The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1897-09-26

~ hhAhN uintENOIn WltnuuN
stopping even for one day to make inquiries AZ
70 the prospects Of the people during the coming
winter Will not, Notwithstanding all the writing
OF all the English corroao ondents, be forgotten
beyond the shannon during the coming winter,
withits terribly black prospects,.
This. indeed, IL where the royal visit, In.
stead OF being. as It ought TO DO, q great sue.
cess. will prove to DO . failure. We have never
forgotten the fact that while thousands OF peo-
pie were dying OF famine and starvation In the
West and South In 1s49, the Queen passed in
triumphal procession through tho streets Of
Dublin. II there IL q famine in ireland this
winter-and the reports from the congested die
tricts are almost as bad as bad can be-the Duke
and Duchess Of York will have been most un.
fortunate in their visit"
Toadying newspapers like tho Daily Tele.
graph would never let their readers SEQ the
matter In this light. They RECALLED them with
stories OF enthusiastic receptions by the peas
entry wherever the royal couple stopped-peas-
ants suspieiously like tho washed babies kept
ready for the candidate to kiss at election time
In the days OF Ptckwick. The Glasgow visit was
no moro OF q success. and tho impression left
was OF damp indifference. What 10 to DO done
with his royal Duke and eventual King,
who. at the age Of 80. takes an interest in
nothingi The only CLEAN of individuality
observable by those around him is q de-
sire for a tumbler OF whiskey and milk
as soon as he gets up in the morning at Bslmoral.
But 1t 10 felt that oven that is scarcely an occu-
patton in life or even a pastime. And he cares
for neither horse racing nor yacht racing. How.
then, 10 he to DO distinguished from an empty
name during the remainder OF his daysi Two
answers arc being considered for him by his
friends. One 10 the royal residence in ireland
suggestion. but that may not be adopted after
the experience of the recent visit. The other is
that he go back to the navy. in which he had
the rank of Captain when his brother. the Duke
OF Clarence. died. This proposal has obvious
recommendations. Professional duties would
be a ready excuse for going nowhere. He could
then lead on his empty existence undisturbed.
and the great British public would be content
to accept tho fiction pf now and then colored
prints Of the Duke in q naval uniform were is
sued as supplements to the illustrated papers,
and subscribed "Our Sailor Prince"
The advent of q new Hamlet. e the best Of the
generation" is an event which should DO writ
large In dramatic annals. I do not indorse tho
verdict; I merely record 1t as rendered by critics
and playgoers alike after witnessing Mr.. Forbes
Rooertson's appearance on the Lyceum stage in
Shakespeare's greatest character. There arc
exceptions, of course, to the general opinion, but
Mr.. Robertson has unquestionably astonished
friends and critics alike by his wonderfully able
presentation of the most complex and subtle of
the great masters creations. It 10 tho moro
surprising because Forbes Robertson has by no
means ranked as a really great actor In the esti-
nation oven Of his admirers. He has been con-
scientious. painstaking. clever: has even shown
talent, Judged by impartial standards. He has
gained o strong popularity among London play
goers. But his histrionic powers have not
ranked with those Of Irving or Tree. or two or
three other favorites. Now, suddenly. he IL 40.
claimed as the greatest Of all in the role which
10 tho recognized test Of dramatic genius. The
language OF the critics, even Of those who give
approval most grudgingly. 10 almost extrava-
giant in Its enthusiasm. Clement Scott, the best
known Of them all. declares that Forbes Robert.
son 10 the most human, the most natural. and
In temperament the most lovable of all the
RamLets Of our time. English, French. Italian,
or German" And he says In conclusion:
"The silly cry has gone forth that the drama
which appeals to the mind IL dead, and that its
constituency IL disfranchised. 1t 10 untrue. II
It were not so. no young Hamlet could appeal to
an audience that literally hung upon every
word and sentence, and would OF allow a muir
muir or Q whisper to interfere with that supreme
silence of interest on which the popular actor
commented with thanks when all was over
The drama that Is dead Ii the drama of subli
mated conceit. Yes; there are students OF tn,
higher drama, students OF Shakespeare, stu
dents of the creates tragedy and philosophical
treatise ever written. Lucky the students Of
1897 to be able to boast In the long after year
that they first studied Hamlet at tho feet o
/ such q scholar and artist, such q natural acto
and charming elocutionist, a. Forbes Robert
son."
Another leading dramatic writer puts 1t thu
without equivocation: He has given us tn
, best Hamlet Of tho generation. and not only tn
best Hamlet, but . unique hamlet 9 Hdmie
!, who pleases all the time. as the Americans say
o HdmIet ono can understand and sympathiz
with and make o bosom friend of. All the othe
/, HaulLets Of our day-and, II tho records are I
, be trusted. all the Hamlets Of an earlier day
. have been 'gey Ill to live wiz They have bee,
: petulant or lachrymose or sentimentally whir
= ing or iercely sardonic or gloomy and fatal
a and Byronic or simply ponderous wet blankets
. In short. Q nuisance. Then they have been q
i. t~ernately mad and sane, intellectual and emit
tional. garrulous and ~grumpy-in short. q
. enigma" And stil another writes: "Ml
a Forbes Robertson's impersonation Of the Primo
of Denmark. which may DO said to have brough
back to us not the grave and lofty Hamlet {
a the Kemble tradition. now we'll nigh extinct. nc
: the strong and pointed Hamlet which thos
who saw Kean in the part have described. br
rather tho refined. tender, chivalrous, an
Z courteous Hamlet on which Hazlitt insisted.
7 10 perhaps the most pathetic Hamlet Of on
time"
o some idea will be gained from these extract
o of the vast stir In the London dramatic worl
which has been made by this extraordinary re'
o citation of unsupported histrionlo power In q
d actor whose limitations 1t was supposed wei
n we'll defined. Mr.. Robertson will continue
o play Hamlet until Irving's return late in n,
vember.
Playgoers have had yet another agreeab
:. surprise this week. when Drury Lane Theatl
:. was reopened with a huge melodrama of Il
: sort which made the theatre famous under A
. gustus Harris, but which even surpassed Il
best of these. The piece 10 The VIII
Heather" by Cecil Raleigh and Henry Ham
ton, and 1t may fairly be described as a triumr
of sensationalism. Tho scenes include the |
terror of tho Stock Exchange. with Its hors
play and its excitement eliminating In Il
"hammering" Of q prominent member; Bate
= sea Park In the height Of tho bicycling Graz