The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1914-03-13
AS MAN TO Man.

The newspaper man and Darwin
Bradley went to Kansas City the 9TH
OF night to see E. H. Sothern in Justin
AcCarthy's great play. IF 1 Were
King" Bradley is known generally
~ . singer. but to the newspaper man
he is known as a reader. Bradley and
Carthy book, ''If Were King" twelve
or fifteen years ago, and that was be-
fore 1t had been dramatized. And
about once a year ever since then the
singer and the newspaper man had
read the book over.
1t was perfectly natural. then. that
when 1t was announced that Sothern
was to give a revival Of this old play
during his week in Kansas City, that
these two readers of an old book
should lay aside their mirth and their
emplOyments and go at every hazard
and in spite OF every cause to see
Francois villon, the vagabond-pcet-
tice age, walk again in the flesh and
make good his boast what he would
do IL he were king Of France.
1t was also perfectly natural that
these two readers of old books should
occupy seats near the front of the
Villon and his cockleshell outcasts in
the Fircone tavern. Seats just as
close as they could be placed by the
hands Of moderns to the curtain that
separates the past from the present.
Seats on the edge of another age.
Seats Of splendor in a place of poor,
real things.
The newspaper man wonders II the
public really gives fitting measure OF
praise and place of merit to a great
actor. A statesman profits by old
laws and builds gables on the solid
nf ctn q called a
great man, but there are a few actors
in the world who present with faith
full exactness these old times and Gus
toms in every lire and detail. We call
doctors great because they keep
man from death, but an actor can
bring a dead man to life. Painters
gain fame from dead pictures. but
actors make pictures that walk and
speak on the stage of life. Lawyer,
doctor, merchant, chief, all these are
great, but why not an actor? The
actor to be great must have as much
heart and genius and brain as the
great of any walk in life. 1t is as
great a thing to speak line as 1t Is
to write it, to raise from the dead as
to keep from death.
And Sothern, the actor, at the Schu-
bert in Kansas City the other night,
made Villon live again for two simple
citizens of Topeka. Made him brawl
and drink in his tavern. made him
love in the kings rose garden, made
him invincible against the Burgundians
and made him face the gibbet with a
smile and jest. 1t was just an old
romance of poetry and love and war.
Just the story of beautiful duchess
whose pride bowed to love. And here
comes m Miss Valentine, who played
the duchess against Sothern's Vfllon.
She might have been one Of the real
women Of the French court OF that
time for all that these two Topekans
could see and know. She walked out
their especial benefit and they were as
much moved as Villon himself at her
pride and her loneliness. Just an old
romance of how the king in disguise
heard the vagabond-brawler mouth his
great lines Of what he would do if he
were king; just middle ages tale OF
how the king had the vagabOnd drug
ged and brought to his palace and
made grand constable Of France and
then stood by amazed to see the vaga-
bond beat the Burgundians and win
the flower Of the court. But on Soth-
ern's stage, with Miss Valentine on
the grand stairway, it was the re-enact-
ton Of events that had seemed impos-
sible even when they happened the
first time.
Thus it was that Bradley, who is a
reader as well as singer, was given
to see more and feel more than is
given for men to see and learn unless
they have sentiment, and throughout
the play he nudged his newspaper
friend in the ribs many times and
whispered to him in delight and re-
cited the lines ahead of the players
and gloated over Villon's judgment on
his old friends and fretted at the
meanness Of the king and marvelled
at the beauty of the duchess and ex-
claimed in delight over score OF
things that flashed across the stage
on this night of miracles And the
newspaper man was about as bad
And, no doubt. they disturbed those
who sat near them at the play. But
they did not know it. A man in front
of them was angry. man beside
them smiled in appreciation. Other
people near looked to smile and
looked to frown. 1t takes many kinds
of people to make a world.
But these two did not care, al
though, OF course, they are really
sorry If they disturbed any one who
wanted to idly sit and see the play
with modern eyes, content to lOOh
upon and not to enter the age thai
into for a while.
And hat night when these two To
pekans went to bed at the hotel, Oar
win Bradley, like King Louis did il
the play, lighted a candle. The kins
had lighted his candle declaring tina
Villon should die when it burned t.
the end of q charred and Eighties
wick. Bradley lighted his candle a
symbol and a token of appreciation
of the players on the SOthern stage
and he and the newspaper man wen
to sleep hoping they would not di'
when the candle burned to the end o
the wax and the wick. c.