class="tdl">Mr. Burton in Comedy and Shakespeare

WILLIAM E. BURTON.

1804-1860.

"He was famous, sir, in his profession, and it was his great right to be so."—Shakespeare.

WILLIAM E. BURTON.

1804-1834.

William Evans Burton, the son of William George Burton, an author of some repute, was born in London, September 24, 1804, and died in New York, February 10, 1860. His father was a printer, with a bent of mind toward theology, and gave expression to his views in a work entitled "Biblical Researches," published in the close of the last century. The son was classically educated in St. Paul's School in London, an institution where, before his day, Elliston and the elder Mathews were instructed; and the father's design was to prepare him for the ministry. The parent's death, however, summoned him from his studies, and, at the age of eighteen, he assumed the direction of the printing-office, which he managed for the maintenance of his mother. It may be observed that one of the specialties of the elder Burton's business was the printing of classical works, and the son's knowledge had often been of service in the matter of proof-reading. From the printing-office he was led to the experiment of editing a monthly magazine, thus early revealing an inclination toward the profession of letters which never wholly deserted him; fostered by sundry efforts of authorship in his native land, and appearing subsequently, in this country, in his conduct of "The Gentleman's Magazine" and "Literary Souvenir," and in the compilation known as "Burton's Cyclopædia of Wit and Humor."

The youthful experiment was not a substantial success, and did not long continue; but his editorship brought him into connection with certain members of the dramatic profession, and he was persuaded (we wonder if persuasion were really needed!) to make a trial of his stage ability by playing with a company of amateurs. His success in this venture foreshadowed his destiny, and we find him in 1825 performing with a provincial company on the Norwich, Sussex, and Kent circuits.

We cannot help the indulgence, at this moment, of a playful fancy regarding Burton's early efforts. Did he, in the exemplification of tragedy, which he then aspired to, reveal by a single facial example the dawning of a future Toodle? Could imagination discover in the dagger of Macbeth the hook, and in the Thane himself the features, of Ed'ard Cuttle, Mariner of England? Did the thoughtful countenance of Hamlet suggest in any possible way the lugubriousness of an incipient Sleek? Did he make his Majesty George IV. laugh at Windsor, where, as tradition has it, he played before the king at this stage of his career? We know not; but the mask of Melpomene had been thrown aside when, after another round of the provinces, with varying success, but gaining celebrity through an unusually wide range of parts, he made his first appearance in London in 1831, as Wormwood, in "The Lottery Ticket," a character that became famous in his hands. This engagement was at the Pavilion Theatre, and was a highly successful one. The great Liston, just twice Burton's age, was then at the Haymarket, and we can imagine with what emulous admiration the young comedian regarded the veteran actor. He little dreamed that many of Liston's renowned characters would descend to him by right of ability and comic power! In the following year (1832) Liston retired from the Haymarket, "through a pique," as they say, and Burton succeeded him; but the audiences retained too vivid a recollection of Liston's performances, and the engagement was only moderately successful. Recovering suddenly from his disaffection, Liston returned to the Haymarket, and Burton in his turn retired, to once more make the rounds of the provinces. But he bore with him one remembrance in connection with the Haymarket that consoled him for many a disappointment; and that was the thought of having played Marall to Edmund Kean's Sir Giles Overreach. The story runs that Mrs. Glover,[1] a leading actress of the company, objected for some reason to the Marall, and declared that she or Burton should be omitted in the cast. Kean, despite irregularities, still retained a remnant of his old sway, and he insisted on being supported by Burton. The result was that Mrs. Glover was compelled to yield, and in due course Marall appeared before a full house, containing many celebrities of the day. It was at this time, too, that a production of his pen—the play of "Ellen Wareham,"[2] —enjoyed the unusual distinction of being performed at five London theatres on the same evening. A year and a half went by in efforts to enhance his reputation, and it may be said that his career was not free from the vicissitudes that frequently attend dramatic itineracy. But through it all he gained ground and advanced steadily in his profession. He played almost every thing; his industry was indefatigable, his will indomitable. The lamp of experience never waned; and that knowledge gained from contact with the world and human nature, was a preparation for events and emergencies in another scene and another land. For now his thoughts were turned toward the United States, and in 1834 he determined to cross the ocean, and to take the chance of fortune and of fame.

1834-1848

Burton landed on our shores unheralded, to begin the twenty-five years of the artistic career which holds so conspicuous a place in the annals of dramatic achievement. He was not "brought over," and he came at his own expense. He came, indeed, with the prestige of having written "Ellen Wareham," and of having made a comic character [3] famous by fifty consecutive representations; but he was simply