Evening star., 1902-02-22

''And Cold MolaSses wins.' This was the
phrase that sprang into the recollection OF
many an old theater-goer when the steeds
went laundering down the treadmiil IN
the race between Ben Hur and MESSIAH
The good old horse that lifted the mort
gage in The County Fair was not to be
disguised by the gaudy trappings of Ro-
man hippodrome
There was once a man who went to see
Niagara Falls. He had heard about them
al his life. and when he secured brief
holiday in order to get married hs resolved
to embrace the opportunity to see this
greatest work of nature. When he first be-
held the immense volumes of water spill
ing over the precipce. he thought OF the
mill dam where he used to pay when
he was a boy. OF course the mill dam was
smaller. Then there was an empty sar-
dine can in a puddle just at the edge of
the falls. A few inches further and i.
must have sped madly into the whirlpool.
There were also some orange peels and the
shells from some hard-boiled eggs. He
could not deny that it was very large
amount of water. and pretty long drop.
But he was disappointed. 1t was somehow
conventional and picnicish.
It would be absurd to compare the mag
nificent Ben Hur' to 'The County Fair,
which gladdened us in less mature years.
And yet it was the same old treadmlil.
with the horses galoping sturdily to no.
where. And there were certain touches of
modern everyday life which were permit
ted to shock overwrought expectation,
much as did the sardine can and the orange
peel. For instance. Ben Hur had just been
vaccinated In Philadelphia. The vaccina-
tion shield showed plainly under the band
age on his left arm. OF course it was pru-
dent Of Mr.. Hur. but it was none the less
an anachronism. The buzz and rattle Of
the treadmill sounded like a congress of
threshing machines. Possibly the noise
could not be diminished sufficiently to let
it be drowned by music. but the expert
ment would be well worth trying. The
conventional stage combat at the close
robbed the galley scene of a greal deal of
its tragic impressiyeness, and the mob
looked much like little neighbor boys and
girls Nevertheless Niagara Falls and
Ben Hur'' are two of the greatest insti-
tutions that the American continent has
produced.
And the dramatization of Eben Holden.
despite its rural charm. was weird and
wonderful exhibition of the extent to which
dramatic license can be stretched. The
compelled to hide their eyes and count a
hundred while they plotted against one
another. And the trees in the brook scene
were marvellous growths, so arranged that
the heroine could trip up and down the
branches at will, like Sapho on the winding
STAIR Yet there was strong human inter-
est. which redeemed technical faults and
made the play a source of genuine enjoy
ment for many people.
*
"Ben Hur' has had productions innu-
merable, particularly in the middle west.
During the fortnight engagement at the
National young matron from Illinois told
the following story of presentation of the
work which occurred in a small town near
Springfield, and which was conducted by
the Ladies' Aid Society of the Episcopal
Church:
Everything had been acceptably arranged
month ahead of time. except that none Of
the town men was suited to appear as Ben
Hur After much discussion committee
of the ladies went to Springfield and hired
the second baseman of the professional base
ball team. He was tall. handsome and we'll
built, they said. "and he seemed to be
man of extraordinary intelligence" Ben
Hur came in for the last three rehearsas
and did well. 1t was certain the entertain
ever given in the town. Everybody bought
tickets. People came from miles around.
1t was even necessary TO extend the
gagement to three nights.
The base ball friends of Ben Hur, whose
name was StottS. supported him manfully.
They attended every performance They
applauded all the dances, tableaux. songs
and SententiouS utteranceS which the la
dies had been able to crowd into the play,
and when finally Ben Hur falls in heap
before the ruined home of his mother and
sister they keep their comments about the
'slide to second to themselves.
But the prosperity of the aid society was
too good to last. The second night Ben
Hur struck for So more performance. On
the advice of their husbands the ladies of
the society voted not to yield to the lock-
out. and the director of the performance
man six feet tall and about as thick as
a match-appeared In the tunic of the hero.
He was no actor. and he certainly did not
look the part, but every one in town con-
unuad to attend Just the same Finally
when the news Of Mr. Stotts' infusion of
baseball methods into ladies aid society
entertainment reached Ben Hurs asso-
ciates OF the ball team they wouldn't have
anything at all to do with him. To con-
fuse history, that second baseman met his
Waterloo In Ben Hur.
*
A New York paper announces that a play
entitled THE Truth-tellers" by Martha
Morton. Is TO have hearing in Washing
ton. The play was some time ago sub
mitted to Mr.. Bellows. who declared it en-
tirely unsuitable for stage purposes In its
then form. He went to work with it, and
the result is practically a new work. A
division of the credit becomes a matter Of
some difficulty. and a production of the
piece has not been definitely decided on.
4
II don't know how many years I have
been playing Joshua Whitcomb." said Dem
man Thompson In a recent interview. but
l do know that / lose my Yankee twang
every summer and then I go among the
down-easters and get my dialect back
again. Do You KNOW" he continued,
the great mass Of the theatergoers are
remarkably fond OF plays in which the
central or important figures are types or
character folks foreign to a degree to our