New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1910-07-10
London. June Is.

much Of Irving, first and last,
a. many ways. He was TO be met
SA- houses and his social gifts were
. -. He had in private the fas-
-, he had on the stage His man
hss g charm alike for men and
and many women were devoted
The word which best describes
-,s,ner is not kindly or even at
.A,-r-the word Matthew Arnold and
-. loved 20 use-but afectionate.
- b;s manner was anectionate be-
a.,se his nature was adectionate- He
-. of his hospitality something be-
a nassior and a fine art Who
Mt heard of the suppers at the Beef
- Rooms in the Lyceum, which were
~ cnnfounded with the Beefsteak
- 9 wholly different matter. On
-s.,-s the suppers became dinners.
-, many memories Of both. They
- often what is called brilliant, and
and women Of great position were
But whoever was there, il was
[---nr who was the central figure In a
..-.-,s7 company the host was the most
+-,c.ar Of all. In all companies he had
,.-..,rtior. and as host he had most
distinction Of al
z vou went to his rooms in Grafton
80. = vas the same He met you
.-,,h welcome which was both friendly
- beautiful. # he dined with You your
,at-,er was sure TO so of we'll He inter
--s,a5 his obligations as a guest largely,
- feit i his duty to regard the dullest
-,-,an as delightful. If he was bored
-,bo5v ever found il out If you knew his
~s n r wishes. you were always
,-sns-e5 10 spend the greater part Of
re night with him. or that he should
x,sn6 = with you. He would always
oFe- 70 take leave when others went but
z-hat he really liked was TO stay on, with
me ~ two Others. Till 8 or in the morn
,rz o. later. Then he talked with
:, openness and a magic Of speech that
-,s-e 81 his own. He had gift Of cpl
r-an Sentences came carelcssly from
his iips. in polished phrasing. quite per
secr in form. and. when need was. pene-
--arinz. and sometimes deadly. But he
was As e rule. amiable. charitable to all
# his art If you asked him, he would
-aIk OF himself and Of his past-that long
re-iod Of failure and privation which
te-pered the steel there was in him.
Tre supper which Irving gave 10 eele-
b-ste the hundredth night Of The Mer-
chant Of Venice" was perhaps the most
memorable Of all Il was great and
distinguished company which assembled
NJ the stage of the Lyceum- LORD
Foprhron Was TO make, in the name OF
The guests and Of the public, the speech
Of Communication to Irving on his Shy
lock. which by common consent ranked
among his best creations, and on the run
Of the beautifully staged piece LORD
HouCh1on al that time was still an i'm
portsnt figure in the world OF London
spite Of his occasional eccentricities and
uncertainties ard spite Of the general
decav o. his poetic reputation He was
q any rate. Z man CT letters, and he had
& CONSPICUOUS place in society. He stu
gave hrea kfasts and perhaps was seen
u more advantage at those early hours
than later in the day. The Stanley in
cident, which had points Of likeness to
the one ! am going 10 relate, had not
then occurred. The outburst in the pres
cree of the Prince Of Wales had not
occurred. He seemed q very suitable
person TO accomplish handsomely II moi
brilliantly the duty assigned 10 him al
this supper.
But when Lord Houghton rose TO make
MS speech, the unexpected happened IN
stead Of the .eulcgy for which we al
looked there came bitter criticism, and
something more than criticism The
speech was q lampoon. He ridiculec
Irving and his Shylock. He ridiculed the
production of the play Irving's concep-
ton Of Shvlock, his acting, his stage
management, all came in for a share o.
Lord Houghton's invective. He was
guest and he 6isparaged his hest IL
,yas The mouthpiece of this company o
T-ving's friends and admirers, and n
spoke as an enemy TO whom Irving
genius was hateful He came TO bless
and he remained 10 curse.
Vow Irving. Of course. had prepared
fitting reply TO the speech Of compliment
he supposed Lord Houghton would make
H had 10 suppress the whole Of il, anC
reply 70 q harangue Of Q wholly dlneren
kind. Irving was known as good
sneaker. but those who disliked him USED
10 say he could only deliver discourse'
written out beforehand and memorized
His friends knew better. but nobody haC
seen him put TO such a test as this, anC
curiosity was keen when he rose Blu
YOU had only 10 look at him TO see ina
he was master Of the situation. He va:
srili-g. His manner was the perfectloT
Of courtesy. His tones were smooth
viii quote, Of course from memory
sentence or two:
7 cannot thank you enough, Lore
Houghton. for the speech you have de-
livered. 7 am grateful 70 you for coming
here 70 testify by your presence, II no
by your words, 10 your appreciation o.
the effort I and my associates have mace
70 do what Justice we can 10 The Mer-
chant Of Venice I am grateful 70 You
for the advice you have given me aoou
The acting OF Shylock- ! should nave
been more grateful still had you given i
earlier. 50 that I might have proilted ID
4 SO that my audiences might nave
T-ofted By il, so that Shylock migh
have been presented to the puo1c no
according 10 my unaided conception o.
he part, but with the help Of your views