Page:The New International Encyclopædia 1st ed. v. 10.djvu/905

From Wikisource
Jump to navigation Jump to search
This page needs to be proofread.
*
799
*

IKVING. 799 IRVING. Christian Jew, Juan Josafat Con Ezra, but was in reality the couiposition of a Spanish Jesuit, Manuel Lacunza. In 1S28 appeared his Homilies OH the Sacraments. He now began to elaborate his views of the incarnation of Christ, asseiting the doctrine of His oneness with man in all tlie attributes of humanity. The language which he used on this subject drew upon liini the accusa- tion of heresy, to which lie gave little heed. He was deep in the study of the prophecies; and when the news came to London in the early part of 18.30 of certain extraordinary manifestations of prophetic power in the west of Scotland, Irving was prepared to believe them. (See Catholic Apostolic Church.) Irving was arraigned before the Presbytery of London in 1830, and convicted of heresy; ejected from his new church in Regent Square" in 1832; and finally deposed in 1833 by the Presbytery of Annan, which had licensed him. The majority of his congregation adhered to him, and gradually a new phase of Christian order and worship was developed, com- monly known as Irvingism. though Irving had really very little to do with its development. Shortly after, his health failed, and. in obedience, as he believed, to the Spirit of God, he went to Scotland, where he sank a victim to consumption. He died at Glasgow. December 7, 1834. Irving's works were published in London {5 vols.. 18G4- 65). Consult: CarMe. Miscellaneous Essays and Kcminisceiices (London. 1881); Letters and Memorials of Jane Welsh Carlyle (London, 1883) : and Mrs. Oliphant, Life of Edicard Ir- ving (London, 1862). IRVING, Sir Henry (1838-1905). A distin- guished English actor and manager. He was born at Kcinton. Somersetshire, February 6, 1838, his name being originally John Henry Brodribb; his stage name of Irving was legalized by royal licen.se in 1887. He was carefully educated at a private school and then placed in a commercial situation, but he early began preparing himself for a dramatic career, and made his first appear- ance on the professional stage at Sunderland in 1S56. After playing in Edinburgh. Glasgow, Manchester, and elsewhere, not without meeting fiequent discouragements, he appeared in 1866 at the Saint James's Theatre in London. He soon became noted as an interpreter of light comedy parts, and more especially as the 'hea'y villain' in such roles as Robert Macaire and Bill Sikes. But his first great success was as Digbv Grant in the comedy of Tiro Roses (1870). which he per- formed at the Vaudeville Theatre for three hun- dred consecutive nights. In Xovcmber, 1871, he was engaged by the Lyceum Theatre, and in- creased his reputation by his appearance in The Bells, as !Mathias (1871). in Euqene Aram (1873), Richelieu (1873). and Bamlet (1874). "The peculiarities of his style in Hamlet excited great dilTerence of opinion among the critics, which continued over his rendering of Macbeth (187.'i) and Othello (1876. and again with Edwin Booth in 1881). but the importance of his posi- tion constantlv increased. His Richard III. (1877) and his Loi/is -Tl. (1878) attracted great admiration. In 1876 he made a tour through Scotland. Ireland, and the provinces. The with- drawal of ilrs. Bateman from the management of the Lyceum gave Mr. Irving, in 1878. entire con- trol over the theatre in which he had long been the leading attraction: he seciired Miss Ellen Terry, and the history of the Lyceum from that time until 1902 was chiefly theirs. Mr. Irving as a manager was famous for the carefully elaborate stage setting of his productions, while as an actor he was distinguished for the psychological force of his characterizations. His theatre became in all its appointments and in the class of the plays produced there the most admirable of London playhouses, though its financial success left some- thing to be desired. In 1899 the Lyceum passed into the hands of a limited liability company, though still under Irving's direction. In the long list of roles which he assumed after his manage- ment began were Shvlock (1879): Benedick, in Much Ado About Nothing (1882); Mephistoph- eles, in Faust (1885), which proved one of the most popular of his presentations, though criti- cally less admired: Recket (1893), in Lord Tennyson's drama, which he rearranged for the stage, and Robespierre (1899), in the pl.ay writ- ten for him by Sardou. He first came to the United States, with Miss Terry and the other members of his company, in 1883, when he made his New York debut as Mathias, in The Bells. The welcome which he won on this first visit was frequently repeated, and he reproduced in the United States most of his London successes. Mr. Irving was knighted in 1895. He was also known as a writer and public speaker. Among his publications is The Drama : Addresses (London. 1892) . The "Irving Edition" of Shakespeare (edited by Henry Ir'ing and Frank A. Marshall) appeared in 1887-90 ( London ) . Irving married, in 18G9, Miss Florence O'Cal- laghan. and his sons, Henry Brodribb Irving and Lawrence Irving, both of whom are actors, have attained some note in literature as well as upon the stage. The former is the author of the Life of Jud'ie Jeffreys (1898) and French Criminals of the' Xinetee'nth Century (1901); the latter, of the plays Peter the Great (produced at the Lveeum, London, 1898) and Richard Lovelace (Garden Theatre, New York, 1901). Consult: Hiatt, Henry Jrring, a Record and a Revieic (London, 1899) ; Fitzgerald, Henry Jr- ring, Ticenty Years of the Lyceum (ib., 1893): Dalv. Henri) Irring in England and .Imcriea, lS.iS-Si (ib., 1884)'; Russell. Irring as Hamlet (ib., 1875) ; Archer, Hettry Irring. .ictor and Manager, a Critical Study (ib.. 188i5) ; Brereton, Henry Irring. a Biographical l<kelch (ib., 1883) ; Hatton, Henry Irving's Impressions of America (ib.. 18841 : Scott. The Drama of Yesterday and To-Day fil>.. 1809). IRVING, Isabel (1871 — ). An American actress. _ born at Bridgeport, Conn. She first appeared upon the stage in 1887. in The School- mistress, at New Y'ork. and the next year became a member of Daly's company, with which she con- tinued till 1894. She l)ccanie in 1897 .Tohn Drew's leading woman, with him ap]x>aring in The Liars (1898), The Tyranny of Tears (1899). and other pieces. In 1901 she played in To Hare and to Hold. At the beginning of 1902 she became lead- ing woman in William Faversham's company. She was married in October. 1899, to W. H. Thompson. Consult Strang, Famous Actresses of the Day in America (Boston. 1899), IRVING, John Beaufain (1820-77), An American genre painter, bom in Charleston, S. C. He was a pupil of Leutze at Diisseldorf, and afterwards lived in his native city and in New