The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1897-02-07

! The First Gentleman of Europe. Later
! was one Of a Duet who discussed II. and
i am going 60 tell you what / said, this:
Il do believe in the value of historical
plays people do not know half as much
as they have the credit with knowing.
Consequently, when an historical play is
put on IL incites In the average mind
desire to know more Of the people who APP
pared in that play. To-day every library
IN New York Will have applicants for
Thackerays -Four Georges, for The Life
ana Times of George the Fourth by
George Croly and for all the other his
tories of that time. Then, too, it's good
to see play like this which shows in its
setting and its costuming the habits of
the DAY We may not approve of the
manners of that time. but if our own are
better we realize it all the more by look
ing in this fine mirror of the past The
historical play is like the good historical
novel 1t sends the interested reader or
iooker-on, to the fountain head for infor-
nation How many of us have ever
thought of George the Fourth as being
young. handsome and having one particle
OF honor? And vet. / SO positively agree
with Mrs. Burnett that / think there is
no human beiug who hasn't had his min
ute or hour OF gOod-the interval when
the best that was in him spoke-for if this
were not true, then men would be devils
1t Is told of George that as a chile ne
was so lovely people used TO throng around
MN TO get peep at hin, and that the
middle classes hoped so much from him
that the boy was their idol. In any good
edition of Thackeray there is a lovely pic
ture of him-a baby asleep in his mothers
arms-she has her finger raised as If she
would warn whoever was around to keep
quiet and not disturb her darling 1t is
said that during the sixty-eight years of
his life there were more pictures taken of
MIN than Of any other prince, or. indeed
Of l.
was shown with long, fair hair, with pow
dered hair with a wig having a pigtail
and with one lacking this appendage he
was in ScotChtkilt and tartans, in a dra-
COON uniform, IN a field marshaTs clothes.
though, of course, the picture best known
to the world at large is that taken in his
coronation robes OF this he was so vain
that he caused it to be circulated all over
the world of that time Thackeray re-
members seeing II in every dining room
As boy he was so clever that he could
completely floor his tutors Bright and
wondrOus good to look upon. DO You won
der, then that wherever he went women
adored him?
True, he became worse than merely a
reckless profligate; he became wicked,
gross abominable, but still he could fasc-
nate. The young men of to-day who call
themselves great drivers might try to emu
late the Prince. He once drove, in four
ton house-tifty-siX miles He was a bad
husband, but | have often wondered what
this wife, who was so offensive to him
was like. He certainly encouraged liera-
ture and the arts, and how much did the
vicious court around him. the hatterers.
the time servers always ready to admire
whatever he did, have to do with making
him what he was? And how much did
heredity have 10 do with it2 Think of his
fathers and grandfathersl When they were
not wicked they were stupid. The First
Gentleman of Europe was not a very good
man. His honor was on the surface His
word was worth nothing His manners
were too fine to have been good. But it's
well to see him pictured nowadays. It's
good for us to realize that the world is
better. That society would not accept even
a prince who had so little regard for vir-
tue and honesty and truth; and, it's good
to know, even if it's only in the play. that
the man, once in a while, rose superior to
erything-education, heredity and his
environments. 1 like a historical play-I
like its effect"
That's what l said. And the other per-
son in the duet agreed with me. Some
how when there is a duet and one of the
two in it is man and the other is a wo-
man the man generally does agree with
the woman. But then in such discussions
a man is not a corpOration-he has a soui
No doubt there have been soulless people
and by soulless people | mean those who
putting down in themselves that which is
good. bright. kind honorable and sympa-
thetic, kill the sensitive and heavenly part
of them and become men and women only
in name Let's pray God, every one of
us, TO keep us away from such people They
| are the people who find nothing good i'm
the earth or the heavens above it, They
are the people who refuse to turn over the
pages of history to find out how the world
| has imDrONQd. They are the pponlp who
| see wickedness in men and women and
vice governing all humanity-horried peo-
! pie. People that suggest those awful crea-
| tures-the bats. Those dreadful birds of
| the night whose faces suggest mummies
| and whose wings seem to flap death and
| humiliation. Pray that the human bats
| may never disturb your waking hours, and
the other bats never come near you in your
| slumbers. Bah.