The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1892-06-04
WAKEMAN,S TRAVELS
The Famous Music Halls of London
end their Origin.
THE HgUNTS Of LONDON ACTORS.
Another letter. on this Interesting
subIoct..-Drlnk the Real Attraction
ofthe Music Halls.-1,ondon Actors
Contrested with "Prosser" Perform.
ers. -

LONDON, May 54s-'1L IL lHposSlple W
imagine a greater contrast than exists
between London actors and London va
riety actors; between the legitimate
London stage and tina. vast and various
collection OF amusement establishments
known as music-ha!ls, in which music
has never entered. and betwecn;the au-
dienccs ut London theatres and the
throrgB which gather at fthe liails."
The London actor, as shown in my
last letter, ia man OF good birth and
breeding. lilo has had the advantage
Of tho bcst Of early training and en-.
yironmcnt. Ills vocation is one which
requires manful effort, intense appli-
cation, many years Of apprenticeship
and study, and conducos to high moral
and Intellectual ambitions. lie is q
home lovcS bbildcr and keeper. His
social status ia the best. His associa-
tons a.o With mon and women OF talent
and achievement. And, in most cases,
he passes from liistlays Of activity into
long and mellow evening OF life, in
which lie is still often public favorlte
and is always sought after as a COM
pan:on and reniniscentinlist; and ut
last, when tho dark curtain Is rung
down upon him, he cutters u well.
mcritcd rcposc, cmbalnlcd in tho loving
memory Of men, il not craven or painted
III the niches Of rono%n.
Tha I oDfltn, f1rn matte etnVa nnl its
audiences arc credit to any nation.
As q whole the morale, atmosphere and
results are good. | believe that, as a
rule, English players, plays and audi
enrcs together represent the bcst OK
preston aud receptivity OF genuine
mirth and sentiment which can any.
where be found. And on tho large
line of consideration, it may bo safely.
said that whatever may be presented,
comedy, drama or tragedy, upon the
stage OF London and has met with pub
lie satisfaction, has been the product OF
dramatic authors having no Supporters,
has been given Interpretation by the
ablest and most conscientious OF actors,
and has reached the magic realmo OF
success through rs cautious and severe
criticism and purgingly.hcalthful lag
gard approval, as are necessary to give
something OF real value TO the entire
amusement world.
But good as all this surely is, what
can De the secret Of that strange and
incxplicable national taste which not
only makes possible but stubbornly
clings to and continues to develop with
giant strides that incomparably greater
and inexpressbly inane and beastly
form OF amusement found in the on
don music-halls?
A reputable English writer once gave,
from the English standpoint, pleasant
cue tothe secret in tho proposition that
''the greater height people touch in
their development the lower mostly are
the depths OF their recoil. Unhappily,
then, the nation that has no apprecia-
ton of hopeless vulgarity~
There are at present in London q score
or moreof great music halls, into each OF
which nightly crowd from two to five
thousand people. There are hundreds
upon hundreds OF lesser affairs, rang
ing from the old time free.and.easy,
from which the modern music hall has
sprung, to tho 'penny.gatis," where
audiences Of from one to five hundred
persons may be found. Besides these,
would almost venture the assertion,
there are thousands OF pubs or pub
lie houses, drinking places with assem-
bly rooms behind tho bar, where free
t'smoking concerts" attract q permanent
nightly audience Of from Q score to q
hundred workingmen and the foul rab-
BILE that subsists upon their generosity
and weakness.
Indeed any ono who knows this great
city at all in that wandering, vagrant.
observant way which leads thought into
grave conclusions, would have no hesi-
fancy in saying that quarter Of mil.
lion human beings may be found any
week day night in these places
"cheery," or more so, from liquor, and
from these sources securing their odd
ideas OF international contrasts; feeling
their berry patriotism as tho bravest Of
Britons dcliriously prompted; gather.
ing from vile-mouthcd performers
ouips tho news aud the scandals OF tho
day; increasing their contempt OF or
der and Law from their endless satire
and ridiculo; gaining in generation and
particular deeper hatred Of English so"
ciety above them; aad hearing. otton
with their wiYos and daughters beside
them, tho most sacred relations Of mon
and women mover spoken or sung OF.
save as perennial playground for cum
ming and fnidelity; until the heartiest
British laugh is in response to the
proalest British entendre, and the loud
cst British roar rises from these great
seas Of upturned faces when tho vilest
music-hall irdoccncy Is porpotrated.
or all these places tho "ponuy-gaif,' -
or outragcously ridiculous pantoninc,
or voiceless molodramG. or wordcss
tragedy, in which thoro ia jndescribablo
murder, highway robbery, and other
lurid crime, hut all enacted without
spoken word TO evade tho Law governing
dramatic representations is tho lcaBt
harmful, for it has no bar; and to got
his penny 'orLh" OF play, tho White
chapel barbarian is kept for at Toast two
hours away from public house. Drink
IA tho roal attraction OF all tho othors.
The wise lawmakers OF London will
not pornlt any dramatic representation
ut any place wheSo liquor is sold, Some
thing which would appeal to tho intel
lectIuight lessen the demand for drink.
So t!lcy mako it easy to debauch tho
masses with n combination Of sensation
allan, ecnaualism and drink; and from
tho lowest FREQ smoking concert ito
such music-hall palaces as the London
Pavilion, Alhambra, Tvoli, Royal, Ok.
iord.aGd Trocadcro, not one in ono hun.
bred could exist a fortnight on tho merit
gifts performance alone.
The vast and debGSing systcm has
grown Yishou. lot or hindrance Of law.