Tonight, the DuPont Company brings you the Justice and the Ladies, starring Basil Rathbun and Dorothy Gish on the Cavalcade of America. But first, here's Bill Hamilton of the DuPont Company. Good evening. For all kinds of outdoor sports this winter season, the swing is to sportswear made of fabrics treated with DuPont Z-Lan Durable Water Repellent. Garments treated with Z-Lan continue to give dependable weather protection even after many washings or cleanings. So be sure to look for the Z-Lan tag when you buy sportswear for yourself or for your children. Z-Lan, spelled Z-E-L-A-N, is one of the DuPont Company's better things for better living through chemistry. Now the Justice and the Ladies, starring Dorothy Gish as Fanny Dixwell Holmes and Basil Rathbun as Oliver Wendell Holmes on the Cavalcade of America. If, at the turn of the century, you'd come into the dark oak-paneled hallway of a brownstone house at 296 Beacon Street, Boston, you'd meet first... The crown's our forget-all! Yes, that's Augustus, the minor bird. And then in the library, close to the hearthstone, that's Ming, the Siamese. He glides noiselessly into the conservatory as the maid opens the door. Get along, you old reprobate. You know you're not to come in here with a bird. Now up the long stairway to the second floor, two more members of the family part sedately on a newel post as Howe and Hummel, the tame squirrels. And up in the master bedroom, pacing tensely back and forth across the white fur rugs, the place for a man complete in all his powers is in the fight. Ah, now let's see. We cannot stop to amuse or to terrify ourselves with dreams. Yeah, good, I like that. Now at least, and perhaps as long as men dwell in this land, their destiny is to safeguard the ideals of liberty and to... Fanny, where's my collar button? In your collar, dear. I thought it was too, but... It popped out, too much bivation from your...appon's apple. Really? Really, Fanny? It seems to me I wasn't giving it enough drive, hm? Keep it gentle, darling. Persuasive. Imagine you're making love to a woman. In a speech to the Massachusetts Bar Association? You know, Wendell, with every woman in Boston sighing after you, I really don't see why you waste your looks on a room full of stuffy lawyers. Oh, nonsense. Typical female logic. An old house, having weathered many storms, may look stern and forbidding from the outside. But if it's been occupied by warm and witty people, its interior will smile. For in this old house lives the Chief Justice of the Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts, Oliver Wendell Holmes and his lady. Fanny, have I no collar buttons at all? That's odd. I was sure I put some stairs in this chaffinere. Those squirrels of yours, they've been in here snooping again, looking for nest eggs. My squirrels have more sense than to put a collar button in the nest. Think how uncomfortable it would be. Oh, what am I to do? I can't have my collar popping out every time I clear my throat. There you are, see? All right, here. Here, will this do? It's a stud from my collar. Let me try it. All right. Oh, look, Fanny, look out. Be careful. Hold still, will you? There. What will you do? Oh, I don't need it. Debbie Raymond is coming to spend the evening with me, and when we girls begin talking, I like plenty of room for my vocal cord. There, now, is that going to do? Oh, I suppose so. Now, where was I? Oh, you'd reach the part about man's destiny being limited. Right, now, let's see. The flag has got a bit of bunting to one who insists on prose, yet its red is our life's blood. Willow, it's a fire. Where? Well, it must be close by. They're slowing down. Well, yes, I can see the lights in the sky. Fanny, come on, come on. Oliver Wendell Holmes, you're not stepping out of this house without your tie. Oh, the devil with it. They'll wait for us. They always do. But Fanny, Fanny, but... Never mind. Stand still. Don't still. Oh, no, Fanny, I've never seen a woman quite so deliberate in tying a tie. It's a white one. It takes longer. Well, they won't wait for us this time. There, now, that's a passable bow. All right. Now, get your hat while I find my bonnet. Here it is. Come on. Yes, good. Right. Oh, it's that old ice saw on the corner. Oh, it's much closer. The engines had a sort of intimate sound as if they were about to pay a call. Why? Why, it's the Wiggleswood. What? Why don't think so? Oh, come on. Personally, I hope it's one of your old flames. Oh, no, no, no, Fanny. Not puns at a time like this. I promise. Oh, are you tired? Certainly not. You... Look at it. 60-year-old fogies. How many people of 30 could keep up with it? Smug. I'm not. I'm just happy. Wendell, wait. We forgot to bring your speech. Well, I... I'm not going back for it now. Can you remember it? Certainly. Where was I? The flag's red is our life's blood. Right, Fanny, right. It stars our world. It's blue our heaven. We must fix our eyes upon the ideal it represents and get there if we can. You've never spoken a truer word in all your life. Get there if we can. Hello, Fanny. I'm sorry I'm so late. Debbie, come in. Here, take off your things and we'll go into the library. All right. Wendell's gone to make a speech. Your crown's gone crooked. Your crown's gone crooked. You've got to get to the speech. What's that he's saying? I taught him the old joke about Caesar and his triumphal entry into Rome. Don't you remember? Little Urchin at the edges of the crowd kept calling, Your crown's gone crooked. Your crown's gone crooked. I'm trying to think you're the Urchin here, Fanny. Perhaps. Now come and sit here by the fire. Oh, you can't guess what happened tonight. Well, you're positively bubbling over. What is it? I'm so excited. Tom Wadley from New York. He... Oh, Fanny, can you imagine being proposed to by telegrams? Debbie, you don't mean it. Oh, isn't it wonderful? Oh, you're going to be very happy. I know you are. If our marriage is even a spirit as happy as yours, Fanny, I'll be satisfied. You know, there's something so romantic about you two. As if you were on a perpetual honeymoon. Funny. That's what Wendell says. Well, isn't it true? Debbie, when we lived in this house with Wendell's father, I was rarely only a guest. Now that it is my home, I'm happy to be with you. Now that it is my home and my brilliant Wendell is making a name for himself, I... I realize it's too late. I've grown old, Debbie. I'm dreadfully afraid of people. I'm... I'm eccentric. Out of style. Oh, that's utter nonsense. Suppose you do wear bonnet to stiff collars. Would you for style or your own? And you're not old either of you. You're probably the two most constructive spirits in Boston. Well, Wendell is at any rate. You must stop underestimating yourself. My dear, nothing can destroy one's sense of importance quite so thoroughly. As years of tagging along after a handsome and such a great man. Fanny! Fanny, where are you? Here we are, Wendell, in the library. Oh, good evening, Debbie. Good evening, sir. Fanny, my dear, you better start packing bird cages right away. Packing? Why? We're going to Washington. Oh, not permanently. Huh. At justice if the Supreme Court of the United States is in it for life, I hear. Wendell, no! Fanny, yes. Lodge told me tonight the President has finally made up his mind. But, uh, it's you who'll decide, Fanny. Of course you'll accept. You couldn't do anything else. Ah. Ah, thank you, Fanny. Well, it's what you were saying in your speech tonight. The place for a man complete in all his powers is in the fight. That's what you've been preparing for, building to all your life. Thank you, Fanny dear, thank you. You've said just what I wanted to know. See, Fanny? Oh, my goodness, Wendell. They have a great deal of social life, don't they? You'll have ambassadors kissing your hand. We'll be dining with statesmen, wearing tails, white satin. Oh dear, I know, I know. Jackie Holmes, you're deliberately trying to frighten her out of her wits. No, no, I'm not. I'm merely trying to make her face reality. Oh, Wendell, how can I go? Why, why I look like an abandoned farm in Maine. I'm sure it's a shambles, this house. Oh, calm yourself, Mary. I'd like to know what you've been doing with yourself, Jim Doherty, for six mortal days while the missus and I was getting to Washington. We'll have it all straightened to shape. Ah, to shape. Never mind, Mary. I know the house looks dreadful. But we have plenty of time. I'm told in the South they have more hours in a day. Twenty-six, I think it is. I would like some cooperation to get in these books so I can reach them from the desk. All right, I'll... Well, excuse me for asking, mum, but what I'd like to know is why haven't we any coal? It's coals in Kelsey's bald head in the blizzard. Jim? Yes, mum? Is there really such a coal shortage? Didn't you tell the company it was for Judge Holmes? I went to three companies, ma'am, and they all just shook their heads. Couldn't get it here today. At the last one they says, they says, Who the devil is Oliver Wendell Holmes? They did. Did you hear that, Wendell? What's so old-fashioned about it? After sixty years, Wendell, we have achieved a life where your father's name is of no value, except as you make it so. Oh, no. Not company. Not so soon. I'll go, Mrs. Well, we've got to get this room in order. Jim, Wendell, please, can't you at least help me stack these books up and eat them? Everyone's aware that moving's a messy business, Fanny. What shall we do? It's so cold up here. We'll suggest very politely that they keep the top coats on. Mrs. is a young man. Says his name is Mr. Charles Poe. Said he's expected. Who on earth is that, Wendell? My new secretary, law student. Going to be very valuable, very valuable. Well, I hope he has the talent for wangling coal. Send him up, Mary. Oh, yes, Mrs. Wendell, as secretary of a school. Yes, very ingenious plan. I hope to have a new secretary every year, fresh from the graduating class. He'll have the benefit of working near the highest court in the land, and I'll have someone with a modicum of intelligence. And I'll have someone to take me shopping. I think it's a delightful idea. Mr. Poe's a... Well, young fella, come in and make yourself at home. This is Mrs. Holmes, the real justice in the family. You'll find that he feels more comfortable when he's flattering me. How do you do, Mr. Poe? Mrs. Holmes, it's wonderful to be here. Good evening, sir. Good evening, good evening. I hope you don't freeze to death. There was a messenger at your door just as I arrived, sir. I took the liberty of bringing this in. It's a letter from the White House. Should I have done that? My boy, if we would be worthy of the past, we must find new fields for action and make ourselves new careers. Quote, O.W. Holmes. Here it is, sir. Oh, thank you. Wendell, Wendell, we've got a son. Do you mind being adopted, Mr. Poe? Not if you'll call me Charles. Fanny, Fanny, we're invited to dinner at the White House. Oh, formal. The White House? Tails in white satin, Wendell? I'm afraid so. Let me see. President, Mrs. Theodore Roosevelt, take pleasure, et cetera, et cetera. Not this Friday night. Not so soon. I suppose you haven't got a thing to wear. You're so right. Well, then, look here. Let's enlist our lad here to help you shop, eh? Greetings, honey. Greetings, sir. Dear, can't I think of some other excuse? No, Fanny, you cannot. And whose crown is uncrooked now? This is the Justice and Mrs. Oliver Wendell Ho. I can't. I can't go through with it. Oh, yes, you can, Fanny. You're wearing my violet. You can't lose. Besides, Theodore Roosevelt has no ogre. Here he comes now. Our guest, Silvana, delighted. Mr. President, may I present my wife, Mrs. Holmes. Delighted, madam. Thank you, sir. Oh, Mr. Roosevelt, are there any ambassadors here tonight? No, we decided to let foreign affairs just go hang for the evening. Why? Well, my husband told me when we came to Washington I'd have ambassadors kissing my hands. It isn't exactly an old Boston custom, you know, and I am a bit frightened. Calm your fears, madam. Tonight you go into dinner with a mere president who asks only that you take his arm. Mr. Roosevelt, your wish is my command. Now, if the Justice will say the same thing to me when he's on the bench, everything will be just bullier. He won't unless he believes in your point of view, Mr. President. For example, she's been trying to talk me into eating passives for years. You don't believe in them? As we say down east, Mr. President, don't hold with them. I see, I see. Tell me, Mrs. Holmes, have you seen much of Washington since you arrived? Mrs. Holmes has been rather busy getting us settled in our house. Ah, then some of our Washington people have called on you, I dare say. Oh, yes. I've met quite a number of congressmen's wives. You found the ladies' presence? Mr. President, Washington is full of famous men and the women they married when they were young. Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha. I see. That's the best one I've heard in years, Mrs. Holmes. Good night, sir. Oh, these affairs are always dull unless one finds the kindred spirit. May I choose you? You're the President. How can I refuse? I say, aren't we having a good time? Ha ha ha, aren't we, though? You are listening to The Justice and the Lady, starring Dorothy Gish as Fanny Dixwell Holmes and Basil Rathbun as Oliver Wendell Holmes on the Cabocad of America, sponsored by the DuPont Company, maker of better things for better living through chemistry. In Washington, on the Supreme Court, Mr. Justice Holmes began cutting his impressions deep into the pattern of American life by his penetrating and brilliant dissenting opinions. While Fanny continued quietly to make his home his castle, and each year to adopt a new young son, another new secretary down from Harvard. Well, the Justice and his Lady were growing older. I do wish you'd hurry, Wendell. You oughtn't to race about at the last minute doing things to your blood pressure. Oh, nonsense. I feel fit, plenty-worn, and ready to go. Of course you do, dear. You have a very pleasant evening in Prospect. Oh, I don't know. Rather expected to be disappointing. Well, let's see. Who was it said, the man who believes his fooling others merely is fooling himself? Oliver Wendell Holmes? Uh-uh. His cliches aren't quite so monumental. Oh, it must be very exasperating to know that the older you grow, the handsomer you become. Oh, ho, ho, ho, ho. That sheer ball-faced flattery. Well, what do you expect? Going calling on your old sweetheart? I want you to think of me at least once during the evening. I, uh, I understand she's still very beautiful. Oh, I don't know, Fanny. As a matter of fact, I... She looked like an older... Careful. All right, you win, as always. Well, good luck, Fanny, dear. Don't wait up. By that antique lock and bar, there must be something that I can... Yes, I... I think I know. Stanley? Oh, Stanley? Oh, here I am, Mrs. Holmes. It's Fanny. Good. Good. I want your opinion on a very vital question. Was there something wrong? No, but when a handsome old gentleman leaves his poor, faithful wife at home while he goes calling on an ancient sweetheart, well, he... he deserves reprisals, don't you think? Well, yes, I suppose so. Oh, where's the opinion the judge takes to court tomorrow? Here it is. My, it... it looks so beautifully neat. Let's see. When men have realized that time has upset many fighting states... Uh, is there a blotter anywhere? Why, yes, but... Good. It has a nice big blot of ink on it. Let's just cut the ink spot out of the blotter, place it on the first page in a likely spot so the judge will think the ink was really spilled on it. You'll be furious. Here we are. Let's see. The truth is the only ground upon which man's wishes safely can be carried out. Hm. Those are important words, Stanley. I know. And you feel we shouldn't tamper with them even by playing a harmless trick? I'm afraid I do, Mrs. Holmes. I'm glad you do. Because you're young and you'll live to see his words at work. If it's sometimes it seems to you that I'm disrespectful, well, it's only because a great man must always have an urchin at the end of his triumph to tell him his crown is uncooked. ["The Star-Spangled Banner"] ["The Star-Spangled Banner"] Irving, always. What's the matter? Are you embarrassed to be seen out driving with an old lady in a wonderful one-horse shay? Why, no, Mrs. Holmes, of course not. Most young men in your set wouldn't be caught riding in anything less elegant than a bear-cats' set. Well, I, uh... If you could see the look on your face. I'm sorry. I suppose I can't help being old-fashioned. And frankly, I'm terrified of motor cars. Irving, do people laugh at me for clinging to my bonnets and my buggies? Tell me, I won't mind. Why, I really don't think people would dare laugh. Oh dear, is it that bad? I mean, the judge, he's... Well, you're both very impressive people, Mrs. Holmes. You don't realize how famous you are. Nonsense. I'll wager you the next man we see along the road has never heard of my husband. That's the best. There. There's a man just about to fix his tire. Shall we ask him? He'll be ill-tempered. He's been betrayed by the machine age. But that makes it all the better. Oh, sir. Sir, would you mind answering a question for me? What was that? I just wanted to ask if you'd ever heard of anyone named Oliver Wendell Holmes. Huh, Oliver? Oh, oh, Oliver Wendell Holmes, sure. He's that new young judge that got on the Supreme Court. Thank you. Thank you very much, sir. Irving, let's go back to town and get your car right away. Why, Mrs. Holmes? I don't understand. Well, if people think Wendell's a new young judge, I'm going to learn to drive a soft spare cat. Good morning, Mrs. Holmes. Well, good morning, Shelton. Hasn't the judge been down to breakfast yet? No, no, ma'am, I haven't seen him. And I guess you haven't seen the Times yet, have you? No. Oh, wait a minute. I've got it right here. Here we are. They've reprinted the speech he made yesterday. Now listen, I do not lose hope. I think it's probable that civilization somehow will last as long as I care to look ahead, bred to greatness and splendor by science, that man may have cosmic destinies he does not understand. And so, beyond the vision of battling races and an impoverished earth, I catch a dreaming glimpse of peace. Oh, gosh. I take it you wish to join my admiration for the Judge Society. Oh, Mrs. Holmes, do you know how lucky you are just to be near a great genius all your life? Gathering crumbs from the table. Yes, I know how lucky I am. Oh, no, no, no. He depends on you, too. Don't think he doesn't. No, I'm the court gesture, that's all. You'll find it out after you've been here a while. Well, I don't understand. Oh, I'm sorry. I probably shouldn't have said it that way. But sometimes it's a bitter fact for a woman to face that the great man in her life would be just as great without her. The Judge would speak his great speeches just the same if I weren't here. He would make his decisions in court, be just as well liked, and he might even be almost as happy. Oh, no. Oh, you'll notice I said almost as happy. Fanny, where in carnation is my 1915 yearbook? I'll find it, Wendell. Just hold your horses. You see, I have some egotism. I know he needs me for the little things. So I told Brandeis he was merely suffering from the pessimism of youth. Yes, a young whippersnapper like Judge Brandeis, only 64. Aren't you going to say anything? I mean, a happy birthday or something of the sort? Oh, I'm really ashamed, you, Wendell. The cook is ill. We can't celebrate at home tonight. I'm just terribly disappointed. You mean we got to go out for dinner? Don't bother to change, dear. We'll go someplace quiet and come home early. Eighty years. Oh, well. I guess it's time to begin thinking about coming home early. I'm all ready any time you are. All right, give a man time to smoke a cigar, at least, with you. Fanny. Fanny, where the devil are my cigars? I'm sure I don't know, dear. Have you looked downstairs? I have not. I can swear I left me in the door up here. Well, come on. Let's go down and look. Oh, I don't know why we can't have tobacco kept in the room where I usually smoke. Seems such a little thing to ask. Man, my age concentrates all day long. He likes to come home and find things in place, especially when he can't even have a sip of champagne on his 80th birthday and has to go out for dinner. Oh, well, forgive me, Fanny. I completely forgot to give you these. Wendell. Violent. After all, I'm not the only one that's 80 around here. Must you remind me? Oh, what a year. Man comes home on his birthday, can't even find his cigars. Try the dining room, why don't you? Well, what are they doing in there? I didn't leave them there. Oh, well. Psh. Black son of Satan. Doesn't have to be so dark in here. Can't we have a little light? Where is this switch, Fanny? Ghosts? Happy birthday, man. What the devil are you doing here, fiddle? Ha ha! Hail, Kirk, you rascal! Harrison, what the... Aunt Irving, old poor well-hider. Who's racing? I say, wait a minute. Have any of you seen any hair in my scarves? We came up through the cellar. This has almost made us hide in the cold bed. Yes, sir, nearly an hour. Oh, Fanny, Fanny, come here this minute. You old grouch, what's the matter now? We managed to get all our sons together at one time. A new fangled mind has been patched and called the telephone. Cook's not down with something. I mean, we're all going to dine together at home. Cook's never been healthier in her life. And here's champagne. Come on, boys, throw us this chalice. We'll have a drink, shall we? Pour the wine, Fanny. Mary, join us in a toast to the jury. It's all right, Mom. Didn't you suspect anything when you came home? Oh, well, come to think of it, you know, that... that she-devil did act pretty suspicious. I've been acting like a suspicious character all my life. But of course you've been too busy to realize. No, Fanny, nonsense. I've had my eye on you for some time ago. A glass, Mrs. One for you, sir. Thank you, Mary. Happy birthday, Mr. Jocelyn. Yes, it is a happy one, Madam, it is. Now I... I'd like to have you all join me in a toast. To you, Wendell. No, my dear. No, no, not this time. Gentlemen, to the lady without whom I should never have survived for 80, nor 60, nor yet 30 years. Her smile has been my lyric, her understanding the rhythm of the stanza. She's been the spring wherefrom I have drawn the power to write the words. She is the poem of my life. Gentlemen, to the lady who wears the crown. Oh, thank you, Wendell. And Wendell, it is on straight. Very straight. Thank you, Basil Rafferty and Dorothy Gitch. Now, here's Bill Hamilton of the DuPont Company. Now and then you see automobiles on the road that are real old timers, 20, even 25 years old. They must have been pretty good cars when they were built, or they wouldn't still be running. But compared with a 1948 car, their motors were cumbersome and inefficient, and they used to knock like a shoemaker's hammer when they climbed a bad hill. It was tetraethyl lead, a product of chemical science that helped to solve the problem of knocking. Shortly after the First World War, Kettering, Midgley, and Boyd of General Motors decided to try to find out what made engines knock. Working with a small Delco farm lighting motor and homemade instruments, they blended one chemical after another with the fuel. Several showed promise. In 1923, the DuPont Company manufactured its first commercial quantities of the best compound, tetraethyl lead. Tetraethyl lead is a chemical compound made from lead, salt, and petroleum or molasses. Added in small amounts to gasoline, it makes the fuel burn more smoothly, deliver an even thrust of power without knocking to the crankshaft of an engine. It is largely because of tetraethyl lead that we have premium or high-quality gasoline, and cars that get away to a quick start in traffic, climb hills without knocking, and travel more miles on a gallon of fuel. Automobiles have come a long way since the chugging, horseless carriage, and gasoline has come a long way since father in his linen duster and goggles grew it from a tank in the backyard and strained the water and dirt out of it with a shamy skin or a piece of cheesecloth. Two special tetraethyl lead compositions, DuPont Motor Mix and DuPont Aviation Mix, are now supplied by the DuPont Company to gasoline refiners. They reach you in the premium and high-quality gasoline you buy as hidden values, put there by chemical science, and are among DuPont's better things for better living through chemistry. Thank you. On behalf of Mr. Aspen and our cast, good night. ["The Star-Spangled Banner"] Next week, Cavalcade presents the celebrated star of stage and screen, Thomas Mitchell, in a suspenseful radio play, The Conscience of Black Dantels. And in weeks to follow, our Cavalcade microphones will bring you the popular Hollywood stars, Joel McCrae and Robert Taylor. ["The Star-Spangled Banner"] Tonight's DuPont Cavalcade was written by Virginia Radcliffe. Certain scenes were suggested by material in Catherine Drinker Bowen's biography, Yankee from Olympus, published by Atlantic Little Brown. Featured in tonight's play with Basil Raspun and Dorothy Gish were Lon Clark as Theodore Roosevelt, Lyle Sudrow as Stanley Clark, and Jack Lloyd as Charles Poe. Music was composed by Arden Cornwell and conducted by Donald Bryan. This is Ted Pearson inviting you to listen next week to The Conscience of Black Dantels, starring Thomas Mitchell on the Cavalcade of America, brought to you by the DuPont Company of Wilmington Delafont. This is NBC, the national broadcasting company.
