The Bet

Examiner of Plays' Summary:

A quite charming little play, well-written and sympathetic throughout, and ending on a note of delightful humour. Except for the first few pages of English it is entirely in French and has Madame Rejane in person for the chief character. I gather that she is coming over to play it herself. In a chateau near La Bassee some English officers are assembled on Christmas Eve. A young Lieutenant Pendleton, has re-joined after having a wound cured in a hospital visited by Madame Rejane. She promised him to cheer up their Christmas Eve by dining with them, the chateau being out of danger. They have a bet about her coming but come she does, having got through by hiding herself in an enormous bunch of mistletoe. All is gay when suddenly an order comes to retire at once: the officers are alone with a few men and the Germans have planned to surround them. It is a matter of moments, but Rejane refuses to go; they must obey orders and she will hamper them; she will be quite safe. They go, Pendletone (in love with her) protesting. (Their going without her is necessary for the play and one can assume the military necessity: everything, of course, is complementary to ourselves). Rejane decides to personate the mistress of the chateau. Enter a German officer: ruses of Rejane to explain cigar ends, plum pudding and so forth: noise in next room, terror of Rejane that Pendleton has stayed behind, discovery that it is only a cat; and so on, all very pretty and the German officer (for once) quite polite. Then, just as he is going, satisfied that no one is there discovery of her bag with REJANE on it! All is lost, thinks she; she will be carried off as a hostage; but the German officer has never heard of her! Mingled relief and annoyance of Rejane - 'on n'avait bien dit qui'ils n'avaient aucune culture' - who says it is her pet name and so he goes. The military part of this little comedy may be nonsense, but I think there is no harm in that. The humour is good. The fact that Madame Rejane is to play herself removes any objection, I presume, to presenting a living person. Recommended for license. G. S. Street.