Plays and players in modern Italy, being a study of the Italian stage as affected by the political and social life, manners, and character of to-day . only because, childhke, she has neverknown ill-usage or distrust. You could conceive yourselftaking any liberties with her, so long as they weretaken in honesty and good-will; but pass that ivoryfence and no tigress would scratch you so deeply on theother side. She is not really beautiful: her movementsare not always perfectly graceful, and she has dispro-portionately large hands ; but any minor imperfectionsare forgotten in that irresistible ch
Plays and players in modern Italy, being a study of the Italian stage as affected by the political and social life, manners, and character of to-day . only because, childhke, she has neverknown ill-usage or distrust. You could conceive yourselftaking any liberties with her, so long as they weretaken in honesty and good-will; but pass that ivoryfence and no tigress would scratch you so deeply on theother side. She is not really beautiful: her movementsare not always perfectly graceful, and she has dispro-portionately large hands ; but any minor imperfectionsare forgotten in that irresistible charm. Such is DinaGaUi. As to parts she plays, I wiU mention one, themost characteristic of her, Mademoiselle Josette. Were I under sentence of execution, and had I thechoice of how I should spend ray last evening, it shouldbe given up to a performance of this play, with DinaGaUi in the title part. Josette—for the benefit of those(few, I hope, in number) to whom the play is unknown-is a young lady of eighteen, who has a godfather of forty,whom she dearly loves, but also an English lover, oneJoey Jackson, whom she believes she loves more. Now,. ITALIAN PLAYERS 197 Joey is off on a tour round the world, and it appears that,for certain reasons connected with a will, Josette mustbe married before she is nineteen. She therefore comesto her godfather, who luckily is a bachelor, at someunheard-of hour of the night, and actually entreats, cajoles,compels that unfortunate to accept this astounding plan !—That he shall marry her just, and only just, to have amarriage; that after a time she shall be allowed todivorce him; and then when Joey returns from histwelve-months tour, she, now her own mistress, shallmarry him, with all her colours flying, and the godfathershall go back to bachelor life as he was practising itbefore Josette entered actively on the scene. Themarriage pour rire takes place. The strangely assortedcouple go away on their honeymoon. They are pursuedby the parents int
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Keywords: ., boo, bookcentury1900, booksubjectitaliandrama, booksubjecttheater
