THE CORNERSTONES OF MODERN DRAMA. 1 



BY HENRY ARTHUR JONES 



[Henry Arthur Jones, dramatic author, b. Grandbor rough, England, in 1851; 

 produced his first play, A Clerical Error, in London, in 1879; made a great 

 hit in 1882 with his melodrama, A Silver King, which was written in col- 

 laboration with H. Herman, and had a long run both in London and New 

 York. This play was followed by many other successes, noted for cleverness 

 of dialogue and stagecraft, and which were mostly comedies and dramas 

 reflecting various social phases of modern life. His plays include The 

 Middleman, Judah, The Dancing Girl, The Tempter, The Crusaders, The 

 Hasqueraders, The Physician, The Case of Rebellious Susan, Saints and 

 Sinners, The Triumph of the Philistines, The Rogue's Comedy, The Liars, 

 The Manoevres of Jane, Mrs. Dane's Defence, and The Evangelist. He has 

 delivered lectures on the Drama both in England and the United States. 

 Author of The Renascence of the English Drama.] 



Let the first words I speak be those which shall most frankly and 

 heartily own my great debt of gratitude to American playgoers. If 

 to-day I am free from pressing, sordid cares, it is largely due to the 

 continued favor which your nation has shown to my plays. For 

 nearly a quarter of a century my work has been seen in all your 

 leading cities, and every year has been a year of welcome and en- 

 couragement on your part, and every year has been a year of renewed 

 and increasing indebtedness on mine. A few weeks ago America re- 

 ceived my last play with an unparalleled generosity of enthusiasm. 

 Such a welcome as was then given me I can never forget. But it 

 leaves me still more hopelessly in your debt. I cannot pay. Let me, 

 then, simply own my insolvency, and offer to you and through you 

 to the great body of American playgoers, my most inadequate, but 

 most deeply felt, most lasting, most sincere gratitude. 



A friend of mine in England pardons himself any lapses from 

 general truthfulness by affirming as a splendid compensation, " I 

 never tell lies about art." I believe that a clear vision and a high 

 sense of rectitude in all the arts would develop a new sense of na- 

 tional beauty and national dignity both in America and in England, 

 and would also be a valuable lever to both nations in matters of con- 

 duct and character. I am persuaded that this clear vision, this right- 

 thinking and right-doing in the popular art of drama, would have a 

 wide, compulsive influence on national manners and behavior. There- 

 fore, I hope you will allow me to adopt my friend's motto and to say, 



*A lecture originally delivered in Sanders' Theatre, Harvard University, and 

 presented here to supplement the lectures originally prepared for the Interna- 

 tional Congress of Arts and Science. 



