The San Francisco call., 1896-11-01


Bret Harte, apropos of Tennessee s
Pardner." The play has been f irly well
attended, considering that this is the eve
of election; but the delcacy of its charac-
ierization and the exquisite touches of
human nature 1t contains do not seem TO
have been appreciated at cir. full worth.
Let me hasten to say that Scott Marble
has given us the very atmosphere of Bret
Harte, and all faithful adherents of the
brilliant Western writer should be CRATE
full TO him for his success.
Jane Corcoran. as the little Tennessee
girl, whose sweetness and purity win the
mining camp, gives as dainty q bit of
character acting as one could wish TO see,
and Harry Mainhalls Caleb Swan, the
'high-toned fair and square" gambler, is
| regular page from Bret Harte. We, most
of US, know Gewhiliker Hay, the broken
down old-timer, whose wife makes him
wash dishes, and who tries to atone for
his present humiliauons by telling blood
curdling tales of when 1 crossed the
plains in '49"-the California woods are
full of good-natured "Gewhilikers,"
though they are growing fewer by degrees,
and will have disappeared from the earth
before the next century is old. 1 am very
glad that Scott Marble has captured "Ge-
whiliker' before he became extinct.
The false note in "Tepnessees Pardner"
is what the press agent calls miss Estha
Williams rare dramatic strength as Net
tie Blce." Miss Williams seems to have
lavlshed too much OF her time on the
study of elocution. 1t is bad habit for
an actress to indulge in, and if pursued
too long units her for anything but melo-
| drama. "Tennessee's Pardner" is so
touching and sincere that Nettie's melo-
dramatic despair CRATES upon its truth to
nature. However, Nettie has plenty of
applause from up aloft in spite of her elo-
cutting, and she by no means mars the
charm of very delightful and interest
ing play.
Poor Hans Andersen! How hath thy
| name been taken in vain. Once upon a
time-Andersen's fairy stories begin in
that way-he wrote a tale for children
! which adults read and said contained a
fine moral. The hero of the tale was an
uncouth duckling, SO much bigger and
uglier than the rest of his fluffy brood that
the very duck who Matched him said he
was no child of hers. The poultry m aid
kicked him, the chickens pecked him,
because you are so ugly" they said, and
the poor little duckling. who at heart was
craving for pity and sympathy, wandered
out into the world to see if he could not
find the love which was denied him at
home. A hard time he had of it, all be-
cause of his ugliness, but one day the
transformation scene came. From a re-
spectful distance the ugly duckling was
admirIng a flock of swans arching their
proud necks and spreading their beautiful
wings in the lake. "Alas, if I could only
be like those lovely creatures" he re-
fiected humbly, and then he glanced into
the lake. To his stupefaction the image
reflected there was mo longer uncouth and
repusive. Mirrored back was beautiful
swan, and it did not take the ugly duck
ling long to discover that he had never
been duckling at all. Only the stupidity
of the creatures around him had pre-
vented them from seeing that he was
cygnet, endowed with all the glorious
possibilities of swandom.
1t is quite another story that Paul Pot
ter and relasco have told in their clever
drama, The Ugly Dnckiing." The one
poipt q similarity is that the heroine's
own mother does not recognize the
glorious possibilities in the girl till the
knowledge is forced upon her. ! thought
l would mention this. So much has been
said and written during the last two weeks
about 1.-THE success at the Alcazar of Paul
Potter's dramatizatlon of Hans Ander-
sens story" that l wanted to contribute
my humble efforts toward preventing
Hans Andersen. from performing the
acrobatic feat of turning in his rave.
MARIE EVELYN.