New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1879-12-14

signifies little. Looking through u. to its source
one sees inventive faculty. tenderness Of heart,
sense OF character. a sweet, good-naturcd, mild
humor perception of strong dramatic climax, some
knowledge Of human Misery and the skill 10 tell a
| story by means Of action. Looking ~ Itself. the
mental elarce falls upon rcketiy plot, many
grossly improbable incidents. number OF sNetchy
aud sometimes calow characters, rivulei of nar-
rativc which takes any course that caprice mag
dictafe-running equally. well up hill as down.
and quantity of the 1msiest diaiOgns
that ncTh.ule Of purpose can ever have devised.
The action il found to leap about, like pea a.
hot shoyel-nOw in Venice. now IN Rome nov IN
Mareilles low in Paris The persons are often
hear, in rapid cOloqnics which point nowhere and
end in nothing. The heroine j. such a fool that she
believes an evil story about her betrotbcd lover.
without the least evidence the smallest attempt
at Investigation; and the lovers such an imbecls
that he accepts her silent deseron without parti-
Gle OF endeavor 90 clear up the mystery. And then
comes a totally irrational and unnecessary mar
riagc made by a bro'.su-hearted woman. with
BLACKBOARD whom $40 diskes and whose pinch
beck nobility is rs transparent as water.
And all this to Lag the foundation f0T
couple Of effective situatiOns-whch, when
attained are treated with habbiness
oi language not 10 be described In short, the de-
feet of this piece is the that cripDes 80 many
experimental wOrks-the lack of iITefragabe reason
and logic in the basis of the facts of the plot, and
the lack of thorough work in the rearing OF the
superstructure Once the chief situations are
reached, all Is well-or would be. If the persons
were then made to talk more like human beings in
doad earnest. and less like story-papers.
The device. Cor instance. of bringing discarded
lover face to face with his mistress, after her mar
rage with hls unworthy rival, and of making him
then sacrifice himself, under dramatic conditions,
to save her honor from disgrace is an excellent one.
aud 10 produces fine effect and the subsequent
discontinue Of the rascally bigamist, By the
encounter wlth his deserted wife. ID the DrIson
yard. Is adroity planned. These. with a fearful
scene in winch the discarded and vagrant victim
of a scOundrel's rcachery-a poor mother, bringing
her little child in her hand-miseads the TOO cred
nlons heroine and eliminates the wrong man. make
MP the stirring work of the drama. How much
better, had they been led up to Ia
coherent way and framed in language Of sinewy
fbie! Better, because then the persons would
be representative, aud the emotions excited would
be oil a perpetual utility. A drama ihat strikes ITS
roots into the truth and dr0Ops ts green bOughs IN
beautiful symmetry over the field OF LIE ana
fancy survives Its birthday. and is lasting source
of pleasure ana of spiritual elevation. The
nervees. Maynard, unthorOugh. experimental
drama, though like this one, able IN places ana Ell
ieciIv, at moments, burns itself out like the pm
wheel and turns into stick az last. The Galley
Slave" will have a certain currency, because it
contains scenes that startle the imagination and
touch the heart and scenes that make amused
laughtor-these latter being rcDetitlons OF well
tried effects an elderly gentleman entaBglng him.
self in matrimony wnen only meaning to speak for
another and a yOnng married par having silly
domestic tiff =; bur is staying power, except
with an indlscriminating multitude soon kudieu
and soon burned,~ may well be distTusted.
There Is not much in the acting OF The piece that
rises above mediocrty. Miss Emily Rigi has
the strongest part-a character resembling
T,to's wife, IN " Romola" and this she
acts into right feeling and much nervous vigor.
There Is an epIsodical scene, in the prson.-when
| the mother and child partea,-which gives this
actress cool oppOrtunify,-well improved. The
broad comedy acting of Hr +. j. Burns IS to be re-
corded as out of the usual course. " The Galley
Slave" has met with success, snd for the Iclsons
Indicated deserves it, The question Of It's worth as
literature is that rests quite apart from TINS re-
f,II oF - as fullnxvS.