The Arkansaw traveler., 1884-09-06
SOME ENGLISH DRAMArIsTs
G. E. Montgomery. in The curren,.l

G. E. Montgomery. in The Curren,.l
 noticed a statement in one of our newspapers recently that set me think ing. This vas that the death oi Charles Reade and Henry ]. Byron-both men died almost simultaneously-had re- moved the last two strong dramatists of England. confess that the statement puzzled me, and seemed at once fatuous and 9impertinent Charles Reade was no. distinctively a dramatist, certainly not remarkably playwright: Byron was a clever concofser of local pieces, in which thefe was often much humor, much wit, but. in which there was the slightest amount of dramatic feeling. should not be afraid to hazard the opinion that Byron wrote one play, and that the work of his lifetime merely re- peated this. His comedies and farces failed invariably in New York. Even Our Boys" the most successsul play done at any time in London, lived but a brief while here. Mir. Lester Wallack has wasted thousands of dollars on Byron's work, though Wallack had faith in Byron to the last Byron wrote, al- together, about enc hundred plays comedies, farces, dramas and bur iesques- Those best known are, probably. :. Married in Haste, "" Partners for Life, 1" Our Boys, D" Our Girls" Mot Such a Fool as He Looks,n " The Lancashire Lass," "Cyril's Success" "Winkles," :" and cold Sailors" Not one of these pieces is . solid. thoughtful, original dramatic compositioa- It is painful to observe the lack of originality in them, their dead-level cf sameness. They are all, or nearly all, bright plays in Byron's essential manner. The manner was un- fortunate. On the whole, fancy, that ByTou's success was not that of dra- matist, but that of man who could write down to cockney taste and who was purely local writer. Few of his plays were liked outside of London.
 great talent, and he convinced himself that he was . great dramatst. Few persons save Mir. ReAde, had this faith in him. He had, without doubt, dra- matic sense, as "Masks and Faces, l" above all, shows. But the sense did not go far. Oae can hardly interest himself nowadays in The Scutaled Ship," or 4 It's Never too Late to Mead" Masks and Faces" should, however, hold it's place oa the stage, for 1t is . clever and excellent play. Mfr. Reade vas also the author of" Drink aa elective and un- pleasant nelodrama based upon Zola's :" Assommoif.s Mir. Reade, like tsse late Tom Taylor and T. w. Robertson, and like the evergreen Dion Boucicault, be- longed to an old geaeTation. Yet he was al work until he died. He and Bouci- cault may be chased, in . measure, with the company of younger dranatisss that are now living.
 Byron and Reade, then, have passed away. But am sure that 6ner and tvuer dramatisss, British dramatists, remain behind. There arc, fnr example, Wills, Abery. Gilbert Grundy, Merivals, HnerO, and Jones' These writers know how to prepare woglrs for the sage. TAey have genuine dramatic sense, and, at intervals, they do good and even original things. Wills is, ceEtainly, worth several Readss and Byroas. Gilbet is . sssiking and delightful humorist, whom 1t vould be folly to compare with Byron. Alhay has wriften thseo c four chazuine piocos- Crundy, too, has produced some hright plays, and oas of kis comedies is . 6eil- liant acromQ1iaAmens. MeGDvnle, Eeo WiIls, has . bold, firm had, ed poseie imagiaaaiea. Jsass hes ezhihissd his taleat laasly h .TAe 61v9 King, I'd |" Oandian." P6eso hAs vs1eee1 The Money Sqisp9 -anA ssThe 9QuirA" I4 me bey pSc3ly 0@eraood- l q use vans to ovesPsaie tAe living niEisA dEamsfisss- They are not higk vIisezs. But # s just as veu, slss. sse b under praise them, nor to lnse sight ef their a. sseence and ef their voGk: especially uhen ve are to1d that the places of Byron and Reade canaot be filed.