Except in the gallery, which was closed for the occasion, practically every seat in the Lyceum' Theatre was occupied when Mr. Hannibal Williams came on the stage on Thursday evening to undertake the arduous task of reciting a great part of Shakespeare's tragedy of Julius Cusar." It is a remarkable feat for a single reciter, with no aid from costume or scenery, to hold a large audience in complete subjection to his voice for nearly two hours, but this feat Mr. Williams performed with complete success. For the experiment, " Julius Cesar" is by no means the best play that could be so-lected. There are practically only four characters in it, Owsar, Antony, Brutus, and Cassius; and of these four, Cesar disappears before Antony comes on. There is no love interest whatever, and only a shred of comic relief; and grand as the language constantly is, there is always the fear of monotony. Mr. Wil-lams's success is therefore the more to be admired. He has an absolutely perfect memory, a very audible voice with an easy delivery, a perfect comprehension of the poet's intention, with a sufficient power of differentiating the speakers in dialogue. Mr. Williams is very quiet and restrained, relying little on' gesture, and not often attempt-Antony's address in the Forum, he was impressive without ever degenerating into rant; so impressive and
pati peewee that it was to sym-ise with the fickleness of the Roman plebs, painted as it is with such consummate art by Shakespeare. The soliloquies of Brutus were given with good effect as were the duologues between Brutus and Cassius; there are so few living actors, except on country circuits, who have ever learnt to deliver blank verse, that this power alone made it a treat to hear a master of this vanishing art.
Tt was, of course only a portion of the tragedy that Mr. Williams could give in the time allotted, even though he had no interval for rest." He prefaced his recital with a short sketch of the history of Rome designed to show how it was that the good Bratus was brought to believe that murder was justifiable when the victim had aspirations of making himself King. There was some impatience among a portion of the audience during this introduction. No doubt those who were impatient knew already what Mr. Williams was telling them; but there were many in the theatre to whom this little explanation was wel come.
No better proof of Mr. Williams's i success could be asked for than the fact that he was listened to in absolute silence as soon as he began the play itself, with bursts of applause when the pauses permitted such an expression of the appreciation of his audience. The appearance of Mrs. Williams next Wednesday is now awaited with eagerness; It isto be hoped that by then she will have completely recovered from the slight attack of tonsilitis which forbade her appearance on Thursd ST. JOHN'S COLLEGE,
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.