Public ledger. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1865-1893, 1877-08-31
JOAQUIN miners Kew Play.

OF The Danites," Joaquin Millers
new play, produced at the Broadway
Theater, New York, Wednesday night,
for the first time, the Sun says:
The story Of the play is an interesting
one, and though far from being idyllic as
the bills announce, is fundamentally
strong and effective; moving almost en-
tirely by action; picturesque, with vivid
incidents and bold charaeterizations,
and. above ell, wearing the unmistakable
local color which so many playwrights
have failed to catch in their treatment Of
Western scenes.
The legend is that of a girl, Nancy
Williams, whose brothers have been MUIR
dered by a religious sect called the Da-
mites, and who is herself pursued by
these avenging angels until she is driven
to hide her name in the rough garb of q
miner, but not before she has touched
the heart of a g~old.digger. one Alexan-
der MCGEE, who is himself won by her
beauty and gentleness. Rudely disguised
she returns TO the camp aud associates
with the men under the assumed name
of Billy Piper-they thinking that she
has been murdered. Then then there
comes to tie same camp a schoolnis-
tress, Huldah Brown, who in turn capt..
Yates and becomes the wife of Mc6ee.
Ne soonsr is she married than she dis.
covers, by accident, that Billy is n wo-
man, but in hearing her story pledges
herself not to reveal her secret. As is
quite natural, these two gentlewomen,
entirely alone in a camp OF rough men,
and possessing a secret in common, be-
come very confidential, aud damaging
stories are circulated about Mrs. McGee,
whose husband finally turns Billy out of
the house.
With this simple story the drama deals,
as we have said, in an effective aud, for
a first attempt, in a remarkably direct
manner. OF course, in the last act all
the mystery is cleared up and the trou-
BILE banished by the discovery of Billy's
sex. But not until there has been q jn-
dicious amount of wild but honest senti
ment, considerable psthos Of a genuine
order, and some boisterous humor petu-
liar to the people and the place One of
quaiutest and most original incidents ia
that Of the preparations of these half
savage Hen TO receive the expected
Schoolmaster. Their natures rebel at
the very idea of a schoolmaster, and
they group themselves about the door,
armed in every conceivable manner, TO
lay him out when he enters The sur.
prise is not only a complete, but a pretty
one, when the door opens and in walks,
not a schoolmaster, but a beautiful, mo-
dest aud timid girl, The sudden change
in the determination Of the fellows, who
are supposed to have been deprived Of G
sight Of this kind for many months, kept
the audience in q roar of laughter for
| several minutes. Mr.. Miller has treated
his lovers and his sentiment generally
with more dignity hal is usual in Amer
lean melodramas. The self.devotion and
manliness ofthe rough lover of Huld0h's,
who is displaced by McGee, and the
quiet 1trength of MCGEE himself, are
much higher attempts at the portrayal
Of sterling character than anything we
have yet had in frontier drama. The
language of the play is in the main sim
| pie, d sucn as ID DeAru OH the racine
slope. Now and then it rum into what
has been called, in compliment to Cooper
and his imitstors, the wild poetry Of TIE
forest, but it does 80 unpretentiously
The skilled eye detected faults in the
construction unquestionably, but the
skilled eye always does. II is sufficient
at this time to ray that Mr.. Miller has
%endeavored to make a play wholly out of
American material, and he has invented
a pretty plot, skillfully if not brilliantly
woven into good dramatic shape, which
not only interests US with its truth and
beauty, but violates fewer of the aesthetic
eanons and technical conditions than
have any Of the similar works OF his
predecessors in the same field.