The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1888-05-13
DRAMATIC AND LYRIC.
TheHarrison- Rogers Company
and Mrs. BOucicault.
ROMANCE OF AN OLD VIOLIN.
Nym CrinkIe on Wallack-FOrget me
NOt-MIss Adams Coming
Notes.

On Tuesday and Wednesday evening
Harrison & Rogers Company will fiji
an engagement at the Theatre. present
ing the latest melodrama, The Pay.
master, and BARLEY Campbell's ro
mantle drama, My Geraldine. This
company has met with strong success!
during its tour of the Pacific Coast, anG
the press of the different cities has beer
lavish in its praise. The plays will b.
presented in the order named above
and as the company carry the scenery
complete for The Paymaster, their first
appearance will be thoroughly inter.
esting one. Among the list of The
company we see the names of Annie
Adams and her daughter Maude, both
old fIienos to our theatre-goers. The
whole cast is made up of known artists
who will undoubtedly give US a fine
rendition of these successful dram as
The leading lady OF this organic alton
is Mrs. Dion Boucicault (Agnes Robert
son)-or at least she was 80 in San
any change being made. We see her
name on one or two of the MY
Geraldine" posters about town, but,
rather oddly, the manager says nothing
of her in t1e newspaper announce
ments he sends ahead. Yet Mrs. Bou-
cicault was at one time one OF the best
S,,f ha .
long aeo her name was on every
ones lips in consequence Of the
great divorce suit between herself and
Dion Boucicault, when that aged Lo-
thario-who. by the way, has since
married Louise Thorndy ke-set up the
novel and startling answer that there
had naver been any marriage ceremony
performed between himself and Miss
Robertson. How this cheerful state
ment was viewed by Boucicault's chill
dreu, who were travelling with him at
the time, We are not informed. At any
rate, the venerable Dion got it hot and
heavy from all the newspapers in the
land, and Mrs. Boucicsult received as
su1ances OF sympathy and respect on
all hands. From all accounts she
is a scholarly and refined lady,
of an actress is evident from
the fact that all Boucicault's earlier
plays, such as the Colleen Bawn aud
Arrah ma Pogue were written to suit his
wife's ability as star.
About the most unweli man in Salt
Lake during the past few days has been
our old friend, Mr.. John S. Barnes, of
the real estate firm of Barnes & Carter.
When Mr.. Barnes was a youth to
fortune and to fame unknown, he con-
Quoted something Of loan business in
busy London, and among the articles
which came into his hands as security
and which ultimately remained there,
was an old battered violin. This violin
was among Mr.. Barnes treasures when
he and the stir of empire took their
way westward, and in Mr.. Barnes
hands remained from that day till q
certain occasion last week, when it oc-
CURED to him that the violin had been
in the way long enough and he offered
it to DR.. Dart, whom he knew to be a
collector of old musical instruments, for
the sum of $40. The doctor glanced
over the violin, saw that it looked some
what ancient, and closed with Mr..
Barnes offer. Here comes the denoae-
ment. DR.. Dart took the violin to
Prof. Weihe and instructed him to give
it a general overhauling. The pro-
lessor went to work and the first
scrape he gave the instrument re-.
Yealed scarcely desipherable ticket
bearing the name of the great Cremona
master "Stradevarius" with the date
1736-the date when of all others the
king maker of the king of instruments
was turning out his palmiest works.
Mr.. Weihe gasped and ran to consult
several books which point out the way
in which true Stradivarius
may be known from the spurious
article. His consultation convinced
him that he held in his hands a rare
old instrument Of decided value If
not from the hands of the master
himself, at least one made in his time
by some one familiar with the secrets
of his magic. Mr.. Weihe being a con-
noisseur in such things, knew the value
of the article in his hands. Hell had
played on a Stradevsrius in Brussels
hims, If. and knew that it was valued at
Sc, 600. He had read of a genuine Cremona
being sold lately in Boston for 81, 500
and he had the pleasure of handling
Wilhelmj's 5000 instrument, wnen
that master visited this city. Mr..
Weihe put the instrument into shape,
called on the doctor, and drew his bow
across the strings for his delectation.
The doctor, naturally enough, was en-
chanted. and his enchantment did not
lessen when he was told what sort of
q purchase he had made. Mr.. Weihe
said to HERALD man, yesterday, that
the instrument possesses rare and
rich mellowness incompatible for con-
cert purposes, and while it had not the
strength of his own 5000 violin "a fine
instrument of new make) it had tone
which the,best of instruments could not
gain until they were aged.
The news was broken gently to Mr..
Barnes by near friend. The latest
advices from his bedside last evening
indicate a slightly improved pulse,
with respiration normal and tenpera-
ture 1000.
The Home Club were at work on
Forget Me Not last week. intending to
present it on Decoration Day: but the
lady who was to assume Forget Me Not
Edith Clawson, having embraced the
opportunity of making a brief eastern
I