The morning call., 1894-01-07
"The O'NeiH, or the Prince of Ulster

"The O'Neill, Or the Prince of Ulster
AS the time for the production OF this his
toTic romantic ITish drama is approaching 1t j;
fitting now 10 give preciS of the work. VII
liam Greer Harrison Of this GUY, its author has
thoroughly revised the original MS. and emi
mated all passages that might be considered
"talky' or obscure. The drama in its present
shape is clean-cut in text and flexible in action.
THE PERIOD AND THE CHARACTERS.
"The 0 Neilr' deals with that period of Irish
English history when The great Elizabeth SAT
upon the English throne and Ireland was the
scene of continuous waIfarr. HE date OF the
leTIod is from 1852 &c 1864. The chief char
acters REPRESENTED are the UNeill, lie Lady
Geraldine Butler, Queen Elizabeth, Lord Sus-
sex and Sir Henry Radclitt. The secondary
characters ate Rory OConnOr (ONeil'S fos Ell
brother. Marory Blount and Lord Iveach, the
latter O'Neilrs trusted friend and general.
The play is IN i've acts. one scene 10 each act.
The first four acts deal with scenes laid in
Tyrone. Of which The ONeill was the heredi-
taTy and elective lord.
LOVE AT FIRST SIGHT.
The first Irish scene is presented in wooded
glen. Here Tie ONeIlPs people have deceived
The wife and I've ward (Lady Geraldiue) OF Lord
Sussex. The 0Nell appears on the scene Just
as the ladies' have been surrounded by his
troops. He instantly releases them and eX-
presses his strong dlspleaSure at thvir capture.
The Lady Geraldine Is beautiful girl Of
Englisn-lrish extraction, but born and edu-
Gated in England. She is the tyIe Of the best
qualities Inherent In both natiOns. and is IN
staDtly and deeply impressed by the splendid
appearance which The ONeill presents. He Is
equally impressed by the beauty and grace of
Geraldine. IN this meeting Is laid The fOunda-
ton of feelings which rapidly mature into love.
he ladies' are returned 10 the English lines
accompanied by guard OF The ONeilfS
people
WAR MEANS DESTRUCTION.
The departure Of Tie English ladies is EN-
phaslzed by the advent Oh the scene OF Lord
IVeacb, who comes 10 tell The ONell OF the
destruction by Sussex Of his castle and the
death of his mother, the Lady Alice ONeill.
This disastrous intelligence clears The ONeilPs
nina Instantly OF all sentiment but that of re-
Veuge. He dispatches his officers In various
directions with instructions 10 destroy the
English colonies III Derry. DundalH, Llffofd
anu elsewhere. 4 procession accompanying
the body Of his mother passes near him. This
still further aTOuseS his passion. He assemblies
his people and demands from them a solemn
oath pledgug the utter destruction of the haleu
SaSSenacu.
LADY GERALDINE's DEVOTION.
In the second act The OiNeill Is a prisoner,
eophned In one OF hlS own castles, which had
been taken possession of by Sussex. Geral-
dine, knowing thaJ The Prince OF listers exc
cutiOn would follow a matter of course,
throws aside all maideniy reserve ana visits
him in his place of cOnhuemrnt. The near ap-
pToacn OF death inspires = confession Of love,
and for a brief moment they give themselves up
10 The luxury of loving. But the woman in
y
10 urge The ONellIS eScap-. lie gives her a
ing well known 10 his people, and suggests
that she send IL 20 his secretary. Geraldine,
all impatient 10 prove her love, determines her
self 10 carry ONeilPs message TO his PEOPLE.
She Is accompanied by MarloTy, is met by Rory
(UNelrS foster DrotheI). gives him the ing,
and returns al the break OF day only TO see 1 h-
O'Nelil being led 10 death.
But Rory has been prompt in his action, and
IN the third act The O'Nelll is rescued in !
very dramatic manner.
O'NFTTI. SFFVS tn FNGTISH OFTEN
The fourth act shows The ONem encamped
near Dundalk. Here be Is rounded by his
0t1ceTs and people and here an envoy from
Elizabeth visits him aud persuades him that
his cOuutry's claims be best met by a per
s0nal interview with her Majesty. ONeili
agrees. In the meantime evil Influences have
been at work and Geraldine has been made 10
believe that union with The 0NeiIl is i'm
possible She has written 10 him o this eIfecf.
but her love is stli his Sussex has sent an
agent TO assaSslnatc The ONelIi, who arrives
on the scene just after the advent of Helen.
sister OF The great Scotch Lord. Argyle, who
has come tC warn The O'Neill Of his danger.
She does this aJ the expense of her own life,
The ASSASSIN killing her Instead OF The ON ELL.
THE PRINCE OF ULSTER AND ELIZABETH.
The htth and last act takes place at Hampton
Court, London. The O'Nell appears at court
in rich aud somewhat oriental Costume. He
Is attended by his lords and some fifty OF his
gdlOWgldsses, or body guards, cOslumed IN
Saflron-cOlored tunlcs ana wolfskiuS. They
carry Daitle-aXeS and sIaDolng swords. The
ONeiil Is received by the Virgin Queen in the
presence OF her court, well OF the
European ambassadors. The O'Neill makes
instant impression the Queen by his
splendid manhood and subtle eloquent ad-
dress When the court is dispersed Elizabeth
makes love 10 The IRISH prince, but The U'Neill
Is not 10 De caught by sentimental GallylnE. he
practically refuses Inc Queens advances. th-
result being quarrel. la The meantime Rad
elm, VINO Is The evil genius of the play, appeal
and endeayOrS to tempt the O'Neil to an ignO-
minious flight. Radclin desires TO possess Ger
2ldiBe's fortune and IS even content 10 accept
herself as Necessary adjunct. He is an un
ScIupulous rascal but ON6llPs native Irish
Wit Is too much for him. In his effort to WORE
upon ONel Radcl1 ISLANDERS the Oneen, who
overhears him, and this The gallant Cet resents
by blow.
The Queen demands an explanation of the
quarrel. She dlsmisSes RadclIff with words o.
contempt, and then with he view of testing The
quality OF The ONellI demands that he explain
the scene. The O'Neili adroitly fences tht
Shrewd questioning of Elizabeth; but the lat
ter, assuming anger, calls her guard and threat
ems The O'Neill with the Tower. The O'Neil
felt that, as a gentleman, lie could not repeal
to a LADY vile Islander about herself, or ust
the explanation as means to free himself from
danger and refuses 10 answer.
WANTS HOME RULE.
The Queen, seeing the loyal nature OF th,
man, oesists. Later she receives The O'Nell
in the presence of The Ieassembled court, anC
there tempts him by the offer OF English titles
land, etc, to forsake his native land. TDi
falls. She then offers him a high position as
her deputy in ireland. This he also refuses
his demand being what is now named home
rule. Geraldine here joins her plea 10 O'NeilPs
and the Queen finally bestows Geraldine upoI
the gallant Celt, ana with her, in effect home
rule.
TEXTUALLY AND sTRUCTURALLY
This Irish drama is a good one. There is al
through il distinct thread of high and low
comedy. IL has lofty standard and IS tn
only Irish drama written on what may be called
SbakespeaTean lines. Ii has also humo
and epigram; but beyond all else it has the true
color of The times and the characters are faith.
N al Ten dam
ii has intrinsic merit which ensures success.
We anticDate With pleasure a fuller review
of Mr.. Harrison's work when the play is pro
duced by James O'NeilI early next March il
this city.
SpIendorS to Fade.
The great Hendersouian spectacle "Sinbad
or The Maid OF BaIsors," closes its long anc