Los Angeles daily herald., 1889-04-08

troubles are about TO begin"
So. putting his arm around the lad, he
conducted him across the stage to the
room of Madame Vestris-the monu.
mental beauty of the period. Vestris at
this time was yerging on the wrong eide
of forty, but still retained her great
beauty and ineffable grace. Planche,
Cooper and Mathews we're there. See.
ing that the newcomer was speechless
and very awkward, she came to him,
took him by the hand and led him to q
sofa, making him sit down beside her.
Oh, the sweetness OF manner of those
artists, their affectionate reception of a
poor, unfriended boy, will never be eff
faced from his heart They stopped to
encourage and sustain him, for they saw
how bewildered he was, how unable he
felt to speak. He listened to these
voices, go familiar to him on the stage.
These people, whom he regarded with
worship as the gods of his theatrical pam
tbeon-was it possible they were tender
ing homage to him and receiving his
humble self amongst them as somebody :?
Nay, it is dream
A few days after this the comedy was
called for reading to the actors in the
greeu-room OF the theater. The cast in
cluded Farren, Barley, Anderson. Math-
ews, Harley, Kelley, Madame Vestris,
Mrs. Nisbett and Mrs. Humby. They
were all there, stars of the first magni.
tude; no such group has ever since that
time been assembled. The young author,
with trembling accent, proceeded to
read his play. His audience, gathered
round him, accompanied each act with
profusion OF applause, to give him cour-
age. AT the conclusion, Vestris, who sat
beside him, rose, and, taking him in her
arms. said:
"We cannot tell what reception your
comedy may meet with but the public
cannot alter our opinion that it is a bril-
liant play, and that you will be num-
bered amongst the dramatists of the
period. You have a future, and we are
glad and proud to be interpreters of your
first work."
The rest of the company gathered
round him, with similar delighted assur-
ances. Their applause was the first he
ever enjoyed, and the sweetest-oh yes,
the sweetest by far.
Alas every one of those great artists
great hearts, gentle hearts, for without
gente and noble hearts they could not
be the great artists they were-all are
gone before; for am sixtv-six.
No! The heart and brain never grow
old; and when l recall those events,
those faces, / feel their hands in mine
see their smiles-I hear their voices.
am eighteen again
Intoxicated by the reception he had
met with: petted by the loveliest group
of women that ever graced the stage
elevated to the companionship of the
greatest comedians of the day: brought
into contact with the giants and critics of
dram attic literature, Sheridan Knowles,
Bulwer, Douglas Jerrold, Robert Bell,
and host of literary lights, the young
overcome the latent suspicion that the
whole fabric OF this fairy palace would
collapse like vision, that there was no
reality about it. In secret he studied
his comedy and found it trivial, thought
less, and unworthy of the esteem in
which the actors held it. He awoke to
the fear that the fraud would be discov-
cred. So he lent himself with eagerness
to the suggestions of the actors made
during rehearsal. Scene after scene WAS
rewritten at the prompt-table and handed
wet to the company. Thus the last
speech of the play, which is technically
termed "the tag" was composed and
handed to Max Harkaway. The next
day, or on some subsequent day, Vestris
took the author aside and said: ''Farren
wants to speak the tag | suppose you
don't mind"
''Well," said the author, looking up
with his Irish smile, twill it not sound
rather strange in the mouth OF Sir Har-
court Courtly p"
"Oh, never mind-I am sure the pub
lie will not. Barley does not object; in
fact, he approves"
And so it stood.
The first night-Mar ch 4, 1S41-came
to pass. The name of the author was
unknown to the public; so half-flled
house assembled to witness the first per-
formance of London assurance. The
original title of the comedy had been
Out Of Tovn. Vestris had changed that.
So, also, in the dramatis persona of the
play "Sir William Dazzle" had been
changed to "Sir Harcourt Courtly," )"
and the name of "Dazzle" was
assumed by Charles Mathews, who
played that part. The French method
| of occupying the stage with only one
scene per act was, it is believed, intro
duced to the English stage en- this
occasion. But the extravaganza OF in
novation was reached when the author
suggested that carpet should be used
in the drawing-room.
| "What next ?' murmured John
Cooper, the stage-manager. "He will be
asking for real flowers and real sunlight
in the garden"
We have had the real flowers since,
and the lime-light has furnished very
respectable substitute for sunlight.
During the performance the woe-be.
gone author wandered about the corri.
dors of the house, for he had been
warned off the stage by Madame Vestris,
who said his presence would make the
actors nervous. So he crept up to q
back seat in the upper boxes, and there
listened to his play. Oh, how
slow it seemed! how bald. The
first act provoked little laugh
ter here and there, and then
he drew breath. The beautiful stage.
setting of the second act elected the first
round of applause. AS the play proceed.
ed he discovered Marx Lemon, Douglas
Jerrold and Gilbert Beckett seated to.
gether in the front row of an adjacent
box. He crept into the row behind them
and tried to overhear their opinions oi
the piece. When the situation arrived
at the end of this act. JerIold turned to
hi9 cOmpanjona