Los Angeles herald., 1905-01-19

There is not a passage in the play
which was written less than ten times
by these modern exemplars Of David
and Jonathan.
When a drama is prepared in COLA
boration, no man may say which is the
property Of A and which is Of y. One
may say that he thinks he recognizes
the hand Of Belasco in some startling
bits Of stage magic or that a sonorous
line is the work of Long.
The success of THE Darling of the
Gods" rests on something little under
stood and dificult to define. II is due
to that quality which. for lack of a
better name, playwrights call atmos-
phere.
"And, you ask me-" says David Be
lasco. what is atmosphere? Atmos-
phere is largely a question of feeling
and temperament 1t is the apprecia-
tion which the playwright has Of his
theme"
"The Darling of the Gods" was slow
in growing. A year and half passed
before the play was finally completed.
and in every minute of that period 1t
seemed as though it was on the minds
of its authors. The dominant note of
the tragedy was contained in the fate
of Samurai, deprived by law of the
two swords which were the outward
signs of their old-time chivalry-their
souls
Then came the variations, the growth
in the story of the love of the Prin-
cess Yo-San for Kara, leader of the
to save him from the glowing fires of
the torture chamber of the minister of
war; the Staying of the last ten; the
suicides of Kara and of Yo-San. Then
the last effect, the translation of the
lovers to the great white Heaven after
Yo-San has passed through the River
of Souls.
One of the most difficult details in
connection with the writing of a play
is the choice of title. More than one
hundred names were considered before
a suitable one was found. For several
weeks the authors tried the effects of
nomenclature upon their friends. They
watched the expression which came
over the features of the victims, and
at last they found a title which en-
bodied the spirit of the piece and also
stimulated curiosity. Among the can
didates were: THE Red Poppy" 1.-THE
White Poppy" princess Yo-San,''
Heart of Yo-San," Behind the Soji,'
1.-THE Moon Flower" Lilly of Yeddo,'
"The Face in the Lanterns Light" and
Daughter of Japan"
None of these answered the require
ments, and last of all it was suggested
that 1.-THE Darling of the Gods might
do, as there were many divinities men
toned, and "Shaka," the Japanese
Pan, the great god, was often apos-
trophized. Besides, Yo-San had danced
to the gods in the temple of war, hence
a miko, darling of the gods" indeed.
The line which Kara speaks to Yo-
San, You are my darling of the
gods" was inserted after the play was
named.
In their independent labors David
Belasco and John Luther Long pursue
much the same methods. Mr.. Belasco
goes to little quiet country place and
Mr. Long seeks the seclusion of the
uttermost parts of Philadelphia.
Mr.. Longs home is at Ashbourne,
one of the Quaker City's beautiful sub
urbs, a community occupied by such
famous money kings as P. A. B. Wide
ner, William L. Elkins and John B.
Stetson.
"But they don't bother me, so I
don't mind" says Mr.. Long.
Most of the work on his novels and
short stories is done at his Ashbourne
home, in a typical den on the top floor.
Here he labors feverishly when the
mood is on him until late in the night,
or rather early in the morning, for he
seldom retires until a. m.
Often he spends the summer at his
bungalow at a quiet and rather un-
frequented spot on the Jersey coast,
with the ocean at his front door and
wide bay within hailing distance of his
back porch. Here Mr.. Long also does
much writing. He is great mystery
to his fellow neighbors, who cannot
understand why a man should sit UP
until daylight and not have his break
fast until noon.