The morning times., 1896-11-24
BEERBOHM TREES RETURN
First Appearance in His Second Ameri-
can Tour Last Night.
AT THE OTHER HOUSES
"The Great Diamond Robbery" at
the National, "The Wizard of the
Nile" at the Columbia. and "Ori.
entail America" Had Friends to
Receive Them.

| jesty's Theater, that is to be, last night
| began his second American tour, grace
fully conpliInenting Washington by select
| ig III as the city or the initiatOry perform
| ace.
The Lafa yette Square Opera House-was
crowded with u gathering of social lights
which could not ave been duplicated earlier
| IN the seaSOn. In their whItest linen and
| best gowns, Cabinet ministers and gran
DANES, contingent from the diplomatic
| corps headed by the stafch Briton, Sir
Julian Pauncerotc, We're present. and
| crowned the occasion social success.
Mr.. Tree chose To make his re-entree in
| play which lacked the distinction Of
| novelty. Henry Arthur Jones' The Dane
| ing Girl has been given by Mr.. sothern
and Miss Harmed, and If the memory OF
| their achievement had been suffered TO
| lapse last nights performance recalled
| 1t, for comparisons We're inevitable.
There was a curious interest in watching
| this play for its own sake, its effect upon
the audience and the study OF ourselves
| Though but half dozen years old II is
| Il play OF another era. SO feverishly does
| another that the epoch that tustered moral
| analysis and reveled in cynicism has passed
| and gone like a fooiisil ti1ng, and last
| night the spectre seemed a wicked thing
| 1t is really startling, in the light of the
| question discussed in THE Dancing Girl
aud the Unnestating and unshunned details
thereof, that we had dared listen to it
| unblushing. However, Mr.. Jones is far
| too skillful constructor not to have builded
well and the play has vitality beyond
| the days allotted To its theme.
The audience gave little Irresistible
| shiyers at times anu there was expressive
| silence at the end of the second act when
John and Drussla handy bold statements
| with no IA uZiest assembling.
| But the focus OF all attention was Mr..
Tree himself He might rave played
Hamlet or Falstaff or Gringoire or any Of
MS stoek characters 1ie interest Would
| secondary. There was curiosity to note
| NynaU lie mad done meantitne III perIcctlng
! himself. II last night vera fair example
| the confession would force itself, not
/ Uuu ia He mas LHuo .rr l m >iultin">s INT ne
has apparently lost in enunciation and dis
| tinctness and often in sympathy and ap-
| probation for his character.
But this may be charged not TO MIR.
| Tree but to the necessary impedinents of
| a first night. As first night the pei
| formance was quite excellent. The un-
| happy enunciatory defect is tendency TO
| indistnctness and slur, sometimes his
| tones have almost Tcutomc accent, When
| ue is seCurer in his lines, he Will speak
| less from memory and more from the head
| and the heart. with more depth and sensi-
| bility, soul. sympathy, and passion
| The ghost OF Ned SOthern's Duke of
| Guisebury lowered over Mr.. Tree. The
| Inevitable comparison was decidedly in
favor or the former.
Just so with Miss Kate Rorke, who does
not seem to have grown day older than
when she was Charles Wyndham's leading
woman on his last visit. She has fine
power wnen she reaches llcr supreme mo
utents. hut the casual quiescent intervals
| are more or less Of a cead calm. In the
second act she put convincing passion in
the scene with John, and In the thisd the
| interview with the father called forth a
remarkable display or art and Won her the
! complete regard OF the audience.
| Lionel Broueh, however. as the father OF
| the dancing girl, made the imperative and
| lasting hit of the evening. He disclosed
| himself an actor of temperament, penetra-
tion, understanding and power. He is up
4 hi n l,.V
| praise Not line was read amiss, meaning
| vas given To every smallest touch. He
| might have walked through his part dumb.
| but the pace. hands, head, mien. and eyes
| would haves poke for him Inthe interview
home. lie wrung the hearts of his auditors
| even the fathers heart was moved to
| violence by his deep sorrow and great pas
sion.
Gerald Du Maurier. who has been adver-
tiscd vigorously rs his fathers SON made
decidedly favorable impression His
maine was not on the program. He played
Reginald, and Mr. Montague appeared as
CheeverS, for a short bit In the third act.
Perhaps by the accident OF the part, though
| the player in Mr.Sothern's production nd
not leave the same impression, Du Naurier
| seems TO have stepped out Of one of his
fathers Punch pictures. His role Was a
selfish, imperturbable social simplctUn.
whose consistency and humor weree about
| that Of the English funny paper. He did not
| forget his character for n instant ana Wig
netted it with many artful touches which
commended 1t to the audiences sense Of
huInor
The others We're entirely mediocre. The
young woman hoplayed Faith seemed the
airy substance that her name hctokened.
and talked in confidential, lispy way that
didn't enlighten the audience particle.
The other ladies' luoEed Serenely British.
and acted like ladies all, an art which the
| American stock walking lady has learned
| from their English cousins. The best of
tue balance OF the company We're Miss
Osterle, as the lame girl who rescued the
Duke from those threatening horses
nai- Miss tNnf. as i-auf ~, " '. andMr,
Cautley. Who was earnestly melCdramatiC
as John.
The scenery was in two instances very
handsome and elaborate, and the waits
must have been to the liking Of the gentle
men who dispensed good beer in heghhor-
| ing cafes.
berry has come to take its place in the
affections of the people on the same plane
and by the same terms as other meio dramas
| which have held life through periods that
would bring decrepitude and oblivion to
piece of the nimble ..Nym Crinkle," who
,spsss ns hSs pdomac as ,rSbs S Wnsee. and
| tn Washington last night for the secondtimc.
Thanks to many cha nges in the cast, there
| is new interest in the play, which thrills,
and eNc,tes, and surprises with the same
| trip-hammer punctuality as before.
/ The story reads Ike Laura Jean Libhey
done over by Allan tinker OIL, and the eX-
cel!ent cast is the fine binding given by
Messrs. Palmer aud Knowles. Briefly. and
| for the tcnefit of IT, ose who have not seen
| he Fregcli-likc Dick Brrmmage, it MAY he
noted that the title is in no v ay deceptive
There is supposed to lie large collection
Of diamonds, belonging 10 a Russian noble
man, which are in The possession OF an old
banker and his wife, who was formerly the
wife of the foreigner. Suddenly the career
of his wife is made clear to the banker
she poisons him and seals the dian ontis
| fastening the crime on the young clerk.
! The succeeding acts depict the innocent
| mans effort to clear himself of the false
| imputations. Press and police, deceived
by II skillful accumulation Of false evi-
| dcnce, are against him, political boss,
| enamored of the young widow, and an
old fence" are wilfully against him. In
TACT, his only friends are his sweetheart
| costume every few minutes and turns up
Unexpectedly at critical moments, shatter-
| ing by degrees the mesh OF fabrication and
| finally clearing him entirely.
] W. a. Wmtecar plays the detective
createdby W: II. Thompson andpla yed here
by Fred Bond: He is quite at Eome in the
much interest is the fence" Frau Rosen-
baum. played by Rose Eytinge. This ad-
/ mirable actress has the difficult task of
| following Nine. Janauschek in this part,
but she is equal to any. precedent, and last
| night made q decided impression by her
| fine portrayal of the unprnciplcd old wo-
man Mrs 10 Annie leamans ANA repeated her
| an Irish comedenne Mrs. Yeamans is quite
| without rival on our stage. Without
| stepping beyond the TO unds which separate
| vulgarity and unbridled fun, she denotes
| the real type of bibuious, broguey old
| Irish woman in inimtable style.
There was new actress In the cast
| last hight. at least new to Washington
| She was Miss Selenc johnson and she
mai. Miss Johnson is heauiifuI woman
! with remarkable presence. and denoted
| the emotions of her role with admirable
skill. Her name NAV safely be written