The Fairmont West Virginian. (Fairmont, W. Va.) 1904-1914, 1910-02-01


as he bowed and; said his daily grace,
I. and; have broken bread witt hin, in I'M I'M
constrained eompanionsl1ip, and shc ID
the simPle-minded, gracious, loyable
J man. ! have seen rim In the thsater
and he has shown me the cross IL
!. which he Is hung, and we have talked
together of scene after. scene "A the
! Passion Play; and this Is something
very different from the life Of the vii
laoe potter, and still strangely real
through 1t all. 81. 4 Al & z !,
he whole community lives for this
play. No girl can have greater honor
than to be chosen as Mary, the nnoti1er
of Jesus !; no man can have an honor
comparable with that OF acting the
part of Jesus. This Is what .o1ersr1,-
3rrersau believes, and what IL lives To-.
( For five years after a pass,,n Play,
they talk Of nothing but the play that
has passed, comparing 1t with other
plays. and the fractions of former
years. Then for five years they talk
Of nothing but the next Passion Play.
and who shall be christus, and vino
shall be Peter, and who shall be Ju.
das, and who shall lead the chorus.
And the women get out their sheets
that have been packed away for nine
years, and inspect their table linen.
and the men provide places for. the
family to sleep In the barn. or shed, SO
that all the beds may be given up to
tourists. e
! They grade the beds In four classes.
and they are distributed through cen.
trial bureau. They grade the seats in
the theater, also, and distribute th>
seats through the househoIders. Th-Y
do not intend that any one shall see
the Passion Play except those. who
sleep in oherammeraau the night be.
fore. And SO they provide three times
their usual number OF beds, and give
they all to guests, and they them.
heIves sleep as they may. OF course
they charge for, it, and charge hiah
rates; but It is their profit on ten years
Of preparation. All in all, It can hard:
" be s7.I tna. they charge. more Thar.
they ought, and they certainly do 70,
charge as much as the people are viii
ing to pay: for the spectators are
eagerly buying up all the t!::kets ar.
beds they can, to profit still further by
the tourists, and it is better 20 pay,
the money to tire people of oberam-
mcrgau. than to the spectators Of
Munich. The oberammergau people
themselves do not encourage specula-
ton, and try to make it impossible b.,
distributing the tickets through the
villagers; but they. do not wholly sue,
coed. IL.
0berammerg5u Is walled in an three
sides by mountains. The great thea
ter has shelter for the spectators, but
not for the seven hundred performers.
They play N the open air, and the
spectators look behind them to- the
actual mountains which surround The
stage, "as the mountains are round
about jerusalem Birds fly across
Tie stage: the wind blows the cos,
TUNES; the effect Is of great reality.
And with such a background, the trag.
cdy of the passion and death of the
Son Of God is made real before the
eyes Of men. Jesus is seen riding into
Jerusalem. He cleanses the Tempel;
He drives out the money changers;
He encounters opposition. We hea.
the shouts of the mob; we see Him
stand before PLATE; we see Hsn bear
ing His cross. Then we see the cross
uplifted. and He hanuss there, bleeding
ing. ard dying, and we know that Il
is actual human flesh that quivers In
our sight upon the cross. We see Hin
laid In the tomb; and then, amid signs
and wonder, l4e rises from the dead.
walks with. and comforts His d:sci-
Piles, and ascends into the clouds.
The performance begins in the morn.
ing and continues eight hours, includ.
Ing an internission for lunch. And IT.
LuV hAGSG 0aAlG ~lAot a.
tiers are working with all their might
serving their guests. e,
! The girl who is TO take the part of
Mary MagdeIine, whose picture give
as ny oyn camera took it, poured my
coffee, and carried in my Sunday
breakfast. Then saw her in one OF
the most tragic parts in minor
drama. a martyr play, which was Civ
en- en- that Sunday; and when sought
her TO congratulate her on the part
she had played, and the way she had
done it, she was seated on the kitchen
tloer, bastlng the goose we were to
cat for supper. She was the peasant
maiden again. And one OF the young
Women from the c,,or.uuis Gas sent I'D
F..