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A DRAMATIC CRITIC
the glass in place ; the corrugations of
his anxious brow ; the perpetually varied
movements of his lips and chin as he strug-
gled to utter himself ; the profuse hair of
the period ; his long, silky whiskers 5 the
hop-and-skip walk, — that gait which was
not of " Christian, pagan, nor man ; " his
talk, in which a combined lisp, stutter, and
stammer, punctuated by quaint gurgles and
chuckles, made an unprecedented novelty
in human vocalism ; and the long, sumptu-
ous coats and dressing gowns and ampli-
tudinous trousers which he affected ? The
whole thing came close to the verge of
gross absurdity, but through the actor's
rare gifts in drollery and vivacious inten-
sity was accepted, freely and with a deli-
cious sense of immersion in a new kind
of fun, by the whole public, gentle and
simple.
If Mr. Sothern had gone no further than
to produce the strange figure which has
been partially described, and to make it
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