The times., 1899-02-19

presented in this country, and must needs
explain that the fault to be found is not
with the piece itself but only with the
sort. One may realize that fop is dressed
becomingly and in tasty attire. and yet be
disgusted with his manner of and reason
for so Costuming.
Because of its laughable lines and its
pretty sentiments and its idealiZsd perfec-
tion of detail one could not help enjoying
John Drew's performance OF The Liars
were the work less notable. Author and
actor have combined in making the last
quality especially pleasing to the auditor.
Mr.. Drew does small things as well as Mr..
Mansfield does large ones, and so Mr.
Drew appeals to small brains just as Mr.
Mansfield appeals to larger ones. And this
feature combiries with the others COM
mented upon TO please the women in audi
ences. The most capable and inteiligl mt
OF the fair sex never get beyond love or
pinll-ribbon speeches and taffeta-trim-
ming manners and violet-sachet love-
making by white glove swains Ihey
rarely outlive 4 secret yearning for men
the world and titled Britishers with
rooms in Victoria Street, nor do they leave
behind a certain regard for the overdone
politeness and rnauldin courtesy of these
alleged personages. To satisfy such crav-
ings shopgirls aud dressmakers read Lau-
ra Jean Libbey and the Duchess, while
debutantes- and the fortune-favored go to
see L. H. Sothern or Maurice Barrymore
or John Drew.
1.-The Liars" is less play than it is an
evenings entertainment. Save for the
amusement of the moment it contains no
purpose. its story being mere trifle and
the incidents that grow therefrom of the
lightest tissue. In this regard the effort
is thoroughly French. exhibiting the snow
ball qualities found in "a Scrap of Paper"
and comedies of its ilk. Excepting only
| Sydney Grundy no member of the Anglo
Saxon race has ever followed this pattern
successfully before Mr.. Jones took the
| field, and now it cannot be doubted that
| the gentleman with the commonplace name
| has not only rivaled his more distinguished
| competitor. but that he has proven him
| self the peer of the very playwrights from
| whom he has taken his model.
Those who went to the Lafayette last
week will remember the trunk of plot
| that supported 1.-The Liars" Lady Jessica
| Nepean, a foolish little woman with a
| bear-like husband. had become involved
| in a very harmless, but still dangerous
| Irritation with one Edward Falkner. This
| parsonage was dancing attendance upon
| the object of his affections in the most
apparent fashion and did not scruple to
| keep her informed regarding the progress
of a passion which Lady Jessica was wise
enough to hold three feet away This
evidently harmless bit of business, under
taken by mental schoolgirl in the idea
of making it yield a tribute of admiration
and alteration which her conjugal relations
| had failed to provide. soon became un-
pleasant by reason of the suspicious and
| the meddling of George Nepean. a brother
of the DANES lege-lord. So significant a
disposition on the part of the interfering
relative aforementioned not only affected
the husband temporarily but drove him to
| desperation and ridiculous anger when he
was told of a quiet little dinner at which
| the wife had been discovered with her
swain.
These incidents take the nature Of
prologue, and work through two very in
teresting acts into a third that proves as
| ingenious a bit of construction and as
clever a series of incidents as has ever
been shown on the local stage. Lady Jes-
sica attempts to make her tete-a-tete with
Falkner seem perfectly proper by endeav-
oring to persuade certain friends to en-
dorse her statement that they have dined
| with her. But these stories are alias a
| young fellow puts it-''too jolly thin, and
| fall through one after another, the only
| effect of their arrangement being in con-
| stantly widening the circle of acquaint
| ances who become sharers in the secret.
| Finally Lady Jessica finds it best to con-
1
manfully in setting her right. But by this
| time the husband, Gilbert Nepean, has got
| into a rage and has so provoked the wife
| that she turns to Falkner with her love
| and consents to his proposition that they
| run away together. Then at last the uni
| versal friend steps in, invokes the common
| sense OF both parties and without affect
| ing concern for the right and wrong of the
question shows them plainly to what IN
pleasant ignominy their move would lead.
| Falkner and Lady Jessica separate and the
| universal friend-in the person of MI.
| Drew-marries a widow of his own choice.
At first the moral of this tale seems
| doubtful. but upon reflection one deter
| mines that there is a strong sermon in the
play and that it is all the stronger for
| having been suggested instead of preach
ed. Outside of the offerings argument
for truthfulness, it shows clearly the folly
Of going away with another mans wife
not by squeamish pretence of propriety,
that might easily be set aside, but by con-
vincing evidence that such steps can end
only in misery and degradation. When
one stops to consider he can see that the
little attention paid to the moral side oil
the question is judiciously and wisely
given.
THE Liars approaches the old line oi
comedies in that no attempt is made in
| tlt piece 10 VIII SNlNpdlIy lot any OF lls
characters excepting for that assumed by
the star. Every other one OF the person
ages portrayed has some human but in
tensely disagreeabe fault. There is Falk.
ner, whose sentiment is not only indis-
Greet but weakening; Gilbert Nepean, {
man whose treatment of his wife disp'eas-
es every woman in the audience; Freddie
Tatton. an idiotic nin-com- poop; Georg,
Nepean. a meddling prig, Lady Jessica
whose foolishness and thoughtlessness
really deserve punishment and finally
Beatrice Ebernoe. of whom one sees st
little that she takes unto herself neither
like nor dislike. Mr.. Jones has thought
it enough TO make his people laughab!t
without going further.
Some of the lines of the play are decid
edly witty and some are not. Those a
which the audiences of last week laughed
most uproariously were those of least mer
it. No speech in the first scene brough
the merriment that was excited OF
Wednesday night by Lady Jessica's re
mark. II never carry on any tomfooer,
because I'm not tomfoOl." But this com
bnaiion cannot fairly be made to sery,
as a criterion. Some Of its predecessor
and successors were worthy OF their cor
dial reception and will probably be remem
bered.
The work is throughout a remarkabl,
clever affair and one that merits very littl
serious consideration OF an unkind variety
Its author has only pretended to entertain
and he has fulfilled his purpose most mar
velously. A more spontaneous and provo
cative comedy has rarely been seen. Ii
the formation of his effort Mr.. Jones ha
betrayed remarkable perception of posi-
bilities and wonderful constructive ability
From the trunk of plot just mentione
spring complications and incidents an