The San Francisco call., 1906-05-20

Latest Of the plays written by Maxine
Gorky, Russian author and revolutionist
who is now here to establish propaganda
for the overturning of the present rule in
his land, are Children Of the Sun and
The Barbarians." Translations Of these
two plays have been made by Herman
Bernstein, author Of '-Contrite Hearts"
and translator also Of Gorky's .Foma
Goroeyev," and characteristic extracts are
herewith presented.
In Children of the Sun" Gorky has
portrayed the various elements of Russian
society, their dreams and aspira tons.
their I'm life and bestial cravings, and
the wide gulf separating the classes from
one another The scene is In a Rus
sian drawing room
LA1s-Xou know how I dislike, how I
fear all that is coarse, and YOU are for
,sver teasing me, as though to spite me.
Waia The locksmfth calls forth within
me q feeling Of terror. He is such a sus-
p1cious looking man-and those large, Of
Tended eyes OF his. II seems to me that
I've seen them before-then-there-
Chepurn10@Eh, you had better not
recall that Leave him alone
MEa-1s II impossible to forget about It?
ChepurnoyIWhat's the use of 1t?
Ltza-No flowers WI ever grow on the
spot where blood was shed
Chepurnoy-And yet how they growI
Liza Crises and begins 20 waik)-Noth-
ing but hatred grows there. When I
hear something coarse and harsh when /
see something red, a melancholy terror
awakene In my soul. and my eyes imme-
diateay behold that beastlike, dark mob,
the blooo-etained faces the FLASHES Of
warm. red blood on the sand. And at nv
feet I see the youth with the fractured
el1n. He ie crawling somewhere; blood
IL pouring down his cheeks and his neck:
he lifts his head toward the sky. see
his dull eyes, his open mouth and his
teeth His head fails upon the sand. face
downward.
Chepurnoy-Eh. my Cod Well, what
shall do with ycuf
Liza-Is It possible that this does not
teTrify your
Chepurnoy-Come, let US 80 into the
garden.
Liza-Ten me-ten me, 90 you under
stand my terror?
chepurnoy-of course do. understand
I'll feel IT.
Liza-No; that's not truel II you only
understood II ! would have felt relieved
] wish TO cast OF from my soul a part of
the burden, and there ie no other soul to
take it-no!
Chepurnoy-I have observed everything
with curiosity, and I have seen that life
is constructed miserably. that human be-
lIES are SIeclt anu STUPID duO Inat am
wiser and better than they are. was glad
TO know this, and my soul was at ease,
even though ] noticed that some human
beings lead harder life than that OF the
horse / am treating harder life than
that Of the dOg-but this was explained by
the fact that man is more stupid than the
dog or the horse.
Liza-Why should you say this? You
don't believe II. DO you?
Chepurnoy-That's the way I lived, and
] felt quite well But here / have come
into your circle and see one consumed by
passion for his science; another dreaming
Of cinnabar with ochre; third pretending
TO be cheerful and reasonable, and you
have glimpsed somewhere into the depths
and you bear tragedy in your soul
Liza-In what way have we spoiled you?
Chepurnoy-This I cannot tell you. 1
liked your company so much at first that
] even left off drinking vodka. for your
conversations intoxicated me. But later
lost my curiosity and began 70 feel un-
easy. I felt uneasy and somewhat awk-
ward, as though the mechanism OF my
soul had suddenly become rusty. / feel
foolish, Yeiizaveta Fyodorovna, and If you
viii not help me-