The Washington herald., 1907-10-02


From an old English ballad is taken
this verse:
Around the big world bits Of tangled twne strings.
Souls Of Women and Men.
Neither beginning nor end hath those strange things
Souls of Women and Men
Part black earth mud. part clear blue skies,
Souls Of Women and Men.
All Of them truth ali cf them lies
Souls Of Women aud Men.
And this, bad morality and equally as
bad verse, Is the foundation stone on
which is laid the play a Fool and a
| Girl, by David Wark Griffith, presented
for the first time on any stage on Mon
day night and repeated TO a meager au-
dience last night
change has been made In the play
since the first performance. There are
I just as many acts as there were orig
1 inally. but the first act Is now called
The Prologue" II shows what purports
| 20 be scene In the Bull Pup" Cafe in
San Francisco. Undoubtedly this cafe
happily now destroyed-was a pretty
/ tough place. but at its worst 1t was never
so tough as the scene which is pre-
sented IN this play. The scene shows two
OF the private drinking booths and the
I passageway between. Into this passage
come drunken sports who get familiar
with the walters, and confde IN them
| that beautiful ladies" are going TO meet
them. Into the booth come drunken,
cigarette-smoking women. half drunk.
and all vulgar and vicious. who carry on
conversation IN the argot OF that class
Of women who have been known as
scarlet women ever since, In the time
OF Joshua. Rahab let the spies down
over the walls OF Jericho and put a scar
let thread In her window for a sign.
/ over ali this prologue is the glamour OF
/ a piuful gayety and false pleasure that
may exist In the dark corners Of the
world. but which has no place on the
stage.
Il may be said that the dramatist
wanted 10 show where his hero's feet
strayed. and where he found the girl
he was afterward 10 make his wife but
II one wants 70 tell the old. old and beau
tlful story Of redemption Of either man
or woman through love, 1t is not neces-
sary 10 portray the cutters from which
they are redeemed.
Some may think that II Is art 20
portray this seamy. shady side Of life.
{ There IS no art about H. The glittering.
( spangled dresses. the painted cheeks, the
coarse language. the reekinE cigarettes.
the women CheeTfully and with a leer
accepting money from half-drunken
strangers. the popping Of the CHEAP
champagne corks. the knowing waiter.
the would-be sport. and the portrayal
Of the ruffianly blackguards who live on
the weaknesses Of women-aH this is not
art 1t IS sheer vulgarity and tawdriness;
an appeal TO the very worst and lowest
emotions of which the human spirit is
/ capable.
It is here that the hero, fool from
/ Kentucky, is set upon by two harples
who seek 20 attract him. Failing this.
/ one Of them drags in her young sister.
and finding that the fool" Is bound 10
the hop-felds OF San Jose. sends gthe
child down there to play the part OF an
[ innocent hop-piCker. in the hope that the
attractive bait viii allure him Il does.
/ The Unsophisticated fool" falls IN love
with the child Of the San Francisco
I slums. proposes 10 marry her and takes
/ her back TO San Francisco for the pur-
/ pose. Here come the older sister and
| her bully-lover. and the play degenerates
Z 4iat' AfliNtr WIN the SISTER MO In one
closet and the lover In another-a la Fran
caise! They are discovered and arrested
/ but the fool gets them out. and then
the oride-to-be confesses the deception.
and is spurned by the awakened "fool. -
! The last act finds the heroine, Efie. in
the slums Of San Francisco. in a room OF
which. by strange coincidence. the
( fool is the landlord. OF course he dis
! covers who his tenant is. there Is a rec
onciliation and marriage-and, consid-
/ ering all that has gone before-the fool
remains a fool still
This play is put on under the personal
direction Of Mr.. James h Hackett. who
( Is one Of the best romantic actors on the
American stage, and who recently has
I branched out as a manager. and has
/ been very successful Considering this. II
I Is one Of the most astonishing things
/ that Mr.. Hackett should have put on such
/ a play as this. AS an attraction for first
/ class theaters. it is quite impossible
| There are moments IN the first act. which
shows a beautiful scene in the hopfeld of
/ San Jose, that rise 10 the heights Of ro-