The weekly Anglo-African., 1860-03-03

With Dumas, the father, first Of living novel
lists, and Dumas the son. first of living dramatlss,
and Ira Aldridge, the first of living actors who
viii have the hardihood to deny that the negro,
in the middle of the nineteenth century, is fully
entitled to the first place in the Temple OF Art?
The first place is good. Caucasus will
please stand aside, and permit Abyssinia
to air its erudition! Well, well; there are
colored men of more than mediocre ability.
We have met them But this is hardly
the way, good 'Anglo-African,' to convince
those of the fact who have been less fortu-
nate - Sunday Times, FEB. 20, 1860
Notwithstanding the thrice-ribbed Democ-
racy with which it is environed, the sane
tum of the Sunday Times" bears evidence
of being the scene of a strong phase of the
"irrepressible conflict" The. article we
copy is clear proof of the duality of mind
which an English surgeon announced some
years ago as psychological discovery; and
not only of duality Of mind, but of a row
between the two parts of which the same
mind is composed. The original candor
of the editor, which is one side of his mind,
leads him to look with favor on our Maga-
zine, and the educated negrophobia which
is in the other side of his mind, makes war
upon his candor in the very midst of a SEN
tence, and like the South in general, will
be heard in spite of decency, good breed
ing, and (good p grammar. "The Anglo
African (magazine) contains some gery faar
articles, besides being disfgured with ad-
vertisements eulogistic of 'the hero of Har-
pers Ferry" &c. That word besides
proves the editor to have been beside him.
self with the fiery conflict going on in his
own mind, for with it he couples things
which he clearly considers in contrast with
each other He evidently meant to say,
"Itcontains some very fair articles, although
it is disfgured," &c, &c. But we may be
wrong; it is barely possible that the ''une-
quivocal complexion" of the editors mind
led him to regard with horror the frightful
amalgamation of 'vcry fair articles" with
negro magazine.
The same blurred state of mind, from
the conflict we have spoken of, prevented
the editor from understanding what seems
pretty clear sentence which he quotes
from the magazine. "The tones of the
voice which swept" &c, &c, are expressly
characterized simply as tones, not "artlc"-
iations" AGerman or a Russian audience
are not very likely to understand English
sufficiently to be charmed or Mortified with
perfect or broken pronunciation of the
English language But they could under
stand those passionate outbursts of sound,
infinitely more universal than any special
language, English, German, Italian or even
Greek: when Rachel, for example, perform
ed Phaedre in New FORK, there were hun
dreds, if not thousands who witnessed and
ere profoundly affected by the represen-
ta.tion, who did rot und, rstand a word that
she uttered. Jldeed, our venerable can
tIere who So ably edits the "Anti-Slavery
Standard, without knowing anything ofthe
French language, was, on one occasion, car
ried to the seventh heaven of sensuous de-
light from which "he looked down with
scorn on little and mean things') by the
wondrous tones and attitudes of the great
hagedieHHe
That Mr.. Aldridge produced similar eff
fects on his Continental audiences, who no
more understood his English than the
Gothamites understood Rachers French, is
evident from letter of the ST Petersburgh
correspondent Of 'Le Nord," dated Dec 5,
1858: "From his appearance on the stage
(at St. Petersburgh, Russia, not Virginia.
the African artist completely captivated
his audience by his harmonious and reso-
nant voice, and by style full of simplicity,
nature and dignity. y >
The scene in the third act,* when the sem
timent of jealousy is reused in the ferocious
Moor, is the triumph of Aldridge. AT the
first word of the willy insinuation, you see
his eye kindle; you feel the tears IN his
roice when he qnestlo;'s Lago, then the
deep sobs which stiae it; and finally, when
he is persuaded that his wretchedness is
complete, a cry of rage, or rather a roar,
like that of wild beast, starts from his
abdomen. still seem to hear that cry
it chilled, as with fear, and made every
spectator shudder. Tears wet his cheeks,
his mouth foamed, and his eye flashed fire.
Every body, men and women, wept Boil
eau was right in saying to actors, Weep
e ~. IL ..rno..