New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1882-11-28
NOTES FROM LONDON.
yr ,ry1c,r PERSONAL AND LITERARY.

tbo salvation Army into the theatre has oeeh iot
lowed by the result that might have been eNpeo'0r
II has beg0tten oppoS ton, ana OUT VI 'no ',P1
tion has al, eady grown one little roti 'oo p'"o"'S
tho nrecu, sor OF Others Among The audience III
the stalls last night was the Marlulso OIL P"0o"s'
harry After listening tor while 10 'he sen'luo"''
.Lot Mr. Tennvson outs into1he mouth of bis free
thinker the Marquis rose to protest. TO" " !" "
INST nnrsnal occurrence. need not say. for gen
tIemau in the calm repOse of evening dress 10 rso
IN tho stalls and enter upon n controversy with th'
oc,ors As n practice it would be inconvenient
7 ord Oueeusberry says he WAS hOrrihed ana IN
digpnnt Mt Mr. Tennyson's caricature OF irec-th
inU opinions that he could not sit still 80 nc crleu
out. This is not the truth" At the end OF inc "c'
he rose agar in response as he says 'o so'u
notured calls from the audience lie was however
forcby but kindly removed"
Unable IN set forth his views at the Globe Theatre
Lord OueensDerry states them TINS morning III "
newspaper; .-,.. ,.,
az am a secularist and a free-thinker ard'
though | repudiate it, a so-called atheist; ana "'
president of the British Secular Union pIo'e'c
against Mr. Tennyson's abominabic carlch'u'o VI
an Individual whom presume, he would baye us
| h.liovs reprrsents some body of people WHICH
| thanks to the good of humanity, inost certainly
docs not exist among free-thnkers
| La one.psberry's English like his conduct IS
| rreyular but there is occasion 10 suspect HIS
sincerity Discretion has never been ms o'lohH
point He comes of an eccentric father anu he nd'
! already endured species OF martyfdom ioi hia
| belief or unbeef Once representative peer Vi
scotland be was struck oil the list by bgoted
| Conservative majority; at the dictatoh OIL '"o
! Duke of Bucceucb. His name does not carry
vei,ht with he public. and his escapade OF lasO
| night NAV serve by way of advertisement to Keep
| Mr. Tennysons play few nights longer on the
| boards.
Mr. T.nnyson's travesty of opinions he does not
| like is honest enough no doubt, but what ID ~
coroa ofitY Arc we TO have a theatrical Bradlaugh
| caseY 1t is melancholy that Mr. 1cnnyson Shouu
try to rival Messrs. Moody and Sankey hel'hcnois
| that nc should haze no friends about MN cap"oio
of advising him better They say he is not good
man to advise. Such success as his former pieces
had was due in part to the spendor OF Their mount
inc in mart to the excsions and alterations OF the
| text and business But it was with the utmost
difficulty that Mr.. Tennyson could be got 10 assent
| to the touching of II single line
| He lives in a balloon, a. Mr.. Bright said of the
| Lords Not only is he poet but he Is poet en-
| corpassed by admirng friends and some parasites
| Between them they shut him out from any true
| knowledge Of what is going on about or 9enealh
| him Nobody has the courage or honesty 10 TELL
| him that his PLAYS are not plays. His great name
| as q poet udLZleS Iuo pupllC w o"hO NN'O''' 49,
! himself wholly. 1: Is certain that If The Promise
| of Nav" had been the work of new hand, no
| manager would have accepted it, Mrs. Barnard
| Beere knew perfectly well that she was bringing
| ont thoroughly bad piece; the actors knew lti
| everybody who had ever looked across the foot
| lights must have known it. Mr.. lennySons lgno-
rance of the stage is simply complete But the pro-
ductIon was rsked because tn" Poet Laureate
name was of itseli enough TO excite puOhc curl
ositv it is hardly too much 70 say that r0JSr Is
one Of the most impossible characters ever pre-
scented on any stage; AMI for stage purposes apso-
lutely impossible. Mr.. TeunysoA made no secret of
his conviction that in conception and execution tins
wretched creature was original aud mastery. 80
keen is his ambition for theatrical success that he
WAS willing to stOOp to claptrap The !ihe, there
are no soldiers like English soldiers was inserted
! shortly belure the performance, when II was eN-
pected that Sir Garnet WOlseley would be present.
! MFR. Tennvso1 thought it a fine stroke AMI counted
| on its bringing down the house IilIul lnaeed
are such details, bat they are true.
| Others might Ue given les painful but not less
curious as indications of the singular guelessness
| of mind Mr TeunysOn is able to preserve lie
| suffers from hearing of any hostility OF Indifference
Should friend carclessly tell MN that he knew IA
man Of real intelligence and culture who had never
read n line Of his works, the consequences might be
Of the most tragical. conica kind. Most authors.
however thin-skinned. would laugh it of. Not SO
Mr.. Tennyson 1t is easy to imagine him asking
"Who Is the man why has he not read me Z
What reason can be haveY Does he advise other
people MOTTO read my books and many more
questions of tho same sort. There are touches in
The Promise Of May explcable By such iatuty
aud not otherwise.
A friend of Mr. Tennvsou sends t. one of the
papers an elaborate explanation and vindicatOn of
the character of Edgm in The Promise of May
This communication has upon 1t the stamp OF
authority, and may be taken to express Mr. Jenny
sons view OF his own intentions IN drawing his
hero-villaip. No criticism on him is so damaging
AZ such "a defence. creation for the stage " hic
has TO be explained in the spapCrs be moth
1 ing but 4 failure. Mr.. Iennyson's conception had
merits.-nobody doubted that. II is in his effort to
embody this conception. to present 1t in dramatic
form and interest an audience ID it, that he 50
totally broke down.
: Tradncers have denied to the Scot sense OF
humor They will have to make an exception
, henceforward in favor of the students OF the Nn
1 versity of Edinburgh These young gentlemen,
! after listening to Lord Rosebelys apl eais to them
TO raise the standard OF Scottish institutions that
they may become the envy OF mankind, appauded
! vigorously But they we're not satisfied with
! merely applauding. In the evening they marched
in body to Leith, and smashed the windows OF the
! houses occupied by female tenants whose moral
; character in their opinion, was not calculated 70
raise the Scottish standard high as Lord Rose
berry wanted ii.
4 The large claims put forward 50 suddenly and 50
confidently by Mr. Howellss English admirers ha re
naturally caused that writers work to be subjected
TO searching critical inquiry. Sundry uniay0rable
I ind ,ments on A Modern Instance have been de-
liv.red Int ciitc in The IaU NAL Gazette takes
w n
sentence Tins particular novel he, unlike his col
, leagues considers thoroughly interesting. hut