The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1895-06-11
IRVING TAKES PAREGORIC.
THE GREAT ACTORS LATEST MAS
TERsTROKE FREELY CRITI-
CISED.

Old Stnge Tricks for Fine Aria
Graphic and Entertaining AnaIy-
sis of MIR. Irvins's Performance of
Corporal Brewster in Conan
DOyIe's "a story OF waterloo"
c. b. S. in the Saturday Review.
Any one who consults recent visitors
to the Lyceum or who seeks for informa-
ton in the press as to the merits Of Mr..
Conan Doyles "A Story of Waterloo
will, in nineteen cases out of twenty.
learn that the piece is a trine raised into
Importance by the marvellous acting Of
Mr.. Irving as Corp. Gregory Brewster.
As a matter Of fact. the entire effect is
! contrived'by the author. and is due to him
alone. There is absolutely no acting in
| it-none whatever. There is a makeup
in it, and little. cheap and simple MINI
icry which Mr, Irving does indinerently.
because he is neither apt nor obseryaat
as a mimic Of doddering old men. and
because his finely-cultivated voice and
diction again and again rebel against the
indignity of the corporaFs squeakings
and mumblings and vuisarities Of pro-
nunciation. But all the rest is an Illus
ion produced by the machinery Of "a
good acting play" by which is always
meant play that requires from the per-
formers no qualifications beyond a plausi-
BILE appearance and little experience and
address in stage business. 1 had better
make this clear by explaining the process
of doing without acting, as exemplihed
by "a Story Of Waterloo" in which Mr..
Conan Doyle has carried the art of con
struction an acting" play to such an ex-
treme that l almost suspect him of sar-
tirically revengng himself, as literary
man, on a profession which has such
dread of literary plays" "a literary
play" l should explain, is play that
the actors have to act. in opposition to
the acting play" which act them)
Before the curtain rises you read the
playful; and the process commences at
once with the suggestive effect on your
imagination Of Corp. Gregory Brewster
aged &c. a Waterloo veteraRli of. Mora
Brewster the corporafs grandniece." ana
of "Scene-Brewster's lodgings" BY the
time you have read that, your magma
ton, with the author pulling the strings
has done half the work you afterward givh
Mr.. Irving credit for. Up goes the cur
tain; and the lodgings are before you. with
the humble breakfast table, the cherry
fire, and old mans spectaoles and Bible
and a medal hung in a frame over me
chimney piece. Lest you should be unob-
servant enough to miss the significance
of all this, Miss Annie Hughes comes in
with a basket of butter and bacon, os-
tensibly to impersonate the egrandniece
really to carefully point out all these
things to you. and to lead up to the entry
of the hero by preparing breakfast for
him. .4,.. ,-.t-tf "
When the background is sufficiently laid
in by this artifce, the drawing of the
figure commences. Mr.. Fuller Mellish on
tiers in the uniform Of a modern artillery
sergeant, with a breech-loading carbine
You are touched; here is the young sol
der come to see the old-two figures from
the Seven Ages of Man. Miss Hughes tells
Mr.. Mellish all about Corp. Gregory. She
takes down the medal, and makes hin,
read aloud to her the press-cgtting pastei
beside it, which describes the feat 20,
which tire medal was given. In short. the
pair work at the picture of the old war
rior until the very dullest dog in the au
dience knows what he is to see, or 10
imagine he sees, when the great moment
though Mr.. Irving has not yet left lis
dressing room. fo5t
At last everything being ready, Mr.. Ful-
Ter Mellish is packed off so as not to d.
vide the interest. A squeak is heard be-
hind the scenes; 1t is the childish treble
that once rang like trumpet on the