The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1914-03-29
. fLORCnCE WALTON .
~ the NcToRA ThcArag
0MAR'S MANY M00DA

They Seem 10 Have Made a. n
pression o. q. .. Post.
Il was Omar Khayyum spsaking. -
rather Guy Bates Post In the character,
who ran over the lines remlniscently IN
his dressing room At tho Lyric Thea
tro the other night
1T has been q revelation to me how
many moods Omar expresses." said Mr..
Post. moods which we all have at some
time or other. Perhaps that explains
the vogue Of the Rubaiyat. which II
really far greater than I ever realized
until Of late. I've been an enthusiast
about Omar's verses for a good many
years. Just as Richard Walton Tully.
the author Of this play. has been. but
never noticed In how many places the
name Omar cropped up until I began
work on this part. This doesn't include,
Of course. advertisements.
Most poets have expressed an ad-
miration for Omar, so that his name ap-
pears In many Of their volumes. The
other day ! ran across a poem to Omar
by Charles II. Musgrove OF Louisville
which had merit to lift It far above the
level OF the others. two lines in par
ticular being very neat
How sweet must be his sleep
Beneath the laurels OF a song
But old Omar must begin to think
nowadays that ne isn't sleeping very
much. with a play bearing his name on
broadway, which ought to mean more
illusions than ever to the Persian. I
was reading q. Henry anecdotes the
other day and found that ne had used
the name Omar in one OF his notes.
Then Of course ne wrote The Rubaiyat
OF Scotch Highball.' and every now
and then he referred to Omar's verses
In his other stories. In q book Of Kip
ling's verse q few days ago I found The
Rubaiyat Of Omar Kalv.n.' which has
particular Significance now when we've
the income tax.
'Out in Missouri the other day q coll
lege professor launched into a violent
denunciation Of Omar Khayyam as II
the poet We're to blame for every III of
the present day. And these are only
stray instances which happen to stick
In my mind from the many I've noticed
IN the last few years. The way Omar's
name creeps up every now and then
makes II look as II he had set press
agent at work about the time FitE.
Gerald's translation appeared and the
press agent had been working every
minute since
"Or perhaps II would he more accu.
rate to say that the press agent was
working for the F!tzGerald version di.
rectly, for Of the hundred and sixty.nine
versions or so emily that one has he.
come widely popular. To read the other
versions is a revelation. for they show
q very human Omar Tha E,t,O>ro,A
Quatrains have been given so many
mystic interpretations that Il Is a relief
to md Omars verses in expressions
which are still beautiful but really
human. For instance. those lines which
have in the first act:
Endure this world without my wilma. 7
Drag on life's loaf without my cups. I
cannot!
am a slave OF that sweet moment when
They say. Just one more drnk'-and I
cannot"
ut In these new sides of Omar's char
acter that makes me 10 enth usiastic
about playing him on the stage. Per.
haps these new traits. or rather new
views Of traits which Omar probably
had all the time. ought to make him
even more popular. Perhaps one will
be less tempted to say then that Omar
Khayyam 10 at the same time the most
quoted and least understood Of poets"