The morning call., 1893-09-06

MI Irving's Shylock audience last night
was much larger than the one that assem-
bled on Monday evening to witness the
personation of Matthias in "The Bells"
The difference is due to the fact that the
actor dealt with a comparatively unknown
author and play strange to the public in
the first instance, and in the second with
an author who is known the world over,
and whose acting plays are as familiar
in mems mouths as household words. 1t
was the Jew of We nice that Shakespeare
drew against the Alsatian BurgOmaster
of Erckmann and Chatrian and the Jew
won by a large financial majority. The
auditorium was crowded from pit to dome,
as the phrase goes, and the familiar scenes
and sentences ali through the play drew
forth the most positive applause. The
closest attention was paid to the actor,
although it must be confessed he did not
read Shakespeare as clearly as he did the
lines in Matthias, occasionally cutting
word off in the middle or losing the last
portion of it in a nasal utterance which
was not so conspicuous before.
The settings of the different scenes were
charming. Street views and interiors were
all IN fine color and correct perspective,
and finished with a minuteness of detail
that cost the most keen and searching
eyes trouble to detect the slightest flaw
The views of Portals castle-villa at Bel
mont were delightful bits OF pictorial art,
and the street and canal vistas in the queen
of the Adratic almost stere oscOpic in their
clearness of outline. On the borders Of
the Grand Canal, we had the Ralto.
where merchants most did congregate," :"
and il gave a new idea of that famous
20
was first in place among the commercial
peoples of the world when the luck less
Antonio sent argosies to TripOi, 10 he
Indies, to Mexico and to England; whe n
the Venetian merchants, in TACT, traded TO
every part of the world.
Mr.. Irving. according to his own state
meDt, never saw Kean's Shylock, nor
Phelps, nor indeed any ones. and conse-
quently he plays the Jew from his own
conception Of the character. formed By
close study of the man according to the
way in which Shakespeare drew him, and
OF his times and surroundings. He does
not give US by any means the ira
ditional interest loving hebrew who
haunted the RialtO in seach of uSu-
ances. OF course there is the racial
characteristic, thriftiness and love of
money, shown in all his actions but bove
this is a spirit of revenge for the persecu-
tious heaped on his people and religion by
the Christian. He regards this in the
IlRuI UI IelIplOuS ODllBatl0D, ana ne re-
jOices when he thinks he has Antonio ION
the hin" and can pay the debt of hatred
In full by means of the saDguinaIy bond
the latter has signed.
81 look upon ShylOck," said Mr.. Irving
once upon time. ''as the type of perse-
cuted race; almost the only gentleman in
the play aud the most il-used. He is
merchant who trades in the Rialto, and
Bassanlo and An .ono are not ashamed To
borrow money OF him nor to carry off his
daughter The position Of his child is
more or less a KEY TO his own. Sue 5
the friend of Portia. ShyOck was
well-tO-do~-a Bible-read man, as his
readiness at quotation shows, and
there is nothing in his language at
any time that indicates the snuffiing
usurer, which some persons regard him,
and certainly nothing to justify the use
the early actors made of the part for a low
comedian" Once ShylOck was played as a
comic character IN a red wig, and all the
noblest lines Shakespeare puts In his
mouth cut out TO make the character con-
slstent. So much for tradition.
The mOney-lending scene IN the third
scene Of the first act, when Antonio be-
comes bound on the part of Bassanio TO the
Jew for "a pound of his fair flesh cut
nearest the heart in case he does not paw
the three thousand ducatS at tie time
specified, caught the audience as a mas
terry piece of acting. judged by its uni
versal recognition. From the time Shy
lock opens the negotiations with Antonio
Three thousand ducats-Well" till he