, 1864-04-25
SHAKESPEARE.
Ills Three Hundreth NEUTRALITY-SUSPICIOUS.
Commemoratls1.
Planting an Onk-Cc1ebrationi In Rryan
I3al1-The German Theatcr,

Saturday, April g the threo hundreth sun}re,.
saIy Of William shAkspeare's irth,-beins also
the two hundred and forty.eighth anniversary o.
his death-waa observed In Chicago with appro-
p1ase ceremonies. The St. Georges society-eon-
posed exclusively OF co1ntrymen OF Shakespeare,
ieit themselves called upon in an especial manner
,ae 70 90 hoaos to the ao Of tie poet and
programme WIS not tn1ly carried ont, owing par
tial'y to the miserable weather, and partially to
the detection o. 4t least delay Of some to whom had
been entrusted the execution Of details- Nevei.he
less the OCCASION was pleasant one, and will be
| celebration.
A number Of members Of the st, Georrc's socie-
+, accompanied By several gentlemen OF other nj
tona1ities took special train In the afternoon and
proceeded to Rosohll Cemetery for the purpose Of
owned there b. thie Society. The party was not
large, nor was the ceremonies lengthy in conse-
quence OF the unfavorable weather. The oak-a
senieS Of tie lot snd bottleof vine VA broken a
over the roota- William Holdsworth, the President
& .hS %S;ts Saset{; YIs% RIs9R WanaR
tain OF Police, Sergeant George Miller and others
spoke n few words, short sentiments taking the
pace oi long speeches. The party then returned
BRYAN HALL,
=, The commemorattyo services wero given under
tho auspices Of the St. Georges Society, in the
Of great praise for the very excellent manner IN
which the hail vas fitted up for the occasion, as
vel As fnr the way in which the programme was
portrait Of shsSspere edsed viii sap o1n
and 6nzmorntcd by the cross Of St. George The
supports were the flags Of England and TIC United
sery effectively fled In. The panels Of the gallery
were nsed IS the grounds OF Inscription. each one
bearing shakeperian motto. The tout ensemble
was very fine: and the audience, though not quitc
cue, the gallery being occupied by several hun
dreds In addition to a nearly Oiled hoor.
delssohn's mueic to The Midsummer Nights
Dream" j" performed by the Great Western Band.
1t was accurately performed.
The following, written by E. Colbert OF this city,
was then pronounced BY EVELYN Evans:
Three hundred years ago to-dsy was born in an
obscure village In the middle Of England one who.
though boastlng no honorable birth, was destined
TO shine ns the Bun In the nterarT Tdfmameut-W,-
linn Shakespeare, the 1a1d OF Avon History does
not state that cage hovcred around his 3nfantlle
head, or TINT he st1ansled serpent at his birth.
ne wes common looking CHILD, with common sur
Nei1her tn his boyhood do we witness the e1ht-
bton Of my Of those fests OF intellectual prowess
with the record Of which historians delight TO deck
prodieics OF chisdieh acqulrepent no prccocIty Of
intellect, not esen Of that strange aud wondrous
leaning and longing after the beautiful. which Is
None OF this; and opportunities fer the develop
9cnt OF the latent talent within him were few ID
ton at the frrc school in Strator which in those
days mcant-we cannot cay how little. Even that
was coon concluded through family misfortune.
Of that sunleL. Of Intellect which was dcsi.ned to
food The whole earth with Its raEs, through all
Aavaa the boy, 60 Was the young man-siytns
no sign Of future greatness. save in the possession
Of that free fearless spirit OF adventure which is
the true type Of Natures noh;emau-,he who dis
dains the pctty couventlonalitlca and repudiates
| the trAmDeling formulas Of society. He surround
ed himself with fAmsy ties ut the carly Of cigh
teen: and even in that advanced stage Of existence
We recognize ouly the spirit Of q man winch, like
the young eagle wastes not Its strength in petty
circug flights ere ite pinIons a1e grown, but re-
he has attained the power to aoar hea7cuward amid
the bright eluleencr almost at the first essay, leav-
Ing all othe1a fur eway in the isnoble depths below
eons Ms aa
earonsals his experience. ns tutor eren, arc as
naught- in his deer stealing experience We nrst
discretion We are indebted probably for ali worth
knowing. That flight to London at the age Of
tweptJ-,hree, to escape the wrath OF a Lucy-ig-
fnlneas and rcnowu How shall We trace lin
thereafter, through the tnccessiye occupations Of
cal boy, minor actor, winter. and leader till he be-
among whom he thoue As the eun among stars
the man before whose amazing Intellectual wealth
all who knew him bowed in reTerential homage,
We cannot follow his history chronolosleatly.; It
is only as the natural hlatorian counts develop
menta and compares phases Of existence, that We
can hope to study him. The lapse Of less than
tradition all ths, pertains to his personal career.
Yet these clouds are only IS the fog the horizon
Above that bound 5isss nsJest5cally the orb q
| dss. eends forth scintillntions tnnume7ab1e and
ete1nay enduring. Scarcea breath ofvapor obscurcs
paase to S s SeS In
again, tll almost blinded with the eaort. See him
the dark and hitherto undiscovered fecesses Of he
human heart, bringing into full play the affections
and passions, and powers OF his characters, and
ling and flashing Ike the blaze Of diamonds, where
before We only saw the dim shsdowy outline Of ita
form. Watch him as with trne panlo,nitnic power
Thought, and action and with kaleldoscopic versa
ftlity changes from ecene to scene, from object 10
object IN " a1e bewjldsrcd viii the eject; and
yet ae the tree Of the knowledge Of good and evil
bad ehed it's fruit for us and We had eaten and be.
In this one trait Lies the peculiar, the omntpo-
tential power Of Shakespeare. He does not attempt
to create character, but to unfold it. He aims not
veal that which w1s and Il and ever ehsil be. " He
sought not the vain glory OF Faust who was
swallowed mp by his own creation. but to hold the
% anaiecuited nothing Gor aettin aain
aueht In mallce to present The image Of The thinss
themselves. and ediiy or anuss only by their COM
bition. hs eoared not after the imitable, or even
the dic cult; bis situations arc al possible his act
ione NATURAL the substantive Is 6rst then
the verb; the accessories applied iudiciously
| never With too layieh hand
| 1t is OF the heart that Shakespeare speaks: he
most hidden workings. The subtc1fnges Of The
hypoGite are Like plastic clay in his hands.
Atone fell ewoop" be dives deep aud brings 70
the surface the leading t1ait which there fixed II
| surrounded by Its necessary adjunets only. In
each Of his personalities sees the innate char
ese Ct EeSsr sps
they, claborated 70 Us to be weartsome. One
touch, and the image Is before You, not Thousand
bringe out in fun relief all one nceds to Enow.
Another and another il treated with equal skin.
| Almost in The twinkiing Of an eye, the panorama
set 90 1apldiy, and 20 sklfuly blended as to Give
the Idea Of complete, perfect oneness.
| AZ he speaks Of the heart. SO he speaks to. the
lkcncsBes. We appreciate them Instantancously.
Not that It Is given to any one man in any age to
comprehend thc IL inezhaue'ibe variety Of characte.
our experience, and therefore above appreciation,
Il instantly recognized as perfect pclsonation.
Hence The Thrytng estimation In which ShaEsueare
is held. The most ,nnlettescd boor is melted to
teaEs VI carried away II raptures at proper rendi-
ttCn ct hIf characters, becsree there is language
ns ne no to spabs
| l
oi he natural with the artificial are only to Be duly
appreciated We 1iee in our knowledge Of human
III. Our horizon Is limited thna By What We Know;
but never yet has one attained to that elevation
whence he could look down and beyond the con
fines Of shakespeaEian thought He who knows
and tnaemuch as the heart OF ruan is substantially
the same IN all ages and under ail conditions rtr-
able only in Its Manifestation the perfectly truth
fnl ts always reeognizabe under the shifting shams
| of civilized advancement That which il true In
one age ie tre In ALL md the characters Of Shakes
pearc v III never die, never grow antiqoated, but
always retain the Gor and freshness Of the Eliza
l.. This ptenitude Is now 50 universally acknowl-
edged, that criticisms aye justly regarded nH odi-
ous. To tell how well or how badly Shakespeare
wrote. to attempt to institute a standard Of judg-
Mcnt is Just 50 much as to essay the determination
Of absolute brightness in the Is rather
the standard of absolute perfection to which, as to
. tombstone, we rcfcr a1l elsc. We say Shake
want Of appreciation IN either case lies not with
| them but with Is-thc clouds which Obscure the
car Of Apollo are Of earthly origin; besond them
the sun always shines bright, Serene clear, beau
The natal Day Of Shakespeare is also the dsy Of
| St George. While Englishmen may feel Justly
proud Of bis fame: they are only bis more 1mmedf-
| perfect cosmopoltte In thought, he had made the
learning OF other peoples hia own; he was equally
at home in dclineating the speciaiitles OF men Of
foreign birth nE q those who drew their first breath
Two hundred aud forty eight years hive passed
eincc the great one Departed. lie still 1lves-hIs
memory shall never de. Far as the vide range OF
doc and the Larander equally with ourselves, Ap-
preciate them. In his writings, the great Shaks-,
peure fiourishes in immortal youth. When the
conqucrors Of earth shall have been forgotten, be
cherished IN The memories Of grateful world
Each succeeding. age does bin greater homage,