Lancaster daily intelligencer. [volume] (Lancaster, Pa.) 1864-1928, 1880-11-22
the DRAMA.
Miss. Maude Granger at the Opera House.

Only words Of praise were heard from
the audience that wended its way home
ward from the opera house on Saturday
evening after witnessing the performance
of the drama of "Two Nights in Rome"
by Miss Maude Granger and her excellent
company and it may be said in candor
that the praise was as honestly Won as it
was freely given. Though the attendance
was not so large As the merits of the en-
tertainment demanded and the well earned
reputation of the actress ought to have
secured, it was a thoroughly appceciative
and sympathetic assemblage, and save in
a peeuniary view there has been 10 moro
satisfying performance within the walls Of
the opera house during the present season.
The pay of "Two Nights in Rome - is one
abouhding in thrilling situations, in which
the absence Of trap-door business and all
that sort Of thing, and the smoothness with
which the thread Of the story runs, are not
more noteworthy than comncndable. The
plot Of the tail hinges Oh 4 double mar
riage, the first OF which is Illegal, aud its
developement is wrought almost to the
verge Of improbability though it does not
exceed the bounds Of legitimate dramatic
license, Aatonia, a Corsicau adventures,
having . won the gratitude Of
young English artist by nursing
him throug gh long Illness. the
latter marries her. 1t does not take long
for the young Enslshnar to discover the
true character Of the woman to whom he
has allied himself. He learns that she
married him thinking him to be rich, while
he was in fact only younger son" Of
an English baronet wanting alike in
wealth and position from which he
was debarrcd By the rule of pri-
mogeniture., Not only this, but in a
quarrel between the pair the woman ex-
hibits to him a letter addressed to him
months before during his illness, and
which she had stolen and kept from him.
1t is from his fair young English sweet
heart and in it she accepts the suit of the
young artist and promises to marry him.
The revelation falls like a thunderbolt ON
the betrayed victim; the failure Of this let
ter to arrive had caused him to believe
that his English love had rejected him on
account Of his poverty and induced him
in consequence to wed the Corsican tigresS.
He upbraids his wife for her perfidy and
declares his purpose to. quit her presence
for ever. She ,nocks him and exhibits her
marriage certificate which she ex-
ultantly says will prevent him from
ever securing possession Of his
English prize. AS is developed in the
course of the play this Corsican, beauty has
another husband living, one LOUIS Benni-
dctti, who has taken against her the Corsi-
can oath of the vendetta, which means an
unrelenting pursuit Oh his part until he has
killed her. He learns that she is married
to the Englishman, and sends her the sa-
cred warning, by which she knows that
nothing remains between her life and his
vengeance but instant flight. In a scene
that is as powerful as it is picturesque the
woman makes her escape at tue instant
her Corsican pursucr enters the house in
his deadly quest. By stratagem she
causes it to appear that she has commit
ted suicide, her clothing being found
on the banks Of the Tiber. This
liberatcs her from the fear Of BennidettSs
pursuing vengeance, and at the same time
sets the Englishman free to return to his
first love. This is the state Of affairs at
the first fall Of the curtain. A lapse Of
two years and eight months is supposed
to cnsue, when the second night in Rome
finds the Englishman, now become by the
death Of his father and elder brother, Sir
GerdlG Clinton, the husband of Erelyn
.1u5rey, his English love. An opera
singer makes her appearance and is
engaged to assist ut 4 musicale, to be given
by Latly Clinton. This singer is none other
than .lntonia, who of course hadn't
drowned herself at all. When the Corsi-
can singer learns the identity Of the
people who have employed her she
is consumed with envy and malice,
and gaining y knowledge Of the
first quarrel that has occurred be-
tween husband and wife, which has been
with regard to favorite painting of the
young baronet, she resolves to widen the
breach by mutilating the picture, which
she does, in the expectation that SIR Ger
Glds suspicious will fail upon Evelyn,
who had thcughtlessly uttered the threat
that she would ''see the picture destroyed
before she consented to. g certain wish Of
her husband. In the rapid succession of
incidents that here ensue the real perpe-
traitor Of the deed is discovered, and at the
same time her identity revealed despite
the strenuous efforts of the Corsican her
self to conceal it. Gerald and Ecelyn arc
the woman whom they believed to DO
dead, and to whom the Eng
lishman believes himself legally mar
ricd, is alive and before them. At
this ijuneturc the arrival of Bonaidetti is
announced. -1atoaia in alright bcgs of
the assembled company TO save her from
the man, who she says will kill her if he
finds her. They listen to her unmoved,
all except Ecelyn, whose happiness de-
pends so completely upon this woman's
death, but who says she will protect her
from the avenger. ShG conceals 1ntonta
i'll an adjoining apartment, and when
BennsdetH enters his keen sense perceiving
al unaccountable agitation in the com
pany, and at the same time detecting the
familiar odor of Parma violets, which he
knew to be the f;tvorite flower of Ant0nia
demands to know whence it pro-
ceeds. Etelyn hastily explains to him
that she has the violets planted in
the next room. With an expression of
deep disgust the Corsican urges her to tear
them up by the roots and takes his leave,
of the hear presence of the |
woman whom he has sworn to kill. |
-intonia cmcrgcs from her hid
ing, and overcome with gratitude at her |
tleliverance falls at Erelyn's feet and con-
fcsses that she is BsnnidettSs wife, that !
her subsequent marriage with Gerald was !
unlawful. and that i'll conse-
quence Gerald and Erelyn arc legally wed,
and their offspring legitimate. The play |
here terminates. AS will be seen it is full |
Of absorbing interest. The characters |
Are boldly drawn, that Of 4Antonia being |
exceptionally striking and many Of the
situations powerful and picturesque. The
obscurity that enshrouds the ultimate fate
Of AntoniG might have been cleared up as
it is, the spectator is left in some doubt as
to whether BennMett5s suspicious have
been thoroughly allayed and whether his
fugitive wife is free from his fatal ven-
,eancc