The Salt Lake tribune. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1890-current, 1910-11-20

Special Cable to The Tribune.
PARIS. Nov. l9-The Persian crlsIs
has drawn much attention to the new
play written by an accomplished and
learned American girl, Miss Laura chr
ford Barney for the Theatcr des Arts
this season. Miss Barney Is the sec
ond daughter OF Mr.. and Mrs, Clifford
Barney of Washington and Paris. Her
grandfather Pike built the opera house
at Cincinnati. Her mother Is as wen
known among the more talented artlsts
of Paris as she is to the society. people
OF Washington. Her sister, Miss Ma
talic Clifford Barney, has long since
Won distinction as poet ana play
wright in the French language, IL is
not uu exaeperation to say therefore
TINT this American family is one oil the
most accomplished in tho City of Light.
Miss Laura Clifford Barney s play !s
called "God IS Heroes. y The scene IS
laid in Persia and II deals entirely
with the great religious movement IN
that country Though Persian play,
ii is written in French, Of which Ian
puaRc Miss Barney has perfect COM
maud Miss Barney is ono OF Tour
Americans who have attained dlstInc.
tjon in writing prose or verse at VIII
ip the language of Corneilie and haclne.
The others are her sister Nat9ile. &C. veIt
Griffin, the syp,bolist Doet, and stewart
Merrill. who made his linguistic and
literary studies in Paris
"God's Heroes.
God s Heroes is play dealing ex
rlusivelv with the modern history or
Persia The heroine is a woman, who
lived there some fifty wears ago. Her
name is Quarratul- Ain. which means. ~
Persian Consolation of the Eye. !
quote DR.. Brown. professor of Arabic
of the University of Cambridge, as 10
what manner of woman his marvellous
Persian lady was:
..The appearance of such Z woman in
any countrv in any age, he saws, sis
rare nhenomenon. out IN such coun-
try as Persia if is a prodigy, nay almost
miracle. Alike III her marvellous beau
ty. her rare intellectual gifts, her fer,
vid elouuence. bcr fearless devotion and
nor glorious martyrdom she stands forth
incom arabic immortal among her
countrywomep Had the BAH religion
no other claim TO greatness. this were
sufficient, that it produced a heroine
like Quarratul Ain. :.
This extraordinary woman embodied
in herself the results which bahaists
claim can be obtained through their
philosophy and theology. She was
brought up in the strictest tenets OF
the prophet "Great' is Allah and Ma
homet is his prophet bad come down
10 her through scores of generations.
Like all Mohammedap women, she found
herself cipher in the state and even III
the family. Having heard of the light
giving and liberating teaching Of Bah,
The John the Baptist Of the Be haiau re-
lpion, Consolation of the Eye be
came one Of his disciples. In fact. she
left all and followed him. She disdain-
fully discarded the veil worn by her
sex in Mohammedau countries, proudly
proclaimed the equality of women and
brilliantly broke through the corrugated
customs of hundreds Of years. She was
however like stained glass window.
She had husband and children and
she loved them.
Wonderful Death Scene.
There is Il wonderful death scene in
the play. Mohammedan priests let loose
their anger against Consolation of the
Eye.n They denounced her as an apos'
tate and an otherwise wicked person.
Her husband, ashamed of such a spouse,
divorced her. and her children were torn
from her Finally, she was put to a
painful and lingering death Mt the early
a. of thirty-two wears. For the vera
city of history, let me add that DR.. Pol.
lock, an Austrian physician, witnessed
the execution She was the spiritual
Joanne d'Arc of Persia; one of the
frat martyrs, not of the new religion,
but of the re- ION renewed, as the Ba-
haists say.
The play, while dealing with a mod
ern subject. is in medieval spirit. 1t
savors Of the miracle or mystery plays,
Miss Barney knows Persian almost as
we'll rs she knows French or English,
Hence the rich Oriental metaphors one
finds in the play and the flights of i'm
agination such as are seen In the Ru-