The herald., 1896-08-30

backslider. circumstances over which
had no control" There is nothing in
the character of Dulcie Larondie except
her weakness to warrant ardent devo-
tion from any man. She has true love
offered her. but she filings 1t aside in or
der that she may enjoy the good things
of this world. Throws II away delib-
erately without a care for the sufferings
of the man who offers her the devotion
OF a life, and when she finds her longed-
for pleasures turn to ashes In her grasp
she does not hesitate to attract this man
to her side again and cause him to help
her bear the burden of her disappoint-
ment. Her husband is, of course,
blackguard, but with this woman has he
had a chance of being much else, and in
the virile strength of his wickedness he
suggests character which in the hands
of woman other than the selfish, ire
sponsible creature he calls wife might
have developed into something very diff
ferent. But this woman has not the
moral backbone necessary for the re-
formation of much milder sinner than
an acknowledged blackguard. She has
not the strength of generalship; she can
only be martyr and the pose of mar
tyrs suits the irresponsible style of wo-
man down to the ground. And then, too,
there is always to be found a man who
believes in it. Dulcie finds this man in
her former lover. He is her devoted
knight to the end. and. somehow or
other, one finds himself hoping in mercy
to this man, who has spark OF the
true Promothean fire. that he will never
return from his African eXpedition-that
mercful death will step in and save
him from the terrible discovery of the
lttleness of the nature for which he has
given his all.
In the face of the grossest insults
heaped upon her by her husband, Dhl-
Gle does not defend herself. She drifts
on in the old irresponsible way until
she arrives at a point where she finds
herself and child staked by her husband
upon the hazard of the cards. Even here
the sympathy is all given her. while no
body seems to take into consideration
the pitch to which her husband has been
wrought by the contemplation of his
wife in the arms of the man who has al
ways been his rival, and whom, by her
former confession, she loves. You see,
he had had none of her love wasted on
him, this husband, and he always car
ried about with him the CONSEQUENCES
that he had bought his wife. Not pleas
ant feelings these, and feelings not in
tended to create domestic comfort. But
then, who cares for his felingS? Was
he not a blacksuard, and was not she
martyr? Blackguards are not supposed
to have feelings capable of cultivation
for good purposes. OF course, in the
game of hazard. the lover wins, and the
woman cheerfully becomes his property.
At this late day her conscience awakens.
1t isn't strong conscience by any
means, but such as it is, it awakes. Mad
anne realizes that she has drifted upon
the shoals, indeed, but her conscience is
not strong enough to make her take any
decided step to right herself. 1t only
causes tears and a vague remonstrance
against fate. However, with her usual
luck, this woman possesses a sister. who
IN her struggle to earn her daily bread
has had no time to banker after the van
tiles of this world, and whose sense of
honor and duty have been strongly de-
Veloped. This woman comes to the
rescue, and. at her earnest solicitation,
the lover consents to take his place in
his world once more. without the woman
for whom he would have been content to
sacrifice everything, even honor. With
the ruin of many lives a. subject for
her contemplation, Madame Dulcie's
next step is mercifully left to magma
tion. And now you have a picture of
nineteenth century stage heroine Don't
forget that her counterpart really exists
but ask yourselves, Is her mission be-
hind the footlights a good one? Is she
OF value as warning. or should she
have been presented at all? Be We a
judge ye women who have an inclina-
ton to be martyrs, and we also, ye moth
erS of maidenS?
In Viola Allen, the leading woman of
the Empire stock company, one finds a
truly magnetic woman. On Miss Aliens
first appearance the on-looker feels that
chill of disappointment which naturally
comes during those moments while he is
endeavoring to make his ideal concep-
ton of an artist dwell in amity with that
which is before him. With many of the
denizens of stageland this feeling on the
part of the audience never entirely
wears away; but where Miss Allen is
concerned, it is as fleetng as the filmy
clouds in the summer sky 1t drifts away
insensibly and the critic suddenly finds
himself transformed into the ardent ad-
mirer.
How artistic Miss Allen isl How sub
tly she conceives her different charac-
ters! How quickly she influences the
AZ. .Sls