New-York tribune., 1895-01-27

THEATRICALS FIRST SERlES. sriitnr.yn *
RISs Rif5SdAfFpA AaE ALEra ;ras ''r II ksEFSShATE
smo: pp. Gs BY Henry James Harper
Brothers.
n h,s nr.rsce 70 these fat volumes Mr.. James in
.,,na,es that those persons Who write plays "nch
no n,anccsr Will produce are sufferers ana tha' nc
Is one IL them For what renson they are s"'e'e
the reader is left to conjecture Suncrers ."ey "ay
be- but surely It Is best that the suner'he saour.
be confined 70 the offender In such case. ana ho'
distributed TO the pubic. Plays WHICH nna""e''
as a RUE reject are. We may be reasonably SUR,
plays which deserve 20 be rejected. In this age Oh
nordlnately active theatrical enterprise hot"'e
that Is good can long remain unrecoshized. mann"
gers do not refuse anything that seems IN the 'ea'
likely 10 succeed. Several OF them have even eN.
pcrimented with the high-steppng piati'uoe anu
ponderous end mephitlc du!ness OF MIR. lose"'
Neither their libera.i;y, their pracuca sasao',S'
nor their adventurous courage. AFTER tha'' ca' 'o
doubted. When managers unite In refusing P'a''
they unite for good reason. and the manager wa"
declines to produce a bad play Is not only puDhc
bencfactor: he is true friend 10 the drama'S''
There ghoud be no suffering. because really there
has been no severity. In the particular case OF ar'
James the manager vas right. These volumes can
serve bu: one purpose. they show how badly man
0. talent can write when he attempts task tpr
which ne Possesses no qualifications. either natural
acqulre1
Narv crude notions are aGoat on the subject OF
paywr,;ing-one o. the crudest OF them being the
noion that a dialogue cut up into eections ~
p.ay. That appears TO be the idea OF MI. james,
In these two volumes there are nearly 80 pages OF
dialogue mass OF talk which in the course OF -FOUR
distinct compcs.tlons is distributed among thirty
three persons; yet in the whole course OF 1t there
Is not one particle Of action; not one movement
uness I, be the dropping OF teacup' "hich even
remotely resembles action; not SITUATION
witch arouses interest; not point OF erect ana
not even noticeabry felictous turn OF expression
,hn ia lat
and in each case the persons represented are sup
posed to be ladies', gentlemen and servants OF Eng
land: bu; In case does IL appear that any ma'er
Of me least Importance Is 10 be disclosed that any
o: these persons doing anything. or tha' any one
OF the whole thirty-three OF them Is possessed OF
any sort OF individuality that could possibly De
racoenzed or remembered. They amble III, ana
they lapse They talk, and they drink tea. ihey
are Systematically impertincnt 10 each other IN
speeches two lines long. and they have the move
nent OF cod moasses. About once every hve MIN
ues each of them becomes ~ha, the author calls
vague" and at all times they are so much alike
,hst I, is nearly impossible to tell them apart The
women are mostly coarse and mean. and are mostly
depicted as striving TO get rich husbands. Two or
three Of the men exhibit mild symptoms Of prohig-
acy either reminiscent or incipient The rest are
apparently victims Of creeping paralysis The bar
onsts three In number. display a marked familiarity
with the dictionary one OF them knows how TO
say "pxscerba.c" without loossnIng his teeth. and he
proudly vociferates MY attesaton was UNCONSCIOUS
Of ns faliacy" Even the more ordinary mortals In
that amazing circle are iingual. so that mention IL
freely made OF such matter az 'juxtaposition.
Elasticity" "hyperboe.' and the ''meretrcious ap-
pcndage." Those things. OF course. impart me
favor Of superior learning "Our encounter cries
one elegant dane has ploushed me up But
lay low" remarks another. And Il shall have TO be
IN a very tight pace" says a third one scene ~
"a small pleasancs" ore character enters "tenta-
tive.y" Another Is described as lost In thought,
on A small Louis Qulnze sofa" The most exquisite
o, the Wits reaches her meridian With the inquiry
az to an alleged hero" whether he IL ITO be eaten
with mint sauce" 'ITe should be kept at least for
mutton" says that most brilliant OF Mr.. Jamess
ladies'
The tcapo: II is well known. has been worked
with great vigor and industry In English society.
and 10 tha, institution II may freely be admitted
that Mr. James has done ample justice; but II
that author during his long residence abroad has
met with nothing but teaslop and prattie In Eng
land he IL exceptionally unfortunate. Persons VINO
can suppose that rlgmaroie Of talk will he
accepted by any rational reader as truthful tran
scrlp; Of English social nfe.aayrg nothing OF is
pretenslon az com-dy,-are under a delusIon which
cannot be too swiftly disca rded Social life. every
where presents upon It's surface an ample aspect or
the commonplace; but II Is the business OF dramat-
T. author 10 look beneath the surface for mis- mate
rial to select and combine salient traits and striking
| ingredients, 10 interpret rather than to copy and
by transhsurns the actual to present dramatic pict
| ures that will entertain. exharate. and ennoble
| those who see them. Frivolous conventionality In
| England 1. common enough but English homes are
| not populated with idiots neither Goes English
| society consist ~ vacuous persons who wander In
| and out, making a thin trckle OF CAB; even II II
we're that would be reason for trying to put II
| into a play. We have fallen on evil times In the
drama--wnen. instead OF striving to fire the mag
| inatIon with romance. TO touch the heart with
pathos cheer the mind with scenes Of Joy. and to
| esalt the soul with images Of nobieness. many
writer's insist upon boring the community with the
dissection OF moral sores.which II Is part OF the
function Of the stage TO cure. or. In the OF
| Mr. James. with depressing pra,tle upon matters
| even less important than a miIlincr's fris the
| notices OF a confectioner