Charlotte messenger. [volume] (Charlotte, Mecklenburg Co., N.C.) 1882-18??, 1883-04-14
"GNaE. SWEET RONE.e


Some Seveaty-sigAt years ago Mas
terJOAn II, Payne was considered a 1t,
erary prodigy ly men of letters in tl,is
city, sAyS tbs New York san. He was
bcr@, ae VrSlINg to the AZ c SOntS regard.
al Us most tr0Stwe rtAy. in an old
faSAIOASd twO-StSEy house, with
peaked roof and ar2hed doorway. at
s. &(e,d RNNberl Broad street, near
RaFl, New YORK. His father was
Wl.lam Payne, the son Of one OF three
brothers who came to E&Sthampton,
Mass, from ROrtSMoath, England
abJlSt forty years after the arrival of
the \ aytl0wVr, William PSyne's Sec
en- wife he mother OF John Howard,
was>arah lssGaes, the daughter Of ana,
tVeat Hamburg, Germany, who came
to Ia th9Mpt0N, Long Island. before
the sevUlNt, ONary war, Joan Howard
was the sixth Of riae children. The
greater 3 art Of his carly b0yAocd was
SgtDt at ESStAaMpt0n, Long Island.
Mhlle ytt a boy he went to live in Bos-
ton. Ills f9tAer was a Sch0Olteacher.
and the boy 5l5SplAved unusual talent
sor e.lsmatloN and a strong liking for
lr2m sole TeOSslng, About the year
l>0l his Wn L., William Osborn PAYNE.
whl was in business in this city, diel,
agd John gl0war,a was sent TO take a
e,er&>AIp in the store Mh leth0s en-
gasel 6e publ Sled a little weekly
p&l sf, the EAeQSsR 1fSFsoG, in which
b. WrOtg, under the name OF "Criti-
Gus articles whleh attracted the at
teati NOT literary men, Their interest
In hlus Aees IN SO deep that they found
u ans 10 send him To Union cOlltgA
lU his VA 0,Ct0ry in tAea'ss plsa Si,F
non he wr0'e that the StOOy OF law
would be tho gal Of his future ex-
eTtlo0S,~ The ValeSsicsogy was signed
John II, Payne He did NJ tremain in
coll sc till the end Of tn course; but,
having Glsa ned the consent
Of his father 10 aNpsar on
the stage, no made his debut as Young
NOryal a. the OH Park theatre in this
city On Fehgs&Fy "A, 1909. He was
s&cces sStNl and atteTwara played in Bos-
ton aud Providence and in the South.
Four years Later he went to Liverpool
England aud the United States were at
var tbe0, and he aud 0tl er Americans
were put in prison and L, pit there for
fourteen days, On June II, 1918, he
appeared in the title role in the trag-
edT Of "n0Nga&s~ at 0rOry Lane
theatre in Lsnd0n. with much sue
eeSs. anil afterNaESl in other English
and Irish cities, A critic Of his per
f0VnaRee in Manchester wrotes "IIe
has figure not imposing, but well
pr0p0rtl0Ned a face aim SSt too beau
ofSl for man, and a voice the clear
ct anil R0st hell-ll&e we remember
ever to have hearl,~ From the Brit
Sh Islands Payne went 70 Paris. where
be made the a QSlaiataaoe Of Wa hing
ton Irving, and was his roommate Tor
while, There ho turned his atten-
ton to making EngliSd versions Of
Frs0eh plays for the Lon Ion stage,
His tragedy Of = RrOt0s" was WRIT, n
tor AeaR and was produced On Decem-
eer3, ISIS, Later hebecame manager
VI S,ael t'S We,ls theStre in Loadon,
loS' 5000 in the venture, and was
&dge1 in the debtors Jail. lie after
wand weA. back TO Paris and engaged
IA the employment that had kept
Am there previously, Asan actor and
a writer he was WHfArtOnate with the
@an9gerS, often abandoning work be-
cause Of diS@gy yeemeats,
While Payne wSs in Paris he sent a
PacS9ge OF manuscripts TO Charl 5
Sei0ble, then manager II the COvSnt
GapleA, London. setting his price al
&S5@ Tho manUScr. p.s were ac-
espes&, Am0ag them was a drama
e0,Itled ~ARgiolettA-s Before this
drama Was produced AZ the Covent
Gardea another version OF It was
osongAt out at the Surrey. Payne
changed the plSt II his ~Angioletta "
Nmewhat. introduced musical parts.
called it "CEAri. the Maid of Milan"
aud pFOaaeed & aS an opera at the
te,eO, Garden on May s, 1923 In
Ois opera was the sung = Home, SWEET
Home" The music was adapted
hon aSieilian air BY Henry r. Bishop.
The Rame Of the original c'mposer is
~ known. n0anie, I'll embOdiyd II
Ia his 0pera Of Anna Bolcna," thus
giving il new words in the language
to- which il was composed. In a
ktierts Rishon, Payne wrote; Home,
Sweet tlONe.' As a refrain, think,
vii, come in nicely" The song was
Saug b. Clari when she contra Is the
s2lsas1 araru0ents in which she iints
asTselt with the home she has aoan-
GoHed The following Is given by Mr..
Catrel llarFs0n in his biography OF
Payne as beng In accordance with