New-York tribune., 1880-03-07


part but those who fancy that he was mere Bow
cry actor full of sound and fury. much mis- |
taken.
suppose that the old-fashioned melodrama Is |
gone and gone forever Withit fustiau and bne lre
with its scenery ofrocks and mountains and WOODS
and and Swiss cottages; with Its sumna'e
villains and village girls in short petucoas; win
It's mixture Of drJleIy and desperation, and 'ts P
rate or highwayman dying after much methonIch !
Goundcrng. just before the curtain ie To the
slow wall cs the fddes aud the groans Of
baSsoons-it is gone. II required a particular
kind Of actor f. play the heavy villain, oil
the true burut-cork type, IA these ms
ceaneous plays. Usually he wore long black cloa'
and a slouch hat with great dropping feather lie
never walked as other men do. HIS passage down
the stage was slow and studied. 1t WAS necessary
that his arms should be folded and that he should
pat his left a;m with ti: huge buckskr gauntlet
which he wore, upon his right hand. Accoutred
thus. with measured step, and heel brought aiter-
nately to heel he stole upon his homIcid1l GRAND
or slul d to the foot-hf hts 10 communicate 10 the
Dit the information that he vas "a VILLAIN the
truth of which disclosure nobody cared to deny.
He was terrible creature, and made
deep impression not merely upon the noyiceS. bnt
upon old patrons OF the playhouse who had grown
TO Ike bis methods. Does any Ncw-lo.k seader Ie-
member a Mr.. McCutchoOn-a predecessor oi the
great Kirby-WhO was one Of tho heaviest OF dra-
matte villains IN those days. Docs anybody romonn-
Der poor John Howard Pa.nGs Iheiesc; OF Tie
Orphans of Geueya1 Forrest tried the part OF Car
,cip in It when he was a Noung man, ana Il most
bloody and murierous wild beast be pol'raycd but
McCutcheon, albeit short Of stature, conld give the
man-mountalu odds ! wish / could reproduce IN
words the hiss and roar, the mingled gro1n and
howl with which Nj. McCuichcOn addressed the
Orphan she had not expected 10 meet him. aud
had naturally exclaimed when she found herself III
bis Ebertilc grasp. "C3rwin here" HoN she
trembied-ho had her by the fair, white shoulder
while h spit al her The fearful words. " Az. tdf-
win here, Car-win cv-er-ywhcrr! WAcrcyeT you
NAV 20. Whatever hilinS place you may Seek ihefe
am to THUNDER in your ear, IhG-oc-e'-sf." Inc
lady, am happy to say escaped from tho !angS o!
this violent monster without ilry. ior she danced
a sailors hornipe fifteen minutes after with elastic
agility and IL true nautical costume
As the long procession Of player folk passes before
the eye of memory, from, al the and gay per
sonagcs it IS hard to select those best worthy OF my
rude portraitnre. Il | give pace TO the ladies',
rs a wel-brcd man should, / mus irs; mention one
who was the last the great misrcsScS ot tragedy
formed in the school Of >idlons The ar5 of elevated
tragic acting whether il WIS good bad. natural
or unnatural. - lost 3lrs. Dun was the finest @!
those who brought It's traditions down TO compare
tivey modern times; bat j. was my bad at@ n"' {"
so her and il is of Alrs Soalan That mean speak.
Alb those cid tragedy queens, IL soehl" black ana
lofty head lresses and high hc"< wonder if they
woul1 bcguile our paIquettes, for We have 10 pfS
now to he cheated Cut OF Their tremors and iheig
fears. If the old tragedy style was more than
stately defamation at least it brought the Wo.ds
of the poet and the drcary and desperate facts of the
situation to the and the hearts or the he2rer,
But il was something more. Mrs. Sioman for
instance. as Isabelle, in Sou.heric's tragedy OF
5" The Fatal Marrage,' IN the painful scenes
of the fifth act. seemed almost gglnilc ID
her agony. In Jane Shore and MS. GTTly she
was equally fine aud large II tne reminiscent says
with sigh. There Is no such acting now hope
that the reader, who Is supposed 70 be gentle,
will not laugh at him. l alu foolish enough to re
member pleasantly the actre,sei wbo brought intel!
tfn,"s4rtrthr nnDW tny sal'( II than Of brocatc+
aud diamonds. who were homcy domestic charac- /
ter> and went home after the play to cat supper
VITA their husbands AMI put the children tO bel, |
only plain wives, and queens no longer; who were |
letter perfect IN their parts and did not foist bal
grammar into the text of shakespeare and sheridan;
who were. In short. solid, honest artists, hide |
under the dominion of stage tradition. bur still. /
every evening. year after year, loyal 30 their work.
theatrical people now smile supr-ciliously az the
SQtras aad Rorqanas aul Bsr,d as Of the last cc,-
Perhaps 50. wish that somebody would. II % De $50
easy. OF course ii is harder 10 wrieg.e up and |
down tn boards Freuch cOuric7an, and to glide
ihrOug the inazes Of Grim con. 10 splendid rainent,
and be half lady, half in earnest, half weil-up III
tn. text half heard, hdlf appiauded. half every
thing; but, if | may be permitted 10 choose tie
>t.tira8 aAd EoraaHas and Belrideras Con NE!
The fame OF great actor is so soon lost that it
seems no more than deed OF simple Justice and !
gratitude TO try, even in a hunble way. TO per-
petuatc it, People ask m, some imcs il Mr. Ed
win Booth is Is great an actor rs bis father NHs.
But comparisons arc unnecessary went 90 see the
son pay Hamet The other night, aud here aud there
observed characteristics Of the Older artist waited
eagerly for the play-scene for ! remembered
how fine my old fayOrite actor was in that while
Ice rested III The lap OF Opheld, ami dominated the
whole stage by his single presence. The stories Of
his eccentrcitics his exccsses his somi-unaces are
nnumcrable some of them authentic and
some Of them are not. 10 only is certain that he
was very uncertain. Managers were obliged 10
watch him closely. have a thousand people
waiting for his entrance Iago, while the
baled emissares Of the theatre secured the city in
quest of him. and it was necessary to return the
money after all. The next night he would come on
with bowed head and the suggestion of pcnitence
and apology in his carriage and afterward play,
if gratefully, with touches here and there of the
old fire which had warmed to enthusiasm past
bringing " ful-handed thunders from
box and pit and gallery. There were characters
which died with him, though they are not we may
hope past resurrecton-such parts, for instance as
SIR Giles Orererch and PtScdrd. Is there anybody
now who give the Some undOne widow
sits upon my arm" as he did i-who can
infuse into that wonderful dying speech and
finest thing which ever came from
the pen Of Massineer-tle despair agony. remorse
and rage with which Mr.. Booth gave it Small
rti cs used to say that it recollection of the
elder Kcan. but how are we to know that Mr.