, 1872-11-15
OBITUARY..

From the London !NeicS, Oct. 81.


From the London Nezcs Oct. 81.
: death has just been announced, the men
E12 u which must bring up again the memory
Of tca1-J, grace, cnd genius, of sweetness and
DAYS Ct tie English drama. 8: Miss oNeill," the
: te:;;:4.iii13 Juliet, the Incompatible Beluiderd
z-ia lzca:;1aia Of or fathers, is dead: In other
eo-1=, Lady Becker, widow Of the late Sir
W::l-:a WEi1on Beche1, has just died, aged 81
! Many persons have seen Lady Becher within
4! tha last twenty or even thirty years, to
v:lo1a her fame as artist was always but
5n old Id, saon aon ove1 Of be stape nes
! ~lo cherish the names and memories OF its he
1o3s aad he.oines, there arc not q few who will
OILY learn from the announcement OF Lady
B=e-ec's death the fact that abe was 60 lately
living l7nong US. Fer dramatic career WAS one
oz tie shortest Is well as the brightest known
to :l1e annals Of our ssage- Five years she stood
before the foot!;ghts Of an Enghsh theatre, and
ten pssed s"ay into Eavs5s Ie Eth1ce
appearance before London audience. On the
6In OF October, 1871, she presented herself for
tie FIRST time, in CoFen. Garden, as Juliet; in
December, 1879, she left the stage, without any
never was sean upon the boards again.
II t1ct time abe had made O suficing fame
Since the days OF AIRS. Sidlons there has proba-
by peen 10 actress who could claim to rival q
Gazrlck or q haan IN the grandest displays Of
passion and poxer. But for Sweetness, pathos
and FL emotional expression short Of the power
which persona.es Lady Macbeth, Miss O'Ne1l
was superior to all rivals in her day, and since
i. stage 1t is doubtful whether the genius Of ac-
trass or actor will 6oou again awaken to the same
) degree the public interest and attention, the
: Criticism Of the highest minds, the study of
the gravest thinkers as it did when Miss O'Neill
! was dividing tho attention Of London with Ed
mund Kean. ShoWy scenery and glittering spec
. tas.o nov attract tho nero aightsee1s, and the
pretty, vivaciouG light comedy, in which to be
.r1% %1h Ir3f
GENTLY the more intelligent Of the public. For
the time, at least, the temper Of mind is gone
!, which sent London wild with emotion and ad-
: nliration over Betcideru and JuN3; and we
: greatly doubt whether 9 woman OF eEen equal
e grace and gifts could BY eny possibility make
{ sach mark on public attention now as Miss
! ONeill did during the short primeof her artistic
J t1iumpbs.
j. :sIve seen the siddons, sir, and the o'Nale,"
says the brave Captain costigan in "Peuden-
compared to Miss Fotheringay?" "You are as
pathetic as Miss O'Nein, says Mej jor PeId=nnis,
!, paying the most audacious compliment be can
6 offered a higher tribute than any mere praise
! could gire when he positively declined to 50 to
. see Mss O'Neill, lest he should be induced to
: think her rival Of Mrs. siddons. An authority
o7Neil O. edjiD6; among n tie artists whose sue
oass was greatly due to their
Intense @ earnestneEs, and ranked he5
IN this respect above Kean: "John hemole ana
Mrs. siddons she sa5s were ere atMSss NE o'Nei3i
used to cry bitterly in al her tragic parts
0Nai 53SSe II vas as not, % shs nessf went the
grandeur the eolemnity TIE terrible aepslsy
on nd fo7 Which ber COMPLEXION her face and her
,es;ona M bette, suited her. She claimed for her
ppa;t the emotional, loving, sweet and FAD. An
he melancholy the grief, and even INC pa passibn On
,th;,aS Nth Tn'cn belo,gea M to her prorince; and
apspn sha never sought to in5ade the
1ae,,ns n the sterner and more appalling Yrag-
adv. Like Kenn, che founded her style appve
n 'fbinpg on Nature. She discarded altogether
she r. rid traditions OF the school Of John Ken
hIe and distracted many faithful and Pedantlc
I'D actor by the unexpected and irrepresslb1e IN
pulses eh she to he4 to 20 M cmd
xIaS 1n;co vas exquisitely modulatod to express
ii the variouy moods of love and sympathy and
sorrow. she had had tolerably hard struggle
Of It IN theseginning, and only owed to mere
chance her first genuine opening. An actress
fhen or great renown, who was engaged in q
provincial theatre, suddenly quaareled with
the manager, sulked, and would not play.
The house would have had to be shut
no but that somebody remembered promising
@1oung Irish actress who had often been recon-
lended in vain for an engagement, and who
appened to be then in town. Miss o'Neill got
al chance and made her mark Soon after eha
.aared with Kean the plaudits Of London, Her
lreer vas thenceforWard all brightness. Sic
]aew none Of the vicissitudes which have made
le lives of 80 many actors more pitiable
agedy than ANYTHING they had on the boards.
ne hardly ever knew the ve1ations of adverse
iticism. She dld not remain long enough On
ia stage to allow the fresh glitter Of her
.pularity TO fade. John Kemble more
4tn once felt the bitterness Of public
bhprice. Kean, On one memorable occasion.
as hissed OF the stage Even Mrs. Siddons
ss, towards the close OF her career, very sharp