New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1903-10-27

-pienoio skill The situations in which T,a,.a g.
= - nc sNoh as could only be filed by a man
OF surprising intellectual and personal su+bo-It1
-. Ne enotons that his experience engenders are
49, a. c0olo De fels only by a profoundly SYM
pathetic nature and communicate ,-l-- -. -
rsNeoos' sef-enacing art No man could play
Dan'e as Henry Irving plays Tin for exaronla
-. e1e OF me fathers coloGuy with the daugh-
sel VINO Goes not know him; the moment when be
thinks she has been killed. the nar,inv ,,i,b the
sNIioAen mother; and the passage OF desnair ovs-
me TOMB or Beatrfce-whs had net fully know, the
$500 Ol uenoer affection and the bitterness Of
hope4eSs grief who had not faced the e,o--,s os
go 1s4y, ana stood undismayed in the shadow Of
oeAth- This it is.-this presence OF s,,bsTa,tio1
anu hOole personality within the character ren-a
senteo--that imparts permanent value 20 acting
1s a communicative OF exalted thought and
aeeHls the spell Of genius and the charm OF beautv
the glow that strenEthens and the -,or,+,o, 49,
euloes- The great dramatic moments of the i'm
P-'oon are the curse upon Pisa; the piteous
fSe AFTER the rescue OF Cemma: the ecstatic
prayer al the elimination Of the visions seen in
heil and the solemn and awful arrangement of the
wicked. dying Cardinal which is the climax Of the
play. The situation at the moment Of the curse is
Auiy as thrilling as that which closes Byron's Ma
mo r aIlero.' ano. though Dantes speech is far
INFERIOR 10 that OF the condemned defiant majestic
D0ee tan apcstrophe more passionately eloquent
perhaps than anything else il the whole wide range
OF English poetry. except the curse Of Lear
irving delivery gave il sublime volume. a scath-
Iu1e endurance Of Dante and the SUBSEQUENT
CHASTITY fall. after the sword-thrust in the dark
chapel make a startling picture. while the in
cicental action OF the scene promotes stormy ex-
clternent and holds the observer steadily in sls-
pense- Throughout this passage. indeed the move
ment OF the piece rushes to its ultimate limit Of
1reeoon--Irving Dante. inspiring dominating
and guiding It with ordinary vitality and beau
ufui art In the despairlng vigil at the tomb Of
Beatrice. and throughout the ensuing cycle Of hor-
rors IN the under worla-the entrance into hell
the drift upon the river Of pitch. the haunted
progress among graves OF fire. scrolls Of ice. and
rains OF blood and tears-Jhe actor has 10 exert
an Imagination active. TO preserve a tension OF
feeling so tremulous. and create and sustain
an Illusion so awful that almost the ordeal seems
transcendent OF any human power. Face voice.
oemeanor. now stiffness and mOvement-au
must express the shuddering awe Of mortality
when confronted with the spirits Of beings who have
died IN such ordeas-nany Of them long since met
and psssed-the genius or Henry Irving shines
forth with peculiar splendor Il did not fail
him here; as al can well conceive who recall
his acting IN certain parts OF Hamlet and Macbeth
ms amazing achievement IN the churchyard scene
OF Eugene Arsm,' and his appalling presence in
the weird WaIpurg1s night Of Faust" over the
death scene Of Cardinal Colonna--reIotely reInl-
niScent- perhaps. OF the death scene Of Cardinal
Beaufort. IN King Henry VI.'-the actor predom-
mates with even more than the iron austerity OF
his great embodiment Of Beckett and brings this
drama ef fate TO a sublime close There are finely
sketched aL-xiliar parts among the nearly fifty
speaking characters Of the play. and IN the course
OF It's twelve distinct scenes there Is excellent
cont1butory acci1g-Mr. Tyars. Mr.. Fs-ren, Mss
Nora Lancaster Wallis. and Mss Mabel Hack
ney giving performances Of conspicuous merit; and
Mr. Loveday notwithstanding many accidents. set
and worked the piece IN g magnificent manner but
II is upon Dante and his preternatural experience
that the chief emphasis has been placed. and Il is
the acting Of Henry Irving that animates nluu1ines
and fmpels the drama The poet Longfellow once
showed the writer OF these words g piece OF
the coffin Of Dante. and. he did SO. he spoke
very softly IL & low, reverent voice, saying That
has touched his bones" This Improvisation OF
Dante by Henry Irvlng.-uaaking the dead poet TO
live again in al his austere gloom and passion
ate ecstacv-is even more significant and I'm
pressfve thar that surprising relic; for this has
touched his soul ". "