The evening world., 1888-10-11

6huu butO DtNbtCtb run uuu nDuuo"oht-
He Considers n Keen and Desirable
Appreciation Of Fun Mi.directed - Mr..
Hoyt May Think IL Cruel, but some
blight Call II Kindness-Tbcro IL Moth
Ing Like Variety.
Dear NJ. Charles N. Hoyt.
You are doubtless in daily receipt Of 80
many laudatory epistles, inscribed as q trib-
ute to the great mind which must be con-
cealed somewhere about your entity, that 1
venture to think thnt q little" billy-doo " from
your humble servant, who is not one of your
admirers, although he has tried persistently,
laboriously and cheerfully to join their
ranks, will be. like q certain breakfast cocoa
of which you may have heard, grateful and
comforting.
Unauthorized gushfulness becomes mo-
notonous, does IL not, Charlesp Variety, we
are told, is tho spice of life. So. my dear
fellow, in the conviction that q little of this
spice may prove useful to you for f~avoring
purposes-as they say in the classics of the
cutsine-I pen you these few lines, which 1
should like to hand to you over the footlights
concealed In a bouquet of thistles and bur-
dock.
That may sound unkind. My dear boy, |
think Of the hours 1 have wasted trying to
imagine what ideas you had in your mind
Of Keys,"'A Tin Soldier" and "A Hole in
the Ground" Regrets beget vexation, and
vexation, unless nipped in the bud, gives rise
to all manner of disagreeable things. Time,
the great wound healer. will doubtless prove
cicatrisant as the years roll on. Let us
hope 30.
There is no doubt, Mr.. Hoyt, that you have
a keen and most desirable appreciation Of the
ridiculous. This is q great gift. 1t dominated
the life of Charles Dickens and gave the world
such creations as Squeers, Pecksnitf, the Art
tul Dodger, Mrs. Sairey Camp and a host of
other immortals.. These people would not
have been ridiculous had they not been APP
parently true to nature. If there had been
any of the wilful exaggeration which you up
hold they would have died after having en-
joyed nothing but an ephemeral laugh or two.
In A Rag Baby " 1 felt inclined to get in
terested in the character of Old. Sport: The
idea was an excellent one. The notion of
satirizing the John L.. Sullivan icraze was in
itself worthy of attention. But Ma. Hoyt said
to himself: - This piece has got to go on the
road. Any little delicate touches l might in
troduce, though a New York audience could
appreciate them, would find less favor out of
town than q broad and vulgar .exaggeration.
After all, playwriting is q money-making
business. That all l work for, nyway SO
Old Sport shall be seen in the shape that will
best favor the shekehzing of my pockets"
Those were you ideas. Deny it. If you
can, Charles. Your Old Sport was originally
that is, before 1t was transferred from your
mind to paper-a co~mmendable one. ! am
sure of it, because you are personally nice,
and you know a great deal more than the
mere meaning of the word refinement.
You therefore sacrificed what might have
made you a permanent inst1fution to q tenn
porary success. You do not say to your
audience: Come and see my new piece;
you will laugh" but - Come and see my
new piece; you shall laugh" 10 the Irish,
man. the difference between the shall" and
tho - will ~ NAV mot ha annarant. In the
American, however. it will express a great
deal.
A picture of Charles II. Hoyt. grasping
with one hand the hair of q tear-stained vic
knotted club, while from his mouth issues
the legend, Laugh, you brute, or I'll STAY
you" would make a hit. The sequel, of
course, would be the absolute surrender OF
the tear stained one. the bTth of a wild guf-
faw and the compiete satlsfaction of Mr..
In "a Rag Baby" "A Bunch Of Keys"
IA, !, H9[e ord in the &c Ground cprndoo and "A A,1 Tin I Sol
laughter is literally dubbed out of the
audience. Many people like this. Of course.
They are not obliged to exercise any dis
cretion. They can go and nave a brainlessly
people who roar when the clown at the circus
exclaims. "'Allo, ERE we are again!" and then
turns and administers an irrelevant but noisy
box on the ears to his comrade.
hllHhby ou NV w ttnh Lhtb Wlhh IL
talents which are most certainly yours ?
Think of the day when wild and horse play
full farce-comedy dies II hope l shall be on
hand to execute O can-can upon its gravel
and ponder q little. What manager would
consider anything serious from your pen
unless you reform in time?
Why not begin gradually, but earnestly, to
get away from yourself? The task win be
hard and wearisome at first, but ultimate sue.
cess will be of the most saccharine nature. ]
am sure you can feel no very exhilaratine
pleasure when you hear q person say: ~ saw
Hoyt's play last night and mad to laugh,
though I felt ashamed of myself for g~rinnine
at such tomfoolery." That is what many,
many persons who laugh at your plays inele.
! gantly remark in a sort of apologize man.
{ ner. OF course, you get the laugh, but is il
such an inestimable BOOM
Dear Mr.. Hoyt. all this may be cruelty
' though some will undoubtedly consider it
r kindness. AS I said at the beginning. it ii
. only meant for fiavoring purposes. Wher
you have read it cast it into your waste-papel
basket and turn to the many pleasant mis-
sives that 1 imagine I see piled up befor,
you. all extolling the laugh-producing faculty
of the author of "A Rag Baby" "A Hole il
5 the Ground" "A Tin Soldier" and ~
3 Bunch of Keys"-ce cher Hoyt!
ALAN DALE.