The Sierra citizen., 1854-07-15

would be out Of place, foreign to our pur-
pose, and perhaps too pretentious for a
paper so little known. Playgoers through
out the Union, have already decreed him
. place among the masters Of the Drama,
and we are not vain enough to believe
that anything we might say could add to
or detract from, a reputation built up by
the power of genius. It is to the III health
of the actor that we are indebted for the
pleasure of hearing and seeing his mimi
table presentations of Yankee character in
our little out-ofthe-way village, and while
we regret that circumstances so melan-
cholly have brought him among US, we are
glad to learn that his health is very mate
ely benefited by the pure air of the
mountains.
Mr.. Burke seems to have the power of
making the audience forget that such q
person as himself ever existed; the actor
is lost sight of while the character is on
the boards, and so expressive is every tone
and gesture, that t. sometimes requires a
second thought to convince one that o
veritable live Yankee is not before him,
with his jack knife and single, whiting
out some notion to dislodge shilling
piece from the pockets Of the unwary.
When he first comes upon the stage
with that long tailed, short wasted blue
coat, and pantaloons Of marvellous length,
but world too short for the legs they
encase, the spectator at once makes up
his mind that beneath that outlardish
garb and gawky exterior, keen, calcnla-
ting Jonathan is hid, who will unexI ect-
eddy wake up about the time everybody
else is going to sleep-just the sort of man
whom people would not wish to "swap"
with when they were perfectly sure that
they were getting the best of the bargain.
Even i'll his PRESERVATION Of Billy Lackuday,
the most lackadaisical of sorrowing ones;
the audience were in constant apprehen-
sion thas he might suddenly forget his
sorrows and cheat his comforters out of
their drspery, end compel them to make
their exodus in an unseemly manner.
There is nothing in the acting of Mr..
Burke coarse or boisterous. His enuncia-
ton is not loud, bat so clear and distinct
that not word is lost even during the
MOSS upsoarious merrinent; for the mo-
ment he opens his lips to speak, the up
roar is hushed in the eagerness of the
audience to catch the next syllable. This
is one Of the greatest compliments to
genius-that peculiar death-like silence,
the sudden hushing Of mirth in The brief
moment that transpires after the speaker
opens his lips before the word falls upon
the ear. He is one Of the few, gifted with
that mysterious power over the human
will which sways the multitude. like
standing corn before the wind.
On Saturday evening Mr.. Burke per-
Fsonated Mr.. Toodles, q fidgety, economi-
cal husband, who was dreadfully annoyed
by Mrs. rs penehant for buying useless
articles at bargain. His Indignation
and establishment when Mrs. Toodles sug-
gested the proprfety of making provision
against broken limbs in the event of such
fragile looking legs as his giving way, was
particularly fine, and only equaled by the
confident and contemptuous air with which
he inquired of Mrs. T., whether .'she
thought that leg was likely to break p
Mr.. Kent as Larger Glib, very ably
rendered the character of the close listed
attorney; who would feel no compunc-
ton Of conscience in taking from the
widow her cruise of oil, provided he did
so in professional capacity; but at the
same time, the little of the warm blood of
humanity left in his system ebbed slug
gishly to his heart, and compelled him to
try to persuade the good woman that he
was not such o monster after all, but OPP.
pressed her only in professional cas
pacity." But the spectator cannot help
thinking all the while that it is the sunny
face Of Mary Acorn that subdues his bru-
tai nature. The other characters in the
piece were most creditably sustained, but
we have not room at present for an ex-
tended notice.
On Sunday evening the comedy of
"Perfectson" was presented. AS is always
the case in mountain towns, the audience
was larger on Sunday thar any other eve
ming ia the week. Mr.. King, as Sir
Laurence Paragon, was very successful
The clever continuance to entrap the over
fastidious Charles into an alliance with
Kate UBrien, was very truthfully por-
trayed by Mr.. King, who looked the very
perfection of old bachelors; having
r. 1890