The St. Louis Republic. [volume] (St. Louis, Mo.) 1888-1919, 1903-04-05

with the late Lord Beaconsfeld or the
rights and liberties OF the Irish people. and
although he unfortunately accomplished
nothing. he gained a warm friend and ad'
mirer OF Benjamin Disraeli. who once SAID
OF him: "BouCicault was one OF the best
all-round. weil-informed men I ever knew
/ remember well sitting with my father In
the Adams House. in Boston. and hearing
him discuss with Mr.. Henry Guy Carleton
his methods OF constructing a drama. II
sounded to me then like a recipe from q
| cook book-the formula OF dispensing a pre-.
scription- 1 was young and did not realiz.
as 1 do now its precision. its correctness
and Its unerring method.
First take your story and cut II into
climaXes OF your acts. Cut your acts into
situations. Cut your situation into scenes
Say who the scenes are by. what transpIre.
|, to be well shaken before taking" This wa.
his recipe and his elixir for a drama
THE FATE OF
MODERN COMEDY.
Dion Boucicaulrs forte as a writer IN
doubtedly was comedy. The question often
has been asked: Why are there so few mod
ern comedies that live? myself once
asked that question. Fortunately the per-
son I asked II OF was my father.
The answer came IN a now Of szpient
sentences. which seemed TO me 70 hit the
nail on the head 50 squarely that immedi-
ately afterward / jotted down some notes
from which 1 reconstruct what he said.
The question. my boy" he replied. ZAP
pears In a great measure to produce its own
answer. Comedy naturally wears itself out.
destroying the very food by which IL lives.
and in constantly and successfully exposing
the follies and weaknesses OF mankind to
ridicule in the end leaves nothing werth
laughing at because It drives out what Il
ridIculed.
sT, g NJ, 81. .rtI.g.- -ht.A 49, --Ay.
taste exercises upon the stage. but the
criticism which the stage exercises upon
public manners that Is fatal to comedy by
correcting the subject matter Of It until Il
is reformed into something tame, correct
and spiritless.
vegetate like a tree and TO become rooted to
the soil in which he grows The present
prevailing style of conversation is not per-
sonal. but critical and analytical.
In the same manner the extreme SIM
plicity and graceful uniformity OF modern
dress. however favorable 20 the sartorial
and dressmaker's art. has certainly stripped
comedy OF one OF its richest ornaments and
most expressive symbols.
"RusktE and the nodding plume were
never more seryfceable to tragedy than ths
hoops and stlr stays worn by
the bellies OF former days were to the IN
trigues OF comedy. Tha ~.seven-fold fence
~ NA1 A1-(AO11LCo5 VI
the dialogue and a barrier against the sly
e-ncroachment Of double entendre.
The greedy eye and bold hand OF indis-
erection were repressed. thus giving a great
er license to the tongue. Love was entan-
sled In the folds Of a swelling kerchies,
and the desires might wander forever
around the circumference OF a quilted petit
coat or find rich lodging IN the flower Of q
damask stomacher.
"A mistress was IN angel concealed BE-
hind whalebone. nounces and b-ocade.
What an undertaking to penetrate through
this disguised
"s~hakesOears with all his genius could not
have written as he did had he lived In the
time. Mems minds are parcel of
their fortunes he says somewhere and his
age was necessary to him
1T was this which enabled him to grap-
pie at once with nature and which stamped
his characters with her image and super
scription."
How true and how convincingly put, But
In writing all this, I. Aubrey Boucicault. his
son. feel Ike a photograph which is merely
reenng on the opinions and expressions Of
one who. now. aiasi has gone to that
from which no traveller returns"