The Montgomery advertiser. [volume] (Montgomery, Ala.) 1885-1982, 1909-04-04

blood OF heart and essence of soul
yes, and vim Of body, too--like q YER
liable vampire fastened on the breast
OF sleeping person; and no Is q mere
wreck morally mentally and physical
~ Hilliard does not shirk the artistic
obligations Of his Undertaking. He
evsdes no detail OF AFFECT enthralment
BY the wanton. dulls no point of the
mans emascuIation. and palliates his
matrimonial dishonor in no particular.
but gives a bravely true depletion OF
the once upright husband as q new
thoroughly despicable wretch. And all
the while friend who champions his
miserable wife. and strives to reclaim
the husband. II the plays likeable man.
aside the actors love OF heroics and
choosing instead duty of dramatic
art.
Don't take me to mean, In denying
Artist Burne-Jones and Poet Kfppling's
genius to Author Browne, that "A Fool
There Was" IL q weak drama. It Is
very strong In many respects. Its
Anal act. in which Hilliard stills the
house to q pinfaii silence with q feebiy
resoiute struggle to get away from the
wanton and Back to his wife, IL won
derfully engrossing. He Is q pitiable
wretch. who keeps himself alive with
brandy. The friend comes to beseech
In vain. Denunciatfon 10 no more po-
tent. Vituperation neither. Then the
friend. In a forlorn hope to rouse the
wretch to some of his former manli-
ness, strikes him In assumed anger.
knocks him to the floor. and kicks him
az he lies there. unresenting. unresist-
Ing and declaring that he deserves 1t
all. His child comes In. That rsvives
the husbands pure love against his
foul passion. The wanton enters. takes
up the little girl and is about to kiss
her. That rouses his sense Of decency
and he rescues his offspring from the
pollution. At last Ii he going to save
himself from this beautiful ghoulf No.
Left alone with her again, she exerts
her seemingly superhuman power over
him.
The actress, Katherine Kaelred. Is a
stranger from Australia; not young nor
beautiful, yet OF the tall. sinuous, dark
type to be suitable to the role, and a
proficient artist. has been rehearsed to
denote In weird. uncanny ways--by
crouching poses and darting move
ments-by cooling calculations that run
into fendish laughter and embraces
that quickly shift to ghoulish grasps-
until sno one is surprised to see him
fall lifeless into a low, wide chair, and
she pounce down upon him like a fam
ished vampire from her grave. to feed
on her victim unconscious on his couch.
But he IL dead.
The man who is done to death by a
vampire woman in THE Conflict" is
one Of those fools whom the adage
says no other fools are like-an old
fool. and as this old fool is ninety.
four, while the killing creature is a
show girl three quarters Of a century
Younger. you see what q superlatively
idiotic and .dodderingly senile old fool
he Is. He hasn't been like that long.
though; for up to half a year ago he
was physically well preserved man
with the mind Of q philosopher unim-s
paired. We get acquainted with, him
as veritable sage. prone to cite him.
self as an example OF wholesome liy-
ing. rewarded by almost q century of
vigor for having wasted neither time,
strength nor money on Wicked women.
He has looked as abundantiy white of
whiskers as Shakespeare's frosty and
wise Poionius and, Adam combined. and
his teachings OF temperance have been
eloquently oracuiar. Such IL Caesare
Resapha before he falls down to
show girl whom the playwright doesn't
show to US: but we are told that she
Is no great shakes as q professional
beauty nor extra enhancing on her
own personal account.
me trutn - that ola Caesare sResa-
pha wouldn't slump from wealth TO
poverty, and from health to death, but
that the vampire girl is wished onto
him under the following peculiar cir.
cumstances: Caesare is business an
tiquarian His store Is like a museum.
except that he makes no CHARGE for a
sight OF his curios, but sells them to
collectors at prices that don't look
ike bargain sale advertisements