Daily Ohio statesman. [volume] (Columbus, Ohio) 1855-1870, 1866-01-15
NUMBER IBS.


I s,iigangI b1R siiyIaaE .aiuoI "a ,Hidg
can depict or describe. I'VE sat beside an
old gentleman on one occasion Of Mr.. For
rests delineation Of the Cholerle King, aud
during the utterance Of the cufhe, we heard
a strange and dunnaturalson proceedlno
from our friend, which induced us to turn
suddenly round. d To our, extreme koTob
and adeath like palehess sovefspfeadIng his
face. Instinctively we caught sliimsby Che
ARMAND by5a sudden jerk eauseds - re4p-
tion of blood, which seemed 70 have been
suffocating him. he gasped--gazed around
drew long breath, and exclalmeds
"One moment more, sir, and L should have
! been dead manl' Indeed, itseemed tons
! money would have induced our sensitive
| friend ever again to hear Mr.. FOrrests Ut
| teranee Of Lear's Curse. g1uA0 sdl - 9E5adQ
Forrest is called great physical, actor
whichimplies the mere display Of personal
| strength: hence that class Of critics who
have no idea Of the depth Of that ementan
Knowledge which .hepossesscs, inyaTiaoly
praise Jack Cades, the Gladiatorj DameAs
and similar characters. Damon fscertaiply
one of his greatest characters, but It cannot
| be called merely physical Onep The mag
nanimity, theljlOve, friendship and true
courage, apart from the physical display IN,
one or two scenes, which precede the great
struggle and denouement, the deep pathoss
the feelings of the husband and fathery res
| quire all the pOwerssof5a an actors mental
quality to carry out this, one of the most
difficult characters of the drama, In man-
ner satisfactory TO a critical audience. in
| bold martial charactersy Poorest standfJ
now, alone on the stage. His appfarancei
is more like the creation of POlidOra de
Carravaggio's triumphant victors, than the
sculptured Apollo of the Academy. Yottl
wish all these rich and rare gifts bothof
mind and body. There Is class Ofahyperrs
| critical writers who can only recognize,
strength of limbs. Mr.. Forrest blends the,
power and strength OF Hercules with the
grace Of Archilles. Hepossesses the iifeof
genius which gives life and animationltQI
| his pictures, without which his kings, and
mobiles would be mere .'shreds and patches.'
| On the same principle that gives to Dr..
johnson the title of ',rhe Giant of Litefa=
ture,p may Forrest be called ''The Giant Of
the Drama" An idea is an absurd one,
which would make the weak and Ieeblein
body your only men OF genius. There is'
| no little writer. or actor, but is set down as
a prodigious genius. Fennel, a great actor
stood six feet two inches, Conway, the
| Hamlet Of his day, was over six feet high.
| Cooper was by no means "Pendarie."
Indeed with but one or two exceptions,
nearly all of our great actors were and are
| ''fine, stalwart men," rs.;tiI-.s A. .,-s, -..it
Few men have studied Shakespeare with
an eve to the stage, more than MfForrests
He is imbued with his spirit, gandfollowsg
him through all the mazes and quibDles OF,
| texts and comments. His delineations are
not given harshly, Carelessly or fieedlessly;
there is a finish in all he gives, alconsideral ]
tion of the text of alizhe heundertakes. His
dying scenes are Deaths vivid portraiturtss
There are those whocondemn his paintings
of lite's last struggle with deaths they
know nothing about it. We have wltnessed
scenes of death as drawnb by the poets, and,
so ably pictured by Mr.. Forrest. He has
studied this most terrible portion of q trag-
edy, not from books, but by visiting those
places where Deaths visits are frequent.
our hospitals. Forests dying scenes eTe
sublime but terrible in their sublimity OF
death. There Is no Macready styleriG his
pictures who laid himself down TO, .die,i
with all the materials OF art around him,
and nota slime of nature"
1t is probable the engagement Mr.. For
rest is now playing may be his last--if so,
those who have not witnessed his powerful,
impersonations of the great characters Of
the drama had better avail themselves OF
the opportunity now offered. '7tirpo 9i'hR
Mr.. Forrest made his first appearances ON
regular stage, at the Walnut Street The-l
ater, Philadelphia, November 9th, 1920,
He has had forty-ive years experience.
years of deep study, years of research
among the archieves of stage history, years.
of educating himself in all the niceties, and
artistic touches, which give finish to the
works of art Frightening into a glow OF
''seeming life" by genius, and he closes his
dramatic career in blaze of llghts which
will linger long after his departure from the
''mimic world" as star to guide Others.
through its intricate paths.
We have spoken of Mr.. Forrest as an aeS,
tor; as scholar his impersonation OF char
acter is a sufficient evidence. HIS pronun-
citation of words is a standard; his elOcu-
tionary requirements the lesson for leaBnl
ers; his action study, and his vent Of pas
sion the natural consequence Of a perfect,
understanding between him and the au-i
thor. Passion when evoked by art 1alone-
Is feebly rendered.; passion elected by the
words of the author and the situation Of
the actor, when given, with natural effort,
is always effective and impressive. It's
here MIR. Forrest is great and few equal
him, in giving those wild bursts Of. nassion
which are to be found IN. Lear Macbeth
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