The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1876-02-14
New YOrk-Whieh Is BanquO and
which Is Macbeth!

The inimitable poet, who so well under
stood the secret springs by which human
nature is moved, was perhaps no believer in
the reality of witchcraft, and may have en-
ployed the popular superstition of his
time only as means of setting forth
his perceptions of the subtle working
OF passion and ambition. In the power
full tragedy of macbeth" the witches who
play so active part in setting on foot the
events of that wonderful drama may have
been, in the poets intention, only lively
representation of the effect of accidental cir
cumstances in kindling hopes Which tran
scend ordinary expectation. Neither Mac
beth nor Banquo, when they first encountered
the witches or the heath, had any reason
to believe that one would be a king
or the other the father of race of
KINGS. But so infammable is human am
bition that a small spark sufices to kim
die it, and the prediction of the witches
opened the way to their own fulflment
by putting an irrepressible demon in
the hearts of the listeners. The les
son taught by Shakespeare is illus
trated by hundreds Of examples in
authentic history. When the Creole jose
phine was told in her girlhood by an idle
West India gypsy that she would one day be
an empress her heart was filled with aspira-
tons absurd ON their face, but at last fulfilled,
because the gypsy prediction caused her to
put such an estimate on herself as en-
couraged her to make the most of her OPP
portunities. The magical effect of accidental
indictments to ambition was perfectly I'M
derstood by the great dramatist, and he rep
resented it as a potent form of witchcraft.
The lesson he intended to convey in the
tragedy to which we refer was the transform
ing influence on character of an ambition
excited by accidental circumstances. Mac
beth would have passed his life in content
as Thane of CLAIMS if a circumstance had
not crossed his path which led him
to hope that he was born for greater des-
tiny. The key to the whole play lies in the
idle prediction of the witches which put
into his head the expectations he would not
otherwise have dreamed of. Any other acct
dental spark would have equally fired the
combustible materials. The real clew to the
witchcraft is to be found in the dormant dis
position which q trivial accident suficed to
awaken.
AS the principles Of human nature and all
its greater passions are permanent we can
easily see how the passing accidents of poll
ties have aroused hopes which like tower
ing falcons fly" in some of our New York
m.
heath have spoken to Tilden and to Conkling,
but it does not yet appear which is the
Thane of Glamis destined to higher dig
nifty. The witches told Banquo that he was
'lesser than Macbeth and greater" After
saying to Macbeth, 'Thou shalt be king
hereafter" they said to Banquo, 'Thou
shalt get kings though thou be none"
But the difficulty lies, in the pres
ent case, in deciding which of the
two is Macbeth and which Banquo. Both
Conkling and Tilden, according to present
appearances, seem to have a better chance
of getting a President than of being one.
Each seems likely to go to the National Con-
vention of his party with the solid vote of
New York under his control, but
without votes enough from other
States to secure the nomination. Each
may be able to determine who shall be the
nominee of his party, though lacking
strength enough to make himself the candi-
date. Thou shall get kings though thou
be none seems equally applicable to
each and it is impossible to say which
of the two should be hailed as the Thane
of Glamis 1t may turn out that neither
will be Presidential candidate, but that
each will dictate the nomination of his own
party.
The political caldron in this State has
been as agitated for the last few weeks as if
all the witches had been finging in ingre-
dients and stirring the fire
Double, double. toll and trouble,
Fire burn and cadTon bubble.
If Governor rilden has been party to
Mayor Wickhams bargain for defeating
spring election, filling important city offices
with republicans and smoothing the way for
Senator Conklings control of the New York
delegation to Cincinnati, he has made fatal
mistake. 1t may, perhaps, facilitate his own
control of the delegates to the Democratic
National Convention, but in the end it will
wrench the sceptre from his hands" 1t is
not probable, as things look now, that either
he or Senator Conkling will lead the canvass
on their respective sides, although each may
decide who shall be the winning candidate
for the nomination of his own party. One or
the other may get President though
he shall be none; and the one
who succeeds in this will have great power
in the new administration. Ii it be Mr..
Conkling he will choose his own place in the
Cabinet and control all the New York APP
pointments. If it be Governor Tilden he
will be reelected to his present Office, hold
the reins of the Custom House and
drive it in double harness with the
city and State patronage. If the po-