The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1882-04-23

company OF Mrs. Catherine FOrrOst SINCLAIR,
and subsequently that Of Laura Kcche with
whom he went TO Australia. which then offered
u most inviting field Then. going on to
San Francisco. he accepted again an en-
q ,gement with Mrs. Sinclair and afterward ac
-,-->nanlel bar through the naiping rcgioas.
T.leatrlcils in California ut that time were in a
m)5t blooming con 1tion. the receipts OF the
Metropolitan Theatre having in one year
reached over 100000. Booths greatest sue
eoss under Mrs. Sinclalr's management WIS In
the character OF Raphael in The Marble
Heart" Fechtor WAS the original in Parts.
Though Ut included. we believe. in Booth'srCp-
ertoire now we can fancy his playing 1t offec-
tivcly. After some wand ,rinss and nishaps in
town aud country. dramatic business having,
with one Of those 81 idcn transitions common TO
California passed into desolato and empty ways.
Ito returned to the East ald on the ith Of May.
1857 appeared at the then Metropolitan Thea
tire Of this city not in Sir Giles. rs he desired
and directed. but 10 Richard. The month was
bal one. and the engagement was not sue
cess. IL has escaped the writer's recollection
that Mr.. Booth appeared in 1853 in New York
ut WalIaok's Theatre. then under the manage
mentof Mr.. Stuart, playing ItgJ to Mr.. Davon-
ports Ol,GIio. and that previous to visiting
Europe hc played two engagements at the
Winter ouubn 1llcSs engagements llfsI hurry
introduced Mr.. Booth 20 the New York public.
Though they were not financially successful,
they were artiRtioay 80. and the generous and
encouraging spirit in which his performance
was received by the press laid the foundation
Of his future fame.
During the summer OF 1861 Booth received q
letter from England from Mr. Blackstone OF the
Haymarket Theatre rendering him an engage
ment which he at once accepted. He was ac-
companiod abroad by his wife. Miss Mary Dew
lin, an aetrcss, whom he had married the pre-
vious year. Mrs. Booth was an Irish american
lady. slight and fragile. but of much spirit
uai beauty with great charm Of manner and
most winning grace. She loved and worshipped
her husband, and was entirely devoted to him.
Proud Of him. she nurr,ed and encouraged his
ambitious aspirations. On the morning they
sailed for Europe every thing gave hope of IA
bright future. These hopes were speedily
crushed. He made his first appearance In Lon
don as Siiylock. but produced no impression.
The pit Id not rise at him as at Kcnn. In his
subsequent appearance ~ Rtchelieu he caught
the town. but too late to recover from the first
damaging; effect The depression consequent
on this partial defeat drove him home. and
he settled in u cottage at Dorchester
with his wife and his tncn young child. Miss
Edwina Booth. who had boon born in London.
He played an engagement in Boston. and sub
sequently came on alone to play one in New
York. During his absence from home his wife
died suddenly. Mr.. Booth. with determined
herJism which has done him honor flung off
the inherited disease for driak which had EN-
Uttered his life and devoted himself with re-
doubled zoal and new energy to his own elcva-
ton and that Of his art. It WAS about this time
that he communicated to Mr.. william Stuart
MIA iIAt Df creating nftpr fha fnshtcn II tipb
had won such fame for Macready and kran.
and is now winning such fame for Irving,
the Shakespeare roviv;,ls" This was sue
crssfully realized. "HamNt" was revived in the
fai Of 1854. No expense was spared in scenic
and other details. 1t was genuine effort to
advance the drama as a branch of literature
and art. IL the preparation OF these reyivals
Mr.. Booth may have received stray suggcs-
ton from Launt Thompson. or some other
artist, but they were his sole and undivided
work IA cNmpl"tely-mOre So rorhRrs than
were the London rcrivais the works OF Macready
and Kean. and such honor as belongs to them
ia his alone. His mana gers duty WAS simply
that which belongs to all non-p professional
managers Of seeing that the merits Of the
artist and his work were properly brought be-
fore the public.
Many inaccurate statements have been made
Mr.. Booth's two other revvuls. Macrcady's
and Kean's rcvivals we're known 10 be pccu-
MARY failures. The Booth rSvvals at the
Winter Garden were pecnniarlly successful.
Tho net results wor" not very large. bat th"y
u"rc satisfactory and they would have grown
each yea. They wer" always good for Il certain
Hrmbor a. nights each season. Hamlet for
the first three wceks rrwar:cly. tk,n f.l' b.-
low .prus"s for soma w"el;l hut recovered
The roc pt- 81 the last three weeks surpassed
those u N" hrst three. "Rlchelicu" was Il
great ro'un't"y success, ard aiy1rI' mode
rat" ono rom Aret 10 last RIt to play oven
without profit. however Severe on the NAM
nrcr. woul haze lrcn profitable to the star"
to use Mlcro1iy's words al the close If one If
his seasons. for the fame 50 acquired brought
double trahIe receipts throughout the country.
Many ua2"s in the biography are unncco ssa-
rily devoted to showing 'hat the younger Booth
is not an im.lator If Tho elder. No enc who
knows anything ofthc hs,riluic art n1u,i think
90. He may have taken some POINTS from his
father. hut they belong 10 wholly different
schools. Tho oder Booth wac u tho school of
Cooke and Kcan-n natural actor Of pas ion.
Booth the younger belongs riore 10 the school
OF Kombc and Youna-thc school of conven-
tional acting Mr.. Booth ia essentially con-
vepti"nal, and not II natural actor There is
vast ulu'foncC bA'N''n raj ana natural
acting ana the conventional tricks II art
that Grn accepted in It, stead. Natural
acting We define to be tho depicting Of churnc-
ter and emotion by gesture and expression. the
result OF an impulse Of the feelings controlled
by iulgmcE. and directed into the right chan
mel 10y previous study. Conventional acting is
nm artthcin! substitution uf stage mauner,m
for the spontaneous prompting Of momentary
feeling. To oNemplGy thi, distinction in tho
instance of living actors would be diilicu,t
though We may say We regard Jefferson. John
S. Clarke, Sarah BcrnhuiIt. Boucicau't and
william Warren IA natural artists in parts
suited 10 their nature. Nearly AL the ex-
amIies are on the artificial side. the exccp-
tons Icing accidental.
Nearly all alike proceed on wrong system.
and none moro than Mr.. Booth that OF mi
nutc attention TO executive details. in prefer
en2c, II not % the exclusion OF the essence Of
the character aud The passion OF the scene.
Acting IL an art, requiring imaginative power
| as well as nimotic skill. Lively sympathy
with the assumed character Is far ~ Dre cs-
scntnl to Il fine DerSOnntiD than mimicrY of