Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1908-01-05

lis mas planted DOln Ieel SQudTeiy on
the map, rolled up its coat sleeves
and defiantly inquired If it isn't the
Athens of this continent by gosh Cor
whatever the favorite colloquialism of In.
diana may be-, who is? One reason for
this is that Indiana wasn't afraid of hard
work 1t took off its coat and went to
work in literary fields with the same zeal
that our ancestors of the middle west cut
underbrush and grubbed stumps. 1t didn't
care for style-that came later, When Ed
ward Eggleston, one of the literary pio-
neers wrote The Hoosier Schoolmaster,
he selected honiely models and sketched
them with strong broad lines, but with
such human affection and understanding
that they delighted many readers, even
though they found faint applause with the
worshipers of fine-spun phrases. There
must necessarily be some question whether
a book with so blunt a title, and especially
a book that sometimes makes folks laugh
right out, loud. could be real literature.
John Hay, another Indiana author, is said
to have regretted his dialect poetry, which
aimed for the heart straight from the
shoulder. Joaquin Miller, though often
woolen-shrted in style, showed, on the
whole, more respect for form and tradi-
ton and was in consequence more toler-
ated by the syntax and prosody experts:
Indiana'S genius has since covered d
wide range from the sublime by Gen.
Lew Wallace. to the ridiculous by some
of-the commercially exploited novelists of
more recent times. James Whitconlb
Riley, though not much on prose, Is still
recognized as a master hand at poetry in
every company where il is considered good
form to ask somebody to recite something.
while Charles Major. Booth Harrington
and others can tell YOU Just how lords and
ladies andEother people of undoubted blue
boodedness behave-so far has time car
rieds Indiana literature from it's stalwart
primitive ideals.
ss.slts s-f-l . y
TSpeaking of Indiana reminds one of The
Hoase-of a Thousand Candles which was
played at the Belasco Theater. 1t was
not an 1lluminative display. AS matter
of--fact, most of the candles were left
to- the ina gination. Yet the thing
seemed seoruscant in much the same fash
ION thai results from unexpected concus-
sion. The intelligence was not stunned,
but it was bewildered. 1t was something
about an old gentleman who made a
freak will and then left his relatives
around loose in the most careless man
ner imaginable to be shot at. 1t looked
at aasdistance like, good old-fashioned
English melodrama, but none OF the three
adjectives was justified. 1t had so many,
thrills and surprises that the ladies of
the company could scarcely be blamed
for looking a little doubtful as to what
might happen next. E. NJ. Holland gave
fine character delineation. and the
audience remained loyal in it's admiration
of this excellent actor But every now
and then the play, went dashing away
from him, humping madly through secret
passages, lodging In and out of sliding
panels and exhibiting an irrepressible de-
sire to shoot up the entire place.
A production of this kind cannot fail
to strengthen any prejudice that may
exist toward the idramatized novel. Many
of our best plays have come from books,
but when the work, as in this case is
denHded of every, vestige of the literary
-grYe with which the author may have
beeIH able to deck very e-to-order
sortlSS>plot, the book. play becomes an
objectApf suspioion.'
yrheAIouse of a Thousand Candles is
20 60 ID Dalys Theater, New York 1t
respected memories has had a me.odrama
of the most uncompromisng type. Au-
gustin Bxdy himself. influenced, of course,
10y financial need rather than artistic de-
hire. put on The Great Ruby" 1t is said
that he laughed at the rehearsaIs, but it
Made moneySe Therefore the fact that
, tlk new play moves some of the
auditors to ridicule need not be taken as
c4* 4.
may find patronage among people who are
hungry for melodrama dhe time is
suredly rive for some virile entertainment
on this soft) and who are willing to ac-
ceptshaf for the want of better.
History has demonstrated time and
again that an adverse reception during a
preliminary weeks engagement does not
sound the death knell of an attractions
chances in New York. Fortunate it is.
The responsibility would be fearful. But
the averting of failure usually means
WORK and lots of II. Miss Hook of Hol-
land" recently observed and listened to
In process of development here. may ex-
emplify this fact 1t went into New York
with two--new comedians-Mr. Wise and
Mr.. West-in place of Mr.. Leech and Mr..
MostYn: and with great deal of work
on the book, The first production was
made Tuesday night instead of Monday.
50 as to permit more rehearsal. The re-
suit was division of opinion among the
newspaper reviewers, with preponder-
ance in favor of the show-which was
doing very well under the circumstances,
for New York frequently exhibits an as
tonishing unanimity of artistic opinion
The World committed itself unreservedly:
Zone of the prettiest musical comedies
that has been imported from England IN
long time reached the Criterion Theater
last night, where Miss Hook of Holland
sang and danced the new year in to the
rataplan of applause so sincere and con-
tinuous that the entertainment Will keep
up its lively pace through many coming
weeks.
t'Thts- is not saying of course, that
Miss Hook of Holland is within hailing
distance of her Austrian sister. The Mer-
ry Widow, or even OF her wayward Eng
lish brother. Tom Jones' But she trips
along third in the line of this season s
European light operate production, and,
what Is equally to the point Charles
Frohman has been able to assemble
cast and chorus to do her credit
The fact that the advertising columns
OF the same issue were announcing the
close OF TON Jones'" season in New
York does not in any way affect the good
intentions of the comparison.
The New York Sun was not so exuber
antly delighted. 1t said on Wednesday:
Paul Rubens and Austen Hurpen wrote