, 1890-12-21

70 say no actor In New York could nave
accomplished it with such calm, unrufied
audacity as Barrymore. and with the sym
patty of the audience SO entirely his own.
There is a serious fault in the construc-
ton Of Reckless Temple is there mott" /
asked
'The play mas been sandbagged by the
critics" he answered with a shrug, and
rose to powder his chin. 81 have a word
to say about that, and-er-in the mean
time, would you think it very indecent Of
me IL 1 were to change my coat" and he
got himself into a sad looking Prince Al
bert that seemed first cousin to the wave
of snowy hair upon his brow.
II Rockies Temple" is eventually rele.
gated to the limbo of failures it is not be-
cause Barrymore fails to ook picturesquely
reckless, with a suggestion of undeserved
SORROW in his eyes, apt to excite pity in his
feminine auditors.
A good deal has been said of his eyes.
He makes them up as no other actor can,
so that they look shadowy and blue even
across the footlights. but he has a remark
ably good foundation to work on. Their
beauty is not entirely due to artistic densi-
ty. They are remarkably brilliant and
comprehensive. but their popularity lies
in their concentrated power to flash. At
one moment they are guarded, almost
Opaque, with a wonderful capability for
hiding secrets, then something IL said or
done that makes the pupils dilRte. a little
door seems to open, emitting a brilliant
flash, and then discreetly closes again.
They flashed now.
at is all rubbish TO say that the char
acter of Reckless Temple is impossible,
although / admit It Is unusual. 1t is hard
for people to understand a concrete type
like Temple. or to regard him with sym
pathy. He does something wholly rash
something that only one man in a thou
sand would do-he takes upon himself the
blame for another mans CRIME. The audi
ence cannot comprehend the action from
his standpoint. He is a Bohemian, disco
lutte, reckless, one sin more added to his
long catalogue, the blame borne for the
sake OF a friend, the brother of the woman
he loves-hopelessly, as he thinks; what
matters iti But the public is fond of gem
eralities; it Is too much trouble TO sharpen
perception and see possibility In an iso-
lated case"
almost TIM to go on. SIR" said a call
boy at the door.
IAN right, Charlie;p and then continu-
ing easily But while | appreciate this
play for its literary merit, / see that it is
weah E one point. As it is now, the hero
know at Temple is going to shoulder
the responsibility of his fault and permits
IT, TOW eAn an huuience sympathlle with
such n herof He is a coward. But we are
going to change that. The hero won't
know Of the sacrifice until too late. Don't
you seer | must go now. | haven't talked
so much about myself in an age"
He went put with his graceful, lounging
gait. Watching from the wings 1 saw
him on the stage with tensely clasped
hands and an expression of agony as he
leaned over a sobbing girl. He was saying
in those tender, hopeless tones that have
so often thrilled his audience;
Good by, little one, g~ood-by."
could not wait for the scene TO end, but
as l went out 1 heard the chimes pealing,
and | knew nat everything must have
como right and that Temple was happy
at last. ADA BELLERT.