Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1898-04-24
VERSIONS OF FAUST.
NEW ONE BY ACTOR JOHN
GRIFFITH TO DE SEEN HERE.
COMPONENT PARTS OF WILLSS PLAY
The New Partnership in the Academy
of Music-Effects Of the War on
Theatrical show Business The
Summer NaudeNilles.

The mental attitude of Faust at the
beginning of Wills's play is that Of CO.
mingled bitterness and apathy. lie IS an
aged man, weary of himself and of the
world. lie has uttered a curse upon
everything. including the great virtue of
patience, which is mans chief stay ana
last refuge. At that supreme crisis, the
spirit of evil offers to him-as the price
of his immortal soul-knowledge without
limit, together with the power and glory
of youth. A compact IS then made, ana
he agrees to forfeit himself, whenever he
shall find an hour so sweet that he ask
IL to linger. The conviction that Faust
has reached is that of the preacher, IN
the Bible-that everything is vanity-and
he makes the compact indifferently, feel
ing that nothing can ever come of it.
That being done. he is, by witchery, re-
stored TO youth and Mephistopheles
thereupon Immediately contriyes for him
the ordeal and temptation to which youth
ais ordinarily subject-the temptation
through love.
In writing his play upon the basis Of
Goethe's poem. Wills did not attempt 10
incorporate the complete philosophy Of
that great work, or to treat Of its meta
physical subtlety. or TO indicate, eXcept
Remotely us aIegOrical meaning. The
component parts of il that he endeavorod
to reproduce are it's love story. its charac-
terizations, its spiritual invesuture. its
dramatic movement, and its weird atmos-
phere. Most OF all, he strove TO tell its
love story in a manner that might prove
effective TO an Englsh-spcaking audience.
The play, like its great Observation-Disclosures
II follows at a long distances an ale
gorical poem; and as such, il bears upon
the struggle through which many minds
OF this epoch seem to be passing-the
struggle between materialism and spirit
uality, the promptings of the senses and
the nobler aspirations Of the soul
There are good many other people,
besides King Cana, in the Gilbertian
travesty OF THE Princess" TO whom eX-
istence would prove extremely fiat. with
nothing whatever 10 grumbe at" \ GER
tain amount Of gratitude is. therefore, due
10 those essayists and social philosophers
who made II their business 10 suggest
sentimental grievances. by way OF sup
plementing the more practical ones which
arise out OF the circumstances of every
day life. III they were only a little les.
restricted in their range OF subjects, oul
professional grumbiers and lamenters
would be invaluable 10 that large elias,
of persons who are never happy unles.
they are grizzling themselves over
some real or imaginary. public or private
misfortune. But IL would seem thar tho
literary Jereniahs and C8ssandras are q
somewhat conservative and unimapina.
live tribe, having only a limited roprc.
toire OF stock theoretical grievances. n
which they return again and again liAe
dog TO a bone, and which they worry
until their readers are driven TO examine
the other side o. the question. ana re-
assure themselves by the discovery Of
compensatlng circumstances OF such D,
that a8onized wall about the iovelines.
OF all things old. the hideousness of al
thihss new, ana the hopelcssly DEGRADED
aspect OF modern life from The aesthetic
point OF view, which repeats itself from
~ ume 10 time with the aggressive persis
tenoy Of recurring decimal. The popu
iarly OF the subject is probably due. In
some measure. at least 10 the facility
win which II can be used as the tex
OF a olatribe Of the familiar pessimistl,
@r" nDon the resilient results OF pro