)
_Hamlet_ . . . . . . . MR. H.B. IRVING.]
Observers contrasting this with Mr. IRVING'S earlier performance remarked a
gain in depth and fire and a happier restraint of mannerism. It was a very
notable and gracious piece of work. He has the player's first gift, an
arresting personality. His elocution has distinction. He conveys the beauty
of the words and the richness of the packed thought thoughtfully. The
complex play of action and motive--the purpose blunted by overmuch
thinking, the spurs to dull revenge, the self-contempt, the assumed antic
disposition, at times the real mental disturbance--all this was set before
us with a fine skill and resource. The "To be or not to be" soliloquy was
masterly in its sincerity and restraint; the two broken love passages with
_Ophelia_ showed a fine tenderness through the distraught, bitter mood. An
ingenious turn was given to that difficult change of weapons in the fencing
bout, though I doubt if the Sword Club would wholly have approved the
technique of the fencing.
Miss GERTRUDE ELLIOTT'S _Ophelia_ in the Mad Scene was full of beauty,
sweetness and dignity--and we have so often been bored by our lesser
_Ophelias_.
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