The Washington herald., 1908-03-31
rhe Relnsco-.I,he Molf.y

| At the BelaScO Theater last night tneTe
was a large and somewhat enthusiastic
audience TO witness the first presenta-
ton on any stage Of the new play by
Mr.. Eugene Walter (who has recently won
fame through the success of his play,
! Paid in Full" in New York;. The
Wolf. The play is picturesque, nevei
/ in treatment. interesting in theme. and
clever in characterization. Il appealed
with some force TO the large audience
present, for il was literally appiauded.
and after the second act the author was
called out and had to make a speech
know II was a good speech. because Mr..
Walter made It. and his bow was most
graceful; but very few people heard il,
because the author was a triie nervous.
The Wolf does much 10 disarm al
verse criticism Of any improbabilities It
may possess by being described. frankly.
on the programme as a melodrama-
even If the word is hyphenated on the
programme we know what is meant.
1t tells a story of love and rivalry in
the Canadian Hudson Bay country, and
It tells it with much Of the atmosphere
that is current in the stories Of Sir Gilbert
Parker or Mr. Charles G. d. Roberts. Its
emotions are primitive its characters
simple; II deals with no problem-it is a di-
rect story OF love; the old, old story OF
bad man and good man loving the
same girl. and the good man winning
her in the end.
One must give praise TO Mr. Walter
for his clever dramatic construction and
for the clOseness with which he sticks
to the classical models-even IN a melo-
drama The action Of the play is all
lc"nfined TO one day. Ii begins In the
morning au6 it ends that same night
II might be said that the author mas
strained a point in his disfavor in call
l3g The Wolf a melodrama. II is
true, there is some shooting and an ex-
citing mcment or two, notably in the
last act. hut the-e is really no need 10
make u mCiodrama cut OF H. melo-
drama-if We are TO stick 10 the text of
th:Ggs-is a drama with musical accom-
paniment. and the soft music" which
styled "chills and fever" music. hinders
rather than helps>the action OF this play
1t really cheapens it, and renders il
less dignifed than it should be-
The story of the play deals with Hilda
McTavish and her father. who are living
alone in a cabin in the heart of the
Canadian woods The father Is a Scotch
Presbyterian he has the blood OF the
COvenanters in his veins: austere, grimly
religious, blindly cruel He tells how he
married a Swede woman. who deceived
him and ran away with another man:
therefore he hates all Swedes. The only
legacy his wife left him was Hlda. and
he hates her because she has fiaxen hair,
like her Scandinavian mother. and his
lightest word for her is a child Of the
devil
Into the woods has penetrated William
Macdonald, an American engineer. who
IS surveying the route Tor a railroad He
Is an adept at seduction. and ne is not
averse 10 speaking of his conquests. He
sees Hilda, and sees I'm her only another
victim; and she. a child of the woods. is
fiattered and pleased by the picture he
draws Of the city life TO which he invites
her But there is another man-Jules
Beaubien. a young Frencn-Canadian.
clean-cut. honest, and all "A man-and he,
too, Is In love with Hilda Against Mac
Donald he has not only the fact that
Macdonald is his rival. but also Mac
Donald has told him Of his conquest Of
Annette VINO was Beaubien's sister, and
who killed herself in her disgrace.
II seems for time owing 10 Andrew
McTavish's blindness and his distaSte
for his daughter. that Macdonald is % be
successful In his plans to carry her off.
but Beaubien intervenes, helped By his
faithful henchman, Batiste lie Grand,
and together they carry Hilda away and
safeguard her.
So far on their journey back to civili-
zation they get. when Beaubien has 20
go back TO avenge the wrong done his sis
ter He sends Hilda on ahead in the
canoe. on her way 10 Montreal i'm COM
pany with Batiste and with Huntley Mac
Donald's assistant. Night falls and there
cOmes-in the gloom Of the forest--Mac-
Donald. and there follows duel in the
dark. the fash Of the rifles alone niurni-
mating the scene. Then the mon close:
the fight finished with knives, and when
Beaubien strikes match-the only
light there is-it is to show Macdonald
dead. Annette avenged. and Hilda on her
way down the river 70 freedom and hap
piness.
All this is very well worked out in
three scenes OF striking picturesqueness
and beauty The first shows the Cana
dian woods in front Of McTavish's house.
the second shows in the interior. and the
third shows the portage Of Little Bear
River. a beautiful scene.
The play has many strong situations.
much clever dialogue. and a theme that
is at once interesting and intensely hu-
man Last night ii was obviously
first-night performance. and there were
some rough spots. but they We're minor
faults, easy OF correction, and there is
little doubt but that the play is booked
for a success.
The acting throughout was admirable.
The cast is a small one and the PLAYERS
have been chosen with care. As the only
woman in the play. Miss lea Conquest
has a hard role. but she performs II with
satisfaction. She has not a great deal of
magnetism, but she speaks her lines con
vincipgly. and in the scene in the second
act where she awakes 10 realization Of
what sort Of love Macdonald means. she
was strikingly good
Mr.. William Courtenay. as Beaubien
the honest lover, was manly. straightfor-
ward, and honest. and he made the char
acter ring true, though there seemed to
be some doubt in his mind as 10 whether
he should play the part with an accent or
not 1t would be equally convincing either
way. but If he does elect TO play the part