The news & observer. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1894-current, 1898-01-23
The joyous COnnrad0.
By |. ZANGWILL,
Copyright, 1897, by s. S. Mcclure Go.
Author of Children OF the Ghetto" AN Odd Life Etc

struggled up the four rickety flights of
stairs to the local physician, and being
assured | only wanted rest, | resolved
to take it with book and pipe and mug
in shady bcer-garden on the river. |
had been reading for about an hour,
when five or six Tyrolese, old men and
young, i'll their gray and green costumes
ami their little hats, trooped in and occu-
| pel the large table near the inn door.
Presently ! was startled by the sound of
the either, they began to sing songs; the
pretty daughter of the house came and
joined in the singing: l put down my
book.
"The old lady who had served me with
nv Naass of beer. seeing my interest,
came over and chatted about her guests.
Oh. no. they were not villagers; they
came from four hours away. The slim
one was Il school teacher, and the dicker
was tenor and sang in the chorus Of
the Passioll-Spiel; the good looking
man was to be the st. John. Passion
Play! | pricked up my ears, When? IN
their own village-three days hence
only given once every ten years-for
hundreds and hundreds of years Could
strangers see it? What should strangers
, il? GeWiss. This was indeed a stroke
of luck | had always rather wanted to
se, the Passion Play, but che Thought
OF the fashionable Oberammergau made
, me sick. Would | like to be vorgestellt?
| Rather. 1t was not ten minutes after
this introduction before | had settled
, TO stay with st. John, and clouds Of
good American tobacco were rising from
4 tlf
was busying the pretty Kellnerinn.
! They trotted out all their repertory OF
! quaint local songs for my benefit
, sounded bully, l tell you, out there with
the sunlight and the green leaves and
the rush of the river-and in this aroma
of beer and brotherhood | blessed my
damaged thigh. Three days hence! Just
time for it to heal. A provident;al world,
after ALL
And it was indeed with buoyant
step and gay heart that / set out over
the hills at sunrise on that memorable
morning. The play was to begin at 10,
and / should just be in time. What a
walk! Imagine it! Clear GOODNESS of
dawn, fresh green sparkling dew; the
road winding up and down, round hills,
] up cliffs. along valleys, through woods
where the green branches swayed in the
morning wind and dappled the grass
Enthusiastically with dancing sunlight.
/ And as fresh as the morning. was, |
! felt, the artistic sensation awaiting me.
swung round the last hill-shoulder, saw
the quaint gables OF the first house peep
ing through the trees, the church spire
rising beyond; then groups of Tyrolese,
converging from all the reads, dipped
| down the valley, past the quiet lake,
| up the hills beyond, found myself caught
in stream of peasants, and, presto! was
! sucked from the radiant day into the
deep gloom OF the barn-Iike theatre.
Il don't know how it is done i'll Ober-
ammergau, but this Tyrolese thing was
strange tumble of art and naivete, of
| talent and stupidity. There was a full
| fiedged stage and footlights, and the
scenery, some one said, was painted by
man from Munich. But the players
were badly made up; the costumes, il
correct. were ill-fiitting: the stage badly
lighted; and the flats didn't 'jine.' Some
! of the actors had CLEANS Of artistic per-