New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1882-09-03

they were In tnolr lives. Ono OF the napplost
dents Of O recent stroll was the finding Of the Harp
Tavern near the stage door of Drury Lane Theatre,
which was the accustomed resort Of Edmund Kean.
Carpenters and masons were at work upon IL " hen
entered, and it WAS necessary almost to creep
amid heaps of broken mortar and rubbish beneath
their scaffolds, in order to reach the interior
rooms here at the end of q narrow passage was
a little apartment perhaps fifteen feet square, with
n low ceiling and bare floor. In which Kean
habtuay took his pleasure in the society OF fellow
actors and boon companions, long ago. narrow,
cushioned bench against the walls. lew small
tables, chair or two, a number OF church-wardeh
pipes on the mantelpicce and portraits of Disraell
and Gladstone constituted tho furniture. A pan
eled wainscot and dingy red paper covered the
walls and few cobwebs hung from the grIny
ceiling BY this time the old room has been cleaned,
repapered and generally made spruce and tidy; but
then it bore all the marks of hard usage and long
neglect aud it seemed all the interesting for
that reason.
Kean's seat is on the right as you enter, and just
above it a mural tablet desgnates the spot, which
is still further commemorated by death mask of
the actor, placed on a little shelf Of dark wood and
covered with glass No better portrait could be
desired certainly 40 better exists. In life this
must have been a glorious face. The eyes are large
and Prominent, the brow is broad and fine, tho
mouth wide and obviously sensitive the chin
delicate ana the nose long, well-set and indicative
of immense force of character. The whole express
sion Of the face that of refinement and OF great
and desOlate sadness. Kean, as is known from the
testimony OF Who acted with him, was always
ut his best in passages OF pathOs. To hear him speak
Othcllos Farewell was to hear the perfect music Of
heart-broken despair. To him when, as The Htrdn-
qr he listened to the song was to through tears
Al ,,Ig MT of hOnelaSS
He could OF course thrill mankind in the fcrocious
outbursts of Richard and Sir Giles but it was in
tenderness and grief that he was supremacy great;
and no one will wonder at this who looks upon his
noble lacesO eloquent Of sef-cOnilict anu suffering
even in this cold and c0lOrless mask OF death. III
Is easy to judge and condemn the sins OF weak
passionate humanity; bat when We think OF such
creatures of genius Edmund Kean and Robert
Burns we ought to consider what demons in their
own souls those wrctched men were forced to tight,
and by what agones they expiated their vices and
errors This little tavern room tells the whole
mournful story. with death to point the moral and
pity TO breathe It's sigh of unavalling regret.
Many of the present frequenteIs Of the Harp are
elderly men, whose conversation is enriched with
memories of the stage and with ample know ledge
and judicous taste in literature and art. They
naturally speak with pride of Kean's association
eccentric genius has put himself in pawn, to exact
from the manager of Drury Lane Theatre the
money needed to relieve the wants of some brother
actor Often his voice has been heard there, In the
SONGS that he sang with much feeling and sweet
ness and such beautiful skill. In the circles OF the
learned and courtly he never was really ut home,
but here he filled the throne and ruled the kingdom
OF the revel, and here doubt every mood of his
mind, from high thought and generous emotion to
msanthropcal bitterness and vacant lcvlty, found
its nnfettcred expression. They show you broken
panel in the high wainscot which struck and
smashed by Il pewter pot that he hurled at the
head OF "a person who had given him offence; and
they tell yOu at the same tme,- indeed, is his
toricay true,that he was the idol OF his comrades,
the first in love- pity, sympathy and kindness, and
would turn his back, any day, for the least OF
them, on the mobiles who sought his cOmpanionship.
There is no better place than this in which to
study the life of Edmund Kean. Old men may be
met with here who often saw him on the stage, and
even acted With him. The room is the weekly |
meeting. place and habtda nightly tryst of very
ancient club called the City of LushingtOn, which
has existed since the days of the Regency. and OF |
which these persons are members. The City has its
Mayor Sheriff. insignia, record book, and system of
ceremonals and much of wit, wisdom and song may |
be enjoyed at its little civic feasts The names of
its four waTdS--LunaCy, Suicide, Poverty and |
Juniper-are written up i'll the four corners OF the
room and whatsoever joins must select his ward |
Sheridan was a member of it, and so was the Re- |
gent; and the present landlord OF the Harp pre- |
serves among his relics the chairs in which these |
gay cOmDanions sat, when the author presided over
the initiation of the Prince 1t is thought that this
club originated IN tact, out of the society of The
Wolves" winch was formed by Kean's adherents, |
when the elder Booth arose to dispute his |
supremacy upon the stage. But there is no |
malignty i'll it now. Its purposes are simply con-
viva and literary, and its tone is that of thorough
goodwill. Ono OF the gentleSt and most winning
traits in the English character is its instinct OF
AS to literature and art. Since the
days OF the Mermaid, in Bread-st, the authors ana
actors of London have dearly loved and deeply
enjoyed such odd little fratcrnities OF wit
typlcd. not inaptIy, by the city of LushingtOn.
There arc roster hours in my memory than those
that were passed, between midnight and morning
n the cosy rooms of the Becfsteak Club in
London And, when dark days come. and foes
larass and the troubles of life annoy, It will be
sweet to think that in still another sacred retreat
If friendship the sea- the old armOr Is gleam
ne II the festal lights, where one OF the gentlest |
pirlts that ever wore the laurel of EnglandS love
smile, kindly on his comrades aud seems TO nIurnuI
he mystical spell of English hospitality
" Let no one take beyond this threshold hence
" Ords uttered here in friendships cOnddence'