New-York tribune., 1922-12-11

player against ShakespeAres "hamlee
and other things.
In most versions Of "1Inmistf the hnal
entry Of Fortinbras l. omitted owinE 20 ne
csiEcneics Of time. But much may oe urged
In favor Of the retention Of this scene. which
illustrates the Aseendancy Of physical enersy
over ethical or phiiosophic innetion. In NJ
Gordon Craigs production Of Harriet IN
the Moscow Art Theatsr ! was deeply I'M
pressed By the picturcsquely valid presenia-
ton Of this scene Shakespeare frequently
dwelis on The worldly mastery of matter over
mind-witncs the triumph Of Bolinrbroke
over Richard II. HAmiets eonseienee va,
his downfall He ls the vefy opposite Of
faFo. who viii swim with the stream Of a
eallous utilitarianisni rather than struggle
against r. Men Of the type Of iaEo are
rally color blind. popularity s
t'eir religion. They slap their fellow men
upon the back everywhere making friends.
Thsy are the jolly good fellows Of re-
muncrativc friendship. They buckle on the
Arnor and Join the noble order Of log
rollers" and enlist in the ranks Of the great
Society Of Mutual Protection. Il Is b such
alliances that weak particles make them
selves strong. For ciique are the
outcome OF the instinct Of self-preervation
amonE the feeble.
Such irreverenee as may be inferred
from the above passages is the result,
perhaps. Of reading to-day another
comment on Hamlet" ono Of the
many By Mr. walklsy, Of "The London
Tines" when he wrote It he was
little tired. as you may be, Of hearing
Aristides called The Just, and he had
recently seen Mr.. Booths performances
as the eccentric Prince. performance
which ne found full Of such trans
Atlantic delights as "haff q yeer." So
Mr. walkley improvised a version Of
Hamlet" reducing It TO the simple
terms Of American journalism-and
the only dull thing he ever wrote, thus;
SHOCKING AFFAIR IN oHo-A sPIR-
ITUALIsT GOES MAD AND MURDERS A
WHOLE FAMILY.
The papers are full Of tragic story from
Ohio. A young Harvard student siiAs p.
Hamlet. whose mother. Gertrude. had mar
ried her deceased husbands brother. Col
onel the Hon. z. ClRudius. had fallen
victim to the wiles Of the spirit rappinE
fraternity. BY whom he was deludcd into
believing that his late father. judge Hamlet
had been
POISONED BY THE COLONEL.
This deiusion. coupled with the young
mans conscientious objection 20 q marriage
with deceased husbands brother. 90 worked
upon his mind that he "guyed" his step
father, the Colonel. IN some private theatri-
Gals and shot Old Brer Polonius. the faith
eolored servant Of the family. whom he
found airing his ere
AT THE KEYHoLE.
For this ofense he had 10 get away for a
time TO Texas. but returning Unexpectedly
he forced Artemus W. Laertes. one Of the
best leaders Of the German in Ohio. into n
duel with riAes. Both eornbatAnts persisted
but not until the Colonel had been shot By
his stcpson and his lady had been aeeiden-
tally poisoned BY drinking a bottle Of lini-
ment The leading citizens have subscribed
TO give the whole family a first class
funeral"
There, adds Mr.. Walkley, is an an
swer to the most prolonged and the
most complex of the queries Of the
classic drama. Mr.. Barrymore, we be-
lieve, could write about Hamlet" more
amusingly than Mr. walkley does, and
still be dignifed and illustrative. One
fears, however, that he will postpone
his "reminiscences until such time as,
like his uncle, Mr. John Drew, he will
regard as more important the details
Of his reception and receipts in Ba'ti-
more than he will his throes while ac-
cumulating the sole and unparalleled
minutia Of the most satisfactory Of the
Hamlets. We wish Mr.. Barrymore
would e1claim. ere long. one Of the Ia
yorite lines Of the old-time drama. We
should like to hear him say. Hawkins,
bring me pen, ink and paperl"
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