New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1898-10-11
THE DRAMA.
VIOLA ALLEN AS GLORY QUAYLE.
THE CHRISTIAN"

| kntckcrbOcker
Quayle In a play by Mr. Hall Game. ostcnsiD'y
founded on his well-known book called The Chris
| tian" Miss Allen has long possessed the respect
and admiration of considerable puDhc' Inc
| Christian" has been widely read. particularly py
| the nonconformst class in England ana ny
| kindred class in America; Mr.. Hall came as
| writer has many admirers; and accordingly, the
presence of a multitude Of interested spectators on
| this OCCASION was not a surprise 1t may be said
at once that Miss Allen accomplished a difhcult
task In credtable manner. and gained auspicious
public favor with inchoate character ana an
almost impracticable play. 1t should be ADDED
that her success was purely personal-the success
that is to say, OF charming woman skilled III
the art of dramatic representation
| The public gains nothing from Mr.. Gaines play,
for the moral lesson of his book had already been
imbibed and his play is only loose. distorted maj
equate. and ineffective synopsis OF his booK IL IL
the old story. The essayst insists that being an es-
sayst. he is also dramatlst and the inoraist de-
clares that his doctrines and his precepts are the
synonymes OF action and pleasure. The province OF
fiction. says Mr.. Game is to present a Thought III
the form of n story. There could not be greater
artistic The province OF fiction Is to tell
tale; that-and nothing else. The thought, the
moral. the didactc element will always take care
Of itself and 1t should always be left to DO SO.
Those authors who write novels and make plays
for the purpose OF teaching lessons, intoxicating
truths. revoluonlzng society. and reforming man
kind invariably become tedious. and therein they
defeat their own purpose. Charles Kingsley. Mrs.
Humphry Ward, Mrs. Elizabeth Stuart Phelps. ana
Mr. Hall Caine types OF this class: their works
are full Of ability but also they are full OF weari-
ness. They belong to the family OF Tracts Ihey
preach; and the preachments announce themselves
novels Mr.. Gaines christian. or course. con-
tains some OF the elements of story,-for 1t con-
tains characters and Incidents and 1t shows now
ever roughly and spasmodically, the movement OF
many lives. against a background Of social system;
but it is overwhelmed with didactcism. II breaks
the bounds equally OF and Of symmetry as
a work Of art and II insists so strenuousy on ruo-
bling in" its rite and perfectly obvious moral, that
practically 1t comes at last to be only treatise on
sociology
Mr. Game appears to believe that things are In a
very bad way, In the city Of London; that England
needs apostles: that the Church ought TO be dis
established that the hungry poor ought TO be fed'
that women are often shamcfully treated by men;
that society Is wIckedly cruel toward the female
sinner, and hypocriticay lenient toward her mas
cune partner; that something ought to be i'm
mediatey done to set things right; and that there
Is instant need of reformatory legislation All this
is true: but all this might better be said In Exeter
Hall or in Parliament than In either novel or
play is perfectly useless to endeavor TO convert
either the field of fiction or the field of the stage
into forum for the discussion OF social prob
lens. No theatrical audience can be found any
where in the world that will endure the Moral
Bore. That experiment has been trieu over anu
over again, and it has always failed. The play
that breaches is the play that dies; whereas real
playa play that shows a moving picture Of In
teresting life and commends II to the imagination
and the genial feelings by delicate exaggeraton and
by humor and brilliancy-is perpetual The
Rivals which first acted more than hun
bred years ago. acted last night. and a hun
dred years from now It will still hold the stage.
Everybody knows that there is n frightful amount
OF evil in society. The Bible has noticed that the
human heart is decetful above all things and des-
perately wicked. Shakespeare has remarked That
I'm the corrupted currents OF this world Offences
gllded hand may shove by Justice Some clergy
men are hypocrites. Some are libernes. Even
some of the Sisters not angelic as they might
be. But nobody reads novel. and certainly nobody
attends theatre for the purpose OF enjoying
lecture civil government. religious organization
Puseysm the oxford movement Buffers Analogy
the question OF cebacy in the priesthood or the
regeneration Of the human Things of that
kind have their place. and moralsts will always
discuss them: nothing is more astonishing than
the confidence that amiabe and enthusiastic re-
formers display the advocacy Of statutes and the
passage of resoluOns but the place FOR these
things Is not the stage.
Mr. Gaines play differs somewhat from Mr. |
Gaines book He has not tried 70 reproduce all
his didacticism, but he remains didactic Inc
theme of the drama Is the love OF a man and
woman as affected by religious enthusiasm, on the |
vanity on the other The man is John Storm, |
young clergyman, who wishes TO reform the world |
and the woman Is Glory Quayle. a young lady from
the Isle OF Man. who goes up 10 London TO seek |
her fortune first. as hospital nurse and subse- |
quently as actress. In actual life these per- |
sons would have reached an understanding Tar |
readily than they are permitted TO do In |
either the novel the play. and without passing |
through nearly much tribuaton as their author |
has allotted to them. Storm Is young. strong sim |
cere self-centred. devout, and passionate. He |
loves a beautiful girl. and also he loves his re- |
lyious duty The religious duty impes him in |
one way and the beautiful girl draws him. still |
more strongly. in another. Glory Is exuberant |
Maynard and caprclous intoxicated with the nov |
city OF her adventurous city life and headstrong
with the sense of conscious beauty and power
Storm tries, for a while, to persuade himself that |
he can live without love- and without the woman |
whom he worships. Glory tries. for while. to
persuade herself that popularity, Irritation, and a |
good time In general Will enable her 10 dispense |
with the man whom she loves-so long as she can |
keep him dangling behind her Al the last they |
are reconccd. and the young Manxwoman discards
the gay world. and devotes herself. in submits |
sive and Christian spirit, to love and duty. There
Is much left OF the novel when the poemcs !
taken of 1t. but Mr.. Game has contrved to
show that duty Is "A fine thing and that the
Of true love did smooth"
Miss Allen seemed not to have formed very dis |
tinct ideal OF the character OF Glory Quaye, but
the ambiguity OF the actress Is by means re- |
markable In view of the ambiguity of the author
for Glory Is not distinctly depleted. either in the |
play in the book. The physical image that the !
author appears to have had IN hts mind to
have been prompted by remembrance Of Miss Ellen |
Terry. Glory is more than common ta' and |
has magnificent golden hair and exceedingly large |
gray eyes, in one of which there Is a brown spot |
and she is possessed Of voice that grow |
deep and delicious. as to vile even bear out Of
his winter quarters. Miss Allen. although in a |
different style she has beauty of her own does |
correspond to that description and neither does