Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1899-10-03
ADJUSTMENTS.

| who slew Goliath, down to Dewey, who
| took the Philippines. the world has loved
| a hero. Your patent-leathered society char
| acter may recite epigrams for a time and
gain applause but the public hungers for
| the of blood and bones, the man
whose muscles are always in trim for fight,
| and who makes foot ball of the social
| conventions. 1t Is such a character that
Dumas idealized in "DArtagnan." Public
interest in the stalwart young Gascon has
| sprung up anew as a sinister reminder to
| the good people who are imagining that
| human contentious may be settled by
boards of arbitration. The audience which
| thrills at the clash of two swords and
| eagerly hopes for the fortunes of favor
lite would go to sleep over learned argu-
| ment on the merits of the
| There has been great deal of DArtag-
nan recently. But there Is no fear that the
public will lose its love for the impetuous
youngster or for his three whimsical COM
| panlons. There is so much fascination in
| the character of this impulsive, true
| hearted young braggart that no actor of
| reasonable intelligence could fail to make
| 1t entertaining. 1t might be said that all
| u ArtagnanS are good, but some are bet
! ter than others; and Of them all. the DAT
| tagnan of James O'Neill is probably the
| best. His general style at times suggests
the marvellous natural grace displayed by
the late Frank Mayo in romantic roles.
Mr.. ONeill is not wholly unaffected in his
| playing. He is beloved Of the gallery, and
he is too loyal to hts admirers aloft to risk
disappointing them by any lack of empha-
Sis. Those touches Of delicate expression,
the nice infection of a syllable or some
fleeing gesture which speaks volumes, are
there to testify eloquently to the stars
inner capabilities, and the vigorous demon
STATIONS which he often sees fit to employ
are at times little rugged in their con-
trast. AS lovemaker, Mr.. O'Neill is
more than ardent. But it is all melodrama
of the most pronounced type. and in true
melodrama there is passive voice. Con-
ditions of mere being or state In which
hero or heroine INDUCES in audible intro
spect1on have no place there. Good melo-
drama is always entertaining; fact which
has led to the putting of so many cheap
and fraudulent articles on the market that
the entire species was in danger of falling
into disrepute The present production of
THE Three Musketeers" is one of the most
paintaking that the American stage has
seen. Miss Maud Odell as "Miladf' gave
noteworthy performance. She is a fine
actress; so fine, in fact. that she compels
serious acceptance of her work even
when in her frenzy at being unmasked by
DArtagnan she throws herself across a
ia and tries to bite pieces out Of the uphol-
STEERING. The production Is magniticently
mounted and the company is one of a
markedly high average of ability. There
are several representations which command
more than passing attention by their sx-
ceptional merit.
NATIONAL THEATER.-A few drops of
new mown hay cologne and two strands of
blonde hair. About these apparently harm
less possessions Bison and Leclercq con-
structed play which capitvated French
audiences. and which William Gillette
adapted for the English stage, under the
title Because She Loved Him So.' The
cologne and blonde hair Is placed on the
shoulder Of young husband, and a jealous
wife does the rest.
Because She Loved Him So" was pro-
duced at the New National last evening
ha arfn hnir, 1plp
the greater part Of the Dewey parade had
passed UP the avenue. The title gives no
indication Of the continued fun of the play
a three-act comedy, which contains no
suggestion of its French origin. and which
is staged and sustained in every detail in
an artistic manner. There is succession
of odd situations from the beginning to the
end of the play,and while the audience Is
frequently convulsed with laughter the
comedy is only occasionally broad, the sue
cess being assured chiefly by means Of deli
cate Interpretations of the various parts
]. E. Dodson as John Weatherby and Miss
Annie Irish Gertrude West, the jealous
wife. both did excellent work. Dodson
makes a strong character of the loving old
husband, who is forced to quarrel with his
wife in order to give their daughter an OBJ
ject lesson in domestic discord which will
long be remembered Miss Irish Is fully
equal to the part she plays, and scored a
great success Francis Carlyle as Oliver
West. Miss Meek as Mrs. John Weatherby
VIM. B. Smith Edward Marsh Tully
Marshall as Rev. Lyman Langley, Miss
Leonora Braham as Donna Adelna Coma
les, Miss Maggie Fielding the privileged
servant girl Miss Marian Fairfax as Miss
Julie Langley and Mrs. Mayo as Susan,
were all particularly we'll adapted to their
parts.
The play ends with a general reconcilia-
tion and the jealous wife, after having
done considerable mischief, sees the error
of her ways. but excuses herself on the
plea "Because She Loved Him So"
LAFAYETTE SQUARE OPERA HOUSE.
Harrison ]. Wolfe opened at the Lafay-
cite Square last night in the "Corscan
Brothers" There a fairly good house.
considering the fact which Mr.. Wolfe ex-
planned in a brief curtain speech. that there
was quite an attraction outside in the per-
son OF Admiral Dewey. Dumas. drama is
familiar to all theater-goers, so that the in
terest in the present performance turns al
most entirely on the people in the cast The
scenic effects and the stage settings are
quite up to the best presentations of the
play. Mr.. Wolfe, who takes the somewhat
difficult role of the twin brothers. Louis
and Fabian de Franchi, acquitted himself
with credit The part is one in which the
most finished actors find 1t difficult to reach
just the proper height in heroics without
stopping over into mere rant. Mr.. Wolfe
has a few of the ma nnerisms which belong
to the transforming conception of the play
but, taken as a whole, his work was very
satisfactory. Mr. ]. Allison Lessey as NJ
Chanteau Renaud rather overdid the role
OF the villain. He tried to look like a viii
lain, as well as act the part. He would
have been much more successful if he had
cut out his stupid poses. Miss Corinne
Parker. who took the leading woman part
of Emile de Lespane, scored a decided
success. Miss Parker is a Washington girl
with but brief stage career but her work
gives decided promise of future triumphs
She gave most intelligent version of the
character Of Madame de Lespane, and
though there were some evidences Of lack
Of stage experience in her work she has
youth. beauty and vivacity to make I'D for
this lack of experience There was another
young Washingtonian in the cast in the
person of Mr. S. c. Halsey, who took the
part of Baron de Montgiron. Mr. HaIsey's
stage career, though brief also gives prom
Use of success. His work in his present
role is Intelligent and pleasing. Miss Maude
Atkinson. the mother Of the De Franchi
brothers, was very satisfactory. The most
finished piece Of work in the whole cast
however, is that of Mr.. F. W. Work as
Boisae wood chopper.
The Corscan Brothers is billed for to-
night, Thursday and Saturday nights; We'd
nesday night and Saturday matinee will be
devoted to Hamlet" David Garrick' is
the bill for Wednesday matinee and Friday
night.
THE NEW GRAND.-Without a single
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