Little Falls weekly transcript. (Little Falls, Morrison Co., Minn.) 1894-19??, 1897-01-29
,"THE PASSION PLAY" |. .
Father Cleary Graphically De-
scribes Oberammergau
and Its Great Event.
A Large Audience Present and
all Highly Entertained ~ NAG
=. tho Noted Lecturer. sE4s

Father Cleary, the noted ,prelates
and lecturer. I'll Minncapn!is. de-
.ivered !, highly entertaining and ttl-
t4rpsting lecture on "rhe Passion
Play" ut ths~ Gross opera house laAts:
evening, and was listened to byras
large and intelligent audience Of the the
varirus religious denOminn Il tiOns sOf
this clty. E
Prior to the Introduction OF the
speaker. a short musical prOgrtl 20
was rendered that was highly ssI,.ss 4
preciated. A piano duet ny MtssesS
Myrtle Suuthmayde and Clytie STU.
ar, was IN exceedingly well rendered
number, calling forth a hearty en- en-
core, which was responded to by q an
equally we'll executed and pleasing
duet on the same instrument. the
choir of the French Catholic church,
composed Of Mrs: A. Simonet, Misses y t1lIs
Sophie G ra vel, Laura Il GuernOn, Marie
kicl,.,, d, Lillian Hayes and MessrsssS;
L.. f Richard, james Fraser atl0y;
thas. GuernOn, rendered Il vocal Sc
lection in a manner highly pleasing
to the audience. but ;,s the time wtas;
limited they could AOt respond .tp.
the encore they received. e. F.. VAs--g5
aly then, in Il few weli-chosen worlds
introduced Father Cleary. ,sS 5s
In personal appearance it Is seldom lll2
that one has the uppol t,IIity sof
SEEING II more pr.pnssessinG DersolI-
ave than Father ,lrary. He isH
man of magnificent proportions,
with keen, but kindly, eyes ana an an
intelligent countenance, comma atlti-
ing the respect and admiration sSt,lf
his entire audience. His voice IL
strong. but pleasing. and aIthDuGh
his lecture gave but little opportHlss
Enity, to display his OratorictA
l,,,yers the several bursts ct eshs
ltIn nee Iii which he indulged during
his discourse were evidence that his
powers in that direction arc far
beyond the ordinary.
beginning with announcing his
subject, "rhe Passion Play Of Obrr-
amnergau.' Father Cleury gave a
graphic description of the little
South Bavnrinn village, made
world famous by the production OF
this great religious drama every ten
years. His trip from ChicacO to the
little railway station six miles dis
tant from the famous village, and
the six-mile wagon road over the
Bavarian Alps to Oberammergau. as
described by the speaker, proved
both interesting and instructive.
Father Cleary corrected the impress
sion that has been given out that
the players in the great drama were
ignorant peasants, and described
the inhabitants OF the village. In
stead Of being ignorant peasants, all
those who take part in the produc
tion have spent years in careful
training that their parts in the
dra ma may be perfectly presented.
The majority Of the villagers are
trained in the art of wood carving.
and in this direction they are accom-
plished to Il high degree. The male
Inhabitants. young and old. wear
their hair long after the fashion Of
the olden times, and the ambition OF
the younger ones ia that they may
some day take part in the great
drama.
His description Of the play, which,
the speaker says, is not properly
called play, as 1t is not given as
an entertainment. but presented
as an object lesson to edify the world,
and in accordance with a VOW Of
their ancestors at the time OF n
great pestilence about the middle of
the 18th century, was instructive
and interesting and commanded the
entire attention of the audience.
Each scene from Christ's triumphal
entry into Jerusalem until the
ascension, with the tragic events
including the betrayal.
trial and cructfictiOn, was most
wildly pictured. He gave a short
sketch of those who took the lead
ing characters and eloquently de-
scribed the impression made upon
the'vast audience who visited with
him the product ton in, 1896.
Minneapolis shus about half a
million dollars in dead banks, and
the treasurer has resigned because
he can't get new bonds.
"A report OF the receiver Of the
Bank Of New England. of Minneapo-
lis, shows that there is nearly enough |