The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1900-12-16
THE WEEKS ADJUSTMENTS
JULIA MARLowE IN "KNIGHTH0OD.
AT ENGLIsH's ALL WEEK.
First Week OF Vaudeville at the
Grand-At the Park and En-
pirc Theaters.


sincere congratulation upon their rare for
tune in having almost the earliest oppor-
trnity Of any city in the country of wit
Messing Miss Julia MarIowe's splendid pro
duction OF Paul Kester's adaptation or
Charles Majors wonderfully popular novel,
when Knighthood Was in Flower" The
fact that Miss Marlowe has large a fol-
loving in this city as any actress on the
stage to-day. combined with the further
fact that Mr.. Major is a well-known citizen
and resident of Indiana, give ample ground
for predicting that the current week at
English's will be one of the most notable
fl the history OF that temple OF amusement
The story of Mr. Majors witching novel
has been told in four acts, the last of which
includes two scenes. The views shown in
the course OF the play are the river landing
at Windsor Park on May day in 1913, the
apartments OF the Princess Mary Tudor in
Bridewell House. London, the great room
OF the Bow and String tavern in Bristol,
the ballroom in the Palais de Tournelles,
Paris. and the morning room in Greenwich
Castle. England. The movement of the
first act will take the audience quite half
way through Mr.. Majors narrative. dis
closing Mary's rage over Henry's command
that she marry the aged King of France;
her dancing lesson with Charles Brandon;
her confession of love TO him, and her al
ready famous defiance Of the King The
second act gives Miss Marlowe one comedy
opportunity after another, and this pleasing
note is maintained almost up to the fall OF
the curtain on the act. when It suddenly
changes and sounds all the depths of stir
ring romantic and all but tragic drama.
The third act tells the story or the flight
of the lovers to Bristol, the capture by
King Henry's guards and their separation
from each other, Mary to become the wife
OF the French King, Brandon to bide his
time and TO see the issue of her solemn
pledge that she will be the Kings wife in
name only. The next scene disclOses Mary
reigriing as Queen in France and her all
but ruin by the desperate plots of Francis
i. Louis's successor to the throne. Brandon
appears upon the scene in time to save her
and TO carry her back to England as his
wife. In the last act the lovers face the
enraged Henry, who has little liking for the
marriage of his sister to a commoner.
Mary wheedles him so successfully, how
ever. that he not only grants his royal for
giveness, but creates her husband Duke or
Suffolk. A venerable chronicler of the SIX
teenth century concluded his story of the
love and marriage Of Charles and Mary
with these words: '"They deserved, as they
tnjoyed, a sovereign felicity on earth. They
loved to the utmost extent of love, and
their humors and inclinations suited so per-
fectly in all things that. Notwithstanding
the difference of their fortunes. their souls
had all the qualities that might contract
an indissoluble union. and therefore nave
they deserved the glorious name of true
lovers, and in my judgment there are but
few that can aspire to the honor of such a
character"
The incidental music introduced into Miss
Marlowe's production of when Knight
hood Was in Flower forms a most inter-
esting feature of the play. The songs heard
have been resurrected after the expenditure
of a great deal of time from obscure
sources bearing on the manners and Gus
toms of the sixteenth century The air to
which Mary dances in the first act, when
she takes her first lesson in the new step
from France with Brandon as her in
structor, is THE Sailor Lass" song, which
was popular among people of both high and
low degree in the opening years of Henry
WIS reign. Another quaint ballad written
after the marriage of Charles Brandon,
Duke OF Suffolk, and Princess Mary Tudor,
had a refrain which runs thus:
'.Cloth Of gold do not despise,
Though you be matched with cloth Of
freize."
1t is sung by the poet jester TO King Hen
~ as the curtain falls on the last act of
the new romantic drama. Another most in
teresting piece of music is that used by the
priests. who, in the first scene of the last
act, chant a requiem for the repose of the
soul of Louis MI, King of France, who has
just died amid the revelries of a ball at the
Palais de Tourneles. The original manu-
script Of this chant is among the treasures
OF the Vatican library. and was transcribed
for Miss MarlOwe'S use by member of the
American college at Rome who is friend
of the actress and 10 whom she wrote ex-
pressing desire for a requiem dating
about 1910 or 1915.
The exactitude and care for historical de-
tail which Miss Marlowe displayed upon
such a matter as this has been maintained
as regards every point in this production.
Whole days have been spent in studying out
the heraldic devices and insignia on the
furniture and tapestries of the play, and
some exceedingly knotty points were en-
countered. Often il required reference to
half a dozen volumes before it could be
definitely decided whether the roses of the
House of Tudor or the garter and its ac-
campaigning motto of ''Honi soft qui mai y
pense" should be embroidered upon the ia
pestries of the palace interiors, the idea be-
ing that the year 1913, in which the scene
is supposed to transpire, might have been
a trifie subsequent To the use OF the Tudor
rose as an official royal emblem, or perhaps
before the "HOni soft motto was def
nitely adopted for decorative purposes.
One matinee will be given during the
week. on Saturday. Manager AID +. Miller.
of EngliSh's Opera House, has been liter
ally deluged with mail orders for seats Tor
or1a