The Washington herald., 1918-07-21


John II. Raftery in the New York
! Telegraph thus writes of an idea
(which may or may not make an ap-
peal to the average theater-goer:
Yesterday / witnessed the trial
operation Of an electric device for dis
seminating dry curative gases
throughout large Enclosures. such as
, churches. theaters, dwellings. railway
trains and tunnels. and in the course
OF the demonstration ii was made
plain that the machine is also capa-
BILE of difusing pleasant odors by a
continuous atomizing process applied
to the essential oils from which. 1
believe. all perfumes emanate. Having
no talent for machinery, yet one could
not evade the thought that here, at
last. is the development Of the preci-
Gus idea of enrichfng and realizing
the desirable atmosphere of plays by
addressing the olfactory. as well a.
the aural and visual senses OF the
audience.
''Of course David Belasco and few
other diligent seekers after that inn
palpable but essential quality which
we call atmosphere. have made some
notable essays in the direction of suit
able and. in one or two instances
which / recall, almost descriptive ex-
halation from the scenes upon the
stage to the audience. The odors
Of corn-beef and cabbage. early
morning coffee and tenement-house
soapspds have been projected with
VARYING success as stmospheric soB-
Sestions. Also have in mind the
,Tort TO effect a reverentially recep-
i've mood in the audiences by burn
5ing frankinseense, or the gums of
balsam or myrrh, at last seasons per-
formances of The Chester Mysteries,
The Book Of Job and 'Salome''
Maybe nothing could be added to the
perfect impression of the clustering
Einstorm in the Canadian Northwest,
which is, think. the most convincing
Incident I'm Tiger Rose" but il any
thing be lacking il would be the
pungent perfume of pine needles and
ir cones which make the airs of that
FAR wilderness so singing sweet. Or
4 in such wonderfuIIy-staged plays as
The Great Divide" Arizona or
The Sduaw Man. there could have
,een added to the atmosphere of the
,lay the inspirational savors that
low off the sagebrush and the chap
,aralI all day and night, and the I'M
sorgettabIe incense that rises from
he camp and pueblo fires of burning
tactus and confer. how much easier,
more certain ii would have been to
,ense the unpaintable. the unspeak-
bIe. the inimitable atmospheric gior-
es Of those enchanted. primal places.
Sometimes I have tried to comment
Ipon the singular and yet scientific
esults obtained by music. color and
kprnT in suggesting moods harmonic
kceptivity. atmospheric impressions
Bon the listening beholder. Joseph
Urban and a few others here in New
York have gone far thus to impinge
he pleasant power of their visual
.rt into the mutual field of sound and
stfers. Walter Damrosch and few
dher American composers have real
Led the contributory potency of
nusic to the acted prose drama, and
githin the year there have been a
ew admirable efforts to array even
ne silent senses OF the screen in the
aorified garments of unseen melody.
"In literature there are countless
xamples of the influence of odors
non the mind and the emotions 1t
sens to me 1 must have missed the
hole atmosphere of romance in
cottish highlands and lowlands IL
al not sensed the tang Of the heath- |
bloom as well as the wistful ]
slender and radiant waning of the !
Gather moon. From Shakespeare to |
1r own beloved o. Henry. our litera- |
IRE is redoIent Of the perfumes of i
Ided flowers and fresh nosesays, of |
ire and memorable wines inhaled.
xhaltations of times and places and
eople which seem to have addressed |
,e mind as surely and as effectively !
old love letters, or raucous war
h..
ace.
Ansciously acquire an abnormal OIL
Glory sensibility, and / remember
wonderful Norwegian woman, a
,acher of defective children, who
.sured me that some Of her most
Insitiye and thoughtful pupils be-
,me able to identify and describe
~ colors of objects which they
mia perceive only by the touch and
Ne odor. And that strangely widcned
edium of mental receptivity seems
contract, to have been rluch ne
ected by US who are so richly dow
ed with full possession and exercise
all our senses
The suggestions effected by many
sors have been observed by most
sople, and yet there are few who
! ave made any effort to cultivate a
rnse which requires only TO be ed
cated to become a new and positive
! .cuIty for the apprehension and en-
,yuuent Of countless natural and
bolesone delights. have In mino
, old friend in New Orleans, Matth-
"a Theriot. called a wine faster"
ecause he was an expert In esti-
ating both the fruit and the vim
.ge. the grape and the age. Of the
ines of France He could identity
le .exact vineyard which was the
r<hpiace and nursery Of the -yari-
hs beverages Of the Champagne
,unfry. ana be assured me that no
,I.f- is perfect that Is not In COM