Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1889-12-29


none Of its strength and grandeur, was
ouickened and controlled by human insight
and human feeling; and his art was OF tne
highest and the best. as the art Of genius Is
apt to be.
Pittsbure saw much Of him, and the seeing
was privilege the memory Of which VIII
only end with the ending OF life. u seems
now as though there was only one Asng
Lear for us to remember, and that the one
Edwin Forrest made reality for us. Was
there any other such at any timer Inc
poor old man, broken in mind, body ana
estate; his kingdom gone, his crown mist
OF straw, his children cruel Knockers; yet
even in his sore extremity every incn
king'-this was man, indeed; man
whom we must love, pity, sympathize WIN
and weep for.
The fiber of strong humanity was in ev-
erything Forrest gave us After his time
John Mccullough gave some OF the cnarac-
ters which had been Forests exclusively.
He was great in them, as he was In every
thing he played; but his greatness was not
the greatness Of his predecessor.
The last time saw Edwin Forrest ne
plaved .Hamlet" Hewas an old man. al
most disabled by gout, and HdDslet was the
very last character one would have thought
| of associating with him. 1t seemed absurd
| for him to undertake it; and two or three O.
us went together as q matter Of idle curl
osity, lamentlng the while that so great
man should yield to such weakness. we
would look in for few moments at the pltl-
full spectacle Of lame old man enacting the
| youthful Prince.
The revelation given to us held us SPELL
bound the entire evening, and when we had
seen and heard the last Of the great repre-
sentation we wished for it all over again.
What must the Hamlet of young Edwin
Forrest have been since, broken BY age and
infrmity, he could sit in chair upon the
stage and make us discern meanings in the
character we had never suspected before7
That is what he did that evening. HIS
reading of the lines-of acting there was but
little-gave delight which is vivid even
yet.
A PLEAsURE-MAKER.
Of very different sort, butof great emil
nence in his way, was John Z. Owens. In
his prime suppose no comedian was better
loved in Pittsburg than he; and there was
abundant cause for the affection bestowed.
he made us laugh deliciously, and some
times the laughter had tears in it. BE had
that highest quality of humor which Jetter-
son and all the best comedians have, the
quality which rouses q complex emotion,
having mirth for only one of its elements.
His John Unit became at once the friend
of all who made his acquaintance, entering
into their affections and abiding there for
ever. So did his SoIon Shingle, and so did
all the fine old gentlemen OF all the hne olq
comedies he gave us from time 70 time HIS
acting, for the most part, was very quiet
but he had plenty of iun in him that wa!
not of the quiet sort, and very often ne mac
his audience in tumult.
And, speaking of quiet acting, Janauschek
had master of that difficult art with hel
the first time she played In English in Pitts
burg. The play was .sBleak House," anC
This mani do not recall his name-had thC
psrt of TuEkingkorn, the lawyer. After hi
interview with Lady Oedlock, Mr.. IUlking
horn went to his room. and there was sho
and killed. But before his sudden taking
off he held the audience breathless for wha
seemed very long time. He did not ute
a word, and he did not DO thing beyon'
what grave, methodical man absorbed Il
thinking over very important case nigh
be expected to do. He wrote a little; b
walked up and down the room witt
his hands behind him; he looket
ont of the window at the night; he sighed
in pity or weariness; he drummed with hi
. fingers on the table in the great perplexit,
which possessed him. Nothing very thrill
ling or exciting in all that. but not by th
: rustic of fan did anyone in the audienc
disturb the scene. The man was oppressed
and he oppressed those who looked on him
, , with the weight OF the woe he was about t
let fall. Rarely is stronger ILLUSTRATION
, given of the intense eloquence of silence.
; A WOMAN OF GENIUS.
: Has anyone who looked on her beautiful
face and. watched the grace of her move
; ments. and heard the music of her voice, an
felt the spell of her genius, forgotten AIDE
laide Nelson? / don't think SO. She wa
Z not woman to forget; and to remember he
!. Is to have something very valuable Away
in possession.
e There have been Rosalinds and Rosa
: liYads, but the one she gave US was so alto
: gether charming that we cared not for an
other who might have been or might com
thereafter. More sJGliets have gone to IN
J. timely death upon the stage than one ca
8 count. but when this Juliet died there wa
4 grief as If q we'll beloved friend had gon
n from us. The spirit of pure girlhoo
:: seemed incarnate in her. Sometimes it wa
e a girls passion she showed us; sometimes
: girls freakishness; sometimes girls arc
: gayety, and always a girls winsOme, love
able charm.
And surely Caroline Richings is not fol
D gotten; but there may be very many who d
p not remember that she ever came to Pitt
f burg except as an opera singer. Il wa
: after her operatic days had ended in dil
o aster. She came once as dramatic sta
d and very many of her old friends focked
s see her. I remember she appeared
: Charles Reade's "Christie Johnstone," an
& sang "Caller Herrin' in a way to make I
e remember the best of her singing days.
e Lucille Western was another one Of Il
: galaxy. Perhaps she had genius. perhaI
e not; at all events she had the power to max
people cry. Whenever she appeared
n isEast Lynne the house was packed an
2 the atmosphere became damp from the teal
I shed for the woes Of Lady Isabel and Maddi
o Vine. And it was not only the women wh
= wept; there we're always men in plenty VII
n needed dry handkerchief by the time the
Ie got home. (,
emotional actresses in great favor.
IS seemed as though Miss Braddon must hay
) had consultation with her before writin
y Lady Audley's Secret, " so aptly did Il
i actress interpret the part of the fascinatin
$ murderess. But not only as Lady Audlt
le did Mrs. Bowers excel. She was an actre
1 of genuine power, and did good, stror
n work.
It is pleasant to think of them all. Ar
II still pleasanter is it 70 think of the sta
d that have not set. May It be long, vel
4 long, before Booth, and Jefferson, and Ba
L rett. and Salvlni. and Janauschek, ar
" Modieska and many more of the great an
,n lesser lights cease to shine for usl
e JAMES G. PURDY.
d Curarrh Cured.
a A clergyman, after years of suffering fro
Il that loathsome disease Catarrh, and vain