Say, are they talkin' to each other?
JONATHAN
Yes.
HANK
Which is the noble duke?
JONATHAN (_pulling a string_)
This one.
HANK.
And the other one's name is Iween, ain't it?
JONATHAN
No, his name is Rollo.
[Illustration: JONATHAN MAKES A WISH
ACT I.]
HANK
All right, fire ahead. I guess you know what you're doing.
JONATHAN (_in assumed voice_)
"Hail, noble duke."
"All is well, I ween."
"Not very well, noble duke."
"What is wrong?"
"Queen Zenobia is very mad, noble duke."
"What is she mad about, Rollo?"
[_Uncle John enters suddenly._
JOHN
Jonathan--
[_He sees Hank._
What does this mean?
HANK
I'm seein' a show.
JOHN
You get out of here this instant.
HANK
I ain't hurtin' nothin', mister, but I'll git out if you say so.
JOHN
What do you mean by this, Jonathan?
HANK
I'll git out. Thank you fer the show, boy.
[_He goes out whistling._
_John crosses to the door._
JOHN (_calling after Hank_)
Come on, get out of here quickly.
HANK (_off_)
I'm out, mister.
JOHN
Now, Jonathan, what do you mean by bringing such people into this place?
JONATHAN
I didn't bring him in. He came up while I was working.
JOHN
Do you call that silly stuff _working_?
JONATHAN
I was getting it ready for Uncle Nathaniel.
JOHN
He's been putting that nonsense in your head, has he?
JONATHAN
He asked me to let him see all my plays.
JOHN
I suppose he told you to ask that dirty tramp in here.
JONATHAN
No, sir. He didn't see the tramp.
[_Hank is heard whistling._
_John crosses to one of the windows and opens it._
JOHN (_calling_)
You get away from there. Move on.
HANK'S VOICE
I guess the roadside's free, mister.
JOHN
We'll see about that.
[_Hank whistles._
JOHN
Jonathan, I won't have you waste your time on this stuff. I've been pretty
lenient with you and I've allowed you to keep your toys because Emily
spoiled you; but you're too big for such things and I'm going to put my
foot down right now. I'm not going to have this silly stuff around.
JONATHAN
Uncle Nathaniel doesn't think it's silly.
JOHN
I'll decide what is and is not good for you.
JONATHAN
The same thing isn't good for everybody.
JOHN
Don't talk back to me, young man.
JONATHAN
I've got a right to think.
JOHN
Jonathan!
JONATHAN
If my mother was living, she wouldn't call everything I like to do silly.
JOHN
Your mother didn't know what was good for you.
JONATHAN
My mother was the best woman in the world.
JOHN
That will do, Jonathan. Your mother was my sister and I am not saying
anything against her. But I do say that stuff must go.
[_He starts for the door._
JONATHAN
If this theatre goes, I go, too. I'm not--
[_John walks over to the theatre and sweeps the whole structure onto the
floor._
JOHN
Now.
JONATHAN
You dirty coward, you--
[_John turns upon the boy and strikes him across the face._
_In mingled rage and humiliation Jonathan sobs wildly once or twice, then
controls himself and glares violently at his uncle._
JOHN
I'll let you think about it. I'll leave you here with your toys like a
girl-baby.
[_He goes out the door, closing it and turning the key in the lock._
_Jonathan runs to the door._
JONATHAN
You let me out of here! You let me out of here!
[_He pounds the door with his fists._
_Then he turns in despair and humiliation._
_He paces the floor a moment, not knowing what to do. Suddenly Hank's
whistle is heard. The boy listens as though fascinated and goes to the
window and watches Hank. Jonathan goes to his wrecked theatre and, taking
it up, piles his manuscripts, the pink and the blue, on it. He hesitates to
include one in the pile, offering once or twice to put it in his pocket,
but he finally places it in grim determination with the others. Then he
takes it off and stuffs it in his pocket. He stuffs the pile in the stove
and sets a match to it, watches it a moment, then writes on a piece of
paper, fastens it to the door. Then he finds a piece of rope on a packing
case, moves the ladder under the gable window, fastens the rope to a peg
in the wall, climbs the ladder, considers a moment, returns to the stove
with the beloved manuscript, stuffs it in the fire, remounts the ladder and
lets his weight onto the rope. As he disappears from view, the rope breaks
and a cry and sound of falling are heard._
_The flames from the burning theatre and manuscripts flicker against the
wall for a silent moment._
_The key is heard to turn in the lock and John and Nathaniel enter._
JOHN
Jonathan!
NATHANIEL
He's hiding.
JOHN
Jonathan!
NATHANIEL (_Sees paper on door_)
What's this?
JOHN
What does it say?
NATHANIEL
"Good-bye!... Jonathan."
JOHN (_Looks suspiciously at Nathaniel_)
Did you tell the silly boy about your running away?
NATHANIEL
I told Jonathan nothing about myself. You are the head of the Clay family
and out of custom I respected your position; but, by God, John, you're a
failure with this boy.
JOHN
He--
[_Hank enters carrying Jonathan in his arms. Jonathan is limp and pitiful.
His clothes are torn. He is moaning pitifully._
HANK
He fell on the rocks out there.
NATHANIEL
Put him over here.
[_Hank places Jonathan on the bench near the piano. Nathaniel places the
costume, which Susan left there, under his head for a pillow._
JOHN
What was he doing?
HANK
He was--
NATHANIEL
This is no time for questions, John. Call a doctor.
[_Jonathan moans and rolls his head, looking vacantly at Hank now and
then._
JONATHAN (_moaning_)
Good-bye.... Jonathan.
JOHN
We'd better take him in the house.
JONATHAN
My mother was the best woman--
NATHANIEL
He'd better stay here until the doctor comes.
[_John exits._
JONATHAN
All on a summer's day--
[_All the time Nathaniel has been passing his hands over Jonathan._
HANK
He's out of his head, ain't he?
NATHANIEL
Perhaps, but sometimes one's heart speaks in a delirium.
HANK
He acts like his back's broke.
NATHANIEL
My God--his back!
[_Touches the boy's back._
_Jonathan winces with pain._
JONATHAN
My back's broken, Hank.
HANK
Listen, he's saying my name. We wuz pals, sure nuff.
JONATHAN
My back's broken, Hank.
_Curtain._
ACT II
Six years have elapsed since Act I as years elapse in a
boy's imaginings.
Throughout this act the characters are disclosed
without reason as in a dream; and the movement of the
act represents four terrors of a delirium--anxious
effort to make oneself known, a feeling of fetters,
climbing and a sudden fall.
JONATHAN BUILDS A FEAR
[_Before the curtain rises the voices of Jonathan, Hank, Nathaniel and John
are heard, muffled and far away._
HANK
He fell on the rocks out there.
NATHANIEL
Put him over here.
JOHN
What was he doing?
HANK
He was--
NATHANIEL
This is no time for questions, John. Call a doctor.
JONATHAN
Good-bye.... Jonathan.
JOHN
We'd better take him in the house.
JONATHAN
My mother was the best woman--
NATHANIEL
He'd better stay here until the doctor comes.
JONATHAN
All on a summer's day--
HANK
He's out of his head, ain't he?
NATHANIEL
Perhaps, but sometimes one's heart speaks in a delirium.
HANK
He acts like his back's broke.
NATHANIEL
My God--his back!
JONATHAN
My back's broken, Hank.
HANK
Listen, he's saying my name. We wuz pals, sure nuff.
JONATHAN
My back's broken, Hank.
[_The curtain has risen unnoticed._
_A faint light that grows steadily brighter as light does when one comes
out of a swoon discloses Jonathan and Hank seated on a log at the left of
the stage, where the bench had been. Jonathan seems much older, and he is
crooked and dirty and unkempt, and Hank is somewhat brutalised, less
negative._
JONATHAN
My back's broken, Hank.
[_Hank looks at him._
Tired?
HANK
Sure....
JONATHAN
I think Uncle Nathaniel would help me if he saw me.
HANK
He couldn't do nothin' for you. You can't straighten a crooked back....
JONATHAN
Hank, I'm tired of this and I'm going back.
HANK
Going back where?
JONATHAN
I'm going back home.
HANK
Your Uncle John won't let you in.
JONATHAN
Uncle Nathaniel will take me in.
HANK
He ain't there no more and besides he won't know you.
JONATHAN
Honest--don't you think he would?
HANK
Sure, he wouldn't.
JONATHAN
I wish I hadn't run away.
HANK
If you don't quit wishing I'll run away from you.
JONATHAN
You wouldn't leave me, would you, Hank?
HANK
Sure, I'd leave you.... What do you think I am--a wishing stone?... I want
peace, I do.... An' your wishing's disturbing my peace.... Every day fer
six years you squeal about what you done.... Your Uncle John swatted you
and you burned your theatre things and jumped out o' the window and broke
your back and I saved you....
JONATHAN
I can't do anything with a broken back!
HANK
What do you want to do anything for?
JONATHAN
Sometimes I'd like to write a little.
HANK
Go ahead.... I'll wait for you.
JONATHAN
And I'd like to give a show. You know, Hank, I used to want to be an
actor....
HANK
Sure, all kids want to be actors or go in a circus or do something where a
lot o' people are lookin' on.
JONATHAN
But I can't be an actor now, because nobody'd want to look at me.
HANK
You act like that hump's ruined your life, when all you got to do's crouch
over a little more and look sad and you can get anything you want. Why,
it's money in your pocket, that's what that hump is; it's money in your
pocket.
[_He closes the conversation by whistling._
Say, go on over to that house and get us something to eat.
[_Jonathan prepares for the quest and Hank rolls over to go to sleep._
_As Jonathan crosses, lights disclose a hill with pleasant green slopes. At
its foot stands a little cottage, all cool and pleasant with great glass
doors. There are no locks and bolts to keep one out or to keep one in. A
high plaster and brick wall flanks the cottage._
_As Jonathan nears the cottage he meets Uncle John, whose austerity is more
apparent than ever._
_Jonathan cowers a moment, then attempts to smile._
JONATHAN
Hank said you'd turn me away if I came back.
JOHN
Were you talking to me, boy?
JONATHAN
I'm so sorry I ran away, Uncle John.
JOHN
Uncle John?
JONATHAN
Don't you know me, Sir?
JOHN
Indeed I do not.
JONATHAN
I'm Jonathan--
JOHN
Jonathan! My nephew Jonathan?--Ha! Ha!
JONATHAN
Don't you remember I didn't want to study engineering--I didn't want to go
to Somerset School?
JOHN
Where is Jonathan?
JONATHAN
I'm Jonathan, sir. You remember I jumped out of the window and I tried to
run away.
JOHN
You seem to know a lot about it. Where is Jonathan?
JONATHAN
I tell you I am Jonathan.... Don't you remember you struck me--You struck
me across the face--that's what made me run away.
JOHN
I should have whipped him and put him to bed.
JONATHAN
I would have run away just the same, Uncle John.
JOHN
Don't call me Uncle John!
JONATHAN
But you are my Uncle John.
JOHN
I ask you where _is_ Jonathan.
JONATHAN
Would you like to see him?
JOHN
I should like to know what has become of him.
JONATHAN
Would you let him come back home?
JOHN
No. When he ran away, I cast him out forever.
JONATHAN
Couldn't you forgive him if he was very, very sorry for what he had
done?... Couldn't you forgive me, sir?... I am Jonathan. Honest I am
Jonathan.
JOHN
Don't try to deceive me. Jonathan was impudent as you are; but he was a
Clay: he was straight and fine.
JONATHAN
But I broke my back.
JOHN
Tell me where Jonathan is, you imposter.
[_He takes Jonathan by the arm and twists it brutally._
Tell me.... Tell me.
JONATHAN
I don't know.... Let me go.... I'm _not_ Jonathan.
JOHN
Tell me....
JONATHAN (_in desperation_)
He's dead.
JOHN
What!
JONATHAN
He's dead. He died somewhere.
JOHN
And so you tried to palm yourself off as Jonathan.
JONATHAN
I'm sorry.
JOHN
Don't you know you can't make your way with lies?
JONATHAN
Yes, sir.
JOHN
You ought to be whipped, but I suppose you don't know any better. I should
have you arrested for vagrancy.
[_Jonathan winces._
But I won't. I pity you, you dirty little beggar.
[_He starts to walk._
You ought to wash your hands and face at least.
JONATHAN
Please, sir--one minute.... How are Mary and John third?
JOHN
Mary is ten--a big girl--and John third is eight--a strapping boy who will
be a great help to me.
JONATHAN
And--how is Aunt Letitia?
JOHN
My aunt died of a broken heart.
JONATHAN
A broken heart?
JOHN
Because Jonathan ran away.
[_Jonathan buries his face in his arms._
There! Don't cry for someone you've never seen.... Here, here, take this--
[_He presses a coin into Jonathan's hand and goes out._
_Jonathan looks at the coin, then after John, and seems to close his heart.
He crosses to the sleeping Hank._
JONATHAN
Here, Hank.
HANK (_taking the coin_)
What'd he say?
JONATHAN
He didn't know me.
HANK
I guess you're not going back home now!
JONATHAN
No, I haven't any home.
HANK
Then quit your snifflin' an' go on over to that house.
JONATHAN
All right, Hank.
[_Hank curls up and goes to sleep again._
_Jonathan crosses to the cottage and finally summons the courage to knock
on the door. As he does so the lights within grow bright and disclose a
lovely little room with a beautiful piano in the centre. In a moment a
young woman appears and opens the doors. It is Susan Sample. She is
charmingly older; but she is dressed almost as she was in the old lumber
room._
JONATHAN
Please, Miss--why--
SUSAN
What do you want?
JONATHAN
I--don't you know me?
SUSAN
No, I don't know you, little boy. What do you want?
JONATHAN
I--don't you really know me?
SUSAN
I've never seen you before.
JONATHAN
I know you.... You're Susan Sample.
SUSAN
Who told you?
JONATHAN
I'm-- (_He becomes conscious of his back_) Why Jonathan told me.
SUSAN
Have you seen Jonathan?
JONATHAN
Yes.
SUSAN
Where is he?
JONATHAN
I don't know.
SUSAN
He ran away. Why doesn't he come home?
JONATHAN
Because--oh, I don't know.
SUSAN
Who are you?
JONATHAN
I'm a vagrant.
SUSAN
Are you hungry?
JONATHAN (_looking toward Hank_)
No. I'm not.... I'm not begging.... But will you do something for me?
SUSAN
Yes, if I can.
[Illustration: JONATHAN MAKES A WISH
ACT II.]
JONATHAN
Will you play for me?
SUSAN
Oh, yes.... What shall I play?
JONATHAN
Anything.
[_Jonathan notices his dirty hands._
Excuse me a moment.
[_He goes to a bird-bath and washes his hands, wipes them and returns to
the piano._
_Susan plays a bit of a nocturne with ease and grace._
JONATHAN
Do you remember this?
[_He hums "All on a Summer Day."_
SUSAN
Oh, yes.
[_She plays the tune in a sophisticated musical way, but Jonathan is
disappointed._
SUSAN
You don't like it?
JONATHAN
That isn't exactly the way it goes.
SUSAN
Oh, yes, it is.
[_She plays it once more and sings it._
JONATHAN
No--no--no. It ought to go this way.
[_He sings it as he had sung it years before._
SUSAN
You sing that just as Jonathan used to sing it.
JONATHAN
I like it that way.
SUSAN
Did Jonathan teach it to you?
JONATHAN
Yes.... A long time ago.
SUSAN
Did he tell you--
JONATHAN
About the lovely lady who danced to the tune? Oh, she was wonderful!
SUSAN
Jonathan ran away--and he never wrote to me or thought of me.
JONATHAN
He thought of you and he talked of you and he sang of you.
SUSAN
No.... I can't believe that.
JONATHAN
Jonathan loves you very much.
SUSAN
If a man loves a woman very much he can't go away from her for years and
years.
JONATHAN
Suppose Jonathan had pride and was ashamed to let you know that he had
failed.
SUSAN
Jonathan wouldn't fail. I know Jonathan.
JONATHAN
He--Susan Sample!
[_Susan plays softly. She is lovely in the sunlight which is lengthening
across the lawn._
[_Jonathan watches her quietly. The love of the boy fans into flame and he
reaches out to her, then in the consciousness of his deformity he turns
away._
SUSAN
Will you tell me where Jonathan was when you last saw him?
JONATHAN
I don't know--The last time I saw Jonathan--he was tall and straight--and
making his way.
SUSAN
Oh, well.
[_Albert Peet enters. He is a little man of immaculate appearance and great
preciseness._
ALBERT
Ah, Susan.
SUSAN
Albert, you are late.
ALBERT
Who is this?
SUSAN
This is a friend of Jonathan's.
ALBERT
Jonathan who?
SUSAN
Don't you remember Jonathan who had the toy theatre? He ran away from home.
ALBERT
Oh... and this is his friend? How do you do?
SUSAN
Do you remember this? I used to play it for you.
[_She begins "All on a Summer's Day."_
Jonathan and I made it up.
ALBERT (_laughing_)
Oh, yes.
SUSAN (_to Jonathan_)
Come on and sing it.
[_Jonathan is not sure of the status of Albert Peet._
[_Susan plays and she and Jonathan sing with great feeling._
ALBERT [_looking at his watch_
Well, all this is very pleasant indeed, but we'll have to go, Susan dear.
[_At the "Susan, dear" Jonathan turns quickly and sees the two holding
hands. Susan holds up her left hand and shows an engagement ring on it.
Jonathan is utterly crushed._
JONATHAN
I think I'd better say good-bye.
[_He takes up his cap._
SUSAN
Good-bye. If you see Jonathan, tell him I'm going to marry Albert Peet.
He'll know.
ALBERT
Good-bye.
[_Albert and Susan walk off happily in the sunshine._
_Jonathan looks after them._
_Mlle. Perrault enters followed by Mary and John 3rd. Mlle. Perrault's
dress is almost like the one she had worn when she first met Jonathan in
the lumber-room, except that the colors are reversed and more brilliant.
Mary is a lovely little yellow-haired child of ten and John 3rd is a
stoical matter-of-fact boy of eight. The two children are evidently very
fond of Mlle. Perrault, as fond as Jonathan and Susan had seemed. If the
children seem thoughtless and cruel, it is because they are children and
life has not yet laid a hard hand upon them. The sun rays are very low
against the wall now so that anyone walking near it will cast a very heavy
shadow._
MARY
John, look--he's a hunchback.
MLLE. PERRAULT
'Sh! Children.
[_The children whisper._
_Jonathan turns and seeing Mlle. Perrault smiles._
How do you do, little man.
JONATHAN
I am well, I thank you.
MLLE. PERRAULT
What are you doing here?
JONATHAN
I am with Hank.
MLLE. PERRAULT
Hank?
JONATHAN
Yes, Hank's my pal. There he is--asleep.
MLLE. PERRAULT
Oh, what a dreadful person.... Children, don't go near him.
JONATHAN
He's not so bad.
MLLE. PERRAULT
But he is a vagrant--a tramp. Why does he do nothing?
JONATHAN
He's happier that way.
MLLE. PERRAULT
Are you his son?
JONATHAN
Oh, no.
MLLE. PERRAULT
Where is your mother?
JONATHAN
My mother's dead.
MLLE. PERRAULT
Where did she live?
JONATHAN (_Looks for a trace of recognition_)
I'd better not tell you.
MARY
Oh, please tell us.
JONATHAN
I'd better not.
MARY
You ask him, John.
JOHN III
Uh-uh!
MARY
Why not?
JOHN III
I don't want to know.
MLLE. PERRAULT
Why don't you want to tell _us_? We won't tell anybody.
JONATHAN
Nobody'll believe me.
MARY
Why?
JONATHAN
You see, I ran away from home--
JOHN III
When you run away from home, you're no good.
MARY
Now, John, that isn't always so.
JOHN III
It is.
MARY
It isn't. Goldilocks and the Babes in the Wood and the Marquis of Carabas
were all good, and they ran away from home.
JOHN III
But they had bad homes.
MARY
Was your home bad?
JONATHAN
I thought it was.
JOHN III
You thought it was. But was it?
JONATHAN
No.
JOHN III
Then you're no good.
MLLE. PERRAULT
Oh, John.
JOHN III
No, he isn't. Grandfather said nobody who ran away from home was any good!
MARY
Why did you run away from home?
JONATHAN
I mustn't tell.
MARY
Oh, you won't tell anything!
JOHN III (_pointing to Hank_)
What did you say _he_ was, Ma'mselle?
MLLE. PERRAULT
He is a vagrant--
MARY AND JOHN III
What's a vagrant?
MARY
Ooh--
[_Puts up her hand to make a wish._
JOHN III
Aw, I'm not going to make a wish. Grandfather'll get it for me anyway if I
want it.
MARY
Now, John Clay III--
[_Jonathan looks up quickly._
You always spoil things.
JONATHAN
Is that Mary Clay and John Clay?
MLLE. PERRAULT
Yes.
JONATHAN
They don't remember Jonathan, do they?
MLLE. PERRAULT
You mean Jonathan who ran away?
JONATHAN
Yes, ma'am.
MARY
Who's Jonathan?
JOHN III
He's David's friend. I know that. And he was very good.
MLLE. PERRAULT
What do you know about Jonathan?
JONATHAN
I knew him once--
MLLE. PERRAULT
He was a splendid little man! He could make such lovely songs.
JONATHAN
Do you remember the one he and Susan Sample made up?
MLLE. PERRAULT
Let's see--how did it go?
[_Hums a little--tries several folk tunes. The children edge up to Jonathan
during this and manage to touch his back several times, each keeping count.
Jonathan smiles at them, thinking it's attention._
JONATHAN
No, it went this way.
[_He sings a little of the song and Mlle. Perrault joins him. As he stops
singing she switches the time to waltz time and begins to sway to it. The
music is taken up as by a dream-orchestra and Mlle. Perrault dances a very
lovely little waltz._
JOHN III
Oh, look at your shadow!
[_Mlle. Perrault turns and sees her shadow on the wall._
I can make a bigger one than that.
MARY
Oh, come on, ma'mselle, let's all make shadows.
[_The three of them stand in front of the wall._
JOHN III
Boy, you come, too.
MLLE. PERRAULT
Come, boy.
[_Jonathan joins them standing so that his deformity doesn't show in the
shadow._
Now, let's dance--Give me your hand--so.
[_The four dance, while Mlle. Perrault hums "All on a Summer's Day." They
are having a very good time when Susan and Albert enter._
_Jonathan is a little conscious of Susan and Albert, and he manages to make
several awkward moves._
MLLE. PERRAULT
Now, let's make everybody's shadow dance by itself.
MARY
Oh, come on.
JOHN III
You first, Mlle.
MARY
It's your turn, Mlle.
[_Mlle. Perrault stands before the wall and makes a very lovely shadow._
John, you do it now.
JOHN III
I won't. I'm going to be next to last.... He's going to be last.
[_Mary makes a pretty "statue."_
MARY
Now, John--
[_John III, holding a staff, stands bow-legged and pigeon-toed._
_All of them laugh._
MLLE. PERRAULT (_to John III_)
You little Jackanapes! You!
JOHN III (_to Jonathan_)
You can't do that.
[_Jonathan, still conscious of Susan, but more in the spirit of the game
nevertheless, laughs almost gleefully._
JONATHAN
You just wait.
[_He stands in front of the wall and does some comical movements with his
feet and legs, then he turns in such a way that for the first time the
shadow of his hump is thrown into a pitiful distortion on the wall. He
doesn't see it at first, for he is lost in the game with the children._
JOHN III (_yelling suddenly_)
Oh, look!
[_The children laugh immoderately, and Jonathan turns his head quickly, but
in so doing alters the shadow. He smiles joyfully and then once more falls
into the distorted picture._
MARY
Ooh--
JOHN III
That's funnier than mine.
[_Jonathan turns his head this time and sees the full horror of the thing._
_Mlle. Perrault and Susan have realized too late to protect Jonathan._
MLLE. PERRAULT
John! Mary! Tell the little boy good-bye. We must go.
[_Jonathan looks toward Susan and Albert. There is pity in Susan's eyes
and a smile in Albert's._
SUSAN
Albert, come--let's go!
[_They pass into the house._
JOHN III [_Almost as Susan speaks._
Wasn't he funniest of all!
MLLE. PERRAULT
Now, run along, children. Run along.
MARY
Look, I can make a hump-back.
JOHN III
So can I.
MARY
Not a good one!
JOHN III
You can't touch mine.
[_He smacks Mary on the back and runs off, Mary following him._
MLLE. PERRAULT
Little man, I'm very sorry. You mustn't let them hurt you. They are only
children.
JONATHAN
Yes, ma'am.... Thank you.
MLLE. PERRAULT
May I do something for you?
JONATHAN
No, ma'am... if you please... I must go to Hank.
MLLE. PERRAULT
Here, take this--
[_She offers a coin._
JONATHAN
Oh, no, ma'am....
[_He puts his hand behind him._
MLLE. PERRAULT
I am sorry.... Very, very sorry.
JONATHAN
Yes, ma'am.
[_Mlle. Perrault goes out silently, and in a moment she is heard to call_
"Marie"--"John," _and a distant answer is heard_.
_Susan comes to the door and sees Jonathan. She crosses to him. He looks at
her almost with madness in his eyes._
SUSAN
They didn't mean to hurt you.
[_She lays her hand on his arm._
JONATHAN
Yes, I know.
[_There is a moment of the tenderest, most understanding silence. He turns
away._
_Susan starts to reach in her bag, she even takes her purse out; but she
replaces it unopened, and instead of bestowing alms, she takes a flower
from her hair and presses it in Jonathan's hands._
_He looks at her with years of pent-up gratitude loosed from his heart._
_Silently, she turns away and goes into the house. Jonathan, left alone,
turns so that his hump once more shows in the most distorted shadow. He
lifts the flower and for a single moment, its shadow rises above the shadow
of the hump, a tiny cross on his little Calvary. Then he lays the flower
against his cheek and sits upon the log near Hank._
_Hank awakens._
HANK (_looking up stupidly_)
What you got?
JONATHAN (_hiding the flower_)
Nothing.
HANK
Come across, Humpy.
JONATHAN
Don't you call me that!
HANK
So--ho! What you yelling at me for?
[_He sits up._
JONATHAN
Nothing.... I didn't mean to yell.
HANK
What you got there?
JONATHAN
I tell you I haven't got anything, Hank.
HANK
Come on. Come across.
JONATHAN
It's not for you.
HANK
Come on.
JONATHAN (_Rises and moves away_)
No.
HANK.
Gimme it here....
[_He grabs Jonathan and tears the flower from his hand._
JONATHAN
Stop that!
HANK
Great God! (_Throwing the crushed petals on the ground_) Say, what's the
matter with you?
JONATHAN
I tell you, I'm going back.... I'm going back to my home.... I'm going to
find my Uncle Nathaniel. I know he'll take me in. He won't blame me because
I'm a cripple.... I know.... I know.... Didn't he say, "Poor Jonathan"?...
[_At this moment Nathaniel enters, and the two stand face to face as they
had stood in the lumber-room at their first meeting._
_Hank slinks away._
_Nathaniel is untouched by the years. Jonathan looks at him hopefully, but
there is no glint of recognition In Nathaniel's eye._
JONATHAN (_timidly_)
Uncle Nathaniel.
NATHANIEL
What did you say, my boy?
JONATHAN (_Less and less audible, as his disappointment increases_)
Uncle Nathaniel.
NATHANIEL
I can't hear you.
JONATHAN
You--are--my--Uncle Nathaniel.
NATHANIEL
Come, come, my boy. I can't hear you.
JONATHAN
Aren't you--Mr.--Nathaniel--Clay?
NATHANIEL (_kindly, but as to a stranger_)
Yes, I am Mr. Nathaniel Clay.
[_Jonathan smiles one of his old half smiles._
JONATHAN
My name's--Jonathan.
NATHANIEL
Jonathan!... I had a nephew whose name was Jonathan.
JONATHAN
Don't you know me?
NATHANIEL
You must forgive me, little man--but I do not remember you. Boys grow so
quickly.
JONATHAN
Don't you remember _Zenobia_?
NATHANIEL
_Zenobia?_ Who was she?
JONATHAN
Don't you remember the little theatre?
NATHANIEL
Oh, yes, my nephew Jonathan had a little toy theatre, and he wrote a play
called _Zenobia_.... He burnt them.
JONATHAN
Was it wrong to burn them?
NATHANIEL
I don't know. You see Jonathan ran away, and I have never seen him since.
JONATHAN
Do you blame him?
NATHANIEL
Well, I can't say. When a fine boy like Jonathan runs away from home, he
may have what he considers a good reason.
JONATHAN
Don't you know why he ran away?
NATHANIEL
I think I know.
JONATHAN
Would you tell me why?
NATHANIEL
That wouldn't do any good, my boy.... If you had an uncle who liked you
very much, would you run away?
JONATHAN
No, sir--not if I had another chance....
NATHANIEL
What do you mean?
JONATHAN
Don't you really know me?
NATHANIEL
I'm sorry--no!
JONATHAN (_pointing to Hank_)
Do you know him?
NATHANIEL
That tramp?
JONATHAN
Yes, sir.... That's Hank.
NATHANIEL
Hank?
JONATHAN
Yes, the one I ran away with.
NATHANIEL
Did you run away, too?
JONATHAN
Yes, sir; I jumped out the window, and I fell and broke my back. Hank
said--
NATHANIEL
What a dirty man!
JONATHAN
He's my pal.
NATHANIEL
You're evidently a fine young man inside.
JONATHAN
Oh, I'm sorry, sir, that I ran away.
NATHANIEL
You can't undo the past, my boy, but you can make the future.
JONATHAN
I can't straighten my back.
NATHANIEL
Perhaps not, but you can straighten your life.
JONATHAN
I'm only a beggar, sir.
NATHANIEL
There is something everybody can do.
JONATHAN
There isn't any place for me....
NATHANIEL
My boy, there is a place for everybody who wants a place.
JONATHAN
Do you remember what your nephew wanted to do?
NATHANIEL
Yes, he wanted to write plays and run a theatre and be an actor.
JONATHAN
I couldn't ever be an actor, could I?
NATHANIEL
No, my boy.
JONATHAN
Supposing you had your heart set on something and couldn't do it, what
would you do?
NATHANIEL
I'd not give up.... I'd try something else.
JONATHAN
Supposing I were your nephew, what would you do?
NATHANIEL
I'd find out what you wanted to be.
JONATHAN
Don't I look like Jonathan?
NATHANIEL
Jonathan must be very tall now.
JONATHAN
If Jonathan weren't tall?
NATHANIEL
But he _is_ tall and splendid. I know Jonathan! And he's doing what he set
out to do.
JONATHAN
I hope you'll find him, sir, and I hope he'll make you proud.
NATHANIEL (_very earnestly_)
My boy, how old are you?
JONATHAN
I'm twenty.
NATHANIEL
Twenty.... Will you try to pull yourself out of the rut?
JONATHAN
What do you mean, sir?
NATHANIEL
Look at that man. What is he to you?
JONATHAN
He's my pal.
NATHANIEL
You mustn't waste your life on such emptiness as his.
JONATHAN
I'm going to try, sir.... And if I make good, will you believe I'm
Jonathan?
NATHANIEL
I'll believe you are you.... Here....
[_He offers Jonathan a coin._
JONATHAN
Oh, no, sir.... I can't--from you--
NATHANIEL
Well, you are a strange beggar--
JONATHAN
I'm not a beggar at heart.... I don't want to be what I am. But I don't
know which way to turn. I'm all mixed up.
NATHANIEL
All mixed up?
[_Nathaniel turns and looks toward the hill._
Boy, there is a green hill far away. Climb to the top of it, look about and
you will see--
JONATHAN
I know: the whole wide world!
NATHANIEL
Exactly.
JONATHAN
Yes, sir.
NATHANIEL
Go to the hilltop alone--and cry out to your heart's content.--There's
nothing like a hilltop to make a man feel worth while!
JONATHAN
I knew that, sir; but I forgot it. I'm going--
NATHANIEL
Good-bye, boy; God bless you.
[_The two clasp hands and Nathaniel goes._
JONATHAN
He believes in me....
[_He watches Nathaniel with wide eyes, then calls to Hank._
Hank! Hank!
HANK
What you want?
JONATHAN
_He_ didn't know me!
HANK
Who didn't know you?
[_Hank lies down._
JONATHAN
Uncle Nathaniel.... He just passed by.... But, Hank, he believed in me! He
believed I'd make good.
HANK
Say, what's the matter with you today?
JONATHAN
I'm goin' to leave you, Hank.
HANK
Huh?
JONATHAN
Old pal, I'm going to leave you forever. You've stuck by me--
HANK
Sure, I've stuck by you.
[_Makes himself comfortable._
Ain't you saved me a heap o' trouble?
JONATHAN
But I'm going now, Hank. Good-bye. I'm going to the green hill far away.
[_He starts away leaving Hank alone and asleep. The lights fade out._
_Soft music is heard through the darkness and slowly the outline of the
green hill appears close at hand. Jonathan outlined against the sky appears
at the edge of the hill, climbing with difficulty._
NATHANIEL (_The voice is heard with the music_)
Nine ninety-nine--one thousand. You're nearly there, Boy.
JONATHAN
Nine hundred and ninety-nine--one thousand--I'm almost there.
NATHANIEL (_far away_)
A thousand and one--a thousand and two--
JONATHAN
A thousand and one, a thousand and two--I am here!
NATHANIEL (_far away_)
The world is here.
JONATHAN (_as though addressing the world_)
Listen.... I ran away. I ran away. I was fourteen. I saw visions of great
things. I heard voices of the past and the future. I wanted to tell what I
saw and heard.... Oh, you who made sport of my dreams, I am here at the top
of the world! Uncle John, I have heard things you will never hear, and I
have seen things you will never see.
JOHN (_far away_)
But your back's broken.
JONATHAN
Oh, Susan--Susan Sample--see--see. I told you I wasn't a beggar.
See--see--Jonathan stands at the top of the world!
SUSAN (_faintly_)
But your back's broken.
JONATHAN
Oh, people of all the world, I am a boy who asks you to hear me and to
understand. I only wanted to work out _my_ way.... I planned my way because
I couldn't help it--I wanted to build my own world--alone.... I climbed
clear to the top--Jonathan stands before you--
VOICES
Jonathan's dead.
JONATHAN
Dead?... Oh, see the wreck of everything.... Jonathan _is_ dead!
[_He falls._
NATHANIEL
Boy--boy--Jonathan!--I believe you are you.
JONATHAN
Uncle Nathaniel!
[_He rises slowly._
Oh, people of all the world, my Uncle Nathaniel understands.--I speak for
all the boys of all times. Have patience--patience and understanding. Don't
you remember when you were young? We come to you with hopes and dreams and
wishes and fears,--and these are the things that life is made of--
NATHANIEL
I am here, Jonathan.
JONATHAN
I'm coming to you. I'm coming back to you with all my hopes and dreams.
NATHANIEL
We're waiting for you, Jonathan.
JONATHAN
I've made my wish that's coming true!!
[_He jumps into space._
_Curtain._
ACT III
JONATHAN MAKES A WISH
[_The scene is a summer house on the estate of John Clay. It is charmingly
furnished with wicker chairs and a table. The building is hexagon shape and
we look into half the hexagon. The doors at the left open on to the path
that leads from the house. The doors at the back open onto a garden path
that leads to a gate. Eight weeks have elapsed since the first act._
_The curtain rises disclosing an empty stage. It is early evening and
sunset is leaving only the faintest tinge above the hills. After a moment
Jonathan enters. He is unchanged except that he still carries in his eyes
some of the horror of his delirium. He opens the back windows and then sits
above the table and begins to look at an illustrated paper._
_Nathaniel enters carrying a manuscript. He seems a bit less carefree than
at his homecoming, and he also seems closer to Jonathan._
NATHANIEL
Well, my boy--
JONATHAN
Uncle Nathaniel, did you know that Caproni was an artist?
NATHANIEL
You mean the Caproni who makes the wonderful aeroplanes?
JONATHAN
Yes, sir.
NATHANIEL
No, I didn't know it; but I'm not surprised.
JONATHAN
Aren't these pictures fine?
NATHANIEL
Excellent.
JONATHAN
He made them.... They're like great dragon-flies, aren't they?
NATHANIEL
A whole swarm of them.
JONATHAN
It must feel funny to fly through air.
NATHANIEL
Would you like to try it some time?
JONATHAN
Yes... but I'd have to get used to it.... It must be like diving.
NATHANIEL
When you were very ill you seemed to imagine you were falling.
JONATHAN
Did I talk much when I was unconscious?
NATHANIEL
You talked almost continuously.
JONATHAN
Did I?... You said you'd tell me what I said--when I was strong enough....
I'm pretty strong now.
NATHANIEL
Do you know what I did?
JONATHAN
I don't know.
NATHANIEL (_showing manuscript_)
Can you guess?
JONATHAN (_Looks at manuscript_)
"Jonathan Builds a Fear." What does that mean?
NATHANIEL
When you were delirious I listened to what you said and then I made a story
out of it.
JONATHAN
You mean this is all about me?
NATHANIEL
It's about a little hunchback who thought he was you.
JONATHAN
I know. I was always trying to make somebody know me, and finally I thought
I jumped from the top of a hill and I seemed to be falling for years and
years....
NATHANIEL
Those were terrible days, my boy, and do you know, we were afraid you
wouldn't live.
JONATHAN
It was a terrible feeling.
NATHANIEL
I know, but all that's over now; and there's the whole story about the
little hunchback you never were.
JONATHAN
[_Hank's whistle is heard. Jonathan rises very quickly and looks at
Nathaniel._
NATHANIEL
He comes every now and then to ask about you and to get something to eat.
[_Hank whistles again._
HANK'S VOICE (_at back_)
Hi!
NATHANIEL
Come in, Hank.--
HANK
Is the old man here?
NATHANIEL
No.
HANK (_Enters through the gateway whistling_)
Hello, boy.
JONATHAN
I'm well now. How are you?
HANK
I'm beginning to get cold, so I think I'll go south tomorrow and I thought
I'd drop in to say good-bye.
NATHANIEL
I'll give you an overcoat, Hank.
HANK
No, thanks. It's too hot to carry it. I'll get one when I really need it,
maybe.
NATHANIEL
Well, here's something for you.
[_He offers him a five dollar bill._
Five dollars! No, thanks. If I had that much money I'd lose it maybe. Give
me two bits and call it square.
[_Nathaniel hands him a quarter._
Thanks.... Well... good-bye.... I'm glad your back wasn't broke.
JONATHAN
Good-bye, Hank.
HANK
Good-bye, Mister.... I'll see you next year maybe, when it's warm.--Say,
kid, I'd like to see that _Zenobia_ show again:--"Hail, noble duke," "All's
well, Irene." "Not very well, noble duke."
[_He goes out, chuckling to himself._
_Aunt Letitia enters. As usual she has something to keep her hands busy.
She seats herself comfortably in a chair that custom has evidently made her
very own. In her work she shows the effect of time upon her eyes and she
may feel a tiny draught that causes her to close the doors behind her and
draw her scarf a bit more closely about her. Never has Aunt Letitia seemed
more successfully the poor relation._
LETITIA
I thought you were out with John.
NATHANIEL
No.
[_Jonathan is looking at the manuscript._
LETITIA (_to Jonathan_)
How do you feel, dear?
JONATHAN
Fine;... I think I'll go in the house and read this.
(_To Nathaniel_)
I'm glad it isn't true.
[_He goes out._
NATHANIEL
It's the story of his delirium. I thought it would interest him--and
relieve him.
LETITIA
Has John gone?
NATHANIEL
Only for a stroll--the doctor's orders.
LETITIA
Well?
NATHANIEL
Well?
LETITIA
Sit down.
NATHANIEL
In John's chair?
LETITIA
If you wish.
NATHANIEL
John's chair! The throne of the head of the family! (_He sits in John's
chair_) Well?
LETITIA
Nathaniel dear, you are making John very unhappy.
NATHANIEL
And John has made me very unhappy, dearest Aunt Letty.
LETITIA
The feeling at the dinner table was almost unbearable tonight. There we sat
strained and silent.
NATHANIEL
I am sorry. I try to avoid meals with John as much as possible.
LETITIA
You've been here eight weeks and John and I know nothing of you. For me it
is enough that you are here; but John is the head of the family and he
feels that you ought to treat him with greater deference.
NATHANIEL
It is revolting to me to have a tsar in the family.
LETITIA
Your father and your father's father and grandfather were rulers of the
Clay family.
NATHANIEL
I don't question that.
LETITIA
You can't change John.
NATHANIEL
I don't want to change John.
LETITIA
Then why not tell him something about yourself?
NATHANIEL
It is none of John's affairs how or why I live. It is none of his affair
how or why or when I shall marry Mlle. Perrault.
LETITIA
Perhaps not.
NATHANIEL
When I tell him anything, Aunt Letty, it will be one thing--I have stayed
here because I love Jonathan, because he needs me. And I have listened to
the boy's fears and to his hopes as they came out of his poor tortured
little soul in his delirium. I have watched him during his convalescence,
and I see in him a growing man in prison. John sees in him only the
potential head of the family; but he is my flesh and blood as much as he is
John's and I intend to set him free.
LETITIA
My beloved Nathaniel, John will not give Jonathan up to you.
NATHANIEL
I don't want Jonathan unless he wants to come to me, but I do want
Jonathan's freedom.
LETITIA
Isn't he a bit young to have _freedom_.
NATHANIEL
Aunt Letitia, I don't mean a silly license.--I mean freedom. If you are
cultivating a peach-tree you don't expect oranges on it even if it could
wish to be an orange tree, but you can help to make it bear better peaches.
Jonathan isn't a mechanical business person. His bent is in another
direction.
LETITIA
What are you going to do?
NATHANIEL
Frankly, I do not know.
[_Up to window._
All I know now is that I shall stay here until I find a plan.
[_Jonathan enters._
JONATHAN
Where is Uncle John?
NATHANIEL
He has gone for a stroll.
LETITIA
What do you want, my dear?
JONATHAN
Uncle John sent word that he wanted to see me here at 7:30.
[_Letitia and Nathaniel look at each other._
_Jonathan takes out a large silver watch._
It's 7:29 now.
NATHANIEL
John will be on time--count sixty slowly--
[_John enters. He is rather pale, seems pre-occupied and even more
unapproachable than ever._
LETITIA
Did you have a pleasant stroll?
JOHN
I wasn't walking.
LETITIA
I shall go into the house, I think.
JOHN
No, Aunt Letitia, I would rather you'd wait, if you please.
[_Nathaniel is an interested spectator. He cannot understand why Jonathan
should be present for what will probably be an eventful family scene._
Nathaniel, will you sit down?
NATHANIEL
Certainly.--Where?
JOHN (_tartly_)
Would you like my chair?
NATHANIEL
Thank you.
[_He sits in John's chair, much to John's annoyance._
JOHN
Jonathan, sit down.
[_Jonathan sits. John also sits. Aunt Letitia knows what to expect.
Nathaniel is more curious than angry. Jonathan is attending his first
family conference._
Jonathan, I've sent for you because I want to talk to you seriously.
JONATHAN
Yes, sir.
NATHANIEL
Do you think the boy is strong enough?
JOHN
The doctor told me today that he would be quite equal to it.... Eight weeks
ago, Jonathan, you made an effort to run away from your home, because I
punished you. In your foolish defiance of all family authority you suffered
a fall that might have resulted in a lasting and serious injury.
Fortunately you have recovered fully from the result of your fall.
NATHANIEL
Excuse me, John, but all of us know this.
JOHN
One moment, please, Nathaniel.... I have now arranged that you begin your
preparation for your life work immediately. You will leave for Somerset
School the day after tomorrow.
JONATHAN (_desperately_)
Uncle John, I don't want to go to Somerset School.
JOHN
You will leave for Somerset day after tomorrow. Good night, Jonathan.
NATHANIEL
Why Somerset?
JOHN
Good night, Jonathan.
[_Jonathan, dazed, goes out._
NATHANIEL
Jonathan will never go to Somerset School.
JOHN
Nathaniel, you forfeited your rights in the family councils when you ran
away from home seventeen years ago.
NATHANIEL
This boy will run away again and again and I mean to save him from what I
have suffered, if I can.
JOHN
Nathaniel, by what right do you attempt to interfere with my decisions?
NATHANIEL
By the right of blood and understanding.
JOHN
Blood and understanding? Where were you when Emily had to leave her husband
and brought her boy into my home? Where were you when Emily died? I took
Emily in and I took her boy in. As head of the family it was my duty to do
so and as head of the family it is my duty to see that the boy is brought
up in the best traditions of the family.
NATHANIEL
John, you can't force this boy into a mold.
JOHN
A boy of fourteen doesn't know his mind.... Do _you_ know what Jonathan
wants to be?
NATHANIEL
Yes, a writer of plays, a theatre director, and an actor.
JOHN
Imagine!... And I suppose you encouraged him.
NATHANIEL
No, but I didn't discourage him. The selection was wide enough for him to
find some lasting life work.
JOHN
He never told me he wanted to be an actor.
NATHANIEL
Oh, my brother, every growing boy has a deep secret wish that he cannot
bring himself to disclose! As you know, I always wanted to be a writer, but
most of all I wanted to be a left-handed base ball pitcher. And although
I'm irretrievably right handed I used to practice--religiously--pitching
with my left hand.
JOHN
That was juvenile foolishness.
NATHANIEL
Yes, but it was genuine.
[_John starts to speak._
What am I now? I am going to tell you, John--by and by. First, we must
dispose of the boy.
JOHN
I shall decide about the boy.
NATHANIEL
No, John; the boy must decide for himself.
JOHN
He'd decide to be an actor.
NATHANIEL
If he did, what of it?
JOHN
I want members of my family to do useful work.
NATHANIEL
What _is_ useful work? An actor serves his purpose just as a plumber or
lawyer serves his.... The only difference is that all of us are not
plumbers or lawyers while all of us _are_ actors. Yes, John, we're all
playing something--you are playing at head of the family, I'm--
JOHN
Still I do not regard acting as a worth-while or lucrative profession.
NATHANIEL
You never know, John.... Five generations ago the Clays were respectable
carpenters. They weren't wealthy and they gave no promise of becoming
wealthy. Then suddenly our revered ancestor became a successful maker of
cypress drain pipes--sewer pipes, I think we used to call them! The family
fortunes were founded!! Our ancestor bought a high hat and the esteem of
his neighbors. Cypress was in time replaced by pottery. Conduits for wires
and terra cotta building materials were added to our achievements and then
in your regime superfine sewers became a specialty.
JOHN
Every kind of concrete work!
NATHANIEL
I beg your pardon! Concrete sewers and other concrete things.--Such is the
foundation of the family.
JOHN
You are evidently ashamed of our business.
NATHANIEL
Not at all, but I cannot consider the manufacturing of sewers a greater
achievement than acting.
JOHN
Nathaniel, are you an actor?
NATHANIEL
No.
JOHN
What are you?
NATHANIEL
For the present I am Jonathan's uncle.
JOHN
You have nothing to do with Jonathan.
NATHANIEL
The boy is not going to Somerset School.
JOHN
Nathaniel, I shall not tolerate your interference. Now I must ask you to
leave this house.
NATHANIEL
What?
LETITIA
John... Nathaniel... my boys, it isn't my way to interfere; but please for
my sake, for your mother's sake--think what you're doing.
JOHN (_With some tenderness he lays his hand on Letitia's_)
I have thought, Aunt Letitia. I can not allow this boy's life to be ruined
as Emily's and Henry's and Nathaniel's were.
NATHANIEL
Ruined? John, I'll tell you how ruined my life has been and I'll tell you
in terms you'll understand. My income last year was over $350,000!
JOHN
Are you acting now?
NATHANIEL
Yes, I'm acting--I'm acting in terms that you will understand.... You know
that I'm your brother Nathaniel. Do you know who else I am? I am a writer
and a playwright and a director in the United Baking Company and a
stockholder in the National Munitions Company--munitions, John; think of
it, millions, millions in them--and I'm willing and eager to take Emily's
boy and educate him in the way he wants to live his life.
JOHN
What are these heroics?
NATHANIEL
I mean what I say. If need be I shall use brute force, financial force or
any kind of force to free Jonathan from the misery that I endured in this
house.
JOHN
You had everything you wanted.
NATHANIEL
Everything except freedom to think my own thoughts. John, some people are
like reinforced concrete. Someone builds the iron frame and the wooden
molds, then pours the cement and when it has hardened, the molds are
removed and lo, you have a monolith--a solid unchangeable stone.
JOHN
You talk very well, Nathaniel, but I shall insist upon bringing up my
sister's child in my way.
NATHANIEL
Would you have him run away as I did?
JOHN
He will never run away again. He has had his lesson.
[_Jonathan enters carrying a suit case._
JONATHAN
May I speak to you, Uncle John?
JOHN
What are you doing with that suit case?
JONATHAN
I'm going away.
JOHN
Who gave you permission?
JONATHAN
Nobody.... I've been thinking since a little while ago and at first I
thought I'd run away again; but that wouldn't be quite fair--so I came to
tell you.
JOHN
Take that suit case back into the house.
JONATHAN
No, sir! I'm going and nobody can keep me here unless they tie me.
JOHN
Well, I'll tell you one thing--if you leave this house without my
permission I'll cut you off without a penny and you'll never be allowed to
come back again.
JONATHAN
Yes, sir. I know that; but I'm going and I came to tell you good-bye.
JOHN
Very well. You've made your choice--and I never want to see you again as
long as you live. Good-bye, Jonathan. Good-bye, Nathaniel.
LETITIA
John, don't say things you'll regret. Jonathan doesn't mean what he's
saying.
JONATHAN
Yes'm, I do mean what I say.
JOHN
Good night.
[_He goes out._
LETITIA
Boys, you are so hot-headed--so much alike....
NATHANIEL
You dear, you have always been content to compromise while we two must go
our own ways or not at all. You go to John. Help him as you can. He's not a
bad man--he's just a structure of reinforced concrete. You love John and he
in his way loves you. Go to John and comfort his outraged authority.
LETITIA
I'm sorry things have turned out this way. (_She kisses them_) Good night,
my dears. Wait until morning if you can, my darling Nathaniel.
[_She goes out._
NATHANIEL
Now you've done it!
JONATHAN
I couldn't help it.
NATHANIEL
What are you going to do?
JONATHAN
I don't know.... They say there's plenty of work on farms.
NATHANIEL
You can't write if you work on a farm.
JONATHAN
I can earn some more money and save. Other boys have worked their way
through school and college. I can do that.
NATHANIEL
Of course--that is a way out of it. Yes... of course....
[_Nathaniel opens the back doors and sees the thinnest crescent moon
hanging in the sky._
The new moon.... They say if you make a wish on the new moon it will come
true.
JONATHAN
You have to see it over your right shoulder.
NATHANIEL
You saw it over your right shoulder.
JONATHAN
I don't believe that, do you?
NATHANIEL
Well, suppose it were true, what would you wish?
JONATHAN
You mean for right away?
NATHANIEL
Yes.
JONATHAN [_carefully looking over his right shoulder._
I'd wish to be with you.
NATHANIEL
More than anything?
JONATHAN
Yes, sir.
NATHANIEL
More than being a writer or a theatre director or an actor?
JONATHAN
Oh, yes, I'm too young to start right away. I have to have an education
first.
NATHANIEL
Suppose that wish couldn't be, then what would you wish?
JONATHAN
That you'd write me long letters and let me write you long letters.
[_Takes up his suit case._
I'd better be going now.
NATHANIEL
Aren't you going to tell John and Aunt Letitia good-bye?
JONATHAN
No, sir. I don't think I'd better. Uncle John doesn't care and Aunt Letitia
will understand.
NATHANIEL
Yes, she always understands somehow.
JONATHAN
Good-bye, sir.
NATHANIEL
Jonathan, suppose we go away together. I'm not wanted and you're not
wanted.
JONATHAN
You're going to Paris to marry Mlle. Perrault!
NATHANIEL
Would you let me be your father, Jonathan?
JONATHAN
Sir?
NATHANIEL
You shall go to the schools where you will find the work you want.... Will
you be my son?
JONATHAN
Do you like me that much?
NATHANIEL
I like you more than that much. You'll get some long trousers and we'll
plan and plan. Suppose we run away together.
JONATHAN
Do you think we ought to leave some word, Uncle Nathaniel?
NATHANIEL
Of course. How stupid of me.
JONATHAN
You write it.
NATHANIEL
No, we'll both write it.
JONATHAN
I don't know what to say. I've only run away once.
NATHANIEL
So have I.
JONATHAN
Did you ever run away?
NATHANIEL
Yes--when I was eighteen.
JONATHAN
Oh!
NATHANIEL (_taking up paper_)
The message ought to be short.
JONATHAN
Why did you run away?
NATHANIEL
I wanted to write.
JONATHAN
You did!
NATHANIEL
Didn't you know I ran away?
JONATHAN
No, sir; they never would tell me what became of you.
NATHANIEL
They didn't know.
JONATHAN
How could you keep it from them?
NATHANIEL
I changed my name--Mr. Alexander Jefferson, Sr! What shall I say?
JONATHAN
I can't think.... Did Uncle John lock you in?
NATHANIEL
No, I just ran away.
JONATHAN
How long did it take you to make up your mind to go?
NATHANIEL
I thought about it first when I was twelve. My father was still living
then.
JONATHAN
Did you go to Somerset School?
NATHANIEL
Yes--for three years.
JONATHAN
What did you do after you ran away?
NATHANIEL
I had a very hard time, my boy--at first. I worked at anything I could get,
then I got into a newspaper office, then I wrote "autobiographies" of
famous men.
JONATHAN
I thought you had to write your own autobiography--
NATHANIEL
Not nowadays. Then I wrote some successful short stories, then some very
successful long ones--and now I am independent; but it took me ten bitter
years to make my first success.... What shall I write here?
JONATHAN
I never could think of things to say when I was going away.
NATHANIEL
Neither could I.
JONATHAN
Don't you think "good-bye" would be enough?
NATHANIEL (_writing_)
Capital.... "Good-Bye--Nathaniel." Now you sign it.
JONATHAN (_Signs_)
"Jonathan."... Maybe we ought to put a line under it so Aunt Letitia won't
feel so bad.
NATHANIEL (_makes a line_)
Dear Aunt Letitia will understand. She is the blessed kind who always does.
Now, where shall we put it?... On John's chair, and maybe he'll understand
too.
[_He pins the note to John's chair._
JONATHAN
Don't you want to pack your things?
NATHANIEL
I'll wire for them.
[_Susan enters._
On second thought, I'll ask Aunt Letitia to send them.
[_He goes out._
JONATHAN
Hello, Susan.
SUSAN
Jonathan, I just saw Miss Letitia and she was crying.... What's the matter?
JONATHAN
I'm going away, Susan.
SUSAN
Where are you going?
JONATHAN
I'm going with Uncle Nathaniel. I'm going to be his son. And I'm going to a
fine prep. school and learn to write and do what I like.
SUSAN
When are you coming back?
JONATHAN
I don't know. When I'm older maybe.
SUSAN
Can't we write any more songs?
JONATHAN
I'll send some words to you in letters.
SUSAN
Will you write every week?
JONATHAN
Yes.... Will you?
SUSAN
Yes. I wish I was going, too.
JONATHAN
So do I.
SUSAN
Maybe I'll come to see you graduate.
JONATHAN
That will be fine!
SUSAN (_She kisses him very simply_)
Good-bye, Jonathan.
JONATHAN
Good-bye, Susan.
SUSAN
I can hardly wait until you graduate.
JONATHAN
Neither can I.... Good-bye.
[_Nathaniel enters._
NATHANIEL
On third thought, I decided to wire for my things.
SUSAN
Good-bye, Mr. Nathaniel. I hope you'll have a nice time.
NATHANIEL
Good-bye, Susan.
[_He kisses her. She goes out._
JONATHAN
Good-bye, Susan.
SUSAN (_calling_)
Send me some picture postcards, Jonathan.
JONATHAN
I will.
[_He watches her._
NATHANIEL (_Goes to window_)
Don't you want to make your wish on the new moon, Jonathan?
JONATHAN
I don't know what to wish now. The only one I could think of has come true.
NATHANIEL
Good... come, my boy.
JONATHAN
I'll write a long letter to Susan Sample every week.
NATHANIEL
You can write her a long letter from New York.
JONATHAN
And I can send her picture postcards from every place we go to.
[_Arm in arm they go out talking._
_The Curtain Falls._
APPENDIX
A. M. PALMER--AUTHOR'S MATINEES
_Madison Square Theater_ 1887
MARJORIE'S LOVERS _Brander Matthews_
ELAINE (from Tennyson) _G. P. Lathrop_
A FOREGONE CONCLUSION _W. D. Howells_
THE THEATER OF ARTS AND LETTERS
_23rd Street Theater_ 1891
GILES COREY _Mary E. Wilkins_
SQUIRREL INN (from Frank Stockton) _Frank Presbrey_
THE OTHER WOMAN _Richard Harding Davis_
HARVEST _Clyde Fitch_
THE DECISION OF THE COURT _Brander Matthews_
_Frederick J. Stimson_
THE CRITERION INDEPENDENT THEATER
_Madison Square Theater_ 1897
_Berkeley Lyceum_
JOHN GABRIEL BJORKMAN _Ibsen_
{THE RIGHTS OF THE SOUL _Giacosa_
{THAT OVERCOAT _Augustus Thomas_
{FROM A CLEAR SKY _Henri Dumay_
EL GRAN GALEOTO _Echegaray_
THE INDEPENDENT THEATER
_Carnegie Lyceum_ 1899
EL GRAN GALEOTO _Echegaray_
TIES _Hervieu_
THE MASTER BUILDER _Ibsen_
THE STORM _Ostrovsky_
THE HEATHER FIELD _Martyn_
A TROUBADOUR _Coppe_
THE NEW THEATER
1909--1911
_First Season_
ANTONY AND CLEOPATRA _Shakespeare_
THE COTTAGE IN THE AIR _Knoblauch_
STRIFE _Galsworthy_
THE NIGGER _Sheldon_
THE SCHOOL FOR SCANDAL _Sheridan_
{LIZ THE MOTHER _Fenn and Bryce_
{DON _Besier_
TWELFTH NIGHT _Shakespeare_
THE WITCH (adapted from Scandinavian by _Hagadorn Wiers-Jenssen_)
{BRAND (act IV condensed) _Ibsen_
{SISTER BEATRICE _Maeterlinck_
THE WINTER'S TALE _Shakespeare_
BEETHOVEN _Fauchois_
_Second Season_
THE BLUE BIRD _Maeterlinck_
THE MERRY WIVES OF WINDSOR _Shakespeare_
THE THUNDERBOLT _Pinero_
{DON _Besier_
{SISTER BEATRICE _Maeterlinck_
MARY MAGDALENE _Maeterlinck_
OLD HEIDELBERG _Meyer-Foerster_
VANITY FAIR _R. Hichens and C. Gordan Lennox_
THE PIPER _Marks_
NOBODY'S DAUGHTER _Paston_
THE ARROW MAKER _Austin_
In addition there was a borrowed production of
A SONG OF THE PEOPLE _Michaelis_
MISS GRACE GEORGE--THE PLAYHOUSE
_The Playhouse_ 1915-1917
_1st Season_
THE NEW YORK IDEA _Mitchell_
THE LIARS _Jones_
EARTH _Fagan_
MAJOR BARBARA _Shaw_
CAPTAIN BRASSBOUND'S CONVERSION _Shaw_
_2nd Season_
EVE'S DAUGHTER _Ramsey_
ELEVATION _Bernstein_
WASHINGTON SQUARE PLAYERS[7]
_Bandbox and Comedy Theaters_ 1915-1917
INTERIOR _Maeterlinck_
EUGENICALLY SPEAKING _Goodman_
LICENSED _Lawrence_
ANOTHER INTERIOR
LOVE OF ONE'S NEIGHBOR _Andreyev_
MOONDOWN _Reed_
MY LADY'S HONOR _Pemberton_
TWO BLIND BEGGARS AND ONE LESS BLIND _Moeller_
THE SHEPHERD IN THE DISTANCE (pantomime) _Hudson_
THE MIRACLE OF ST. ANTONY _Maeterlinck_
IN APRIL _Stokes_
FORBIDDEN FRUIT _Feuillet_
SAVIOURS _Goodman_
THE BEAR _Tchekhov_
HELENA'S HUSBAND _Moeller_
FIRE AND WATER _White_
THE ANTICK _Mackaye_
A NIGHT OF SNOWS _Bracco_
LITERATURE _Schnitzler_
THE HONOURABLE LOVER _Bracco_
WHIMS _Musset_
OVERTONES _Gerstenberg_
THE CLOD _Beach_
THE ROAD-HOUSE IN ARDEN _Moeller_
THE TENOR _Wedekind_
THE RED CLOAK (pantomime) _Meyer_
CHILDREN _Bolton and Carlton_
THE AGE OF REASON _Dorrian_
THE MAGICAL CITY _Akins_
_Monsieur Pierre Patelin_
AGLAVAINE AND SELYSETTE _Maeterlinck_
THE SEA GULL _Tchekhov_
A MERRY DEATH _Evreinev_
LOVER'S LUCK _Porto-Riche_
THE SUGAR HOUSE _Brown_
SISTERS OF SUSANNA _Moeller_
BUSHIDO _Izumo_
TRIFLES _Glaspell_
ANOTHER WAY OUT _Langner_
ALTRUISM _Ettlinger_
THE DEATH OF TINTAGILES _Maeterlinck_
THE LAST STRAW _Crocker_
THE HERO OF SANTA MARIA _Goodman and Hecht_
IMPUDENCE _Auernheimer_
PLOTS AND PLAYWRIGHTS _Massey_
THE LIFE OF MAN _Andreyev_
SGANARELLE _Moliere_
THE POOR FOOL _Bahr_
GHOSTS _Ibsen_
PARIAH _Strindberg_
REPERTORY OF THE STUART WALKER COMPANY
THE TRIMPLET _Walker_
A FAN AND TWO CANDLESTICKS _Macmillan_
SIX WHO PASS WHILE THE LENTILS BOIL _Walker_
THE SEVEN GIFTS (a pantomime) _Walker_
THE MOON LADY (a pantomime) _Walker_
NEVERTHELESS _Walker_
GAMMER GURTON'S NEEDLE (adapted by Mr. Walker) _Stevenson_
THE LADY OF THE WEEPING WILLOW TREE _Walker_
THE GOLDEN DOOM _Dunsany_
VOICES _Flexner_
THE CRIER BY NIGHT _Bottomley_
THE GODS OF THE MOUNTAIN _Dunsany_
THE MEDICINE SHOW _Walker_
THE VERY NAKED BOY _Walker_
THE BIRTHDAY OF THE INFANTA (from Oscar Wilde's Story) _Walker_
KING ARGIMENES AND THE UNKNOWN WARRIOR _Dunsany_
IT PAYS TO ADVERTISE _Megrue_
THE DUMMY _O'Higgins and Ford_
THE CONCERT _Bahr_
KICK IN _Mack_
SEVENTEEN _Walker_
SEVEN KEYS TO BALDPATE _Cohan_
THE COUNTRY BOY _Selwyn_
YOU NEVER CAN TELL _Shaw_
OFFICER 666 _McHugh_
BROADWAY JONES _Cohan_
THE WOMAN _DeMille_
THE SHOW SHOP _Forbes_
A NIGHT IN AVIGNON _Rice_
THE SON OF ISIS _Kelly_
STINGY _Parry_
THE BOOK OF JOB
ROMANCE _Sheldon_
STOP THIEF _Moore_
THE HERO _Brown_
THE MISLEADING LADY _Goddard and Dickey_
ALIAS JIMMY VALENTINE (from O. Henry's story) _Armstrong_
PASSERS BY _Chambers_
SEVEN UP _Coleman_
THE THREE OF US _Crothers_
THE FORTUNE HUNTER _Smith_
ALICE SIT BY THE FIRE _Barrie_
THE WORKHOUSE WARD _Gregory_
THE WOLF _Walter_
THE TRUTH _Fitch_
JONATHAN MAKES A WISH _Walker_
THE LAUGHTER OF THE GODS _Dunsany_
THE TENTS OF THE ARABS _Dunsany_
THE CINDERELLA MAN _Carpenter_
GOOD GRACIOUS ANNABELLE _Kummer_
LEAH KLESCHNA _MacClellan_
OVER NIGHT _Bartholomae_
THE PASSING OF THE THIRD FLOOR BACK _Jerome_
MILESTONES _Bennett and Knoblock_
KISMET _Knoblock_
DON _Besier_
THE GIBSON UPRIGHT _Tarkington and Ailson_
THE MURDERERS _Dunsany_
TOO MANY COOKS _Craven_
* * * * *
CASTS
THE LADY OF THE WEEPING WILLOW TREE
CAST FOR OPENING
O-SODE _Harrie Fumade_
O-KATSU _Annie Lowry_
OBAA-SAN _Florence Wollersen_
THE GAKI OF KOKORU _McKay Morris_
AOYAGI _Nancy Winston_
RIKI _Wilmot Heitland_
THE VERY NAKED BOY
CAST FOR OPENING
HE _Willard Webster_
SHE _Dorothea Carothers_
BOY _Gregory Kelly_
JONATHAN MAKES A WISH
NEW YORK CAST
AUNT LETITIA _Elizabeth Patterson_
SUSAN SAMPLE _Beatrice Maude_
UNCLE NATHANIEL _George Gaul_
UNCLE JOHN _Ainsworth Arnold_
JONATHAN _Gregory Kelly_
MLLE. PERRAULT _Margaret Mower_
HANK _Edgar Stehli_
ALBERT PEET _Joseph Graham_
MARY _Elizabeth Black_
JOHN III _John Talbott_
First produced at the _Murat Theatre_, Indianapolis, August 12, 1918.
At the _Princess Theatre_, New York premiere, September 11, 1918, Elizabeth
Patterson played Aunt Letitia, which was played in Indianapolis by Judith
Lowry.
FOOTNOTES:
[7] Taken from Prof. Dickenson's book, "The Insurgent Theater," in which a
number of interesting and more recent repertories of "independent" theaters
are given.
A SELECTED LIST
OF
DRAMATIC LITERATURE
[Illustration]
PUBLISHED BY
STEWART & KIDD COMPANY
CINCINNATI
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DRAMATIC LITERATURE
_European Theories of the Drama_
_An Anthology of Dramatic Theory and Criticism from
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A book of paramount importance. This monumental anthology brings together
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_Large 8vo, 500 pages Net, $3.50_
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_Plays and Players_
LEAVES FROM A CRITIC'S SCRAPBOOK
BY WALTER PRICHARD EATON PREFACE BY BARRETT H. CLARK
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_Large 12mo. About 420 pages, 10 full-page illustrations on Cameo Paper and
End Papers Net $2.00_
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* * * * *
_Four Plays of the Free Theater_
Francois de Curel's _The Fossils_
Jean Jullien's _The Serenade_
Georges de Porto-Riche's _Francoise' Luck_
Georges Ancey's _The Dupe_
_Translated with an introduction on Antoine and Theatre Libre by BARRETT H.
CLARK. Preface by BRIEUX, of the French Academy, and a Sonnet by EDMOND
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* * * * *
DRAMATIC LITERATURE
_Contemporary French Dramatists_
By BARRETT H. CLARK
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recollect no book of recent times which has such contemporaneousness, yet
which regards the subject with such excellent perspective... almost
indispensable to the general student of drama... a book of rich perspective
and sound analysis. The style is simple and direct."
_Geo. Middleton_ in _La Follette's_: "The best attempt to formulate the
tendencies which the drama is now taking in its evolutionary course."
_Argonaut_: "Marked by insight, discernment and enthusiasm."
_Large 12mo. Dignified binding Net, $1.75_
* * * * *
_Short Plays_
By MARY MACMILLAN
_To fill a long-felt want. All have been successfully presented. Suitable
for Women's Clubs, Girls' Schools, etc. While elaborate enough for big
presentation, they may be given very simply._
_Review of Reviews_:
"Mary MacMillan offers 'SHORT PLAYS,' a collection of
pleasant one to three-act plays for women's clubs,
girls' schools, and home parlor production. Some are
pure comedies, others gentle satires on women's faults
and foibles. 'The Futurists,' a skit on a woman's club
in the year 1882, is highly amusing. 'Entr' Act' is a
charming trifle that brings two quarreling lovers
together through a ridiculous private theatrical. 'The
Ring' carries us gracefully back to the days of
Shakespeare; and 'The Shadowed Star,' the best of the
collection, is a Christmas Eve tragedy. The Star is
shadowed by our thoughtless inhumanity to those who
serve us and our forgetfulness of the needy. The Old
Woman, gone daft, who babbles in a kind of mongrel
Kiltartan, of the Shepherds, the Blessed Babe, of the
Fairies, rowan berries, roses and dancing, while her
daughter dies on Christmas Eve, is a splendid
characterization."
_Boston Transcript_:
"Those who consigned the writer of these plays to
solitude and prison fare evidently knew that 'needs
must' is a sharp stimulus to high powers. If we find
humor, gay or rich, if we find brilliant wit; if we
find constructive ability joined with dialogue which
moves like an arrow; if we find delicate and keen
characterization, with a touch of genius in the choice
of names; if we find poetic power which moves on easy
wing--the gentle jailers of the writer are justified,
and the gentle reader thanks their severity."
_Salt Lake Tribune_:
"The Plays are ten in number, all of goodly length. We
prophesy great things for this gifted dramatist."
_Bookseller, News Dealer & Stationer_:
"The dialogue is permeated with graceful satire,
snatches of wit, picturesque phraseology, and tender,
often exquisite, expressions of sentiment."
_Handsomely Bound. 12mo. Cloth Net, $1.75_
* * * * *
_More Short Plays_
BY MARY MacMILLAN
Plays that act well may read well. Miss MacMillan's plays are good reading.
Nor is literary excellence a detriment to dramatic performance. They were
put on the stage before they were put into print. They differ slightly from
those in the former volume. Two of them, "The Pioneers," a story of the
settlement of the Ohio Valley, and "Honey," a little mountain girl
cotton-mill worker, are longer. The other six, "In Mendelesia," Parts I and
II, "The Dryad," "The Dress Rehearsal of Hamlet," "At the Church," and "His
Second Girl," contain the spirit of humor, something of subtlety, and
something of fantasy.
_Brooklyn Daily Eagle_: "Mary MacMillan, whose first volume of short plays
proved that she possessed unusual gifts as a dramatist, has justified the
hopes of her friends in a second volume, 'More Short Plays,' which reveal
the author as the possessor of a charming literary style coupled with a
sure dramatic sense that never leads her idea astray.... In them all the
reader will find a rich and delicate charm, a bountiful endowment of humor
and wit, a penetrating knowledge of human nature, and a deft touch in the
drawing of character. They are delicately and sympathetically done and
their literary charm is undeniable."
_Uniform with "Short Plays" Net, $1.75_
* * * * *
_The Gift_
A POETIC DRAMA
By MARGARET DOUGLAS ROGERS
_A dramatic poem in two acts, treating in altogether new fashion the world
old story of Pandora, the first woman._
_New Haven Times Leader_:
"Well written and attractive."
_Evangelical Messenger_:
"A very beautifully written portrayal of the old story
of Pandora."
_Rochester Post Dispatch_:
"There is much poetic feeling in the treatment of the
subject."
_Grand Rapids Herald_:
"THE GIFT, dealing with this ever interesting
mythological story, is a valuable addition to the
dramas of the day."
_St. Xavier Calendar_:
"The story of Pandora is so set down as to bring out
its stage possibilities. Told by Mrs. Rogers in
exquisite language."
_Salt Lake Tribune_:
"The tale is charmingly wrought and has possibilities
as a simple dramatic production, as well as being a
delightful morsel of light reading."
_Cincinnati Enquirer_:
"The love story is delightfully told and the dramatic
action of the play is swift and strong."
_Buffalo Express_:
"It is a delightful bit of fancy with a dramatic and
poetic setting."
_Boston Woman's Journal_:
"Epimetheus and Pandora and her box are charmingly
presented."
_Worcester Gazette_:
"It is absolutely refreshing to find a writer willing
to risk a venture harking back to the times of the
Muses and the other worthies of mythological fame. * *
* The story of Pandora's box told in verse by a woman.
It may be said it could not have been better written
had a representative of the one who only assisted at
the opening been responsible for the play."
_Handsomely bound silk cloth Net, $1.00_
* * * * *
_Comedies of Words and Other Plays_
BY ARTHUR SCHNITZLER
TRANSLATED BY PIERRE LOVING
{"_The Hour of Recognition_"
{"_Great Scenes_"
The contents are {"_The Festival of Bacchus_"
{"_His Helpmate_"
{"_Literature._"
In his "Comedies of Words," Arthur Schnitzler, the great Austrian
Dramatist, has penetrated to newer and profounder regions of human
psychology. According to Schnitzler, the keenly compelling problems of
earth are: the adjustment of a man to one woman, a woman to one man, the
children to their parents, the artist to life, the individual to his most
cherished beliefs, and how can we accomplish this adjustment when, try as
we please, there is a destiny which sweeps our little plans away like
helpless chessmen from the board? Since the creation of Anatol, that
delightful toy philosopher, so popular in almost every theater of the
world, the great Physician-Dramatist has pushed on both as World-Dramatist
and reconnoiterer beyond the misty frontiers of man's conscious existence.
He has attempted in an artistic way to get beneath what Freud calls the
"Psychic Censor" which edits all our suppressed desires. Reading Schnitzler
is like going to school to Life itself!
_Bound uniform with the S & K Dramatic Series, Net $1.75_
* * * * *
_Lucky Pehr_
By AUGUST STRINDBERG
_Authorized Translation by Velma Swanston Howard. An allegorical drama in
five acts. Compared favorably to Barrie's "Peter Pan" and Maeterlinck's
"The Blue Bird."_
_Rochester Post Express_:
Strindberg has written many plays which might be
described as realistic nightmares. But this remark does
not apply to "Lucky Pehr." * * * This drama is one of
the most favorable specimens of Strindberg's genius.
_New York World_:
"Pehr" is lucky because, having tested all things, he
finds that only love and duty are true.
_New York Times_:
"Lucky Pehr" clothes cynicism in real entertainment
instead of in gloom. And it has its surprises. Can this
be August Strindberg, who ends his drama so sweetly on
the note of the woman-soul, leading upward and on?
_Worcester Gazette_:
From a city of Ohio comes this product of Swedish fancy in most attractive
attire, attesting that the possibilities of dramatic art have not entirely
ceased in this age of vaudeville and moving pictures. A great sermon in
altruism is preached in these pages, which we would that millions might see
and hear. To those who think or would like to think, "Lucky Pehr" will
prove a most readable book. * * * An allegory, it is true, but so are
AEsop's Fables, the Parables of the Scriptures and many others of the most
effective lessons ever given.
_Boston Globe_:
A popular drama. * * * There is no doubt about the book
being a delightful companion in the library. In charm
of fancy and grace of imagery the story may not be
unfairly classed with "The Blue Bird" and "Peter Pan."
_Photogravure frontispiece of Strindberg etched by Zorn. Also, a
reproduction of Velma Swanston Howard's authorization._
_Handsomely bound. Gilt top Net, $1.75_
* * * * *
_Easter_
(A PLAY IN THREE ACTS)
AND STORIES BY AUGUST STRINDBERG
_Authorized translation by Velma Swanston Howard. In this work the author
reveals a broad tolerance, a rare poetic tenderness augmented by an almost
divine understanding of human frailties as marking certain natural stages
in evolution of the soul._
_Louisville Courier-Journal_:
Here is a major key of cheerfulness and idealism--a
relief to a reader who has passed through some of the
author's morbid pages. * * * Some critics find in this
play (Easter) less of the thrust of a distinctive art
than is found in the author's more lugubrious dramas.
There is indeed less sting in it. Nevertheless it has a
nobler tone. It more ably fulfills the purpose of good
drama--the chastening of the spectators' hearts through
their participation in the suffering of the dramatic
personages. There is in the play a mystical exaltation,
a belief and trust in good and its power to embrace all
in its beneficence, to bring all confusion to harmony.
_The Nation_:
Those who like the variety of symbolism which
Maeterlinck has often employed--most notably in the
"Bluebird"--will turn with pleasure to the short
stories of Strindberg which Mrs. Howard has included in
her volume. * * * They are one and all diverting on
account of the author's facility in dealing with
fanciful details.
_Bookseller_:
"Easter" is a play of six characters illustrative of
human frailties and the effect of the divine power of
tolerance and charity. * * * There is a symbolism, a
poetic quality, a spiritual insight in the author's
work that make a direct appeal to the cultured. * * *
_The Dial_:
One play from his (Strindberg's) third, or symbolistic
period stands almost alone. This is "Easter." There is
a sweet, sane, life-giving spirit about it.
_Photogravure frontispiece of Strindberg etched by Zorn. Also, a
reproduction of Velma Swanston Howard's authorization._
_Handsomely bound. Gilt top Net, $1.75_
* * * * *
_The Hamlet Problem and Its Solution_
By EMERSON VENABLE
_The tragedy of Hamlet has never been adequately interpreted. Two hundred
years of critical discussion has not sufficed to reconcile conflicting
impressions regarding the scope of Shakespeare's design in this, the first
of his great philosophic tragedies. We believe that all those students who
are interested in the study of Shakespeare will find this volume of great
value._
_The Louisville Courier-Journal_:
"Mr. Venable's Hamlet is a 'protagonist of a drama of
triumphant moral achievement.' He rises through the
play from an elected agent of vengeance to a man
gravely impressed with 'an imperative sense of moral
obligation, tragic in its depth, felt toward the
world.'"
E. H. Sothern:
"Your ideas of Hamlet so entirely agree with my own
that the book has been a real delight to me. I have
always had exactly this feeling about the character of
Hamlet. I think you have wiped away a great many
cobwebs, and I believe your book will prove to be most
convincing to many people who may yet be a trifle in
the dark."
_The Book News Monthly_:
"Mr. Venable is the latest critic to apply himself to
the 'Hamlet' problem, and he offers a solution in an
admirably written little book which is sure to attract
readers. Undeterred by the formidable names of Goethe
and Coleridge, Mr. Venable pronounces untenable the
theories which those great authors propounded to
account for the extraordinary figure of the Prince of
Denmark. * * * Mr. Venable looks in another direction
for the solution of the problem. * * * The solution
offered by the author is just the reverse of that
proposed by Goethe. * * * From Mr. Venable's viewpoint
the key to 'Hamlet' is found in the famous soliloquies,
and his book is based upon a close study of those
utterances which bring us within the portals of the
soul of the real Hamlet. The reader with an open mind
will find in Mr. Venable a writer whose breadth of view
and searching thought gives weight to this competent
study of the most interesting of Shakespearean
problems."
_16mo. Silk cloth Net, $1.00_
* * * * *
_Portmanteau Plays_
BY STUART WALKER
Edited and with an Introduction by
EDWARD HALE BIERSTADT
This volume contains four One Act Plays by the inventor and director of the
Portmanteau Theater. They are all included in the regular repertory of the
Theater and the four contained in this volume comprise in themselves an
evening's bill.
There is also an Introduction by Edward Hale Bierstadt on the Portmanteau
Theater in theory and practice.
The book is illustrated by pictures taken from actual presentations of the
plays.
The first play, the "_Trimplet_," deals with the search for a certain magic
thing called a trimplet which can cure all the ills of whoever finds it.
The search and the finding constitute the action of the piece.
Second play, "_Six who Pass While the Lentils Boil_" is perhaps the most
popular in Mr. Walker's repertory. The story is of a Queen who, having
stepped on the ring-toe of the King's great-aunt, is condemned to die
before the clock strikes twelve. The Six who pass the pot in which boil the
lentils are on their way to the execution.
Next comes "_Nevertheless_," which tells of a burglar who oddly enough
reaches regeneration through two children and a dictionary.
And last of all is the "_Medicine-Show_," which is a character study
situated on the banks of the Mississippi. One does not see either the Show
or the Mississippi, but the characters are so all sufficient that one does
not miss the others.
All of these plays are fanciful--symbolic if you like--but all of them have
a very distinct raison d'etre in themselves, quite apart from any ulterior
meaning.
With Mr. Walker it is always "the story first," and herein he is at one
with Lord Dunsany and others of his ilk. The plays have body, force, and
beauty always; and if the reader desires to read in anything else surely
that is his privilege.
Each play, and even the Theater itself has a prologue, and with the help of
these one is enabled to pass from one charming tale to the next without a
break in the continuity.
_With five full-page illustrations on cameo paper._
_12mo. Silk cloth $1.75_
* * * * *
_The Truth About The Theater_
_Anonymous_
Precisely what the title indicates--facts as they are, plain and
unmistakable without veneer of any sort. It goes directly to the heart of
the whole matter. Behind the writer of it--who is one of the best known
theatrical men in New York--are long years of experience. He recites what
he knows, what he has seen, and his quiet, calm, authoritative account of
conditions as they are is without adornment, excuse or exaggeration. It is
intended to be helpful to those who want the facts, and for them it will
prove of immeasurable value.
"The Truth About the Theater," in brief, lifts the curtain on the American
stage. It leaves no phase of the subject untouched. To those who are
ambitious to serve the theater, either as players or as playwrights, or,
again, in some managerial capacity, the book is invaluable. To those, too,
who would know more about the theater that they may come to some fair
estimate of the worth of the innumerable theories nowadays advanced, the
book will again prove its value.
_Net $1.00_