New-York tribune., 1907-11-03
AS TO CRITICISM.
MAILING A FALSEHoOD.

as gratuitous brutality and he has stated that
Nine. Kalich can readily afford to be included in
the like condemnation" Cmeaning gratutously brutal
condemnation). which he' (neanine the dramatic
critic OF The Tribune) has bestowed upon such
artists as Eleonora Duse, Sarah Bernhardt Coque-
lin, AIounet-Sully Forest and Salvni'
The custom of attributing to the dramatic rep
resentative of The Tribune opinions expressions
and beliefs. never entertained nor promulgated by
him has been carried very far,-in fact the ex-
treme limit of Misrepresentation the effort to
impusn his veracity and discredit his professional
judgment Truth, however, remains truth. Iibels
Of the kind indicated are generally though not
always. provided by scribbers for the blackguard
section of the press by recent graduates from
school, who,-as of them stated to a respected
critic associated with the New York press-wish
10 attract attention by attacking somebody who
is conspicuous Such vaporings about injustice
ana gratuitous brutality are, therefore, Gus
tomary dismissed with silent contempt When
however, a theatrical manager and newspaper
editor Of Mr. Fiskes prominence chooses to re-
iterate them. in an effort to advertise of his
performers. II becomes material silence should
be discarded though contempt remain. Readers of
The Tribune, probably. will not only be interested
in the mailing Of fasehood. but will also find the
historical record instructive.
Nine Kalich in far she has disclosed her
professional abilities here is about worthy OF
artistic association with Duse. Bernhardt. CoqueIin
MOunet-Suly, Forrest and Salvin Mr. Fiske
IS, in point Of wisdom, with Solomon Socrates;
and attempt 10 associate Nine. Kach with
those actors, and to represent the group having
been treated with injustice and brutality
tinctly silly well disingenuous. To charge
the present writer with brutal condemnation of
Forrest, Salvin. Mounet-Sully. CoqUeln. Bernhard
and Duse as manifest either dense ignorance or
deliberate malice, and talk both nonsense and false
hood
The one English speaking actor mentioned by
Mr.. Fiske object OF this writer's defama-
ton is Forrest
What does Mr.. Fiske know either about Edwin
Forrest or about my criticisms of that great ac-
tor? Forrest died in 1872. He had retired from
the stage.-On which he had fingered for
time after the decline OF his powers had begun
in 1S7l. At that time Mr. Fiske a child ten
years old He Forrest. Apparently he
has never intelligently read anything about him.
He certainly has never read at least with atten-
tion or comprehension, any writings Of mine on
that subject
Edwin Forrest had great faults, both as a man
and actor. They were known 10 me and they
were explicitly specified by me. in my Short Life
of Edwin Forrest and in critical reviews of his
acting. But were his merits. Forrest had tre-
Tnendous power and wonderful ability Governed,
controlled, rightly directed. had he been a highly
intellectual man he would have been one OF the
greatest actors that have ever lived. He was not
highly Intellectual: he was physical, and he was
often coarse The radical defect of his acting was
excessive realism. But every admirable thing that
he did was recognized and extoled by this writer,
as well during Forests lifetime after his
death. For example:
FORREST
-. 1t is tc the credit Of Forrest that
he reaen1bered his early friend and manager. Will
ard him, in after years, practical and COM
mend2he s g5agde tbs giving to him ed9ed shelter and
Natures kindred with his own admired him, fol.
arSisf, l.- 70 his natural admTeTs was
s N ms Frrt a1 a ws "y 6ntpa WaS Inc b b 0a
OF IgeSg eont1oyeTsyof t G ID dispute that cannot in
1T has often been said of Forrest that he was
melodramatfC q
f,aged5@@. His otIeio. his Vlrginius and in later
80 Forrest was remarkable for his iron re-
Strength md de6I;ta,cSss 4Di ~ sor.s Daai @
prehensible and generally admirable. Forrest was
though it was seldom Informed by fine integence
and never by spirituality.-and he had passion and
the method was nielodramatic there WAS no6e
assumption OF tender and manly attributes, which
IN one of the recent articles of the present writer
about Forrest CAIunsey's," June 1866. the fol-
lowing remarks occur:
understood He &c could Ie at all M times be heard and
even nerves Of gutta Percha could remain mistaken
when as RicheIeu he threatened to launch t5e
ecclesiastical curse almost made the theatre walls
from him when as Ayere Jack Cade). he recog n5se
nized ana sprang upon Lord Say, in the forest
Lear's derious prayer to Nature like a thun-
tory efTects-affording ample gratidcaiion to the
OVerStralned feelings OF his audience desirOuS,
forum scene of 'Virginius,' statue scene OF
should be said and done. There times when 1t
60 Forrest could. His style, accordingly, had it's
positive, ample, Undeniahle merits: but neither he
edgment OF those merits at their actual, definite
worth. -. Devoted friendship he did obtain,
:. and that Of James Oakes. of Boston. man
Of singularly gentle nature still affecuonaely re-
membered by silver-haired veterans of Boston
Mccullough who knew Forrest we'll said
that the stern actors affection for Oakes
deep that whenever they were to meet after a
should be private. as he could not bear that his
emotions should be seen by stranger eyes. The
Nobody ever doubted that. II should be reTneIn-
berec also that In his professional life, when he
dramatic composition. and that he never produced
q tainted or hurtful play. The edifyIng discovery
proynce Of the theatre is To- anayze physical dis
ease reveal the skeleton in the closet, super
wise domestic morals and TO wash dirty linen IN
AS 20 the foreign actors about whom Mr.. Ffske
displays such touching solicitude. II should be
plainly stated and clearly understood that there
Is neither desire intention to devate from the
critical attitude toward them that has been occu-
pied by this writer. His conviction is that the
Anglo-Saxon method Of acting at fits best, is
pe-ior to the method of Continental Europe, at its
best. One reason for that conviction is that the
latter method is prosaic Photographic, seldom
fIlurnined by spirituality, and. with but little
ception, illumined by imagination On the
other hand, the Anglo Saxon nature is deeper than
fhe Latin nature and the Ango-S Saxon method, at
its best is controlled by imagination and spiritu-
atty: and often il is embellished with quite as
much Of significant and brilliantly expressive detail
hs that Of any actor OF the Latin No foreign
actor, who has ever appeared stage, has
ceiied either Henry Irving, Richard Mansfield
yot TIar n a arfo NJ min dataH