Wood River times. [volume] (Hailey, Idaho) 1882-1915, 1893-08-11

AF|ZNN1M sum rep eSCnLS MS
IxSCGV,X Hsavings for some
W~1S1/EA ! thing less t h Il n
" &c twenty years. Dur
q ing all that time he
lived we'll. if not
eXtravagantly, worked not too hard,
and took life leisurelv. His career
though great, was not arduouS 1t
involved no ivations, no worry;
but gave him ease, at1uence and uni
versal applause.
Never was there more striking
Illustration Of the change in the po-
sitiOn Of actors in the public estima-
ton. From Shakspeare's time to
perhaps twenty years ago the
strOlling player, as he was rather con-
temptuOusly called, was regarded
with few exceptions as a little less
than man. He was applauded on
the stage; off OF it he was snubLed.
So-called society would have none Of
him; even the tradesmen of Garrick's
and Rurbage's day were disposed to
look uDon him as a sort of interesting
outcast and while the theaters we've
crowded the men and women whose
gen us attracted the crowds were for
gotten and unnoticed the moment
they passed the green room door.
They were not even allowed to share
In the profits of their labOrs unless,
like Garrick and Shakespeare, they
were able to become masters instead
Of servants and to manage companies
and play houses Of their own. No
hn1 INrlr
Booth. has ever so nearly approached
the station and dignity of a million
aire. No actor before Edwin Booth,
we believe, has attained to a social
position like his.
1The world is beginning to see that
greatness whether in the poet, the
novelist, the painter the sculptor or
the actor, is manifestation of the
universal genius and as such is to be
sought, admired and applauded. 1t
Is beginning to discover that ACTORS
may be gentlemen Of culture and
breed ing and actresses ladies' of stain
less character 1t is also beginning
to reward them in proportion to their
deserts. Edwin Booth is only one of
4 long line OF players who will
mingle on equal terms with other
residents of the polite world aud who
will acquire large fortunes to sustain
their station
Salvinis "Othello" at His Best.
It is very seldom that l have at
tanned satisfaction with myself in
that role; may say that in the thou.
sands OF times that l have played it
l can count on the fingers of one
hand those when l have said to my
self, II can do no BETTER" and one of
those times was when l gave it at
the Teatro del Fiorentini in Naples.
1t seemed that evening as if an cleo
trio current connected the artist with |
the public Every sensation of mine
was transfused into the audience; 1T !
responded instan taneously to my SEN |
timent, and manifested its perception
Of my meanings by a low murmuring,
by Il sustained tremor. There was
no occasion for reflection, nor did the
people seek to discuss me; all were at
once in unison and concord. Actor,
Moor, and audience felt the same i'm
pulse, were moved a. one SOUL
l cannot describe the cries of en-
thusiasm which issued from the
Threats of those thousands of persons
In eXaltation, or the deliriuus demon
STATIONS which accompanied those
sceces OF love, jealousy, and fury;
and when the shocking catastrophe
came, when the Moor recognizing
that he has been deceived, cuts short
his days, so as not TO survive the an
guish of having slain the gulltless
Desdemona, chill ran through every
vein, and, as IL the audience had
been stricken dumb, ten seconds went
by In absolute silence. Then came
tempest OF cries and plaudits, and
countless SummOnSeS before the cur
tain. When the demonstration was
ended, the audience passed out amid
an indistinct murmur of voices, and
collected in groups of five, eight, or
twelve everywhere in the eiphbor-
hood OF the theater; then, reunited
as II by magnetic force, they came
back into the theater. demanded the
rel ghting OF the footlights, and in
sisted that should come on the
stage again. though l was half UNI
dressed. to receive new ovatis n.
This unparalleled and spontaneous
demonstration is among the most
cherished memories of my career, for
II ranks among such as an artist
rarely obtains -Century /
Almost a Tragedy.
In 1879, while playing Richard in
Chicago. Edwin Booth was fired at bv !
an assassin. 1t was near the finish ;
of the last act, when Booth sat In the !
glare of the calcium light, with all !
the other, lights tn ned down, and !
was engaged in the soliloQuy He sat
little to the right OF the center OF
tne stage, with the prison on one side