New-York tribune., 1901-11-12
THREE NEW PLAYS.
WELL ACTED-MR. EsMoND's SEN
rrMENTALIST" - THE LAST
OF THE DANDIES"
London, October 30.

THO hest or tEe new plays oI lne Eeek-an0
- have been three-is Mrs. Clifford's The
n.,sss of the Night at the St. James's
.no.+re. .,a 1t is sombre. painful story but it
.-,a 10 life, admirable in literary form and
,.soush It IS a problem play with a man and
@ urornen wife and mistress, il is not un-
-.oesore in its morality If unchaste
&c never to be represented on the stage
NV circumstances, Mrs. Clifford's play must
- r,,lAa ont as unfit for production or discus
-, br- that is a hard saying which does not
,,ca many sound n2oralists and lovers of
.-,es, drama A more practical and, think.
,,ore logical standard is the general ethical
.-.rd ~ a play If il is in the direction of vul-
~.-,.v licentiousness and immortality, vice being
aoned and virtue being degraded, 1t ought
. -. cas+ ont as tainted and unclean- If 1t en-
.o-oas the moral obligation of marriage law
-o-,otas the interests of truth and right
-.-.,o =, NAV serve a useful purpose, either
- f1ue-ration of the life and manners Of the
s,, nv as p warning against breaches of domes
a., ,,-F+v Neither man nor woman can be the
-sa for seeing The Likeness of the Night
rba ethical teaching is summed up in one of the
T the text: 1T is the deed. not the motive.
-. ,o,,nts" The motives of the pleasure low
t. husbands double life might be a tangle Of
-ae,iot-z, The outraged law of marriage and
Of morality wrought rs 0' t-e-''NA' anu AZ
eyttable retTibutlon-
Tho first act introduces the kendals, as f3er-
.a-5 Arcberson and his wife Mildred. IN their
-, ,oou1 In Onslow Gardens. receiving
.,o,- CHESTS and disclosing when left 10 them
1os .be hoIlovness Of a home life where kind
.ss and respect have taken the place OF love.
nha a-t Of wainwright and actors is equally sure.
The easy going barrister. who has married for
money In order to get on in his career, and the
-rirn highly sensitive wife, who adores her
husband. is starving for lack Of affection and
does not know how to win It, are revealed py
Che lucidity Of the text and the directness ana
simple realism Of the acting When the nus
hand leaves her an accident. which Is the closest
o,nroach to theatrical device in the play, pro-
i5ee ber with a clew TO the mystery Of the
double life The next act discloses the second
borne in Hampstead, with Mrs Tree as the
mistress. putting the finishing touches on ber-
rard Archerson's portrait and revelllng IN IRE
spousibfe happiness because she mas MS heail'
rhatever may be the conditions OF money or
law He visits her and they talk about the neg
,sc,es wife, she with genuine pity and he with
easy going indifference After his departure
the wife enters. recognizes the portrait and.
without betraying her own identity, draws OUT
of her rival the story of the husbands infidelty-
dramatic scene to be witnessed on the LONDON
...e this season Mrs Tree acts with winsorne
grace and true feeling, and Mrs Kendall with
,pa e1,h-le+v naturalness and consummate power
Of a great artist.
The third act records the sacrifice or the
broken hearted wife, who has resolved TO go
syav tc commit suicide in order that her NUS
band may marry a rival better suited 10 hiih'
II is staged for the deck saloon or a sleaIiiei
starting for Gibraltar and is occupied mainly
with The leavetaking between husband anu
wife The fourth act reveals a new nome III
HYDE Park Gate. after supposed lIitei Val oI
eighteen months. and denotes first the ilappi
ness Of the husband and his second wife and
subsequently their contrition and despair When
the identity Of the unknown visitor at Hamp-
s,Aad is disclosed and a belated letter is re
cef,ne5 from the heartbroI1en Mildred, written
m The sea before she perished in the great
waters Both are horrorstricken with remorse-
They are fellow prisoners in their new holhe'
unconscious accomplices in a terrlpe uaseUS'
shackled together by sense OF guilt, yet torn
asnnder and forever separated by the memory
Of a pathetic act Of self-sacrifce and by con-
sciousness that they are condemned hence-
forth to sorrowful retribution for violated law
and morality A morbid play it may BE- put
the ethical teaching is sound and wholesome
a
seen at any other London theatre Mrs Tree
plays with remarkable delicacy and emotional
power and Mr. Kendall makes the past OF the
recreaot husband intensely human and entirely
reasonable AS for Mrs Kendall she commands
the sympathes Of the dullest spectator ana
draws tears from many eyes. Her performance
Is absolutely sincere and perfect in stage re-
source No actress in England rivals her
in sensibility and womanly tenderness Her
play Of facial expression in the Hampstead duel
is marvellous. and what an instrument is her
voice and how perfectly she uses it
Mr.. Esrnond's play. The Sentimentalist, at
the Duke ot York's Theatre, is also an earnest
and thoughtful drama but it has little to Go
with life and human nature, and IS rnarred by
a bit of theatrical melOdrama which Interrupts
the progress of painstaking study OF character
and temperament. II opens with romantic
prologue staged for a hilltop in Wales, where
a young musician, Evan Grifen. is awakened
rom sleep in the open air by a kiss from Mary
curgenven. a mischievous girl. who has pro-
missed to marry a rich contractor. The f1irta-
ton is prolonged through three scenes, and is
brought to an end when she announces her I'M
pending marriage, and he goes down into the
world with ambition quickened, but with falth
IN wonan's love and sincerity destroyed The
lrst act after the prologue presupposes an in
'eryal Of twenty-three years. during which the
youth has gained wealth and professional repu-
sston, and become cynical Lothario While
Lady Venger has grown stout and middle aged
tno has a daughter who is the image OF her
iorner self The second Mary is called upon
Goose between two suitors. the Duke OF
belnont, with money and rank. and pennless
'sck Garth whom she loves; and the senti-
mental natron. who has not been satisfied with
As' own mercenary marriage. has summoned
me hero of the hilltop fantasy to help her in
saving her daughter from a match without