The Washington herald., 1910-01-25
THE COLUMBIA.
bert billiard in "a Fool There



"A Fool There Was" with Robert
lard as the fool, came TO the Co
.nbia Theater last night, and from the
oment in the second scene OF Act /,
hen the fool meets his lady fair" the
4 rye and attentive audience knew that
i thrills were destined to creep up and
\ each individual spine before the
was over.
persons are mainly responsible for
thrills. which arrived per schedule
fere real enough-and TO spare. In
the vampire" as a theme, Porter
on Browne found two of his char
ready-made and to hand. He had
construct them, for a Master had
breathed into them Immortality.
characters OF the play are simply
ated as the husband. the wife. the
the friend. the woman, the sister
on. only those named being i'm
t. and OF these only the man and
oman enact the story, the others
ing the setting and the back
an, alias the Fool. has a wife and
and be has, besides. honor, posi-
! friends. Sent abroad on a mis-
state, he encounters the woman
ship To make it perfectly clear.
so many words, what sort Of a
she is. a desperate youth blows
brains at her very feet. and she
on with a laugh and before the
of his blood are dry upon the
she lounges in her steamer chair and
on the man who is TO be her victim,
lot even number two, but fourth or
- as he knows not. and az first cares
when he Is stripped to his fool
ie," and everything that makes life
the living has been swept away,
life. the vampire reminds him that
TOO, has given up much for him
s, herself-coolly matching her own
red body against the sacrifices he
de for her. But that, we are told,
7ay of vampires Happily, we 90
fail into their clutches.
Idience last night did not gather
tation that the author or the
uld mince words. They had not
a Sunday-school lesson, and
not disappointed. There IS no
to hide the fact that a spade is
nor. In the process Of laying
human passions and weaknesses.
ny less strong language seem ade-
eTeat scene comes IN the second
IN the fool and his lady fair are
face. He is wavering, and hopes
to his wife and child.
oman-And you're soTy. I sUppose-broken-
ian-Yes, by God. I am.
Foman-That's the man Of IL Every man
wo wGmen-one 10 love. the other 10 respect:
earess, the other 70 honor. one 10 please
H. the other 10 please bis friends. And you're
u Ifierent from the rest that I have known.
Mantle rest that you have known!
Woman-The rest that I have known.
Man-Ycung Pamaleel
(The woman laughsl
And Rodgers,
The woman laughsl
And Seward Vandam-
THE woman laughsl
And God knows how many more
-oman-And did you ever think there are
loves?
Man-God. I've thought. I've thought.
WGman-One love IS hke-the white rose
pale. wisJful weak a lifeless thing that lies
- against the hand that holds IT, that wearies
eye and chills the soul The other love is
II the scarlet TOSe-TiCh. 1re glowing. glorious
thrills the heart with the JOY OF living and
lens the blood in the veins until the very
cries out in frenzy Of its fragrance A rich.
ting, throb5ing love Of body and soul, q
81 and head; that PUSHES upon one like a storm
i ca. dashing one hither and thither. important
IS tossing tearing grip That is oar love. the
owe. And il Is sweet. Is 1t not, my foolg
JUS the vampire charms him. She
mates as might a snake. The friend
~ es In just in time to find them in
4 i others arms. The woman withdraws
8 the friend endeayOrs, for the sake Of
s wife and child at home, 10 open the
us eyes. He makes a desperate appeal,
it IS of no use. Even his child fails
move him from the horrible entangle-
tent. The woman seeks TO embrace the
hid and succeeds in kissing the little
me. and the man snatches the child
way and the friend takes her away.
Alone again.
The Man-What have you dOneY
The Woman-What else but kiss her-your lttle
iWiel.
The Aian-Kiss herr You2 My daughter? Ny little
luriel? You kiss her: You? You? She Il remember
Remember and understand. It stings
stings. Can y0u understand that You
A know what that means you fO0ly
OF. You disgust me. You sicken me-
angrlly BY the neck and strikes her
kiss me. ms fool
D STRIKES her again. No Strikes her
kiss me. ny fool
IS back as if 10 strike her
their eyes meet, and he real
lplessness. and their lips meet
ain falls.
act, which is IN two scenes,
evoted TO another effort on
the wife and friend to win
Jack again. but they are too
to the end the vampire is
4 the wreck and ruin she has
The ending takes an unex-
IN. and holds up the dramatic
} the final curtain.
dicated. the atmosphere is any,
pleasant That Of folly and sin
Even where the light breaks
the gloom there is the stiffness
omlnousness OF tragedy. The
we'll written. The dramatic con-
IS progressive In a logical Sc
The lines are full OF meaning.
many instances brilliant. There
licacy about the situations IN
% fool and his lady fair are
ned that would border on pO-
: but for the surcharged cleo
phere and the cracking Of the
IDS just over the horizon.
There Was" is a powerful drama,
though It IS an unpleasant OBJ
4, 4 Will not fail TO have its
I though IT uses heavy strokes.
is moral home unerringly. The
5 approached his canvas boldly
painted his pictures in great
Jkes. startling in their realism