St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1893-04-25
EDWIN ROOTH

There Is still possibility that EDWIN
BooTH will survive his present serious
illness, but no hope that he will ever APP
pear again upon the stage. No actor has
ever had such hold upon the American
heart as BOOTH. His departure from
the stage is mourned by the nation, and
his death would cause universal sorrow.
He is regarded both at home and abroad
the greatest of American actors, and
one of the greatest in the world. Critics
have said that he was not as original as
IRVING, nor as forcible as SALVINI, but
with his matchleSS technique he seemed
peerless. 1t has often been said of him
that he was cold. and that in some char
acterS he failed to rise to the greatness
of occasions. In "The FOOLS Revenge
Mr.. BOOTH was not at his best; tho
character is too busy to be adapted
to his makeup. In Hamlet only
IRVING has ever approached him,
and many are disposed to believe
that the EngliShman was not his equal.
In his boyhood he tried parts i'll which
his father had long been matchless, and
became discouraged because he could
not equal his parent. At length JUNIUS
BRUTUS BOOTH suggested that he try
Hamlet. The youth acted upon the ad-
vice and made hit from the start. He
made his audiences feel that he was
Hamlet himself. Mr.. BooTH's critics
have said that he lacked originality, but
he certainly made a Hamlet Of his own.
and as Iago he followed no model. In
the latter character few have equaled
him. He grasped the spirit of the deep,
sly villain, and developed the part with
such power that the audience forgot
that it was only play.
Scarcely any actor has lived who gave
the impression so strongly that his char
acters were a part of himself. In Iago
he departed more from himself than in
any other part. for there is not char
acteristic of this villain to be found in
Mr.. BooTR'S personal character. In
this he has furnished strong refutation
of the assertion that he lacked origi-
nality.
Few actors have possessed such a
magnetic personal presence, and so
much grace and refinement. There was
a something about him, on or off the
stage, which conveyed the impression
of mystery, but it was of the interesting
and delightful order. Mr.. BOOTH may
have lacked originality in some re-
spects, but he was certainly the founder
of new school of actors. His father
stirred his audiences to the widest en-
thusiasm by his fiery and noisy imper-
sonations of Richard Ill; EDWIN For
EST ranted upon the stage like a mad
bull; and the tragedian of those days
thought that the only way to please his
audience was by an eXhauSting eXertion
of lung power and physical force.
EDWIN BOOTH conceived the idea that
great acting does not depend upon lung
power for its success. 1t is true, he has
devoted his work to the stiiler mean
ingS of SHAKESPEARE, but his prede-
ceSsOrs interpreted all these in the bois-
ferrous light.
Mr.. BOOTH has devoted his life to
elevating the stage, and for this alone
America owes him debt of deep graft
tude. He never presented play be-
meath his dignity or of a doubtful moral
tone.
We have no one to take Mr.. BooTH's
place, and it is doubtful il SO great an
actor will appear in years to come. 1t
is sad that he should disappear so early,
for he is yet in his fifties. But he was
never a robust man, and many years he
has been victim of dyspepsia. de was
constant to his art, and for this and his
many other virtues America will always
revere his name.