Middlebury register. (Middlebury, Vt.) 1886-1937, 1890-09-26

Among the latter may be mentioned
1.-THE Willow Copse," in which Couldock
scored his first stage triumph; rip Van
Winkle," with which the name of Jeffer-
son is firmly linked 1.-THE Colleen Bawn,"
THE Shaughraun," Louis XII" Foul
Play" LED Astray' and "After Dark"
Thirty-fve of the dead authors plays had
first runs of at least $50 nights each, and it
is said that during the last quarter of
century there has not been single night
on which some one of his immense number
of productions has not been presented
either in the United States, Great Britain
or Australia, 1t is also estimated that
in that time the public has paid S40,-
100000 to see his plays acted. 1.-The Col
leen Bawn" netted him Sl,00OOO0, and
1.-The Shaughraun" realized nearly half
that amount. For the latter play and his
services as an actor during five years
Lester Wallack offered Mr.. Boucicault
S250,0OO The proposition was declined.
Dion Bouccault was born in Dublin of
an Irish mother and French father He
was first married in 1874 to IA widow of
means and beauty, who died "A few years
later. Then it was announced that Agnes
Robertson, IA handsome actress had be-
come his wife. They lived together for
many years, and five children were the
fruit of the union. Their differences ended
in a divorce suit, and not long ago Mr..
Boucicault espoused Louise Thorndyke, a
young actress, who survives him, and who
was with him at the time of his death
Despite the enormous sums he earned
Boucicault died poor. He was lavish AS a
prince in his expenditures and unlucky
in his speculatons: but no financial disas-
ter affected his buoyant temperament He
felt that he had a gold mine in his head,
and that he could replace lost fortunes at
will. He left nearly finished a drama
based on Bret Harte's novel 1.-The Luck of
Roaring Camp" in which it had been
planned that Mrs. Thorndyke Boucicault
should star
But nothing the man wrote excelled that
production of the boy - the wonderful
"London Assurance. There is electricity
in every line and an extra heart throb in
every climax What modern pen has pro-
duced more stirring passage than this
where Lady Gay Spanker describes the
conduct of her mount in "A steepechase,
There were sixty horses in the field. all mettle
TO the bone: the start a picture-away we
went in a cloud--rel mell-helter SHELTER the
fools first, as isli J. using themselves up-we
soon passed the .lrst your Kitty. then my
Blueskin and Cr..c.. = colt last Then came the
over the fences-the colt neck and neck and half
a mile TO run-at last the colt baked a leap and
went wild. Kitty and had IL all to ourselves
she was three lengths ahead breasted the
last wall, six feet, if inch, and ditch on the
other side Now, for the first time, ! gave Blue
skin his head-ha. ha! Away he flew like a
thunderbot-over went the filly-I over the same
spot, leaving Kitty in the ditch-walked the
steepe, eight miles in thirty minutes and
scarcely turned hair
These lines, voiced by an actress like Mrs
Nisbett or Charlotte Cushman, never
failed to bring down the house." but the
closing sentences of London Assurance,
which fall from the lips of Sir Harcourt
Courtly, are equally worthy of reproduce
tion. The character says:
Barefaced assurance is the vulgar substitute
for gentlemany ease; and there many, who
by aping the vices of the great, imagine that they
elevate themselves to the rank of those, whose
faults alone they copy No sir The title of
gentleman is the only one out of any monarch s
gift, yet within the reach of every peasant 1t
should be engrossed by Truth-stamped with
Honor-sealed with good feeling-sgned Man
and enrolled in every true young English heart