The Stark County Democrat. [volume] (Canton, Ohio) 1833-1912, 1897-11-04
GREATNESS UNOERVALUED.
Shakespeare, Scott and Mrs. siddons Were
Not Wonders Once.

Not Wonders Once.
In these modern days, when the most
extravagant laudations are paid by lit
tie cliques to little poets and mediocre
actors and the language of eulogy is
exhausted ON what seems very small
provocation, it is difficult to picture q
time when not only the minor bard and
the second class actors were severely
dealt with, but even the best and great
est were exposed to irreverent criticism.
Robert Greene, who, however, was in
the same line of business ("wrote him
self'D, declared his contemporary
Shakespeare TO be "an upstart crow,
who, i'll his own conceit, was the only
shakescene in the country" Dryden
wrote of the bard of Avon: "He writes
in many places below the dullest writ
ers of our or any preceding age. Never
did any author precipitate himself from
such heights of thoughts to such low
expressions He is the Janus of poets,
and you have scarcely time to admire
one face ere you despise the other"
Coming nearer to our own times ID
Is generally, but quite enormously, sup.
posed that the Waverly novels were re-
ceived with universal accord of ac-
claim on thoS' first appearance, but this
is by no means the case. In many of
the contemporary organs of criticism
they were damned with faint praise, "
and in some even without it,
Mrs. Siddons, agaiu-a statue to
whom was uncovered in Paddington by
Sir Henry Irving-is supposed to have
taken the town by storm and to have
been at once acknowledged the queen of
her profession. Yet Horace Walpole,
admitting her great talents, by no
means expressed himself with such en-
thusiasm. "She pleased me beyond my
expectation, but not up to the admira-
ton of the ton, two or three whom were
in the same box with me. +#+ Mr.
Crawford asked me if / did not think
her the best actress l ever saw. / said:
By no means. We old folks are apt to
be prejudiced in favor of our first i'm
pressions. She is good figure, hand
some enough, though neither nose nor
chin according to the Greek standard,
Beyond which both advance good deal.
Her hair is either red or she has no OBJ
lection to its being thought SO and had
used red powder. Her voice is clear and
good, but thought she did not vary it's
modulations enough, nor ever approach
enough to the familiar, but this may
come wenh more habituated to the awe
of the audience of the capital. Her ac-
tion is proper. but with little variety.
When without motion, her arms are not
genteel.
THUS, you see, all my objections are
very trifing, but what l really wanted
but did not find was originality, which
announces genius, and without both
which l am never intrinsically pleased.
All Mrs. Siddons did good sense or good
instructions might give. 1 dare to say
that were l one and twenty / should
have thought her marvellous, but, alas,
/ remember Mrs Porter and the Dunes
nil and remember every accent of the
former i'll the very same part, Illus
trated London News
In some OF the Nevada canyons in Sc.
we're weather the jack rabbits freeze to
death, huddled together in clusters,
yainly trying to get little warmth out
of one another. Then the Washoe and
Piute Indian hunters break them off in
punches and flood the market with
them.