The New York herald., 1920-01-18

sionai melancholy Of sections and exc1tes
righteous anger In the windy bosons Of
Iundertakers.
In these victorious days Of woman sur
Ifrage, shall we tolerate ''The Tanning OF
tho Shrew?" ! should say not Thank
heaven. a lady member of Parliament
will presently bring in a law which shall
knock Petruchjo and his brother males
into q cooked hat
Twelfth Night ridicules tho Puritan
Malvolio-"He is a Puritan" ''If
thought that. I'd beat him like a dog
Here Is treason to the Pilgrim Fathers
Ito the hangman with such play.
II anybody has respect for the few
kings remaining, let him burn the tragedy
lof Richard III" Here Is royalty de-
lpicted vile as vile can be-. We must be
civil to our monarchical allies. "Corio-
Ilanus'' is contemptuous toward the mob.
which is condemned as evil-smelling and
its breath denounced as intolerable. Let
no malodorous man plead mercy for this
play.
Is not "F'alstafr' in Henry "" out of
date in this time Of prohibition? He reeks
iof sack Ono grows thirsty to sit In
front and look at him. Can all the noble
sentiment of this glorious trumpet-flarng.
Icourage-breeding poem condone the fat
knights brigandage? No. To the ceme-
ltery with him. Besides his girth makes
Ye sycophants. cry out that 'Timon of
Athens" hurts your tender hearts Who
lshall tolerate this blasphemy:-"Y conf
mon cry of ours whose breath I hate,
as reek of the rotten fens." What un-
ladylike talk is this? Fie-fie' And we
brutal and ungenerous children, down
with the mighty tragedy OF Lear" for
does it not bare your black hearts to
the scorn and hate of all kindly souls?
"Usury Assailed; Not Israel"
| Seriously, I don't believe the Jews are
so stupid as to want to do away with
''The Merchant of Venice" in the schools.
They must know quite well that Shylocls
| is a Jew, not the Jeto. I think the pawn
brokers are at the back of this movement.
lit is usury which is assailed-not Israel.
In every play or story there must be a
conflict; usually between the forces of
good and evil. In most plays the power
lof good is triumphant. Even when the
mortal bodies Of the protagonsts perish.
their spiritual victory uplifts and en-
mobiles.
| Had sinners needed no salvation. should
we have been enriched by the immortal
admonish the saints. The cupidity and
the blood lust of Shylock bring forth Por-
tia's plea for mercy. The persecution
suffered by the Hebrew wrings from his
heart the pitiful cry Hath not a Jew
eyes ?"--that unforgettable plea for his
once prosecuted race.
| And shall the malcontents deprive us
Iof Lorenzos poem?
"How sweet the moonlight sleeps upon
this banks y
! Sit. Jessica! Look how tho floor of
heaven
Is thick inlaid with patines Of bright
| gold!
There's not the smallest orb which
thou beholdst
But in his motion like an angel sings.
Still quiring to the young-eyed cherubins
| Such harmony is in immortal souls;
But whilst this muddy vesture Of decay
Doth grossly close it in. wo cannot
hear it,
Odd anybody say that this muddy ves-
lture" has something to do with the move
ment against the merchantD.
'"rhe man that hath no music in himself,
| Nor is not moved with concord of sweet
sounds,
Is fit for treasons, stratagems and spoils
| The motions OF his spirit arc dull as
night,
And his affections dark as Erebus.
Let no such man bo trusted"
Phew! If the critics or the pawnbro-
kers rob us of these lines, let us swear
never to read their screeds nor darken
their doors again.