New-York tribune., 1900-12-26

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voiced. anamic vapid and yet full or fussy
and shrewish energy; a splenetic, loquacoas
stripping. now gloomily glowering. chat
terng like parrot, at all points fantastic and at
no moment impressive The killing OF Polonius
was completely insipid-whereas it Is of the
most tremendously tragic points in the whole wide
range Of drama. There no delirum, nor
a hint or mental shock after the ghost-scene. The
madness was mere mimicry; and, like all other
Continental players, in foreign tongue. who have
acted Hamlet here, Mime. Bernhardts Prince was
easily able TO turn his back upon the Ghost and
10 pass through the most awful of all conceivable
ordeals OF mortal experience as jauntily as If he
were going to breakfast.
Sarah Bernhardt has no. only presented the per-
son whom she supposes to be Hamlet but has
printed her views of the character; and If her
superficial and expeditions performance had left
any doubt as TO her inability to grasp the Shake
spearian conception, her published statement would
amply suffice to remove it. Hamlet. according to
Nine. Bernhardt, is manly and resolute" and
being manly and resolute" the character is one
eminently MT to be assumed by woman. Hamlet
she declares should not be overwhelmed upon
meeting with his fathers ghost because he has
come expressly TO it,: that is to saw an ex-
perience completely outside of anything known as
possible an experience so awful that it unsettles
the brain; an experience so incredible that the
clpients mind involuntarily rejects 1t, almost as
soon as it has passed CThat undiscovered coun-
Try from whose oourn no traveller returns') is to
be encountered with comparative equanimity and
dominated with energetic resolution, merely be-
cause the Prince has impulsively said that he viii
accost the phantom if it assumes his fathers ner
son. Hamlet wildly declares that he will speak
to the apparition, though hell itself should bid him
10 De silent; therefore. says Nine. Bernhard, he
is mot weak or languid person." Hamlet hys-
tericaly threatens his restraining friends in his
first ghost scene, and insists on being permitted
to follow e'spectre Therefore he is mot feeble
man. hanlet, IN the scene of lie Kings Prayer,
refrains from killing that monarch mot because
a ~ u ting ~
and logical" desiring to kill his enemy Sin state
OF sin. not Of repentance; to send him 10 hell not
10 heaven That is to say Hamlet is manly and
resoIute, "a young. strong, determined character
who thinks before he acts and who possesses
great strength and great power Of mind" be-
cause. at certain moments, he shows an evanescent
capaolllty OF vehement speech and of delirious
action, and because, in his obvious condition of
partial arrangement he puts aside an opportunity
OF righteous vengeance, with the avowed purpose
or presently committing the most horrible of
crlnes-the Internal crime of sending soul
into eternal hell. In other words Hamlet is sane
potent expeditions individual. to whom a ghost
is as incidental as an omelette because he makes
brave speeches and purposes to act like moral
monster. Nothing could be further from the truth
Shakespeare. by his colossal genius" excaims
Bernhardt, belongs to the universe, and a French
a German. Russian brain has the right to ad-
mire and to understand him" Most assuredly!
But the right TO understand does not always in
clude the capacity. Nine. Bernhardts ideal of
Hamlet is radically and absolutely wrong and her
performance only serves to illustrate its error
When this conspicuous French actress first tried
to play Hamlet Cday 90 1900 in Paris prodigious
mental illumination befeIl the French capital The
performance lasted six hours. Many spectators
were so delighted that they left the theatre before
1t was over. in order to read the play The sur
vivors OF those who remained the last went home
TO breakfast completely -enthraIed and practically
exhausted Mr.. Rostand-much interested in the
Bard Of Avon from whose works he had conveyed
the Balcony scene, for Cyrano, and the Mirror and
Spectre scenes, for Rechstadt,-declared that he
"sble, for the first time to comprehend
Shakespeare's masterpiece The tremendous Mr.
Walter. proprietor Of The London Times had
a spasm, in the course of which he calculated the
remark that. having all the great tragedians
for thirty years. he had only now seen Hamlet
acted to perfection Kittens of this kind were
produced in large numbers. Two citizens-one Of
them local bard, the other silver-gilt dandy
went into the lobby, dispute about Shakespeare
and presently each other upon their re-
specttve conks, even unto the spiling OF gore All
fashona bic Paris, which of course, has given its
days and nights to the study of Hamlet and
knows all about it-nade the original and novel
announcement that Nine. Bernhardts portrayal of
him was "a revelation" In particular it was noted
that the French actress had kindly removed from
Hamlet's character all predispostion TO dream and
drift, all lassitude OF the will. and every trace
Of melancholy; and likewise that,-"with
auspicious and one dropping eye" beholding femi-
piSlli-4SSs dl ol4c dlSie TOIudHllc youth
at the other.-she had reduced his age from thirty
10 tWenty-one. Altogether IL a great night
for Gaul and thereupon the victorious Nine. Bern
hardt, much encouraged. invaded England with
her popinjay Hamlet and actually exhibited him
in the Shakespeare Memorial Theatre at Stratford-
upon-Avon He has now emerged in America and
IL the public that reads and studies Shakespeare
Csupposing such q public to exist, it did,
will accept this fantastic foreign image of Hamlet
true and right then something is rotten in the
State Of Denmark" and there is no more to be
said. w W.