The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1893-01-22
z, JANUARY p, lses---sIxTEEN PAGES.

forth in his monograph 81 on the point
in debate, are simply these: Shakespeare
did draw the character from historical
sources, but it was Sir John Oldcastle
who is to be found under that name in
the old play, 1.-THE Famous Victories Of
King Henry the Fifth, - written before
| the year 1856 and from which Shakes
peare undoubtedly borrowed somewhat
and not Sir John Falstaff who served as
the original. One among many proofs of
this position adduced by the distinguished
commentator and to my mind an almost
lncontrovertible one is that in the second
! secene of the first act OF 'sHenry ~, -
| Falstaff asks the Prince sis not my host
ess of the tavern most sweet wench?''
the Prince answering, "As the honey of
| Hybla, my old lad of the castle,'' a self
evident pun on the name Oldcastle which
the acting copy originally had through
out and which was in Difference to the
wishes OF Oldcastle's descendants, and at
the queens command was changed to
Falstaff, as Rowe, in his ''Life OF Shakes
peare, - expressly states.
| That whether there is historical war
rant for the character or not, it was
drawn from life | consider to be beyond
all cavil. In the first place, as HaZlitt
evidently OWNED with his rare acuteness,
but as few save those actors who have
actually played the part can fully compre-
bend, the mans fairness is indissolubly
allied to his mental processes. No one
but fat man could think as Falstaff does.
For my part, whenever l have played
him, which has not been seldom, | have
| had to produce in myself, as well as l
have been able by artificial means, the
physical feelings that usually accompany
excessive obesity. l have always put on
the thickest of woollen underwear and
| have then over that induced myself with
| the we'll r,a1ded r1aYnoh and arm and Loo
pieces necessary for the filling out of my
own not specially attenuated anatomy.
! These very paddingS l find 1t necessary to
have formed of dense heavy material, so
that ] can feel their very weight an en-
cumbrance to me as | move about and
may experience the difficulty in
walking, in sitting down and getting uD,
which is a necessary concomitant to ex-
cessive ponderoslty. Before | am thor
oughly en- rapport with the part l must
produce in myself a state of profuse per-
spiration. Then when l feel the moisture
trickling down my face and OoZing from
every pore, when, in short, l am diagen-
Gus with my simulated fairness, then l
begin to be Falstaff and feel that 1 am
really the man | am porJraying. feel,
too, that the effect upon my audience,
test In which am old fashioned enough
in my ideas to repose much confidence, is
from this moment most marked, while
should the theatre be draughty and
chilly, or some other influence prevent
my attaining this simulated feeling of
confidence. l have always found my au-
dience cold and apathetic, a theory
and result, by the way, which may be
of some interest to M. Coquelin and other
followers of what may be allowed to
term the non sympathetic creed OF the
art of acting.
One only of two reasons can be given
for this marvellous Intervening of ply
steal ard mental attributes which distin
guish this character from the actor point
of view; either Shakespeare himself
played the parts, and in arealistic fashion,
too, so that the numberless "points" to
use technical phrase, evolved them
selves, as it were, out OF his practical ex-