New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1893-07-02
SHADOWS OF TIE STAGE"
MR. WINTERS SECOND SERIES.

SHADOWS OF TIE STAGE. second ,err'; "a ''
I'll Wi,iio,n Winter. PIP. 367. Macmillan co.
r,o.o who have read Other work, by Mr. WINTER
Tin NAT Mood 10 he. told how graceful ana drl'"'' ''
oovs are I'm ,hi, little book. i is rare 'm'T ~
q newspaper man 10 be able TO give I" "i"' ''"'
tho ,rorl, Of a given hour The aspect oi prn'"''''
v # Is certain. aside from literary qLii'Y' 'n'' ms
and other volume, Of what We're MI "In'" '"S'''
writings are lasting coh'i'o"''" " W.
the American stage
rvcn such ESSAYS AS these when They form Par' Z"
tho r,une Of a mans daily life pass ana arr io'e'''''
pcodo,s remember one happy thought or ah"'hof anu
,hov build up gradually an Idea! pfe''hu"'". W '
writer II IS only when IN" "ri'lhss u'm'''' 90"
oxtrica,cd from the bcwildcring confusion Z" Il news
,nor file or from the innumcrable pages oi maya
inc and placed in a group By themselves ua' '"'
,r...,oo. made at some forgotten moment ana
docn- ned day by dav or month 10y month IN 'l'
minds NJ renders can be rcouch Il ana corrcc''d' IN
this les the compensation for 10" l"' 'i'' vi pun
fishing a book one algns himself win 'he past do
oc,ipst the present The liking. active newspaper
man is the embodiment Of the present tense. I''
statements OF fact and his expressions OF opinion are
looked for on the instant. If bcated they belong al
,dv IN The mast hut 10 that recent past N" thought
~ ,vhicb /. os much WEAKNESS the thought OF 'S'
rights dinner But there comes time whch Inc
mas, rouews IFS beauty. and then the writings "h'h
foncd 10 It, especially those which hal brightness
and ottracvcncos Of their own, share the '"''""Na
-, dorob,tr, memory In thl, volume Mr.. Winter
cloncos ot q mast sotencd By distance. lie f'ET"''
note Of censlrc in some Of these essays DIV "'S
oodors T., &c 70 lie Imagined will think that not" Tar
ton, lor,b II NAV once have rIug dScOrdanly III
,b,ir ears hut now II Is atnncd almost 10 me gen
oral harmony as refractory string * sometimes
s,hduod bv It's fellows. That IS III" WORK OF t'n'"
1e bitterness and the passions OF the past are gone
and with them that sensibiiy which was -" easily
disturbed The feeling. OF that daN' Ike 'ho'' VINO
cherished them have become historic they no longer
,,, ,hor y.ovor gently over the surface Of memory
M, Ava, wondering glimmcr which seems hardly the
ghost Of a fame. ,,
II Is above all In his first essay "Ihc hIgh'
Standard that Mr.. Winter comes down to The pre''hl
dav and there his censure may be resented p"t nov
,I,h ius,,ce lie thinks It unfortunate that the
cuetom OF viewing the stage a. an amusement ever
prevailed What people call work Is largely mere
narode and uother. II they would only stop their
rush and noise and work silently and steadily there
would be no complaint OF excessive labor ana th're
would be less demand for relaxation by means Of
trash on the stage. The men ana women says
Mr. Winter "wh0 devote their lives TO the stuhy
and practice Of acting not frivolous mount"banks
emnou, TO make you laugh by cutting caper; nor
are you yourself such poor creature as you appear
70 he when YOU prntlc about your lassitude and nlcee
your preference for theatrical rubbish.
az those whose figures recalled by the sue
cessive articles In this volume many are dead others
are still among the living. The author tells the story
Of Mary Duff and recalls the peculiariilcs OF tho
older Booth OF "Falstaf" lackci OF John Broueham,
Of George W. Jameson. OF Cushman' OF William
VheatIev Of John Edmond owens. Of Jean Davenport
Lander He writes Of Forrest with some severity;
h,t s has been said. time has socned the harshess
Of snch passages. Ada Rehan Clara Morris. Ellen
Terry Helena Modjcska, Adelaide Nelson md
Adelaide Rison adOrn these pages and the names OF
those who are gone not less vivid TO the reader
than those which belong 10 the present. Her" are
preserved Mr.. Winters impressions OF the acting OF
Lawrence Barrett, of Mr. Mansfield OF Sarah Bern
hardt VI. Coquclin. Mr. Irving and Wilson Barrett
II nav be that In the structures Coqucln on Bern
hardt and Wilson Barrett the author Will awaken
echoes OF resentment. but at all events the Atlantic
Ocean Is as wide ever.