New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1873-11-04
THE DRAMA
MR., BOOTHS RETURN.

Edwin Booth appeared at his brothers thea
ter last night and, in the presence OF great company
Of interested spectators. enacted shakespeares Hamlet
The welcome accorded TO him was hearty and very
demonstative There great deal OF applause, and
such applause as clearly denotes afeconate enthus
Mr.. Booth, 1t is certain possesses strong and
permanent hold upon the popular heart The secret OF
this resides first OF all the sympathetic charm OF the
actors nature. His temperament is magnetic and
winning. Next to this it resides IN his
profound sincerity and the nobleDess Of
his ambition. He sis felt TO be thoroughly honest
and he is known TO pursue high things In high man
ner. The response to actor thus endowed aud thus
mpolled Is acceptance far beyond mere admiraton
and Mr.. Booths fame is mother the floating thistle
down of popular caprice the shifting Summer cloud
Of popular delusOn. 10 the character Of Hamlet be is
closely fitted both in person aud in temperament and
IN that character. accordingly, he is at his best
He is Of slight fgure,-dark. sad picturesque, and
weirdly solemn and the atmosphere of his spirit Is
that OF sOmber thought and agOnizng aspiration,
blended with mQuruiul beauty. These, surely, are
comprehensive qualifications for the character
Of Hamlet; and. add to these the great fact that
his process Of dealing with the part Invariably poet
zeal the measure of fitness to be filled. None Of
that prosiness which bethnks itself that Danes are vel
owhaired, and therefore puts Hamlet into light wig
is ever permitted to this noble and beautiful WORK
1t the spirit that the stress Is laid and not upon
the hairan1 in this tragedy OF all others, 1t is the
spirit that gyeth life. There not one Of Gar
rick's scene-shifters, Dr.. Johnson said. who could
not reoite "To DO or not = to be" .. better
than IL was rectcd by that great actor; yet
Garrick was doubtless fine Hanalh We are to look
back Of Dress and back Of el0cntion il would find
an adequate fulhneut Of ideals in Shakepearean
acting Ramlefs hair may be light blue. for all that
really signifies II the actor will bat give HunlefS
soul This is what Edwin Booth has accomplished over
ana over again. 1t almost idle waste Of words
TO descant on the attributes Of This renowned nteec
tuaI victory. Many and many time have
traversed the familiar field. Many and many
time has the play going public look
ing through the mind and heart Of Edwin
Booth bchcd the gracious and infinitely pathetic figure
Of snakespeare's Hamlet We need not describe it.
To welcome is enough And yet its recurrence should
not be allowed 10 pass without renewed and repeated
recognition Of that poetic insight which lifts the work
into the rank Of great achievements, and makes II the
best Hamlet on stage In his pcrsonaton last night
Mr. Booth was more emphatic-we had almost said
briliantthan We knew bim to be before, in this
part Every trait distinct the evening star in
an lev twilight OF December. Every scene wrought is
instant effect upon the audience There was some
sacrifice, in all this yieor, OF the fOrlOrn
melancholy aud awful that should enwrap Hum
Ist, as with mstand that makes him burden except
to the spirit which Is in tune with his hopeless misery,
his outraged ana tortured MUD, his haffrenzed SOU,
and h profound and paralyzng sense Of the fuily OF
all tins world: and this sacrifice - 20 our taste
ia not balanced and cannot be balanced by
any amount OF force and color. Upon the assemb-
age, last night however, the intense vitality aud
rush OF the performance wrought immediate and
stantly increasing excitement, which vented itself in
frequent plaudt and when four times called the actor
before the curtain We could be contented for
part with less power and more Of that shadOwy evanes
cent beauty winch first enshrnol Booths Hqmici in
affection not less than Intellectual esteem. III re-
ferring 10 this quality note the sole difference be-
tween the Hamlet OF last night and the Hamlet Of other
days. Mr. Booth, In other words, seems less content
than formerly TO let the grandeur and loyeness Of
Hamlets nature make their own way: he impresses
their significance and shoots the dart directly home. IL
is not for Us 10 dscredit this method. His Hamlet
not the less the Hamlet of shakspeareand not the less
a.livngs exponent Of his genius and honor to the
stage.
The setting OF the tragedy much the upon
preyous occasions though II seemed h'te less neat
and little less scTupuOusly accurate and finished The
cast Of subsidiary parts seryceabe, but not fine
and not always toerable. Mr II. +. DAILY, making MS
first appearance here acted King Cid'aS in judcOus
and satisfactory manner. The full cas-which includes
several Of the curoses of the contemporary stage but
upon the features Of which he cannot pauses here
appended: