New Britain herald., 1929-09-14

was q CyranO, historians Say-Wlll Ie told in the form of a play, taken from the work of Edmond ROstand, who spent five years in creating the character for a famous French actor Of the late '90's, himself afflicted with all enlarged olfactory organ. Francois tale will be related in the Famous Challenges series, and an almost mythical part Of his life Wl'l be relatcd-his defense Of the ono" of Henrietta d'Orlcans, whom even the most dilatory Of historians say !, that he never even saW.
 Villon. hero of the wine shops 0 i the 18th century Paris, is one Of i the most grossly exaggerated char ! actcrs Of literary history. To the i modern mind NiIlon was a peculiar | .ly dashing fellow, hero Of the Naga- | bond King, If 1 Were King. and other romantic Whoop dishcd up for the delicatessen of the hoi polloi. He is pictured as d strong man, ready with his sword, ready to avcnGe the house whose name he appropri- atcd from his uncle. ready 10 do battle for any of tha.slcazy strum- pets he mentions in his poems.
 Tho reverse IS tru1. Nillon (which is not his name but name belong ing 10 his uncle, a good vicar whom he disgraccd so many times that h. was finally forbidden to usa his l ouse as home) was d ratty indiNid- ual. sinking around the alley ways of Paris, always on the lookout for the Kings Archers, PoCk-marked, afflicted with the Italian fever, he warmed his freezing bones in the | lowest dives, for weeks he did not wash, for months he spent all his time 1T, the private dungeon of tn" 1 Cardinal because of a certain church 1 robbery in which he was implicated.
 Yet. underneath it all ,hero voc l q Francois who. when confronted 1 with the gallowS. could write: I am Francois of Nillon
 A peculiar man, may be
 ] Whose neck tomorrow will learn
 How heavy his DuttoCks be.
 But. on the eve of his gibbeting he was released, providing he loft Paris. Francois left, but first he went back to his unclo's, begged q few candles. and. wra2kcd with the fever of the dungeon. he wrote something which brings France out of the Dark Ages. In a cold room he wrote his Grand Testament.
 Rabelais later reports th2t he spent his declining years in Gascony but Rabclais was ever known fo1 stretching the truth. What cid be- come of the purisi1n gutter rat Was never learnel..
 The episode in his life, purport- ing to be true, in which he defends beautiful lady against the ralSes of Paris, will be heard over tho WEAF system Of the NEG thi> evening at eight o'clock.
 Eostand was a Car2fUl plavWrigEt one of the first to believe that plays are not written, but are "cV rittcn
 For five years he labored on play
 for friend of his, a friend with al enormous nose. He brought fortl CyranO de BcrgeraC, which will b,
 presented tonight by the Radio
 Guild at ten o'clock through statiO:
 WIZ and associated stations.
 One of the best-if not the best
 swordsmer in Paris, Cyrano oftc,
 with his blade, and right Justify h
 rushed into tho battle. The pla
 opens with a thoator scene, Whe,
 Cyrano, disgustcd with the work o
 the leading actor. chascS him Of
 the stage. The manager objects. an Cyrano, always ready with 8 boa
 geste, losses him his purse Tn S manager is satisfied. But the audi
 cnce, having come to see the pla,
 are not. A gay young rounder ol
 yccts, calls attention to Cyrano
 nose, and, after giving the flop q
 intellectual thrashing which prove
 him master of qnip, Cyrano cha
 lenges. To make it more even, |
 composcs q ballad as he fight
 ending with the It rrain. At the Ia
 line l strike" When the ballad n finished the gay young rounder finc 1 himself pierced through the middl U And so it goes, the swaggerinG c;
 dct defending his nose, until he
 insulted by his cousins lover. who n he has promised to protect. Ro '1 anne. the cousin, loves Christia
 but Christian is not gifted wi
 words. Cyrano immediately b"gi
 to write the boys letters, and cv c stand beneath the ladys window al ,n make impassioncd love to her; :; for Christian.
 'ta Finally Christian dies in bait ~, before RoXanne discovers that [ 1a words of love she has read a I heard were those of Cyrano. \ l, until Cyrano is fellcd by luffi IL while on his way to visit her at convent, 5 years later, does s =; learn Ot the dcCtpllOn ne 1OSler' In one of the most gripping seer
 of drama. backed against a tr '"' ! Cyrano with his truSty sword figl ," death and loses. The Gertrude II Su translation will be used in N presentation.
 lso
 'rc Harriet Lee, contralto. will si 7' Back to the Hills of Kentucky q Il" ing Jesse CrawfoTd's broadcast O ill- station WABC and the CBS { Yer evening at 1O:3O. The organ ? lVe gram will include To a Wild RC md Amaryllis, and Orienta)e.
 Shyly, q freshman coed at ter Washington State College apprOa lth ed Jacques Thibaud. famous Frel