The sun., 1908-10-18

N
this country for some months. Thil
circumstance may account for tho omls.
sion Of an element dear to tho heart oi
the Gallo dramatiSt.
II would require 90 intimate lnowl-
edge Of French manners In the broader
sense Of the term to know II this be-
loved situation is really typical Of the
social life Of tho nation to the extent
that 1t appears In the theatre, The
husband, the wife and the other-ahout
them royolves the interest u nine
French plays out Of ten, whether they
be cad or gay. The Paiais Royal farce,
the drama Of social life and the Amhlgu
melodrama are built on the founda--
ton OF the three aides. 30 II ID not sur
pricing to hear that the most important
novelty Of the dramatic season In Paris
has not departed fer from this popular
trinity for its chief figures. In o play
called by the name of prophet whose
people have for centuries desoihed
themselves by the same title, it was
reasonable to suppose that something
besides the usual problem might be dis
cussed. What VIoFoRIEN SARDoU did
for free thought In "Daniel Roohat'
HENRI BRRSsTRIN was 10 do for Semit-
ism in Israel
The usual adroit methods raised pub
lic curiosity TO a high pitch before
the first performance. Avowedly no
details were given to the world, although
II suddenly appeared that the reluctant
author had in feet told everything
important about tho pieoe. Only the
last act was said to remain incomplete
until q short time before Its production,
the obvious deduction being that the
author OF this weighty drama could not
decide In his responsible position what
conclusions to draw from the incidents
Of his play. So the Partisan public was
left In breathless expectation 70 await
the first performance Of this eventful
piece before learning what would reilly
happen.
The drama has been seen and turns
out to be nothing more than the old
three cornered story of the unfaithful
wife, the deceived husband, and the
lover, with the not unusual addition Of
the illegitimate son. Any study Of social
questions contained In the play resides
wholly In the rois of the lover. That
element was to give the piece charac-
ter that plaoed it above the ordinary
drama Of Illicit love. "Israel' seems to
60 far toward proving, vere that any
longer necessary, that the audacious
French dramatist, however far he may
60 in search OF the medium for his
Characters, yet loses courage when he
attempts to depart from the foundation
that the French public, to Judge from
the regularity with which the drama
fists supply it, must inexorably demand
for all their plays.
VICToRIEN SARDoU possessed an in
fallible fair for the question Of the mo-
ment end used 1t like a master. When
spies we're an interesting figure Of Dip
lomatic life In Europe he wrote the play
we know as Diplomacy The dis
ctission Of civil marriages in France was
utilized in Daniel Rochat,' and 1t was
to the sudden growth in the importance
Of nihilism in the early sos that @Fe-
dora owed it's origin. 'Divorcons'
was the comic result OF the agitation
over divorce. His successors have not
overlooked the value Of his Difference to
timely topics. But unlike their greater
predecessor they are able to make use
of his method only to give some ap-
pearance of freshness TO the stale use
Of their dramatic rule of three.