The Washington herald. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1906-1939, 1907-10-01
The New Nationnl-..The silver Girl"

The New NatfOnal-'The Silver Girl"
A fine intellectual and entertaining
treat was offered to the large audience
that gathered at the New National The
alter last night to see the new play The
Silver Girl" by Mr.. Edward Peple. 1t
is a play original in conception; a play
Of Western characters placed in New
York; a play of tense emotional appeal.
with lot Of comedy a play true to
life. natural in it's dialogue. in which
the characters act. talk, and look like
real people; play clean, sweet. whole
some, and entertaining; good to have
seen, heaIthful 10 the spirit, and show
ing, above all, that in some such pic
turesque presentation of phases of true
American life lies the large hope OF the
American drama
II is hard TO think-though compari-
sons are odious-of a play in recent years
so thoroughly American, and at the
same time so unexaggerated, so whole
some. and so refreshing. In its force
ii might remind one OF Charles Klein's
THE Lion and the Mouse" but il is
more natural than that play and less
Western atmosphere of the dramas that
have taken the picturesque West as
their theme, but it does not overdo it,
and thus spoil it, as so many Of these
earlier plays have done.
And one thing must be said; and that
IS that there have been mighty few Amer
lean plays that show such admirable
knowledge of the unities Of the drama.
such close and careful construction. such
feeling for the art or dramatic writing
as this play of Mr.. Peple's. Considered
from every point of view. the play is
beautifully built. It's story is told
straightforwardly. without circumlocu-
ton; no indirectness anywhere. It moves
on from beginning 10 end remorseIessly
and straight; its cIimaxes are wonders
Of ingenuity. and the poetic feeling dis
played throughout lends the play a lit
eraTy quality that insures its acceptance
at the hands of the American people.
The story of the play is simple. JEFF
ferson Hunter is a middle-aged man who
has lived most Of mis- life in Nevada
around mining camps. He has acquired
mine, The Silver Girl" which has
practically made his fortune. He has
son and a daughter, both grown. and
he has married young girl in Nevada
scarce older than his daughter. The four
of them have come East. and are settling
IN New York when the play opens To
them comes Chuck Wilson. Hunters
mining partner-the character that lends
the one distinctive touch Of the stage
West TO the plaS-and lawyers are called
in 10 draw up the partnership agreement.
One of them is Nathan HaTgTave, the
other Bobby WansCOmb. Living with the
Hunters is Miss Julia Raymond as gov
ernesS TO Agnes Hunter. the daughter:
though in truth she has 20 straighten all
the family out II is early seen that
young Mrs. Hunter is taken with Har-
grave. though il is conveyed in a subtle
way. After the lawyer has gone, she
turns TO Chuck and asks if he does
not think that Hargrave is handsome.
Says Chuck:
How. him. Wei. now. I didn't take notice par
ticIlar. If a man hits from the shouder-and tells
the truth don't care how ugly he is Now,
there's Jen- Hes bout the best man In the w0Tl
! reckon. but I don't TeckIcct him shown me
mon nine medals he's took in a beauty show"
The trouble is that JEFF Hunter, in
spite Of his good clothes his fine house.
and his servants, is always thinking
about Gods hills away out there in
Nevada. His young wife. who was a
telegraph operator-''because couldn't
learn 10 be a stenographer." she ex-
plains-is In love with the gayety and
the life Of New York. Hargrave fol-
lows up his first visit by sending flowers
10 Mrs. Hunter They are beautiful.
but as Hunter says:
Then roses put me in mind Of the peopIe-here
In New York. They look all right an hy links
they are al right bur they are gr0wed too fast.
Out home-our flowers come MP every season by
themselves. We md EN- in the raIleys-and we
find 'em in the hills. They are sweet-aud simple
and clean-just like a woman. An that's the Wsy
they CROWN the hillsw
In some dim sort Of way. Mrs. Hunter
seems TO realize what these roses mean
as she fondles them, and with sudden
impulse she puts her arm about her
sturdy, common husbands neck and
cries.
ooh, take me back to Nevada. JET. In lone
some for the hills. m frightened, and I'm lone
some for the hills"
The second act finds the Western fam
fly established in their new and uxuri-
Gus New York house. -Four love affairs
have developed that furnish a lot of the
sentimental and humorous element in
the play. Richard Hunter has fallen in
love with the gOverness, and Bobby Vans
comb has fallen in love with Agnes Hun
ter. Both Of these love affairs are beau
tifully and most adroitly developed In
the meantime HargTave has been max
ing great Roadway with Mrs. Hunter
He has been taking her 10 the opera. her
constant companion. She has not quite
understood all that he means. perhaps.
but he has gone very far. Suddenly. there
arrives from the West Chuck Wilson TO
bring the news that The Silver Girl"
mine has been jumped. and that practi-
cally Jefferson Hunter is ruined unless he
can re-establish himself. 1t is Hargrave's
doing, Of course. The boy and the girl
take the bad news-the news that all the
gay life of New York is over for them
finely. The hard task for jefferson is
10 break # to his wife. When ne does
break it to her. it appalls her She has
been so admired; life, this sort of life
has meant so much TO her, and though
Jefferson promises her that il viii not
be for long, that he viii soon make mon
ey enough TO come back, she Is discon-
ISOLATE. and gives him no comfort. The
end Of the second act finds her facing
what Jefferson has to-
a cabin in the hIls After this! Good God.
can't"
The third act shows the same house
the next morning. jefferson Hunter and
Chuck Wilson have left the house an
hour before, bound for the West The
children and the young wife are TO fol-
low. But Hargrave comes 10 take her
TO the opera, and it is determined that
after the opera she Is TO elope with him
TO Europe-and luxury, rather than "A
cabin In the hills The subway train is
out OF order and the two men miss their
train and return to the house. In the
meantime the gOvernesS has overheard
the plan Of eiOpement and informs Jeffer-
SON Hunter Tgn yrro;sr s.