The New York herald., 1876-01-26
THE AUTHORSHIP OF 'PIoUE." "

Is THE PLAY AN ADAPTATION OF MRS.
CHURCHs NovEL?-A CARD FROM Mr..
FIsKE.
To THE EDITOR HKRALD:-
What with listers and Derby hats women and men
look so much alike nowadays that although thought
saw your correspondent "Rose Rayland, go into this
theatre last Friday, dressed In trousers and n white
tie might have remained In doubt to her real sex
but for the letter in todays HERALD No lady uses
such phrases about the chcekiest piece OF literary
thieving" ''contemptiblo lack Of literary courtesy"
and ''prestoed into Aunt Dorothy" The whole letter
has the mingled odors OF Fort lafayette and the Mer.
camille Library-the fort furnishing tho bombast and
the library Miss Marryatrs novel The sawdust which
stus this critical doll leaks out through the sham pull
back and the mock dress mprover. This masculine
"Rose RayIandn says OF 'Pique:"-"I do not think
that in those three acts there is speech which Is
not taken bodily from the novel" On the
trary literary experts who have been for weeks at
TO the production OF the pieces in Brooklyn and the
provinces) have found only three speeches at all like
the novel These have been already printed, and are
old news for the HERALD All through 'Rcsa Raylands"
letter tho word ''orgna Is placed In quotation marks,
If 1t we're takcn from Mr.. Dalys playb or adver.
tisement. reference to these announcements will
show that Mr. DAILY has not yet mado claim TO origin
atty" although he would be perfectly right in doing
So upon the precedents of Boucicaults Shaughraun"
and Lester Wallacks "Rosedale" "Rose Raylandn
betrays both her Identity and her anmus by mention
ing 1.-THE rumor that Mr. Daily had commenced suit
against alleged sanderer 10 his authorship OF
that original Cl production " Mr. Daily has commenced
such suit, and, outside OF very limited and inter
ested circle there is no such rumor The only suit
which Mr. DAILY has commenced Is against per-
who publicly charged, In the most foul and
abusive language, that he had taken lady's play,
kept for several years, stolen the plot and dialogue
and refused to pay the authoress This falso charge
theft not OF plagiarism and since II Is neither
criticism nor journalism to call man thie neither
critics nor journalists professionally interested In
the fate OF the hbeller. The slanderous statement
against which Mr.. Daily has protected himself by
SUIT for damages and order OF arrest was that ne
had stolen a comedy called "FlrsatoD y written Dy
lady In Brooklyn and produced II as his own Piquc
Both the autnoress OF "FlFtaton" and Mr. Daly nave
made afdavits that this statement Is utterly untrue
The Ubcllcr's only chance Of escape or notoriety.
therefore is 70 befog this clear issue by such etters
az that signed Rose Rayland Once for all 20 prevent
nv possibe mistake about this matter, promise thst,
N Mr. Josh Hart who is reported TO be the proprietor
of the sheet whoh slandered Mr.. DAILY ; " Mr. A. NJ.
palmer fof the Union Square Theatrel, who told
dramatic crit Bc that "Pque' stolen, and " Mr. W.
r. Floyd (of waack's, who stated TO Mr. Abncr Brady
that "Pique' identical with a comedy written BY
Miss Gilbert will out together from behind petit
coats drop their false fronts and put themselves upon
record in the HERALD will, with your kind permission
satisfy them amply in regard 70 the authorship OF
"Panc.n Yours, faithfully, STEPHEN EiSKE.
FirrH AVENUE THEATRE, Jan. 81, 1915.