which he
stands without a rival, and has takes to Hamlet,' in
which he has many rivals. He appeared last night for the
first time during his present engagement at the Princess's
in this arduous Shaksperian character, and was very
warmly received by a crowded house.

THE REAL SCENE OP GRAY'S ELEGY.—Here,
perhaps, we may as well devote a few lines to the
pretensions put for ward by other country churchyards to
the distinction of having originally suggested the "Elegy"
to Gray. Of these Grandchester, near Cambridge, and
Upton, about half-way between Slough and Windsor,
assert their respective pretensions with the greatest confi-
dence, though others have occasionally put in a more mo-
dest, though not more doubtful, claim. Mitford, it is well
known, has argued strongly in favour of Grandchester, but
I must own that the weight of evidence, both internal and
external, seems to be strongly opposed to his view. There
are those, too, who believe that the little Norman church of
Upton, long in ruins, but recently restored, is the pnototype
of the church which Gray celebrated in his " Elegy ;" but
although we must own that something may be said in
favour of the ivy-mantled tower, surrounded by yews, yet
that is the only feature peculiar to Upton ; and it must be
remarked that the spire which surmounts the church of
Stoke is a modern addition to the tower, and not 100 years
old; so that ivy mantled tower will harmonise as well with
Stoke as with Upton, while the former can point to its
eßzettclin duo," Which Uptoni cumpt."-080 a FRO,

LATEST INTELLIGENCE.

(REUTER'S TELEGRAMS.)

ROME.
ROME, JUNE 13 (Evening).

This morning all the shops of the Exchange
agents in Rome were closed by the authorities on
the ground that they had been exchanging notes at
a higher premium than that fixed by law.
Several dealers in silver money and some pur-
chasers also have been arrested in some banking
establishments.

GREECE.

ATHENS, JUNE 12.

'rho King has announced his intention of relin-
quishing his proposed visit to Corfu on account of
the imminence of war.
The public mind still continues very agitated.

DENMARK,
COPENHAGEN, June 14.
The Czarewitch arrived here last night. His
Imperial Highness will start to-day for Fredensborg
on a visit to the Royal family.

SPAIN.

MADRID, June 14.

The whole bill of Marshal O'Donnell granting
extraordinary powers to the Government was
adopted by the Congress yesterday evening, by 160
against 96 votes.