The Intermountain Catholic. (Salt Lake City [Utah] ;) 1899-1920, 1907-11-16
BOOTH AND THE "0UR FATHER"

DUNN ANU lF1E "UUR FATHER"
Every now and then in the page of magazine
or the column of daily paper we meet the old ia
miliar legend of Edwin Booth and the Cur Faith
er" The myth, like city rounder, often appears
IN new suit, but substantially it's the same an
tlque fraud. 1t often appears in company with an
attack on the clergy in the society of an on
| slaught made on the poor preaching and bad enun-
cation OF the pulpit. Booth, as the story is was
present at a convivial gathering of rafting good
fellows when he was asked to contribute something
to the evenings fun. The great actor thinking to
tone down little the loud hilarity of the "boys.n
advanced to the center of the room and ASSUMING
a reverential attitude, raised his hands and eyes
and slowly began the "Our Father" His pathetic
enuciation, his subdued and appealing voice and
ms faclal expression of sublime expectancy pro-
duced extraordinary effect. and when he i'm
plored the Father in Heaven to forgive us our
trepasses as we forgive them who trespass against
us" many of those in the room were in tears.
Now it's pity to spoil an interesting little
anecdote like this, often introduced to illustrate
the actors superiority as a public speaker to the
preacher but in truth Booth never said the "Our
Father" at the Aston house pleasantly. We are not
called upon to prove a negative so let our denial
stand for the present.
Nor IS it true that the average actor, separ-
ated from the parts for which he is carefully
trained, is better speaker than the average clergy
man. We have repeatedly listened to the after din
ner speeches of actors, we have heard them when
they were unexpectedly called upon for an address
or an expression of opinion on some subject re-
curing very little preparation and on every oc-
casion they fell below our expectation Nor were
we expecting much information or enlightenment.
for the every day actor unlike the every day clergy
man, is not a student nor man of education, but
we did expect clear enunciation, accurate pronun-
citation and clean cut accentuation and we were
disappointed. This is no reflection on the actor or
his art, but when those who have no liking for re-
igion and the clergy give us Edwin Booths "Our
Father as an example of the actors superiority as
a public speaker contend they are not playing
fair. We have heard Lawrence Barrett, John Nc
Cullough, James O'Neil and other excellent ira
gedlans, off the stage, and they did not impress us
as speakers superior to many clergymen to whom
we listened at banquets and public meetings in this
country and in Great Britain and Ireland The
average church of England parson, among the edu-
Gated clergy, is, perhaps, the most deplorabe ex-
ample of mumbling, hesitation and mouthing to
be found anywhere in Christendom His delivery
is poor, his voice hesitatng and his manner lack
ing in sincerity. For six days in the week he is a
simple, unaffected, delightful companion. but on
the seventh day he is clothed in artiicialitv He |
was made poor preacher by act of parliament
which ordered him under threat of fine and impris
onment to read his sermons to the people. But
even among them they are many notable exceptions
who rank high as pulpit orators and public speak
ers
Harking back to Booth, there was, when we
were boys, another pleasant piece of railery about
the pulpit and the stage true as the anecdote
of Booths sacred defamation. bishop once
asked David Garrick Can you tell me why Won
players who deal with romance can profoundly
move an audience, while we preachers who deal
With reality fail to do o2' eyes, nv Lord. II IS
because we players act fiction as if it were the
ruth while you preachers often speak of the truth
IS if it were fiction"
At crowded session of the church congress.
which closed its sittings in London a few DAYS
go, Sir Squire Bancroft addressed the assembly
IN the art of reading and speaking When giving
he distinguished clerical gentlemen PRETTY Sc
ERE talk on their neglect of oratory he frequently
insisted that "the first duty of speaker is to make
himself heard" The speech was received with