Hasty Pudding Play.

After four performances of "Proserpina" given in New York during the spring recess, there will be three performances given in Boston at Copley Hall, and three more at the club house in Cambridge. The Boston performances will take place on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday, April 22, 23 and 24 at 8.30, the Cambridge performances at the same hour on Thursday, Friday and Saturday, April 25, 26 and 27.

The play is in two acts. Scene I opens in Arcadia with a chorus of men and maidens singing a bridal song, Proserpina enters and soon after her comes Ceres who tries to persuade Proserpina to marry Exemplicus, the model young man. Proserpina hates him but is finally persuaded and they go off to make arrangements for the wedding. In the meantime Pluto and Venus enter. Venus tells Pluto that Proserpina whom he loves is engaged to Exemplicus. They arrange, however, that Cupid shall wound Proserpina with a dart, and thus cause her to fall in love with the first man she sees. To make sure that Pluto shall be the man, it is decided that he shall put on his invisible cloak, follow Cupid until the shot is fired, then throw off his invisible cloak and declare his love to the helpless Proserpina.

When Proserpina comes on the stage, Cupid wounds her with his dart, Pluto at once declares his love, and as he expected finds it requited. Ceres, Exemplicus and the chorus then come in, all ready for the wedding of Proserpina and Exemplicus. Proserpina tells her mother that she has just captured a prince whereupon Ceres, overjoyed, deserts the cause of Exemplicus and consents that the marriage shall take place at once in Pluto's kingdom of Hades.

But since only sinners can enter Hades, the Arcadians, none of whom have ever committed a sin, are debarred from companying the bridal party on the journey. Then it is suggested that, as stealing is a crime, each man should steal a kiss from each maid. This, Pluto points out, would admit the men to Hades, but the maids would still be debarred. Ceres overcomes the difficulty by suggesting that the maids take back their kisses, thereby receiving stolen goods, which of course is a sin. Exemplicus is now the only person left on earth; he declares that he will revenge himself by going to Hades as a missionary.

The scene of the second act is laid in Pluto hotel in Hades, where preparations are being made for the wedding of Pluto and Proserpina. Just as the wedding is about to take place, in comes Exemplicus. He says that he has obtained admission because on earth he was not really good, but only a professional hypocrite. He declares, therefore, that Proserpina, not loving him, had committed no sin, and must go at once back to earth. Everybody is in despair, when Venus enters. To her Pluto tells his troubles. She at once clears up the difficulty by suggesting that they all go back to earth again, which they do, and the play ends.