St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1889-01-20

brass, delivered himself thus to Lon
don scribe: Il have designed all Miss
Nelson's dresses, for l have my own
ideas about ladies' dresses. which | like
to carry out when have the power"
"Such as what. Mr.. Gilbert?"
"Well. l abhor bustles, improve
ments, tight lacing and all such abom-
nations, and think that womans dress
should fall in natural folds to the
figure. The heroine of my new pl y is
an unconventional young lady, and in
designing the costumes which she
wears L have endeavored to contrive
dresses as such person as my chief
character is would be likely to choose"
Would you tell me the story of your
new play? You have not TUNED SAM
tary inspector and begun TO deal with
the sewers of sOciety"'
Certainly not.'' replied the play
wright. who was then good enough to
give NE few details about ''Branting-
hame Hail." which he allows me to pub
lish-up to the surprise. Miss Nelson,
for whom at Rutland Barrington'S re-
quest the play has been written, is the
unconventional daughter of an Aus
tralian squatter, an eX-convict who has
repented his sins, and is a rich man
when the play opens, living 200 miles
up-country from Sydney. Miss Nelson
is the flower of the forest, beautiful
child of nature, who knows not the faint
of society. gentle, soft-vOiced. and speak
ing the language of the Bible. The
son of a proud old English peer falls ill
on her fathers station; she nurses him.
cures him, and marrieS him. In the
midst of this welded bliss he is recalled
to England by an urgent telegram,
iaI, inf haf no
a large legacy. He sails, and the ship
in which he has taken passage goes
down in mid-Ocean. BY this disaster
the father becomes p0SseSSOr of his sons
property, and looks forward to paying
off the debts which have hitherto
crushed the life out of him. Then APP
pears Miss Nelson at the man.
sion of the SaXmundhamS with
the news that she is his sons
wife-she. the daughter of a convict.
The proud old lord learns fof the
first time that his son has a wife, and is
terribly upset, for the sons money goes
to the sons wife, and not to his father.
Miss Nelson only asks for the love of
her ida ling's" father, and spurnS the
money, but the old lord is proud as he
is poor. Here | must stop, for the Sacri-
fee which the heroine makes is the
tinued Mo. Gilbert, Ito present an in
stance of woman'S sacrifice of self >"
The play is in four acts, the first being
laid in the bush, the others in England.
The two interiors of old English man
sions have been devised by Messrs.
George and Peto. who were the arch
fleets for Mr.. Gilbert's house in Har-
ringtcn gardens.
Recurring to the matter Of dress for
minute, asked Mr.. Gilbert if he had
a standard of good taste for stage cos
tunes.
Most decidedly l have. I will allow
no one to appear on the stage in any
piece which l may control i'll a dress
which might not be worn at fancy
| dress ball"
"Then you would not allow a lady to
| play Il mans part?''
Certainly not. consider our pieces
| at the Savoy to be burleSqueS, and |
have never allowed lady to play a
mans part or to wear costume she
would blush to appear in at fancy
dress bail. That is my limit
"Then you would abolish tights?"
"Of course l would, If they were
| merely worn to enhance the attractions
of the leg. A kosalind may wear de-
cent tights, but they are necessary for
the part. But what | object to are the
rows of ladies' tight-clothed legs, which
are merely worn, in my opinion. to
crafty the eyes of the young gentlemen
in the stalls. In the old days, when l
wrote burlesQues. was glad enough to
get my pieces produced, but, having no
authority, L had no choice in the matter.
When | came into power | was told that
burlesQues without legs meant ruin. AS
[ have told you, consider our Savoy
pieces burlesques. Was l right or
wrong?"
Then am to understand that if you
were lord chamberlain you--"
MY dear sir. am never likely to be
called to that high office, so let me de-
cline to answer your question. My
views are peculiar. In my own domain