The herald., 1897-08-20

memories and the knowledge that he has
arrived at middle age. Incidentally he
takes under his roof on the same night
the belated parents who are in pursuit
of the runaway daughter. The morning
arrives and Mr.. Drew, on seeing Miss
Irving in full daylight, finds his youth
revive and he straightway falls in love
with her as Dolly, There is breakfast
scene where nobody eats, but at which
we learn that porridge, kidneys and
poached eggs, with tea and coffee, form
the bill of fare. 1t also appears that Mr..
Drew and Harry Harwood, the latter as
the naval captain, have been making a
night OF 1t; the captains boot is in the
punch bowl when the curtain goes up.
and Mr.. Drew is recovering from the
alcoholic stupor of nights indulgence
and parades the stage in his stocking
feet. Shoes are, indeed, prominent in
this act, for Mr.. Harkins, as the pro-
fessor, changes his footwear with elab-
crate care, and his list slippers are
afterwards carried across the stage with
pair of tongs by Miss Irving
Arriving in London, the reconciled
family, with Mr.. Drew and the profess
sor, put up at an inn to see the corona
ton procession of Queen Victoria. Here
the young, would-be elopers have lit
tie tiff and Mr.. Drew is about to take ad-
vantage of their difference and step in
himself to fill the young mans place,
when he is restrained by some sound ad-
vice from Mr.. Harkins as Professor
Yogram in scene that is worked up in
highly theatrical and unnatural man
ner, where Mr.. Drew becomesstilted and
artificial besides being obtrusively loud,
in all of which he is efficiently backed up
and sustained by Mr.. Harkins. The act
closes by the return to reason of Mr..
Drew and the disappearance from the
stage of all the other characters who
thenceforth fade into oblivion.
The last act is a short monologue by
Mr.. Drew. 1t is supposed to occur fifty
years later. and in the same room in
which he took his farewell of Miss Irving
he appears as nonagenerian. He listens
to the noisy celebrate of Queen Vic
toria's jubilee, and bit by bit remem bers
the circumstances of fifty years before.
Mr.. Drew does a fine piece of character
work in this scene; in fact, it is the best
thing he does in the play. He is also
hearty and wholesome in the earlier
scenes, genial, convincing and true, with
the exception of the one scene with the
professor, before noted
Isabel Irving is somewhat of a disap-
pointment, after all that has been said
about her. She has the same husky
voice, only a little more pronounced,
with which she played here in the "Pris-
oner of Zenda," and it must be admitted
that the coiffure of the early Victorian
period is trying to her style of beauty.
Her role calls for the display Of that kind
of talent which portrays the ingenue,
pure and simple. There is nothing more
In it, no awakening to a womans per-
ceptions of life; she is to the end of the
chapter simple girl. Miss Irving is
charming, she is delightful and sweet,
and all that sort of thing, but she cannot
personate the ingenue without at the
same time indicating some of the affected
characteristics of the woman of the
world.
Dan Harkins, an old Los Angeles IA
vorite. is excellent as the professor. Mr..
Byron is Henry Milleresque young
man who plays with such an intensely
disagreeable intention that it is a mat
ter of wonder how he ever got any girl
to elope with him.
Harry Harwood's captain was delight
full, and Mrs. Annie Adams made capt.
tai sketch of his verbosely polite wife
OF the smaller parts Frank E. Lamb had
a good makeup and acted we'll as
Abraham. Graham Henderson was a
good postboy, and the charming little
English maid was prettily done by Sarah
Converse.
Rosemary" will be repeated tonight.