New-York tribune., 1875-09-13

THE DRAMA.
MR.. DAvFNPORT's EXIT.

engagement TIE Grand OIcra House. II has iased
two weeks. and Mr Davenport hes acted Hamle, R'c"'-
i,su RtcA0rd H., DocJch. Cttetio Shyicek, and 81"
ytes We have. for several reasons thought 1t jndicoS
10 refrain from comment these representations Mr'
Davenport ia not novelty. lie has long been kho"h'
and admired and all OF his performances have often teen
seen and described II proper, accordingly "htn
th'. tragedian pur forward his ancient works. super
fl ,nsly and agc'csiycly in competition with others
flat I,Ic conraratiycly ncw-at least tn tie present
gncra,iotc give the latter III, place OF preference
aud prominence. Moreover, the circumstances under
wh'ch Mr.. Davenport chose TO present him'ei'
at tie Grand Opera House were vulgar
and trivial. A foreign actor, Mr.. Barry Suili-
yan had been announced TO appear at Booths
Tleater lie was is tre heraIdcd with petcnious
assurance that mwarrGnted anl even rude ahh a.
tie public aware. lie ultimately brought forward
with all tie appliances q: that borbas cainor luSs'
and parade with which Mcssrs. jarrett Palmer h'bi'-
ual!y decorate te science of ADVERTISING Mr SUiiVah'
lov.ver came hi;hor as % stranger and ~ distn-
c!ish,d ishman il was known that on the British pro-
vncal stage hc Lad done much to Illustrate tho ilSh
mind ana to dignity the Irish namc am there sc'medlo
be "a certain sort OF rrouri,} III his receiving tumuhous
honors from lis usiNo countrymcn. The a'sird preimi-
nary announcement Of hs Overwhelming greatness ana
fine ridiculous torci-gl and .yrocket accompaniment
10 his performance OF Hdmid aid not deceive any Dody as
to his rank In dramatic art lcy were sct uoWh W n
credit Of adroit adv esing and national enthioll@i ah
so were dismissed Good taste might Indeed haFei"u
in lf IN
commended them 10 liberation II did not. at any rate
rcs, with Air Dayenrou-nor with Mr.. Theodore liani-
ton VII, SO achievements, whether as an artist or an
arbtcr o taste yet to be dscovcred-o assume iht
the American flag had been inSl'tod, mat American
dramatic art had been mndoryarod and that The tine
called upon him TO come forward the champion ahd
vindcator Of the American stage Nh enp'f' is An
actor whose name Las long been customary To mention
rs tho synonym Of scholarship ana p"eSs"hal uish!
and accordingly. when Mr. Davenport came iorth TO re-
brle thc advertising dodgs of Messrs Jarrett fahicr
and TO lend his reputation aud persorai nfenceto an o.
fort To arouse aniagOnsL ii not actual c0nnlct between
rlval classes OF the pi gOinx pOpuato he very DIS
arecably aonished the judicious part OF tho conhu-
nit v and ha be himself. We could not under thfse
circumstance contemi late his acting win satisfaction
and deemed ii duty to dsconnieance-oy S'hce
a. well as hy word-a Indictment OF popular feeling
paltry in It's and dangerous ia its teniencyaS ~
to be rivalr, of tl Irish and American tiagetans
Mr. Davenport TetrtS from me heid having 'o'iJ
failed 20 accomplish the arposc for which he cane We
trust that the lesson OF this experience VIII not DO
ws.e and ihat this puzzle has ncafd the last ccho
il viii hear of the Forrest ana haci''n! 9l"'"o
and the Asor Place riot.
There is another reason why it has not seemed c1-
pedient 70 comment in deall upon the series vi
performances exhibited by Mr. Davenport; and TINS
same con sderaon should prevail with him to conpot
himself with juGic0us reicence lie mas cOisi"eiapy
fallen OF from what he formerly was IA an ac'or We
have for many years, been familary acquainted WIN
all of Mr. DayeDports important personalloAs Ills 'er-
sa;i,y is pr0d gios We have known him to act In ono
evening Shakesreares Brutus and roaring hdiPn S'ao"
male in "Ihe Jibblnairosay" He Is. was. the best
labeb on TIM American stage His DEe ArGH-d as IL
lives in our memory, is peerless His DAr9"ah ana 81.
loye were very noble types OF manhood, freely ana
broadly xhibc ci under the varying lights OF hnmor ana
pahos His Sir GHeS OtcTcGch,-though 1t could never
be popular because hateful and malignant characters
repel the human heart aud arc tho more offensive
Iy4,fn is
mont of worldly craft and Bspnsate vliairy ana OF
i,s kind it is unmatched among ls coemporares HIS
OMelo in construction, II as nearly perfect as "hy'hs
can be- Intellect. statcincss grace, force variety ana
occasional flashes OF rr were always characteristic oi
Mr. Davenport's acting. II might have been-and in
decd We think IT often was-dcicent III soul by when
vo moan that the texture of Mr. Davenports nature
no and never was spirtua-whonce 1t resulted tha lis
otherwise excellent Haad was ms metallic as MS rapie
but it always in other days, had distinct purpose ana
d, anite and adequate execution. IN tnese a'Fi-
,utrs il has now begun TO weaken. We saw
him .. the Grand Opera House In HanH
and 6SheIi,u He often bungled tho text, and
he wa often faced and dull His Homief. upon THIS
OCCASION impressed very much as did the Hdmfd of
Mr. Sullivan: 1t remarkable work Cf CONSTRUCTIVE
art with the soul loft ont II did not indeed possess the
vjqor and the certainty of Mr. suyan work but as to
c..eual fiber IL was much The Both these artists
oct Hamlet AS Hazt SAYS that John Kemhe did, like
man In arrnor Win Nj D,Nenports Rchcic" there WAS
10 be better satisfied II full Ci teAtua errors
and Of bas and stunblcs but its quality was heroic ana
tender and but for tant OF bufooneiy in the huinor,
-pdlcated for Instance, in the ridiculous business
with bishop JoseDh at the end OF the second act-the
actos ideal would have seemed consistently poetic and
Il. If deduced from the play and not from history There
yas a II full glow in it, likewise, which sometimes really
satisfied the need OF aroused emotion among the spec
tators Yet at the climax the actor was obviously TOO
weak 10 execute his purpose From the point OF his de-
nanc OF the unknown assgsn TO the point OF his npe-
cation upon BaIroias Mr. Dayciporrs RieNehen was
continuous disappointment The stimulation OF IN
FIRMLY il Is needless to cay, must not be intrnity
itself Dramatic art exacts an Interpretation OF ma
ture and not "A photographs: and when dramatic ARTIST
ascert.ins that narmfy begun TO mar his power,
he ,hoId no longer vaunt himself the champion eX-
rouent OF characters which power Il indapensaDlc
To have traverscd all Of the representations given by
Mr. Davenport for the purpose either OF describlhR
them ss they used be. indicating wherein they have
xaned would have been painful and ungiacous occupa-
tion.
We will add, that to expect Rational human b'ihg'
conscious Of the OF and the brevity of He 10
endure such surroundings. however aI-'pahgirh as
were furnished to Mr. Davenport at the Grand oPeiH
Uouse was to add the last feather ana break mo
camel', back When Freedom ircl Lcr mountain ,.t
unfurled her siaIaIl to to ~. s.c s. po~ T. so'I
the wor,, actors that CIV ly,h; i - 80 -. ~.