The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1878-01-06
IMVSEN TNTs.

him.
And what n Jolly season he made ~ IL
The little Park Theatre never held so many
happy faces as when sothcrn was there.
For my part am free to acknowledge the
fascination Of hurlcsuue. refined and polished
rs we have II in DuDd-edrD and The Crushed
Tragcdan." Sothern always was delight TO
mo. His humor did not appeal to my senses 80
much az to my judgment He always seemed
To- mo to be saying to- n select lot Of good fell
lows: " Here. now. YOU don't want any skylark-
ing let us get right down to the intellectual
mcrrimcnt of this thing. Actions are absurd.
but ideas alone are funnyl "
Dmdredrv WIS the illumination OF a negation.
Dmdredrv has softcning Of the brain. lie was
born in dress coat and 1t entered into his soul
10y slow degrees. We went to look upon him
with mingled horror and delight. because we
recognized in him that type oieociety which was
stranglcd by its own responsibility.
II was impossible to study him half an hour
without feeling instnctivcly that his progoni
tors had used up all their virility in taking
care OF their gentility You felt that he was q
warning no less than picture. and you came
away from the play house resolving that. with
heavens help. you would never again allow
Timothy Titcomb's books in your family.
and hashccsh should be banishcd from the
nursery
The adroit manner in which so,hcrn cman-
cipatcd himself from D'mdrcarv is worthy OF
all praise.
In that respect he ia n living contrast to the
paralyzod jefferson. who has slept 70 long in
one part that he can never wake w to another.
When Sothern introduced IpUdredrv to the
world. the world smackcd its lips. and said with
gusto that he couldn't do anything else.
Sothcrn took another view OF IL.
He has done everything else with assduity
and with success. in spite Of the world.
Consequently instead of being a slave 10 his
own triumphs. he is free artist. with the public
chained to his car.
l shoot this Parhian arrow after him. now
that he is gone because think he deserves IL.
He will come back some day and our chill
drcn's children will see him playing Dundtarv
still at intervals.
Mr.. Boucicaut's performances at the Grand
Opera House are by no means "a good as they
were at Wallacks. The company il not what is
called u first-class one" and there is not the
dclicacy Of detail and harmony OF ensemble
that we remember in the best representations
Of The Shaughraun."
rs regards Conn himself. II Is still a marvel
lousy clever approximation and | am inclined
TO think one Of the very best Mr.. Doucicaut has
given us
That i, accurately porirays n phase Of Irish
character and Is ~ true in its nationality n il
II IN It's ideality am unable to say
Nobody has yet written thorough analylti-
cal criticism Of Mr. Boucicaut's Irish plays
strange to say. The Popular notion In this
country Is that Mr. Bouccault knows more
about Irish character than any other living
person. | should like to see this suhlo {
handled carefully and cXhaustiycly. ! should
ike io SNOW II Kerry bddiv ODO,rd. and the
NtaHg'rGun are ~ Ncracious types az their
author claims them to he.
There is ono thing very certain. laugh as we
may at Mr.. Bouccaults critical essays on the
Grcah drama. We must conccde 10 him the
power OF Investing his Irish scenes with dis
timely Irish romance.
The Colleen Dawn" has more local color
than any Irish play know Of The mere mon
uon OF the light in the Muekross Head recalls
Co. me- the mountains and lakes and pictur-
,Slue peasants II "a beautiful scene.
| have never been in Ireland but that scene
in tho fret act Of " Tho shaughraun." in Fdt.1
u 'rn'. house. always makes me feel that
hul. L. l. impossible To tell why. pcrhaI IT il
g." IN atino sphere Of the scene.
Ot course none of us for moment supposcs
that any shSo lady that ever lived WAS like the
'aut Fohei Of Miss Rogers. She is Jess Irish
than anything else. II she had been brought
up on Plymouth Rock she could not bc more
severe. She seems to come of an old race Of
Scotch Covenanters. and all her Irish emotions
We're born in Calvinstc corsets
No. cannot believe that the Sligo ladies are
SO precise-that they put little hiss on their
words rs they turn up the tails Of their is in
their billet doux; that they emit the vowels as
II they We're bullets and uso the thorax ike a
needle gun. Austorc as Dyas was she never