The San Francisco call., 1896-12-20
Cahi1rs Sketches in the 7 op Gallery

and the far-fetched incidents of some of
the modern dramas. The Vicar OF Wake
field with its classic simplicity OF plot,
scene and action and its homely out
/ spoken phraseology, is plenty good enough
/ and none too good to win the hearty ap-
probation of the family circle.
l counted myself fortunate this night in
securing a seat on the front row OF tine top
gallery next to the old man, who could see
nothing sin them new-fangied plays"
But in order to gain this point of vantage
both the old man and myself, as we'll as
all the others. who occupied the front
rows, had to wait good half hour be-
tween the time of taking their seat and
the rising of the curtain: One can
"size rp," casually, good many OF ones
nearby neighbors in half an hour. and
one is not apt to miss the opportunity,
thereby the haIf-hour wait becomes one of
the most interesting events OF the even
ing. These are all Dickens people up
here-men and women, boys and girls
but little schooled in the fashionable art
of suppressiIg natural sentiment, and you
can see from their faces that when the
curtain goes up the verdict rendered by
the gallery urchins will be spontaneous
and sincere.
1t is no matter what the play was.
There was a very beautiful heroine IN it,
and almost from the very opening lines
the plot began to thicken. Now the hero
comes or the stage, tall, handsome, dar-
ing and open-hearted. II love you,
Nora" he cries; then in the distance
crouchcs as black a scoundrel as ever a
Dickens painted. There is a moment of
deep suspense, and the young man who
sits next to me has his hands on his knees,
his face thrust forward, his mouth and
eyes wide open. His nostrils dilated.
There is an invisible yet certain magnetic
current between him and the stage, and
his heart beats as that current vibrates,
now slowly, now fercely. / prefer to
watch his face rather than the stage, for l
know that the drama l read In his face is
q truer drama, and the emotions ex-
pressed by it far more spontaneous and
sincere than is the fictitious stage drama
that causes them. can see now-watch-
ing the play of moving passions upon
those features-that at last the villain and
the hero have met face to face. 1t will be
a war to the death, unless something in
LGIfSuc5t WulOuJ VI NOA1cCb ~ AOCo3 OSSoAoO
the play must run till after 10 o'clock.
Presently, see by the darkening lines on
that face that the villain is gaining
ground. Then the curtain falls on the
first act, ana the young man heayes
long-drawn sigh that seems to come away
up from his boots.
Now the Kisses commence, and they are
SO vigorous and so long drawn out that
the villain makes his appearance in front
of the curtain, bows, and is Missed back
into the greenroom.
In the second act the scene is at the
dehthbed of the little sister OF the heroine
and follow the heart beatings and lily
suppressed sobs of the motherly looking
woman who sits almost facing on the up
ward arc of the semicircle. | know when
the deepest chord of human sorrow has
been touched, for now the motherly look
ing woman can restrain herself no further
Her pocket handkerchief suddenly finds
its was to her eyes, and by the time the
sad scene is all over and the curtain rings
down upon the second act this real woman
has had cry that will do her good and
make her heart lighter and her sympa-
thies more kindly to the troubles of her
neighbor on Natoma street.
The feature of the third act is the rescue
of the heroine by the hero. You
should hear the encore that greets
this denouement-you should hear it
from the very midst of it, in order to ap-
preciate its volume, its depth, its honesty.
There is vibration of sincerity In it all
that one loses when heard only from the
parquet or dress-circle. Now the plot has
turned, now the hunted turns hunter. 1t
is the villain who is now pursued. 1t is
doubtful for a time-in the minds of the
gallery gods1whether the villain Will be
finally captured. But, of course, he is, as
really all villains are sooner or later. and
now there is another encore for the hero
that threatens to lift the roof.
Downstairs the folks are getting on their