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A DRAMATIC CRITIC
fulness. It is a countenance obviously not
adapted for all parts, perhaps not appro-
priate for many ; but wherever it is seen
it immediately constrains and inflexibly
retains the attention of the spectator. There
is no impropriety in saying that this pecul-
iar charm seems to grow out of the nature
of the man himself, — out of a rare and
lofty refinement, a subtile and delicate in-
tellectuality, a largeness and sweetness of
nature. The quality of refinement, indeed,
makes itself felt in everything which Mr.
Irving does or says; strongly appealing,
I have observed, even to persons of no
special cultivation ; marking the tone of
his ordinary speech, whether the sound be
agreeable to the ear or otherwise; never
forsaking his delivery when his enunciation
is most uncouth ; and clinging like a faint
odor, in spite of all the artist's fumigating
processes, to such repulsive impersonations
as his Dubosc and his Louis. For the
purposes of the dramatic art, Mr. Irving's
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