The Washington herald., 1908-03-22
aThe Servant in the House. .

1t came TO the Belasco Theater last
week without blare Of trumpets or ex-
travagant claims-one OF the most re-
markable plays that has been seen on the
American stage for many long day, this
The Servant in the House. by Mr.
Charles Ram Kennedy It is not that
the play is evidently the work OF a ripe
scholar ard a deep thinker. though this
IS much; it is plain that the play is made
by one who is imbued with the spirit OF
the classical tradition Of the stage, and
who. adapting modern conditions 10 clas-
sical needs. has. as severely as the Greeks
did. preserved the unities Of time. place
and action. as laid down by Aristotle and
strictly adhered TO until they were over
ridden by the genius of Shakespeare.
In The Servant in the House. we see
the modern stage at its best. Here il
appears not simply as a pander TO the de-
sire for amusement. but as the purveyor
Of entertainment that appeals to the in
tellect and as teacher Of moral dogma
whose lessons thus presented are certain
20 take a firmer hold than If its tenets
were pronounced from any pulpit.
1t is evident that this play is a vital
expression Of its authors unrest under
social conditions-one might almost say
social hypocrisies-as they exist to-day.
There is something heaIthily iconoclastic
about his protest against presence as
voiced through the mouths and actions
or his characters. In most daring way
he has ventured 10 put upon the stage a
character in the Bishop Of Benares who.
as near as may be. approximates the fig
ure and attributes of Jesus Christ, and
the audience is permitted to see that il
BE were to return to earth to-day. and
were obliged. living as man. to combat
our social conditions and inequalities. He
would have to declare Himself. as The
Servant in the House" does. a socialist
But il is socialism in its better. finer
sense that is meant. Not that grim body
that is held up by demagogues to frighten
the childlike voter: the unshaven. ip
n9rant fanatic. waving red flags and cry
faE Down with everything This So
ciaiism is the socialism OF Christianity:
socialism that looks life squarely in the
face; which decries the division of the
human brotherhood into classes. and
which stands upon the truth-quite unas
OF the scavenger in the world-"some one
has to do it" as the play says-and does
il well. is better man. a better Chris
tan. better citizen, than the black
robed bishop who prostitutes his high
Office and his gifts Of scholarship to his
own selfish ends
And so in this play we get the fine al
legory OF the drains that cause illness
and which keep people away from the
church. and when the scavenger investi-
gates. To- he finds the defect begins IN
tho rectOr's study, and he follows il IN
Until he finds its source under the very
church itself And there is a fine ex
ample there Of what priest should be
and should do when he faces the facts.
Ugly though they may be. II is for him
not to waste his time in prayer-though
that is good. too-but 10 pull of his coat
and to share in the risks: face the danger
and the filth and the muck and do his
part in cleaning up the sore and wretched
places
All this is most beautifully exempIifed
in ihe play Bob. the wears brother: a
drain man; a man who has fallen low
largely because his too-righteous brother.
with his too-loving wife. have not seen il
was their first duty TO stretch out their
hands to save him Bob has come into the
study after discovering the source Of the
trouble 10 the drain. He is covered with
muck and filth; and yet. because this has
come to him through doing brave work
honestly, there is nothing really repulsive
IN II.
Bob Tnat's what come ere to talk abaht--my
Sob. Praps You'll think as il Amt TASTY s,,bsjc
before lot o. nice clean respectable people as
neIcr 'sd anythin' on their fingers than biz
ol lawn dirt. playin erokey; bat some one ss 20 see
10 the druns. some one as 10 clear up the muck Of
the world. I'm the one. An I'm ere to tel You
about H.
Aunt tinroluntarily)-oh!
Boo-Yoa don't like that maami 'Urtz your
fecli-'s ehf
Aunt-Yes; but not in the way you mean.
pleasant
gos-Im not ere to be pleasant. young Teddy.
I'm ere 20 edcate you.
VicYes, / think | see
Aunt throathiessyl-Cio on. 90 on
Bob-Wen | cono TO this ouse this morin'. I
dom mind ownin it. in a rotten had frame OF
mind, ad a little job on and a job a bit above
my cad, an Il got me dahn an worried me; y,ls II
did-Worried me That Young leddyn tell you wot
was Ike when she fust me. I looked that
bad she thought ! come to steal S1mmst Wei
I
summit as don't properly belong TO a streaky swine
hke me. That when she fust saw me; but I
was wuss before that tell YOU straight
Mary isef-consciouslyl-Nh changed youg
BotS-A hloke met, miss. knowed me better
thar knoTed myself. L changed me-
Aunt-Manson!
VIC Manson
Bob-Dont know IS name Z was fair knock
sH- Got togs on i'm like an Esrl's Cnurt exhibi-
ton p changed me; taught my own mind
c brought me hack to my own job-drzins.
Avnt-Yca
BOb-Funny thing ma am. peoples born different
fomos 0om without in their eads worth
speakin o. wasnt-l can smell ont a stink any
where
Aunt dascinatedl-I am sure you can This is
most interesting!
Bob fwanningl- Moment / stuck nv cad In this
'cnse ! knowed as summat was wrong in my lire
and So 10 myself: '.Not, oh. e aint such an awI
mighty l-sr arter al-thats dninsr' An drains
II was. strike me dead, srskin your pawdonl
Mary-Now. didn't I always say
Bob-Nus, miss you're one o the nasey rps can
zee. Wei. soon rs ole Toys got done with is talk
gpt my aneller dahn. follered uD the scent and
eyes Out there in the room with the blood-red eap
o books Blinsy. YOU did seei Muck ma'am,
Just look st my ands Amt that prctfyy
OWcTeT | got there, right enough ! don't fink
Fancy put that little bit strife afore | done
Aunt-Oh. this is too beautiful OF you
Bob burning with enthusiasm. and nanifestly
affected by her appreciation)-Wait a bit; / got
mo,e yet Talk sbGht beautiful. That biz was on'y
an ashpan. Look ere. ma am. I got the loseliest
little job on as ever yer soIed yer ands in
MaTr-oh, do tell
Aunt-Ycs. do.
Vic-Yes yes.
A splendid rapture infects them all