New-York tribune., 1901-12-22
HIS MAGMA TION.
WHAT THE PRESS AGENT CAN DO
WHEN HE TRIES.

The effort has frequently been made in these
do justice to the theatrical press agent
but many essays necessary to compete IHe
task. A few weeks ago the subject of his gigan-
tic inspiring and overpowering mendacity was
discussed This IS however only tool of his
trade, It One must be free. liberal
trained and experienced liar cannot be a
press agent But the glory of the press agent
is his imagination What shall it profit press
agent to have been born without conscience or
have fought against it and slain it, If he have
imagination to supply the material for hes OF
for the embeishing of the truth? For, after ALL
telling the truth much and as often as possible
is a point the art of lying though it is one of
the points least cultivated by the average press
agent.
The examples whicn follow all selected from
the actual works of real press agents Every one
OF them sent TO this paper for publication
and they are merely a few Of many thousand
such. Here is a mild to begin with The
statements which 1t makes are probably approXi-
nately true. The Oriental imagery IS the real
point:
Real rocI cGmf ,b opera mas Tbea{re fame
has lowered and fourshed like % rose n,ds Of May bEd
blossoms of springtime would find this comic opera
populace springtime SMILES are pleasing and at
| tractive, but box office which is nightly made %
emerald with greenbacks is far more captivating
| and satisfying TO a manager
| The following tussle with the parts of speech
was undertaken behalf of really good actor
OF course. X Is rubbish but II SHOWS thal tte 4d
suase Is to the press agent clay TO the potter
is the summation Of existence. There is one word
/ which is the magic sesame 20 the golden gates o
peace. II Is the happy medium which brings soul
10 soul makes lignJ out of darkness. changes
/ J.snair 10 hone creates humanity out OF brutes
! and nlls life with one sweet Joyous song of love
and peace even To the end And mat WORD word t Is az
heart, and out OF the union IS born conenfmemt it
IN ni aitbnu, IL tbere is chaos II there is such a
| thing affinity between an actor and an audience
there is such tie between ----- ---- and MS audi
! ences.
/ And speaking about language. here is something
| about how one master ~ It talked about another
The lecturer who heralded in the following
! paragraph was really a popular favorite' ana de
servedly SO. hut he pushed Shakespeare quite
SO hard as his enthusiastic employe would have 1t
! believed
To lover of verbal beauty the names Of shake, Ike
one the master OF the language OF ms people aIiu
the philosophy OF all life, The other the most elo-
the possibilities in spoken beauty and pro-
fnndtty Of th2ueht Thai whGn hn snGeIo
! and Raphael placed ON canvas We're larry sur ,
/ mortality by Shakespeare writ upon the endless
scroll of time and sung in lighter and equally
ti' ion and aciSlng the glamour Of time past and
gone ano sha akespeare are brought tose'pfTIi NEIL
deliver his lecture on Shakespeare
Next comes a little description of a roof
| garden The extract here offered is about one
that the paper would publish II is scarcely neces-
sary to remark that it published none of it.
The first sensation as the visitor steps from the
elevator IS one akin to awe at the VastnesS OF the
illumination. When he has had time. TO recover
from the first shock Of surprise. he VIII find him
never met. Sixty-fve feet above his head arches
| world studded with three thousand frosted cleo
tric lights He looks from one end Of the @ SardeIn
Of the entire block He Is in maze OF tables ana
chairs picturesquely arranged, statues. plants.
trees scenery. flowers and the sweet smelling
odors of delicious buds
The next exhibit Is what press agent had TO say
about a dancer After you have studied it YOU
will appreciate how dancing is the poetry of mo-
rion as you did before:
In every one of her dances the outline Of the
figure always falls into a succession or curves
the eve which the repetition does in landscape
scenery and in beautiful human face and also SO 1t
become so popular. The power of - dances TO
quise perception of what constitutes true harmony
of movement There Is conoeaimeat OF teciienI M S
parently the spontaneous inspiration or the mo
fnTmonce fI at rehearsal said Tier pirouettes
poems; her Moscow shrug of the shoulders Is a re
iliit auisite refinement for in Russia the snowfakes
teach girls how to dance and tn iccies give then
extra lessons In chastity or style
BE thou as chaste as ice. pure snow. thou
shalt not escape calImny but you may be good
dancer and your press agent will be forced to ad-
mi Anybody of course. just now
snowhakes and icicles would teach dancing, but a
few notes how the citizens of Moscow shrug
their shoulders, and all that they mean by it,
would be OF interest There will now he dis
| played to your wondering view example of what
a really good press agent do when he feels
really well and really like work:
A number of costumes received by Mr.
last week from Paris, to be used in the ballet
- al the opening of the WedneS-
day night, in the latest and at present popu-
lar colors prevailing the French capital. coors
that have yet been seen in New-York and
they enjoy that VIII strike the American
| public being quite extraordinary the
crushed strawberry, electric blue and mouse breath
of the past. One of these new tnts rejoices in
the appeation of the sick Spaniard This is a
greensh olive, suggestive of the complexion OF
an Hidago suffering from Indigestion. Another
is the folly widow delicate heiotrope, in
dcative of 'sorrowing, but not without help. The
Paris milliners have named love and longing, "
denoting the rising blush of young maiden when
the dart of Cupid first enters her bosom. Another
color is called the climbing monkey This is a
mixed tint shading down from deep brown to a
tender white shot with charming rose color. An
other rather supdued hue goes by the name of the
'Prodisal Son." and is decided yellow. striped
with greenish brown, illustrative of the 'husks
which the swine did eat" Yet another bears the
curious title lie du couverture which, being
SIDE of the blanket and must be seen to be ap-
preciated. When these novel coors are blended
with the usual prismatic tints of the ballet the
light and shade will produce a symphony
Last is offered touching description of what a
singer did and how the audience took it:
Last evening the capacity OF the - theatre