Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1903-03-27
Mgr. Falconio, Papa1 Delegate, and
Other Distinguished Personages
Among the Large Audience.

he said, was In the early style OF the poet.
1t taught a lesson not less important than
Macbeth" which in many respects 1t re-
sembled. He said, critics found many I'M
projections in the text. and indications of
the fact that the poets genius was not fully
developed when he wrote It.
There are imperfections. indeed" said
Dr. STAFFORD. but no one who loves the
poet or has been close to his heart can
doubt the authorship OF many passages.
the vision of Clarence. and wrote the beau
tiful and poetic description Of the princes
death The poet found his material in
Holingshed Hall and Moore. He is ac-
he has not done so: all that is In the poet
Is found also in the historian. He has, in a
sense. made the character less repulsive by
giving 1t a consistency and unity.
!. T. A Simple, Plain Villain.
There is no guessing here; here is no
Hamlet with his mystery Of sorrow. Rich
ard declares his position; he gives his atti-
tude; he Is a simple. plain villain. Edmund,
in Lear finds reason for his villainy In
his disgrace Of origin; Richard. In his de-
formity Of person; and since nature has
made his body so crooked. he begs the pow
ers Of hell to come and make his mind
crooked to answer 1t. He feels his deformi-
ty of person. and Is at the same time con-
scious of the power Of his mind, the fasci-
nation of his speech. and the strength OF
his personality. He Is alone. cut of from
all his fellows: no love Is resident In his
heart; he Is a man apart.
He starts out to get the crown-nothing
can cause him to hesitate: no motive. no
law. ne rule. no tie Of kindred, no instinct
human or law divine. For this purpose he
employs his wit. wisdom. courage. daring.
hypocrisy; and the poet makes him perfect
in every part. He gives two pictures Of
himself, one as he would appear to others
and one as he appears to himself.
HE accepts evil for his good; he DELHI
erately changes the order of the world,
throws conscience away, SCOTS at all law,
scorns all obligations, however sacred, and
breaks every tie that binds him to humani-
ty. He Is rot like John. dastardly crimi-
nal. nor like Macbeth. a sad and joyless
sinner, who weeps and means over the foul
deed DONE No: Richard Is the Jester of
pandemonium. the wit Of hell. who not only
does sim but declares he finds happiness in
1t. He jigs, he ambles, he dances, he jests.
He even makes facetious references to that
deformity of person about which he was
so sensitive.
He forgets altogether that the great
King Of kings hath In the tables Of His law
commanded thou shalt do no murder. He
takes a delight in deceiving everybody; no
one can keep pace with him. not even the
high-reaching Buckingham. He spares no.
body. not even his mother. One little scin-
tillation Of good only can be found in him,
that Is his pride in his great father Me
thinks 1t were prize enough to be his son.
1.-THE dream Of Clarence proves the ON
impotence Of the poets Imagination. Clar-
ence' deserved his death. but not at the
hands Of Richard. His argument with the
murderers Is very touching. Clarence, too,
tried to make world Of his own. but he
could not escape the consequences Of his
action. -.
4 Richards Most Piteous Deed. IA
''The most .piteous deed Is the murder of
% Joh,
then, Is to invert the world, to take evil for
good. The boldness Of the attempt wins
our admiration We admire him like we
admire the Satan of Milton. but we know
wha1 the result may be-the experiment
must fail. -.
I'm the play there are two movements,
one up and one down. Richard succeeds
for a time. but only for a time, and the
second movement begins. The curse Of
Margaret comes to him. Retribution is at
hand. and when it comes 1t Is terrible. This
Is to be the end Of Richard. too. The poet
has not made use Of the pathetic incidents
in the play, he has rather avoided them:
the spirit Of the play Is terror, the lesson
retribution. Some day or other your sins
will come home, your sins will find you out.
II you live, you must live according to law.
You may violate the laws of your being,
but only for little while. If you see, you
must see with your eyes, You will dash
yourself to pieces against the world, you
yourself out Of harmony with that move
ment and Seeking to arrest 1t. In the
dreadful hour. the manifestation Of con-
science, Richard withers away with fear.
He laughed at all law, scorned all Obliga-
lions; that he would plot and plan and
execute and do murder and shed blood at
his good will without fear of consequences.
There is no such thing as corscience-no
such thing as law; the power to do things
with impunity-tr1at is all. and that he pos
sesses. It seemed at first as IL he would
succeed. God is silent, the earth does not
open to swallow him. but retrfbution will
come in the end, and 1t Is all the more terri
BILE.
1.-THE night before the battle Of Bosworth
field he loses his alacrity of spirit and
cheer of mind. The shadow begins to ad-
vance He goes into battle with his moth
er's curse. Nemesis is coming, retribution
moves his hour is about to strike. Oh, how
terrible! 1t Is the supremacy of the moral
law which the poet teaches. Richmond is
all 10y and iriumphs distinctly as the rep
resentative of tnat law. The poet Furnishes
Richard by death and an insight into the
other world, and after the awful vision Of
the night before the battle he never recov-
ers himself. The shades Of all his dead
appear to him and point their fingers at
him. and bid him despair and die I shall
despair says Richard; there is no creature
loves me, and IL l die no soul shall pity
pqe."
Papal Delegate Present.
MRr. FalcOnlO, Tie pdpdl uSlcSdte, oCCu-
pied box. Among others in the boxes
were the Mexican ambassador, Nine. de AZ
piroz, the Italian ambassador and Nine.
Mayor des -Planches, the Austrian am
bassador and Nine. Hengelmuller, the
French ambassador and Nine Jusserand,
Bishop Conaty, Secretary and Mrs. Cortel-
you. Mrs. Story, Nine. Perez, Mrs. Reid,
Assistant Secretary of the Navy and Mrs.
Darling, the Argentine minister and Nine.
Merou, Mrs. Attwell. Nine. Bonaparte, Mrs.
James F. Barbour, Mrs. Slater, Mrs. John
Moore, Mrs. Mccartney, Mrs. Irwin, Miss
Riggs Mrs White, Mrs. Wallace, Mrs.
Montgomery. Mrs. Reyburn. Miss Sands.
Mrs. Carr. Mrs. Barron Mrs. Granger. Mrs.
Williams, the Peruvian minister and Nine.
Calderon the first secretary Of the PERU
Wan legation and Nine. de Pexet. ex-Secre-