New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1911-02-19
THE PLAYGOER
The Colonel and the Lady, and
the Lesson of Their Lives.

sess. and many folk will recognize them
as old acquaintance. even II no ac-
knowledged daughter stands behind the
old acquaintance The selfshness OF this
pair Of worldlngs is the brand that
makes them familiar to the multitude
their disregard for the rights, not 10
mention the feelings, Of others. But
their world is one that breeds selhshness
faster and more successfully than II
breeds an opposite quality. The Colonel
and the Lady--by the way, that would
be better title than "Nobody's Daugh-
ter" for the daughter is only the peg
from which the parents story is hung
the Colonel and the Lady do not draw
the sympathy Of the onlookers, the on
lockers being in the front of the house
because from the beginning Of the play
,iu IT'S ending they think and talk and
plan only for themselves; and their hrst
relief after their first and only great
tension. comes after they have got their
daughter off their hands.
The audience is never uncertain about
the daughter, never anxious for her.
From the start II is as plain as pike
staff that the young woman will take
care Of herself. has, indeed, taken care or
herself by choosing wisely among chauf-
feurs. 1t is great thing 10 have the
nick of a prosperous profession. Daugh-
ter. you perceive, has wisdom beyond her
years.
Some most exacting observers COM
-. 49, off
for her parents Perhaps the complaint
is most readily made by those who con-
fine their observations to plays rather
than to life. For In life, If not in plays,
narentage is not infrequently dis
turber. even a sitter. of affections. The
copybooks allow no exceptions. Neither
does the Dramatists' Correspondence
School. Life however, has ways OF its
own which the dramatists and the publlc
they write for often find IT convenient
TO forget. Dramatists have learned TO
avoid some truths because the public
relishes generalties which are much more
easily believed in.
Suppose the relations between the
Colonel and the Lady had begun years
after each had married another! An.
now YOU begin to wriggle uneasily. DO
ycu fear the unconventional which is so
usual? But you were not uneasy when
YOU contemplated the lives OF the Colo
mel and the Lady. Was that because
YOU took their view Of the matter-t
Was only "a mistake: He was
bachelor. she a spinster. child was
born to them After that they parted,
putting the child out to board in pleas
ant village. The Lady married rich
man: the Colonel married pleasing
woman whose most pleasant possession
was common sense. The Colonel and the
Lady we're quite content. They were
friends and neighbors, nothing more
Their only concern was lest their early
mistake" should be found out. 1t was
not found out for twenty years. 1t
would not have been found out then if
they had not been excessively selfish.
Suppose now that at least one of them
had been unselfish, either the Colonel or
,he Lady, and that they loved each other
with the love that lasts a lifetime, and
had married the woman of sense, and
after the Lady had married the man
If riches. And suppose the daughter
had then come into the world and had
been tenderlv reared. and the secret
kept twenty years, or more. or less? All,
you don't like that? You wouldn't
tolerate play on those lines"
Why not? You like the other enc.
Js the relation tolerable because ii
concerns a couple swallowed in selfish
ness? Does il become intolerable when
II concerns a more agreeable pair with
proved capacity for helpfulness in
world where all is struggle?
Why this questioning?
Merely because there are minds which
cannot perceive why il has been said
that in George PASSIONS play the dramat-
Set skins along the surface of life but
does not probe life. The problem" is
no problem at all as this playwright
presents it. Purposely the two prin-
cipal characters are designed TO repel
the sympathy of the audience in order
that dramatist and audience may not be
suspected OF syympathizing with sin
II is as easy as rolling off a log to bring
about this conventional effect in play
Thus you may deal with the Illicit rela-
tons Of the sexes and at the same time
have some praise for preaching a little.
shrewd idea in bidding for audiences.
Eut take the same theme deal with IT
IN q way that reveals creatures Of
finer grain. greater temptation, make
1Cur great sinners lovable for once, and
what happens? a scandalized public
absonts itself from the playhouse. for
that draws. Have you not been told this
q thousand times? Must it not then be
true? Is not reiteration the constructor
Of truth? Our educa tors tell us as
much.
"Nobody's Daughter" attracts the pub
lie. but II attracts because it does not
make the public think much, excepting
that II may make people think them
selves much better than they are. 1t
has a aattering effect. The most sell
fish in private life can publicly scorn
the selfish offender Of the stage. This
REQUIRES emotion, not thought. If this
play is thought over it falls to pieces.
Rut George Pastor tells the story so
well. and The New Theatre stages II
with such charm that the public Is quite
ocntented. Therefore the playwright is
......s,,i altar the faghion OF the age.