Omaha daily bee., 1886-08-09

MANY Of them arc sufursd with ms
FERROUS and tender charm o. feeling
much like the snfag native quality in tSe
Ia utinEs Of Coro7. In this field Je7er.
son has accomplished more than society
ls aware 81 and norl than perhaps hi.
contemporaries viii cons a 90 recor.
uize No man must succeed in more
than one gr. il be olld satisfy The stand.
aru of the are Ia which he lives.
Mr. jefferson power has been
cxcrted and has position has bern gained
chiefly by M III, of the performance of
Rip Van " nhig." IN his time. indeed
he has played may parts. More than q
hundred Of them con he mentioned
and In several i them his acting has
beenso fine thai me would have been rec
oruizcd with admiration even though he
had never played Rip Van WinkIe" q.
all. il l., accordingly, either Eaorance
or injustice thai describes hlm a. a zone
part nCtor Aet certainly. he has Oh
tuined his fame and influence by ac.iuc
one part. This Tact has been noticed hv
variou. Cbs : ers IN various moods Il
am glad 10 see you making your for
tune jefferson, the late Charles Mat .
thews said 10 hun, but ] don / like TO
see you doing il with u carpet bag. Mr
Matthews was obliged o play many parts
and therefore 10 travel about tic world
with many trunks full OF wardrobe
whereas the blue shirt the old leather
Jacket, the red brown brecchts the
stained legCinEs, tue old shoes. the torn
red and white sllb handkerchief the tat
tered old hat, the guns and the two wigs
FOR Rig Van Nlnkle' can be carried ID
single box. The remark Of Mr. Mat
thews, however, was meant to glance at
the ''one- part custom, and Mr.. Jeffer-
sons reply TO tins ebullition was at once
good humored and sirniiicat 1T is per
haps better, he said ito play one part in
different ways than to pl8y many parts
all in one way The explanation Of his
artistic victory Is Indicated here Mr.
Jefferson found ID the old play OF Rip
Van Ninkle Subject with reference TO
which ne could freely and fully express
not only his own human nature at It's
highest and best, but mis- ideas as 10
human nature and human life III general.
The part OF Rip indeed, as set forth in
the pares Of Washington Irving and IN
the ancient and clumsy play winch Jef-
ferson derived from his half-brother,
Charles Burke, amounts TO nothing; but
the part rs Mr.. Jefferson conceived ii and
built il UP amounts TO an epitome OF
human life, and il that respect il is one
Of the most valuable parts in the range
OF the acting drama Mr.. Jefferson was
exceedingly fond Of il while yet be was a
youth and .onc before the arrival OF that
happy time when he was privileged to
attempt il on the stage 1t WAS his Gus
tom 10 dress himself as Rip Van Wrinkle
and to act the par; alone III his lodgings
and for hIs own edificauon and the pur-
poses Of study and experiment years be
fore he acted in public life His mind
instinctively recognized its value. 1t is
part that contains AL the extremes Of
human experience-youth and age, mirth
and sadness, humor and pathos, loss and
gain, the natural and supernatural, man
in his relations 10 ms fellowm men, and
man in his relations TO the world Of
spirits. Ii Is domestic without insipidity
and ii Is romantic without extravaganza.
In remote WHY il is even suggestive OF
the sneptered pal OF tragedy" Yet it
perfectly simple and tits sweet, pure and
richly fraught with the sympathetic emo
tion of powerful and tender humanity.