Litchfield enquirer., 1881-06-02

W1elds lightning, blast him with thy laundering
 brand."
 Again Edipus enters. He calls for aid in detecting the murderer of Laius, and impre- cates fearfel curse on all who shall conceal the clews to the deed. Then Teiresias, a blind soothsayer, who ''sees with King Ph9- bus eye to eye" advances on the stage from the left, led by a youth. Him E1ipus en treats for light The seer evades or darkly hints the truth, and is taunted by Gdipus with ingratitude to the state, deceit and ig- norance: ---------
 GD1PUs
 It is, for other men, but not for thee,
 l'lind as thou art in eye ana ear and .liud.
 TE1REsIAs
 o miserable reproach. which all who ROW
 Bel,oiC thee, soon shaA thunde forth on thee Sung by the words of Edi IS the seer af- ter denounciug the King as the regicde ia led away. The chorus, moved by the quarrel and plunged in doubt and fear by the words of the soothsayer, yet reverencing Loyalty tner king sing a chant, expressing thelr nisgivings and closing with the words:
 Wise he was found beneath the searching sun, And kind to Thebes, when the Sphinx came forth And sang. My heart shall never doubt his worth. Creon enters. The king, still misguided and believing his brother-in-l law privy with the seer to a plot to get the throne, denoun- ces him. Then ensues a long dispute, Creon answering the bitter accusations of Edipus with philosophy which the Greek dramatists never tired of expressing
 CREoN.
 First consider this:
 Who would choose power accompanied with fears Before safe slumberS with an equal sway?
 ND, To peacemaker. She upbraids her kinsman and husband for brawlng during the ctv's sorrow. The dialogue between Gdpus and his wife now shifts to the story of the murder of Lalus, ''murdered where the three ways meet" and related with detail which in spires the king with horror as he recalls one by one the circumstances of the tragedy in which he had been actor. The truth now begins to dawn upon him. Tormented by fear and remorse he finds ray of hope in the fact that report attributes the murder ''to robbers in band" instead of one. As last proof he sends for the shepherd to whose care JocOstas babe has been committed. The &C., tors leave the stage, and the chorus now, con vinced of the guilt theirking, chant concerning fate, the pride that goes before the fall of rulers and the. certainty of immortal decIees. The plot now moves on rapidly to it's cli- max. A. messenger brings news of the death of Polybus the supposed father of Edipus and partly treasures the distracted King. But the same messenger brings fresh gloom by telling how Polybus is not the Kings real father and how he himself received the King as babe from herdslnan and gave it to Polybus for adoption. Now Jocasta, herself realizes the truth. She begs the King to pro- ceed no further. Then follows a strong scene between the pleading queen and her husband. the end is expressed by the lines
 ED1PUs.
 Will some one go and bring the herdsman hitherq Leave her to revel III her lordly l1ne.
 JocAsTA
 o horrible o lost one This alone
 l speak to thee, and no word more forever
 tRUshes within. The chorus now sing of the fall and woe of their king, Mr. Geo. A. Osgood, sweet voiced tenor taking solo part. Soon enters the herdsman to whom Edipus as a babe had been given for death. At first refusing to answer, the shepherd is threatened with the lash and death. Slowly he reveals the story of the birth of the kiug, whose strong frame is cOnvulsed with emotion. As the kings last fear is confirmed and the decree of fate shows itself fully revealed, comes the rhetOr- ical climax of the tragedy:
 Gp1PUs
 horrible!
 Horrible ! All is known as sunlight clear
 may neyermore behold the day.
 Since proved accursed, in my pare ge,
 In those live with, and in those slew.
 After another choral passage rehcarsng the miseres of mortals and the retrihuion that follows the royal crime messcu2 tells the story Of the final tragedy-hOw J ,,lstu has hung herself in her bridal chamber and how the King rushing in had torn away
 The braoch-pins that had fastened her attire And, l-51 $ snote his eyeballs to tAe root.
 The King now appears for Il last time, his eyebaIls dripping blood. After choral pas; sage rected by the King and the leader of the chorus both bewailing the piable rov"l lot, there follows touching scene in whicl the King comments his daughters Autigou, and lsrnene to the charge of Creon, surrenders the throne and leaves for a self imposed exile. The play closes with choral passage:
 CHORUS
 Ye who dwell in Thebes city, fix on Edipus your
 eyes,
 Who resolved the dark enigma. noblest liver and
 most wise.
 Glorious, lise he mounted, envied of the pop
 uar thrnng;
 Now he sinks iu seas of of anguish, quenehed the Therefore wait the final hour, to ancient wisdom Ere call mortal happy Never shall that thought
 be shown,
 Till he end his earthly being, scathless of sigh or
 groan.
 The theme and motive of the play can be seen at once. In single word they are ia talty- the certainty with which fate over takes misguided mortals and leads the exalted and mighty to destruction. The motive was a favorite one with the ancients and it was used to mark great historical movements in mythology. 1t was fate that led Ulyses on his ten years of wandering. Eneas left Troy profug,ts tatO. Herodotus illustrates the su. premacy of the ParcR over the gods them selves by relating how the powerful Apollo could delay the fall of Sardls but three years. and even tue common. end of man in the grave was expressed by the nsoros, meaning either death or fate. Illustrations could thus be multiplied to show how large part this fatalistic element filled in the archaic scheme of teutology.
 In the rendering of the play tonight the honors were easily carried of by Mir. Rid. de as Gdipus His is hard part He has to recite some seven hundred lines of Greek. most of it iambic trimeter, beside difficult thoral passage. It is stinted justice to say chat his elocuton was well nigh perfect, and that his rendering of the climatic passages which called for vigorous dramatic action de- served the warm applause which they evoked Mir. Gould, who personated Teiresias with long white hair and flowing beard, was abso- lutely perfect in the lines which fell to hIs share He has full rich voice with kind of oracular tone well befitting the character of soothsayer, and he accompanied his lines with singular grace and dignity of move- ment. Mir. Opdycke as Jocasta had the more difficult character of female Greek to per- senate. His make up was perfect and in the two strong scenes with Gdipus his expression of feminine sympathy and pathos drew out l more than one round of generous paudit. The other parts were performed respectfully, and the whole stage work showed most care evening not an actor had to be prompted, and there was not slip iu the whole of play containing fifteen huBderd and thirty lines and occupying, without intermissiou, three ! hours in it's delivery. The impression made