The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1878-08-25
dMUSEHENTS.
WoutanIy ACTORS.

Ii is that IN our day an open abandonment Of
sex In representation IL permitted only to wo-
mon. They attempt Hdmiet. Romeo. and other
male roles. and we regard their efforts III
dccorous attention. But it IL not admissible
for men Ia play LaiD Mocieh or J,i,d
kynaston' is an impossihilty in our time.
II you are Il woman you will say very patly
that while one sex il capable by virtue Of liz
scnsbility and intuition of representing the
characteristics Of two gcndcrs, the other sex by
virtue Of its coarscncss and carelessncss can
comprehend but one
II YOU are not Il female, you will remind mo
that for a woman to initiate heroic man. inn
plies a noble cndcavor. But for n man to imi-
tate a woman, heroic or not. hcittlcs him.
| don't know that you will say this boldly
when any OF your folks are about; but you will
think 1t securely in your masculine soul con-
found you!
And what maddens me is. that you can't tell
me whV 1t hclittlcs him.
/ can only add to your pcrplexity by remind
ing you that. while masculinty In n woman IL
invariably the sign OF pcrvcrsion, and is not
accepted in art or society without protest some
Of the most conspicuous characteristics Of femi.
ninity are often the sign Of development and
power in man.
take it for granted that you do no, accept the
teaching Of the venerable allogory which makes
woman a part Of that perfect whole which we
call man.
Because the effort of modern thought il not
TO make the sexes distinctive but equal and II
is only in theory that man is ever perfect
whole.
But. o you indolent groups sitting this crystal
morning Heaven send 1t bc crystal = on shady
ycrandas and dcwy decks tell me what you TO
accept. II drop this old bombshcll in among
you-let 1t explode. 1t never kills anybody.
II Lydia conches her dimpcd fist and de-
carcs that she always plays Il male role in bur
lesque because she could never find n man who
could play it for her and MI the house. don't
contradict her. She is right. In burlesaue we
want our men-womcn. Just rs In Niger min
strelsy we must have our women men.
Lydia will middle u monstrous fact charm
ingly in ten seconds with an insignificant truth
for In spite Of her long and merry life Of sex
alncgation. She is a woman in spirit. and you
know n well ms do that. fail NJ much rs they
may TO assert their sex in art the Lydias never
tail 10 make 1t plain in argument.
These are the midges Of merriment They
took of their clothes not because they wantedi 10
bo men. but because the public wanted to be
sure they were women. aud drapery only OBJ
scurcd the fact. have heard Tcrpsichorc her
self say when in an i'll humor that clothes
Nt'til N'hiAA ''i iiu'i lfl II SUM- IfhIl' W
all the clothes in Christendom they couldn't
cover w their characters.
You see it won't do 10 discuss this question
with everybody.
All men. observed Sir Physiology phlegm.
have in them falsetto voice which displaces
truth when they would abandon It and become
women. but have yet 10 meet the woman who
can keep Bass on tap for either the muse or the
public.
SO much for Physiology 1t would reduce
the noblcr sex 10 Only Icons"
All that we remember OF the great women Of
the world remarks Sir Historical Howl il their
womanliness. Mankind has forgotten that the
heroine Of Orleans was a warrior and commcm-
crates here as maid
So much for history. Think Of what an awful
deal Of trouble the women Of the world took to
secure what they couldn't avoid.
Tie trouble with the sexes asserts Sir Pro-
sai.al Plum. il that men are continually putting
women on ideal pedc-til-. and women are con-
tinually jumping on aud breaking their ne.ks.
Liberty and glory are Incompatible. W" must
initiate Powers VINO when he got his ideal
woman In marble chained her fast. In order to
have queen Of beauty he made her slave.
And yet these three toplofeal old uhilos0-
pliers will buy front seats at the burcsquo he-
cause they would rather see b.auty out Of her
! pr per hahinuoufs than o. See Cad Hamilton
clothed ami in her right mind reading one Of
! her own essays.
one they say may Doc an impropricty. but the
other is an impossihility. Shame On them.
Bah, leave you on your balcony Tho faint
spired breath Of the premature autumn eucr-
| Yates your souls.
Her IN IA" calm dust ~ the city we retain the
vigor and the intuition ~ youth.
\ woman on exhibition j. far moro loyal to
her nature than is man. Perhaps this T. be-
cause her nature rs meant 10 be exhibited and
mal'- is Lot-hut be that as it may. she seldom
| fever shakes herself free from her scN-a man
often loses the characteristics Of hls-when he
takes 10 a life OF exhibition. Thus We have
feminine actors among men rs well as eiIcmi-
mate actors, hut We have 10 manly or maLish
actresses.
We used TO call the vigorous. rough action a.
Cushman, and tho coarse vchcmcnce Of West
ern masculine. hut one might as well say that n
woman becomes man whom she weighs over u
hundred AMI MY pounds.
Neither Of them approached Anna Dickinson
in rrH'L-that sheer will power acting indie
pcndcnty Of s,nsib,lity which is the character
istlr 81 the masculine nature And yet. even
Miss D!chils0n. in her protestdtion5 and her
appeals. no less than ia her clever play and
studied acting won US more by the weak pros
ence Of woman than 10y the energetic absence
Of il.
From all that saw Of the late Mr.. Montague
on tho stage. and from all that hear Of him in
his private life think that he was man Of
sonsibiiiy rather than Of will; that b" was re-
eoitiye. not aggressive, in his individuality.
with a quick apprehension OF feelings and q
slow judgment Of fats. That lac leaned to the
kindly side of everything. and could not ex-
/ fr.t 4 in