The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1906-11-04

1 NntNN WNA1NM - ~
fathcrIand2 Can Rome do less than clay
| these sIa yers too And so. TO the end
os history. murder shall brced murder,
ALWAYS in the name Of right. and honor and
peace. until the gods nre tired OF blood
aud create a race Of men that can under
| stand"
This is. of course. not the spirit OF the
slayer of V~ercingetorix, Of the conquerer
IT thu world. Of the self created emperor
~ Rome. II is the spirit Of Little England
and q B s. is its prophet. Tire opening
allusion TO the Cruciixion ia an anachronlsih'
wiful and conscious-an intrusion oil the
point OF view of the dramatbst which would
ruint the scene. II anything could. but gwen
! tho premises OF The play, and with Forbes
Robertson to read the lines. the enect riser
very high into the region of the tragedy oil
thought. 49,.
II is a thousand pities that Shaw did
not respect his own limitations and the
limitations of the kind of piece he was
writing. Essentially the play is jeu d'tsprH
of a very high order-so high that rs long
a. the PLAYWRIGHT maintains hi. equilibrium
mo- reach OF the mind or the soul is too high
for IL. gag. Quip, paradox and anachro-
nism Notwithstanding. But TINS very
speech was preceded by the death gurgie OF
Pothirus and followed by the sight Of Ftdtd-
teetu-a comic opera nurse, mind you, even
10 her name lying at the foot Of the idol OF
Ra, her blood deluging the white stone Of its
PEDESTAL.
The Shllanite,- the emotional drama
Of life among the Beers in which Miss Lena
Ashwell il making her first American APP
pearance. also suffers from a lack OF tech
meal mastery In the whole. and Is also
largely redeemed by one central character.
Its faults are those frequently found In
dramatized novels, a lack Of oompactness.
luoidity and climax in the construction.
and the sbsence Of any dramatic atmos-
phere other thar Is given by the back drop.
Matters move in a devious and irregular
course to an inconclusive and insignificant
end. II has, however. the virtue. which
Hits like seldom have, Of presenting its char
acters and situations with a caTtsin solid,
II crude, reality.
Dom Simeon Is an old Boer Of the pa
triarchal cast. who has married a second
wife, a beautiful young woman. whom in
his Biblical language. quoting the Song
Of solomon. he calls the Shulamite. Less
soundly conceived he could not fail to have
been a mere figure Of melodrama. for II rs
his pleasant habit to beat his young wife
with the siambok for trivial offences. and
on finding that. though innocent OF actual
sin, she loves and is loved by q young Eng
lishman he departs TO get his rife and
shoot her. But somehow OF other Mr.,
Askew and Mr.. KnobIoch mana ge to make
one believe in the old fellow. He has the
qualities of his defects in full measure.
Though he yields the Mosaic rod and In
terprets the doctrine Of the submission OF
women with all the force Of obstinacy, be
maniiestly dotes on the physical charms
Of his Shulamite. adorns her with silk
and. granted Obedience. lavishes h~usbandly
affection on her.
His conduct in the central situation OF
the play is as convincing "a IL Is startling.
To save herself from the la~sh--there are
dramatic reasons why the blow should not
be 'struck-DeboTuh tie ShSIdrite falsely
declares that she ia with child. In the
instant the childless old man. flled with the
true patriarchial av ersion to race suicide.
melts into doting tenderness. The reason
for the threatened lashing was that she had
disobeyed his command not TO read a play
Of Shakespeare. Now he pours out on her
not only Shakespeare but the literature of
the world. Then. producing an ancient
trunk. he delightedly shows her the baby
shoes and cap Of a dead child by his first
wife-secure in the belief that, D,bordh's an
.ticipations as To their second appearance
on the stage Of life harmonic with his own.
The hisness and the rigor Of the man. his
selfsnness and his tenderness. his o~bstinacy
and his weakness. are all there, ami MIR.
Mawson. who played Dom SineoE scored the
one indubitab DIE success Of the perform
ance.
Miss Ashwell was less fortunately pro-
Videi for. The character OF Deborah was
not lacking in the sympathetic quality. and
in heroism. Certain Of the scene had q
Powerful emotional appeal. But, standing
as she did ~throughout in the centre Of the.
action. the lack Of grip in the play as "a
whole undermined her best Efforts. Her
voice. though powerful and not inhexihle.
has a metallic ring which Is little calculated
70 touch the hear. and her best efforts are
gained by repression rather than by utter
ance. Sometimes her specch was SO hur-
ned and colloquial as TO he inaudiblc. But
she had a charming person. IL u~nGu<hei
prpSence. and technical authority. IL il
TO he regretted that she did not make her
appearance among rs in a sJronger play
ami a less gloomy one JOHN CoasTN.