FROM Mrs. John Sherwood: "It has been reserved for the extra fashionables of the present day to wear the most immodest, the most tasteless and the most offensive "cut" that appears in the history of low necks, a dress without sleeves with the corsage pointed low in the back and in front, a dress begun by certain shameless dancers in Offenbach's most shameless opera bouffes, has ascended to the highest and most aristocratic place in the world of fashion." THE THEATRE has already called attention to the fact that while the ministers have proclaimed against the immodesty of the ballet in a grand opera performance, they have said nothing about the women who have watched them from boxes, which from the seats in the orchestra appeared like so many bath tubs. But the Rev. Morgan Dix, has, however, spoken very plainly about the present day immodesty in dress, and in a recent sermon, told the women in his congregation that the prevailing fashions were calculated to excite the worst of libertinism.

**

I SEE it is announced that Miss Rosina Emmet, the artist, a descendant of Thomas Addis Emmet, brother of the Irish patriot, is engaged to Arthur Sherwood, son of Mrs. John Sherwood.

* **

LAST Friday evening the Columbia College Dramatic Club presented "The Two Buzzards" and "My Turn Next," in the concert hall of the Metropolitan, for the benefit of the University crew. The female parts were all taken by the young men. Among the names of the performers are James W. Gerard, Jr., John

C. Wilmerding, Jr., Meredith Howland, 2d, Valentine G. Hall, and Richard Tighe Wainwright. This was probably considered a very interesting affair to those who participated, but it seems to me that intellectual young men might be in better business than playing girls' parts. If there is anything funny in it it must be so only to people who are as silly as the impersonators.

THE commemoration of the centenary of the Royal Theatre of Berlin lasted three days, being chiefly a reproduction of the scenes of that evening a hundred years ago, when the old Dobbelin Theatre assumed the title "Royal,” and received the princely support of 5,400 thalers per year. "Verstand und Leichsinn," "Intellect and Frivolity," was repeated exactly as it was presented a century ago. A correspondent of the Tribune says that despite the charming acting of the modern interpreters, one could not suppress the feeling of pity for the Germans of the eighteenth century who could admire such a piece. On the first evening the theatre was closed to the public, being reserved for the invited guests from all over Germany. The "Intendants" of all the German and Austrian theatres of distinction were naturally accorded the places of honor, Count Botho von Hochberg, the Berlin chief, being at their head. The first balcony was reserved for the court and the diplomatic corps, and the brilliant uniforms, the gorgeous decorations and the magnificent toilets of the ladies almost blinded the eye. And when the Emperor and Empress appeared, the latter wheeled in upon her great iron chair, which she hardly ever leaves, tenderly watched by her husband, the whole audience rose to greet them. In the boxes next the imperial loge sat the Crown Prince and Princess, together with the Prince Regent of Bavaria, now visiting the Hohenzollern court, and the numberless highnesses who had come to Berlin for the celebration. Count Moltke, a rare theatre guest, and for that reason highly honored by all present, including his king; Helmholtz and Menzel as chancellors of the order Pour le Merite," with a score of distinguished disciples of literature and science, were seated in the middle rows of the parquet.

It is said that the antipathy which Frederick the Great had for German literature and for German drama was the cause of Berlin's becoming a theatre city very late in its history. Many of the smaller cities, like Leipsic, Dresden and Hamburg, were earnest worshippers of the stage long before Berlin.

THE New York season of the National Opera Company will open at the Metropolitan Opera House, Feb. 28, and continue five weeks or until April 2. The season of 1886-7 will end, in accordance with the last determination of the board, which decision shortens the present season to twenty weeks. It is expected that the season of 1887-8 will be opened Nov. 15, but the date is not definitely fixed yet. The articles of incorporation of the National Opera Company were filed in the office of the Secretary of the State of New Jersey, at Trenton, on Nov. 26. The incorporators are Jeannette M. Thurber, Washington E. Connor, Parke Godwin, Cleveland A. Connor, and Charles G. Buckley, while the stockholders are Washington E. Connor, Jeannette M. Thurber, Parke Godwin and Theodore Thomas, of this city, and Henry L. Higginson, of Boston, Mass.

THE editor of THE THEATRE is constantly in receipt of letters from every part of the country and very frequently from the other side of the water-which indicate in the most positive manner that THE THEATRE has a great many good friends. Sometimes these communications are so kind and honest in enthusiasm, that I am astonished so many people take the trouble to write as they do. The day before New Year's, the evidence of Kentucky's superior distilling was clearly manifested by a Louisville subscriber, whose accompanying card reads as follows:

Allow me to congratulate you on the plan of your charming paper, and the success with which it is meeting. GEORGE ALFRED CALDwell.

Many returns of the day, and here's to you!

**

MR. BOOTH has discarded the version of 'Richard III.," as prepared for him by William Winter, and acted by him for some twelve years past, and restored to his repertory the

well-known Colly Cibber version of Shakespeare's tragedy. To be sure there is some clap-trap, a goodly portion of Shakespeare, and a lot of Colley Cibber- - but the mixture gives Mr. Booth a character which easily ranks with his Iago and Pescara in the scheming, subtle deviltry and sardonic humor with which "Colly" has padded it.

IN relation to the approaching production of Verdi's "Otello," the composer's publisher, Signor Ricordi, is convinced that its success will exceed that of Aïda." Among the numbers mentioned as likely to win immediate popularity are a drinking song, a serenade, with an accompaniment of guitars and mandolins, and a finale, lasting eight minutes, and immensely effective. Verdi keeps Signor Tamagno, M. Maurel and Signora Pantaleoni, his three principal interpreters, hard at work for four hours daily. Parquet chairs for the first night of "Otello" commanded, at last accounts, 200 lire ($40) each, and all but a few had been sold. The stalls behind the chairs were quoted at 100 lire apiece, and the boxes, which are usually rented for 1,200 to 1,500 lire for the whole carnival season, brought this year 3.500 lire

each.

"THE COMBINATION PLAN."

THE Sun of Sunday last contained a long article setting forth "a complete view of the traveling actor's business," intended to show that the "Combination System" was not an evil, but a positive benefit. That since the "combination" had taken the place of the local stock company, the inhabitants of every city outside of New York were materially benefited, and out of the "evil" have come to this stage as stars, Robert Mantell, Louis James, Robert Downing, Fred Warde, Edmund Collier, John McCullough, Effie Ellsler, Kate Forsyth. Roland Reed, Rose Coghlan, Mrs. Bowers, Henry Chanfrau, Margaret Mather, Minnie Maddern, Edwin Arden, Cora Tanner, Harry Dixey, Flora Moore, Neil Burgess, Sara Von Leer, John Jennings, Tom Glenney, Jenny Calef, Charley Bowser, Myra Goodwin, C. A. Gardner, Tony Hart, Ezra Kendall, Horace

As

Lewis, Benjamin Maginley, Jim Herne, Dan Sully, Eben Plympton, Ada Gray, Jennie Holman, Newton Beers, Marie Prescott, Richard Mansfield, James O'Neill, Robert McWade, Joe Murphy, Rosina Vokes, Mattie Vickers, Frank Frayne, Louise Pomeroy, W. J. Scanlan, Fred Bryton, Den Thompson, Frank Aiken, Lewis Morrison, J. M. Ward, and as many more. for this list of names, the statement is not entirely correct. Mrs. Bowers is certainly not one of the "results." She has been a star for a number of years, and long before the "combination plan” traveled as such from city to city, receiving the generally competent support from the company of every place she visited. I doubt, if she could afford to take with her now as good a company as in those days she found in cities like Buffalo, Cleveland, Pittsburg, or Chicago. John McCullough used to travel in the same way, as did Robert McWade and Joe Murphy. Young Chanfrau necessarily succeeds his father in the same business. The fact is, the most proficient actors on the stage owe their education and subsequent success to the hard drilling and never-ending work of the oldtime stock company. The preparation for five or six different parts in the course of a week kept young men out of mischief, and made them studious to a degree which forced intellectual development. They were always cheered on in their work by local interest, and there was always an endeavor to become "a favorite." The continual change of parts usually brought around some distinct triumph, and if there was any special cleverness in the young man it was soon discovered. Nowadays there is a certain paste and putty work, backed up by idleness and dissipation, for which the "combination plan" is responsible. Booth, Sothern, Raymond, Florence, Clara Morris, Jefferson, Owens, Lotta, Helen Dauvray, Maggie Mitchell, and their ilk, are to be placed against the Sun's list of what the" combination plan" is not responsible for. Here in New York Mr. Daly's company works in the same way as the old stock system, and has developed a talent that would never have been brought out in any other way. His company are all stars now, and those who have launched themselves, like Agnes Ethel, Clara Morris, Fanny Davenport, D. H. Harkins, and Louis James, show the truth of my argument.

This writer in the Sun says still further that "by its remarkable spread, a small army of actors and actresses have been afforded employment who would otherwise have been idle,

or less congenially disposed of." Is this so? The old stock system would have disposed of them a great deal better. It would have given each actor (or actress, why won't the one word cover both?) a home. It would have allowed them to have some healthy social life; some feeling that their careers were watched and guarded to the measure of their aims and honesty. It created an acknowledgment from the church that actors were like all other people, because many found their way as useful members of a parish, and became known as other people are.

Mr. Hamilton says in his play of "Harvest: Where is Bohemia? Anywhere, everywhere, nowhere. It exists in the hearts of its denizens, in the lives of those who love it. It's the land of stanch comradeship, of kindly sympathy, of kindred intellect, where hearts beat high and hands grasp firm, where poverty is no disgrace, and where charity does not chill." The actor's life is called Bohemian, but the Bohemianism of the traveling woman is not of this kind. It is demoralizing, and with many leads to degradation. The insidious familiarity of men, and the uncertainties of good, financial management, bring about results which cannot do else than destroy many of the virtues which womanhood ought to possess. Very few escape all this, and those who have maintained an honorable career realize the numberless temptaMme. tions which this wandering life breeds. Modjeska lately wrote a letter, which was published in THE THEATRE at the time, congratulating the final choice of a young girl who was about to go upon the stage, and which a happy marriage averted. This remarkable woman's experiences which led to this advice, could be echoed by many other noble people in the profession. The Sun writer did. however, say that the movements of traveling companies awakened in sections of the country, previously neglected, an intellectual interest in music and the drama. This is, of course, true. places which were never privileged to enjoy the delights of a good theatrical performance now have them.

Many

But I repeat that the "combination plan" is an evil, because it is impossible to always justify the means. The innocent suffer with the guilty, and the many companies organized by unscrupulous managers who resort to all sorts of questionable schemes to carry out their purposes, have put a brand upon a profession which is seldom discriminating.

There is no reason why I should hesitate to say what I have said here. The honorable men and women, the ladies and gentlemen who pursue this art, which should be surrounded by all that is ennobling, will understand me.

D. W.

STAGE TALK OF THE RESTORATION.

AMONG the special abominations deemed subversive and destructive of good morals by the Puritans, was the stage. Decrees were published, branding the actor as a vagabond, and his person was liable to incarceration, and his exchequer to depletion if he be found performing within corporate limits. To read old Jeremy Collier's "A Short View of the Profaneness and Immorality of the English Stage," gives one a lesson in theatric ethics, most rare and pungent. Jeremy was a well-developed specimen of the stiff-backed, sanctimonious God-fearing, man-hating prodigy of the time. If, however, we take a candid view of the stage of his day, we must admit that there were grounds for complaint and ample cause for timely suggestions of improvement. When the gallants of the day disposed themselves as they might upon the stage, permitting just the barest minimum of space for the performers, when the green-room was a general reception parlor; when a slight misunderstanding between two of the dandys led to a settlement there and then by an appeal to the ever-handy sword, we must resolve that it was high time that some one took the matter of reform in hand. The restoration brought many of the old evils to the fore, and permitted also by a broad tolerance and encouragement, that better development of the theatre, which though, of course, has since been greatly exceeded in mere mechanism, can never be surpassed in actual artistic attainment and expression of high dramatic genius. Our object in the present paper is to outline, by remarking upon the persons of a stock company playing in 1690, the conception and value of acting as then practised. To us in our day, looking around upon the immense and startling evidences of progress in all departments of science and literature, we can hardly realize that hundreds of years past, most of our best thoughts had a beginning. Can we suggest or admit for a moment a comparison of the productions of the present great nineteenth century with the wonderful efflorescence of the reign of Elizabeth? - The minds, the time, the intellectual environment that could produce a Shakespeare, must perforce give birth to adequate expressive genius - that Shakespeare wrote, at least the greater part of his plays, to meet the requirements of the company with which he was connected, is beyond question, his marvelous poetic ability was joined and in full harmony with the prosaic hardheaded common sense of a man of affairs, he saw facts, could grasp the material effects of ideas. He is known to have performed in several modest parts, that of the Ghost in "Hamlet" being the most trying rôle he assumed.

At the time of which we purpose speaking, 1690, the company which stood as the Theatre Francais has in France, was composed of the following persons : Betterton, Montfort, Kynaston, Sandford, Nokes, Underhill and Leigh, of men; of ladies there were, Mesdames Betterton, Bary, Leigh, Butler, Montfort and Bracegirdle. These people represented the brightest particular stars in the theatrical firmament, each had distinguished, him or herself, by attaining marked applause in some special character or line of work; each had "created," to use the modern term, a part. From the Apology of Mr. Colley Cibber, a gentleman who had just entered the ranks of the brilliant assemblage, and from other record of that period, we are enabled to afford some ideas of how they acted. Colley eventually developed into a most excellent comedian and dramatist, and still bears witness to his presumption in the "Richard III.," as now played by Keene and others. "Betterton was an actor as Shakespeare was an author, both without competitors, formed for the mutual assistance and illustration of each other's genius. How Shakespeare wrote, all men who have a taste for nature may read and know, but with what higher rapture would he still be read, could they conceive how Betterton played him." The father of the English stage, whose Hamlet has been brought by tradition even to the present day, was a gentleman of unusual personal merit, a fine scholar, a kindly, dignified man; he was a fit companion for the best wits and persons of his day, and died at extreme old age, honored and revered by all. Betterton never wanted fire and force when his character demanded it, yet, when it was not demanded he never prostituted his power to the low ambition of a false applause. Of his Brutus, "when the Betterton Brutus was provoked in his dispute with Cassius, his spirit flew only to his eye, his steady look alone supplied that terror which he disdained an intemperance in his voice should rise to." Montfort was best known for his performances of Alexander and Castalio, characters in Otway's tragedy of "The Orphans ;" he played Macduff to the Macheth of Betterton, and won renown for his Sparkish in Congreve's Country Wife." Kynaston, as a youth, used to appear in the female parts before ladies were allowed upon the stage as a man, he grew into playing heroes and the genteel old men of comedy. Leigh was an excellent all-round comedian, " having been fraught with humor of a luxuriant kind." Sandford was a villain of the pronounced type, and won the hisses of his audiences for his truthful portrayal of those dramatic necessaries. Mrs. Betterton was a great Lady Macbeth, and was especially distinguished for her fine performance of most of

Shakespeare's tragedy heroines. Mrs. Bary, after making several failures, came out at last with surpassing brilliancy; two of her most celebrated parts were Monimia in Otway's "Orphan," and Belvidera in "Venice Preserved." Anne Bracegirdle, "the Diana of the stage," was as justly celebrated for her unsullied character as for her superb acting. Congreve wrote several of his finest plays to give scope to her genius. It would prove a tedious task to go into, extended biographical detail here, to those who chose to confirm our remarks upon the character of the acting of that period, we refer them to Cibber's Apology, Pepy's Diary, and any good history of the stage. That the stage of the day — the period referred to, so far as æsthetic requirements go, so far as truth to nature, grasp of an author's meaning, and just expression of same, are concerned, may serve as a model for all time, we are forced by the most conclusive evidence to admit. Such critics as Addison and Steele, afford the finest proof to be found. Cibber's remarks on the art of acting have never been improved upon, Talma and Irving have both written learnedly upon the subject, but their best efforts and thoughts are all to be found in Colley's quaint record of personal beauty, the "Apology for his Life."

James Beebee.

ART CHAT.

On the evening of the day which this number of THE THEATRE bears, there will be sold at auction at Chickering Hall the collection of paintings owned by Richard H. Halstead, Esq., of the New York Stock Exchange. They have been on exhibition at the Academy of Design since the 31st ultimo. The collection is a small one, numbering only sixty-five works, but they are of extraordinary character. The canvases are mostly large and by sixty different artists of the modern French and American schools. Many of the canvases are known to the art world, as Mr. Halsted was a liberal contributor to all Loan exhibitions and the monthly club displays.

MR. HALSTED's taste is for highly finished pictures; the impressionists find no place in his collection. To give an idea of the painters he is fond of, let me name those among the B's. The foreigners are Bouguereau, Breton, Becker (Carl), Bellecour; and the Americans, J. G. Brown and Bliss-Baker. Such names guarantee good workmanship at least. Such artists may be said to give a man his money's worth in their pictures. If Mr. Halsted is a representative New York collector (and I think

he is), our young artists can take a hint from these pictures. When a New York merchant, if I may stretch the term so far as to apply it to a broker, puts his moneys into a picture, he wants to see something tangible in return. He wants facts. Now, such painters as Bouguereau, Vibert Perrault, J. G. Brown, Kaemmerer, Breton, and such landscape artists as Bolton Jones, Bliss-Baker, G. H. Smillie and Van Boskerck, give or paint facts. Their drawing is rigorously correct, their painting painstaking and direct. There is nothing slovenly in their work. Take, for instance, Vibert's "Papa's Toilet." One may not be an admirer of Vibert, yet he cannot help but encore such brilliant effects which are produced with such honest labor. Such a work is not intellectual, but the cunning of the hand is there, the art is there, and the work will no doubt bring a high price at the sale, because the men who buy pictures in New York are perfectly willing to pay for the productions of first-class workmen.

ON Tuesday and Wednesday evenings coming, at Association Hall, (Y. M. C. A. Building, Twenty-third Street) the sale of the Artists' Fund Society will take place. The benevolent object of this society, is, I hope, well known to my readers. On account of the object for which the pictures are contributed, it is a delicate matter to criticise them. I think, however, that it is a kindness rather than not for the press to speak the truth in the matter, and the truth is that the exhibitions of this society have been for the last few years very poor indeed.

Having said this, let me name some of the good works in the present exhibition. E. K.