Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1882-03-25
LETTER FROM NEW YORK.
ANNA DicktnsOn.s Failnrc-Waseriali.
zasion i'm RroOklyn-A slight Wonder
Gould In Theasricals A French
Marqais-A Rich Wartlrobe-A Dis.
gushing Spectacle, Etc.

Marquis-A Rich Warirobe-A Dis
gushing Spectacle, Etc.
Special Correspondence Of THE EVENING STAR
NEW YORK. March cath.
Anna Dickinson has made her first appearance
here as Hamlet II was the most distressing fail
ure on record. am very anxious TO avoid as much
as possible saying anything brutal about her per-
formOce, and 1 wish particularly to remember
that she is good, honest, clever, little woman OF
original thought, unSullied reputation, and was
OF the most brilliant lecturers Of the past de-
| cade. She is now SpinSter. Whatever could
have induced her to attempt TO play HdD,tetf Her
best friends strove TO prevent her. but she would
| not heed them, and as result is overwhelmed
with such a flood OF contempt, deriSon, and CEN
sure as no woman ever before received. Every
| paper in New York has made her the subject
| OF the most cutting comments. Her recep-
ton by the audience was extraordinary. The
Firth avenue theater was packed with
her friends, but her acting was so atrocious
| her voice 50 disagreeable and her presence
such an eyesore, that at the second act they
| they hurried cut while she was speaking roughly
| slamming the doors and Jeering the Hamlet. II
was remarkable audience. The head OF Theo-
| dcre Tilton at one end and Jenny June at the
other end or the balcony, were only the limits OF
mass OF once-known agitators so-called literary
| people, cranks, womenS rights movers and the
| like, who were widely known ten years ago, but
| are now almost forgotten and always snubbed.
| No one pays any attention to these people now,
| but they mustered strong for the great debut
When Anna Dickinson came on the stage there
was a roll OF applause followed by moment OF
uneasinesS and then positive thrill OF disgust.
What was this nybred thing with padded calves,
awkwardly laced body, old MATHS face with
its hair dressed like a German barber,
| and voice like peacock? She began
| to speak in a shrin voice that became a
shrek when she attempted to express anger, a
whine when SOuloqu1Sfng, a scream in CONVERSE
ton. and a cracked. stilted whang-doodle croak
when trying to talk in heavy tones. 1t was i'm
possible TO sit still under that voice. She fire.
Quently forgot her lines and gave wrong cues with
great fecundity Her killing or Polo',ius win never
be forgotten How she seized the sword, as though
1t were loaded with dynamite, went through a sort
OF incpent Indian club exercise, and then gently
touched the end OF the weapon to the curtain as
| though avoiding any chance of hurting the man
she was supposed to be killing. can never be ex-
planned. She ranted and pantei like an old
maid in "a state of mind" until there
was only few people left in a house that
was sea OF empty benches. One at least might
have supposed that this clever woman would have
part hut the beautiful tender, passionate and
wrOnged Hamlet OF Shakespeare was in her hands
inawhi5h, screaming creature, neither male nor
female, and as ugly as nightmare. Miss Dickin-
son ought to know now that she cannot act She
will be hooted and Kissed off the stage ii she r
S SITS in her course. Let her return to obscurlty
ana try and forget her distressing and dShearten-
Ing experience in New York.
NATURALIZATION IN BROOKLYN.
Brooklyn has has another sensation. That uSu-
ally quiet city has been all agog over the material
iZations of a spritualistic medium The MEDIUMS
name is Mrs. Hull She was so successful in slim
m0ning the departed from the spirit world that
Henry War; Beccher went twice to see her and some
time ago a journalist, with national reputation,
but somewhat Inclined to Su 1ernaturaliSn, wrote
long descriptions OF her perform ences, ana said
that they must be more than a clever trick. Since
the medium has been in Brooklyn there has been
such d ru III to see her that seat had to be OBJ
talne1 two weeks In advance. The other evening
the circle was composed or three men and eleven
women. As Is frequently the case at SeanceS, near
y all We're believers in spiritual m nfeStatonS In
stead OF a cabinet, curtain WAS stretched across
doorway leading Joining
lights were turned down TO That dim shadow
that makes vision uncert lin and cXciteS the imag-
shows of this kind are the same When a medium
goes into cabinet there is ALWAYS suspi ion In
is not there, but somewhere else and very ac-
lively engaged at that. To prevent this the
medium in this instance kept the curtains so
drawn that her figure could be seen plainly re-
clinng In any easy position On the lounge. She
covered herself on lying down with blanket,
iaS IN sae ra All s so1s wa of
spirits made their appearance In the room. One OF
the Wis tors SAW her dear mothers spirit and W s
onnte hug FheTe Was no end to an the
cousins and aunts presented. Still the figure In
band sat quietly by. apparently as innocent a be-
lever as che most deyout spr.tualiSt In the
pany One OF the spirits that came Gus muflied in
Illusion and cretonne lace beckOned to young
physician who was sitting in an obscure corner OF
the room, He advanced, and, -sprngng like cat
at the spirit form, clasDed it about the waist 1t
was solid fesh-that is, what there was of it. for
Mrs Hull is OF rather s Sht build. The spectators
screamed, the medium struggled to get Loose, and
the lamb-like husband pOunced on the offending
physician and began pepperng him. The figure
that reclined with SO much grace on the lounge
were hurled after the audaciOus young physician
as he hurried away from the house.
SLIGHT WONDER.
New Jersey, laughed at as much as 1t is, often
comes to the front The latest thing to bring that
little strip of foreign country into public notice is
remarkable phenomena that has been taking place
at Passaic, and which recalls some OF the WITCH
craft tales years ago in England. 1t is claimed
that glass, In some mysterious way. constitutes
part Of a thrteen-year old boys anatomy, and
that as many as seventy pieces have issued from
related i by ~ the boys ' mother. was that the
lad, about four years ago, stepped on some
broken glass and i'd, cut his great toe Some
Of pain in his foot When his stocking '' was
| removed a large piece Of glass was found 1t
produced by this was dressed. In a few min
utes the boy cried out again as II In great pain.
Again the stocking was taken of. and 10 another
piece or glass larger than the first adhering to it,
The family became alarmed and kept close watch,
and several of the watchers declare that they saw
glass actually issuing from the wound. Physicians
were sent for and with their hard-hearted ncred-
ulity ridiculed the idea. But this Is nothing to
what occurred afterward. The boy experienced
great pain In his right arm, and piece after piece
| of broken glass issued from small pimple The
boy, whose name is Rose. talks about his eXpe-
Il
pher. SO did those mysterious psychological prob
lem-ch1ldren swhO were thought to be bewitched.
THE GUBERNATORIAL CONTEST In NEW YORK.
| 1t is generally agreed among republicans here
| that Governor Cornell will not be able to get
denomination, and that he would be defeated II he
did. When he made the deal with Tammany-
! which seems to be beyond dispute-he cut his own
throat. The suddenness with which he marred
good record so near its close simply acrcbatic.
That he had nothing to gain by the transaction
does not lessen the offence, and puts him In still
worse light by laying him open to the iInputa-
Conkling and his faithful followers dead against
him. When the ex-senator was struggling for q
vindicatlon at Albany last summer, he was
expected to put his shoulder to the wheel.
With hts powers as governor his aid
WOULD have been valuable, but he didn't fulfill ex.
pectations. COnklng and his adherentS then and
there resolved that they would be avenged, and
had Gov. Cornell maintained virtuOuS course to
the last he would have met with sturdy opposition
from this quarter. The stalwarts have already
shaken their heads and remarked that his renomi-
nation cannot be- They do not put 1t ON the ground
OF their own animOslty, but blandly say that the
Tammany deal has set the farmers against him.
So II Mr.. Cornell had not been so tnjudicouS as to
take sOmmersault from the pinnacle OF his clean
record, he would have been put In hole anyhow.
This reflection may AFFORD him some consolation
OF the sour grape sort