Wilmington daily commercial., 1874-11-27
PREACHERS AND ACTORS.

The Rev. Mr.. Talmage, Of Brooklyn, in his
wholesale dennnciatiop Of the Theatre, seems to.
have got himself into the very hottest OF ho 3
water. In one of Barney Williams piecos.there
a Frenchman who chatters away in voluble style
TO the humble hero Of the play but finally pauses
20 AJAX If he is understood .oh, yisn says Pat,
scratching his head, I'll understand ye well
enough, but don't know what yere tslkin'
about" Now, something Of that kind we believe
to be at the bottom OF the Talmage business.
The Brooklyn parson thinks he understands the
subject, but he doesn't in the least know what
he is talking about. II be did-we are suppos-
ing him, OF course, to be entirely candid and
truthful-he could not condemn the Stage in toto
as being an influence from which no good thing
has ever come or can come, as an influence
whose effects are evil and only yil,-because he
would know that such position is quite unten.
Bile. The man who says, In view OF the fact that
some OF the best literature OF every age and
every country ia dramatic literature, that IN hun
dreds Of theatres nightly plays are performed
wholly pure in tone and beneficial in influence
that constant relaxation, entertainment and in
struotion are given to innumerable persons all
over the civilized world by this agency, and that
the relaxation take it for all in all, is good QUE;
the man, who in view of this says he cannot see
the facts, is-supposing him to be truthful and
candid-an untrustworthy guide. His want OF
knowledge may be due to one or another cauee,
but however occasioned s must be disastrous to
his argument.
DIR. ralmage's denunciatons have of course
drawn upon him storm OF reply from mana
gers. actors and theatre-loyers, but upon this
we do not lay so much strese as on the reverend
gent emsn's incspacity to state the case. The
The rejoinder is natural, but much Of it would
have come just the same il the critic had been
good authority instead Of bad one. The real
point is that this unreasonable abuse comes
from man confessedly ignorant OF the subject,
and them we are content to leave him. One
point in the discussion, as carried by the other
side, however, we must note with disapproval.
1t is scarcely necessary in replying to this min
lister to make uuchantable remarks upon church
Rlsfortunes. The unhappy incidents of the
past few months have no more to do with relig-
ion ia its truth than few bad plays
have to do with the ancient insti-
tuition Of the theatre. 1t is very un
fair to take exceptional cases and to base upon
them sneer at all ministers, class of men we
can say, without fear Of contradiction, as virtu-
ous and self-sacrihcing as any in the world Ar
hne an artist and good citizen as Mr.. E. L.
Davenport made, we we're sorry to see this mis-.
take. No good comes Of such recrimination
Then, too, has been given out another chap.
tor upon the wonderful recital OF actors az com
pared with other people. Miss Lotta has beer
up and down prison corridors but has never ye
seen an actor behind the bars-and 30 on. Tha
has been favorite "gag" of the Profession
since the beginning. If it is true the probable
reason for the fact is that players are a yer,
limited fraternity and that the average Of male
factors in so restricted body would natural
be small. In short actors are precisely like 9th
er men, no worse, but no BETTER and attempt
to make them appear either worse.,or better tina
they are are equally ill-adyised