Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1890-01-02
THE TOPICAL TALKER.
The GcndoIiers in Good Hands--A sln-
gular Case Of MOdesty-The War Rec.

The GcndoIiers in Good Hands--A sln-
gular Case Of MOdesty-The War Rec.
ords for Dramatists.
THE antlcipations of American theatrical
people regarding THE Gondoliers," /" Gilbert
and Snllivan's new opera are that 1t will be q
success here after the fashion Of "PinaforeD
and 'sThe Mikado." One of the consequences
Is that the people will have chance to see the
opera sooner than usual and with much better
casts than ever graced 1.-THE Yeomen of the
Guardn and "Ruddigore"
A piece of news was given to me on the
subject of the opera yesterday, Francis VIII
son is 20 drop 'sThe Oolah'' and play THE Con-
doliers'' for . run in Philadelphia in the spring
Wilson will not take the opera out of Phila-
delphia this season, but next year will if 1t
proves success, play it through the country.
Heis well adapted for the Gilbert and Sullivan
style Of opera, and with his right bower Marie
Jansen. he ought to make money and fame out
of ''The Gondoliers." :,
Probably ''The Gondoliers" will not be seen
in Pittsburg this season.
s.%
If some scientist would invent mechanism
to assist the digestion on such holidays as
Christmas and New Years, it would I'LL long
felt want. 1t would make the inventors for
tune also.
%x&
USUALLY man is not willing to let his light
- be hid under bushel, and the majority,
the large majority of men. are quite willing to
let fame find them and hold them up TO the
world for admiration. But an Englishman
who died recently was content after stirring up
his countrymen with series of unsigned letters
in the London Times, which attracted immense
attention at the time they were written, to slip
back to obscurity without revealing his iden-
tity. The letters were published in the Times
in series which began on December 20, 1851.
They were directed against Napoleon Ill. and
it was the extraordinary literary vigor Of their
invective which gave them their success.
Good critics pronounced the writer superior
to "Junius," and they were attributed to all
manner of statesmen of the highest preten-
slons. They were originally published by the
Times in ignorance of their writer's name, but
it was subsequently, it would appear, ascer-
tanned that they were written by Mr.. II. J.
Wolfenden Johnstone, a surgeon, who lived in
France from lS45 to 1850. He died recently at
Ramsgate. aged 81. He appears to have re-
mained silent ever after, and it is pleasant to
think that in our day of self-adVertisement
man could live from middle life to old age in
possession of SO powerful q weapon as Mr.
Johnstone welded, yet use it only when moved
out Of himself by moral indignation.
In conversation with group of friends in the
Hotel Anderson yesterday ALI Hayman. who
is here preparing for the production of Bron-
son Howard's war play shenandoah" at the
Buou Theater, alluded to the fact that drama
lists can find plenty of the best kind of material
in actual incidents of the rebellion. For in
stance, Just consider this" he said. while
Howard was outlining shenandoah" he heard
of q story in which Mr.. ]. B. McCullogh. now
the editor of the st. Louis Globe-Democrot
figured. McCullogh had been . war cores
pOndent bet 1861 and 1865 Long after the
declaration of peace he was approached at St.
Louis by man who extended his hand and
asked him If he knew him. McCullogh replied
that he did. and the stranger asked him If here
nembered the circumstances under which they
had met. Mr.. McCullogh promptly went over
the whole narrative. The last time saw you,'
he said, was in 1863 in the pilot house of
gunboat in the river before Fort Donelson.
You and another pilot and myself were there.
A shell struck the pilot house, killed one man
and wo unded another was the third and es-
capped unhurt Now, if it was Morrison who
was killed by that shell your name is Reilly,
and if it was Reilly who was killed your name
is Morrison
'McCullogh was right, and 1t was Reilly who
stood before him. Here was a good enough
sug gestion for such an incident as howard has
in his play, when General HaVer-
hill fails to recognize the son who has often
fought near him and who dies under his eyes
after receiving mortal wound on the battle
field. The war can furnish text for a lot more
of good plays, but you must have dramatists
of the Howard kind TO work them up properly