The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1907-12-08
KISSES AND DAVID BELASCO.
IMPORTANCE or TINE DOTTED =
IN ms RECENT DRAMAS.
Why He's Nat = RealLst. Tor All SITS RepIVaua
shown Anew bO The Warrens Oh V1r-
gtpla"-Play Finds Where True Drama
ncklns~~Nur. keenan's Fine Acting.

shown Anew lR The Warrens OIL VIr-
gtpla"-Play Ends where True Drama
BekIns-sr. heenRn's Fine Acting.
once IL was a he'd. now II is a kiss. that
Mr.. Beiasoo caRnot get along without in
his dramas. Having discovered that beds
Rro also used TO sleep upon, the Wizard has
discarded them from his hist Of theatrical
properties. and adopted Kisses.
The BelRsco kiss differs from every other
variety. when all IL said. what N a kiss7"
asked CyranO. and. he replied 10 his own
question that u was "a rose red dot upon
the letter ! in JovinR' and, many other de-
lectable things beaide, which 80 moved the
heart Of the fair RoNane that she cried out,
sCome and gather IL, the supreme howeri"
But there the matter ended She didn't
say anything more about that particular
kiss all the rest OF the play. The I was
dotted. the page turned. Roxane. however.
was Frensh, MIR. Fselasoois reosnt hsroinas
are not. Such c,.rpc diem philosophy is
impossible for them. They go on talking
about The kiss till the end Of the chapter.
IL IL evidently a tremendous event in their
young lives. The Girl Of the Golden West.
who had bended har in a California mining
ramp for years without a single lapse from
the chaste standards OR DOwie. IT.. which
10 one of-the miracles Of modern drama.
had no regrets that her lover was n high
wsynian. But she couldn't get over the
fact that he -had her first kiss She dwelt
upon this awfnl loss with pathetic insis-
kence. The little Rose of the Rancho
who a been Laughing in the leaves"
Nor quite some time amid amorousiy inclined
young men Of Spanish extraction. was
equally ignorant of the dotted j till her
false lover kissed her. And then she ran
20 the shrine of the Virgin and wiped the
vile thing from her lips. And in The
warrens Of Virginia" we find the same
allegiance tn the Prohibition party among
the fair daughters of the r. +. VS.. Agatha
Warren. who in common with the rest Of
her family talks about Southern chivalry"
and such things To a degree that almost
approaches realism. is quite az unkissed
~ her California sisters. And after her
Northern lover has taught her the proper
way TO dot an !. il is that which rankles in
her bosom when she learns his treachery.
The mere fact hat ne has violated the hos
pftality of her home, that he has brought
ruin on the Southern cause, disgrace upon
her father. that he has done. though in the
stern duty Of war. a despicable thing and
shattered her ideal Of him. is apparently
as nothing beside the fact that he has kissed
her. It is that she RACES about. walking
down stage towsrd the fireplace. For
her the seems to be measured by the size
Of the dot.
Now perish the thought that We should
seem to speak lightly Of 40 important a
matter as a lady's kissl II is a subject.
to be sure. that We would not wish to APP
pear too wise about; hut We would not
appear unduly ignorant either. And when
The Girl Of the Golden West sets so much
store by something (which neither her
environment nor her Instincts would have
taught her was OF supreme importance
we are a bit sceptical. Again we are scep-
tical when Miss agatha Of Virginia naively
tells Lieut.. Burton that down South a man
doesn't kiss a girl. nor a girl a man. till
it's very swfully important and meaningful.
That is doubtless supposed to be another
manifestation of Southern chiValry."
Whether it is chi valrous or not is largely a
matter Of individual temperament Whether
IL il true or not is another question. and
one that cannot be decided except by the
evidence of those who manifestly won't
come into court to testify. But a certain
gentle and kindly scepticism will surely not
be construed as an insult. even in Virginia.
KtkJHtI may " nc Nhhth as COLuDAlTl6uJs
II Southerners talked a little less about
their chivalry they might win more ere
dence for it as something different and
finer than the ordinary gentleman's regard
for his women folk the world over. As
IL is the matters of sex probably absorb
quite as much OF the attention Of Southern
men and women as Of Northern. and the
Southern girl is probably no lees instinctively
.A k.r nrVarI arasnat Nhn auaot auoNra.ys
assaults of her chivalrous young cavaliers,
and no more tenacious in resistance.
The whole question is one of very con-
siderable unimportance. II there's any
body who doesn't know, that the kiss Of
first love. the betrothal embrace, is a high
and holy thing, a civilized community is
no place for him. And il there is anybody
who does not know that there are also other
kisses sweet and harmless; that the hymn
Of loves o~mnipOtence never was and never
ran be ohanted with meeting lips alone.
he is a very curious sort of person. Mr..
Belasoo is overwOrking this kissing busi-
mess. He has tried to give to something
superficial and episode the air OF depth
and finality. He has turned a simple mani
Hesitation of half physical passion into
a dramatic convention and sought with
Il TO achieveSan effect OF emotional reality.
The attempt is 90 characteristic OF his
methods-we say his methods advisedly.
though William de Mile wrote The War
rens Of Virginia'-that il serves 10 point a
lesson quite as well as anything else in this
latest play at his theatre. ,
For Mr.. Belasco. widely heralded though
he be as a ~realist, is as a matter Of fact no
realist at all. The achievement Of true
poetry perhaps requires the brightest talent
and the most devoted effort. But next to
that the achievement Of realism is the most
dinicult task for the aKtist. one that re-
quires insight. imagination. u~nHagging
purpose. unfiinching adherence to the
truth. Realism is truth to the facts OF life.
and realism on the stage must be truth to
the facts OF life mirrored in an art form the
most trying Of all art forms to bend TO
reality. The play wright who would be a
romantic or who would create melodramas