New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1912-12-04
MEL0DRAMA At HARRIS
"The IndiSCretion of Truth" Not
important if True.
A "PALMY DAY" DRAMA
Which Only Goes to Prove That
the Old Plays Cant
Come Back.

|
comfortable run for his discreet "Indts-
erection OF Truth" 1t has In 1t a pure
young woman, much wronged; a physi-
cally superb but morally unmentionable
young man, who acts basely to her; an
upright naval youth. who upholds purify
against Odds middle aged and courtly
| baronet, who is guardian to purity,
| savior of her honor and finally her hus-
band. The purity girl is appropriately
named Truth and her indiscretion cor
sisted in her carrying out her part OF a
rendezvous agreement The villains
villainy. however, consisted in his not
carrying out his. They were to have
been married. Instead. Truth. crushed
to earth. creeps back to her guardians
home.
Truths purity Is. Of course, never ques-
toned by any one except by Lady Stir
ling the baronet's sister-in-law, who Is,
no doubt, PUT in the play to show how
very foolish some people can be.
The pith OF the whole matter about
Truth is composed of point or two In
Scotch law. 1t is a Wilkie Collins Idea,
and was used IN his novel, Man and
| Wife" to which Mr. Manners calls at
tention as the basis OF his play. When
Truth was waiting at the inn, where she
| expected to meet her prospective hus-
band. Captain Greville. OF the royal navy,
appeared instead with a note from the
miscreant who should have come. To
save the waiting lady embarrassment he
asked for her as his wife. This. done In
| tfa1 n
Scotch marriage. The letter he pre-
scented to her was one Of her own notes
written TO her lover, in which she had
prematurely signed herself Your Wife
He had scrubbed an answer on II,
merrily signing II your husband" Here.
according to Scotch law. was another
marriage. Hence Truth. pure as dew
drop, found herself on the unhappy morn
ing Of curtain-rise with two husbands and
a broken heart.
The work OF extrioating tremendously
uninteresting English girl from such
predicament seems a harder task than
climbing the Matterhorn and considerably
less worth while. The playwright. how
ever. has gone at It with good heart and
| in four acts. The last act is sort OF
after-dnner coffee and cigars, for the
| play was quite over at the end OF the
! third. The brute was dead with an at
tack Of heart disease, brought on by
entertaining, and every one except the
middle aged hero himself understood that
it was he who was to marry Purity-that
Is. Truth. In fact. every one knew IT
from the first, but life Is like that. How
often we come with a burst OF enthus-
asm and a sense OF discovery upon a
| truth that every one else has known all
the time.
| In spite OF the fact that he loaned
merely an idea to this play, the spirit OF
Wilkie Collins stalks about at large.
| Dear old Wilkie," as those who love him
still call him. was like one Of those
powerful chemical fluids that assert their
coloring matter over that OF every other
liquid with which they may be mixed. \
small dose OF Wilkie Collins would melo-
dramatic n Christmas carol or a church
social So 1t is no wonder that Mr.. Man
ners play, which was intended, accord
ing to the programme, to be comedy
drama" should have turned out TO be
one Of those parlor thrillers that used 10
grace the boards at the old Union Square
| years ago.
Walter Hampden as the gentleman
athlete" was rather funny. The measur-
ing eye would concede him the possibility
OF being an athlete. but the gentleman.
| which was accredited him on the pro-
gramme, was not suggested by the parlor
tricks he practised either during the hey
day Of his training-which seemed 10 con-
sist Of drinking and smoking too much
or after his physical crash. For. in the
first part he tried to strange a man and
I'm the second he almost succeeded in
throttling a woman; between which flights
of gentlemanly imagination he Glared
growled and lurched about his hosts par
lor, holding his chest very high and say
Ing to himself presumably: 81 am to be
physically superb" After all a trying
role for sensible man. Really. actors
in these days are more to be ptied than
blamed. no matter what happens It's
the playwrights that should 30 TO night
school and try to catch up with the times
Then actors, producers. managers and
faudiences would have something worth
their efforts.
ton in the character OF Truth wept and
smiled as best she could while the fight
ragged over her. Dan Collyer, as an Eng.
fish physical trainer. was recognized al
once by the audience as typical of his
class and received a round of applause
when his turn was over. An old timer
from those very palmy days of which the
play was so strongly reminiscent turned
up in Mrs. Thomas Whiffen, who played
the gentleman athletes mother Mrs
Whiffen has played in many thriller In
the once favored theatres of New York
and in no way did she show the polse
gained In her long training in stock better
than by her quiet reception OF the wei
come given her on her first entrance last
night
ATTEST moment in the play. and to some
it was the only pleasant moment.
CAST OF THE INDIsCRETION OF TRUTH"
Sir George Stirling, Bart. Frank Kemble Cooper
Bruce Darrell it, waiter h ,,
| Captain William Greyille. Henry Mortimer
Ben knlvett. baLi LID 81
Henry Marston. ............' 'AleNdilutT fidhh
| Donald Tweedie- Richard Purdon
| Thomas ...................' w IMAM hsiile
| adv Stirling Observation-Disclosures Nina Herbert
Kate Stirling. Violet Kembe Cooper
Truth ColeridBe. anne me- c eur ln
Mrs Radnor. 'aiu, i yt
Mrs Darrell. ...-...... =. mis-. InoiiiAs "h'Hen
MOTHER OF EUGENICS DEAD
Chicago, Dec. 3.-Dr. Alice Bunker
c.ookbam. physician, author, suffragist