The times., 1897-12-12

Geordie, siarisct and Whitney Howe, Lana
Agent ToHkins, and Jamie soutar. These
are all character rich in individuality,
which should tempt the richest art frpat
the actors with what antieipa ton the
actor who win play Jaiaie Soutar ought
TO attack his part. l. viii turn TO A uId
Lang Syna.' wherein is told the story or
Jamie. + ere is infinite suggestion for a
genre study almost us striking as Lach'an
or the Doctor. He was IAN awfu lody
and hsS aGriqi was nos in six parishes.
Drumtochty did not ground it's admira-
ton of Jamie in his PERSONAL appearance,
which lent Itself to criticism and Sug-
gested "a fine caTeleSSness on the part
of nature. His head was too large Tor
his body and rested on his chest. one
shoulder had twist forward which IN
vested Jamie with an AIR or aggression
His legs Were Constructed on the pnnciple
that one knee said TO the other: II you let
me pass this time, III let you pass next
time
II is pleasant 10 anticipate tie prodn'-
ton Of another play which, il would seem
win draw nearer together the theater and
the church. and affiliate in new union
the literature Of the library and the stage
The pulpit, the library and the stage may
stand shoulder 10 shoulder without either
compromising the other. and in Beside the
Bonnie L. iaI Bush'' there would seem to
be this ideal union which hest proves its
possibility. Ghe play viii be put )n the
stage early I'm the new year.
y-,-.rv mo N IS uof a coFsrfo,te sinner. SnTnp
fren are the unconscious agents Of sin and
mystery. The inverse OF the fable Of the
siIvfr-linLd cloud contains a truism. Tia k.
for instance the man who wrote All Coons
Look Alike To Me- How ms soul must
hav.. reeked with JOY as he heard the ap-
pIausc which greeted his song. How his
pride nus. have been intoxicated. For It Is
nos given to every man to l,s the author Of
a popular song, and be sung and Eistlei
and Initiated. There's the rub. Initiated
II etl.thor OF IAN Co0ns Look Alike To Me y
was sIIortsighted in his premature hila rity
He was the precursor of woes he wot net
Of. lie did not know that, in THE WhiEl
OF the Town" Dave Warfield would re-
mark that .-AlI Cohens Look alike to me.
His prophetic ear did not tear Barnabet
exclainl, in THE SeFenade, y All monk S
look alike TO me-" A broad-gauged guess
would not have suggested to him that
Jimmy Powers, in The Geisha, would
remark that all Japs look alike to me. >
But one woe treads upon another's heels,
and the humorous film before the tragic
back ground filters away when il was re-
marked, in lone Round OF Pleasure" that
''all dukes Look alike TO me-" Hasn't
this coincidence Of resemblance gone about
far enough? If there are any more fa MI J
Ifk enesSes, for the sake Df sweet Sc
renity let's pass over them in silence
Theatergcers SHOULD organize vigilance
committee and deal sunimarily with the
next watmed-over comiGre who protrudes
this ghastly aaraphrase.
Some a6vance notices sent in by advance
agents would be tragic aud fatal If they
ware not 50 ludicrousIy absurd as u
generate the laughter OF which fat is be
| EctteI.. If there rs an important position
On tie ma aager's staff it is the advance
agent upon whom depends the proper
placing cf his attra ction before the dra
matte editors, and through them befors
the public. He should be informed OF lis
attraction, ima ginatige enough 20 trim VI
discrepancies in anecdDte il not biogra
ply, intelligent enough TO appreciate the
style OF the dramatic pa ge to which :rc
seeks t. contribute, and graceful and flu
eut enough With his pen to supply acCepta
ple reading matter. Some men are all ol
these, and. Tho ugh they do net approach
| with fawDing smile, an overhead Y cigar
or the ever-bifuIons bribe, they are al
WAYS received warmly and are given tbs
Tfr,aft ,f 2 N
these tlings
The puzzle editor, whose whole life Is
spent in maze OF refuses, enignlas, ana
grams ana riddles, would give up the
reason for their existence as press agents
| charitable typewriter covers a multi
tude of peDmanship sins, but nothing can
cloak the artIess idiocy Of some Of their
| attempts to write English.
Every one Who has to edit these no
| tices mas been tempted 70 prepare a scrap
| bouk OF them At first the writer de
| cided On that line, but In 3 few weeks we
| have a collection so rare and varied that
it Us much too good to keep in brown
envelope in dark pigeonhole. So, here
are few samples of what the press agents
ask tn have printed of their attractioas:
| A few weeks ago The Secret Enemy
| appeared here. Here is anexcerpt from an
| advance notice sent in, the writer of which
didn't seem to mind placing the locale of
! his piece in one country and the principal
| scenes in another: The locale of the pla y
| is laid in Paris at the present day.
/ The main body of the plot is laid in an
| old cl.ateau IN Italy,
The genius to whom was confided the
heralding Of a new vaudeville company
wrote fairly good grammar, but he came
nearer the truth in the very first sentence
| of one oc his notices than is usually con-
| siderel advanta geous in the ethics of adj
| yertisiDg. ''Scribner's Columbian Burlas-
| quers, a Eew, but none the less obscure (sicl
! organization ma kes its initial bow before a
| Washington audience Monday next
Maybe the agent for 1.-TWO Migrants
knew what he meant when he wrote thi
sentence, which is given, to the punctua tiol
mark, as he sent it in: A number D
/ changes, however, are announced for tht
coming production by which the manage
rEent make no claim TO an entire revision OF
| tia- contrary two ofthe most gruesone scene.
have been eliminated and by so doing tn,
! iTt.est in tie piece has in no wise beer
Iesseaed and by the building up OF the conf
| edy element the mana cement claim vasi
Improvements" In the next sentence h,
Ct ils attention to the fact that Miss Hol
| land has built up the part 6f Fan-Fan .;c
| such prominence that it is now the artis