Lancaster daily intelligencer. [volume] (Lancaster, Pa.) 1864-1928, 1883-04-03
THE AMERICAN DRAMA.


THE AMERICAN DRAMA.
joaquin Miller.
Keeping in view the iron pixies set up
for the jmnloation of pirates heads, L
venture 10 note some reflections about the
coming play.
Tho car, enter who row ross sses the
stage with his scenic e!iectsls not the enemy
OF the playwright. as SO many say he is our
auxiliary, and the scenic painter is our
brother We need, and must have, them
both when the great play is written. Let
us only do our work as well as they do
theirs, ami the public is ours.
As for this d" great American p!ay.'
some one of us will write it scOu. And it
will not only be the great play of America,
Fer out yonder in the middle of America,
beyond where the stormy sea of tradition
from Europe rolls over us. think We have
the new. strong and sufficient motive tc
fashion it from.
The heroes of Homer shook their shields
and recited the deeds Of their fathers and
grandfathers. even back to the gods. All
Greek tragedy is in the same strain. st.
Paul found the Greeks great takers. Civ
ilizatiop. in its march west around the
world has been faithful to the Greek
drama. Words words wurGs But out
yondcr, in the far West, this is all changed.
The American pure and simple does not
talk. lie acts. And this grand, silent,
massive American is to be the central
figure for tine American, the entirely new
play. Whether this dignity Of soul is
hJIn of the subiimity about him, the eter-
ual peaks of snow above him, the vast
tranquility of the plain below, | do not
@ay. But | do say that this grand, un-
speaking, acting man cxIsts--a Lew man,
a silent man in q noisy world.
And | should say he is peculiarly the
growth of the land. For who ever saw an
Indian whom wrCncr, or pam, Or pity
could move to word, OF tears ? What
rnau has ever heard an Indian baby cry ?
1t took General Grant twenty years to
Learn to talk after lie left us in the far
West. He Us u but two words in all the
grand drama O. the seizure of NlckSburg,
" Unconditional Surrender ~ / admit
that along the Atlantic seabank there
seem; a noisy brood ; aboard, too, and In
Congress, for the old Bible fool, known by
his multitude of words" is alike in all
lands. And the fool has his uses, even in
the drama. But this silent man, with his
silent woman at his side, this man of
action and not of words, from Middle
America, as the central figure, is to mark
and distinguish tic new world play from
the old.
| have had a glimpse of my silent man
n Joe Jefferson g.; only for moment, how
ever, for drunken Knickcrbocker is very
remote from the hero l have in mind.
But surely Jefferson has met and observed
my silent mau iii the farthest West. Davy
Crockett, however, in moro than one
sense Discovers his character almost en-
tlrcly. Yet tins may be accounted for 10y
the fact that Mayo, the most studious of
men, speut his youth Oh the Pacific, where
he must have met and understood this
silent man OF deeds. There is little
scene at the well q: the old mother comes
to draw water. Davy drops every thing,
tenderiy take; tho bucket, draws, fills it,
bears it away for bis mother without let
ting the frail, trembling old hand touch
it, and hands it through the door after
her. do not romcmber that one word is
spoken here. But do know that more
tears have been shed over that one silent
and really insignificant scene than would
I'LL the bucket. Oh, the tender manhood
that is in it a.!
Another quaint bit from the West,
NHiCl Std.TlS f'ib Ihe IL Stdt 10 rue, Is
found in " Ny Partner" Gentle Old Joe
Saunders is going TO divide the gold and
go away, for ti:e%s, is bitter trouble. He
digs up the gold from tho hearth and
pours it out Oh the table, where his silent
The gold with his knife. g Is that about
right. partner -
es, yes answered the other, still
ln,,G ipr nd fbop loo on.i all 81, r,
time without y word being spoken pushes
more gold to his partners heap. Seeing
that he is not observed he cautiously
slips over another nugget. Then he picks
out at last the largest of his little heap,
and, unseen, adds it to his successful
rivals fortune. What i profanity words
would be at such a time
At West Point you read Oh n little mon
ument that portion Of our army, being
ambushed i'll one Of our Indian wars.
every man stood his ground, fighting till
only three survived, when help came.
Grand Immortal But what moved
me and seems most truly American is the
fact, as told mo by I survivor, that not
ono word Of command Was given after the
first order. Every officer silently drew his
sword, became common soldier, and SO
fought on to the end. There was no need
Of command, only the low prayer of the
dying the message to the loved ones at
homo :; and all day the deadly fight went
on. That is America, that is American
character emptied OF the froth OF Fourth
of July and foreign tradition. And that
is the germ of the great American play.
Years ago l crossed over the Sierras
into tho new mines Of Nevada, then a
part of California. ! found all old friend
standing at the month or his min3 shoutI
ing out his commands in mouosyllables
down the shaft. New cities CLEANED
below; mines opened above progress
thundered through the land. What
are you doing here 9'' cried. He took
in the horizon under his hat bit off the
end of his cigar locked at the new cities