New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1882-12-01

mown hay once more across INC loo''4S"'''
grown something mus y. New and original inc pie''
is In a sense. but not the sense ID which 81"
hardened playgoer expects those words 10 NC
used. IL would bs absurd to talk OF plagiarism
MIR T.nnyson leads, but does not borrow Dut
there is coincd .nce in the choice OF subject ana
IN snndry incidents and very marked resemblance
in at least one character to an ealller ohe Nho'
Dobson Is Gabriel Oak oyer again. Winch perhaps Is
only saving that one English farmer Is very Ike ah
other. -,
The "Promise of May Is "a false promise, and MI
Tennyson is SO ANXIOUS lest his audience Do ue-
ceved with it taat he coatrves IN tne rst WORDS OF
the first scene 10 foreshadow coming catastrophe
The scene is pleasant view OF 5 GERS IarI' anu
Steers daughter is heard singing these INES
which. by way of fur her precauton, had been
printed on the programme
The town lay still IN the low sunlight.
The hen eueke late by toe TI dTan lar ne GAVE gave
The st0ckdove GOOD at e fall Of night,
TIE blossom had opened on Every 9oa ,
Ojoy for tue promise o. Siay' Oh may
o joy for the promise oil May
Rut red fire woke in the heart OF the town,
And a FOX the gen ran away witt nen,
And the sock dove Good till kite dropped down,
And , salt wiu1 bunt tue 1lossomins Trees
o grief Tor tae promise OF May
These stanzas excepted the piece is in prose Far
mer Steer IN whose Lincolnshire domains the three
acts pass, has two daughters, Dora and Eva. the
former beloved by Farmer Dobson the lat er by one
Edgar SIT anger in the lage, WHO'S the nero and
the villain Of tIe piece in one. 1t ~ appears
that he has sedncsd Eva. She beg' him to marry
her he refuses. and the first act ends with his de-
sertion of the girl he has ruined Between the first
and second six years ell Ipse. Eva is supposed 10
have committed suicide. Eigar, for n particular
reason rappears in the village and on the farm. but
nDder a fa,se name. ana so changed in appearance
that though his identity is suspected he is able to
perspads Dub5on and Dora that he is another man.
He learns Of Eva's suicide and makes love TO Dora
who gives away her heart to him at first sight Dob
SIMS ie ousy is roused and his suspicious first
excited by finding a letter which had dropped out
Edgar's pocket. and then allayed by the production
NJ a NEWSPAPER in which bis death is recorded--the
real dead being T. gars father. so ends the second
act In the third the Steers ruined, apparently,
from the fathers grief EvI's death, aud so
neglectng his business, and becoming blind II
This sound iucohercn. | canuOt help ii. give
what is m the PLAY. Eva al ar once turns Ip; had
not drowned herself. because the water looked too
dirty: is welcomed by her sister but repeed by the
bad father. Ii is settled that Edgar and Dora are
70 be married; they daily carry ont their counting
I'm ,rnor but Eva Ovcrh0ars the talk. flashes out
on the stage reoo ynizes Edgar AMI falls dead; this
time for good. Dohs, com in with a big suck,
and there is u mOnentary nope that he VIII Use II
ON Edgar. but Dsra torbds. She is content for her
part with breaking of the mat III ana ordering the
farmer to see the villain safely oil the premises.
And that is all.
All, that is of story, incident or action. but not
ali ala>l of absurdity of iuartstic and grotesQue
conception Of inpossib BILE dictiOn. Mr.. IennysOn
has had a moral in view, and sought 10 turn the
stage of the Globe Theatre into pulpit Edgar Is
presented as type of the modern ffee-thlnker, or
agnostic He comes on the stage reading and sOilo-
ouizing lie has views about the naturalization OF
land. about de nooracy. about marriage, and many
other things Whel he first began TO prose on these
subjects the audience hardly knew what to make oil
him Some took hun seriously and applaudeI. 1t
was presently seen that Mr.. TennysOn's ultimate
purpose was to make this commuDIsic aud
stbeistic nonsense odious and then of these
who had applauded began TO hoo;. In 2l serious
ness Nh Jenny sou plainly meant IL to DO under
stood that y0ong man who ventures to speculate
on such subjects must DO bad young man. He
seduoes Eva his ideas of political aud social
economy are false. Mr.. Tennyson deslgnedly and
successfully draws his hero as both hateful and
ridiculous. AT the same time be expects hlr to be
accepted by the audience as man OF whom two
sisters are enamored; not taxing the trouble, mean
while to give him one redeeniaS or agreeable uals
OF character.
When Iva asks W manly hoi, h0 i0P'iO'
that marriage is q feeble institution which VIII
mass ava wisa prestcraft into the abyss; that Ma
tur,s lie son is the true one under whose law the
birds pair nerriy for the season and part not less
meruiy VIII n .be season is over the brutality OF
such speech from lover to his mistress brJueht a
storm about his ears. The pit hal Tor some time
shown gn of imp Itiencs; after tins they broke ln-
to loud protests. the iha9py Edgar none the less
had ~ proceed with still more unucky speech:
MsHrase ia itsell! Well. waeh the great democratic
suaII have washed away thrones ana cuurches ks,
sensecSs among the rest-Tny linen the man ana the
woman, Ueins IIee 10 FOLLOW tnt<r elective aihuiues
with smiies not with mutual recinination out WIN
mutual goca wishes, with are o. tne wor4's gossip
well, the Sac via bring uP 'he Children
shout Of derIsIon erected the last sentence, ana
II is probable that nothing could then have saved
the play Discussions about the influence u hcIed-
ty upon himself and quota nOns IRON the Republic OF
Plato. aid not hep mattefs The laughter became
infectious and general. and what was worse, II was
the pathetic speeches Oh the speeches meant 10 DO
pathetic at which the laugh Was most frequent
Every note touched was q false one. When edgar
meets Dora m the second act lac Iustlhes his sudden
fauey for her by her resemblance to Ia 5 old love
Eva aGd in QUO OF those perIlOus s0hOgules with
which tie piece Is stuffed advances to the fcOtlghts
and remarks; Surely / must have loved Eva
more tnan knsw-p0Or dead Eva drowned through
ms bu. 10 make ameads ,eiH ICED Mss Dora u
possible
The house saluted this solemn declaration with
shrieas OF Laughter. New AMI original beyOAd DIS
quite is the DoiVu that lover VINO runs ole sister
ia the frs act Is 10 maze aiHends By marrying the
other ia The second. Down 10 tnis point the PIT,
though uproarious enough, nad put some srt OF
cui Oh IT. ncouse out uf just respect, LIT us hopoto
tho great ualne anu great age of Mr. Iennyson Bat
-.. l.. 10 NJ, .nrlrn OF