Omaha daily bee., 1909-08-01

squareIy into the chair on the other side
and laughs himself genially into the con-
versation. He is in a way as important
ar aid. apparently, as the pre-Raphaelite
youth, his keen wit acting as PAGER to that
of Sir Herbert's. His name is mentioned.
Mr.. Comyns Garland by the help of
his mots and the mnemonics of the other,
the interview goes on to its legitimate
conclusion.
American Plays in England.
Sir Herbert has been asked why II is
that SO few American plays succeed in
England, and responds at once before the
pre-Raphaeltte one can tell him what to
say:
You people in America think nothing OF
travelling. You come here with as little
care and thought as a New York man
would cross a ferry to Brooklyn-is it?
Tho consequence is that you are more or
less familiar with our life, and when we
send plays to you they do not depict con-
ditions that are absolutely strange. But
we don't go out there very much. We
make our Wills and take leave of our
friends when we do. You know a lot
more about us than we do about you, and
the purely American play that we do see
invariably depicts realities with which we
are absolutely unfamiliar. 1t is a play
of conditions that have merely local sig
nificance."
They don't get outside the cab radius"
interpolates Mr.. Comyns Carr, and the
p~re-Raphaelite Just within the
shilling fare"
You venture a suggestion that realities
are supposed not to be local, but are cor
rected Immediately by Sir Herbert.
That is the unfortunate part Of realit-
les; they are so essentially local-like or
game diseases. Ideals. on the contrary, are
not, and when the American playwright
begins TO send us plays with more ideal
istic tendencies, perhaps, who knows? we
may understand them better"
Then courteously, as II the alleged ignor-
ance concerning matters American may
have wounded. Sir Herbert asks concerning
the one fact that apparently has impressed
itself on the English consciousness.
Interested I'm Skyscrapera.
ARE they-er-taller than when 1 last
heard?"
You try to remember. having been away
a month, and venture thirty-odd stories at
random.
"Only thirty-odd," he asks In a disap-
pointed tone and repeats TO the pre-Ra-
phaelite One and to Mr. Carr. But the
former eompensates for the grief OF his
companions by stating a newly acquired
fact in aerial architecture. understand
they vibrate when you get quite a bit up"
He looks TO you for emphasis. and with
a smile at the thought of the office staff
OF some OF the downtown buildings held in
place by overhanglng straps while they
work you admit that the interesting item
had escaped so far your catalogue Of COM
prehensIve facts. He answers the challenge
OF that smile with quite an American alert
ness. "of course l didn't mean that they
and scrape TO the ground" he ex-
plains, but just, well, wriggle a trifle in
a high wind, like the C~ampanile."
Mr.. Comyns Carr puts up a protesting
Don't destroy the illusion. was
an arcade OF skyscrapers bending
courtesying all over the place"
Sir Herbert interpolates: Il am contin-
uaTy hearing that, l am going TO America
this fall. II anything could induce me, be-
sides OF course the pleasure O. meeting my
American friends, it would be the
thought OF arriving, say. IN an October or
November gale and having the skyscrapers
me as I rode up from the steamer.
What a-vision of hospitality that presents.
What an original and satisfying manner Of
an entry into a strange city"
one on the Dukes.
Mr.. Comyns Carr shakes his head as one
who recognizes his limitations. Not being
an actor or a duke, l am debarred that
but l understand that there is
% be a bill presented to increase the num-
Der OF the arstocracy for expectation to
America Ii Is 70 be called The nsees-