The Cecil Whig. [volume] (Elkton, Md.) 1841-current, 1883-12-01
CONTINUED FROM FIRST PAGE. ]

exhibit of fine arts. But whatever our
in pictures and statuary,
they fade into insignificance before our
musical expenditures.
The greatest painter in the world, to-
day, thinks himself well rewarded if lie
gets five or six thousand dollars for
picture, which has cost him weeks and
perhaps months of study and toll. Patti
receives s., 900 for thirty six minutes
work in Traviata, and like amount for
a little over twenty minutes work in lie
GAIA Ladira. None but kings and such
people could pay such sums for their
amusements; fortunately for Patti we
are all kings here, but wish to say to
the accomplished Diva, and | don t want
her to forget it, if she honors us with
her presence much longer she will ties.
the solvency of the royal family.
The city is still exercised and divided
over the acting of Henry Irving. Within
twenty years new school of acting has
sprung up, and in it's grandest exempler
we have now reached the opposite ex-
IRENE. The new school of art, so called
seems to think that there is superlative
merit in crushing every human emotion
and feeling, and the result is that the
stage, at the present time, is filled with
a race of wooden men, whose chief ex-
pe1lanoa c dino 10 fhai tai hn
in the language of Shakespeare. ''Hav-
ing neither the accent of christians, the
gait of christians, or pagan. or man." Ex-
hibit only the most detestible side of
human nature, in the most detestible
manner. A lady has criticised Mr..
!rving's Shylock in a style severe but
just. OF all Shakepeare's character
there is not one of more marked indi-
viduality than the Nenitian jew. Every
line is clear cut and strong: but he is
neither mean nor cowardly. lie has no
reason to love christian is embittered
By cruelty and oppression; the very man
who comes to borrow his money, only a
few days before, spit upon him on the
Rialto, the most public place in Venice
The Jew, robbed of his only child, tram
pied on, ruined and disgraced, breaks
out with pent up agony of years; his
hate, terrible as it is, is natural hate
a hate such as any man, worthy of the
name, would feel under similar circum-
Ia GnnUS ,,nth,nfr oh
tian charity and christian forgiveness,
nor does he want to know. He only
knows the christian as hollow sham; a
robber and an oppressor. Mr.. Irving
may have felt all this, but he failed tc
make it manifest to his audience; as a
picture it was worthy of the highest
praise; as an exposition of the dramatic
art, it was fiat. stale and Improbable
and trust we shall not look upon its
like again. The lack of manly emotion
i'll the most trying scenes of the play re-
minded me of the Englishman, who
being told that his valet had been blown
to pieces by an explosion, said, with the
SAS'lSoe sang iioio, JuSo iVoh h"obS ehS
pieces, my man, and see if you can't fine
the keys of my portmanteau.
The operate excitement grows apace
and we are all enlisting under the ban
ners of the rival impressarios. Broad
brim belongs to neither, but sits in judg
ment on both. So far opera, while q
great artistic success, has been finan.
cial failure, and l hope it will always
be, where one individual is allowed tc
grab $1,000 of the receipts every night
before anobody else receives cent
Shakespeare was right. What fools these
mortals be.
We have just had our first sample OF
winter and it is not pleasant.
Yours truly, BRoADBRIM.