Memphis daily appeal. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1847-1886, 1879-02-26
Things have come to pretty pass
When a man can't w0llop his own iackass.
j hn Mccullough. Edwin Forrest and
ESOOEh.

New York correspondence of the CONNER
ciaI: 81 notice in the World that the great
tragedian, on whose shoulders the mantle of
Forrest has fallen and does not set loosely, is
about to make d new departure in that Ro.
man field, wherein he has already reaped so
much OF glory. Miss Anna Z. Dickinson has
written for Mr.. NJ Cullough a tragic play
called 'AureliaD, based upon the strange ca
reer of the warrior Roman emperor. Ia it,
the tragedian will play the title character and
$50 it Is rumOred) the author will support him
as Queen Zenobia.' That Miss Dickinson is a
woman OF brains aud judgment Is undls-
puted; but | doubt if she can ever act with
such strength and fire and grand finish as the
woman needs who essays an equal part with
NJ 'Cullough. l regard him as az equally
strong actor as the late Edwin Forrest; but he
lacks the rough edges that great tragedian
too often left on his work. His naturalness
and other strong points Of popular attrac-
ton are so well hit upon, in a recent copy of
the Washington Post that | not only copy it
for your readers, but indorse it entire.
Without desiring to detract from the repu-
tation Of any other American tfagedien-or
to name inyidlously the only one who can be
called a rival in the estimation of the publ C
and granting to Mr.. Booth all that will be
claimed for him by his most ardent admirers,
it still Is to be said that Mr.. NJ 'Cullough is
the foremost actor OF our time. AS there are
poets who rhyme for poets, and artists who
paint for artists, so there are actors who play
for actors. They are skilled IN the methods
of art; masters OF technique; fertile in scenic
resources, taultless In what might be styled
the deCorum Of the stage, aud yet Mr..
Mccullough is greater than any Of his CO.
temporaries for the most palpable of all
reasOns-hls naturalness. 1t Is in this one
quality that his great strength lies. He may
not be able to tell you why he does this or
IaS coll hot
ture, and yet one feels as he watches him
il is exactly proportional to the thought, and
Is necessary to give iG utterance. Mr.. 81 Cul,
lough' art is above all article, and largely in
dependent of stage effect. He would be as
much "Othello" if given bar0 to play in, or
one of those rude theaters of Shakespeare
time, as with the more approved Access
sores. We could hardly fancy Edwin
Booth in such dilemma. 1t is Mr.. M 'Cul-
lough's strong personality that invades,
or rather pervades all he does, and that
gives to all his ch8racterizations the
essential dignity Of manhood. We
have seen Hamlejs who were pure
pieces of mentality and other 'Hsmlets
who were merely physical presentments of
the melancholy Dane, but neither is the true
Hamlet. shakespeare men had souls and
bodies both, and no other actor has given
them such clear conception and full and
rendition. When we are tired of
mannerism and stilted affectation, such act
ing as this, virile with strength and glowing
with life, shames the colorleSs creations Of
the schools. No other actor has so fully in
tepreted the old Roman hfe as Mccullough
He wears the toga as though it were his by
right; his classic face and depth of voice
would not have shamed the MODEST of them
all. There Is massiVeness, repOse, dignity,
subdued tenderness and intense realism Ia
his representation of such colossal characters
as 'Otheilo and 'Vrginius.' He has been
SAID to lack subtletY of acting, but many of
his creations show this quality In its very per-
fections. Mccullough has the versatility that
belongs to greatness, and gives US alike
wildly the pathos Of Lear, the passion of
'Oshello, the cool purpose Of 'Iago, and the
of 'Hamlst.' He respects his
art No frenzy Of passion, no burst OF elo-
Iuence, carried ioo far, mars the symmetry
Of his acting and underlying the keen IN
insight, and the grace and finish
If his acting, is that broad feeling of kinship
Tor humanity, that innate human goodness |
md sympathy which Is the secret of his
powers"
James M'Henry has given notice that he
will call a meeting early in March to sepa-
ate the Atlantic and Great Western railroad |
completely from its connection with the Erie, |
md consequently to oppose the amalgama- |
ion project.