The Cheyenne daily leader. [volume] (Cheyenne, Wyo.) 1870-1884, 1882-03-19
TWAIEs LATEST oDDITY.
He IndulEes IL a New Version of Enmle

Access has been had to the advanced
sheets of Mark Twain's new play. which
will be brought out in New York some
time during the coming winter. 1t is
not exactly a new play, but rather a re-
vision of Hamlet. According to Iwain's
idea Hamlet as it came from the pen OF
Shakespeare was incomplete. Twain
assumes that a man of Hamlet's melan-
oholy and eccentric temperament must
of necessity had a younger brother in
the family of a more sprightly and sun
ny disposition. Twain sustains his
theory in the following ingenious argu-
ments
We find in the history of England and parts
i hsIIe etter FROM The King of pen 4 .rs to oo Tom
Sayers, an old friend of his:
ToN:-Those hair-stuffei boxing gloves
and foils came by the Mark LHnc Express
Mark Lane who ran the express company was
a distant uncle OF the author-M. IL In good
order, 90. ID. Hamlet, my eldest son, being
very little stock in the gloves, ms n b uw on the
nose only serves to incre Use hl. melInchoy y.
thus | have given ye gloves To Billy. M set-
ond-born, who IL as iiye'y as Il cricket on his
pins and n jovisl la1 wIthal. who takes kin !y
10 yp mlnly sport of boxing. Yc- crfny e
thumpcd bis teacher most soundiy on Y Jusl',
for which | rewarded him by gtN Ing rIm a ) +
ver-innunted wassail-. owl, III cd TO the up,e--
hfb'a abi HA'h kpHA MT II ~ ~
your match with Crab let me know, guI ccud
Acouplc OF tickets for seats pretty clnsu to The
ropes. II you want bGckinr, the whole OK
chequcr OF Denmark and the sub-:rra ury
%cLAUDIUs.
King II nm'rk.
From this historical scrap MIR. Gle
mems proceeds to reconstruct the play.
holding with no little show Of reason
that Shakespeare had no license, poeti-
80 -, ,,I,Y,.;-, g.. ..,.o II,.,1. -.
inence not accorded TO his Younger
brother. Twain continue:
OH T .etters from the Kirp to Slye.a, naw in
my pos session, being ktndiy loans by The
British Museum, go 10 SHOW that Snak pear,
had a grldse against BitlY, th- yaHinger broth
err. because when Shakespeare Wis tc ihe pHlape
nf C%laudius, BILLY put an Oil oRnl.C-suuIcr in
Shaksperre's boot. II fro,icsotpo pro- cdin.
which so inccnscd ths BARI tiai hc nffer Tor
gave the Young rascal. Persons WIZ have bad
candlc-snufrer placed In their bOula can readi
ly appreciate the motives which governed the
poet in making no reference to Billy In the
plaT except where he appears To him
Like a miidewed ear
Blasting mis- wholesome bro her"
The events at Eisnore happeue ! AL have
written them. Shakespeare tianspo ci and dis
torted the facts and I cHnno conscicntiously
allow these gross historical mistlkrs to pass
uncorrccted.
THE PLAY.
In his revised version Twain takes
liberties with the original text. which
strongly remind one of Boucicault adap-
ting a French drama for the American
stage.
In the first act where Bernardo and
Francisco indulge in n colloquy ON the
platform along With Marcellus and
Horatio, William IN in and sets up
the refreshments for the guards out of
a little black bottle, but refuses the two
latter to have a second pull at the flask
after they begin to talk of the appari-
ton. on the grounds that he does not
care to encourage so pronounced a case
of deiirium trenienS.
The guards then leave William to
himself and after they have disappeared
he burst into an immoderate fit of
laughter. He then slips away, and in a
side scene is represented dressing him
self up in his fathers armor and COW
ering himself with some mosquito net
ting, making up a ghost. As soon as
his arrangements are'complete he stalks
in and frightens the wits out of Bernar-
do and Horatio, making several tours
out in the side scenes, where he goes to
hide his merriment at the success of his
trick.
When Horatio is telling Hamlet of the
apparition. William listens with his
mouth wide open, apparently transiixed
with fear, but after they are gone he
turns to Hamlet with:
Hamlet, do yoa swallow all this7 Don't you
know all these fellows are as crazy ms bed bugs7
Do you s'pose the old man would walk around
this castle with his armor on7 What in tho
deuce does a ghost want OF armori Besides, a
ghost amt capable of packin' armor round.
Why, in the last few years before dad died, he
wasn't hardly ablo to wRddle about in that one
hundred ard ten pound suit. Don't you know,
when he came in from that last dress parade ne
said he'd be switched II he'd ever put tho cid
brass toys on again7 Pshaw, old boy, have
some sense.
An Ohio teacher recommends h use
of an almanac, which contains chrome
loginal memoranda, as the best method
for in~structing children. The teacher
explains the meaning of the references,
and requires the pupil to bring to the
recitation all the facts within his reach.
For instance: "Nov. 10, 1894, jays trea-
ty with Great Britain sioncd.n This sub-