The Morning herald., 1875-10-04
A FAMOUS DRAMArIsT.
clifton ". Taylesre.

Leader in which figures most prominent
= Mr.. Clifton W. Tayleur, native Of Mar
land and we'll known in Delaware as
= newspaper man and author.
The most lucrative branch of the literar
profession, after stock and finance report
ing for the New York dailies, is that {
=. play writing, with the provision, of course
that the play is a success. As it seldom is
however, the lucrative revenue is at pres
ent most of theoretical sort. But goo'
play is what the good people Of Americ'
need and what the dramatists have been OF
lookout for for years past. Irecollect on
offering your correspondent twenty thous
and dollars for a rival melo-drama to Les
ter Wallack's "Rosedale," it was Jack Sa'
vile that offered the bonus, and consider
ing that Jack was already $4,000 in deb'
and hadn't dollar, present or prospective
to bless himself with, it was very kind on
his part inded. The rival play is deferred
at present. ... ,'... '!.'
Some few have made money at it and
some fewer fame. Dion Boucicault is one
Of the ones who has combined both reputa-
tion and cash, and did it on a very small
stock Of literary ability at that. Eight
years ago Dion was an Indifferent actor
and doubtfully capable dramatist in power
ty and debt; atpresent he is famous and
wealthy. He has written during his brief
life over two hundred plays. His noto-
riety he has gained in about six of them,
and the greatest chunk of that notoriety on
the thinnest plagiarization-which is very
definite Greek for "play" in Dion's voca-
bulary-of the lot; "Led Astray," French
novel Of Octave Feuillet, which had grown
old and nusty for want of use, till Bouci-
cault rubbed the dust Of fifteen or twenty
years from its back, and metamoehosled it
by a few touches of his master hand into
one Of the most peculiarly thrilling and at
tractiye dramas on the stage.
The other evening l met Clifton W.
Tayleure, an American author in whom
we should feel much pride, recoliecting
that he is about the most prominent ma
tive-born in the ranks ofplaywrights. He
was in our city with Mrs. Chanfrau, and
her support under his management, his
dramas furnishing Mrs. Cllanfrau's repor-
toire and finding in her one ofthe liveliest
and most accomplished actresses on the
stage.
] don't know whether all eminent men
begin as journalists or not. In old times
they used to begin as errand-boys and pick
up pil 8, or save their masters daughter
from drowning, or lead blind beggars home
Of rainy days, and thus grow into public
favor as they grow in years, winding up a,
eminent merchants, bankers or publishers,
md going off with apoplectic fits when the
line came around for them to push damp
'louds against the sun and tune up their
larps to sing "Old Hundred" That was
good enough while it lasted, but now the
world has taken new departure and the
successful begin life around newspaper Of
ices. At least Tayleure did, as a reporter
m Baltimore Sheet at ten dollars per
week. He graduated up the editor and
orty, afterward published ''secesho
'aper during the war, the Transcript
which was silenced by General Scheuck
abbled seriously in the drama, worked his
ray step by step; taking success and fail.
ire like wise man takes the lean and fat
his bacon, for years, until at present he
olds very fair RINK, with youth and op.
ortunities sufficient to lift him MANY
radc higher in the graduate::scale of !
'hespis.
During the war the world went against
i'm and he was down on his luck seriously.
1t that time the Baltimore Sun was pub.
shing weekly edition, and in its reprint ::
'g Mrs. Henry Woods story, "East
'ynne." On Saturday night Tayleure's
life, called his attention to it as being a
cry dramatic novel, and catching at an
lea that presented itself to him he hunted
p the back numbers and began dramati.
alton. He finished what satisfied him as I
telling play, with a vividly impressive
lot before the middle Of next week, and ,,
ent it in its rough, partly polished shane
Ford, of Fords Opera House, in the c
Monumental City. He heard nothing c
lore until the following Saturday when
e saw it billed for the following week
18th Lucille Western as the principal char v
rtcr II WAC .,loyaI had ,