The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1905-04-02
RICHARD MANSFIELD, ACTOR.
4 GENIUS UNSURPASSED, WHOSE
NAME ~ WRIT IN WATER.

!
Artistic MISUNDERSTANDING and
Forbes RobertSOn, AStOr intelligence
and the OthsF Kind-star Drama.
Late one evenings yearor 20 age Richard
Mansfield amused NE remnant Of party
OF friends by a series OF burlosquss and
limitations at the piano quite 10 the vein
OF Prince Karl The subieots were Paris
ian, and, impfoviAlnR both Wofcia and
music, Mr.. MAnsheld passed from the
hghtest Of soubrstto ditti6s to Tie Ssnti-
mental outpouringH Of popular B'slodTSsas.
IL was truly remarkable and Altogether
delightful feat In 9tare long ago
abandoned In pubic performances. 'Ad-
mirablel' exclaimed one Of the listeners,
In q somewhat mistaken burst Of outhu-
siasm. How they would riSS 10 you IN
Parish The youthful fAoS Of the actor,
wreatbed In folllokinE laughter, suddenly
became quite grave. 'This INIT my bsst
line, you lnoWi' he said. In fact It was
not, and the awkward question obtruded
itself Of what Continental Europe, trained
In classical drama and AbtinB, would think
Of the great AmatCaa tragedian - he
appears a. the New AaAsbardan. Il Is NOT
an easy question, for even Ia America bis
position is far from AIRED. though the paSt
few years have done much % Inform and
orystsllizs opinion on the subject
------
The time was, AID not 90 very long Ago,
when the personal equation. obtruded
itself before the artistic IN Mr.. MAnsheld's
relations with his public, Who WIN ever
forget thoss hzy spSsohsS before the
curtain In whioA be oastieAt6d The tastes
Of his hearers, or The answering fuslilade
from the preas. which ever rOsSnts en-
croaohments upon ~ preroEativO d public
sooldinR Certain critics therS were, and
notably Mr.. Dithmar, who Always saw
Richard Manshsld tf7Re and whole, but
they were In the minority. II required
some new sensation In the way Of q play,
sCyrano de BerReTao,' or . stupendously
spectacular Henry W to all che theatre.
Now Mr.. Mansfield can scarcely be got
before the curtain by the most tumultuouS
applause, and one Of the biggest theatres
in New York IL nightly crowded to the
roof by REVEALS Of the most ancient pieces
in his repertory. The world Is grown
honest, said Rosenerantt. Then 10 dooms-
day near Hamlei answered. Mr.. Mans
field has his ripest years before him, but
increasingly possible 70 forecast the YER
dict Of the day Of judgment.
People talk about my mannerisms.'
Mansfield once exclaimed. i Wish they
would say what they are. might reform
theml' From which II appeared that he
was the one man Is America who had never
heard OF the Mansfield attitude OF chest
and shoulders, the Mansfield stride, the
Mansfield bark and the MAnshold sing
song Perhaps Bomebody took out an
accident insurance policy, hired . corps
Of private detectives for q bodyVuRrd.
donned chain, arnor and then gently ap-
prised him Of these thlnEa. Certain 10 IL
that In late yearS they have been gradu-
ally diminishing sincs BfUtts they have
not been distressing. Not even Devery,
the august inventor Of the word, would
now accuse him Of being ohesty.
The last stronghold Of personal idiosyn-
Grassy Is the voice. Now and then may Be
heard an mduly staocato word. More
frequently a false tntonation oRends the
ear, the voics sometimes rising full octave
on o single word, and especially on that dis
tressing ely perpendicular proDoun /. A far
more insidious distress arises from lingsr-
ing modlcum Of German acoent-which IL
much more discernibls, however, In Mans
held's imitators than in his own Slocution.
Its chief harm comes from the fact that It
preoludes the accurate and easy vernSGulaR
quality which "a indispensable to the charm
and the sense Of even the loitisst poetry.
70 be. or not 10 Be: that 70 the question,
whether It's no bier 70 the mind 20 suneT
The SlinCs and SrroWS Of outrageous fortuns--
That Il something iks what The lines
would sound In the Mansfield dialect. Even
here, no wever, improvement IL discerAibls.
Mansfield still falls far short Of the Hmpid
utteranoe Of Forbes Robertson but at his
worst be is better than Irving.