St. Paul daily globe., 1895-12-22

''Ine Mighty DOllar, Inc Illueu
Age" "The Old Homestead" ''The
Senator Ambition" 'Shenan-
doah" and "Shore Acres,' of which
have the good fortune to be author
and am now playing at the Fifth
Avenue theater, New York, have
met with as pronounced favor as any
of the passionate, turgid, stilted,
erotic dramas of foreign pIaywrights.
And with good reason. They ap-
peal directly to the hearts of the
people. They are in close touch with
nature, and they either recall scenes
of childhood days or portray those
with which they are familiar in
youth or manhood. They are pure
and invigorating as we'll as being
strong in dramatic action. [ will not
attempt to analyZe these plays, as
my readers are probably as familiar
with their qualities as your humble
servant, but I will make bold to
ask what sermon could better point
| a moral than the little pastoral COM
| edy I am now presenting? The scene
|
Maine near Bar Harbor. A noble
| fellow STILES his affection for the
woman he adores and goes off to the
war to serve his country in order
that the younger brother he loves,
who was also smitten with her
charms, may win her. When that
| brother does win her, he surrenders
his share of the farm to the two
people he loves best on earth. In
time the younger brother, now mas
! ter of Shore Acres, listens to the
voice of the tempter, the real estate
Despite the protests of the self-sac-
rifcing brother, he enters into the
schemes of land improvement COM
pany and cuts up the homestead into
village lots, after first mortgaging
the farm to get the necessary funds
to construct cottages. He even sac
rifices the plot of ground which con-
stitutes his mothers last resting
place. He has no room for ''senti-
ment." That superhuous feeling
must give way to the Moloch greed.
The boom which has struck the
dream of avarice. He forces to flee
i from his home in a fearful storm the
daughter he worships because she
would not abandon the man she loves
and marry the man who tempted
him.
The good brother gives the young
couple every dollar he has in the
world to flee and prevent murder, for
the father is savage, gold hungry and
determined. The bubble bursts. The
land" company fails and the specu-
lative brother is ruined. When his
skies are canopied with darkness and
despair, when all hope has fled, the
good brother turns over to the er-
ring one 81, 700 back pension which he
opportunely receives, saves the
homestead, wrings tears of contrition
from the gambler, brings back his
favorite daughter and her husband
to the home and fills the whole house
hold with joy and thanksgiving. If
that does not point a pretty moral,
don't know what does. Mind you,
say this in no vain-gloriouS spirit
nor in any pride of authorship. I am
simply striving to illustrate as best
I can the theory have advanced.
In plays of this nature, and indeed
in all plays, but in these particularly
constant action and constant realism
are eminently necessary. A farm
should be farm and have all the
environments and implements of g
farm. There should be a barn, &
pump, a well, a water trough, pitch
forks, buckets, pals and other agri
cultural paraphernalia in view of the
audience. The kitchen should be 6
, country kitchen, with stove, cup
boards, tables, chairs, pictures anG
other impedimenta. There should
be a real fire in the stove, real coun
try cooking and real food served a
the dinner which, as every one ac
quainted with hucolic affairs knows
is feature of country life. Dialect
dress. manncrisms and every little
detail should be carefully studied. Ir
word. everything should be intense
ly realistic. There should be nc fake
no sham, no masquerade. Each aut
every actor should be carefully IN
structed in all these little details BY
one who is thoroughly conve-san'
with every character Of the play
Before writing Shore Acres" wen
down 20 the coast of Maine and re
iraincd there for weeks, although
,, had often been there before. thor
. oughly studied the scenery, the char
| acter Of the people, their dialect tx