The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1907-03-10

THE MILLS
Of The GOO"
The Play With the Prize-Fight,,
(iallery-Monarch Name Is
Hit.
BEN GREET HITS BROADWAY
Makes the Manl,attans Sit Up
With His Old-Fashioncd
Rendition.
BEN GREET HITS BROADWAY

NEW YORK, March s.--1xactly what n
did George III. Eroadliurst intend tol
signify when lie named his new NAV
'The Mills of the Gods"? I,onrfeIlow
wrote, "The mills of God grind slow
but grind exceeding fine" Isroadhurst
would seem TO have reached further
DUCK lor an axiomhtlc quotation, ana,
to avoid making issue with the nano
or the Deity, ascrfbed the fine grinding |
mills" to the gods" of heather myth,
o,ogy, rather than to the one God af |
Christianity. There are other hairs ITO |
split, and as "The Mills OF the Gods
is the only new play In all tho length |
OF Broadway theatres this week. whv |
not make each hair bristle with contrn.
Fersial bubble and disputatIon? Tho
textbooks of slang make note OF "the
gods as designating boys who sit in
the top galleries of theatres they also
dcllne one or inc meanings Of the word
IN, mil as a hight with fists Now then
me stirringest OF the passages In "Tho
Mills OF the Gods'' is the one In which
the nero and the villain have a mill"
such as would enthusc the gods" of 81
gallery, and the villain is "ground ex-
ceedins fine" Now there you are. All
nope Is that when the scrap books OF
ipo' nave grown brown and nusty, and
the name OF Broadhurst is associated
with that of Shakespeare in dramatic
fame, this letter OF mine may be found
pasted In among the annals Of tho
American theatre, and that may be
Quoted as recorder of tho facts from
personal observations.
Seriously enough, and quite consid-
erately, Mr.. Broadhurst has written for
broadway play with such a fst-fght
Tor It's crucial scene az would ordi-
narily, be expected to find soulful APP
probation in the Bowery only. His
1irst writing OF the play was tried In
Chicago under the titYe of "rbe C,o,u
ard" don't know how much or in
what manner the mill" figured in the
scheme of The Coward but in ",rhe
Mills OF the Gods" it Is the solution or
the plays problem, the acme of Its
interest, the sum and substance OF it's
DRAMATIC value.
A Red-Hot MILL
First, as to the physical collision.
Robert Drouct is the hero and Edgar
Selwyn Is the villain. Yes, the hand
somely honest Edgar, who was a wooer
with Spanish-Amercan ardor in the
original performances of "Arizona"
with Eleanor Robson, and later the
loving and lovely brother to Mauda
Adams In THE Pretty Sister OF Jose,'
is here assigned to an impersonation of
seonndrelism. Having accepted the bad
assignment, however he conscien-
tiously earns his presumably large
salary. Drouet locks all the four doors
OF a room to leave himself in secluson
with Selwyn. This is in the penulti-
mate third act. The Broadway audi
ence realizes that 1t is going to sec
a Rowery kind of commotion. The OUT
look for Selwyn is gloomy. He is out
classed In weight by Drouct. II there
We're any betting, 1t would be at q
hundred to one on Drouet--until Sell
wyn is seen to pull q knife out of his
sleeve: and .nen for a brief spell the
odds might be even, but SelWyn's labs
with the blade are met by Drouet's
with a. bare fist. SO villainy with q
aticker gets knocked out by virtue with
n puncher, and then a Broadway audi
ence--it was SO on the .lrst night, any
way--goes Bowery mad with all the
noise 1t can make with hands, feet and
mouths.
Nevertheless, "Thc Mills of the Gods
is not materialistio melodrama, but
play of ethical purpose. intellectualis
wrought by an adept author. The point
e Of 1t Is that a man may be COW
ardly In the face of danger until his
latent courage is melted by some pow
erfui emotion. whereupon he may be
come brave to tho limit OF reckless
desperation. The illustrative case 4.
that of n man who, having served
term in prison, and subsequently gained
good reputation, is cowcd, black.
comrade, Cravenly he submits until hi.
love of fond and true girl provide
tho Indictment to courageous defiance
Then comes the fight The play con
e tains many things TO popularize it. we
essentially 1t is a dramatic study o
Z M Cowardice and redeeminS courage II
one Individual.
Shakespeare Galore.
Uppish drama is uncommonly abun
IL NUT In Nntu Vnry yxt1n
Mansfield, Sothern and Marlowe run
ming through their mostly classical
repositories, and Ben Greet presenting
"Shakespeare as written" Yet in al
this plenty of approved matter there ]
none to describe as new. Greet is CIV
ing "The Merchant of Venice" thi
week full length instead of stoppin
1t at the exit OF Shylock in the tria
go