The evening world., 1889-05-31
AU REVOIR, Mr.. THOMPSON.
ALAN DALE WRITES 1.-THE OLD HOME.
STEAD" A FAREWELL LETTER.
Some ThinGs for Uncle Denman 20 Digest
While He IL In His New Hampshire
Heme-Not an Actor, bat Junt Desman
Thompson-A Pastoral which Docs Not
Affect Dramatic Romance.
Ny Dear M. Dsnman Thompson /.

Ny Dear M. DsRRan Thompson q;
There is poetry In the atmosphere this morn.
ing; the sun brightly favors optimism: a balmy
breeze blows far away depressing influences;
every beauty IL effectively haloed. while evils
look less black, and melancholy sinks into the
background. The fortunate ones are thinking
OF pleasant beaches, of leafy groves, of tinkling
waters, and all the rest Of the pastoral. II and
you, Mr.. Thompson, are among those fortunate
ones. Soon You will say good-by to your mill
ion nephews. will sling your little knapsack on
your shoulder, and HE yon away to New Hanp-
shire.
l an not fishing for an invitation. Uncle
Joshua; you must not think that. But | can't
let YOU go without a line or two, concratulating
you uron the result OF your most remarkable
theatrical season, and wishing you a hearty ito
return. " which you can digest at leisuie after
Saturday night. The poetry to which l have
Just alluded has intoxicated me somewhat. l
fain would call upon you, and sing to You,
oh why do you go when the flowers are
s~pringing,' but, on second consideration, l
would not like you TO begin Your vacation dis
abled and unhappy; and furthermore, the song
In question is an Irish mothers lament. and as
an Irish mother l should be a dead failure.
The success OF The Old Homestead" has of
course inspired the initiative crowd Of play
wrights and Uncle Joshuas OF more or less inter-
est and Of varied beauty have sprung up in
mushroom-like rapidity. Occasionally We hear
Of an imitation meeting with more success than
an original, but in the present instant it ia de-
lightful to recall the fact that every
Uncle Joshua copy has made its model
stand ont more conspicuously excellent.
more unmistakably unique than before. And
this circumstance is peculiar. 1.-THE Old
Homestead " has defects Of course; II is lacking
in dramatic action. Yet nobody has been able
to rectify it's wantinG-ness and at the same time
give us the episode charm Of Uncle Joshua
Whitcomb's pastoral, and this shows very clearly
that the charm Of The Old Homestead +" is
of more worth than dramatic action, in this
case at any rate.
You have somewhat disarmed criticism. MI.
Thompson. and that is o point for which l must
heartily thank you. Those who have visited
The Old Homestead to criticise the work of
a " star actor, " have found indeed that their
occupation was gone. You are not an actor,
dear, avuncular sir. You are simply Denman
Thompson. You appear upon the stage and
enjoy yourself there. Two thousand eyes may
be looking upon you, but that doesn't make you
in the least dramatic.
l think that this is one of the most interesting
facts in connection with your extremely inter-
esting self. Suppose Irving went upon the stage
and played Irving. We should be repealed, /
am quite convinced, and this is said in all due
Difference to an artist. Imagine Booth standing
up and being Booth. wouldn't want to be in
the house at the time, l am perfectly sure.
Hardly an actor or an actress upon
the stage that could be behind the footlights
himself or herself. OF course IL is not neces-
sary that there should be such folk. as the OBJ
ject of the profession IN impersonation or
Interpretation. Yet Denman Thompson is Dem
man Thompson. and by simply being himself,
dear sir, he has made q fortune.
1t really makes ones mouth water to think OF.
1t must be lovely to know that you have such q
nice, profitable self lurking about your waist
coat. The lives of most of us are hardly inter-
esting to ourselves. let alone pleasing to others.
Not a dollar could be made from the portrayed
existence Of ninety-nine out OF a hundred of
faded city folk-and. OF course, i speak as one
of the faded folk. Think of our queer little
breakfasts, our hectic, prosaic money-Rrub-
bling, our feverish afternoons and tiresome
evenings being enacted upon the stage.
How wofully unconvincing, even with q dash of
the dramatic as. sauce!
Your success, Mr.. Thompson. is. Of course,
very easy to explain. Thank goodness that 1t is.
1t would not do for us to know no reason why
our lives could not be made as profitable as
yours. II could not account for your phenom-
email good fortune, l should at once seek Messrs.
Gilmore and Tompkins and remark: Gentle
men, Denman Thompson is no actor. and yet he
has appeared nightly upon the stage Of the
Academy Of Music and filed his pockets and
purse. Let me hire your theatre from you and
zee II l can't do the same. l am also no actor.
THE Old Homestead" has appealed because
it came at a time when public taste was tired of
tawdry plays with improbable plots and impos-
s;lJa raorla and f.r fot,bad pootiyaa A ylnt a.
an awful undertaking, II must OF necessity
deal with out-of-t the ordinary events. because.
as l before said, our lives are hardly interesting.
80 exceptional cases are eagerly looked for and
drAmatized, and people when they go to the
theatre expect romance, which they generally
get. strongly tinted with i~mpossibility,
Your pastoral, Mr.. Thompson, does not in the
least affect dramatic romance. People still love