The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1874-04-19

correspondent writes to say that the
HERALD does injustice to the amusement
loving people of England by asserting that
there are more theatres in New York than
in London. But the HERALD made no such
statement We simply compared the bulletin
of dramatic and operate announcements
under the editorial head of the HERALD with
similar bulletin under the head of the London
Times, and the comparison was to our own ad
vantage. We simply commented upon an i'm
preston we have observed abroad to the effect
that the Americans were sombre race. We
think it was Thomas Hughes who said as much
when he returned to London after his visit to
this country. Mr.. Hughes, We fear, lost him
self in the solitude of the Cambridge cloisters
among damp and musty professors. He
should have studied the amusement column
of the HERALD and made himself at home in
this great, breezy metropolis, and have gone
the grand round from the Academy to Bryant
and looked in upon the wonderful art shown
on Wallack's and Days stage, or seen in
Booth and Davenport genius that has not
been surpassed since Kean, or grown merry
over Clown Fox's adventures with police
man. He surely would not have called us
sad and silent people. Our amusement world
is world of its own in its way suggestive
panorama of our modern American life, and
showing we trust, higher and higher evil
dences of culture, refinement and taste.
Here we have another season Of opera-not
to speak Of lighter and more amusing forms
r Il u. L. r. Al r.
American taste Mr.. Fox, perhaps the best
clown in the world, delights the children with
his pranks and grimaces as Humpty Dumpty.
We suppose tragedian or q comedian repre-
sents higher school OF art than a clown but
a good clown is good thing-what Mr. Tup-
per would be apt to call ga wellspring of pleas
ure"-and we would much rather see good
clown than bad tragedan Then we have
another national institution much beloved by
the children and sporting young men in Bry-
ants. We tremble to think Of the melodies
and dances and refrains and jigs and break
Old Virginia for which Mr. Bryant is respon-
sible ''Shoo-Fly," for instance, was like
discovering new planet in the universe of
amusements, and nothing is more attractive in
Ofenbachs opera than the extravaganza OF the
"Mulligan Guards. These are revelations
of the real tenderness and expression un-
DERIVING African melody, and are as much
works OF genius in their way as ''Lohen-
grin" Mr. Bryant and his band OF
singers and dancers will always succeed
when they content themselves with the purely
African and sentimental styles Of minstrelsy
Young men want to hear about other young
men falling in love and about the pranks of Old
Kentucky.
As we study this list we see how cosmo-
politan New York is, for here we may have a
French theatre, with company fresh from
Paris, and on the other side German theatre,
where our German fellow citizens may see the
masterpieces OF Schiller and drink their beer
in peace, and fear no CONSUMPTION nor anv
other danger except that Of initiation, if the
President will do what no honest German
in New York would think of doing~namelv.
sign the pernicious Senate bill.