Life — May 11, 1893 — page 13: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

“Tt MUST BE AWFULLY LATE. WuHaT TIME Is IT, Gussie?” “Reatty, I cAwNT . YOU. ME WATCH IS STOPPED. YOU SEE, MY VALET TENDS TO THE WATCHES AND ALL THAT SORT OF THING, YOU KNOW, AND LAHST NIGHT WAS HIS NIGHT OFF, AND I SUPPOSE THE BLOOMING THING SHOULD HAVE HAD SOMETHING DONE TO IT, THERE'S A LITTLE THING IN THE END THAT HE TURNS WOUND AT NIGHT; BUT HE'LL BE BACK, AND HE'LL KNOW, DON'TCHERKNOW.” Mrs. Bowers are thoroughly competent to bring out all there is in a piece of this nature and that the result was unsatisfactory reflects only on the play itself. The first act suffered from the fault usual to the early dramatic work of men who have gained their training only in the field of printed literature. There was too little action to the square mile of only fair dialogue. The action in the second act was in considerably greater proportion, but here too the telling strokes of the experienced dramatist were missing. The varying effect of the poison upon the different individuals was most fortunate for bringing out the story of the play, but as a problem in toxicology it would have staggered the combined professional wisdom of all the experts in the Buchanan trial. Mr. Palmer is to be commended for making these experimental productions, but we confess that the results, both in this case and in that of the Theatre of Arts and Letters, is rather disheartening to those who expected to see our stage literature improved when the energies of our literary men were turned in its direction. Metcalfe. AYMAN: Did you ever suffer from stage fright ? THEsPIS: Once; ona Fifth avenue stage. ENELOPE: You say he has more brains than the average society young man? PERDITA: Yes. PENELOPE: Well, but has he any ? “LIVING ON THE FAT OF THE LAND.” comicbooks.com