The Pioche weekly record. [volume] (Pioche, Nev.) 1877-1900, 1891-07-02
A ROYAL PLAYWRIGHT.
Queen Elizabeth, of Roumania,
Turns Dramatist.
Her Play Soon to BE Staged at the vien-
ma Burg Theater-An Outline of the
P;ot-The Title OF the Piece
Is " Master Manolly."

Queen Elizabeth of Roumania,
Carmen Sylvia, received in her salon at
he Hotel Imperial in Vienna recently,
,ys the New York Sun, the company
I'd management of the Vienna Burg
ihcater, where one of her plays will be
brought out soon. After all the guests
had arrived the Queen sat down at a
little table beside the Archduchess
Maria Theresa and read the manu-
script of her latest work, Master
Alanolly,' a tragedy in five acts. The
plot of the tragedy conforms with the
outlines of a .oum7nian legend.
5lanolly, master architect, is building
great cathedral. Midway in his work
he becomes embarrassed by lack of
money. Moreover, every morning he
iinds bit of the work done on the pre-
"eding day destroyed by undiscoverable
hands. The workingmen become sup
tious and are led by Manolly's
enemies to believe that the cathedral is
cursed. The building may be made ac-
coptable to God, they think, only by
The entombment of living human
being within its walls. The prevalence
Of this superstition is due to the efforts
Of Manolly's enemies to render impos-
.ible the completion of the work.
hanolly's beautiful wife goes to the
i'rince to ask aid for him. The Prince
promises to give money and influence
II she will consent to be his. She at
first refuses, with every expression of
horror. his proposal, but is finally per-
Haded that her husband cares more for
material success than for her; that she
would serve him best by following the
t'rince's suggestion, and so promises to
become the Princes mistress on the day
tho cathedral shall be finished.
She has hardly given her word when
Manolly, dagger in hand, springs into
her presence. His enemies have told
him she iswith the Prince. The Prin-
.@css, however, persuades him that his
Hife has done no wrong-a woman
: sIows mercy to her rival. The compact
,1tween the Prince and Manolly's wife
slll holds. The Prince tries to help
:; long the building of the cathedral.
OH the work lags. In despair Manolly
one day promises the workmen to en-
person who appears before the un-
finished cathedral the next morning.
iio goes to the cathedral early the next
day. His wife follows him. AS he turns
and sees her the crisis of the action
comes. He begs her in vain to retrace
her steps She goes 10 him. He leads
her to small, half-closed stone cell in
the cellar, pushes her in and makes
whole the wall with his own hands. The
cathedral is completed. On the day of
the conservation Manolly ascends the
tower to admire it's beauties. His dead
wife's spirit appears to him; he throws
himself from the window and is killed
The last act of "Master Manolly" has
not yet been committed to writing, but
the Queen sketched it at length from
memory of the details she had already
decided to incorporate in it. She spoke
and read for three hours in smooth.
clear, penetrating voice, without show
ing the slightest fatigue. After closing
she and her guests discussed critically
the dramatic merits of the piece and the
best means of adapting it to the Burg
'Theater stage. Alexi, of the Metropol-
itan Opera-House, sang several of the
Queens poems set to music. Then the
Queen read alittle one-act tragedy about
IN American duel, that is, as understood
on the Continent, duel in which two
mon at odds simply decide by lots which
one shall kill himself On the Continent
most persons think this is the fashion in
America of settling affairs of honor, and
Carmen Sylvia has unfortunately seen
lit to adopt the misapprehension.