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OBITUARIES, AMERICAN. (BARRETT BARTON.) 



he joined the stock company of the old Walnut 

 Street Theatre, Philadelphia, remaining there three 

 months, thence he went to Washington, and at the 

 close of his season in the latter city he joined the 

 Chestnut Street Theatre Company, Philadelphia, and 

 supported Booth, Davenport, and other stars. 



Edwin Forrest was not playing during that winter, 

 but-he frequently went to the theatre and watched Bar- 

 rett with great interest, often sending for him after the 

 play to approve of certain lines which he considered 

 well renaered. Mr.' Booth now made him an offer to 

 support him at Winter Garden, and while he was in 

 New York, Lewis Baker proposed to him to enter into 

 partnership in the management of the Varieties Thea- 

 tre at New Orleans. After some hesitation, Mr. Barrett 

 accepted, thinking it would give him an opportunity 

 to play in the standard tragic dramas ; the arrange- 

 ment was perfected, and Mr. Barrett began the active 

 management of the house in conjunction with Dan 

 Setchell, having a prosperous season of thirty weeks 

 in 1863-'64. His starring career may be said to have 

 begun here, for he first appeared as Kichelieu, Ham- 

 let, and Shylock. At that time Lester Wallack was 

 playing " R'osedale" with great success in New York. 

 Barrett bought from the author the American pro- 

 vincial rights to the comedy, and when the Varieties 

 was destroyed by tire he decided to set out on a star- 

 ring trip, appearing as Elliot Grey at Pike's Opera 

 House, in Cincinnati, in the autumn of 18'i4. In 1866 

 he went to England, and again in 1867, when he pre- 

 sented Hamlet for one week in Liverpool. On Feb. 

 17, 1868, he opened at Maguire's Opera House. San 

 Francisco, where he played eleven weeks. While 

 there he met William C. Ralston and other capitalists 

 who agreed to build a magnificent theatre if he 

 would undertake its management jointly with John 

 McCullough. Mr. Barrett accepted their offer, and 

 in 1868 he again crossed to England, returning in 

 December, when he went overland to California, a 

 very severe trip, during which he nearly lost his life. 

 The California Theatre was opened under the man- 

 agement of Barrett and McCullough Jan. 18, 1869. 

 After an unusual success of twenty months, he sold 

 his half-interest to Mr. McCullough', and began star- 

 rim: again in 1870, opening on the 15th of August at 

 Niblo's Garden. In January, 1871, Mr. Booth en- 

 gaged him to play opposite characters in the great 

 productions given in Booth's Theatre corner of 23rd 

 Street and Sixth Avenue, New York. After sixteen 

 weeks Mr. Booth withdrew, and Mr. Barrett pro- 

 longed the season with a great revival of Shake- 

 speare's " A Winter's Tale," in which he appeared 

 as Leontes. This was followed, June 5, 1871, by 

 the first production in this country of ' The Man 

 o'Airlie," a play with which he was always closely 

 identified. The Varieties Theatre had been rebuilt, 

 Mr. Barrett accepted its management, and it was 

 brilliantly opened on Dec. 4. This venture suc- 

 ceeded so well that he felt willing to leave his busi- 

 ness in the hands of his subordinates and accept Mr. 

 Booth's otter to act in "Julius Csesar," which was 

 presented at Booth's Theatre, Dec. 25, 1871, and ran 

 nearly three months, although Mr. Barrett retired on 

 Feb. 17, 1872. The cast included Edwin Booth as 

 Brutus, Lawrence Barrett as Cassius, Frank C. Bangs 

 as Mark Antony, and Miss Pateman as Portia. Mr. 

 Barrett reappeared in New Orleans as Hamlet March 

 4, 1872. Although he was meanwhile obliged to as- 

 sume the whole financial responsibility of the Varie- 

 ties, he continued his starring tour in the autumn of 

 1872, retaining a five years' lease of the New Orleans 

 house. The season there was disastrous, and the 

 losses were over $57,000, which it took him many 

 years to pay. In 1873 he reappeared at the Califor- 

 nia Theatre, and in 1873-'74 he continued his tours, 

 playing in the different States. A revival of " Julius 

 Caesar" was given at Booth's Theatre on Dec. 27, 

 1875, and lasted till April 8, 1876. in which Mr. Bar-" 

 rett appeared as Cassius to the Brutus of Edwin L. 

 Davenport. Next he played "King Lear" and 

 " Daniel Druce," which latter he presented at Booth's 



Dec. 25, 1876. On Oct. 11, 1877, he produced at Cin- 

 cinnati a play by William D. Howell's called " A 

 Counterfeit Presentiment." His next important pro- 

 duction was " Yorick's Love," translated from tin, 

 Spanish by Mr. Howells, and given at the Park Thea- 

 tre, New York, Dec. 20, 1880. He presented " Pen- 

 dragon" at Chicago, Dec. 5, 1881. On Sept. 14 of 

 the same year he bought out "Francesca da Kimini " 

 at the Chestnut Street Theatre, Philadelphia, and he 

 also presented this play at the Star Theatre, New 

 York, and acted the part of the Hunchback, Lanci- 

 otto. During the season of 1883-'84 he appeared in 

 Boston and the large cities of the Union, and on April 

 14, 1884, he began an engagement of seven weeks at 

 the Lyceum Theatre, London. During the follow- 

 ing seasons he was actively engaged throughout the 

 pnited States, when he restored to the stage Brown- 

 ings " A Blot in the Scutcheon," and was seen as 

 Benedick, Don Felix, Alfred Evelyn, Raphael, David 

 Garrick, Cardinal Wolsey, and Kindred characters. 

 At Buffalo, on Sept. 12, 1887, he began his first joint 

 engagement with Edwin Booth, one of the most suc- 

 cessful theatrical enterprises, not only in a financial, 

 but in an artistic way, in the history of the drama in 

 this country. They first appeared together in New 

 York at the Academy of Music, Dec. 20, 1887, in 

 "Julius Csesar." The next year they appeared at the 

 Fifth Avenue Theatre, bringing out "The Merchant 

 of Venice " and " Othello." The following season the 

 two actors separated, although Mr. Booth was still 

 under Barrett's management. During that time Mr. 

 Barrett brought out " Ganelon" in Chicago and other 

 cities, but was obliged to give up playing on account 

 of very poor health. Mr. Barrett's last production of 

 anew play was "Guido Ferranti," by Oscar Wilde, 

 which ran from Jan. 26 to Feb. 14, 1890, at the 

 Broadway Theatre, New York. Mr. Barrett's last 

 appearance was on March 18, 1891, at the same house, 

 in the character of Adrian du Mauprat to the Riche- 

 lieu of Mr. Booth. He was compelled by illness to 

 retire at the end of the third act, and he died two 

 days later at the Windsor Hotel. He was buried at 

 Cohasset, Mass. Lawrence Barrett was a man of in- 

 tellect, not of genius: he was a good actor, not a 

 great one. He loved his art and respected it, and 

 he won for himself the respect and esteem of every 

 member of his profession with whom he came in con- 

 tact He was an admirable and a generous manager 

 he spent great sums of money in the wise and cor- 

 rect mounting of the tragedies he presented; and no 

 man in his generation, in any land, has done so much 

 for the stage in the way of encouraging dramatic au- 

 thorship. His greatest part, perhaps, was that of 

 Cassius; the most touching and tender, that of the 

 Man o' Airlie. His Hamlet was vigorous, intelli- 

 gent, and consistent. His Lanciotto, his Yorick, 

 his Shylock, his Kichelieu, his Grangoire, were the 

 results of the closest study, and they were always 

 effective and impressive. As he himself said ot Ed- 

 win Forrest, "The actor is a sculptor who carves his 

 image in snow ; he leaves nothing but the memory of 

 his work behind him." No printed words can give 

 any idea of what Mr. Barrett was as an artist, and his 

 manly and independent character, his uniform devo- 

 tion to duty, his high sense of honor, his enthusiasm 

 for his profession, his courtesy, his dignity, and his 

 personal charm will live no longer than his art in 

 the memory of men. His only lasting monument, 

 perhaps, will be his scholarly " Life of Edwin For- 

 rest" (Boston, 1881) and his other published but 

 scattered writings. 



Barton, William ,, theatrical manager, born in 

 Woodbridge, N. J., in 1831 ; died in New York city, 

 June 13, 1891. He was a graduate of the College of 

 New Jersey ; entered the national army in July, 1861, 

 as lieutenant-colonel of the 48th New York Volunteers, 

 which was recruited in Brooklyn ; succeeded the Rev. 

 James II. Perry as colonel on the death of the latter ; 

 distinguished himself especially in the battles around 

 Richmond, in one of which he was shot through both 

 lungs ; and was mustered out of the service in Decem- 



