New-York tribune., 1885-10-25
BURNAND'S FIRST PLAY.
prRsoNA1 "REMINISCENCES OF EARLY DAYS
Copyi1ht, 1885

script farce. he received INC III hiS uio''"s- k'""
and told me that he didn't want anything of tho
.ort 7 Ihaco,oe as confused rs the unfortunate Mr..
Toots when rejected by Florence Dombey. and
stoumered ont something about 1t didn't matter
!. was Of no consequence" land then in great
oo;totion stumbled out into Suffolk-st. with my
blue manuscript in my hand. How loathed it!
How poorly thought of it! What an ass con-
sdered nyself even to have ente tanned the idea,
for a second that this farce written by myself for
n few undergraduate friends, and played In my
own rooms opposite Trinity College should
stand any chance OF being accepted for performance
at the Haymarket with such q cast as l had
arranged it for, which was to have included Buck,
stone. Charles Mathews and some minor actor
Mrs buckingham White, and any one of the young
ladies who always appeared those extraordinarily
perky chambermaids in the farces of that period.
In fash as it were all my poor farces bemishes
were revealed to me. / saw at once how bad 1t was
became instantaneously aware how unoriginal my
original plot and Dialogue were, and how had
aiter all only been reproducing various recoectlons
and impressions of the many tarees had seeIi'
written for the most part by John Madison
Morton author of the immortal "Box ana Cox
and generally played by Buckstone
This rejection did not dishearton me. for went to
work at Cambridge and wrote two more fares and
q connie of buresauea both acted on the boards OF
tho A ID C-the Amateur Dramatic Club, of which
had the honor of being the founder and the pleas
ure of subsequently, seeing it thrive and nourisD,
as IL is doing at this very moment. having been III
existence for thirty years. ii. IL IL. Inc frihce Oh
Wales became it's distinguished president. and has
kent up his connection with 1t from time 10 time IN
tine kindest nd most friendly spirit IL has lattery
given some actors to the STAGE and it might have
given its founder to that calling hau 'no ons oi9
been sufficiently loud.
Fneiu.
when I heard of Robson's Medea continued it.
having in view the extreme imprObability OF the
o,reat actor ever undertaking the part OF the
Cartbagenian Queen in my piece My friend
Charles Donne and his brother Mowbray. and indeed
tho whole family. interested themselves Ill my
dido y and thus il was brought under Mr.. Donnes
notice who very kindly read 1t what nuisance IL
must have been to him, seeing that reailng plays
was his business in the Lord Chamberlains ofhce9
and further promised to show it to Robson. ms
be did and Robson read it carefully-or somebody
read 1t to him and advised him-and returned 1t
with the message that he thought 1t very g"od
indeed. and that had he not so recently played
nettiooat part i. O., Media by Robert BrOugh. he
would certainly have accepted my DIDO
Nv hopos were 80 far dashed, but had been
encouraged by finding the stage no longer aDso-
lutely closed to such an outsider as myself It was
evident that manager would look at a piece II IL
were only properly placed before him. so TOOK
nv manuscript to Lacy's, the theatrical DOCK
sellers shop in the Strand. had fer three years or
more while at Cambridge been very good GUS
toner of MI Lacy's, and had brought considerable
University business. When was very hard up he
had most opportuney bought a buresque and two
farces of me, which had been performed at Cam
brdoe For these | think he gave me about four
sover. pps apiece perhaps o ten-pOund note for the
lot NV impression is that this was about the sum
for which l made over to him all my interest ana
rights in my three productions. So utterly green
was I at that time not to know that country
theatres and indeed all theatrical managers could
he compelled to pay for what they nsed; ana IL
never occurred to me when l subsequently heard
that previous to this purchase my little purlesque
ofs Wilkins and His Dinah " had been played for
several NIGHTS weeks believe, at some Manchester
tbeatre only imperfectly realized the existence of
theatres outside Lonionl. that fees OF some sort
had to be paid for these performances to some one,
and that that some one ought to have been the
author heard also of one OF my 1arces Deihg
done in the country. and / was very much pleased
that professional actors should approve the work OF
an amateur. So when received my ten or twolVe
pounds for all my rights in these pieces littIe
thcught that nv excellent old friend Lacy had been
already pretty well able to gauge their value as Tor
any one of them alone he was then enabled to
a,ti,e sum he paid Inc for the three. However. l
tboucbt I was lucky to get anything, for the
smallest contribution at that period OF my llto ia
very happy one all the same, be it said) was grate-
fulIy received and so both parties to tho bargain
were satisfied. In after years have ascertainea
o. what might have made by the burlesque and one
Of the farces which became stock pieces for some
time and were highly popular with amateurs on
account of their few. good and equal parts.
So. knowing Lacy in this way, he wasn't a bad
fellow. believe, and looked upon tho transaction
"a all in the way of straightforward business,-l
went TO him with my Dido" He SAID he would
read It and believe ne did, because the next time
entered his shop he hurried me away to his den at
the back, where he was mixed up with heap OF
S;rty Mss and dusty books. and in his Gdgetty
nanner-he alwayA appeared worried and bothered
and as if he hadn't had time to change hs linen and
wssh-he told me confuentally that be liked my
Yes, think it will do BY the way" he went on,
KNOW didn't, for tad never seen and never
heard of Young; Charles Young was his name
piece Of this sort and 4 ne CUks SIed IN ncT
shaking his head and rattng something-not
money, probably keys-n his trousers pocket. " l
Int Young will. be Just as good as Robson"
A gentleman called at my LODGINGS ground
foor stwo small rooms at very sima,, In,6 sum I'm
glad it l would make an appointment with Inn ior
he next day. On his fna Sesa saw L
answered at once; the next day he came: Ho was
bright ewes very wide mouth, and peculiarly
hard manner. lie told me that he thought Dido
would sut him he saw his way to playing 1t. A
few alterations might be necessary,-as matter of
fact they were not needed, but these would
make. and wonld | call on the managers Messrs.
Willett AMI ChattertoD. the following morning at
middayY | promised would be there plnctually.
Directly he had disappeared hurried Oft to an old
Eton acquaintance with whom q year before had
been brought in contact who knew vastly more
about stage matters-as TO business, that is-than
did: | mean Mr.. Montagu Williams the we'll
known barrister. whose wife had been MISS Louise
Kceley daughter of those inimitab BILE come
dans Robert and Mrs Kelley. But though had
known MOntagu at Eton and had met him with lis
wife at Edinburgh where they had been most
% har Foe