New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1910-10-10
LONDON NOTES
Mr.. loCke's PIay-Portraits
and Beauties.

dCCuntOiHeu- MI LOCKE HIS gwen 10 n,
them in "The Man from the sea- "A
the Queens Theatre. To has real dis.
tinctiou Of literary style; dialogue which.
brings out differentiatiOns OF charactsr
and a poetic rhapsody of high qualItv
over the fascination of the sea. Their,
is genuine artistry also in the manage.
ment of contrasts
The scene of the play is the deaner.
OF Il placid cathedral town where Their,
is sheltered backwater from the strez.
OF English life. II is son1nolent DurdIs.
ham, hole in the corner where every.
body is "durdleing7 with conventional
propricty. drinking tea. playing tennis.
conducting local charities and gossiping
anabIy over sermons, rheumatism and
love affairs. Into this secluded close
comes bounding over the hedge jan
Redlander, after a dozen years Of sea
life and adventure. with Sailor Monks
behind him To- suggest either Cali
ban or Crusoe's Friday. Accustomed t6
the broad prospects and freedom Of thu
seas. he Is fairly stified IN the deans
garden and library, where wOmens
clergy and tennis players are chatter
ing about little things and are cramped
with their own naTrOwuess.
The man of action has returned %
marry Marion Lee, the deans priru, sf-
fectionate sister, but IS disappointed
when he fffds her "A conventional cate@
chism rather than woman Her in
innate friend is Daphne Averill. whom
he befriended in Sydney four years be-
fore. when her rascaIly husband was
sent to prison This incident is not
known in Durdleham. where she is pass
ing as the wife Of a former lover, Dr.
AveriII: but a silly pTig, Pontifex Pye.
learns the secret as an eayesdropper
and confdes il 70 Marion Lee Jan Red
lander silences the prig by setting
Monks on him like bulldog and fright
eulng him into suppression of the truth.
Poor shocked Marion cannot be builied
nor reasoned out of her proprieties, bus
adheres persistently 10 her uitimatum
that Daphne within week shaH IeaVs
the man who loves her.
When all OJntT IeStui'F9 tt@sf-
the Man from the Sea tells the merci-
less censor that he himself has vito
in a madhouse and that he cannot Do
bappv with the real object Of his al
faction unless she be willing to plac9
love above convention and law Marion
Yields to temptation when her lover al
tennis TO leave her forever; and Whe1
she has lowered herself to Daphne
Iaval she is anxious TO destroy the le'-
fer which she has written 20 the DEAN
This has. been delivered. however. and 4
4r.eb series of inventions is required A
cabls dispatch from Australia announ'-
inc the death Of Daphne's husband anu
the confession that there was no VIE III
tho nadhouse bring the play 70 happy
ending.
The acting does not call for crlt1clsn''
NJ Bobart Lorraine, fresh from advent@
,,res with wind and flood in the lrlsl1
Sea gives a perfect performance OF the
staIvart. earnest, bucyant adVentursr'
Miss Nina Boucicault. with sensi'l's
face and sympathetic voice. portrays
with resourceful art Martens strnssis
between love and Puritanism, and MISS
BeryI Faber is equally successful IN her
impersonation Of the bewildered, despair
ing Daphne. Suave is Mr.. Arthur Lewis
as the dean; delightfully."- drolI is Mr. y.
Tane-Tempest as a comic arch3ologisl'
and every minor part is well taken
The vulnerable point in the drama lies
in the trickeTy practised by the hero.
No spectator can be convinced that the
chivalrous sailor can have told 50 aboInl-
rabIc a lie for the sake of broadening the
mind of the woman whom he wished 90
marry. Equally incredible is the as
sumption that the woman could have
forgiven her lover for setting So detest-
able a trap for her and taking away her
seIf-respect. Puritanism, il Is true, saves
its reputation after being betrayed by
emotion Marion on sober second
thought reverts to loyalty 10 the cate
chisrn and declines 20 accompany her
lover to the South Seas when she can
not be his wife Does she forgive him
when she learns that the story about the
wife in the madhouse is cruel hoax9
The audience does not know. for While
she is hesitatinS and pOUtinS Jan catcheS
her up in his arms and carries her OF
in triumph Down comes the curtain
with IL guffaw Of nIerriment- and cut 80
tho spectators Uucouviuced-
Apart from this heartless and 'ucon-
ceivable deception this iuvlsoratlnS ana
highly entertaining play Is immune
against criticism There is no spec1ouS
pleading in defence of immortality IN tho
treatment Of either love affair Guilt IS
neither Condoned nor TRANSPORTED INT"
innocence. Such pleading as there ~
heard IS for greater tolerance and more
considerable charity IN mems judgments
OF their fellow creatures. The argument
for tempering justice with mercy and ier
the suppression OF superfuCus truui
would be unanswerab1s II there were not
the hideous and unjustihable lie.
The Cleverest exhibition of sheer VirtaF
Osity among the new pictures IN the an-
tunn shows Is Mr.. Joseph simpsons
White Room 10 lacks both beauty
and decorative quality, and II has as NJ
tie human interest as artistic motive, I0r
it is merely Il picture of a woman WIN
black hat and green gown SittlnS a.
table and eating Strawberries. and SSS
il is a brilliant example of technique IN