The evening world., 1922-03-15

GllDeTt Emery particularly nlstlnguls
This time Mr.. Milne concerns him
self with exposing an old fraud who
has gained fame and wealth as a
Victorian poet by robbing the dead
that is, publishing as his own the
rood works of friend. Perhaps
there is something more than this in
the play. II may be that Milne raises
the cry of "Stop, thief" to every
poor scr1bbler who scratches about in
the garden of letters and makes Off
with anything he turns up. But
walt! i trust the able gentleman and
scholar will not suspect me of i'm
plying he is unoriginal when | say
that the scene in which the revered
impostor gladly accepts birthday
tributes as his due is singularly like
tire grnndfathers celebration, wheel
chair and all, in 1.-THE Green Mirror"
OF Hugh waipde. Probably no one
writing about nglish family life of
the comfortable sort could avoid run
ming up against a wheel chair with a
lordIy grandfather in 1t. i don't know
anything about It, but doubtless Mr..
MiInr does. And both he and Wal
that, as Septlma says in the play.
With equal sincerity ! may say
that "The Truth About Blayds" Is
boolxish play. n quiet, contempfatve
study of character as close to you
AZ your reading lamp. Above all, 1t
r. illuminating satire, the first tlash
Of which is noted when Royce, the
critic, intimates that the renowned
poets 1863 volume would never set
the world on Are. Here you get the
clue to the whole fraudulent busi-
ness, sniff the fact that this inferior
stun was written by Blayds and that
his fame rests on the work of an
unknoN genius. by the merest hint
Milne makes detective of you, and
you are exultant when Blayd's daugh-
ter comes out with the truth about
the liar credited with writing about
the truth so beautifully. He had con-
fessed TO her on his deathbed at
ninety that he had published as his
own the poems of "a young friend
named JENKINS left in his keeping at
the time of this friends death. and
that for seventy years he had treas
ured his secret. together with the
money and fame 1t brought him.
This brilliant satire is no less than
devastating. The question or the
playwright's courage remains when
selfish members of the Blayds family
contend that the revelation was moth
ing more than an old mans halluci-
nation, that he probably felt con-
fession of some kind would be good
for his soul But Milne doesn't
weaken. There is no whitewashing Of
. the whited sepulchre. lsobel stands
firm. She is a truly fine womaL. and
she says a truly fine thing when she
reflects: "How hopeful we are! II
were God should feel very proud OF
men," She has sacrificed her hope OF
happiness and children by giving the
best years of her life to nursing heI
supposedly illustrious father, but for
tunately Royce is still there waiting
for her. The reactions on different
members of the family are interest
ing, until JenlSnss will leaving
everything to Blayds is found and
matters are allowed to remain as they
were.
A better cast than the one chosen
by Winthrop Ames could not be i'm
agined. Most notable of all was tho
sincerity OF Miss Carlisle as IsobOl
Mr.. Emery played Royce with rar'
tact and the distinction of ease. Leslie
Howard was an amusingly cynica
youth who. when his sister Septimi