New-York tribune., 1917-07-29
PERCY. BURTON ON SIR HERBERT TREE

and expressed relief. "Life," he said,
ais full Of compromises"
As for his manner of producing
Shakespeare, to Tree it was question
of "To be or not to bel" Shakespeare
he claimed, was "a humanist, not
symbolist," and he thought Shakespeare
should be put upon the stage "as worth
lily and as munifcently as the manager
can afford" That he had "the ace OF
public opinion up his sleeve" could be
asserted by the fact that over a million
playgoers paid to see but four of his
Shakespearian productions, to wit
Julius Cesar" "King john" "A Mid
summer Nights Dream" and Henry
VIII" And there were many others.
Tree was always a bad frst-nighter
and sometimes did not know his lines
but when he did, and got used to them
soon grew tired of the part.
After "The Eternal City," by Hall
Caine, had been running some time
Miss Constance Collier told me that
Tree, who played Baron Bonelli, one
night made his appearance at each cue
with a portmanteau, which he de-
posted in a corner, and at every exit
took it away with him, to the amuse-
ment of the other actors in the scene
When rehearsing the same play, the
author was anxious to get a particu-
larly striking and even violent effect
in the scene between the hero and the
heroine when he found that she had
been unfaithful to him and proposed
that Robert Taber should throw Miss
Collier over his shoulder. THAT re-
minds me, Caine," said Tree seriously
"of scene once saw in which the
| hero caught hold Of the heroine and
banged her head on the floor" "Fine,
said Hall Caine, what play was that?'
punch and Judy, l think it was,' said
Tree, as he calmly proceeded with the
rehearsal.
To some one who commented on Hall
Gaines likeness to Shakespeare. par.
ticularly as to hair, Tree said: "Yes
but the rest is damnsbly like Hall
Caine, isn't it?"
Tree told me Of his experiences with
George Bernard Shaw, who would write
/ him long critical letters, which Tree
would be careful to read and keep by
him, but would come to rehearsal and
/ pretend he had not had chance to dc
so, to Shaw's discontinue.
Another day Sir Herbert was watch
ing a rehearsal from the orchestra
impatiently regarding the unsuccessful
efforts of two of his leading actors. AT
last he got up in despair. The stage
manager awaited Sir Herbert's appear.
ance behind the scenes with anxiety
but only reached the stage door in
time to hear Tree hail taxi and say
"Driye me to the Garrick Club, quick!'
Trees observation-disclosures and abstrac-
tion were proverbial. One day he took
cab and gave the driver the address
Throughout the journey he was read
ing letters, and when the house was
reached alighted, still reading, and
knocked at the door. The servar~ who
opened it was startled by the inquiry,
"Well, what do you want?" And, dis
turbed in his reverie, Sir Herbert said
to the still amazed servant, "Come in,
come in," as he walked back to the cab
and drove away.
G. P. Huntley, the well-known
comedian, told me the story of young
actor who approached Tree for his ad-
vice, with a view to making a hit in
the small-very small-part allotted
him and told the actor manager that
he proposed TO make the character up
as a man Of forty-one. NO" replied
Tree meditatively, IL think ! would
make him up as a man of forty-two, if
| were you"
Tree was sometimes a little caustic
10 beginners, and once noticed a youth
from his dramatic school who had
pressed himself TO the front, all spick
and span, with a handkerchief gently
asserting itself from his sleeve. Tree