New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1893-03-05


matter of faith with the faithful to go on re-
pcating that the Pope is under some restraint,
| that the Vatican is JAIL and that Italy or the
King of Italy is his jailer. Leo XIII is never
thcless free any Of his predecessors. He
may walk out into the open air when and where
he likes If he is under restraint it is self-im-
posed. lie is his own jailcr il he have a.
| jailer. 1t is hard to see how Roman Catholicism
| or any other cause can be served by this per-
sistcnce in pure fiction. 1t may, and I presume
does, impose on good Catholics; it imposes on
nobody else
Equally remote from the region of the actual
| is the declaration of the Pope that he hoped soon
| to see England Catholic again. lie might AS
well express a hope for the conversion Of the
inhabitants of the planet Mars. lie talks OF
his Dear England very much as that pure
Scotchman," Mr. Gladstone. talks Of his Dear
Old Scotland The difference is that Mr..
Gladstone holds Scotland IN the hollow of his
hand. and that the Pope has scarcely footholl
in England
Leo is known to lcng for the restoration Of that
political supremacy which the medieval Papacy
welded over Europe Let him hrarkcn 10
the voice of one of his Irish flock, declaring that
the Irish order of civilization is Christian, the
English non-C Christian. and that England has been
for thrcc centuries the leader Of the great
apostasv and IL at this day the
principal obstacle to the conversion
of the world. She is if numbers or. rather pro-
portion, he the test. far more formidable cham
| pion Of Professionalism than tho United States.
Our Romanists are supposed TO include onc-ninth
of our population. The Romanists in England are
computed at under two millions; perhaps, one
eighteenth. more probably onc-twentieth, Of tho
people of Great Britain. 1t is respectable figure.
n,,I- rbO heuH flp
English delegation at Rome, will carefully abstain
from encouraging Leo to hope that this papistical
| lcavcn will lcavcn the whole Protestant body.
IT, has TO he recorded that Mr.. lbscns new
play, The Master Builder has now held tn"
London stage during a fortnight. The late Is
a better one than that which hcfcll the same
work in Mr.. Ibscns own country. Christlanla
would not have il, and his admirers in Norway
are by no means agreed with tho>" OF England IN
holding it to bc worthy Of this singular writer's
powers IL j., moreover, to the average Ens'l'h
critic, and even to some of the best of them.
stumbling block Critic and audience are alike
pcrplcNcd They find the piece obscure pcrvcrse.
morbid. wanting in humor and in dramatic
interest The characters, says one OF the most
iudicious critics are, or should lc, one and all,
inmates OF "A lunatic asylum. H. may be ~,
though an opinion delivered in thc~" terms Is
hardly judicial. Whether 80 or not. one of these
characters has "A perfectly sane representative
upon the stage 1t j. Miss Elizabeth Robnsr
acting which accounts for the hold which Mr.
IhScn's work has secured. She makes liidt
Wangcl something more than conceivable. To
bring this Scandinavian young lady entirely
within the range of English notions or prcJudlc"'
is possible to nobody. III not mah' hl' IN
mystical, and mysticism has no hold on the play
going mind in this country; but Miss kohin, actS
with a force and freshness which are rare on any
stage She has in the good sense Of the words,
intensity Of style Her voice vibrates. Her ch-
r,ession fixes the gaze llcr personality IL at
,ractivc 10 the audience and If She cares 10,
this American young hdy may soon establish
herself In the good graccs Of the English public
e. w. s.