The courier. (Lincoln, Neb.) 1894-1903, 1899-12-02
THE PASSING SHOW
VILLA GATHER
ToJoSEPH JEFFERSON.

VENERABLE SIR:
When recentlya man OF lettere, M.
Octave Mirbeau, made an attack upon
the profession and person of actors. M.
Coouelin, answering him in courteor
manner common among actors, but alas
none too common among men OF letters
merely recalled the names and profess
sior OF MolieIe and Shakepere, adding
at is sweet, monsieur, TO be insulted in
such company" In every country there
are certain names, which men whose
feeling for the drama is deep and vital
evoke in vindication of the art they love.
Youre. sir, is one of thos, names, the
very utt. rance of which renews our
LOYALTY to the theater. Your name can
never be spoken or written, can never
gree, the eye from the printed page
without contributing peculiar lustre
TO the art which you have 60 long
adorned. There have been other careers
in the history OF the American stage
quite ae valuable as yours. but about
about YOUR lite and work there is sin.
pular fitness and evenness and complete
ness which give you the authority OF a
classic master 10 your own life time.
Your career has been one Of the beauti.
,ful incidents Of dramatic history. Flu.
ture chroniclers will delight to write Of
lit, and many an actor yet unborn will
copsecrate to you the purest aspirations
and find in your name weapon to re
iute (combat) the mockery Of the world.
INSye noticed, cir, that IN writing OF
you, even critics doff their air of licensed
superiority, and fall into the language
and feelicg Of the man who pays for his
reat and reserves the right to enjoy and
admire Internationally. And. indeed.
you seem not to belong to the quibbling
world of analytical criticisms and coz
ti,cting estimates and hair breadth dis
tin,tlons, but to the common world OF
all of US, where the real sun shines and
real brooks flow. You have reached out
of art into life. You have touched the
large world Of men who EEL more closely
than the small world OF men who formu.
late. Your art hss given tangible de-
light that is quite independent OF the
intellectual or critical faculties; q beau
,ty which the simplest divine and which
,tte most ast ate cannot define, which re.
t,sins the vitality outside the radius OF
the calcium, and which the backwoods.
u,an can carry back to the hills and find
i, 90 real in the sunlight as 1t seemed to
him inn the theatre. This, sir, 10 the art
wh;, b endures, because it concerns it.
self y Eh sens sympathies. which are
chang. <ss rs&.her than with the intel
lect. VIII, ii, ~ ,Os.cstantly modified by
external G, EDITIONS, end developing new
tastes at tn Q exp nse1i old passions.
You're, sir, is tho vor .t9a+ina OF art the
clement which survives "ans'''on VI
BORN, revolution Of method. >ua JUG 10
cadence OF schools. contribute "'.u
ally and measur ably to the Gum o. hu'
man happiness. And perhaps after w.
sir, that is the only thing which give '
art the right to be.
Your growth ard development has
been, up to a certain point, almost one
with that OF the American stage. You
Yourself have esteemed it fortunate to
have been born. az it were. into the
theater. Whatever may be the merits
and talents Of actors recruited to the
stage from other walks Of life, the man
who is born an actor may well claim
the advantage. For the stage is world
In Itself, world apart. and one to which