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' ' ' T1IE SUXDAV OBEGOXIAS. rORTLAKD, OCTOBER 27. 1912. ' ;
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EXQUISITE HARMONY OF COL'OR CHARACTERIZES
PRODUCTION OF "THE DAUGHTER OF HEAVEN
New York Premier of Chinese Play by Pierre Loti and Judith Gautier Is Artistic Triumph With Unnecessary Final
"Little Women," for First Time in Drama Form, Wins Hearts of Gotham at Once Cast Is
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BV LI.OVD F. LONEHGAX.
I EV YORK. Oct. 26. (Special.)
The long heralded "The Daughter
of Heaven" has Anally arrived lr.
New York and is on exhibition at the
Century Theater. Readers of the Joint
composition of these two eminent French
writers. Pierre Loti and Judith Gautier,
know that it is a romantic idylic story
of devoted love, death and sacrifice. It
Js written in simple but poetic French,
yet in the acted version. George Eger
ton uses ; commonplace language to
clothe the action of the story. An ex
tra scene was added for the sake of
the American theater, which showed
the departure of the Manchu Emperor
from his palace. It was unnecessary,
made a play already too long still
longer, and was perhaps the most Ill
written scene in all the drama. The
visit of tho Manchu is sufficiently ex
plained by the scene in the garden
which opens the play.
Harmony la Exqnfatte.
The scenes were a shifting vision of
loveliness in color. - The Chinese robes
were on view in hundreds, but there
was not a jarring note of color in th ;m.
Exquisite harmonies of tint, with rich
ness of texture and grace of fold, were
characteristic of every act.
Every scene would have been im
proved by further preparation, for
more than once mistakes in speech and
action revealed a lack of sufficient re
hearsal. "The Daughter of Heaven" Is for
spectacle uncommonly beautiful for
those who still take delight in effects
produced by the mediums which have
treated the stage as an easel picture
for so many years. Its dramatic in
terest is sluggish.
The play presumably passes at a
period a few years earlier than our
own. although the characters in the
last act are dressed in the costumes
of the day. The historical foundation
for the love story Pierre Loti and
Judith Gautier found in a province
of China, which, through the successes
of the revolution acquired a Ming as
Emperor. He was of pure Chinese
b'ood and reigned for 17 years at Nan
kin concurrently with the rule of the
Tartar dynasty at Pekin.
So happy were his people under this
ruler of their own blood that his was
known as the reign of heavenly peace.
After his death every written word
concerning his successful rebellion was
destroyed, manuscripts ana pictures
i hurned. and the ashes of this
ruler scattered to the winds that the
incident might forever be blotted out
of the ' knowledge or the aiancnu
dynasty.
No Occidental Element Enters.
This nlav Is interesting from the
fact that it shows in no way the in
fluence of foreign life on Chinese char
rter. There are. to be sure, different
races represented in the play. The
Manchu and the Ming dynasties are op
nosed, but no Occidental element en
ters the drama.
Tuull Gill, a newcomer from England,
" played the Emperor of the Manchus. It
mot a role in which to Judge the ca
pacity of any actor, but he seems likely
H interesting in other roles. He is
tall and his voice Is agreeable in qua!
itr and powerful. He is not without
fire in his acting and his movements
are graceful. His personality is at
tractive and his features are regular.
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All these are valuable possessions for
a leading man.
Miss -Allen acts the Empress or tne
Mings with dignity and intelligence,
but was not free from a certain mo
notony, especially in her speech.
Henry Bergman and Lee Baker were
two adequate interpreters of Oriental
characters. The little boy who plays
the Ming mperor possesses crudities
of pronunciation that are out of .place
in such a production. He should be
taught to speak more correctly.
The supernumeraries were numerous
and seemed to be the genuine article.
They will move with much greater
ease after a few performances. The
audience applauded Mr. Loti at the
close of the play and he arose In his
box to bow.
"Little Women" Is Saccm."
William A. Brady has scored another
success in a dramatization of Louisa
M. Alcott's "Little Women." In view
of the wonderful favor with which it
was received, it is surprising that this
classic could have" been kept away
from the footlights for nearly half a
century. This Is due in part however.
to the opposition of the authors
descendants. It took years to con
vince them that the book so highly
cherished by thousands would not be
injured by stage presentation. Marian
de Forest, who made the. stage ver
sion, and Jessie Bonstelle, who is in
terested with William A. Brady in the
production, have handled the novel
with loving and affectionate bands.
Miss de Forest has -selected for the
main incidents the happy news that
Jo's first story has been accepted, the
departure of Mrs. March from the arms
of her loving daughters to the bedside
of her husband in a Washington Hos
pital, the visit of abrupt, but kindly
Aunt March. Following these come the
arrival of Professor Bhaer, the court
ship of John and May. the sad refusal
of Jo to marry Laurie and the death
of Beth, the marriage of Jo and Pro
fessor Bhaer, the birth of the twins,
and the final happiness of Laurie, when
Amy consents to be his wife.
Scenes Adhere to Facta.
These episodes pass in surroundings
familiar to lovers of the novel, since
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the first act shows the living-room of
the March family at Concord;- then the
orchard of their home in the early
Autumn. The pictures are said to be
more or less accurate copies of the
original spots and even some of the
costumes are said to have been in
spired by originat designs to which the
artists had access.
The general effect of the play was
factory blth in quantify and quality.
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Act-No Accidental Element Enters.
Capable One.
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quite as appealing, as any stage ver
sion of a novel could be. . Intelligence
had directed the selection of the epi
sodes and good taste had always been
in control of their development dra
matic. Lovers of "Little Women" all the
thousands of them who dote on the
book need not fear that their illu
sions will be shattered by anything
OAK GROVE MAN MAKES SUCCESS RAISING CONCORD AND WORDEN GRAPES.
Mr. Bingham sold more than 400 crates in Portland this year.
6250
Delayed Shipment Just Arrived
And placed on sale for one week, commencing tomorrow.
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$1.35 value, sewed, laid
These are the very latest patterns for the" coming season and shipped direct to
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Special Reduction of From 10 to 40 Per Cent on All Floor Coverings.
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But there are scores of different grades of gas ranges. A poor one is no
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Henry Jenning & Sons
Cor. Morrison and Second Sts.
Thj Home of Good Furniture
that the dramatic version of the novel
contains.
Marie Pavey, as the kind-hearted,
impetuous, honest Jo. Alice Brady as
the gentle Meg, Beverly West, who In
creased in attractiveness as her skirts
were lengthened, as Amy. and Gladys
Hulette as the frail Beth these were
delightful exponents of the little wom
en. Howard Estabrook's Laurie was
enougfi to have led Meg to love him.
and John Cromwell acted John Brook
with just the right sense of youthful,
manly dignity. Mr. Estabrook, how
ever, showed unusual resource and
deftness in his acting of the comedy
scenes.
t Ames Find New Success.
Winthrop Ames has often received
praise for the artistic excellence of his
productions at the new as well as at
the Little Theater. There has not al
ways been equal public appreciation of
the plays he offered. It seems as if
the performance with wMch he opened
the second season of the Little Theater
last night will gain both popularity
and critical commendation. Courageous
ly he put before the public such a
striking novelty as an English transla
tion of Arthur, Schnltzler's . "Anatol
Cyclus." which has been for a decade
or more one of the comedy classics of
the stage in Austria and Germany.
John Barrymore in the title part had
his attractive personality and his good
looks to help him through a role which
presented obvious difficulties and
would test the finished skill of any
finished light comedian. The monotony
of his gestures and the really limited
control of the symbols of his art which
lie in his possession became very ap
parent as the evening progressed be
cause Anatol is always more or less in
the same situation. Doris Keane exag
Yards Brussels Carpets
and lined, the yard
and lined, the yard . .
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GAS RANGES
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CASH OR CREP T
One
gerated the side of MimPs character,
which does not come to the surface
in such European types. Isabelle Lee
as the deceived Lona was perhaps a
little too strongly suggestive of the
type she was acting, but she under
stood the humor of the situation. Os
wald Yorke played Max with great
variety, and was an admirable foil to
the volatile Anatol. Marguerite Clark
acted very gracefully the part of the
heroine who is not so ingenious as
she seemed.
AUTO ACCIDENTS INCREASE
All Paris Is Incensed at Apparent
Negligence of 'Bus Drivers.
PARIS, Oct. 26. (Special.) The Paris
"autobus," or motor-bus, long and
fierce, has the appearance not so much
of a pacific vehicle as a powerful muni
ment of war. Its record does not belle
its looks. In 1968, 113 autobuses ac
cbunted for 425 killed and wounded
roughly, four accidents per autobus. In
1911 are red roll of the autobus totalled
732, but the ratio had appreciably di
minished. Still, as far as one can gath
er things will be worse rather than bet
ter when accounts for 1912 are cast
It is not solely, perhaps not mainly,
the fault of the drivers. It is no easy
matter to control these cumbrous and
enormously heavy vehicles they weigh
five tons empty and seven full when
they are plucking their way through
narrow and crowded streets at a speed
of 12 or 15 miles an hour. Much of the
blame lies at thte door of the companies
who have drawn' up time-tables to
.70
90
Year Ahead of Competi ors
which the drivers, on pain of dismissal,
must rigorously conform. These time
tables presuppose normal speed which
is quite inconsistent with the safety of
less heavily armored perambulants of
the streets. Further, the driver has
only six minutes' rest between each
run, of which a slight delay may easily
deprive him. Again, the drivers of auto
buses, like the chauffeurs, are often
insufficiently trained in their work. The
pressure of public opinion will doubt
less bring the companies to reason.
On more than one occasion lately the
driver of an autobus that has caused an
accident has narrowly escaped lynching
at the hands of an infuriated populace.
MONOCLE NEARLY EXTINCT
French Dandies Iast to Surrender
Former Mark of Fashion.
LOXDON. Oct. 26. (Special.) The
existence of the monocle, long pre
carious in England, is now threatened
In France, perhaps its last stronghold.
Ten years ago everyone here who was
anyone wore it. Tour Parisian dandy
would have felt himself hardly decent
without it. Even for those who made
fewer pretensions to smartness, it was
the necessary adjunct of evening dress.
The broad black ribbon from which
it was depended was held, with Jus
tice, to complete the color scheme of
the white waistcoat. Then the ribbon
went out of fashion and, if you wished,
to be in the swim, you had to retain
your monocle In place by a fierce fixed
frown and an upward tension of the
muscles of the cheek. A sudden re
lease of the strain jerked the monocle
from its orbit, when it was retrieved
by the wearer's hand.
This gesture had an excellent and
arrestive effect on bores and important
persons. It is not too much to say that
the monocle in the eye of the French
exquisite was as formidable a weapon
as tho fan fluttered by the early Vic
torian belle.
Now, alas, the monocle is no longer
the sign facial of smartness, but the
older generation still cling to it.
RUTLAND IS GIVEN HONOR
Socialist Asserts He Has Disproved
All Shakespearean Claims.
BRUSSELS. Oct. 26. (Special.) M.
Celestin Demblon. the well-known So
cialist Deputy and professor of litera
ture, who some time ago stated himself
to be capable of provljg the accuracy
of the theory according to which most
of the Shakespeare dramas were the
work of the Earl of Rutland, is about
to support his contention in a book of
5T0 pages, which will first appear in
Paris, and afterward in London, in an
English version, and under the title of
"Lord Rutland Is Shakespeare."
This work will be followed hy a sec
ond one, bearing the title of "The Au
thor of Hamlet and His Surroundings."
and illustrated with portraits of the
Earl of Rutland. The Belgian Deputy
believes his works will be so convinc
ing that the celebration of Shake
speare's third centenary will turn into
a Rutland celebration, even with, the
approval of the "Baconian" party. His
friends, however, express wise scep
ticism to such a result.
St. Petersburg Students in Riot.
ST PETERSBURG. Oct. 26. (Special.)
For the last two weeks disturbances
have again been threatening among
tho students of the University of St.
Petersburg. On Monday the university
building was surrounded by some 500
fully-armed police and gendarmes, with
Cossacks in reserve. A detachment of
police was also posted Inside the build
ing during the lectures of some of the
professors. Attempts to sing revolu
tionary songs and demonstrate in mem
ory of the recent victims among the po
litical exiles at Nertchinsk and Slberhi,
who starved themselves to death, or
otherwise committed suicide, were not
permitted to go beyond the chanting of
the usual orthodox funeral hymn of
"Everlasting Remembrance."
f rnn 108.2