New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1884-10-19

Lyccum Theatre come too close together. ~ would
have been interesting to what sort ~ reception
that audience of scriousmindcd Scots on politics ne
tent would have given Mrs LanStry.
OF her reception b. her own audience at the TIC
atrc she had no cause Ia complain. Edinburgh waS
equal 90 tho double occasion. hllcd the Corn "a
chnn yc and tie theatre each ~ full ~ IL could hold.
and chccrcd Mr. Gladstone and Mira. langtry with
an enthusiasm IN which the proper degrees 81 re-
spcct for politics and for art for The Grand ola Man
and for the beautiful young actress were accurately
Indicated She played, hear. t0 u larger house Oh
the first night and To- more business, ormoro money,
whatever the theatri al phrase 49, than had ever
before been known IN Edinburgh; aud this not
withstaudIng Mr. Gladstone and the Corn tx
cnanee. few nights later say Mrs IangtIy in
Peril" and moi long after IN The School for
Scandal" when she had among her audience the
Countess of Roscbery, who drove in from Dalmeny
with what was left of the house party, lnci'p.lng
Lady Sophia Palmer and Sir William Gregory.
You have seen and Judged Mrs. Lanctry in both
these plays bat may be allowed TO say that. after
all the American culogcs the advance Mrs. LanSiry
has made III her art s;iil Il surprise No Lddg rr-
pOHd has been seen IN ENGLAND goo - hers slice
Madame Farguei played the part, Of course ID
French. the Gaictv Theatre now some years ago.
| No English actress has played il with 50 much dis-
tinction. so much variety. so much ghtness in the
lighter scenes. In the great Of the b ri ac',
Mrs. Langtry will yet DO better She might lie more
convinced She is sometimes still self-corsrOus; she
does not always to the height of pa -sOn which
the moment requires and she does not always let
herself 60 or in other words has rot he full conf
dence IN herself she has o RICH; to have. But L s
played with KNOWLEDGE Of dramatic effect, with
capacity of expression. and with fulncss OF pur-
pose that simply astonishing. 80 Of her Lcdy
IcG.l,. which in some points is better than her
Lddy Oria0Ed IL i performance which am afraid
to prai.e highly it deserves. The conception
- Mrs.. IGugtry's own; she has discarded ra'it on
where il came in conflict with her view OF the
character: she is original. sometime, darug.-the
screen scene is an cxample-always intellectual and
ALWAYS definite in her aim. 10 oi,c bnt On" eA-
ample, the talk with 10 cpa Surface IN his own room
is piece of acting which wants nothing IN finish or
grace and there is not an instant during which Mrs
LanCtry remembers that she Is Mrs Lanetry She i
Lcdy Ton:le t. herself and therefore to the house.
TIM s not the time to 20 into details. viii ada
this only: that Mrs. Lanetry Las crossed once for
all the broad gulf which divides the amateur from
the actress II lSas an actress that she j, hcucei"rh
to ne Judged, and say without scuIple that o. Nv
ing English actresses she must now bc rcch0nct one
of the first three. spc, of course of actresses 10
her own department and on her own level London
has sensation in store for il when Mr. Lanetry
appears nest January. Few people IN London have
the least notion of ncr present powers or OF her ral
position in the dramatic world. Whether the Iccog-
milton due lcr vii Doe conceded at once by the
critics cannot say but conceded il mus me d they
do not wish the public to settle the matter for
Itself.
There {, a single point of social usa.e VIII refer
cncc To- which mas hc permitted tn depart from
the reserve with which have treated all this side
D AR 1, AL. p
the rules of social precedence in this country are
/ strict and strictly observed. With certain we'll
defined exceptions tine order OF going N 20 dinner i~
determined by the rank of the guests and this codc
Is 50 prcci.c and arbitrary to hc capable OF tx
preston I'm print and tables Of precedence may be-
found IN rcriagcs and books devoted "a such
matters II is NOT the least striking feature of Mr.
Gladstour's visit shat tho most stringent ohlg1tiou~
of etiquette and tic most r,rcmptory social statItcs
have been Repealed or ,c, aeldc in hIs Gl,or In
every h,us, s., tlr ns know. where ho has sfayrl.
hc has tnkou lt. hosi,s. n to dinner l. ~ even
moro remarkable that Mrs. Gladstone ahoulb have
gone iu a, .io has with hrr host. More r'u,uNahic
hrclusc M thc rare ca.rp vhrrc the official position
If iho husband confer. social prrcc cncr. 10 coucrs
nous un thc wife, The Lorl Chamberlain s''s hc-
fore all othc, Peers -, he own nnh, at below GER
tain rauh-l dont stop to consult ihr hoon- hui
believe the authorities diner slightly ou tA., NO
/ ucutnus question.
The dwcllcr m Washington, where. | an Todd.
mol teal rank defines social position, Will perhaps
hear with surprise that the Prime Minister of ing
land has a. Prime Minister. NO SOC nj RAM. what
ever More than half his Cabinet are lis SIC al
supcrors II i, au odd instance of the carele>,ncss
Of tie English about the survival of anomalies that
the Lord President OF the Council is above all tie
others or almost all. When this place was assigned
him. he was in fact nearly the first among his
T Tsrft, al tXf St
lie has long since ceased he first and the Office Of
Prime Minister has come INTO being. and yet the
ancient social law remains force. Nor !, it untl.
very recently that any general departure from Il
has been known. cnG,d cite a case not more than
two or three years old where Mr. Gladstone. being
one ii a large countfy-honse party which Included
the Prince and Princess OF Wales and more women
/ than men. walked from drawiag-roOm 10 dining
room hv himself uuchccrcd 10y the COMPANY Of any
laiv whomSOevcr. As q compensation Tor the oil
tarIne OF tins promenade o placed on the lett
of his hostess lie himself is believed to prefer that
the usual rule should he followed He was not
shifted on tine matter; his hosts certainly did not
consult each other but each of his own motion
set ic the matter IL the same way; each gave his
arm 10 Mrs Gladstone: Narchoncsscs, Earls and
+ Countesses came alter. and Nr Gladstone brought
up the rear with his hostess. Whether the same
thiuy happened at CLAIMS Castle | cannot say
Lord Strathmore is neither young man nor a
/ Liberal aud it may be that he stood upon tile
ancient way, and that the prescriptions OF I'M
memorial antiquity we're observed.
/ The two Tory babies in long clothes, the Pdrlia
mentary noyces and youngsters whom Mr.. Glad
stone in The Corn Exchange chafieI about their 81"
/ speeches, are commonly supposed to be Lord Kan
dolph Churchill and Mr.. Ashnead Bartlett. But
/ they are not a. an examination OF the hgnres lie
quoted would show. Mr.. Gladstone would never
have made the mistake of describing Lord Randolph
as a ilan who had never sat III any Parliament be-