The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1898-11-07

Tonight Mr.. Clement and comp,nv will
present his new play, "a Southern Gentle
man."
GRAND.
me secret is out Smith left home be-
cause ne ioyed his wife. He told his story at
the Grand last night and told it so we'll that
ne Kept the audience, that filed every avail
aDie 1oot OF space in the house, in a contin-
uaI roar OF laughter. 'Why Smith Left Home"
Is one OF the purest and enc of the funniest
comedies that has ever come to the Grand
II Is bubbling over with wit humor and
bright repartee 1t is a laugh that stretches
over two hours and half and such a hearty
laugh that the dropping of the curtain be-
tween the acts is positive relief It hardly
seems possible that an author can work out
OF MS grain two such sparkling pieces of fun
as What Happened to Jones' and why
Smith Left Home but theater patrons do
not take this into account, and those that
hed seen the former went to the Grand last
hisnt expecting to see something fully as
good, and in this they were not disap-
pointed. They were even happily surprised
for Why Smith Left Home" is even better
tnan What Happened to Jones'" There is
not dull line in 1t, and, although 1t Is COM
edy, there is not funnyism, not a line not
a word, that even borders on the coarse. It
IS pure, wholesome laugh from the open
Ing word to the close. 1t is all bright and
new even the scenery and the costumes.
The latter are especially deserving of men
tlon, for the women were handsomely gowned
and the clothes of the men were In perfect
taste
Inc story Of the piece has been told before,
but briefly it is this Smith and his wife are
recently married. Smith has been a bache-
Tor, and it is his desire and that of his wife
that they enjoy their honeymoon in the quiet
seclusion of their, own home but their rela-
tives seem to- seize on the opportunity to
visit them from every nook and corner. First
comes Smiths sister, then Smiths wife's
brother and his wife of a day, and her aunt
and her husband, the aunt coming with the
express purpose Of getting the household
started right. All this rifles Smith, and to
make matters worse the servants are new
ana all members of unions and are deter
mined to run the house to suit their own
Ideas. The cook especially is an autocrat of
the worst kind, but in her Smith finds a
friend, end he enters into a compact with
her to drive the visitors away with vile cook
ing. There are many complications; Smith
by mistake kisses one Of the maids and is
caught in the act; Mrs. Smith introduces her
BROTHER to her husband as an Italian sing
Ing master and later embraces him Just as
her husband enters the room. All these mis-
takes are finally cleared up in a masquerade
given ny Iu6 servants IN ID6 evening, when
they had supposed that the family were to be
at the theater, but Smith learns that the
masquerade is to take place and returns home
with the intention of stopping it. His wife
learns of the affair and attends the mas
querade in costume because her aunt has
made her think that Smith is to be there to
enjoy q little quiet fun.
Maclyn Arbuckle, in the part of Smith, is
exceeding clever and funny. He has been
hero with Willie IN
Girl 1 Left Behind Me-" but in the part OF
Smith his work is better than ever before
The part fits him perfectly Miss Marion
Giroux, who played the part of Mrs. Smith,
is a beautiful woman and q charming actress
Her Interpretation of the part OF a young
wife who finds 1t hard to believe that her
husband does net love her, no matter what he
may do, is perfect.
Miss Rose Snyder as the aunt Mrs Billet
doux, played that most difficult part in
most acceptable manner, and Fred W. Peters,
as her husband, a dapper little Frenchman
with the title of general, was very good
Two of the best pieces of character work
that have been seen at the Grand this sea-
son were given by c. Jay Williams, as Count
Won Guggenheim, and Mrs. Annie Seamons
as Lavina Daily, the cook.
Harry Webster. as Mrs. Smiths brother:
Miss Gertrude Roosevelt, as his wife; Miss
Blanche Chapman, as Smiths sister, and NJ
B. Snyder, as Maj. Dunc0nbe an old bache-
lor who has wooed Miss Smith for twenty
years are not given a great deal Of oppor-
tunity, but all fill their parts in a most ac-
ceptable manner.
Miss Dorothy Usner and Miss Jessie Conant
as maids in waiting, very good The
former, especially, is given much chance to
display her abilities and does it in a most
clever manner. Miss C0nant rendered a 500
during the final act in a splendid manner, and
was given a hearty encore.
The cast is. all in al, one of the very best
that has visited the Grand, and is per-
fectly balanced.
The same bill all the week, with the usual
nlatinees