The sun., 1873-01-31
ONE HUNDRED YEARS OLD.
TIE CHdRMING PLAYATTHE UHroy
SQUARE THElTRE.
An Interesting Romance Ada pied from liz
Ercnch Drama


An Interesting Romance Adapted from ,L,
frcnch Drama.
lts u plchSure 10 recoru 'uc production
OF so excellent play as was brought out at the
Union Square Theatre on wednesday evening.
"Ohe Hunureu ieus oiu ID urahlh VIII u ia
interesting without % .,n.,, being immoral 'ouch-
ihg "it"V"1 "e'"s 9SI''i0''"' "u tCunCd
without being dun. ino transition to this
-. ,o.as, ~, ,.o,, =, ,a,,,n ',n
"''"' uos'i' "''o - ''' ~. w .Hb"''ulVer-
dure We owe the original " lie Cenloraire'
,Iom WIZ" /, % AZ, ,Ies, V I..,,sns, "mlon
was adapted by MI mart Jackson To the Joint
authorship OF two French dramatlqts NM
D'Fnnerv and pIouyier II was pIayed fo- 49,.
A., .,,,,, ,.s, oa,o,,o. Tn por,, a.., ,. - .'
nrst tnle last octoDoT III i"ls' anu met with
great success.
The Mot deveIons two roverful cbarsc,o-.
A.. -. ,,.., a., ..,..'.,.. -, .,re,
that OF JdTto' tcure', the centenarlan' aud tlat
OF Camille, his granddaughter In the former W.
hoboid old ogc cxnoscd En- tho sevr,cs, ,-s,-
ovno,u Wv -, - ,Hpoeu H.'',,, Nv .sI 'rms
whicn can bcihn humhhily' we zee inc hnne4
and venerable merchant attain his one hum
drca,b birtbd,v In bc,t,b ., "A b,,rtncss s,.o.-.
,' io' ~. -, ', - ,, -, s,, '''e"e-
ly content In the honor of his family the aifec-'
tlon Of his kindred, and the pIenitude of hs
r,chos Thon oto,,s ho,,,, o., ri,or ,t,, -.
.1'-. a., :. ~, ,',se'
long borne 80 proudly, aud ruin hangs over tho,
bouso ~ which ba ,vas tLo bo,d for ot,h,
nouso VI WHICH "o was '"o neuu ~, e'shy
with the occasion A man VINO has lived TO be
ono h,ndr,d vo,,s ,,,, h.. ,,yoa ,on, on,,,,,,A 40
ohe huiiurcu years "'u "as h'cu 'oue ehouVn 10
become earnest in right-doing, firm in honesty,
and kindly in manner as well as purpose. He
refuses 10 believe wrong of his grandchild, who,
to CONCEAL a sisters shame, tacitly confesses
herself dishonored and though for time de-
ceived, he finally detects the sacrifice and the
secret Ana when the great urn seems ruined
ne viii not DESPAIR. The accidental discovery
OF an immense iund' pIsced IN trust Tor him by
astranger whom ne beiriended in youth, comes
Just In time To enable him To save the lettering
credit OF the house. In auvcrsity, as In pros-
perity, he tinpersonates the true nobility 81 old
Cdmttle, on the other hand embodies q spirit
OF the purcst sclf-sacrihce. AS innocent ~ she
Is devoted, she acknowledges herself To have
sister In order to avert from that sister the dis
grace that would inevitably follow disclosure
of her inhdeity. The guilty villain even seeks
the hand OF Cdmilie In mhrrinr" but his schemes
are thwarted and the purity O. the fond girl ire
futably established through the insight Of the
play was not immoral. and this we mean, not
Mithstanding these incidents, for the eyil in
characteristic Of the Psrisian drama.
Mr.. Mark Smith plays the leading part ua,u-
rally, forcbly, aud with an ar istic conccpiionoi
Its meaning. Strong in passion and healthyin
emotion, he Is at times perhaps somewhat TOO
boisterous, and forgets that he Is not stornng
In some old English comedy. Yet the dellnea-
tion Is on the whole consist tent and harmonious,
and exceedingly impressive ln the more striking
situations OF the drama. The passage In which
by provoking that passionate anger so llkoly TO
cause death In one of such extreme age T. cspe-
cldlly noteworthy. The wthcring scorn and the
proud seif-respcct with which the undaunted
old man looks down his base assailant l. niagni-
ncently expressive Of moral power. IL Il scarce
~ probable that the authors Of "Ie Gen.
tenaire " ever expected their idea TO he inter-
preted by SO huge a man with so stentorians
voice, but we are satisfied that no American ac-
tor could do II fuller Justice.
The CdnHe OF Mrs. Clara Jennings is n careful
and tender Interpretation OF true heroism In