New-York tribune., 1886-05-02

my yonng friend excite very dinrIeht ahn Vii uWu
m9jcrn idea namely. that of the lionoranr " III
lam Snencer one of the living ornaments, 'r' ~
not msinformed of this present poetlcal era' a. ~
1911.
There are some Of Lambs theatrical criticisms I'D
the volume which were we'll worth preserving II
only as models for his degenerate descendants
You NAV count on the fin crs of one hand to-day
onr writer's about the stage who have any real COM
prehenson of the art they set TO observe or any
sensibilitv 10 impressions which the drama Is
adapted to excite Criticism. therefore. even "heh
it is sincere which jar is bot very oiteh' Is
usually perfunctory or trivial 1t rarely mus 'he
mark il misses the central point oi the perform
ancc far from guiding the public 1t lags oehihu
them: it does not Judge right because IT cannot
feel But how quick was Lambs sense OF cNciS
| fine stroke of dramatic art how delightful was his
sympathv. in whose clear light we can almost see
| the comedians of threc-quarters OF ceh'ui! "to'
| In a notice of Brome's "Jovial Crew there Il
| dcscription of the performance of a gypsy begaar
| which we have reid TWO vi 'hIco "'''0 WV
| increasing delight:
| Her cabling lachrymosc petitions her tones
such as we have heard by the side ol old Woods,
when an irTcs stible face has come P''p'ns =" - ""
| on \ snd len: with her full black locks. ana rIoe
! Nbnv shall we describe II IA voice that was ny
! noture meant to convey nothing hut tluln anu
goodness, but warped ny ciI'uns'uho .hat catcbinr
assurance that she telling us ne cd'.,n-
| fwitcb of the thcviSh irrcprovabie hhgerItnos'
ballad-srngprs' notes so vul gar. vet so unVuIsh
that assurance so like impudence ana vet so n"l(
cnmnfIrss leagues removed from itbcr jeers; when
we had rather stand, than be careSssd win "sc ca
| ladies' compliments, summers DAY lo"s-"ei law
| with wild out-o-doors grace upon u
| In the same article there is a comparison vi
Do,top with his predecessor Lovegrove. III the part
of = foolish old Jnstice. /" 1t appears to us. says
! or,h a that there was q still higher strain OF
r,tu,tv IN his rredecessor-that his eyes distilled
richer dotacc" The last phrase IS perfect. Inc
stndy of Dowton's acting in The Hypocrite Is
remarkable example of sympathetic perceptlon' as
well as of critical analysis and the charming letter
ON the acting of Miss Kelly drew from Leigh Hunt
The remark that there is but one praise belonging
| 70 Miss Kelly which it has omitted and which II
could not supply and that Is that she has ad hher
criticism written upon her than any performer tna'
ever trod the STAGE There are many "lher
theatrical pieces. including the absurd fictitious
biographies of Liston and Munden. ana the eXtraV-
acant paper on "Thc Religion of Actors y; but
most lovers of Charles Lamb know these well. In
the Letter to an Old Gentleman whose Education
| has Leen Neclectedn suggested by De Qulncy's
| &. etters TO Young Man whose Eduraton has
heen Neglected." the writer's delight in his
whimsical idea grows with the INDULGENCE until no
| involves Us in a hopeless tangle of nonsense. In
more serious and even still more winning mood
| Lamb writes for Homes ErTy-Ddg Book his mem
| ories of a poor pedagogue. Captain Starkey' Inc
" Recollections of Late Royal Acadcmcian
describe with inimitabe dToery the career and the
| fobes OF George Dave, a painter who seems TO
have enjoyed more prosperity than he deserved.
| The anecdotes, according t. private letter oi
Lambs. were substantially truc," but we may
snspect that he allowed the adverb very elastic
meaning.
We began TO mark short passages which we
.f.rt cain
some queer twist of thought or choice turn OF
phrase; but we had to give over Think of
marked COPY OF Charles Lamb where every page
mn,t show it's scored margin! still we may quote
n few characteristic lines. Lamb introduces
compliment to the first volume OF poetry published
IN Australia with the following audacity
We know merry captain. and co-nav gator with
! Cook who pridcs himself upon having planted lhe
first pun in Otaheite. 1t was in their own language
and the islam lcrs first looked at him. then stared at
one another and all nj once burst out INTO g'nlhl
laugh. 1t was stranger, ana as a stfaheFI tlry
| growth, we doubt not has since sprung IIo" lal
| well-tined exotic. Where puns flourish. there
must ie no inconsiderablc advance in civilization.
The same good results we are willing to augur from
this dawn of refinement at sydney
OF the singing of The Gentle Giantcss he saws;
The shake which most fine singers reserve for the
close or cadence by some unaccountanle ncXlblllty
or trcmuouSness of pipe she carrleth quite through
the compostion that her time. TO a common ar
or ballad keeps double motion. like the earth
running the primary circuit OF the tune ana SUI sun
revolving upOn its own axis. lie erect, as Salu
before when you arc used 10 IT, is rs aeleeaolc "S
| il is altogether new and surprising.
MANY a critic would give his ears to be capable OF
that description indeed in most cases we believe
that some such large surrender would he an
essential prerequisite Here is extraordinary
portrait of the L" late Royal Academician" OF whom
the essayist relates that boys followed him along
Oxford-st, with admiration not without shouts"
even as the youth of Rome followed Raphael:
Bv an ngrained economy in soap-if il was not
for pictorial effect ratheI-he wonld wash ION sun
DAYS the inner oval, or portrait, as 1t may he
termed Of his cOuntenance, leaving the unWashed
ten,ples TO form a natural black frame round the
picture in which a dead white was the predoml-
nant color. This. with the addition OF green
spectaces made necessary by the impairment
! which his craving laboTs by day and night for nc
was ordinarily at them for sixteen hours ont of the
twenty four had brought upon his visual facnltes
| gave hm singular appearance, when lie took the
ar abroad.
"The vices of some men." runs a moral
reflection " are magnificent. Compare the amours
of Henry the Eighth and Charles the Second The
Stuart had mstresses; the Tudor KEPT wives. We
. are ashamed at sight of a neutrality-suspicious. as we
are sby OF Door relations" &C imagined a
CaleGonian compartment in Hades where there
G should be fire without sulphur absurd images
are sometimes irresistible Will mention two.-an
elephant in a coach Oihce grdVely coming 10 nave
his trunk booked a mermaid over hsh-kettie
cooking her own tail" Here is a quizzical vara-
ton of Pope's famous line: The greatest pleasure
know is TO do a good action by stealth. and to
r have IT found out by accident" The unction OF
the following passage, hardly surpassed in the
" Dissertation upon Roast Pig" Is enough to
c captvate the senses Of every finely organized
person:
1t is a desiieratum in works that treat dc n
calraria, Mat We have no rationdle Of sauces oi
theory of mixed havors: as to show why cabbage
reprebensibe with roast beef, audable with bacon
why the haunch of mutton seeks the alliance OF
cuIrant- Jelly. the shoulder civilly dccllneth 1t;
2 why lon of veal Ia pretty problem, being itscli
J uactLons seekcth the adventtious lubrcity OF
melted butter and why the same part in pork. not
more OeaginOus abbOrreth from IL; why the
French bean sympathizes with the fcsh OF deer
why salt fish nnlMts 70 parsnlp. braMn makns q