The gold leaf. [volume] (Henderson, N.C.) 1881-1911, 1893-04-27
EDWIN ROOIH.

have ever come under the spell OF
his splendid dramatic genius and rare
personal charm. The country might,
doubtless, lose other men whose with
drawal from its affairs would mean
more to it in dollars and cents and
affect more seriously It's material
interests, but it could lose none whose
final exit from the stage OF lite 1t
would more sincerely deplore than the
modest but princely player who has
given it its nobest ideals OF tragic art
It is not his genius alone that has SO
endearcd Mr.. Booth to all who have
listened to the music Of his eloquent
accents, but also the personal worth
and character of the man who has
dignifed the roles he represented. lie
has inspired the affection as we'll as
excited the admiration of his audi
ences, mastering the heart as COM
pletely as the critical judgment. The
very reserve and Shrinking sensitive
ness that have led him to avoid the
public and private tributes OF praise
which are eargerly sought by most men
have served to strengthen and deepen
the general respect and regard that
are felt for him. Like Duncan, he
{" hath borne his faculties SO meek
and preserved so fresh the modesty OF
his youth among the laurels of his later
fame that he has become by that very
fact a shining example of a virtue
more honorcd nowadays in the breach
than in the observance. To use the
language which his own performances
have made SO familiar.
Ellis life was gentle and the elements
50 mixed in him that nature might stand
And say to all the world, this wasa man. :"
Considered purely from profess
sional standpoint, Mr.. Booth has
shown himself eminently worthy not
merely of the passing applause OF the
audiences which he has charmed by
his mpersonations, but of a high and
enduring place in the best memories
of the stage. Regarded simply as an
actor of great endowments, who has
devoted his life to the Hottest themes
of dramatic literature, it would be
difficult to overestlmate the value OF
the service which he has rendered to
the cause of higher education and
instruction. Every lover of Shake
speare and of the classics in the
English drama owes 4 distinct debt OF
gratitude to the man who has given us
our finest conceptions of the creations
of our greatest authors and who has
brought US into closer communion
and sympathy with them. If we know
our Shakespeare better and more
lovingly and revcrently, it is because
this friend of Shakespeare has given a
living voice TO his words and their
true meaning to his thoughts. To
have enjoyed the benefit of his pertor-
manCes is to have received liberal
education in the Shakespearean drama.
There is not figure in all the great
playwright's dramatic gallery which
Mr.. Booth has represented, from
Hamlet, the most complex, to Othello,
the most simple and comprehensive,
which does not stand out more clearly
and powerful for US since MIR. Booth
has illuminated it with the light of his
genius. A thousand learned COM
mentatOrs and lecturers could not have
taught us about them what he has
taught US in the course of a single
evening, often throwing upon them a
flood OF new light by subtle and
delicate methods that are beyond the
mastery Of the mere scholastic.
Mr.. Booths moral influence has
been no less important than his work
as a teacher. He has fulfilled the
highes. mission of the true actor-that
OF holding the mirror up to nature,
showing virtue her own features and
scorn her own image-nearly every
prominent role with which he has been
associated being a sermon in itself and
nreachlng as eloquently as any pulpit
orator the rewards of right living and
the punishment of wrong. No matter
what our theories may be, the stage l:
a power of the first magnitude for good
or evil. The man who directs it tC
vlrtuous ends alone and raises it to the
level of an educational agency IS
public benefactor, and when, like Mr.
Booth, to magnificent dramatic ability
he adds pure and manly private life
which illustrates IN striking but unob
truslve fashion the generous and lofty
traits which he has portrayed before
the tootllghts, he deserves more thar
public honor-he deserves the public
love and respect. This Mr.. Booth ha:
surely gained, and when the hna
curtain falls upon his liie-which it i:
to be hoped that fate may yet long
| deter-the rest will not be silence, a:
Hamlet feared, but the praise anc
reverence that follow noble work nobl,
| performed. When that time come:
his numberless frienddS will feel anG
say with Horatio:
Now cracks 4 noble heart.
Good night. sweet prince;
And flights of angels sing thee to til,
rest
baltimore San.