Omaha daily bee. (Omaha [Neb.]) 187?-1922, 1905-10-15
OUR LETTER BOX.


| OMAHA. oct 14-To the Editor OF The
Bee: My acquaintance with Henry Irving
began in 1873, on the occasion of one OF his
early visits to Dublin, after he became a
star OF the first magnitude; one OF the
great events in his career at which 1 was
present was the command" night by
Trinity college in 1878, when the fellows
and students Of Trinity college, Dublin,
filled the old Theater Royal from pit to
dome; II was indeed a great night, and
signal triumph for Irving, for the seal OF
approval of Trinity college meant every
thing to an actor that night I saw, as
said then, and say today, the greatest
Hamlet" of my time.
In a letter to the old Omaha Herald,
dated at Dublin, November u. 1873 1 drew
some comparisons between Barry Sullivan
and Henry Irving. These observations were
true then and there is no reason to modify
the point of view at this far date:
Henry Irving is tall and thin and not very
well put together; no particular graces
except beautiful long white hands and an
expressive face; Is not a great elocutonist,
phenomenal pronunciation of a voice not
down to the full register of a tragedy bass
and yet sweet voice, too; Remember
the man had genius enough to overcome
them so far, or rather make his audience
forget them, that today he is asserted by
thousands of cultured men to be the great
est Hamlet" of his time. His personatlon
Is luminous with thought He has torn
Hamlet" that is refreshing in originality
He is princely, tender, nervous, vacillatinR
why in this unweeded garden of the
world am sent to remove foul distem-
pers, might almost be his cry Nothing
exceeds the tender beauty of his scenes
with Ophella--nothing more touching than
his clinging friendship for Horatioonoth-
Ing more pitiable than the ever shifting,
eddying, currents of his soul His heart
Sullivan's Hamlet is destitute of humor.
Mr.. Irving brings out the subtlety~ OF
shakespeare's delicate satire. Few actors
make much Of the scenes with Rosencrantz
and Guildenstern-or with the Recorders
or with Polonius or Osric But through the
morbidness of Mr. Irving's Prince there
shines these occasional bright and brilliant
CLEANS of sunny nature. The dismal
tate In which he is involved cannot wholly
reading is, for want OF better and
stronger. word, thoroughly gentlemaniv. |
his apology TO Laertes in the last scene
beautifully delivered that it might serve
as the ideal apology from one gentleman |
to another.
The personality Of a man often binds
close to him Jealous friends in private |
who may not be his unqualified supporters |
perhaps lies in his fascinating manners |
on the stage. Dispute his claim to fame |
as an actor as one. may the man himself |
host can you find in all Dondon-no truer |
friend no more courtly enemy A refined |
and cultured gentleman IN every sense of |
know him best love him best. He has not |
escaped calumny and stormy misses |
and venor1ous criticism, but he has met |
worked on. Some day he is coming to |
America. Should he ever do so. compari- |
sons naturally will he Instituted between |
the English actor and Edwin Booth Booth |
the impersonatiOn Of grace and manly |
beauty; irving. lacking in many attributes !
drama. go very far with the public. And !
still. admirfng both. incline To the oninion |
that Henry Irving's Hamlet" is the SUI
perior work-more subtle in reading, more |
more broadly defined more |
luminous In general SCOPE. than that of |
any other actor now upon the stage There |
are actors who may exceed him in other |
ira gedies. The sensitive nervous soul Of |
the man is embodied in Hamlet" whereas |
rut the ''Iamlet'' is pathetic. WILDLY real !
istic. and. bv reason OF personal conditions. |
unPpproa cha BILE
Barry Sullivan was among the last Of the |
old school, the Edwin Forrest of the Eng |
lish stage, while Irving represented the |
newer belief in that intellectual treatment |
of character which has remained the prime
method of his art during his long stage life. |
Abraham Stoker, known everywhere as
Bran Stoker, was Of distinguished Dub
lin family, brother Of Sir Thornley, Stoker, |
former president OF the Royal College of |
Surgeons, Ireland; a brilliant Trinity col |
lege man, a clever literateur, an accom-
plished man in many ways: he was known |
as a clever translator and adaptor OF light |
French plays, being an admirable French |
scholar. Irving was greatly attracted to- |
ward him, and Stoker went with him to |
London, I think, in that year QS7s), be- |
coming in time his general manager and |
closest friend.
The personality of Irving off the stage |
was that of most charming man, unlike |
many of the heavy tragedians. He was !
brimful OF a quiet, gentle, humor; had |
great fund of anecdote, story and reminis- |
cence always at his command, and that |
made him one of the most delightful of |
after-dinner companions; but so thoughtful |
a host was he that every man who came to |
supper with him was drawn out upon some |
topic or another and went away feeling |
that he, too, had contributed to the pleasure |
of the evening-no one was overlooked !
remember one OF Irving's Chicago engage
ments, when I happened in on him at the
Columbia theater. That night at supper at
the old Grand Pacific among the other !