The Washington herald., 1909-02-28
Paid IN Full. ("


plays and books. owes a great measure
o. its interest 10 the action Of single
character. an action, performed at the
supreme moment. utterly at variance
with the character as eDgendered in the
mind by the previous flow OF the story.
II Is the cIimacteric effect obtained BY
the happening Of the unexpected We
see Sidney Carton, after life Of drunk
enness. Incidence. and debaucheTy. yield
ing I'D his life as an expression OF his
love for a woman. Jack Rance, the gam
bier and genuemanly border Tufian in
.The Girl Of the Golden West" allows
The Girl" and her lover 20 so. and
his prototype, John Oakhurst after q riot
Gus life on the frontier. eh!valrously
dying with woman OF the lowest class,
ana now We have Capt. Williams. after
career OF shrewd ruf3anisn. full Of low
living and with suspicious OF blOOd-let-
tings not far removed in degree from
murder. recognizing the innate quality Of
pristine pureness in a woman. In the
language Of the great American game. 1t
Is e good hand TO draw 20" and IS almost
always apt 20 win without benefit Of the
draw.
But upon analysis what manner Of man
is he discovered 70 be, and what excuse
can be offered for his being what he was?
With his masterful personality and his
undoubted Intellectual power. could he
not have attained his ends without so
much browhsating brutaiity2 The char
acters Of such men as Capt Kidd ana
Blackboard are not lovely to contemplate,
and fail even in comparison with Byron's
Corsair. ''the mildest-mannered man that
ever scuttled ship OF cut a throat"
As a matter Of fact none Of the char
acters n Mr. Walters drama stand very
high up or the plane Of intellectually
and normal living. except. perhaps. the
placid and far-seeing Smith. The wife
was not exactly al right or she, with
the natual intuition Of woman, would
have been able TO obtain more rational
glimpse Of her husbands true character.
have foreseeR the inevitable results OF her
own veiled complaints and the open
nsgging OF her relatives, and BY halting
them al least mitigating the catastrophe
she was a chaste woman, who up TO q
revoltlng point loved her husband truly.
bUt beyond that there was not much 10
her. OF the husband himself. hardly an
extenuating thing can be said from be-
ginning 70 end Not one fash OF true
manhood Illuminated the whole course OF
his selhshness, petulsnoy. ignorance. utter.
lack OF self-control. and cowardice. Ne.
know scores Of men Who have suffered
as much. with perhaps variations. as be
did, and yet emerged from the conflict
triumphant Indeed We believe that the
majority Of men 90 IL and hence, 10 our
mind, comes the conviction that he is.
not q true symbol. there not being enough
of the mixed quality Of the human species
present Sidney Carton had his intellect.
Jack Rance his magnanimity. and Nero
MS love OF flowers, but this man had
nothing The characters OF the mother
and sister represent the lowest element IN
human nature-ignorant seIfshness. Re
verting 10 Williams. some other remark
able and low things are easily discerned.
Why did he seemingly grind this man
down? II his shrewdness enabled him so
accurately 10 determine this young mans
cslibeT. benevOlency would have prompted
him 70 remove part OF the temptation by
giving him Irving salary, and high bust
ness sense would have persuaded him TO
have discharged him altogether. There
seems to be present some part Of a devil
ish disposition 10 lure the man more
quickly 10 his ruin In the whole list the
character Of Smith alone stands out IN
anything like normal humanity striving
toward an ideal
At the time OF Witnessing the enactment
thereof the play, by reason of its virility. !
its swift flowing action, and skilful in /
depreciation. attracts profound attention |
and evokes deep interest. but upon re- 1
lection. the composition Of the characters
involved discloses Few Of the better traits /
Of the genus homo. and their actions fail |
70 show any clearly beaten traces OF the 4
path that leads 70 human betterment. The
vital climax OF the play seems to be ac- /
comPlished under forced draaght in max 1
ing the leading character 90 what almost I
any honest man would DO under any cir /
,UnistanceS