[41] The reception to Henry Irving and Miss Ellen Terry, by the Chicago Press Club last evening, was a brilliant social and professional event. It was a graceful recognition of Great Britain’s greatest histrionic stars. Many professional people, including Mlle. Rhea, Mrs. Jessie Bartlett-Davis, and others of note on the dramatic and operatic stage, were present, and were presented to the distinguished guests of the evening, together with a large number of litérateurs, journalists, and members of the bar. Miss Terry came in shortly after eleven o’clock. She was presented to Mlle. Rhea, and the two artists who had thus met in conversation for the first time chatted pleasantly while the other guests gathered about them, and were introduced as occasion permitted. Miss Terry said she had witnessed Mlle. Rhea’s acting in London, when the latter first began to speak English. Miss Terry talked pleasantly to several ladies, who expressed great delight at the opportunity thus afforded them to form the acquaintance of so excellent a woman, and so talented a member of the dramatic profession.
Mr. Irving came in shortly after Miss Terry arrived, accompanied by Joseph Hatton and an escort from the Press Club. The great actor was a centre of attraction, and he submitted in the most kindly manner to the ordeal of introductions and the pressing multitude of guests who moved about the rooms. About midnight lunch was served. It was nearly one o’clock when Mr. Irving, Miss Terry, and Mr. Terriss departed. Most of the company remained, and listened to some fine singing by George Sweet and Miss Lena Hastreiter. It was nearly two o’clock before the other guests dispersed. Among the many present were the following: Mr. and Mrs. Will. J. Davis, Miss Grace Cartland, Mr. and Mrs. James W. Scott, Mr. and Mrs. Franc B. Wilkie, Miss Ada M. Dunne, Mr. and Mrs. Leo Canman, Mr. and Mrs. George Broderick, Professor Swing, Emery A. Storrs, Miss May Waldren, C. P. Dresser, W. D. Eaton, Walter Meadowcroft, E. A. Barron, Elliott Durand, Mr. and Mrs. C. H. McConnell, R. J. Murphy, Judge and Mrs. Bradwell, Mr. and Mrs. John B. Jeffery, John M. Ayer, Professor Bastin, Col. and Mrs. Nat. Reed, John A. Hamlin, John Hambline, Mr. and Mrs. F. A. Rice, Mr. and Mrs. Frank C. Cooper, E. P. Hall, Professor R. Welsh and Mrs. Welsh, Miss Bessie Bradwell, Henry W. Thomson, Miss Kate McPhelin, Mrs. McPhelin, Mr. and Mrs. Wash. Hesing, Miss Gertie Buckley, Miss Lillian Powell, Miss Clark, Al. Clark, H. D. Russell, Mr. and Mrs. F. G. Logan, Miss Van Inwegan, Mr. and Mrs. T. Z. Cowles, J. M. Dandy, and T. C. MacMillan.—Morning News.
[42] The institution of “The Elks” is one of great influence and importance. Its objects are to promote and advance the material and social interests of the theatrical profession, and to give mutual aid and assistance to the members in case of pecuniary need. Candidates for admission to the order must be “proposed and vouched for” by existing members; and before election they must pass through the ordeal of the ballot “after an investigation as to character by a committee of the lodge.” Membership is a title to relief in distress wherever there is a lodge; but a “Black Book” is kept and circulated containing the names of members who have proved unworthy of their privileges. Members need not necessarily be actors. Many lawyers and journalists are Elks. The charity of the order is secretly dispensed by an executive committee, sworn not to divulge the channels into which it flows, or the names of those who request assistance. Annual performances in aid of the “charity fund” are given at the theatres. One of these “benefits” occurred during Mr. Irving’s first visit to New York. Irving, finding it impossible to accept an invitation to be present, either as a performer or a spectator, sent a donation; and this was acknowledged by a formal resolution of thanks, which, beautifully illuminated and framed, was presented to Irving at the Brevoort House by a deputation of the members, headed by A. C. Morland, Exalted Ruler and Secretary of the lodge; A. L. Heckler, I. Steinfeld, George Clarke, J. W. Hamilton, and James W. Collier, chairman of the Committee of Arrangements. New York City is the head-quarters of the Elks. The New York lodge is No. 1 on the list of lodges, each of them, as in Masonry, being numbered; though practically, I understand, the lodges in the other States are considered to be branches in association with No. 1. Their club-houses in many States and cities are handsome and well-appointed buildings. Among the anecdotes which Mr. Morland related to Irving was the story of an “advance theatrical agent” dying suddenly in a strange place, and his body being laid away in the local morgue. Some persons happening to hear that the only sign of identification found on the body was a bronze badge, with “P.B.O.E.” and an elk’s head upon it, the fact came to the knowledge of a brother Elk, who at once discovered the number of the man’s lodge, the officers of which identified him by name; and, instead of lying in a nameless grave, the poor fellow was conveyed to his home, in a far-distant State, and given “Christian burial” in the presence of his family and friends.
[43] The Irving-Terry reception, by the Elks, “Wednesday evening, was a notable social event. The Elks were there, of course; but it is worthy of notice that, at this testimonial offered to two eminent members of the dramatic profession, the attendance of ladies represented the most exclusive and aristocratic circles of St. Louis society; and quite a number of the most liberal and eminent of the clergymen were there also. “Society” in St. Louis has more good common-sense than in any other city in the Union.—Post-Dispatch, Jan. 26.
[44] The Dramatic Festival Association tendered a dinner to Mr. Henry Irving, at the Queen City Club-rooms, last evening, after the great actor’s final performance at the Grand Opera House. There were present, besides the distinguished guest, Governor Noyes, ex-president of the association: Manager Henry E. Abbey; Colonel Miles, city dramatic director; Secretary Hall, Mr. Halstead, Judge Force, Colonel Dayton, Mr. Alter, Mr. Huntington, Mr. J. W. Miller, Mr. Nat. H. Davis, Mr. Devereux, Mr. Chatfield, Mr. Bram Stoker, manager for Mr. Irving; Mr. Wetherby, Mr. Stevens, Copleston, agent of Mr. Abbey; Mr. Charles Taft, Mr. Leonard, Colonel Markbreit, Mr. Will. Carlisle, Mr. Frank Alter, and others, to the number of thirty or more. The tables were elegantly decorated, and the menu was, of course, of the choicest and most fastidious description. Governor Noyes introduced Mr. Irving to those present in his usual happy manner, alluded to the great pleasure and benefit the “Paris of America” had enjoyed from his brief sojourn among us, and significantly expressed the hope that he might soon return to us. Mr. Irving responded to the enthusiastic greeting which followed Governor Noyes’s introduction in a manner which won all hearts, by its sensible and modest sincerity. He had been most favorably impressed by his audiences in Cincinnati, finding them keenly responsive and deeply attentive. Allusion had been made to the operatic and other festivals; but he was not yet persuaded that the emulation excited between the artists taking part in them might not have a flavor of the cockpit about it. He was much more inclined to believe in the benefit of sound, permanent dramatic enterprise here, a school of the drama, with a theatre and stock company attached, whence might originate influences of deep and permanent good to the community and country. He paid a high compliment to the quickness and ready grasp of an idea by Americans, and concluded with a graceful acknowledgment of the general and particular courtesies he had met with in Cincinnati, not forgetting the press. Remarks were also made by Judge Force and Mr. Halstead, the latter alluding, with much feeling, to some of Cincinnati’s peculiar claims to the title of “Paris of America.”—Cincinnati News-Journal, Feb. 3, 1884.
[45] Irving saw the beginning of one of the periodical disasters to which Cincinnati is subjected,—the overflowing of the Ohio. “Within a few days after his visit the city was inundated, thousands of people were homeless, entire families flying from their homes, their houses wrecked, their property floating down the river. Many lives were lost up and down stream. Great floods occurred in other districts, the busy manufacturing city of Pittsburg being among the most serious sufferers. Cincinnati had hardly recovered from the floods, and thought out new devices for dealing with any future trouble of the kind, when she was visited with another disaster,—a great and fatal riot. All countries have their public abuses, their governmental shortcomings. England has plenty of them; the administration of the law in America is far from perfect. As long as judges are elected by popular vote so long will there be serious miscarriages of justice; so long as juries can be packed, intimidated, and bribed, so long will the jury system be found defective. Such glaring instances of malfeasance and failure in the administration of justice had, from time to time, occurred at Cincinnati that (upon the principle that it is the last straw that breaks the camel’s back), when “another notorious murderer was let off,” the populace arose, attacked the jail where a company of other ruffians were imprisoned, with a view to taking the law into their own hands. The militia were called out, and fired into the rioters. Many persons were killed and wounded before order could be restored. The press of the country, while regretting the breach of the peace and the loss of life, generally insist upon the moral that governments must not look for people to respect the law in face of corruption in high places and notorious compromises with thieves and murderers. “The objective point of the mob,” wrote the special correspondent of the “New York Sun,” “was the jail, and the murderers it contained, whom they meant to hang. Twenty-three murderers are in that jail, none of whom have had a trial, except William Hugh, who is to be hanged; and Emil Trompeter, who has had two trials, and is to have a third. In the list are William Hartnett, who murdered his wife with an axe; Joe Palmer, the negro confederate of William Berner in murdering William Kirk, and Allen Ingalls and Ben Johnson, the Avondale negro burkers. In addition to these there are several murderers out on bail and walking the streets. They have not been tried, though the murders for which they were indicted were committed months ago.” The “New York Herald,” editorially discussing “the results of the riot,” says that, in the first place, “no jury in that city for some time to come will outrage justice and public decency by making a mockery of murder trials,” and that, “in the next place, the people of Cincinnati have become deeply impressed with the importance of divorcing partisan politics from the administration of justice and municipal affairs generally. Before the echoes of the riot have died away they have started a citizens’ movement, with the determination to put in the field and elect at the coming municipal election candidates not identified with either party machine, but representative of the highest order of citizenship. When this is done there will be a more effective administration of law and justice and a reform of abuses which contributed, directly or indirectly, in no small degree, to the disastrous events of the past few days.”
[46] “Louis XI.,” “Charles the First,” “The Merchant of Venice,” “The Bells,” and “The Lyons Mail,” drew great and fashionable houses at Cincinnati, and the criticisms in the native press and in the German newspapers were written in a spirit of cordiality, much of it descriptive, and all of it recognizing the possibilities of a speedy reformation in the existing method of representing the classic drama in the West. The following translation of some of the most prominent passages in a lengthy criticism of “The Merchant of Venice” is from “Tagliches Cincinnati Volksblatt,” one of the principal German newspapers of the district:—
“The court-scene is a masterpiece, and is filled with so many details that the spectator follows the action with lively interest, and imagines himself in a real court of law. The decoration of the last act, a wonderful park scene, with moonlight, was ravishing, and the madrigals behind the scene were charmingly melodious, and were also excellently sung; in a word, one saw a great performance of ‘The Merchant of Venice,’ and not only Mr. Irving, as Shylock, or Miss Terry, as Portia. By that we do not mean to say that Henry Irving’s performance was less great; on the contrary, he confirmed and fortified, through his Shylock, the judgment we pronounced upon his ‘Louis XI.’ His reading is entirely the same as Döring’s, who ranked as the best Shylock in Germany, and who has not yet found a successor. It is the covetous, vindictive Jew; but he is rather an object of pity than of scorn. It was the Jew whose passionate temperament and inexorable vengeance naturally seized upon the first opportunity of gratifying his hatred towards the Christians, who heaped mockeries, insults, and injustice upon him, particularly Antonio, who treated him with the utmost scorn. This was the Jew Shakespeare drew, played by Mr. Irving with the refinement of an artist and the sharp observance of a philologist.... His facial expression is mobile and most expressive ... and his speech has only just the accent by which the Jews of that class are known. His acting in the first scene, in the scene with Tubal, and, above all, in the court-scene (particularly the passing from cruel, passionate joy to the consciousness of his own torpid despair), was the true work of a great actor.... Miss Ellen Terry, who plays Portia, was reported from other towns where she had appeared to be a great actress: the audience was, therefore, highly expectant.... She took the public from first to last by storm.... She is one of those endowed actresses, who shine so completely in the character they represent that the spectator forgets the actress, and only sees the person represented in the piece.”
[47] Mr. Henry Irving, in remembrance of distinguished courtesies shown him while in the East by the Hon. Thomas Donaldson, called upon his father, Major Donaldson, to-day. During the afternoon, in company with Mr. Donaldson, Mr. Irving called upon various gentlemen, and was introduced to a great many members of the General Assembly in the House and Senate. He received many warm expressions touching the pleasure he gave our citizens in “The Bells,” at Comstock’s Opera House. During their stay in the State House Mr. Irving was introduced to Governor Hoadly and the State officers.—Columbus Dispatch, Feb. 5.
[48] Detroit is a handsome and populous city on the banks of a noble river that connects Lake Erie and St. Clair. The company gave two performances at Whitney’s Opera House, to large audiences, by whom they were heartily received. The “Post and Tribune” contained long and complimentary notices of the plays and the actors, with lists of the principal people in the audiences. “The coming of Mr. Irving and Miss Terry,” it says, “was a great event in dramatic circles here, and has long been looked forward to with expectancy. The audience that greeted them completely filled the house, every seat being occupied, while many were content to stand during the entire performance. It was also a fashionable audience, in the fullest sense of the word, all of Detroit’s most pronounced society people being there.”
[49] The “Niagara Falls Courier” has an interesting article on the many orthographical changes of the name of Niagara. In 1687 it was written Oniogoragn. In 1686 Gov. Dongan appeared uncertain about it and spelled it Onniagero, Onyagara, and Onyagro. The French, in 1638 to 1709, wrote it Niaguro, Onyagare, Onyagra and Oneygra. Philip Livingston wrote in 1720 to 1730 Octjagara, Jagera, and Yagerah, and Schuyler and Livingston, Commissioners of Indian Affairs, wrote it in 1720 Onjagerae, Ocniagara, etc. In 1721 it was written Onjagora, Oniagara, and accidentally, probably, Niagara, as at present. Lieut. Lindsay wrote it Niagara in 1751. So did Capt. De Lancey (son of Gov. De Lancey), who was an officer in the English army that captured Fort Niagara from the French in 1759. “These pioneers,” says the local journalist, “may, however, be excused in view of the fact—as will be attested by post-masters—that some letter-writers of to-day seem quite as undecided about the orthography of this world-wide familiar name.”
[50] The following is the correspondence alluded to:—
“New York, Jan. 20, 1884.
“Mr. Irving:—
“Dear Sir,—The creation and development of a taste for true dramatic art among the colored citizens of culture in New York city, having been long regarded as a necessity to their intellectual growth, a number of ladies and gentlemen, selected for their evidences of dramatic ability, which they have shown from time to time, met on the evening of January 7, and perfected the organization of the ‘Irving Dramatic Club.’ In apprising you of this fact we beg leave to assure you, sir, that, in selecting your name for the title of our club, we did not choose it because we felt we were conferring an honor,—far from it,—for we well know that the mere naming of an amateur club could add nothing to the lustre of the laurels so deservedly won by one who so fittingly represents as yourself all that is noble and grand in dramatic art. But, having in our mind the record of past events, we could not fail to recognize that the English stage and its representatives were but the synonyms of equity and justice.
“Thus, in searching for a patron, we naturally reverted to that source from which our efforts were mostly to be regarded with favor; and, acting upon this impulse, we could think of no name that would be a greater incentive to conscientious and praiseworthy effort than that of Irving.
“Hoping that this action will meet with your approval, we remain, with best wishes for your health and prosperity, respectfully yours,
“IRVING DRAMATIC CLUB.
“Charles G. Bowser, Pres’t.
“W. H. A. Moore, Sec’y.”
“St. Louis, Jan. 26, 1884.
“Dear Sir,—I have received your letter of the 20th, and it gives me great pleasure to have my name associated with so gratifying an intellectual movement among the colored citizens of New York as the establishment of a Dramatic Club. Art is of no country, and has no nationality. Europe is deeply indebted to the artistic culture of the great colored people of the Eastern World, and there is promise of a future for your race, in the fact that you have ceased to feel the disabilities of color in your association with your white fellow-citizens. I once had the pleasure of knowing a very famous actor of your race,—Ira Aldridge. I wish for your club a prosperous career, and beg to subscribe myself,
“Yours truly,————HENRY IRVING.”
[51] Tobogganing.—Saturday, February 24th, was a gala day in the annals of the Toronto Toboggan Club. The slide was in perfect condition,—glare ice from top to bottom. About eighty members were out with their toboggans, enjoying the slide, the only fault of which is that it is too fast for the length of run at the bottom. The committee are, however, making arrangements to overcome this defect. During the latter part of the afternoon several members of Mr. Irving’s company and friends were present by invitation, escorted by Mr. Bram Stoker. Miss Terry drove a young friend, Miss Helen H. Hatton (who is visiting Toronto with her father), out to the grounds, and they were both initiated into the Canadian winter sport. Miss Terry was completely captivated by this entirely new sensation, and only regretted that she was unable to enjoy it longer. She entered into it with the greatest zest. The ladies and gentlemen of the club gave her a very hearty welcome.—Newspaper Reports.
[52] Mr. Henry Irving, Miss Ellen Terry, and their company left for Boston early in the morning, by special train, over the “West Shore route.” The train consisted of Mr. Irving’s private car, two Pullmans, and three baggage-cars. The Pullmans, two of those in ordinary use on the West Shore road, are simply magnificent in their internal arrangements, possessing the latest improvements, and affording to the traveller the greatest possible comfort. Among the innovations not found in the ordinary “sleepers” are the racks on which clothes may be deposited; electric call-bells attached to each berth, communicating with the porter’s berth; a small kitchen, where light refreshments may be prepared, and the whole structure running on paper wheels, so that the rattle and jar of the ordinary car is entirely abolished. The train was in charge of Mr. G. J. Weeks, of Buffalo, northern passenger agent of the company, who accompanied the party to Boston.—Toronto Mail.
[53] During the journey from Boston to Baltimore an inquiring member of Mr. Irving’s company pulled the check-string, “just to see what the thing was.” There was great consternation on board, neither guard nor driver knowing what had happened. The inquiring gentleman offered a frank explanation, and the train went on again; but the monotony of the remainder of the journey was relieved by a little practical joke at our friend’s expense. An official was introduced into the conspiracy, and the delinquent was formally fined a hundred dollars. The rules of the company and the law of the land were quoted against him. Irving explained to him the enormity of his offence, and, after a little outburst against the tyranny of American laws as compared with those of England, the defendant paid twenty dollars on account, and a subscription was started to raise the remainder. “I am glad the affair occurred,” said the offender, an hour or two later, “if only for the pleasure it has given me to find how well I stand with my colleagues; it is quite touching the way they have stood by me in purse and in friendly words.” Alas for the sentiment of the thing!—most of the subscribers were in the secret. At Baltimore imaginary despatches passed between Mr. Abbey and the railway authorities, and the fine was withdrawn, the President, at New York, being satisfied that there was no malice in Mr. ——’s strange interference with the working of the train. The victim thereupon wrote a letter of thanks to Mr. Abbey, had quite a pathetic interview with Irving on the happy termination of the contretemps, and insisted upon treating the chief subscribers to champagne, over which he made so cordial and excellent a speech that everybody shook hands with him, and said he was “a real good fellow,”—which is perfectly true, and a good actor to boot. I would not have mentioned this incident but that the opportunity of an appropriate foot-note overbears my self-denial; and, after all, it was a very harmless piece of fun.
[54] One day’s rest was taken at Niagara Falls.
[55] The President went last evening to witness the final performance of Mr. Henry Irving and his company at the National Theatre, in “Louis XI.” and “The Belle’s Stratagem.” Mrs. McElroy and Miss Nellie Arthur were with him in the box. Subsequently he entertained at the White House, Mr. Irving, the members of the President’s cabinet and the ladies of their families; Mrs. McElroy and Miss McElroy, the sister and niece of the President; Colonel and Mrs. Bonaparte; General and Mrs. P. H. Sheridan, United States Army; General E. F. Beale; Mr. and Mrs. Marcellus Bailey; Mr. Walker Blaine; Mr. and Mrs. N. L. Anderson; Lieut. T. B. M. Mason, United States Navy, and Mrs. Mason; Commissioner of Agriculture George B. Loring, Mrs. and Miss Loring; Assistant Attorney-General William A. Maury, Mrs. and Miss Maury; Assistant Secretary of State John Davis and Mrs. Davis; John P. Jones, United States Senate, and Mrs. Jones, Nevada; Senator M. C. Butler, South Carolina; Senator Aldrich, Rhode Island; Mr. and Mrs. H. S. Sanford; Mr. John Field; Mr. F. J. Phillips, secretary to the President; Senator and Mrs. John F. Miller, California; Mr. and Mrs. Theodore Lyman, of Massachusetts, House of Representatives; Mr. and Mrs. William Walter Phelps, New Jersey; House of Representatives; Mr. Clayton McMichael, United States Marshal, and Mrs. McMichael; Mr. and Mrs. Charles Nordhoff, “New York Herald”; Mr. Stillson Hutchings, “Washington Post”; Mr. Albert Pulitzer, “New York Journal”; Mr. and Mrs. Isaac Bell, of New York; Mr. and Mrs. Joseph Hatton, of England.—No actor was ever so entertained in Washington as Mr. Irving has been. He attended a supper at the Metropolitan Club on Wednesday evening; a breakfast given by Mr. Bayard on Thursday; gave a supper to Mr. Blaine and a party of friends on Thursday evening, after the play; was the guest of Mr. William Walter Phelps on Friday morning; attended a supper given to him by Mr. Dorsheimer on Friday evening; and last night was the President’s guest, as stated. Miss Terry has received more social attentions here than in any other American city.—The Capital, March 9.
[56] We thoroughly believe that the time will never come when any actor can present a Hamlet that will be universally regarded as a correct interpretation of the master poet’s sublime creation. Mr. Irving’s impersonation was brilliantly bold in execution, replete with new readings and stage business, and magnificent bursts of feeling, arising from his changeableness of moods. There does not seem to be a scene in the entire tragedy which he has not touched with his own subtle and delicate refinement, and removed far above the conventionalities of other actors whom we have seen. His first soliloquy, “Oh, that this too, too solid flesh would melt!” was rendered as though it were the unconscious utterance of a thought. He displayed but little interest in the return to earth of his father’s spirit until he met it face to face; and then he surrounded himself with a solemn supernaturalism, tinged with glow of superb filial affection. This, in turn, seemed to give way to a sort of nervous terror, and he became hysterical, which presented to the oath of secrecy an added reverential awe. The first long interview between Hamlet and Ophelia was played with splendid dramatic force and fire. His simulation of passion, his deep longing for its gratification, and his recklessness consequent upon his recollection of the stern duty to which he had devoted himself,—alternately flying from her, and then returning,—was a part of the performance which created a most profound impression upon our mind.—The National Republican, March 6.
[57] Mr. Henry Irving and Miss Terry were tendered a reception by the Hamilton Club yesterday afternoon. The quaint old mansion on Clinton street was filled between the hours of three and five. The reception, which was informal, was held in the library on the second floor, an inviting apartment papered in old gold, with a frieze of olive-green with conventionalized flowers. The walls are lined with mahogany bookcases filled with well-bound books, largely historical. An oil painting of Alexander Hamilton, in an old-fashioned frame, hangs on the west hall, where it is lighted by the flickering gleams of the wood-fire in a tiled fireplace opposite. An antique chandelier, with imitation candles, completes the effect.
At half-past three Mr. Irving and Miss Terry were found in opposite corners of the room, each surrounded by an animated group. Miss Terry, over whom some of the younger ladies were mad with curiosity, was completely hemmed in, and was given no opportunity to move about, as Irving did. She sat during intervals in an old arm-chair, covered with red plush. She wore an artistic gown, with a Watteau plait. Her fair hair curled from beneath a round French hat, covered with brown velvet, and with a dark feather. At her neck was an eccentric scarf of orange-colored satin. Prior to the reception Mr. Irving and Miss Terry lunched with Mr. Samuel McLean, President of the club, at his residence, 47 Pierrepoint street; among his fourteen guests being Mrs. Buckstone (his sister), Mr. and Mrs. Henry Ward Beecher, and Mr. and Mrs. John Foord. Those present at the club reception included Mr. and Mrs. Bryan H. Smith, Mrs. George Prentiss, Mr. and Mrs. Crowell Hadden, Mrs. S. C. Lynes, Mr. and Mrs. Chas. Ide, Mr. and Mrs. S. B. Chittenden, Captain McKenzie, Alex. Forman, Mr. and Mrs. Thomas Turner, Mr. and Mrs. Alex. Cameron, Mrs. F. P. Bellamy, Mr. and Mrs. William C. De Witt, Mr. and Mrs. Joseph Yeoman, Mr. and Mrs. Charles A. Robbins, Mrs. Hattie Otis, Amos Robbins, A. F. Goodnow, Mr. and Mrs. John T. Howard, Mr. and Mrs. Henry Sheldon, Mr. and Mrs. Charles Phelps, Mrs. Washington A. Roebling, Mrs. Packer, Mr. and Mrs. J. S. T. Stranahan, Mr. and Mrs. Josiah Low, John Winslow, Mrs. P. Lynch, Mrs. Callender, Adrian Van Sinderen, John N. Peet, Mr. Bram Stoker and Mr. H. J. Loveday (of Mr. Irving’s company), Mrs. Joseph Hatton and Miss Helen H. Hatton (of London), Miss Abbie O. Nichols, Mrs. John A. Buckingham, Mrs. Birch, Mr. and Mrs. N. W. C. Hatch, Mr. and Mrs. Gordon L. Ford, the Rev. Dr. Hutton, Mr. and Mrs. Geo. W. Mead and daughter, Mr. and Mrs. McKean, Mr. and Mrs. F. W. Morse, Mr. and Mrs. Robert H. Turle, Mr. and Mrs. Mackie, Charles Bill, Mrs. Ropes, Mr. and Mrs. John Foord, Mr. Samuel McLean, and Mr. and Mrs. Rodman.—Brooklyn Times, and Brooklyn Union, March 30.
[58] When Henry Irving was here, in December last, the “Clover Club” tendered him a breakfast, and at that time he stated that when he returned to the city he hoped again to meet his genial hosts. Last night he kept his promise. Upwards of sixty gentlemen, members of the club, and friends whom he had met elsewhere, were invited to take supper with him at the Bellevue, after the performance at the Chestnut-street Opera House, and the occasion was a most delightful one. The celebrated table of the club, in the shape of a four-leaved clover, was spread in the banqueting-hall. On it were two lofty forms of flowers, in the midst of which rose two fountains, throwing up crystal streams of water, which fell in spray over the blossoms. There were also several little plots of growing clover, shaped in the form of the quadrifoliate. The company did not assemble until after the performance of “Much Ado About Nothing.” It was 11.30 when they were seated at the table, with Mr. Irving at the head. Among the many present were Ex-Gov. Hoyt, Dion Boucicault, Attorney-General Cassidy, Col. A. Loudon Snowden, A. K. McClure, M. P. Handy, J. H. Heverin, Mr. Joseph Hatton and Mr. Montague Marks, from New York. The occasion was one long to be remembered. Mr. Irving, in proposing the toast of the “Clover Club,” thanked the members for their hospitality, and Philadelphia for its welcome of him, and, with characteristic modesty, spoke of his tour through the country, the welcome which he had everywhere received, and the love of dramatic art which he found among the people. Mr. Handy replied for the “Clover Club,” with his customary felicitous eloquence, and concluded by informing Mr. Irving of his election as an honorary member of the club. While Mr. Irving was bowing his thanks Mr. Handy decorated him with the jewelled badge of membership. Dion Boucicault told how Mr. Irving, to his mind, had banished the pedestal actor from the stage, and presented Shakespeare as the dramatist himself would have wished to see his works given. Mr. A. K. McClure pointed out how the dramatic art had knit the Anglo-Saxon race in a close bond of union. Mr. Howe, the “old man” of Mr. Irving’s company, gave some interesting reminiscences of how he, as a Quaker boy, and dressed in a Quaker garb, applied to Edmund Kean to be allowed to go on the stage. Mr. Terriss, the leading man, gave a recitation. Dr. Bedloe offered a new version of Shakespeare’s “Seven Ages,” and before the close Miss Terry was toasted in a bumper of three times three. Seldom has such a merry party sat down to supper, and the evening, when it is brought to mind, will never call up any but the most delightful recollections.—The Day, Baltimore, and The Call, Philadelphia, March 20, 1884.
[59] The head-quarters of the Fire-Insurance Patrol, are eighty-five feet wide and one hundred feet long. The first floor or room is sixteen feet eight inches high, with black walnut and maple wainscoting. In the front of the room there are two pairs of stairs, one each side. Under these are the horses’ stalls. Between the stairs and stalls is the patrol-wagon, the pole of which is ten feet from the front doors, which open out in a vestibule by electricity, and are held by weights. On the right of the room, as you enter, are all the telegraphic instruments connected with the patrol, with no wires visible; a raised panelled black-walnut wall, consisting of the Electric Mercurial Fire-Alarm, which is connected with seventy different business buildings, concealing the wires. This is a system which gives the alarm automatically, giving the exact location of the fire in any building. Over this annunciator is a large clock. On panels, on the right and left of the above, are two gongs, one giving the fire-alarms from the city, the other connected with the Mercurial Fire-Alarm Annunciator. Under one gong there are three small gongs, one connecting directly with the Western Union Telegraph Office, one with Marshall, Field, & Co.’s retail store, and the other with the City Fire Department. In another panel are the American District Telegraph connections. In the ceiling over the wagon is a large reflecting gas-light, which shines directly over the horses when hitching. Just in the rear of the reflector are three traps, that work automatically when an alarm is received, opening the floors on the second story, and ceiling of the first, to enable the driver and assistants to have easy access to their seats; two other members, who sleep on the second floor, make use of the same means of ready exit. The same telegraphic instrument sets in motion appliances which take off the bed-clothing from ten beds on the second floor, and four berths on the first, relieving the men from all incumbrances in an instant. On the second floor is the dormitory for the men, which is carpeted with English body Brussels. There are heavy black-walnut bedsteads, with F. I. P. carved in headboard, inlaid with gold. The front part of this room is partitioned off and used as Captain Bulwinkle’s room, which is carpeted with Wilton carpet, bordered with white, papered and frescoed on all sides in handsome style. Conspicuous here are white marble mantels and grates. On a table in the centre of this room is an album, with autographs of noted people from all parts of the world who have been visitors, and left their names as a testimonial of the excellent qualities of this department. The time required by this patrol to get out of bed, dress, hitch the horses, and get out of the building, is four and one-half seconds.—Stranger’s Guide to the Garden City.
[60] William Winter is probably best known in America and England as the accomplished and scholarly critic of the “New York Tribune.” As an authority on the drama he holds in New York a similar position to that which the late John Oxenford held on the “Times.” While there are other professional critics in the Empire city who write admirably, and with the authority of knowledge and experience about the stage, William Winter is the only one among them who has made for himself a prominent name apart from the paper with which he is associated. There is no other critic sufficiently well-known to be entitled to have his name mentioned in news cables or telegrams aside from the journal which engages his pen. Winter has broken through the anonymous character of his journalistic work as successfully as Oxenford and Sala. He is the author of several volumes of lyrics; he is the biographer of the Jeffersons; and since Washington Irving nothing more charming has been written about “the old country” than his “Trip to England.”
[61] Among the cablegrams that cast English shadows upon the tour was the announcement of Charles Reade’s death. This had already been preceded by obituary notices of Blanchard Jerrold. It was followed, at a later date, by the chronicle that Henry J. Byron had also “joined the majority.” The sudden death of the Duke of Albany was chronicled by the leading American newspapers, with touching sentiments of sympathy for the Queen of England.
[62] “Much Ado” did “grow,” and was played for three weeks, a “mixed bill” closing the last six nights. The receipts during Lent were unprecedentedly large in the history of New York theatres. These pages go to press before the financial returns are completely made up; but it is known to-day (April 25), that the receipts for the entire tour will be more than $400,000. The social hospitalities in honor of Irving and Miss Terry, which characterized their first visit to New York, were continued on their return. Among the notable breakfasts of the time was one given to Irving by Edwin Booth, at Delmonico’s, on April 14. The “Times,” in chronicling it, says: “Mr. Booth sat at the head of the table, with Mr. Irving on his right, and Chief-Justice Charles P. Daly on his left. John McCullough knocked elbows with Parke Godwin. The other guests included Jervis McEntee, Launt Thompson, Charles E. Carryl, Richard Henry Stoddard, William Bispham, Eastman Johnson, William Winter, Bram Stoker, Lawrence Hutton, Frank P. Millett, Junius Henri Browne, H. J. Loveday, and E. C. Benedict. No speeches were made, but in the course of an informal chat Mr. Irving was asked about ‘Hamlet.’ He said that he hardly thought it policy to produce the play for three or four nights at the end of a season, and on the eve of his departure, particularly as he contemplated so speedy a return.”
[63] The excitement of that cheerful October evening, last year, when Henry Irving made his first appearance in New York, was repeated last night, at the Star Theatre, where “Much Ado About Nothing” was presented, and where Mr. Irving and Miss Terry effected their reëntrance, and were welcomed by a great and brilliant company, with acclamations, with floral tributes, and in a charmingly manifest spirit of the heartiest admiration and good-will. The scene, indeed, was one of unusual brightness, kindliness, and enjoyment, both before the curtain and upon the stage. The applause, upon the entrance of Beatrice,—a rare vision of imperial yet gentle beauty!—broke forth impetuously and continued long; and, upon the subsequent entrance of Benedick, it rose into a storm of gladness and welcome.—Tribune.—The performance at the Star Theatre last evening was one of remarkable interest. “Much Ado About Nothing” was produced, and Mr. Irving and his company furnished a dramatic representation more complete and artistic, and in every way more admirable, than any that has been seen upon our stage. The audience was large and brilliant, and the reappearance of Mr. Irving and Miss Ellen Terry was greeted with every demonstration of pleasure.—Sun.