Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1886-06-20

L Huu lCuuth btA
The fellows themselves rem'nd
one of . brood Of hens scratch
ing. digging, and industriously
cluckipp. with now and then clamor-
GUS cacIling, and you know an egg has
been laid. You will see thoughtful
man come into the Morton House,
vrinkled, hungry, and dishevelled. He
notices no one. A profound and pain
ful air of abstraction invests him. Peo-
MIA avoid him. lie looks like man
who wants an Office under the city gov
eminent. This grows worse and worse,
until criminal aspect appears and he
be gins to look like man who has had
an office under the city government.
But some morning this all changes as
If by magic. lie comes in smiling aud
elastic and difTuse. He has roll OF
manuscript in his pocket. lie has been
born again. So has that same play.
Now he has got nine-months' rest.
SO have we.
PREPARING FOR THE NEXT SEASON.
BY August the local managers have
TO climb over barbados Of manuscript
10 get into their offices. Mackaye has
gone and done it. Fawcett has done 1t.
Gayler has done it. Cazauran has got
il. The harvest teams are coming in
from all sides. The cleaners are sing
ing the songs Of the reapers. Barry
more writes that he is coming back from
London with double roll, and that we
are to stand from under. Miss Barry
telegraphs that she will be here in Octo-
Der with new one. Dauvray is water
ing, and manuring, and stirring the
French soil of America. Bronson How
srd is her gardener. Every member Of
Wallack's company bulges with plays
except Mr.. Wallack. Denman Thomp-
son is here spending about $4,000 in
preliminary work on his "Old New
England Homestead" John G. Freund
is organizing company for September.
Mantell has got new and strong play
of Keller's. Kate Forsythe has cap
tured Roach. Edna Cary broke out as
brown as a berry with a play in each
hand and one in her satchel. Uptown
the society playwrights sit at their
windows and entice passers-by with
manuscript. The only man in New
York who hasn't written play for
next season is Charles A. Dana. lie,
unlike the rest of the population, holds
his head up in conscious rectitude. lie
defes paresis and the playhouse with
unwavering strength. The only other
man that excites any admiration, and
for other reasons, is Wider, who proba-
bly, has written more plays than any
man alive. but who, upon his dying
bed, can look up in serene hopefulness
and say THANK God, | have not
written one line that has been pro-
duced." Alas how few of us can say
that. There is my friend George Clarke;
he recently produced melodrama at
the Peoples Theatre. He has been
hiding in the caves Of the earth ever
since. All this is classed by recent
neurologists at the asylumS under the
head Of Suicide by the Pen."
The moment your friend begins to
think about getting life into "situa-
tons" look out for paresis.
Mrs. Thurber came into town with
her ulster and carpet-bag the other day.
She said, 81 have been on the road. |
couldn't keep my eye on American OPP
era very well unless toddled after"
The moment the American opera ar
rived in town Juch and Hastreiter
looked at each other with pent-up ma
Lightly, and then inquired if she was
here yet. They were generally an
swered, "No, but she'll be here before
the end Of the first performance" Then
Juch and Hastreiter adjourned their
quarrel.
Katharine Kidder has gone to the
Madison Square.
Pro nunc--this adds inches both to
the house and to the woman. But only |
one needed them.
ART IN THE DARKROOM.
The acme of the bar-room picture
craze has been reached. 1t began years
ago with the colored engravings Of the
famous runners and trotters. The next
step was tinted delineations of scenes
in the Jardine Mabille and Closerie de
Lilas. Suddenly Ed. Stokes burst upon
the horizon at the Hoffman cafe with
his 100000 ougereau. Then Theo-
dore Stewart followed with his gallery
in Warren street. And now Charles
F. Wildey comes to the front with
painting which cost him, setting and all,
$4,000. Wildey owns half a dozen
bar-rooms in New York, all furnished
in way that recalls similar glories in
San Francisco. lie is little blonde,
blue-eyed fellow, extremely polished,
and as quick as ferret. Although not
bald he invariably wears a silk skull
cap. Less than a year ago Wildey
bought out the old Bodega, on the west
side Of Broadway, two doors above
Leonard street. He fitted it up
in the most gorgeous style,
with a circular bar Of bird's-eye
maple, soft Turkey carpets, ormolu
chandeliers, frescoed ceilings, and a
wealth of bric.a-brac. Having laid
this foundation he capped the climax
by going to Paris and buying Benjamin
Constants painting lie Jugement
du Cberif." 1t cost him S37 900 in
the Paris market, and it has cost him
IS 900 more for duties and mounting.
The picture is twenty-five feet long
and sixteen feet high. The scene is
laid in Spain, at the time Of the Moor
ish occupation. Having reason to sus-
pect infidelity in his soraglio, and una.
BILE to detect the guilty wife, Moorish
prince has had the gems Of his harem
bow-stringed in fit Of jealousy. The
picture represents the scene after the
work is done. The figures are nude and
of life-size. The Andalusian blonde is
there, with the brunettee Of the Basque
provinces and the lily-complexioned
girl Of Arragon. The hour Of Moroc-
CO and the ebon-chested beauty of
Ethiopia are also stretched in death.
Their corpses lie on the tesselated floor,
with the pallor Of death on their
faces. A gigantic black executioner,
with masked face, is sqlatted on
the right, with assistants near him.
His hands are stained with blood,