The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1903-02-23
Comment on
Late Book

A book of interesting "reminiscences
will soon be published Of Dion Bouei-,
cault, by Audrey BOucicault, his son, a
Well-knOwn actor of New York Some
of the first chapters of it have been.
printed in one of the metropolitan dali.
les, and give one a good idea of it's
style and contents. The older Bouci-
cault was man Of rare ability Of
great versatility. He wrote and adapt
ed over four hundred plays and in the
midst of his work as writer and actor,
while he found time to engage with
BeacOnsfeld in a fierce political con-
troVersy over the wrongs of Ireland He
was born with great genius, a sort of
sixth sense which told him what was
permissible on the stage and what was
not. When he was only nineteen years
old his first, and by many considered
his best. London Assurance" was pro-
duced by Charles Mathews at the Con-
vent Garden theater in London. He
was not only wonderfully witty himself
but he adapted other peoples ideas and
every clever speech he heard was pre-
served in his mind like a monograph
He was like many other geniuses-
most indeed-Without much business ac-
umen and no ability to save mOney-it
went through his fingers quickly-so
that in his long life he made and spent
many fortunes. But he lived to some
said for some mere money getters;
lived to amuse many and was the CEN
ter of many enduring and warm friend
SHIPS which are recorded in his sons
DOCK. In his opening chapter he says:
Il cannot conceive Of anything more
brilliant I'D the matter of brains than
l have seen gathered together on a
Sunday evening in the house in Lon
don where | was born. With little
sharp eyed 1rishman presiding at the
feast, have seen at various times Pat
II, Sir Jules Benedict, Balfe, blanche
H. j. Byron, Toole, Irving, Terry, JEFF
ferson, Booth, Florence, Mccullough,
Sarah Bernhardt, De Najac, Paul du
Chaillu, Sir Henry Ponsonby, chamber
lain to the Prince of Wales; Piggott, H..
censor Of plays; Charles Lamb Kenny,
Sothern, Adelaide Nelson, Langtry,
Dickens, Charles Reade, Sir Frederick
Leighton. What a pot-pourri
of intellect was there. NV
father was nothing if not original He
was the first man to put a carpet down
on the stage. In the old days before
London Assurance they played on bare
boards. He was the first, as is known
in stage parlance, to box a scene. No
such things as doors were known on
the stage before he introduced the box
scene. Moving scenery he first intro
duced. Gauze waters were an unknown
countless of the stage contrivances
emanated from his brain. 3 ~
Beaconsfeld said of him that he was
the best all round well informed man
l ever knew" Here is his receipt for
writing a play: First take your story
and cut it into climaXes of your acts
Cut your acts into situations Cut your
situations into scenes. Say who the
scenes are by what transpires between
your characters, and serve hot, or to be
we'll shaken before taken"
An Aching Void.
Between those who are talking about
the decline In quality of the novel and
the overabundance of that form of
literature, and others who prophesy
time when it will not be, it is not
difficult to find point Of vantage from
| which to consider it reasonably. Now
| comes a prominent review and saws
that there has been a dearth of novels
| for time this season which has been
much felt and publishers are looking
| toward the we'll known novelists in
| hopes that they will do something to
| fill the void. At the same time promise
| OF the spring season is not great; there
| is, however, prospect of Winston
Churchill, Howard Pyle, James Lane
| Allen, Israel Zangwill and the writer
| of 1.-THE Garden of a Commuters Wife"
all being heard from, so that we have
something to look forward to. 1t it
hard to see how any person who has
read both books could attribute "The
Garden Of Commuters Wife, to Flea
nor Glyn, who was guilty of 1.-THE Re-
| Elections Of Ambrosine" The former
is a breath of pure country air, a prose