Wichita eagle., 1886-12-18

whole thing was over, possibly--he wa
not sJ!re-he would come blushingly for
ward and acknowledge himself as tn
modest author.
But now it seemed he was not th
author.
lis this true about the parson writing
the playy'' asked the professional
Il lad not heard,'' hesitated poor Mr.
| Dwight
ooh, come now, Of course you know
You ought TO have told me this before
I'm il regular fix"
Il give you, my word l never though
! ne wrote It"
Il must get out Of it the best way can
| Excuse my suggestion, ladies and gentle
men, L was not aware Of the authorship OF
| the play. / can easily understand now
why You do not wish a change. | have
no doubt from the earnest desire eX-
pressed to DO justice to tie writer, and the
talent at our disposal we shall achieve
! a success. If you please we Will com
Inencc.H
As is usual in such cases, one or two
had some natural taste among others that
were perfect sticks. Mr. Dwight was SO
flustered that he could not remember the
very lines he had written.
The play was long and tedious, difficult
to remember and tiresoIne TO the listener.
The last act closed with a reception in
private drawing room. The professional
suggested that it could be made very eff
fective with elegant dressing, flowers, fur
niture and decorations He trusted this
last scene might help to efface the past
misery.
The cventful night arrived. Many tick
cts had been sold, as it had been well
whispered about Gn confidence who was
the author Mr.. Dwight had worked
night and day, and was in such q fright
full state Of nervousness, that he felt like
giving it up altogether. The professional
seemed to think that there was q long
task before him, and had evidently forti-
fed himself to such an extent that he ap-
peared somewhat confused. His first
mistake was to ring up the curtain with
out warning, which gave a view Of the
figures flying in every direction. 1t
was hastily dropped with violent bang.
The audience waited patiently for it to
roll up again. a gentleman stepped out
from the side, and said he hoped the audi
ence would have patience, as one Of the
company was late arriving.
At last the play began and proceeded in
the usual manner OF amateur theatricals,
some parts good, others very bad. Loud
prompting was heard from the sides
throughout. Mr.. Dwight, who only had
q very short sentence TO deliver, III his
anxiety made his entrance too soon, and,
finding he was not wanted, locked about
b lplessly until loud voices called him 10
come Of. lie attempted to return by the
door through which lie had entered, but
in vain to open it on the side
where the hinges were. Finding the door
UOuld not open, he slipped of at the side
in such q state Of fright, that when his
time did come, he had to be pushed on,
and could only humble something that
no one heard.
The play dragged Oh. The audience
was tired and bored, but too polite to
leave. At d quarter to twelve the last act
came, much to cveryone's relief. The
curtain rolled up, showing a BEAUTIFULLY set
room, elegant furniture, and profusion
Of flowers wherever there was @ place for
them. The dialogue was just begun.
when to everyone's amazement an I'M
expected figure was seen at the center
door.
The figure which attracted so much at
tenti0n WAS that Of footman dressed in
an elegant livery Of crimson plush. I'M
mense calves TO his legs showed plainly
they were not Of natural growth. A white
wig completed this costume. This was o
character entirely new in the play; Oh
closer inspection this elegant person was
found to be the professional himself, who
thought to give the room more
elegance and an appearance OF ease by
this character He carried a
tray covered with glasses. AS he crossed
the room with a dignified but unsteady
step they jingled violently. AS soon as
5he actors could recover from their sur
prise, they continued their parts, but
were constantly annoyed by the offer Of
AS soon as he disappeared
through one door he appeared at another,
over flowers in his unsteady
Finally, when the act ended at 1890, he
occupied the center of the stage, and |
bowed to the audience as gracefully as his
3haky legs would allow.
Financially the play was a success. In |
Every other respect it was about as sue
,cSsful a failure as ever was.
One Of the papers came out boldly ana |
the entertainment severely, say |!
ne that the Rev. Mr.. Morgan might be |
lble to write an excellent sermon, but not |
I play. Also they were much aStonished |
hat he should introduce the character of |
IN Incorporate waiter, for. though it |
night cause laughter from some people, |
t was sight that all right-minded people |
would discourage
The Rev. Mr.. Morgan published card
his establishment that the |
of the play should be credited |
20 him, and denying it emphatically.
Mr.. Dwight was so crushed at the re-
suit of his dramatic effort that he retired |
20 his fayorite back seat, where he still |
keeps very quiet. He is not writing plays |
As busily rs he was; and TO this day his
single effort remains anonymous !
Storm in Tid-Bits.