Herald and news. [volume] (West Randolph, Vt.) 1878-1943, 1909-01-28
me story Of The ThIef.,.

The comedy called 1.-THE Thief" which
will be produced at Chandler Music hall
Tuesday evening, Feb. 2, is one Of rare
merit and remarkable signiticance, and
the performance OF 1t, which is exception
ally good. ought to receive liberal meas
ure Of public attention.
It is impossible with a mere telling OF
the plot OF Henri Bernstein's play, 1.-THE
Thief, to give any idea Of the tremen-
dous power Of this drama, which has
aroused more discussion than any work
OF its kind during the past several years;
for, aside from the purely technical char
acter OF the play, there is problem in
ethics and morality worked out by the
dramatist with wizard-like skill.
A woman OF youth and beauty, but
comparatively humble station, allows
herself to fall in love with.a brilliant man
OF the world, whom she considers much
above her. She worships him e. some
thing unattainable. and is dazed when he
loves her in return and makes her his
wife. Her love Is alteration, and she is
haunted with the fear that she will lose
his love. She reasons that she must
equal in beauty and delicacy Of attire the
women with whom he has been familiar
II she is to hold him, but IN her panic OF
ANuI NnuA eEE Will AO9c nAILia suC E6JklGealI
contracts great debts with milliners and
dressmakers, giving little thought to the
day of reckoning. The day, however.
remorselessly approaches and exposure
I threatens as the husband and wife are
visiting rich friends. The hostess care
lessly throws into a drawer money suffi-
cient to satisfy clamorous creditors, and
the tortured wife yields to temptation
and steals il.
Then comes the complication Of an in
fatuated youth, whom idle vanity has al
lowed the woman to encourage, his mix
up in the theft through crcumstantial
evidence and consequent banishment to
South America, which means probable
death for him. Then the husband dis
covers that his wife has the stolen
money, forces her to q confession and in
dulges in . little personal remorse for his
stinginess that il at the bottom Of all the
trouble.
II would do many husbands good to
learn that 1t IL idiotic to tie their own
wives down TO a small allowances on money,
and to be forever expressing admiration
and praise OF those things which their
own wives cannot possibly have.
Dresses and good looks seem trivial
things, perhaps, in q world in which 20
much that Is important goes wrong. But
nobody knows what suffering women 60
through, yearning for the admiration Of
their husbands and deprived Of those
things which they feel would make them
attractive.
How different is the man from the
womanl
Women live with thin, scrawny, under.
sized, insignificant, bald husbands. They
praise those husbands constantly. II he
can't grow a beard, then the wife hates
boards. II he has a beard like the name
Of roaring lion, then the wife thinks
the beard is $50 manly" II the husband
is bald, then the wife thinks that Il a
sign Of brains and refinement, or she says
she thinks 30. She even points out the
fact that Zulus and burglars are never
bald.
II the husband is q thin-Iegged, mar
row-shculdered little person, the wife
hates "mere brute strength" If the hus-
band is as wide as Jeffries and as tail as
Fairbanks, then the wife studies up Her
cules. and il always asking the husband
in public 10 double MP his arm and let
people feel his muscle or to swell out bis
foolish chest.
What do husbands dot They ask their
poor little dumpy, fat wives IL they can't
"puIl themselves together. q littlep and
shave some styIe.r n the tips Of their
wives noses get red instead Of ignoring it,
they talk about it and give sage advice.
They tell their wives about new gray
! hairs and wrinkles.