The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1904-09-04

y HIS recently published studies
in Shakespeare" John Churton
Collins, the eminent shakespear-
can authority, deals vigorously with
the so-called ''Baconian theory" Me-
Collins pays special attention to an
essay by Judge Webb of the Univer-
slty of Dublin on The Mystery Of
William Shakespeare: \ Summary OF
Evidence" Judge Webb is an earnest
Baconian and earnestly eXpounded the
theory that Bacon, not Shakespeare,
wrote the plays attributed TO the Bard
OF AVIAN.
In his summing up Mr.. Collins says
il Is a "monstrous tax on our credul-
ity' 10 ask US to believe that Shakes
peare was not the author Of Shakes
peare's plays. And he goes on:
What Judge Webb and the Bacon
ians ask us TO credit is that
a man. whose conceDtions of love. Of
beauty and of friendship found. as Lis
whole character and career as well as
the rest of his writings prove. exact
expression in his essays OF those sub
jects and in his Essay Oh Marriage
and Single Life was the author OF
Venus and Adonis.' of the Sounets OF
Romeo and Juliet and was the de-
lineatcr of Viola, OF POrtia, of Rosa
lind, OF Hermione, of Imogan; tina, a
man without a spark Of genial hurdor
was the create Of the Merry WiTer,
Of Falstsff. of Mercutio OF TouchStou~.
and of DOEberTy; tLat "a writc' in
whose works there is no trace OF any
dramatic imagination, Of any light
play or wit and fancy. of any profound
passion, OF any esthcic enthusiasm.
transformed himself into the poet Of
- I
those qualities are essential ana pre-
dominating characteristics: that the
master Of Il style. the notes Of which
i'm color. i'm tone. in rhytlm-aTc an
mistakab'c, became al viii the master
of a style IN which not one OF these
notes ia. even in the faintest degree.
dsCernible: and lastly that Il man
10 acknowledged himself the composer
refutc all possibility of his being equal
so the composition of poetry TO witch
be never made any claim
Mr.. Collins very much prefers % be
lleve that the son OF burgess in
provincial town, as Shakespeare WAS.
actually possessed the classical
knowledge, the knowledge Of law. tee
knoWlcdge Of ancient and modern lit
crature. OF history and philosophy. NJ
court and high life which the author
OF the Shakespearian dramas uniOu0t-
eddy possessed. But Of all tic char
acteristics OF the subtle and powerful
intellect which informed and EohIr-
ished the genius which gave us these
dramas the most obviously striking is
its marvellous receptivity.
The moment. therefore. we come 90
enquire into the mystery of the STRAIT
ford burgess" son. we find that II sim
ply resolves itself into the mystery
r,F In i'm nd
ament. What must forever remain in
applicable is not what puzzles tie
BacOEians, his attachments, his dull
turc. and his knowledge OF life and
men. but how il came to pass that
nature should have created Il man
whose intellect and genius are. ir
their receptiveneSS. in their range.
grasp and versatility almost as mirac-
ulous as the suspension OF natural
laws. What the BaconIans forget Is
that. even in its less extraordinary
manifestations, there il no analogy be-
tween genius and talent. That q lad
of seventeen. without education and
I'm absolute solitude, should have pro
duced the ROWley FOTgerieS; that q
Scotch neasant, with nature only as
his teacher. should have produced
what is most exquisite I'm the poetry
OF Burns. are equally beyond ire range
Of possibility under normal ccndi-
tons"
-
Speaking Of playwri.ing, Lyman 3.
Glover had an interesting article on
he subject I'm the Chicago Record
Herald last week. Mr.. Glover showed
that dramatists are the most UnbiusL
ing plagarists in any field % literary
endeavcr. Dion BOucicauit is Ge-
Scribed as a star performer along IT'S
line. And he made plenty Of money ut
it. too. though Mr.. Glover calls at
tention 10 the fact that as lcng aSo
as 1889 the fifteen BoucieaUit plays
hat survived at that time were sold
i'm a lump for an average price of S-u0.
WIN our present day playwrights fare
as badly. we wonder
Certainly they are turning ont q lot
Of rubbish. stuff that doesn't deserve
to live through a season.
The attraction scheduled for this
week at the Salt Lake theatre. and by
the way it viii be the only attraction
until Sept. u. when the Wizard OF
or comes. is Henry Miller i'm Mice
and Men" and Joseph Entaneled."
Mr.. Miller and his leading woman.
Hilda Spoug. are both so well ard so
favorably known here that thew will
undoubtedly do a big business. "JO-
seph Entangled' will BE- presented
Monday and Wednesday evenings,
Mice anu Men utSudN evening.
-
The title OF Madeleine Lucette Ry-
ley's nfw play Mice and Men, in
which Charles Frohman is to present
Henry Miller at the Salt Lake thea
tire on Tuesday evening, Sept s, was
suggested by the bit Of philosophy
from the rhymes of Burns that
THE best laid schemes OF mice and
men gang aft agley."
Il tells the story OF a lonely middle
aged bachelor WHO tries 90 educate
girl for the position of his wife, bat
his schemes like those of mice ard
mon doesn't work out and she falls
IN love with a younger sutton. the
nephew OF the bachelor
When the bachelor sets Ous to seek
the girl that ne would educate for
wifekood he remarks: II want We
man who must have a taste fo- the
science, but not prudish, simple as
mountain maid, fearless as the spar
tan wives--in short. WIN 9 tho Nh
tues Of her sex and none &c VS. weak
nesses."