The Saint Paul globe., 1897-12-05
BUILDER OF ZERDA
ANTHONY HOPE, WHO FOUNDED A
FAMOUS, BUT PURELY FICTI-
TIOUS KINGDOM,
DELIGHTS TWO AUDIENCES
WITH READINGS FROM HIS WORKS,
MOSTLY FROM THE "DOL-
LY DIALOGUES
MIR. HAWKINS AS THE READER
Lends an Added Charm to the Fas-
cination of the Stories He
Has Written.

It would, perhaps, hardly be fair to
Mr.. Hope, the author, to say that MT
Hawkins, the reader, presents in a new
light the interesting characters or MI.
Anthony Hope Hawkins, novelist ana
entertainer. Yet who better than Mr.
Hawkins knows the charming charac-
ters who people the pages of Mr.. Hopes S
romances. and who better than he able
to introduce the charming Flavla, the
dashing Rudolph, winsome Lady Dolly,
Archie the earl, the somewhat staid
Mrs. Hillary, ingenious George ana
the cynically clever Mr.. Garter NO. l.
to be sure, and perhaps for this reason
those who had the pleasure OF hearing
Mr. Hone when he made his initial
appearance before a st. Paul audience
at the Peoples church yesterday after
noon. felt that they had a personal ac-
ouaintance with all of these noted per-
sonages, such as they had never before
enjoyed.
Mr.. Hope is not a reader in the con-
ventional meaning of the term. There
is no attempt at elocutionary effect.
His method is that of the conversation
alist rather than the actor and yet the
result is an entirely happy one. In his
reading from THE Prisoner OF Zenda
there is nothing melo-dramatic, either
suggestion of the passion, power and
pathos which made the story drama
before K had been fitted with scenic
ettings of the stage. In the Dolly Dia-
loeue" selections, Mr.. Hope is at his
hest His manner lends itself to the
smart cyniciSm of the keen and clever
lines. His humor flashes in the fun
that is often but artistically suggested,
and the polished sarcasms of the polite
world are brought out with unre-
strained but striking effect.
A fairly large audience greeted MIR.
Hope when he was introduced yester-
day afternoon, and there was hearty
welcome for the novelist that soon de-
veloped into a warm appreciation for
the reader. The first selection for the
programme of the afternoon was a
chapter from "The Prisoner of Zenda,"
the scene with Flavia at the court ball
where Rudolph tries to tell her that he
is not the king, and the succeeding in
terview with Sapt where the young
Englishman is between duty and desire,
and where honor wins the day. The
two incidents are, perhaps, as charac-
teristic as any of the story, and the
three characters are brought out in
bold relief by Mr.. Hopes quiet and
simple, yet forceful Interpretation.
tertainment was drawn from the DOT
ly Dialogues" 1.-THE House Opposite" !"
"a Little Mistake" the love affair Of
my Cousin George" and the adven-
lures of Miss Phyllis at the duchess
ball, chaperoned by Lady Dolly, being
the episodes selected. All afforded en-
tertainment, not only by courtesy, but
in reality as well, and the one fault Of
the programme was it's brevity. Mrs.
Musgrave, Dolly, and even the cynical
Samuel are such characters as one does
not meet every day, and, given taste
of it, one desires more of their society.
1.-The Heart of the Princess Osra" was
the opening reading in the evening.
Following he read from THE Prisoner
OF Zenda,'' choosing the chapter, "If
Love Were ALL" Cordial Relations, y
Retaliation" "a Dull Affair and
What Might Have Been" from the
"DollyDialogues''c s''completedt the evening.
What Might Have Been" is consider
ed by many the finest chapter in this
charming little volume, and the au-
thor's own Interpretation Of Dolly and