New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1898-10-19
THE DRAMA.
THE CHRISTIAN AND IT'S CRITICS.
A STATEMENT FROM MR. HALL GAME.


ously misunderstood in some quarters. Ny answer
may be direct and emphatic and Il need no; be
very long The public has not misunderstood the
motive OF the play. When people pay for seats In
n theatre and go there TO be entertained they are
in honest frame OF mind. and It Is easy 70 make
them understand. The people who pay FOR their
seats at the Knickerbocker Theatre understand
The Christian"
But the people who go there because they must
because going 70 the theatres IL their everyday
work. may. may not. be in an honest frame OF
mind. They may be tired Of all theatres and all
plays weary OF all entertainment. sick OF all labor
stupid and soured and disappointed. Under such
conditions II H. not only easy for man % misun-
derstand the motive Of play-there Is perpetual
temptation ~ him 10 do so. Then. II he is old and
worn. II he has seen much labor. II his IDEALS
rooted In the past. II his own life has yielded
results adequate TO his gifts. It s not only har4
him 10 be generous. II gives him great deal OF
trouble to be Just and honest.
Such appears to be the case. in few instancez
with the writer's who have claimed 70 find The
Christian an unchristian play. One OF these writ
ers tells his readers that the fanatic who has not
got beyond carnsl temptation has not gone very
far There IL only one way TO deal with state
ment like this. and that is to brand Il. at orce
a deliberate and pslpable misstatement. There Is
no carnaty in the relations % John Storm and
Glory Quayle There IL excuse for saying there
exists anywhere so much az the suggestion q car
naty and the critic who makes the siatcmen,
ought to be dsvoiced. He is not an honest man,
ard he knows H.
A religious enthusiast bull, on the lines 0, the
early Christians counting the body as nothing ard
the soul as all in ALL conceives the idea that a cir.
whom he loves is being demoraiizei by association
with certain men He tries 10 rescue her from
ruin and she will not be rescued. Then Voice
seems to come to him from heaven save her at
all costs She Is touering on the brink Of hell.
70 oil and ou1
destroyed" He resolves 70 Kill her body tina, he
may save her soul.
Now this IS resolution coming on: OF the very
heart ot spiritual love and religious enthusiasm.
II has inspired the righteous fanati" thousand
times The history o. religious persecution Is full
OF this incident You may find II In the Bible.
You may hear IT'S echo in the words Of 81. Paul:
Deliver him up Satan for the destruction o. the
body that his soul may be saved in the day 0: the
Lord"
The man goes 10 the girls rooms on this GRAND.
The girl fights for her life and saves it, How? BY
the sacrifice Of her virtue? There ia not the re-
hottest suggestion OF such an outrage on ar; and
decency The OF her struggle IS the last
ILLUSTRATION Of the purity OF her character.
She meets the man on his terms He loves
her: that IS the first fact His love is the root o. his
fanatlcisn. She conquers his spiritual frenzy By an
appeal 10 hls humln affections One by one she
brings back the memories OF their happy and inno-
CndhOOd.
played and sang and rowed together. says she
dreams OF herself as she used 70 be in those dear
old times. Now that she ia a famous actress she
sometimes gets herself 10 on the stage in the jersey
and stockng-cap OF earlier days. and in the middle
Of a she bursts out crying
The human chord Is touched but the man strug-
g.es to hold on to MS fanat,cal purpose. Why DO
you remind me OF those days7" ne says us II only
to make me realize the change in your" Am so
much changed" she answers and to show him she
IL the same ever. and II ia only the surroundings
OF her person and her re that are different. che
tears down her hair from it, knot, that Il may fall
on 70 her shoulders like the hair OF young girl
and drags away the lace from her neck that her
dress may resemble her girlish Jersey
Look al mo-" she cries. Am not the Same as
ever?' In other words isn't this she whom you
loved when she was an innocent girl and you were
a happy boy and evil thoughts OF the world and
the flesh and the devil had come between u.s."
The woman conquers Spiritual frenzy gives place
10 human love. The man in the man tr:umphs
The fanatic IN the man fails.
Thus far the incident made 70 go IN the novel.
and at that point. for artistic reasons which seemed
to me sufficient. the incident ended. Even then
there was for hurtrul interpretations bu,
there was al least plausible explanation OF them.
In the play there is excuse and no honest eX-
PLANTATION. either. for any hurtful Interpretation
VIVA tever. on tho top OF the climax Storm Is torn
from Gory's arms and turned into the street and
the evil machine OF the play. intrudng himself
into the womans room with the expectation OF sur
prising her in her lovers arms finds her her
knees praying for his protection
need go no farther The people who The
Christian" don't need this exposition OF the motive
OF its central incident but for those who DO rot go
70 theatres and for those who might stay away
from fear Of an unchrist.an illustration OF Chris
tan character, have with extreme reluctance
and deep personal regret. taken this unusual means
- dafo nv ne % rto,
most hurtfu and intentional falsehood.
HALL. GAME.
The 'one" literary sinner specifically indicated
In the above statement Is the hfeous mscreant
who writes this paragraph. In his deplorable
condition OF age, decrepitude. perjury, cynicsm.
stupidity. and universal disgust 1t is OF course
hard for him TO be generous and well-nigh I'M
possible for him TO be Just. or honest. But II
this miserable being, feebly tottering on the
confines Of rretrievabe ignomny. might be al
lowed to summon the lingering relics OF his
ancient candor ne would like 10 say that never
for one instant did the thought which Mr. Ca!re
has ascribed to him come into his mind that
never FOR one moment did he even dream Of i'm
putting low. bad. or in any way unworthy mo-
tive either TO Mr. Caine. or TO Mr.. John Storm.
the hero Of Mr.. Gaines novel and play. Malisn.
and venomous. and abandoned this senile
creature knows himself TO be- he would have
been Mortified at such a thought. and Re 10
frankly astonshed at such an imputation.
When he wrote that "a religious enthusiast who
has not got beyond carnal temptation has not
travelled very far" all in the world that he
meant 70 say was that-speaking generally
and with reference to a class OF persons and
representative mental and physical condition.
I IL fafr
in love with a woman has not made much prog
ress on the road 10 asceticsm. The remark
had TO intentional reference whatever 20 Mr.
Gaines modern paraphrase OF the sacrifcial