New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1891-12-27

who turns thither for Judicious estimate OF his
powers finds ordinary epitfets pail him. Mr.
Bancroft's little speech was delivered at meeting
OF the Playgoers' Club Sunday evening. when Mr.
Tree lectured on Some Interesting Fallaces Con-
corning the Modern Stage; Ibsen included.
This lecture is not primarily occupied with
Ibsenism. Mr.. Tree thought ii sufficient ~
say that, in his opinion, 1tsen will not
maintain a permanent place on the stage.
lie described the Norwegian realistic drama,
rather clevcrly, as the drama OF perpetual night.
x, has watched, he said, with curious scientific
interest. the unfolding Of that strangely narrow
but none the less human society which lbsen lard
bare with such dexterous butchery But he does
not think butchery. dexterous or otherwise in
place on the stage. No more does he recognize
NJ Maeterlink as the dramstist Of the future, or
of the present NJ Maeterlink has been called the
Belgian Shakespeare; very Belgian, retorted Mr.
Comyns Carr Mr. Tree hardly seems TO think
him dramatist at all Whether be be or not, the
stage in this part Of the world is In no particular
danger from NJ Maeterink. lie has not think,
been acted in London. He has not, as Ibsen has,
a school, Oh rather a church. Of English worship
pers There is no band of idolaters who translate
him, comment on him, find new gospel in him, or
hail him as the Goethe of the period or as q
regenerator of the stage. Nor docs Brussels seem
quite the spot from which the birth Of new
Evangelist dramatic or other, is to be expected.
Brussels is borrower, not creator; what is 100
bad for Paris is thought good enough for Brus-
sells, which is Paris through the wrong end Of
the telescope So perhaps NJ. Maeterlink may
be left in the brlliancy Of his Belgian fame
The acreage of awful art at the New Gallery is
due, / believe mainly to the wish OF Her Majesty
the Queen 1t is an amiabe desire OF the
Queen that her reign should be exalted, and she
welcomes that form Of homage which consists
in grouping under the title of the victorian Ira
whatever and whoever is most eminent In any
department of the crowded and various life oil
that period. She took deep interest In the
exhibition which goes by her name, and her
contributions 10 it were well nigh countless. 10
reject them, or any Of them, was impossible; at
least it would have seemed ungracious II not
Ito the British mind dsloyal. What to do
with them all was problem which perplexed
the souls of the very competent managers who
had control of the matter. When Mr.. Carr
and Mr. Halle had hung a certain number of
royal portraits, and pictures of royal marriages
and of royal families in groups, they would have
been glad to devote the rest of their none too
large wall-space to works of better art and OF
at least equal human interest But the royal
view was that there could not be too much
royalty and so Windsor Castle and Buckingham
Palace were denuded of those singular examples
of painting by which the features of the
Queen and of her many descendants are TO
be handed down to grateful posterity, and
they are gathered together in the New Gallery for
the winter.
Probably the Queen WAS quite right For art
as art the craving of the BritOn is but moderate,
while of royalty, whether in the flesh or on can
vas he can never have too much. lie gazes with
kind Of religious rapture on all these signboards
the painting of them may be execrable, but they
present to his eager eyes the licensees of the
beings whom he holds in highest honor and to
have too many of them is impossible Nay, royalty
itself takes pleasure in the counterfeit present
ment of royalty. On the night of the private
royal view, no less than eighteen princes and
princesses came to gaze themselves and their
kin as they thus looked down from these attitudes
and the general sentiment of the august assembly
was one of profound satisfaction with the display
G. w. S.