New-York tribune., 1894-04-29
NOTES FROM LONDON.

HAM, AND LORD Sfl<aND-Hii~'Si'"'
w H. SMITH & SON AS CEN
sORs OF LITERATURE
AND AS DEALERS.
London, April 1c.
Mr.. Irving's return from America and reappear-
ance at the Lyceum brought him anotner oi
those testimonials of regard and even a1ec'oh
which no other actor evokes, or perhaps mas ever
evoked. in equal degree. a Lyceum hrst nisi'
has become a stock phrase to denote 'uIouieh'
enthusiasm When 1t happens TO be also the
night of Mr. Irvings and Miss Terry's hrst greet
.,g to their friends after a long ABSENCE 'he
demonstration becomes more remarkable Nldh
ever. 1t was so on Saturday. The audience II IL
true was not an audience Of celebrities. IheIe
was no royalty and there were 1eW persons VI
much social distinction Mr. Irving has in very
high degree the sentiment OF Loyalty 10 ou
friends and il is a company of old friends which
he likes to collect about him on such occaslohs'
The house was packed with them on Saturday.
all parts OF the house. The general public was
also represented; which it perhaps not often Is
on first nights at other theatres. But Mr.. irving
knows that after all, 1t is the public to whom ne
appeals and he likes to treat them we'll Al'o-
gether the house was fine one; and in the most
explosive, exuberaut mood. People were eNpios>
i've even to the point of recognizing Mr Ierriss
beneath the gray beard of Faust and OF applaud
ing him. 1t may be imagined he thought he hau
rather good reception till that when was De-
slowed on Mr. Irving undeceived him. nave
heard many a long roar Of delight at 'he Lyceum
as Mr. Irving was recognized never, l thinK' one
equal in duration in its volcanic quality 10
that of Saturday. Pit gallery, stalls. boxes Fled
with each other.
The critics are not satisfied that Mr. Irving
should have chosen TO make his entree IN raus''
He himself seems to have thought that his choice
needed explanation. and the back OF the play
bill contained a long dissertation on the aims ana
merits Of Mr. Wills's adaptation of Goethe's great
drama Perhaps the best explanation was 10 De
found in the arithmeucal statement on another
mage that this was the 43lst performance OF this
piece at the Lyceum. II is late in the day, there-
fore TO critcise it, yet always feels like max
ing a protest-a mild protest Mr.. Goldwin
Smith would say-against Mr.. Wills and his deal
ing with Goethe. Let take 1t as made and
pass on Mr. Wills has great power OF making
the imaginative into the commonplace. and his
Mephstopheles is dull and ordinary devil II
you compare him with the creation Of Goethe
1t was Mr.. Irvings task 10 restore scme OF the
qualities he had lost. and he did II. He could not
restore all. He was. however, in one of his best
dramatic moods The air and hard work In
America have done him good. He looked WELL
and acted with force and with moderation even
where Mr.. Wills invited him to be melodramatic
He was clear in speech and sober in gesture
with a command over his audience which he did
not lose even at the moments when Mephisto
becomes most inane In the text. The action re-
deemed the text.
do not know whether it be permissible to
good influence on Mr.. Irving's method. Be that
as II may he has never acted better than on mis-
return from this American Journey which, II
educational or inspriting, must also have been
no light tax on energies and strength. In the
speech which followed the final descent OF the
curtain, he amply acknowledged the warmth OF
I the greeting you gave him In America. l quote
q passage: From the Pacific to the Atlantic
coast we were greeted with one round Of cheers
and good Wishes" "a voice, They're all Eng
lishmen.O Eyes. they all brothers. and I
must say. standing here again amongst old
friends, that our hearts go back with love and
gratitude TO our friends across the sea" 1t was
not at all a set speech. but interchange Of
sentiment with his Lyceum audience, and in
parts a dialogue with the gallery.
critic capable Of taking detached views has
now explained why it is that Mr.. Bailey OF
Nottingham calls Lord Shand "a biassed. preju-
diced partisan. without any sense Of decency."
1t is because Mr.. Bailey has an insufficient vo-
cabulary. Then follows a generalization on the
uncutivated and their methods Of expression.
But If we keep to the particular. 1T is not quite
clear that the explanation explains anything. Mr..
Bailey of Nottingham is dsavowed by Mr.. Pick
ard, and Mr.. Pickard is probably not better
representative Of the cultivated than Mr.. Bailey.
Poth are miners, and both members Of the great
Miners Union Of which Mr. Pickard is president.
The fact that Mr.. Pickard Is NJ p. does not
prove much. Mr.. Keir-Hardie is also an NJ. F..
and there others-I am afraid many others
whose names would not seem. either to their coll
leagues in the House or to the public synonymes
for sweetness and light.
Nor does the injustice Of the attack on Lord
Shand affect the explanation. Lord Shand left
the "living wage" question open lie would not
embody that singular formula in the rules Of the
Cancellation Board. He would not accept 1t as
an axiom. If he had, there might not have been
much further need Of a Cancellation Board. since
Giving wage" appears to mean minimum
wage on which the miner can live in what he
thinks reasonable comfort. AS his standard OF
reasonable comfort would rise from time to time,
the wage would have to rise with It, and the cost
Of producing coal would presently become pro-
hibitve; coal would be imported. and its for
certain purposes would be superseded by other
things, and. in the end. the miners living wage
would either be reduced again. or would entirely
disappear.
Mr. Bailey. like the great body Of the miners,
is blind to these considerations. or perhaps indif
ferent to them. What interests him and them is
to-day; not tomorrow or the day after to-mor-
row. His real complaint against Lord Shand or.
rather. his real grievance, is that Lord Shand Is
not biassed partisan. and that he does not de-
eide the miners demand In advance in favor OF
the miners and against the owners. II he had
dcne that, no complaint would have been heard