The evening telegraph. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1864-1918, 1870-01-25


makes a demand of 'Jago:"-
"Othello"-"Give me living reason she's
disloyal." I
whereupon 'Iago' repeats the passage re-
latinR to ''Cassio.
"Othello" then should have followed with:
10 monstrous! monstrous ~ instead Of
which. as if not satisfied with "Iago's" reply,
he very coolly said: - Z" Give me another
reason" This brought down the house.
"Iago" was not prepared with ''0a0ther Tea-
SON." it was not in the play, and from That
time the performance went on in burlesque,
Reeve forgetting his part continually, until
what with perplexity, what with the heat of
the weather, his face began to perspire plen-
tifully. This annoyed him, and in attempting
to wipe it off he drew his long white satin
sleeve across his cheek, which was like the
flap of saddle in bigness, and wiped off
sweat, charcoal and ALL This was enough for
q climax the audience roared, Placide gave
signal to the prompter, and down came the
curtain
In 1910 Mr.. Stephen Price, Simpsons part
ner in the management of the Park, died,
leaving some engagements unfinished that he
had made with popular performers on the
other side of the water. Placide, at Simp-
sons request, crossed the Atlantic in the ship
Gladiator, to re-engage the performers, and
the consequence was the appearance at the
n
Tyrone Power, Fanny Ellsler, Mr.. and Mrs.
Woods, Blackstone, and other foreign actors
of the highest merit, During this visit to the
Old World he did not play in England or
elsewhere. He returned in August of the same
year.
This period may be called the brightest
days of the "Old Park" The far-famed stock
company was in it's perfection then, and
being assisted by such actors as we have
spoken of above, with Dowton, Hackett,
Mrs. Fitzwilliam, Burton, the Seguin Ope ratio
Company, the Martyr Operatic Company,
Forrest, Charlotte Cushman, Browne, Barnes,
w III. Williams, and others of great celebrity
besides, it might surely have contested the
palm with any theatre whatever.
Placide played star engagement in
London in 1913, where he was
subject to some few not unfriendly
criticisms, as Forrest had pre-
dicted, and even the comparisons made to his
disadvantage were with giants of the stage.
His ''Sir Petef" was compared with that of
Farren, and his "Touchstone" with that of
Fawcett
On his return to New York Placide reap
peared at the Park in September, and con-
tinued to play these until 1S43. He there ter
minated long caIeer of unequalled popu-
larity at this time-honored edifice, and re-
tired to his quiet country residence at
Babylon, Long Island. Since then he played
in the various cities in the Union, his last
engagement being at the Winter Garden in
1865, where he played Corporal Cartouche"
with undjminished spirit in his sixty-sixth
year.
In person Henry Placide is of medium
height, fine robust figure, a handsome face,
with dark expressive eyes, and a meaning in
every look or gesture. As is the case with all
frst-class actors, lie acts with his whole body,
every movement, however slight, has a sig
nificance, and attracts the attention of his
audience from first to last. His voice is rich
and unusually fall and powerful, but modu-
lated to every note of pathos or humor. There
are tones in it that invariably touch our SYM
pathes, and bring the tears when least
pected, or move us to laughter at a word.
His dress on the stage was always faultless,
his manners graceful, his bearing that of
a man of genius. In private life his charac-
ter has been most exemplary. Scrupulous
in the payment of his debts, particular in his
intercourse with others, and careful in his
habits. The control he exercises over himself
is wonderful. He once said:-"During my
acting upon the stage | never used to drink
drop of anything after dinner-not even
water-as / was sure it affected the voice. So
in the nights, even when had to play in
three pieces-and the theatre was rarely
closed until after midnight never drank
until I reached home. Then would undress
and make all ready to get to bed, even turn
ing down the clothes, so as to make it all
clear for me to jump in, and then 1 would
take my first drink-a little brandy and water
All one glass was never enough had to
take two to qnench my thirst before Iput out
the light" 5--.t
Matthews compliment to Placide, whom he
styles ''chastest of actors, was by no means
unmerited. Not only did he hold the ''mirror
upto nature, but in another sense his acting
was chaste, and free from those ordinary
blemishes of rudeness and vulgarity which
too often disgrace performers of the comic
drama. The indelicate jokes, the indecent
gestures, the licentious doubles entendres Of
Jack Reeve and those who followed the style
of that grotesque mimic never were initiated
nor even tolerated by Placide, His mind was
singularly simple and pure of evil. In fact,
he was always, on or off the stage, refined
gentleman Not long since the writer
was speaking of the opera bouffe and the
retired actor expressed some curiosity to know
something of the play that just then was fas-
cinating the town. This was during the early
performances of the GrdRde DuchesSe de Ge-
90lstdR. AS the RIGHTEOUSNESS of the plot
slowly revealed itself to him his lips became
compressed, his eyebrows contracted, until at
last he threw up his hands, and in a burst of
indignation exclaimed, $50, this is the kind
of thing that pleases New Y ork audience, is
it This is what respectable people take their
wives and daughters to see T? Have we got
down to this, when such things can please
Thank God / am no longer on the stage!"
Mr.. Placide, having acquired an easy COM
petence by his profession, is independent of