Delaware gazette and state journal. (Wilmington, Del.) 1883-1902, 1891-09-17
"BAB" AS A PLAY READER.
The Charitable Hospital Woman
and Her Ways.

| ~~sse"i Niorchce NfEhteugaies wanted
Among the MISUNDERSTANDING Souls
and Souls Filled to Overlooking.
Special Correspondence OF Gazette and journal
4 New YoRK. Sept. 11.--If | said that the
city was fairly reeking with plays, il
would seem like an exaggeration; and vet
1t is absolutely and undeniably true. You
meet somebody on the street, and thew
have either been to see new play, know d
man VINO has inst written one, or are anx-
tous that you should waste some of your
valuable time in seeing whether you think
play would go. As play reader, don't
count myself as success for those that I
nave read and pronounced of great inter
est have usually, when represented on the
real stage, fizzled out like an egg phos.
phate,, However, In seeing plays, regard
myself as what might be called in the par-
lance of the colored lady, a dabster. But
IKE that famous dog of Jerome's, Mont
morency, my tastes are little low have
too long struggled with the flesh and the
devil to try TO love plays that are largely
composed Of frocks, gentlemen attired in
corsets,, with plots that hinged on the re-
ligious belief of the hero or the sin or the
heroine, and where everybody talked
through five acts, and at the end every
body said, "At last we know" And won
dered why they didn't take the audience
into the secret. / have tried to like these
plays. don't.
THE EVER FASCINATING MELoDRAMA.
l think there must be touch of the
ancient Greek In me, for what like, and
what most women like, is good, blood
'curdling, exciting melodrama, one of the
Kind where the heroine isan angel of good
ness and the villain is as black us his dress
clothes--l mean his heart is as black. The
bweetheart is as nice as sugar candy, and
the friend who. helps them through all
thelr diihculties is not exactly tin god on
wheels, but brisk young man who is in
with all the fire companies, who has an
amateur acquaintance at the police station
and who has the knowledge of the art of
telegraphing, of writing shorthand and
the apotheosis of the art of make-llp. so
that he can send messages or appear dis
guised and rescue virtue from vice. Then
Il little bit Of cellar-fap dancing is intro
uuced, II somebody sings comic song and
a few delightful old c6estnuts are served
up as fresh, ] am happy. And, do you
know, think the rest Of the audience are.
Life itself is a good bit of melo-
drama. IL Is combination of music and
emotion indignation and virtue and vice.
we women are fond of looking into mir
rors, so 1t is the melo-drama that suits us.
like TO see-the young woman from Bos-
ton raise her eyebrows as | say this. |
like to see the blase young man put on his
monocle and yawn at this expression of
my Ignorance Of the culture of the drama
as expressed by me. | can endure the
shrug and the deadly glance can. And
can think to myself what a pity il is
people don't stay young enough In heart
10 enjoy what is really worth enjoying.
The other night wentto see q play called
"The Fire Patrol.n / had a scene in il
away out in Deadwood, where the ore
crushers were just coming down to finish
up one OF the most virtuous men you ever
Imagined. We hung, frightened out of
our wits, on to our orchestra chairs. We
knew he was going TO be saved, but all the
same we had the dreadful feeling before
hand that the saviour might be too late.
and when he got there in time we all gave
a sigh Of relief, and laid back and felt as If
we ought to congratulate the young woman
VINO owned the heart of the young man.
and for whom he was undergoing such
dangers Then there was another scene
when
THE FIRE PATROL CAME TEARING IN
to keep the model young man from being
murdered, and II was all that the whole
section of femininity could do to keen from
cheering the firemen. There Is the sort Of
play | like. l like a play with go in it.
IKE to look up in the galleries and see
the rows OF boys, with their eyes as big as
ssaucers, staring down and adfniring Mile.
Moussellne, enthusiastic over the pluck of
the man who loved her and nearly kick
ing the remainder of their boots TO pieces
as they cheer virtue. Virtue doesn't get d
special amount of cheering outside the
playhouse, and that is one reason why
think IT is healthy thing to have it in,
Yes. Give me the melodrama. should
like a melodrama on tap. If couldn't
always have an ore-crusher. wish a train
running at full speed, with the heroine
tied on the front of the engine If /
couldn't always have fire patrol, want
large ana noble dog, who will rescue
phildrnn nd h.Kl ,r
as an adjunct to a circus-wll support
them in luxury, until Lord Somebody dis
covers that they are his own and takes
them to live in castles and wear coronets,
and puts band of diamonds around the
dogs neck, and has him fed out of silver
plates by footmen dressed in red and gold
livery, and all adopts to the use of the dog
language. In the meantime, however, II |
your tastes are ut all like mine, go and sec
''The Fire PATROL" 1t will satisfy all the
desire you may have up to date for the
emotional in the drama, and you will
come away with nice, sweet taste in your
mouth, just as you do when you have had
cream or peppermint candy, instead of
one OF those indigestlble French ones,
compounded Of bitter almonds and made
tasty, so to say, with the liquor.
BE A FLORENCE NIGHTINGALE ANGEL.
The other day woman talking about
another woman, finished up by saving
shes very charitable The other woman
being bit curious, asked, "liow is she
charitable?" And the first one vaguely
takes them flowers, Bibles, buns n and and
tracts, and reads to them, and talks to
them about their souls" Then the other
woman said: you call that charity. do |
your Well, if were man, would like |
to put a d with long dash after it, and |
call. it impertinence. If / were sick and |
in the public ward of hospital, should,
it is possible, be very miserable but why |
should my misery be accumulated by hav. |
ing women sit dowy and read to me about |
the tortures of hsil? Or have them Law |
on my bed half-zthered flowers, or BY
giving me Bibles or bpns? 1t is absolutely
one of the public hospitals, wanted bun,
the other day, and that the visitor would
not give it to him unless he first took a
Bible. He could not read or speak
one word of English, but he took
the Bible and got the bun, and if
that woman don't take the cake for being
q consummate fool, then the world has
larger store of them than even had i'm
agined. II is no charity to go in and sit
down and read the Bible to sick people,
II would be good deal more of n charity
to take an entertaining book, read little
from it,, and say few cheerful words, and
then, when the poor, wretched body was
better, think over If il were wise to saw a
little about the poor, wretched soul. One
of the cleverest doctors in Bellevue told
me that il anybody who had plenty of
money wanted to do a really good work
there was room for it, And this Is what
he suggested: Men come here with broken
legs, hurt in all sorts of ways, men who
are laid up for months. They would get
well in half the time if their minds were
easy. Now, when man is brought here,
If some of the people who want TO do good
would come to him and say MY friend.