Fort Worth gazette. [volume] (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1891-1898, 1891-10-25
BAB'S PRATTLE.
French Drama--MournfuI FASH
ions--Fiibernian Politics.
MILK OF HUMAN KINDNESS.
Sardou's Powerful French Historical Play.
A Story Sad, Observation-Disclosures
and Women. Suffering, Low.
ing and Dying.
copyright, 1921, by the Author.l

great is his glory, even in his own country
and his name is Sardou. He knows how
to take the miserable puppets that we call
men and women, the men and women of to-
day. and make them move to the tune of
ma estic music, as did men and women
when they marched bravely TO death rather
than deny their king and their God. He
knows how to make the hearts of an all
dience beat until they would have done just
such great deeds themselves, and lie knows
how TO inspire his people so that they utter
words that are not soon forgotten. OF
course this is apropoS of the great French
play that was brought out last week-the
lOng-iooked-fOr ''Theluidor." 1t may Ire
mentioned quite casually that the average
society woman who doesn't read French
was in doubt as TO whether "Therlnldor'
was the name OF
GROVER CLEvELAND'S FAIRY.
or special style of hat that one of the ac
tresses was TO wear. She didn't realize,
that with her marvellous thought OF this
master of plays. it had been arranged that
the events should transpire not only when
mems blood was heated by revolutionary
talk, but when the flaming sun of July was
in the ascendant. Ii IS a marvellous play,
this '.Thermidor,' and the story is such
pitiful one.
Just imagine it! There is a young girl
who is betrothed before the awful days had
come when Marie Antoinette bowed her
head under that cruel knife, and, in all the
confusion and excitement of war, her pa
rents dead, her betrothed far off. she knew
not where, this child sought refuge with
some nuns who We're in hiding. However,
it was necessary for her to go out into the
world and earn her living, not only because
they needed bread. but SO they might not
be suspected of being arlstocratS and ltal-
ians. One day, when she was pursued by Il
party of Infatuated waSherwOmen, VINO
ola cd hat 10 IN
into the arms of her betrOthed, who has
been searching all Paris for her. Full OF Joy
at seeing him. made happier by his deter
minatlon to save her. she goes with him
and his good friend, who is i'll this case an
actor, to the house Of some actors. where 1t
is certain that she can be hidden for At
least little while. Can you imagine her.
Joy at meeting her betrothed! Can You
imagine the sweet, pure, innocent love that
her eyes tell. as she looks 1T him. This is
there, but, to his horror. he finds something
lacking; she does not return ms kiss; she
draws away when he touches her. and at
last he induces her TO tell him what she is
hiding from, and the reason of her curious
behavior. 1t is this: To make her security
greater she has. while with the nuns. and
believing HIM dead. taken the vows OF ChaS-
tity and the lifelong devotion TO religion.
THERE SHE STANDS-YOUNG. BEAUTIFUL
ami having TO choose between two great de-
SlrtS. nef love iiIu Icf iShdII tIic
nun triumph over the woman? The most
beautiful words of love are used to per-
suade her that. as this VOW was taken in
Ignorance. it is not binding. For long
time the nun was triumphant, but sud
denly the woman threw herself into the arms
of her betrothed. ana again it seemed as If
love ruled the world. Away goes the
happy man to get the orders permitting
them to leave Paris, and while he is gone
her kind hostess lends her dress to wear,
so that she may not be recognized. Sud-
denly the bells begin to ring, the mob be-
gins to scream, and above it all rings out az
one voice the mass being sung by the Sis
tiers who have been captured and are being
led to execution. You hear the yelis and
bowls of these Infatuated men and women,
and then you hear the sweet, clear tones of
the women who, having lived well, can die
well Fabienne cannot stand this: she
makes rush for the window, throws back
the shutters. displaying herself to the pop
ulace, and within very few minutes she is
arrested. Later on her lover tries to get nor
out of prison by inducing friend to change
the death warrants. and this is probably
the strongest scene in the play; rs paper
after paper iseread out, IL Is dropped, be-
cause who will dare kill women who are
widows with children. and who can dare TO
send to face her God woman whose life
has been all SIM Nobody can take her
place. but the fertile brain OF the actor has
thought of an eXpedient. Even the guillo
tine respects the mother who is about to
bear babe, and let's her pass by unframed.
The actor writes a paper. and asks that
Fabienne shall sign It: she will not do it
until she reads it, and when she has read 1t
she tears it TO pieces, declaring she Will die
before she
WILL PERMIT HER PURITY
to be sullied. Then her lover, driven TO
desperation, calls out to the mob, as ii he
were jeering at her, that she is not telling
the truth that she is denying her future
maternity because she does not wish to let
the women around her make a laughing
stock of her, but Fabienne, standing quite
alone. calls on her God TO witness her per-
feet purity. and her desire 10 die 10 prove
it. An awful silence follows this, even the
rough mob bowling as she passes by them on
her way to her death. Her lover rushes TO
rescue her. and is shot by the soldiers who
surround her, but he dies pressing TO his
lips little religious souvenir that was
dipped in her hearts blood.
OF all the plays that Sard0u has written
this is the strongest. The people are real,
the surroundings are absolutely true TO the
time, and every detail is carried out 10 per-
lection. One scene shows a room in the
Tuilleries where the beautiful queen had
danced and sung when lovely women and
gallant men were about her. The walls
still showed their elaborate decoration of
roses and lilies, and plump cherubs, while
against them We're built common pire
Shelves, upon which Observation-Disclosures
warrants. my friend. The play is n story
that delights one's eye; that makes oney}
remember people who suffered and LIVED
and died in those dreadful days, and yskit
is one as perfectly and as clearly putt to-
gether as those screens that the japanese
artisans work over. and which consist Nof
small pieces of wood, each carefully fitted \
in, until the perfect piece is obtained and
not a nail has been used TO mar the surface.
The play, besides teaching US all of q bit Of
French history, shows US how, when a
woman has to choose between
HER GOD AND HER LOVE
she seldom hesitates. 1t Is good play to |
see, well constructed, and full of that some
thing that we call heart because there are
so many emotions that we have no name !
for. Forbes Robertson, who played the |
hero, does marvelously good piece of |
work, and there is one thing that 1 wish |
American actors would initiate him in. that |
is, wish they would speak as distinctly as |
he does. You remember him, don't you? |
He played here before with Mary An |
derson. and Is counted one OF the leading |
actors Of London to-day. The part of the |
impulsive, loving hero suits him perfectly |
and one is glad TO see man who looks |
manly play the part OF SO loving and tender 1
hearted a character. say character but, |
my friend, if you will go and see this play, |
as advise you to. you will come away as | |
did, feeling that you have been seeing, not /
puppets pulled by strings 10 move her1rand !
there as the stage manager directs. but to |