Evening star., 1921-06-12


dians, bloodier. more murderous and
more boisterous when you and were
young, Maggie-or is your name Bill?
Other things we're much better then
than now. Peaches were juicier. and
watermelons sweeter: Strawberries
had a finer flavor. roses a richer color
and a more alluring scent, and 1t is
probable that there was more spice
and vinegar in pickles. Also it is
likely that cocoanuts had harder shells
and hickory nuts softer shells, that
onions were stronger aud red peppers
much more pungent.
A fear comes to the Rambler that
these changes may be in US and not
in the music and the onions. the
actresses and the roses. the comedians
and the chestnuts and the tragedians,
the lemons and the eggs. Our fancy
is not as lively. our taste and appetite
are not as keen and our teeth are not as
good. even though they be of purest
porcelain.
When you and 1 were growing up
there were some actors. men and
women of great genius. who made
us feel that they were kings and
state. They made plots that broke
the laws of nature. or the laws Of
nature 80 far as we understand them
now. seem real But even when we
were young and impressionable, there
were not many Of these master play
large number of excellent, good, fair
and poor players. These great play-
ers were truly great. for they not
only enthra1led us when we were
their magic on our fathers, whose
tastes were dulled and blunted by
long living and. experience, as the
taste OF some of US has been.
4 + X +
pUT even our fathers were not al
together satisfied that stage art did
| not flourish brighter and more splen-
did when they were young than when
golden youth was ours. They knew
| that Edwin Booth read Shakespearean
blank verse about as well as human
| tongue and lips have ever done it;
| but then. my boy, you should have
heard Junius Erutus Booth the Ell.
der! He was the only actor whose
| art gave him the right to wear the
mantle Of Edmund Kean! The Ell
der Booth was beyond all doubt the
greatest Richard and as good a Ham.
let as ever trod the boards since the
soul Of David Garrick took it's flight
Yes. Adelina Patti sang with magic
but then you never heard Jennie
Lind! Why. when she sang at Cas-.
tie Garden in September. 1850. lower
Broadway and Bowling Green were
1ammed with people. and after the
| first concert the crowd stretched to
the Irving House. and the New York
Musical Fund Society of 200 musi.
clans serenaded her and she was es-
corted to her hotel by 800 firemen
bearing torches. Why. P. T. Barnum
paid her $1,000 each for. $50 American
| recitals and cleared net over half a
| million dollars on her tour! Bayard
Taylor wrote an exquisite ode to Jen-
ME and William Allen Butler wrote
| poem about her which was printed
| far and wide. And then. Jennie Lind
| was not circumstance" as a singer
! to Nine. Malibran. Grisi and Pasta
! who were before her! Oh! yes. Nellie
| Melba, Sofia Scalchi and Mme Sem
brich are very good. but you are not
old enough to have heard Nine. AL.
boni and Sontas sing-that is, when
! they were young! And then. if you
| never heard Pareppa Rosa. who came
| here with the Carl Rosa Opera Com.
frany, you've never heard real sing.
ing,
! Yes. my boy. grant You that
/ Tomasso Salvini is first rate actor
| in the heavy roles and when he plays
Othello with John Lane as Iaso4an
Viola Allen as Desdemona. it is q
striking performance. but you should
have heard Edwin Forrest as Meta.
mora. Spartacus. Vireinius. Coriolanus
! Damon. Marc Antony. Richard. Shylock
Lear. Macbeth and all the rest! VIII.
| he carried in his company twenty
people. each of whom would be now
H F. DAILY. Mrs. Thomas Barry. vii.
liam Warren, James r. Murdoch
Joseph Jefferson. ". B. Wood and J
! r. Scott. I will agree that Lawrence
| Barrett is an actor of skill and polish
and he plays the role of gentleman
as a gentleman and like gentleman
and as villain he is a villain, ant
| among his troupe Louis James ant
| Marie Wainwright are very good. bu
you should have seen Kemble ane
| Macready in those roles!
| Yes. indeed. Bernhsrdt. Januschek
| Modjeska! Well. they are the bes
we have now and they are excellen
! actors. but then you never saw the
French tragedienne RACHEL! Why. sir
the people of Paris still keep a chap
let of immo-telles upon her tomb il
Pere La chaise! It was Rache
Racine! You have really never seer
an actress! Fanny Davenport, Clara
Morris. Minnie Maddern. Mimi,
Palmer. Rose Eytinge, Eliza Weathers
| by-very clevah people, indeed, bu
not to be compared to Matilda Her
ron. Kate Fisher. Lucille Weston
Fanny Kemble. Maude Granger, Laura
Keene! Gabrielle Rejane! Yes, m,
boy, this generation has in her a mos
acceptable actress! Particularly a
Clothilde in Henri Becque's ''Ls
Parisienne."
|Rur. my son, Retane and man,
- others who have won distinction
In your generation ought not to be
compared with Charlotte Cushman.
public school building, erected IL
1867 on the site Of her birthplace IL
Richmond street, now Parmentel
street, in Boston, was named for her
There was no Lady Macbeth, no Meg
| Merrilies, no Nancy Skies, no Queer
Katherine and no Rosalind like Miss
Cushman. She was also grea1
Romeo, strange as that fact may seen
to you. She played opposite Edwin
| Forrest and the great William
Charles MacreaAdy. Her sister Susan
six years younger. was an actress o1
note, Let me turn you to an ole
leave yet" says I. '.for Inez is anx,