>S 3545 E828 >6 1922 Sopy 1 Society Notes BY DUFFY R. WEST Stewart Kidd MODERN PLAYS EDITED BY FRANK SHAY Stewart Kidd Dramatic Anthologies Fifty Contemporary One-Act Plays Edited by FRANK SHAY and PIERRE LOVING THIS volume contains FIFTY REPRESENTATIVE ONE-ACT PLAYS of the MODERN THEATER, chosen from the dramatic works of con- temporary writers all over the world and is the second volume in the Stewart Kidd Dramatic Anthologies, the first being European Theories of the Drama, by Barrett H. Clark, which has been so enthusiastically received. The editors have scrupulously sifted countless plays and have selected the best available in English. One-half the plays have never before been pub- lished in book form; thirty-one are no longer available in any other edition. The work satisfies a long-felt want for a handy collection of the choicest plays produced by the art theaters all over the world. It is a complete reper- tory for a little theater, a volume for the study of the modern drama, a rep- resentative collection of the world's best short plays. CONTENTS AUSTRIA Schnitzler (Arthur) — Literature BELGIUM Maeterlinck (Maurice) — The Intruder BOLIVIA More (Federico) — Interlude DENMARK Wied (Gustave) — Autumn Fires FRANCE Ancey (George) — M. Lamblin Porto- Riche (Georges) — Francoise's Luck GERMANY Ettinger (Karl) — Altruism von Hofmannsthal (Hugo) — Madonna Dia- nora Wedekind (Frank) — The Tenor GREAT BRITAIN Bennett (Arnold) — A Good Woman Calderon George) — The Little Stone House Cannan (Gilbert) — Mary's Wedding Dowson (Ernest) — The Pierrot of the Min- ute. Ellis (Mrs. Havelock) — The Subjection of Kezia Hankin (St. John) — The Constant Lover INDIA Mukerji (Dhan Gopal) — The Judgment of Indra IRELAND Gregory (Lady) — The Workhouse Ward HOLLAND Speenhoff (J. H.) — Louise HUNGARY Biro (Lajos) — The Grandmother ITALY Giocosa (Giuseppe) — The Rights of the Soul RUSSIA Andreyev (Leonid) — Love of One's Neigh- bor Tchekoff (Anton) — The Boor SPAIN Benevente (Jacinto) — His Widow's Hus- band Quinteros (Serafina and Joaquin Alverez) — A Sunny Morning SWEDEN Strindberg (August)— The Creditor UNITED STATES Beach (Lewis) — Brothers Cowan (Sada) — In the Morgue Crocker (Bosworth) — The Baby Carriage Cronyn (George W.) — A Death in Fever Flat Davies (Mary Carolyn) — The Slave with Two Faces Day (Frederick L.)— The Slump Flanner (Hildegard) — Mansions Glaspell (Susan)— Trifles Gerstenberg (Alice) — The Pot Boiler Helbum (Theresa)— Enter the Hero Hudson (Holland)— The Shepherd in the Distance Kemp (Harry) — Boccaccio's Untold Tale Langner (Lawrence) — Another Way Out MacMillan (Mary) — The Shadowed Star Millay (Edna St. Vincent) — Aria da Capo Moeller (Philip) — Helena's Husband O'Neill (Eugene) — He Stevens (Thomas Wood) — The Nursery Maid of Heaven Stevens (Wallace) — Three Travelers Watch a Sunrise Tompkins (Frank G.) — Sham Walker (Stuart) — The Medicine Show Wellman (Rita)— For All Time Wilde (Percival)— The Finger of God YIDDISH Ash (Sholom)— Night Pinski (David) — Forgotten Souls Large 8vo, 585 pages. Net, $5.00 Send for Complete Dramatic Catalogue STEWART KIDD COMPANY PUBLISHERS, - - CINCINNATI, U. S. A. STEWART KIDD MODERN PLAYS Edited by Frank Shay SOCIETY NOTES COPYRIGHT, 1922 STEWART KIDD COMPANY i« All rights reserved Application for permission to produce Society Notes must be made to the author, who may be addressed in care of the pub- lishers, Stewart Kidd Company, Cincinnati, Ohio. ©CI.AG77779 Printed in the United States of America The Caxton Press AUG -5 1922 bri CHARACTERS Mary Sedgewick Reginald Staunton Mrs. Sedgewick Miss Florae Fountain Mr. Sedgewick Dr. Glen Corre SOCIETY NOTES of gold and her hair is carefully dressed. Staunton is in conventional evening clothes. He is an ex- ceedingly well-groomed, heavy-set man in his late thirties. His manner is self-confident and tremendously conceited. MARY You may as well run along and amuse yourself in the billiard room until the ball begins. I must go and slip on my dress, and we're not getting any further in this argument. STAUNTON Let's keep it up a bit longer. I haven't begun to show my strength. MARY I appreciate your coming early to add the last touch to the success of the evening. But I tell you once and forever Mr. Reginald Staunton, I will never marry you, never, never, never. STAUNTON And I tell you, you will marry me, Miss Mary Sedgewick. Your mother wants you to. MARY My mother wouldn't have to live with you. I would. My mother and I don't agree on most subjects anyway. STAUNTON You're the first woman I've pleaded with in all these years. MARY That's the chief reason I won't listen to you. Those other women have spoiled you and petted 8 SOCIETY NOTES you and given in to you until you haven't a shred of respect left for any of them. STAUNTON I have for you. MARY You wouldn't, if I yielded. staunton {advancing toward her) Try me. mary {retreating) And be victim two hundred and twenty-seven? You underestimate my powers of resistance, Mr. Staunton. STAUNTON No, I don't think I do. That's what attracts me so tremendously, I believe. MARY Of course it attracts you. You like my line. It's something new. But I'm looking ahead to the long, long evenings when I'd be something old, and you and your gray roadster would seek refuge from boredom at any other doorway but your own. I'd be reduced to being a mar- ried vamp. Hateful creatures! STAUNTON Why should there be those evenings of boredom for people like you and me? We can take our pick of the amusements of the world, cruise, travel, when we tire of things around here and — of each other. {He sits on the sofa and pulls her down beside him.) Come, what do you say? Let's announce it tonight at your ball. Think how your mother would love it. MARY Isn't it a pity she can't have you for herself? 9 SOCIETY NOTES No, I won't take you until I've gone on a bit of a search. {Cynical but wistful.) I've heard there are married couples who like to spend those long, long evenings alone, at home — together. Incredible, isn't it? STAUNTON Tommy-rot! What's life for, if not to pack in as many good times as a man has the money to pay for? What can have started your mother's daughter off on such a tangent? Are you in love with another man, some queer duck we none of us know? {He looks at her shrewdly.) By Jove, I believe that's it. Who is he? {Grimly taking her hands and turning her towards him.) No matter! He won't get you. I never wanted anything yet that I couldn't get, and I want you. mary {shakes of his hands and rises) Wrong again. He's not a man, he's an ideal, and I shan't marry until I find him. {The voices of Mrs. Sedgewick and Miss Foun- tain are heard of stage.) MISS FOUNTAIN Really astonishing. Quite, quite ravishing. MRS. SEDGEWICK Yes, it all takes ability, real executive ability, but I— mary {runs to door, left) Oh, glory, there comes Mother and her beloved Society Notes. I can't stand any more of that twaddle. {She points to the door, right.) If you go through that door, the butler will give you 10 SOCIETY NOTES an appetizer for the evening's bliss. {Pretends to raise a glass to her lips?) See you later. {Mary goes off, left, and Staunton, right?) {Mrs. Sedgewick and Miss Fountain enter from the sun room. Mrs. Sedgewick is a portly, com- manding person, still conscious of her corsets, and gowned in full evening regalia, with magnifi- cent jewels. She uses her lorgnettes as a weapon of offense. Miss Fountain is a large, thin, voluble woman, past her first youth, sprightly, fervent, almost kittenish when she is with the right set. Her face in repose shows the strain of constant enthusiasm over other people's good times. She is dressed in a very fussy evening dress, feathers, fringe, beads dangling indis- criminately. The fact of her having been well- born gives her a certain ease of manner with the clients whose careers she helps mould. She is the Society Editress for the Morning Star.) MISS FOUNTAIN Charming, exquisite, ravishing. Marvelous to me how you accomplish these results. C'est epouvante! Such atmosphere, such unique atmosphere. I feel this will be the Ball of the season. MRS. SEDGEWICK Yes, I am sure dear Mary's debut ball is going to be a great success. {Mrs. Sedgewick moves about the room, compla- cently touching things into place, glancing with satisfaction over the cards that came with the flowers?) II SOCIETY NOTES MRS. SEDGEWICK Xo expense has been spared. All the right people are coming and none of the wrong ones have been asked. MISS FOUNTAIN" So wise of you, dear Mrs. Sedgewick. In these Bolshevistic times you stand for Society's Rock of Ages. MRS. SEDGEWICK Yes, I must admit I am very strict on the sub- ject of exclusiveness, very strict indeed. I cannot understand some of our acquaintances who open their doors to anyone. I tell Mary every day it is not necessary for her to know everyone who wants to know her. MISS FOUNTAIN Certainly not. The dear child has been so carefully reared. She is even a bit aloof with me at times. MRS. SEDGEWICK For instance, this Dr. Corre, a young doctor who attends Mr. Sedgewick. A very estimable young man in his way, no doubt, but not our kind at all; Mary had to have him invited. To my surprise he sent his regrets. MISS FOUNTAIN You'll occasionally find that some of these people have the good sense not to come where they know they'll feel out of place. MRS. SEDGEWICK Exactly. But Mary is a bit — er — what shall I say — difficile. She refuses to understand why some people belong and others do not. You simply cannot imagine the people she wanted to 12 : : ; I 7 7 I ; t:.: : 7- f SOCIETY NOTES MISS FOUNTAIN Dear lady, how grateful Society should be that it has such stalwart bulwarks as you to ward off the vulgar invasion of the masses. {Mrs. Sedgewick smoothes down her portly hips doubt- fully. Miss Fountain hurriedly covers her slip.) Figuratively, I mean. Metaphorically speaking of course. As I composed myself to write the account of your ball for the Sunday papers, for once duty and pleasure went hand in hand. It was a joy to write about the affair, the house, the sumptousness — and dear Mr. Sedgewick. {At the mention of Mr. Sedgewick 's name, his wife shows distinct uneasiness.) He is always such a charming host in spite of his delicate health. Rheumatism, is it not? MRS. SEDGEWICK Yes — er rheumatism. A very unusual kind. MISS FOUNTAIN Inflammatory? MRS. SEDGEWICK Yes, very! He will strain every effort to be present; he is looking forward to the ball with such pleasure. He dotes on Mary. We could not make the list exclusive enough to suit him. MISS FOUNTAIN So thoughtful, so aloof, so untiring in his efforts for others. He really should be careful of him- self for the good of the community. The true aristocrat. mrs. sedgewick {suddenly businesslike) Miss Fountain, you brought the account of the ball with you? That is as much as you could write before it takes place? SOCIETY NOTES miss fountain {produces a sheaf of typewritten pages out of a satin bag) Here it is almost as you dictated it to me. All I have to do is to fill in a list of the guests and their gowns. mrs. sedgewick {goes to the table and takes a piece of notepaper out of the drawer) Here is the list of guests whose names I want published. The names underlined are the people whose costumes and appearance I want specially emphasized. You understand, I know. miss fountain {takes the page and glances over it rapidly) Surely, dear lady. mrs. sedgewick {looks over Miss Fountains shoulder) For example, people like the Browns or the Jenkses or the Pickleheimers. One must ask them, you know, but you needn't put them in the notes, no matter how often they say good evening to you. miss fountain I understand perfectly. The effect of an affair on the public mind is so enhanced by the proper treatment of these details. {She finishes look- ing over the list hurriedly , nodding her head with satisfaction, before she stuffs it into her bag.) Such a satisfactory list. You have a flair, a real genius, for social subtleties. mrs. sedgewick {squeezes Miss Fountain's hand) Dear child, I do appreciate your interest. MISS FOUNTAIN And I yours. Now I'm off through the rooms 15 SOCIETY NOTES for a last loving survey, before the guests ar- rive. Au revoir. (Miss Fountain goes into the sun room, leaving Mrs. Sedgewick alone on the stage reading the typewritten pages with an air of great complacency. Mary enters, door, left. Her manner is listless, almost unhappy. Her attitude toward her mother is careless to the point of indifference. The mother s manner is that of a general who expects his troops to rebel on the eve of battle. During the following scene Mrs. Sedgewick is glancing over the typed papers when she is not looking at Mary.) mrs. sedgewick (looking at her daughter in dis- may) Why aren't you dressed? MARY Plenty of time. All I have to do is to slip into my gown. mrs. sedgewick (nervously) Do you know if your father is ready ? MARY I just left him. Dr. Corre is giving him a last shot so that he can do the family proud. MRS. SEDGEWICK Mary! No well-bred girl talks that way about her father. MARY Who said I was well-bred? I wouldn't be ac- cepted in any exclusively pedigreed animal show — after the judges had seen Father. MRS. SEDGEWICK Mary!! 16 SOCIETY NOTES mary {carelessly) Sorry. Won't do it again. Dr. Corre assures me that Father will hold up for at least five hours. Quite a record for him, isn't it ? {Pause.) I asked Dr. Corre to try to come tonight. MRS. SEDGEWICK He probably regretted in the first place be- cause he knew he would not fit in. I only consented to ask him because he is around your father so much. MARY You were smarter than I was. He refused again. Said he wasn't interested. {Wearily.) I don't suppose I interest him either for that matter. MRS. SEDGEWICK {scornfully) You interest him? The very idea! Really, Mary, considering your rearing, you are very hard to understand at times. MARY Yes, all things considered, I am a misfit. I never felt it, so acutely as I do tonight. All this fussing and fuming and wasted energy and not one bit of pure happiness or real kind- liness in the lot. I'm bored to extinction before I begin. I'm not Glen Corre's type. I've never been taught to think. Something like Reg Staunton will be my fate, I suppose. mrs. sedgewick {happy, eager, excited) Has he said anything? mary {scornfully) Several times. Any time I give him the chance. mrs. sedgewick {bitter and frustrated) Most of the girls who are coming here tonight would give their souls for your chance. 17 SOCIETY NOTES MARY He'd love that. I wish the nastiest six could have him. That would about satisfy him — for a time. Selfish old beast! MRS. SEDGEWICK Love often comes after marriage. MARY I know. Love for another woman. MRS. SEDGEWICK Mary, one of the chief things you have to learn is not to let your interests roam too far outside your own circle. Go to concerts and lectures; be a patroness as often as you please, if the list is an exclusive one; have your little charities — mary (explodes) Oh, Lord! mrs. sedgewick (rises and folds the papers in- dignantly) Really I refuse to stand this insolence of yours another minute. mary (her voice suddenly softens with contrition and she lays her hands on her mother s shoulders) Mother dear, I'm sorry if I hurt you. If you would only try to understand me, we could be so happy together. mrs. sedgewick (blindly obdurate^ goes right on) After all that is being done for you, your tea, your clothes, your jewels, and now this ball, all for you — mary (repulsed \ gives a hard laugh) For me? What a joke! If you didn't have me to give a ball for, you'd find another debutante to give one for, the swellest on your list. That's 18 SOCIETY NOTES the way all the elderly society fans keep things going for themselves after they've outlived their D youth. 5 edge v.- : : K I should hate to have Miss Fountain find you in this mood. MARY Your friend would be too tactful to notice it. he takes the papers from her mother and looks them ozer mi:: Lord! what a line to write. Covering people's defects with twaddle and exalting their commonplaceness into virtue. What tommy-rot! SEDGEWICK sarcastic) You seem to find them interesting, neverthe- I want to see how your friend Miss Fountain camouflaged the past records of our family this time. I am looking to see whether she touched on the career of my maternal great-uncle. She is such a shark for ancestry, you know. lots. szDGEwicK [in zexed alarm) Mary, how dare you recall that? Give me those papers this instant. MARY Oh, yes, here it is. (She pretends to read). And it came to pass that Ben Higgins, the great uncle of the debutante on the mother's side, ie spending an enforced rest cure at the State Penitentiary, became so expert in making shoes that on regaining his liberty, he went into the business. And he did teach his brother, Josiah Hizgins, the debutante's grandfather, 19 v V roll up the :r;.::r;. :he : zt- Iris. 'Princelv Oh, what a naughty lie, dear, when yon don't even know the as. sedcewick {snatches the papers from M You really are too exasperating. Go and dress. Hr: : --. ■■-..: :'a:htr. ar.i I've had aiv^: {Carre ushers m M. fe, /^r, raz£ the festivities. Carre is a clean-cut, k attractive type of young man, dressed in welL -.:.:-. :: ;:r.. :'.;:'.*:. .'r,:/r:. ::- ;; .:-: i^::.:::.'^.:., trembling, repulsive wreck of a man in irre- proachable evening dress. He mozes a stage haltingly, with the slithering walk of a man tc - ___ v >: . _ __ „ ;:.,--.. -: — _ — . 1 _ - . - . — - - - - ' J - . T o i_ : * - . - '."■-. *': : ; ~_t * . ~ ' . l 1 - . r - -.- :.; . v ~ ■; f:. r - _' ; v. SOCIETY NOTES left y looking at Mary. She speaks to him in a low voice?) MRS. SEDGEWICK How is your patient tonight, Dr. Corre? CORRE Unusually well, Mrs. Sedgewick. He will hold up splendidly, I think. MRS. SEDGEWICK If you could only give him something to keep him from being offensive to people. CORRE You are asking a great deal of science, Mrs. Sedgewick. SEDGEWICK Rotten lot of cards. Is that all? You never did know how to make the best people your friends. Where's your menu? (Mrs. Sedgewick hands it to him. He looks at it and gives a cry of rage?) In all these years haven't I taught you that it's utterly vulgar as well as suicidal to serve lobster mayonnaise and ice cream at the same time? I never read anything as absolutely com- mon as the selection of this menu. Your work, I suppose. corre (comes over to him and taps him on the shoulder) It isn't wise to excite yourself unnecessarily, Mr. Sedgewick. SEDGEWICK (shouts) Unnecessarily? My God! man, when the favors look like a Christmas fete for charity children, and the flowers look like the festooning in a bar-room — and — and — where is the list of 22 SOCIETY NOTES guests? (He half rises from the chair ; his feet slide about helplessly, and he subsides again.) {Mrs, Sedgewick hands him the list. He looks it over, snorting with scorn.) SEDGEWICK Bunch of muckers. Not many people fit to associate with these days. (Mary, who has watched the scene in ironic silence, suddenly chuckles out loud. Her father glares around at her.) SEDGEWICK I'd like to be amused. Give me something to laugh at. Tell me the joke. MARY It would take too long. I'd have to review the entire family history. I'm off now to get into my frock. Prepare for a vision when I return. (She goes out, left.) SEDGEWICK Insolent little devil. But she shows class. (He looks at his wife.) Takes after my people. (He throws out his sunken chest.) I tell you, breeding shows every time. (He rises with much difficulty but ultimate success.) Going to view the rest of the mismanagements of this party. (He totters toward the sun room.) CORRE Follow my directions as closely as you can, Mr. Sedgewick. And if you need me, I'll be at my home this evening. SEDGEWICK Stay for the ball, Corre. (Sarcastically.) Awfully amusing. Til give you pointers. 23 SOCIETY NOTES CORRE Thanks. Not this evening. Work to do at home. {As Sedgewick reaches the sun room he bumps into Miss Fountain, who, notebook in hand, is going in the opposite direction. She overflows ef- fusively.) MISS FOUNTAIN How lovely! Everything so chaste, so charm- ing, so rav — sedgewick {grunts) . cTevening. {They go of in opposite directions.) MRS. SEDGEWICK Dr. Corre. CORRE Yes, Mrs. Sedgewick? MRS SEDGEWICK Can't you make him a bit steadier just for this evening? CORRE I've stimulated him as much as I dare, Mrs. Sedgewick. mrs. sedgewick {gives a long sigh) How long does a man in his condition usually last? CORRE Your husband has unusual powers of resistance, really marvelous vitality. And he responds splendidly to medical treatment. I've seen men in his condition last for years. {Mrs. Sedgewick gives another long sigh.) Good- 24 SOCIETY NOTES night, Mrs. Sedgewick, I hope the evening will be everything you can wish for. mrs. sedgewick (perfunctory) So sorry you're not coming. CORRE My evenings are very full. However, I ap- preciate your kindness. mrs. sedgewick (patronizing, as if she were an- nouncing something to the old family butler) You are so deeply interested in the family that I know you will like to hear that we shall have a very pleasant announcement to make in the course of a few days. My daughter and a man in — er — her own circle. You've heard his name, no doubt. Mr. Reginald Staunton. corre (stung out of his usual indifference) Your daughter Mary to that man Staunton? Mrs. Sedgewick, surely you can't mean it? mrs. sedgewick (mistaking his repugnance for awe) Yes, isn't it lovely? Everything a mother could wish for her child. And I know she will find complete happiness in remaining in the same station of life to which she has been accustomed. CORRE I doubt it. However, I am only your medical advisor and I fear I am limited to that. (Miss Fountain enters from the sun room and Mary from the door, left, at the same time. Miss Fountain passes Corre with a chilly little nod, which he returns coolly. Mary, radiant in evening dress, advances to the center of the room. Corre, after one glance at her, turns his back and stands 25 SOCIETY NOTES looking out of window. Miss Fountain ap- praises Mary with gasps of delight.) MISS FOUNTAIN How chic — how spirituelle — how ravishing — really, ravishing is the only word for it, is it not, Mrs. Sedgewick? mrs. sedgewick {who has regained her complacency with the advent of her chief ally) It's from Paris. An original Cheruit model. Turn around, Mary, so that Miss Fountain can get the full details. {Mary stands stock-still^) MISS FOUNTAIN Ravishing! Simply and exquisitely ravishing. MRS. SEDGEWICK Yes, isn't it? Turn around, Mary. mary {does not budge) Mother, I am sure Miss Fountain's marvelous imagination can fill in the details. That won- derful imagination! Where should we be with- out it? mrs. sedgewick {hurriedly takes Miss Fountain by the arm and beats a retreat toward the sun room) Come, my dear, I want to explain that last figure again. miss fountain {her voice floating back as they go off through the sun room) Oh, yes. Where the buds form a circle, and the dancing men revolve — {Corre still stands looking out of the window. Mary crosses to the fireplace, and looks at herself 26 SOCIETY NOTES rather sadly in the mirror above it. Suddenly she speaks in a tone entirely different from that she used before, a wistful, girlish, musical voice.) MARY Don't you wish to see this ravishing sight, Dr. Corre? corre {turns slowly with his hands shielding his eyes as if from the sun) I'm not keen about being ravished. It's too devastating. MARY Bear it like a man. Just one look. {Corre takes his hands away from his eyes, looks at her squarely, and continues to look and look until she grows uncomfortable.) MARY That will do. You've acquitted yourself nobly. Did it hurt much? CORRE A lot. It still does. {He continues to stare.) But it's worth it. What shall I do? Now I've started looking I can't stop. MARY Try a cigarette. The blaze of the match may distract your attention. {She offers him one from a box on the table.) CORRE Thanks. I prefer my own. {He takes one from his case.) Will you light it for me? {She lights one for herself and then his, and they sit on the sofa before the fireplace.) 27 SOCIETY NOTES MARY Seize the fleeting moment. This is the only happy one I expect to enjoy this evening. CORRE That's rather a queer statement in view of the alliance your mother intimated to me a few minutes ago. mary {looks at him quickly) Already? You mean she spoke as if I were going to announce my engagement to Mr. Staunton? CORRE You do know of it then? I had almost hoped — {Rising.) Well, I think in view of the cir- cumstances, you should be able to pass a few happy moments with him. MARY Sit down. {He sits.) He's Mother's choice, not mine, and she's a long way from being his adoring mother-in-law. CORRE Lord knows, he has a lot to offer any girl. MARY Yes, I know that. But aside from his wealth and position, they say he is the best student in feminine psychology in town. And I couldn't expect him to give up his studies after marriage and concentrate his energies on one specimen of the sex, could I ? CORRE I'm not pleading any man's cause with you, Miss Sedgewick. I do know of one man who would like to devote all the lives he could collect studying the psychology of one woman. 28 SOCIETY NOTES MARY That would necessitate spending long, quiet evenings at home with that one woman, wouldn't it? CORRE It would. Tell me, does the very thought of long, quiet evenings at home with just one admiring male make you yawn with boredom? MARY If you only knew. {She reaches back of her and brings over the copy of Society Notes, left lying on the table.) Here's the sort of thing that is killing me by inches. {Reading.) "Mr. and Mrs. Sedgewick received their guests in a veritable fairyland bower of pink roses. Mr. Sedgewick, as always handsome, dignified, aristocratic, was his usual charming self, show- ing the influence of the society of foreign cap- itals grafted on our fine old American stock." {She looks at him quizzically.) That enchanting description is supposed to be Father — my father. CORRE That's one very good point in his favor, Miss Miss Sedgewick, the fact that he is your father. MARY Yes, he has always considered that the one redeeming feature in an otherwise ill-spent life. Do you want to hear another gem ? CORRE I love the sound of your voice. mary {hurriedly) Here's one sentence, all lies, two hundred words without a break. {Reading with affected elo- 29 SOCIETY NOTES quence.) "The effect of the congenial and beau- tiful home life and loving and exquisite care which have been the keynote of the debutante's rearing, her aunt on her mother's side having married the Earl of Conant, it being a matter of poignant regret that the Countess cannot be here for her niece's debut, affairs of state de- manding her presence elsewhere, and many of her kinsfolk on her father's side being descended from that fine old aristocracy of the southern states, masters of lordly plantations, where hospitality was a high art; her maternal pro- genitors having been captains of finance — shone in her beatific young face as she greeted her hosts of admiring friends and guests." {She tosses the paper back on the table with a gesture of despair?) You see, quite apart from a lack of syntax in these descriptions, there isn't a word of truth in them either. My aunt, the countess, is occupied at present getting a divorce from a perfect rotter of a husband. And the most important of my maternal pro- genitors — {she looks at him searchingly, and he allows himself a broad grin.) You've heard rumors, no doubt? CORRE I have heard that before he was a captain of finance he served a term as a captive of finance. MARY Can't you see what a laughingstock this makes me feel ? When I know that others know and are revelling in it, especially those that aren't asked here tonight? When I know — Oh, Lord! {She quotes despairingly.) "Mr. Sedge- 30 SOCIETY NOTES wick, his charming self — congenial home life — beatific young face — " {She pushes her face in front of his, inviting scrutiny.) Look. Can you observe a happy shine on this beatific young countenance? CORRE Don't ask me to inspect that countenance again tonight. I did it once at my own risk. Next time I do it, it will be at yours. mary {insistent) Look at me, please. {She makes a grimace like a child crying.) My beatific young face. corre {turns and looks deep into her eyes. Her face grows sweet and serious. He lays his hands on her shoulders; she does not draw away) I don't have to look at your face, Mary Sedge- wick. I've had it before me waking and sleep- ing for more than a year. I've loved the in- nocence of it, the wistfulness of it, and the fine sincerity that glows in your dark eyes. And Fve damned my helplessness to snatch you away from these fool influences that were trying to mould you into a chuckle-headed little flapper. {He releases her shoulders and catches hold of her hands-.) Mary, my dear, my dear, chuck these things you hate and come away with me. MARY You mean — CORRE Marry me now. We'll have our youth together. MARY Are you acting from a sense of duty, sort of rescue work affair — or — 3i SOCIETY NOTES CORRE Rescue work? Good Lord, when I spend my waking hours thinking new ways of telling you you're the most wonderful thing on God's green earth. You've put my work on the blink, my practise on the blink, and me on the blink. Now, who needs rescue, I'd like to know? MARY Both of us, perhaps. We'll draw up a fifty- fifty rescue scheme for you and me. CORRE We needn't draw it up. They'll do it for us at the City Hall. They call it a marriage license. MARY Oh! CORRE If I go shopping for one tomorrow, will you come with me to help me select a nice one? MARY I'm busy tomorrow. Won't next week do? CORRE Mary, Mary, don't make it too long, dear. I won't be really living until I've got you fast; until I see you sitting across my hearth from me. mary {dreamily) Across your hearth from you. Why, how jolly that sounds. CORRE Doesn't it? And Mary— MARY Yes? CORRE I had such a cute, snappy way of proposing to you, but you messed it all up. 32 SOCIETY NOTES MARY I did? CORRE Yes, you excited me so I forgot my lines. Shall I tell you the other one now ? MARY Oh, do. And I can accept the one I like best. CORRE Here goes. I could die a happy man — if— if I could kiss you — once. MARY I'd hate to see you die — but — {She does not lean away from him. He seizes her in his arms and kisses her. She releases herself.) CORRE That wasn't a real one. I went slow at first. MARY It seemed rather rapid to me. Have you— have you another variety of those, too? CORRE Several. Here's another. {He catches her and kisses her.) That one was on second speed. And here goes one on high. {He takes Mary in his arms again, and they are interrupted in a very thorough embrace by Staunton, who enters from the right, and stands looking at them a moment before he speaks^ STAUNTON I knew I was right. {They spring to their feet. Corre glares at Staunton.) You said there was no other man. 33 SOCIETY NOTES MARY There wasn't — then. corre {coldly emphatic) There most decidedly is now. STAUNTON Didn't take you very long to learn a woman's tricks, did it, Miss Sedgewick? Prevaricating so prettily about loving an ideal when all the time it was this man's arms and his kisses you were thinking about. {Roughly.) How long has this been going on? corre {walks up to Staunton and speaks very gently) I don't like your tone. Please change it. STAUNTON You are assuming a good deal of authority in a house where you are not even a guest. CORRE I won't tell you again I don't like your in- solence. You say another word I don't like and I'll take you out in the rear and spoil your ap- pearance as a guest for some time to come. staunton {disgustedly) Cave-man stuff! {Corre starts towards him. He turns nervously to Mary.) Hold your friend off; I don't want my hair mussed. By the way, I think your mother will have a word or two to say in this argument. mary {airily) Let Mother divorce Father and marry you herself. It would give her great pleasure, coming and going. 34 SOCIETY NOTES {A loud tuning of instruments is heard from the sun room. Mrs. Sedgewick enters excitedly.) MRS. SEDGEWICK Mary, Mary, come this instant. The first guests are arriving and we must form our re- ceiving line. MARY Don't get excited, Mother. YouVe always said the first guests are sure to be poor relations and people who don't count, so we'll have plenty of time to finish this argument we're having. staunton {sourly) Your daughter has an important announce- ment to make to you first, Mrs. Sedgewick. MRS. SEDGEWICK(frlissful) Oh, Mr. Staunton. STAUNTON She wants to tell you she's engaged to be mar- ried. mrs. sedgewick (hurries over to Staunton and buries her head on his shoulder) What happiness, what joy. You are the only man in the world my mother's heart can gladly give her to — {At a loss for words.) How ravish- ing, how simply and divinely ravishing! Regi- inald, my dear, dear son. STAUNTON I hate to disillusion you, Mrs. Sedgewick, but you are embracing the wrong son. {Mrs. Sedgewick straightens up, suddenly aware of strained relations. She looks from one to the 35 SOCIETY NOTES other.) I regret to say I am not the ravishing one. Dr. Corre is the — er — lucky man. MRS. SEDGEWICK Dr. Corre, I am amazed at your effrontery. mary (in a tone of appeal) Mother, please! mrs. sedgewick (the old Ben Higgins strain crash- ing through the Sedgewick veneer as she yields to her rage and disappointment) Mary, you ungrateful, impertinent thing, be still or leave the room. I know what I am doing. After all I have done for you — this! MARY I believe I'll stay. I'm a bit interested in the outcome. mrs. sedgewick (the Sedgewick veneer totally submerged) Then hold your tongue. (She turns to Corre.) To sneak into the sanctity of our home and try to beguile this child into a marriage which can mean nothing but misery and sacrifice; made- over clothes, hashed-over food, loss of servants, and loss of friends — am I right? corre (politely interested) I'm sure I don't know. I have never met people like that intimately. Very interesting though, no doubt. MRS. SEDGEWICK To take this girl away from a position of prominence and luxury to share the life of a poor, unknown professional man, to run his office, do his work — What have I done to de- serve all this? 36 SOCIETY NOTES CORRE . Mrs. Sedgewick, aren't you drawing a good bit on your imagination? I'd like to correct some of your impressions, if I may. I am not a poor, unknown professional man, proof enough that I attend your husband. And my people have been doctors and men of science as far back as we can trace them. And I rather think I am going to make a big thing of my career. It won't be my fault if I don't. You are mistaken if you think I am a poor weakling seeking a leg up by marrying into a rich family. {Ruefully.) As it is, it will take me years to live this down among the doctors. MRS. SEDGEWICK I have made my plans. I will not have them interfered with. Dr. Corre, you had better go at once. If he goes, I go with him. Now! Tonight! Then where are your plans? mrs. sedgewick {loses her head) You are a thoroughly ungrateful, disobedient, insolent girl and not to be trusted for an in- stant. I will not have you to dictate to me; I will lock you in your room first. MARY , Quite aside from the foolishness of that threat, you would have to make some very curious explanations to your guests. Hush, listen. {The strumming of instruments and broken chords float in with the sound of voices. _ Mary is very graved Quick, Mother! What is it to 37 SOCIETY NOTES be? Am I to live my own life in my own way, or shall I refuse to appear tonight? mrs. sedge wick (waking up to her powerlessness) Mary, Mary, what has gotten into you? mary (suddenly begins to dance about the room) Oh, I'm happy, I'm happy, happy, happy; I'm happy for the first time in my life. I'm so happy it hurts. I want to cry and laugh and sing and shout. I love everyone. Oh, start the music, someone, I have to dance. (Her father totters in and she throws her arms about him, almost flinging him of his feet.) Oh, Father, Father, I'm so happy. I'm engaged to be married. sedge wick (grouchy) The devil you are. To whom ? corre (coming forward) To me, Mr. Sedgewick. sedge wick (grinning broadly, to the surprise of all and the consternation of his wife) By Jove, that's the best news I've heard in years. Fine! Fine! Get some strong, new blood in the family. Correct your mother's mistake in marrying me, my dear. (He kisses her.) staunton (goes toward the dooor, right) This is the door, I believe? (They all look at him questioningly.) Where the butler dispenses appetizers for the evening's bliss ? My congrat- ulations! You take the bliss, I'll take the appetizers. (He goes off, right.) mrs. sedgewick (weakly) I'm sure I don't see — 38 SOCIETY NOTES (Miss Fountain's voice is heard of stage. Mrs. Sedgewick straightens, and takes command again.) MRS. SEDGEWICK Hush! Not a word! I hear Miss Fountain. {She makes a supreme effort and recaptures her company manners.) Percival, Mary, we must form in line. SEDGEWICK I say, Corre, you want to stand in well with the old man. Let me have one of those appetizers to bliss. Not much in 'em, just a bit of vermouth and a bit of gin and a bit of old bourbon, and a dash of bitters — ah, if you only knew how the thought of one affects me. CORRE Make it a half a one, sir. SEDGEWICK A parent's blessing on your young head. (He goes out, right) mrs. sedgewick (crosses quickly to where Mary and Corre stand at the door, left) I believe you said er — your ancestors — such an interesting detail, you know — they have been doctors for generations, you said? CORRE Back to the Revolution, and not a chiropodist or a veterinary in the lot. MRS. SEDGEWICK Dr. Corre — in time — I hope you will forget — forgive — I love my daughter — I want her to be happy. 39 SOCIETY NOTES corre {with an ingratiating smile) Mrs. Sedgewick, I hope you will forgive — I love your daughter — Til make her happy. MRS. SEDGEWICK My childr— {Miss Fountain sails in from the sun room.) mary {pulling Corre through the door) Oh, glory, here comes Society Notes. Run! {Mary and Corre go off, left.) {Miss Fountain advances to the center, Mrs. Sedgewick has made a quick recovery.) MISS FOUNTAIN And everything so unbelievably wonderful. And dear Mr. Sedgewick — I saw him just now — so full of spirits. And Mr. Staunton — so stunning, so aristo — mrs. sedgewick {interrupts suavely and confi- dentially) Miss Fountain, it was on that subject I wanted a moment's talk with you. You know how it is when a girl has so many suitors — we had rather thought that Mary and Mr. Staunton — but I fear I was a bit premature this evening — MISS FOUNTAIN I see. Mary wishes to enjoy her girlish freedom a bit longer. MRS. SEDGEWICK Not exactly. Mary has always been so in- tellectually, so spiritually inclined, that she has placed her affections where she can develop the higher side of her nature. In the meantime I can tell you that Dr. Corre — 40 SOCIETY NOTES miss fountain (overcome to the point of indis- cretion for the only time in her life) Dr. Corre? mrs. sedgewick (blandly and imperturbably) That Dr. Corre is a leader in the medical profession, his ancestors having been dis- tinguished doctors as far back as the May- flower. We are very well pleased. I shall be able to give you information for a full column for next Sunday's Society Notes. miss fountain {who has been swallowing her sur- prise during Mrs. Sedgewick' s speech, and who has now recovered her usual poise) Splendid, glorious, ravishing, simply ravishing! {Full and loud the dance music is heard through the sun room. They rise. Miss Fountain stands, her right arm flung aloft, her face and pose alight with the fervor and glorious ex- pectancy of the Angel in the Annunciation}) miss fountain Hush! THE BALL of the season is beginning. CURTAIN 4i Stewart Kidd Modern Plays Edited by FRANK SHAY To meet the immensely increased demands of the play-reading public and those interested in the modern drama, Stewart Kidd are issuing under the general editorship of Frank Shay a series of plays from the pens of the world's best contemporary writers. No effort is being spared to secure the best work available, and the plays are issued in a form that is at once attractive to readers and suited to the needs of the performer and producer. Buffalo Express: "Each play is of merit. Each is unlike the other. The group furnishes a striking example [of the realistic trend of the modern drama." From time to time special announcements will be printed giving com- plete lists of the plays. SHAM, a Social Satire in One Act. By Frank G. Tompkins. Originally produced by Sam Hume, at the Arts and Crafts Theatre, Detroit. San Francisco Bulletin: "The lines are new and many of them are decidedly clever." Providence Journal : "An ingenious and merry little one-act play." THE SHEPHERD IN THE DISTANCE, a Pantomime in One Act. By Holland Hudson. Originally produced by the Washington Square Players. Oakland Tribune: "A pleasing pantomime of the Ancient East." MANSIONS, a Play in One Act. By Hildegarde Flanner. Originally produced by the Indiana Little Theatre Society. Three Arts Magazine : "This thoughtful and well-written play of Characters and Ideals has become a favorite with Little Theatres and is now available in print." HEARTS TO MEND, a Fantasy in One Act. By H. A. Over street. Originally produced by the Fireside Players, White Plains, N. Y. St. Louis Star : "It is a light whimsy and well carried out." San Francisco Chronicle: "No one is likely to hear or read it without real and legitimate pleasure." SIX WHO PASS WHILE THE LENTILS BOIL. By Stuart Walker. Originally produced by the Portmanteau Players at Christodora House, New York City. Brooklyn Eagle : "Literary without being pedantic, and dramatic without being noisy." OTHERS TO FOLLOW. Bound in Art Paper. Each, net, .50 A Notable Achievement European Theories of the Drama An Anthology of Dramatic Theory and Criticism from Aristotle to the Present Day, In a Series of Selected Texts, With Commentaries, Biographies and Bibliographies By BARRETT H. CLARK author of "Contemporary French Dramatists," "The Conti- nental Drama of Today," "British and American Drama of Today," etc., etc. A book of paramount importance. This monumental anthology brings together for the first time the epoch-making theories and criti- cisms of the drama which have affected our civilization from the be- ginnings in Greece down to the present day. Beginning with Aristotle, each utterance on the subject has been chosen with reference to its importance, and its effect on subsequent dramatic writing. The texts alone would be of great interest and value, but the author, Barrett H. Clark, has so connected each period by means of inter-chapters that his comments taken as a whole constitute a veritable history of dramatic criticism, in which each text bears out his statements. Nowhere else is so important a body of doctrine on the subject of the drama to be obtained. It cannot fail to appeal to anyone who is interested in the theater, and will be indispensable to students. The introduction to each section of the book is followed by an exhaustive bibliography; each writer whose work is represented is made the subject of a brief biography, and the entire volume is rendered doubly valuable by the index, which is worked out in great detail. Prof. Brander Matthews, of Columbia University, says: "Mr. Clark deserves high praise for the careful thoroughness with which he has performed the task he set for himself. He has done well what was well worth doing. In these five hundred pages he has extracted the essence of several five-foot shelves. His anthology will be in- valuable to all students of the principles of play making; and it ought to be welcomed by all those whose curiosity has been aroused by the frequent references of our latter-day theorists of the theater to their predecessors Aristotle and Horace, Castelvetro and Scaliger, Sidney and Jonson, d'Aubignac and Boileau, Lessing and Schlegel, Goethe and Coleridge." Wm. Lyon Phelps, of Yale University, writes: "Mr. Clark's book, 'European Theories of the Drama,' is an exceedingly valuable work and ought to be widely useful." Large 8vo, 500 pages. Net, $5.00; % Turkey Morocco, Net, $12. STEWART & KIDD COMPANY Publishers Cincinnati, U. S. A. Ready Shortly The Provincetown Plays Edited by George Cram Cook and Frank Shay THE CONTENTS ARE: Alice Rostetter's comedy The Widow's Veil James Oppenheim's poetic . Night George Cram Cook's and Susan Glaspell's Suppressed Desires Eugene O'Neill's play Bound East for Cardiff Edna St. Vincent Millay's Aria de Capo Rita Wellman's String of the Samisen Wilbur D. Steele's satire Not Smart Floyd Dell's comedy The Angel Intrudes Hutchin Hapgood's and Neith Boyce's play Enemies Pendleton King's Cocaine Every author, with one exception, has a book or more to his credit. Several are at the top of their profession. Rita Wellman, a Saturday Evening Post star, has had two or three plays on Broadway, and has a new novel, THE WINGS OF DESIRE. Cook and Glaspell are well known — he for his novels, and Miss Glaspell for novels and plays. E. Millay is one of America's best minor poets. Steele, according to O'Brien, is America's best short-story writer. Oppenheim has over a dozen novels, books of poems and essays to his credit. O'Neill has a play on Broadway now, BEYOND THE HORIZON. Hutch. Hapgood is an author of note. 8vo. Silk Cloth, Gilt Top, Net $3.00; % Turkey Morocco, Net $12.00 STEWART & KIDD COMPANY PUBLISHERS CINCINNATI, U. S. A. STEWART KIDD DRAMATIC PUBLICATIONS The Truth About the Theater Anonymous $1.25 European Theories of the Drama Barrett H. Clark 5.00 ContemporaryFrenchDramatists Barrett H. Clark 2.50 Four Plays of the Free Theater . . Barrett H. Clark 2.50 The Provincetown Plays Geo. Cram Cook & Frank Shay, Editors 2.50 The Two Cromwells Liddell DeLesseline 1.50 Plays and Players Walter Prichard Eaton 3.00 The Antigone of Sophocles Prof. Jos. Edward Harry 1.25 The Changing Drama Archibald Henderson 2.50 European Dramatists Archibald Henderson 3.00 George Bernard Shaw: His Life and Works Archibald Henderson 7.50 Fifty Contemporary One Act Plays Compiled by Pierre Loving & Frank Shay 5.00 Short Plays Mary MacMillan 2.50 More Short Plays Mary MacMillan 2.50 The Gift Margaret Douglas Rogers 1.00 Comedies of Words and Other Plays Arthur Schnitzler, Translated by Pierre Loving 2.50 Lucky Pehr August Strindberg 2.50 Translated by Velma Swanston Howard Easter August Strindberg 2.50 Translated by Velma Swanston Howard The Hamlet Problem and its Solution Emerson V 'enable 1.50 Portmanteau Plays Stuart Walker, net 2.50 More Portmanteau Pl/,ys . . . .Stuart Walker, net 2.50 Portmanteau Adaptations. . . .Stuart Walker, net 2.50 Stewart KM Modern Plays Mansions Hildegarde Flanner .50 The Shepherd in the Distance. .Holland Hudson .50 Hearts to Mend H. A. Over street .50 Sham Frank G. Tompkins .50 Six Who Pass While the Lentils Boil Stuart Walker .50 Others to Follow SHORT PLAYS By MARY MacMILLAN To fill a long-felt want. All have been successfully pre- sented. Suitable for Women's Clubs, Girls' Schools, etc. While elaborate enough for big presentation, they may be given very simply. This volume contains ten Plays: The Shadowed Star has six women, one boy; may all be taken by women. Time, present. Scene, in a tenement Christmas Eve. One act, 45 minutes. The Ring. Costume play. Time, days of Shakespeare. Three women, seven men. Scene, interior. One act, 45 minutes. The Rose. One woman, two men. Time, Elizabethan. Scene, castle interior. One act, 30 minutes. Song introduced. Luck. Four short acts. Time, present. Interior scene. Seven women, six men. Comedy. Entre" Acte. Costume play. Time, present. Scene, interior. Two women, one man. Contains a song. One act. A Woman's a Woman for A' That. Time, present. Interior scene. One act, 45 minutes. Three women, two men. Comedy. A Fan and Two Candlesticks. Costume play, Colonial times. Scene, interior. Two men, one woman. One act, 20 to 30 minutes. Written in rhymed couplets. A Modern Masque. Time, present. Scene, outdoors. Fan- tastic, written in prose and verse. Costume play in one act, 30 minutes or more. Four women, three men. The Futurists. One-act farce, of the first woman's club of the early eighties. Interior. Forty-five minutes Eight women. The Gate of Wishes. One-act fantasy. Outdoors. Half hour. One girl, one man. Singing voices of fairies. Handsomely bound and uniform with S. & K. Dramatic Series. i2mo. Cloth, Net, $2.50; Y Turkey Morocco, Net, $8.50. STEWART Publishers & KIDD COMPANY Cincinnati, U. S. A. 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. This volume contains eight Plays: His Second Girl. One-act comedy, just before the Civil War. Interior, 45 minutes. Three women, three men. At the Church Door. Fantastic farce, one act, 20 to 30 minutes. Interior. Present. Two women, two men. Honey. Four short acts. Present, in the southern mountains. Same interior cabin scene throughout. Three women, one man, two girls. The Dress Rehearsal of Hamlet. One-act costume farce. Present. Interior. Forty-five minutes. Ten women taking men's parts. The Pioneers. Five very short acts. 1791 in Middle- West. Interior. Four men, five women, five children, five Indians. In Mendelesia, Part I. Costume play, Middle Ages. Interior. Thirty minutes or more. Four women, one man-servant. In Mendelesia, Part II. Modern realism of same plot. One act. Present. Interior. Thirty minutes. Four women, one maid-servant. The Dryad. Fantasy in free verse, one act. Thirty minutes. Outdoors. Two women, one man. Present. These plays, as well as SHORT PLAYS, have been pre- sented by clubs and schools in Boston, New York, Buffalo, Detroit, Cleveland, New Orleans, San Francisco, etc., and by the Portmanteau Theatre, the Chicago Art Institute Theatre, the Denver Little Art Theatre, at Carmel-by-the-Sea in California, etc. Handsomely bound and uniform with S. &f K. Dramatic Series. i2mo. Cloth. Net, $2.50; ^ Turkey Morocco, Net, $8.50. STEWART & KIDD COMPANY Publishers Cincinnati, U. S. A. Stewart Kidd Plays MASTERPIECES OF MODERN SPANISH DRAMA EDITED, WITH A PREFACE, BY BARRETT H. CLARK "A volume that will prove of unusual interest to lovers of the theatre. ' "—Brooklyn Daily Eagle. The collection of plays in this volume has a distinct value, representing, as it does, three varied aspects of the dramatic genius of Spain — Echegaray, Galdos and Guimera, the Catalon- ian Nationalist. Two of the plays, the "Duchess of San Quentin'and ' ' Daniela , ' ' have never before been translated. Mr. Clark, the editor, who is well-known to all lovers and students of the drama, gives, in his prefaces, a concise and illumi- nating survey of the drama in Spain, both old and new. Each play is preceded by a biographical sketch and a complete chronological list of the dramatist's works. THE GREAT GALEOTO, a tragedy, by Jose Echegaray, translated by Eleanor Bontecou (presented to the American public by Wm. Faversham, under the title "The World and his Wife") "an instance of Echegaray 's melodramatic and essentially Spanish genius." DANIELA, a tragic drama, by Angel Guimera, translated by John Garrett Underhill. "Daniela comes to us with all the force of a new sensation, ... .by virtue of the profound and tragic poetry of its theme. (It) is of the great order." — The Dial. THE DUCHESS OF SAN QUENTIN, a comedy, by Benito Perez-Galdos, translated by Philip M. Hayden. "Galdos has done a rare bit of character portrayal."— Cleveland Plain Dealer. "All the plays are essentially racial and as such will deeply interest the student of European Drama." — Argonaut. 12MO, Silk Cloth, Net $2.50 Send for Complete Dramatic Catalogue STEWART KIDD COMPANY PUBLISHERS CINCINNATI, U. S. A. Stewart Kidd Dramatic Publications The Truth About the Theater Anonymous $1.25 British and American Drama of Today Barrett H.Clark 2.50 European Theories of the Drama Barrett H. Clark 5.00 ContemporaryFrenchDramatists Barrett H. Clark 2.50 Four Plays of the Free Theater . . Barrett H. Clark 2.50 The Provincetown Plays Geo. Cram Cook & Frank Shay, Editors 2.50 The Two Cromwells Liddell DeLesseline 1.50 Plays and Players Walter Prichard Eaton 3.00 The Antigone of Sophocles Prof. Jos. Edward Harry 1.25 The Changing Drama Archibald Henderson 2.50 European Dramatists Archibald Henderson 3.00 George Bernard Shaw: His Life and Works Archibald Henderson 7.50 Short Plays Mary MacMillan 2.50 More Short Plays Mary MacMillan 2.50 The Gift Margaret Douglas Rogers 1.00 Comedies of Words and Other Plays Arthur Schnitzler, Translated by Pierre Loving 2.50 Fifty Contemporary One- Act Plays Compiled by Frank Shay & Pierre Loving 5.00 The Best Short Plays, 1920-1921 Edited by Frank Shay 2.50 Ten One- Act Comedies Edited by Frank Shay 2.50 Lucky Pehr August Strindberg 2.50 Translated by Veltna Swansion Howard Easter August Strindberg 2.50 Translated by Velma Swanston Howard The Hamlet Problem and its Solution EmersonV "enable 1.50 Portmanteau Plays Stuart Walker, net 2.50 More Portmanteau Plays Stuart Walker, net 2.50 Portmanteau Adaptations Stuart Walker, net 2.50 Three Plays Stark Young 1.35 "Madretta", "At the Shrine", "Addio". Stewart Kidd Modern Plays Edited by Frank Shay Mansions Hildegarde Flanner .50 The Shepherd in the Distance. .Holland Hudson .50 Hearts to Mend H. A. Overstreet .50 Sham Frank G. Tompkins .50 Six Who Pass While the Lentils Boil _ Stuart Walker .50 The Emperor Jones Eugene O'Neill .50 Sweet and Twenty Floyd Dell .50 Two Slatterns and a King More to follow Edna St. Vincent Millay .50 fiiiilliii 1 018 -478 360 5 Stewart Kidd Little Theatre Plays Edited by Grace Adams The Stewart Kidd Little Theatre Plays are designed to meet two definite demands. The first is that of the many Little Theatres for plays of actual dramatic distinction and of artistic impor- tance. The second is that of the general public for plays of true literary value. The Series is under the direct supervision of Miss Adams, who has selected and edited the plays to meet the particular requirements here instanced. The price of the plays has been made unusually low in the effort to bring them within the reach of everyone. Each play is issued in a form that is entirely practical for purposes of pro- duction. At the same time the books are artistic and attractive in appearance. They are by no means merely acting versions. Bound in art paper, each $oc. TITLES No. i. THE GHOST STORY by Booth Tarkington No. 2. SOUNDING BRASS by Edward Hale Bierstadt No. 3. A FAN AND TWO CANDLESTICKS by Mary MacMillan Others in preparation