New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1886-08-20
THE THEATRE.
WILLIAM ARCHER's ESSAYS.
ABOUT THE THEATRE Essays and Studies. *


handsome volume. containing ten theatrical
essays. but it is generally thin and pert and some"
times obscure ana it runs to conclusions OF novel
or momentous value. Much of it is conventional
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS, however. with the air OF
being bold aud orgnal.-and is adapted only TO
narrow circle of theatrical readers in England
The chief. characteristics of the book are seIi-
complacency of spirit and smartuess" OF styie'
and the object that it manly serves is the eA-
hi 5tion OF its writer's mental vivaclV al"
literary skill. That writer is apparently. a young
man, Sand Some of those painful young men VINO
know it sall." A remark attributed to tho oid
English statesman Lord Melbourne IS brought ~
mind by the pcrusal of such pages as these
VISA" said that once eminent person. that coui"
be a. sure of anything as Macanay is OF every,
thingrl Macaulay however, had maze great al"
striking contributions to literature anu .no'o''
had proved himself to be a man OF proulsi"
ability and learning: and such man Is on,',
to speak with authority. The reading "o'ia "'
hoard of Macaulay. and OF husHih' ""''"o"
Arnold Sainte Beuve, and otners oi '"'' :"
tellectual kindred. Readers VINO care aoo"' 'no
have heard also of such old hands at dramatic
crir,csm As E. L. Blanchard. Sala, Joseph hnight'
s,,amo,, Scott. and Edmund Yates. Those writers
bve aone,. something for literature and criticism.
and have esta blished their claim, not only TO speak
INT TO be heard. No is surprised that
veteran should sometimes write er cdaedrd, or talk
about himself. EgOtisn, to be sure IL never
plessng; but IN such cases the grand manner IS
accepted. This attitude though. is not for every
body. and certainly it is not for the composer OF
these essays who takes the universal stage under
his care and talks down to creation from an
eminencc hitherto undiscerned. Mr.. Archer may
have made predominant contributions to the
literature and criticism of England. but If so he
n, 70 do wi
therefore his advent, in the present work. is
marked by q certain precipitrncy,-as when, III
one of Harrgan's farces. the comedian tumbes
through the ceiling. Inlthe first chapter OF this
book. filling nnety-nine pages. the personal
pr,noun occurs one hundred and thirteen times.
Such expressions as 4" may as well state at once
my belief" and IL do think and | do say" are
frequent. The readers attention is almost con-
stantly distracted from the subject discussed to
the person discussing it. Such manner would
exhaust the patience of job The writer seems
eaten up with. self 50 that he SPOTS
the effect of his best efforts. Such a Compost
ton a. Mr.. Archer's account and arra gnment OF
the Censorship of the Stage IN Ergand.-notwith-
standing il is local in application and temporary
in .yaue.-wOuld interest any reader II the
author had bat kept himself in the background
AS II is IL wearies aud repels An aggressive spirit
OF egotisn saturates this work. and tho chief
impression conveyed by 1T is that of an author
who never will lack admrer as long as he IS
himself es tant to till the vacuum.
Turning from the manner of these essays to the
material of Them it not found that the substance
OF the book contains anything to Justify. or even to
explain, its uncommonly pretentloos character
An invariablc method of experimental writing is
that instead of simply stating the conclusions of
Thought, with tho reasons for them. 1t exDends
itself in strenuous rehearsal of the processes OF
effort at thinking and thus discloses a writer who
is cropping his way toward the discovery OF what t
is that he himself really thinks This mNtal
experience is personal affair. important no doubt
to the writer. bat not significant to Others.
We learn from Mr. Archer's hook very mach about
Mr. Archer; but.there the Information ceases. we
are told that in the opinion of this writer " to
play Shakespeare in a worthy manner Is not the
highest function of the English stage; that
shakespeare cannot be the whole or even the
greater part, of worthy critical ideal" ; that
9Tennyson is not profound thinker; that the
author of "Castc" "a cup-and- saucer
Observation-Disclosures that NAV meane that Henry
Irving is "a very distinguished actor" Mrs Ken
dal " really great actress" and Willie Edouin
genuine comedian; that Bronson Howard ranks
with Victor Sardou; that the state OF theatrical
affairs in London better now than 1t was four
wears ago but that, although we are advancing
Shakespeare to be disturbed By misrepresentation
of his works.; that Mr.. Willss adaptation of
"Faust" is @unintelligent"; that there such
lovely words as recrudescence" "deletion,"
"scabrous" aud first nIghter"; that meOdrama is
illogical tragedy that the plays Of period shape
the actors" that in the improved dram itic world
of London low aim Is merit; that Charles
Lamb was narrow" in his view; that plays are
more important than acting; that an actor never
creates but Is only Interpreters aud that actors
theatrical critics policemen. doctors, sailors and
soldiers, sef-sacrifcing persons who rank with
scavengers"the profession of actor. indeed. being.
for various reasons, chiefly because it nurtures
vanity unworthy OF any man of Independent mind.
Such are a few of the " solid chunks" which are
garnered up Ia Mr. Archer's ebullient testimonial to
his own sapience If the reader likes them, there
10 plenty more of the same kind--garnished. more
over. with neat quotations In French, italian and
German
1t is perhaps needless to remark that
favored in this volume with still another disgust
zion the question of decline advance in the
state of the stage-that everlasting theme of nov
Ices aud perennial bore of the magazines This time
che lookout is tolcraby cheerful. Mr. Archer. al
though he seems to think that the dramatic pro-
fession Is little better than contemplate. is kind
enough at least to imply belief that the theatre
is good thing for the public and that it is doing
we'll his vicinity. The condition of dramatic
affairs In London is advancing" This it is a
comfort to know, for certainly there room for
improvement-since in no other large city In the
world has the stage cnstomarly been hampered
with pestiferous cliques mob-tyranny and social
abuse or the dramatic community more addicted to
Insensate interpretation and puerile and censori-
Gus tattle. London. the capital OF the world is in
dramatic matters o village. Take ava, Henry
Irving aud there would be native intel lectual
power essentially noble. left in it, In the ninety
nine pages that Mr. Archer devotes to this subject
he has not furnished single living reason for the
advancement which, nevertheless, he procaims