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Show j SLANDERS ON EDWIN BOOTH, j lie Was Not Drunk as Iago, But Suffered from an Attack of Vertlffo. Chicago, February 28. The Tribune's New York special: A calumny against Edwin Booth has been refuted. He closed a month's season in this city to-night. His acting has been as good as ever in a round of his familiar famil-iar characters, with the notable exceptions of one week's performance of "Hamlet," and ONE UTTEE FAILURE AS IAGO, Usually among the best of his impersonations. impersona-tions. The time of the latter occurrence was a Saturday night, when the theatre was jammed, as during most of the engagement. Booth was hesitant from the ' start, and acted unateadilv. In the act -wherein Iago instills jealous suspicion into the mind of Othello, and where Booth's acting is com-monlv com-monlv exauisite. he seemed to lose himself completely, and a little later, while standing stand-ing close to the footlights, he fell forward and WOULD HAVE. TUMBLED INTO THE OBCHESTBA, Had not a fellow actor caught him. His part was cut down during the remainder of the piece, and many in the audience believed . the tragedian was drunk. As much was insinuated in-sinuated in a published criticism, and stories of his intoxication became current. A complete com-plete denial of the rumors is made for Booth, and the cause of his singular inability inabil-ity is explained. His daughter, Edwina, has been seriously ill, and he was so deeply concerned con-cerned that with difficulty he was restrained from closing the season here and going to her. Besides that : he suffers tebbtbly fbom dyspepsia, And during a whole month was unable to attend at-tend a single rehearsal. The day of the Iago mishap he was so ill that he sent word to the theatre that he could not possibly . perform that night, but was induced to change his mind, although so sick he could hardly walk from his rooms to his carriage. In the course of the play he was attacked by dizziness, and in the intermission in-termission before the mentioned act, he had to lay down a while, but he did not then- swallow a drop of spirits, nor had he done so during the day. AN ATTACK OF VEBTIGO Was what ailed him when he so nearly fell off the stage. "There was not the slightest ground for accusing Mr. Booth of inebriety," says -Wm. Seymour, stage manager, "and every member of the company has been aware of his genuine illness." |