Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1890-05-18
"REMINISCENCES
OF C.. w. TAYLEURE, The well
KNOWN ACTOR, JOURNAL
lST, AUTHOR.
His Just Complaint OF the Negro h0N'
man Nuisance-Cap't the Poiioo
Remedy the Evil?
PrrrnsBuBo. Va. May II. 1890.

tefsin cold type, tOo-thas are w ~ .,,
Gated 10 you | might admit that j. l0G' H.. ~
privileged by Time 70 creep 0eneath ~ ~
charitable mantle Of age. an sky v.
course. one who lives with his eyes 0PeH
il very likely to see things. SeeH
saw the first illumination Of bicnilouu
by gas, and perhaps have yet n the r'.se
OF discovery the cheap, perforateu w !
lantern j used previously 10 carry; an /.
that was long before ! had maze NY
mark-before. though already carrying
one, bad learned 20 dot.
recall dropping one night INTO tne
old Marshail Theatre 1t the tlme OI ny
first VISIT to Richmond. ls4s. Before re-
lating in part what saw remark par Pot.t,i >
these that don'tthink my curiosity nerlteu
the chilling rebuke / received when l IN
quired whether the theatre derived Us
name from the Mr. Marshall who kept pun
lie spirits up by pouring them down ii an
adjoining tavern.
THE BELLE OF RICHMoSD.
A speck OF curiosity was even then
characteristic Of tho age. Thus 70 vas that
when at every sound ut the prncipal en- en-
trance of the theatre everybody turned
their head. [ learned that the Impotence
was TO see the beautiful belle Of Rich
| mOnd, " whose anticipated coming had been
| enthusiastically heralded. She came-in
overdue time-Miss --. Al! Wen.
'tisn't the part Of wisdom 10 tell all know
OF once. Imusn't end my communication
too abruptly.
The man who should SOY that then Cor
now) Richmond's bellies are not beautiful
would be conspicuously inaccurate"
Romeo sighed 10 be a glove upon hT
hand. It seemed 70 me that the roses
which decorated the fair head Of the belle
| wore n tinge of eelf-consciOus triumph. l
envied them. and wished / were rose.
All youth is 50 impresslonable.
That visit bore unwholesome fruit In
those days tho theatrical taste Of Rich
mond needed no stimulus. Theatre-going
was in 1919 not synonymous with ." star
gazing" Good stock actors We're more ac-
ccptable to the public of Richmond than
queer stars"
cannot recall Just now who the players
were. think-mind you. il Is merely q
stray thought think Billy" Florence
was as among the small-fry. With similar
Incortitude, / think James STARK and " Old
| Chlppendale and Mrs. Melinda Jones were
| big-bugs.
Twas my Second visit TO a theatre. In
| the backwoods Of Carolina where | was
| born and reared theatres were things TO
read about. Closer familiarity was ply.
seal impOssibility. They warn't thar"
When in 1850 / deemed 1t convenient TO
| leave New York and forget If possible the
money squandcred there and golden oppor-
| tunities wasted / thought yearningly of
! Richmond: of its whole-souled young
men. It's beautiful bellies. Remembrance
| Of those roses was still alive-and envious.
TssAYING TIE STAGE.
The stage is an always open door for
| thwarted ambition. Myself Hnd-weU I'll
venture upon the frankness--the brother
! of the belle resolved upon essaylng the
STAGE. And we did.
a confederate in the scheme was hand
some young Philadelphian, C. p.
Later on young Englishman, j s.,
| Joined US from Washington, where l first
How ten1pus does changed j S
The moneyed man. ] mean lad of tho trio
died in New York in 1870, poor, .wretched,
and - jim ammy. The brother - who
really possessed histuonlc ablhty-rusted
| away, and !, who had neither love for the
stage nor the faculties of o player. am yet
alive. though no longer connected with
the theatre.
| THE DISPATCH ~ 30.
At that time, too 1850 John T. Ford, Of
Baltimore one of the best Of managers, as
| lie is certainly one of the best Of men, was
@ chubby-faced clcrk in somebody's pc
| riOdical" store. | reckon the chief peri
odical in that store" was the newly
started Richmond Dispatch, the ablest
edited and most dignifed penny paper
| then existing anywhere. ] think-more
mental hesitancy-that John Hampden
| Peasants was its chief editor. He was re-
markably able. As a military critic Of the
battle of Waterloo he left me deluged with
admiration of his superior ability.
A copy of the paper IS among the lite
rary treasures Of my library. The least at
| tractive feature of this copy is an adver-
tisement of the benefit of c. W. Taylor;
| in which j s. and my Richmond
conferre gave TO the public taste of their
| qualities. l don't think the puOnc hKeu
the taste.
realized SlO9.65 as my share. Or rather
my clere dinis realizedit For one week at
least my apartments at the Old Swan Inn.
on Broad street, then "toney" resort,
echoed to the sounds Of harmless revelry
and mad-cap mirth.
BIT on THE WRONG SUIT.
George Boneface, Jolly and very excel
| lent young English comedian named George
X. Maskell, and young NTglnian
| named --- Carter were pdrticepS ci'iRsnls.
Carter was an inveterate gamester. lie
| boarded, think, at Kimbrough's Shockoe-
| Hill House, ND Broad street. One night he
staked the new suit he was then wearing
against $40 of brother actor named
Reuben Marshall. Carter had to borrow a
suit from me 20 attend rehearsal next day.
| lie explained his loss by saying he had bet
on the wrong suit.
| WAR AND DAAISATIoN.
When at tho outbreak of the war threw
up my position as congressional reporter
| and came to Richmond al enthusiastic
volunteer. not even thei sulphurous smoke
| of war could obscure the ghosts OF the past
which haunted the neighborhood or the
| old Swan Inn and the Marshall Theatre.
/ owe to General Henry A. Wise my Sc
| cession from the Examiner TO the Enquirer
| in 1861 and the charm of personal acquaint-
ance with Captain o. Jennings Wise. When
| the former returned from his prohtleSs
campaign in West Virginia he was met at
the old dep0t of the old Central railroad
| by O number of misrepresentation
| Creme, George Wilde, and myself. Re
spending to an inquiry from one OF Us he
| said
~ am in good health. The scabbard is
| rusty but the blade is bright"
GENERAL MAGRUDER's BOOTS.
In London three or four years ago sill
vor-haired old man halted me on the Strand
and, extending his hand, exclaimed with
friendly fervor:
why, Tayleure, is this your"
II was -, and perhaps vet 10.
The interlocutor was Colonel John Alden
Weston, merchant in Richmond during
the war. In 1862 some constituencies thief
they were not called Canadian 'exlles" in
1861 -purloined from the Spotswood House
q pair Of boots the General had incautious-
" left outside the door of his room one
night. Colonel Weston had recently re-
ceived from England lot of boots
and shoes for army use, and suggested
that possibly the General might there be
refitted.
He adopted the motion and moved an
other-that is. We moved together on IVES
tons store. Unless my recollection Is en-
tirely at fault we spent about three hours
going through Colonel Weston's stock, but
not one par could be found small enough
for General Magruder's feet.
HORRIBLE NUISANCE.
But all that | have written Is predatory to
what started out to say. 'Iis this: Cant
the clamorous hackmen around the depots
here be suppressed? Must travellers ar
irving at Richmond DO subjected to the
pertinacity of negro Jehus and runners? l
am quite certain that sort of thing VIII IN
the long run be found injurious TO the
general interest. 1t killed the prosperity
nf NiaCarQ EalIo au1 rendered New YORK