Abilene weekly reflector. [volume] (Abilene, Kan.) 1888-1935, 1892-06-09

When the bent OF ones impulse is ir-
resistibly stageward II is waste Of
time and eloquence TO warn that per
son against the heart-brealSing uncer-
tainties of a stage career. II Is not as
serted that grief and disaster are inevi-
table results of theatrical undertake
ings, but they most assuredly are the
lot of large majority of travelling
companies. The following unembel-
lished narrative of actual experience
by the peripatctic actor:
Two seasons ago, after prolonged
struggle for existence, a well-known
repertoire company took u blind header
south in the hope of retrieving their
fortunes and playing the season out. It
was, however, but case of out of the
frying pan into the fire, as the third
week found them Mt Little Rock practi-
cally strapped. Money and credit were
exhausted and all advertising material
was used up. In this extremity the
agent was given carte blanche TO go
ahead and do what he could TO keep the
company moving Arkansas was a
stranger to him and he proceeded TO in
terview, in rapid succession, the thea
ter managers, railroad men, hotel pro
prietors, bill posters, attaches Of thea
ters and, so on, in the faint hope of dig
| ging up mascot.
lie finally gave II up and settled on
the very ancient town OF Arkadclphia,
where TO move the company from
Little Rock. The management secured
enough money to get him there. The
next point was TO obtain paper to bill
with An interview with the litho-
grapher and general factotum of the
Capitol thcatsr disclosed the fact that
he had for years been in the habit OF
saving dozen or more Autographs Of
every star who played in the thcater.
Mr.. Agents persuasive tongue easily
won him to give up three Autographs
Of each kind, making n total of about
three hundred. Gleefully returning to
his abode the agent trimmed off all
printed matter, both top and bottom,
from the Autographs and, with the
blessings and prayers Of the wcll-nigh
stranded players, proceeded on his way
to Philadelphia,
With the assistance Of few stray
and apparently lost inhabitants Of the
place, he finally located the opera
house II was a siShtl A very plain,
| cheap wooden structure when built
probably thirty years before time had
dealt hardly with it, Covered with
moss, IL leaned towards the great west
and somehow suggested by its general
| appearance that it was holding its
breath in n last rally not TO give up the
ship and collapse entirely. The little,
narrow entrance door leading TO the
| steep and primitive steps was locked,
and the agent rushed into the thick of
the town and finally located the
marshal He was informed that Mrs.
Blank owned the opera house" and
lived out of town about two miles.
After jollying the marshal and promis-
ing him several comps" for his in
fluence and assistance in negotiating
for the opera house" they started on
foot to seek the owncr--a vehicle being
out of the question, as money was now
to the agent but Il memory Arriving
at the house the colorcd attendant
uShcrcd them into the purlor, where,
after almost an hours wait, the lady
appeared A three 'corucrcd tall, now
ensucd, as the lady would not do bust.
ness directly, but through the marshal
The agent talked to tho marshal, the
marshal to the lady, and SO on back to
the agent. Aftcr an hours coufub the
opera house was secured on the follow
ing extremely liberal tcrms-for the
owner: Rent, including light, heat and
one stage assistant, twenty dollars,
payable to the marshal before the
curtain rose. This was exclusive OF all
licenses, which HmouutcG-statc, county
and town, including collection fccs-to
eighteen dollars aud twenty-five cents,
also payable before the curtain went
mp.
\ little lcg-wcary, the agent returned
to town and dashed into the one printing
Office where, to his further hindranco
and dismay, he found the editor and his
,utirc stuif, consisting of one person
The GeYil-brsilY engaged in working
the hand-prcsi running OFF the weekly
,dition. The promise Of three dollars,
payable bcfor2 the curtain rosa, stopped
thc press and the editor, the devil, and
the agent got their heads together in
leviaiug n stunning datc-linc which,
after many trials, they succeeded In
ictting up and running of. It an
nounccd a grand production Of Our
Boys by the sumo company Of twenty
artists playing that week ut the Capt.
tol thcatcr, Little Rock. a half-column
local followed from the agents pen,
the editor obligingly setting it up and
lifting patent medicine adj. out Of
the form on the press, he inserted IL in
it5 stead and ran it in the remainder Of
Tie edition.
His dntc-lincs secured, the agent
hustled to his hotel and, with the aid
Of II borrowed bottle Of mucilagc, at
Lached the dates 10 the Autographs,
and then, supplying himself with stick
ers, taclSs and a small hammer, he pro-
cecded TO Autograph the town "out Of
sight" Never, even when Barnum adj
vertised the place for Little Rock, had
Arkadelphia been SO extensively or
richly billed. The main street looked
like n rainbow--a rather straight rain
bow-but still about the only thing II
resembled. Darkness had now set In,
and the very tired agent sought his
couch.
At seven o'clock next morning he
was again at work, as he still had a
dozen three-shoets and four big stands
of paper in his possession and, as II was
root hog or die in Arladelphia with his
attraction, he determined 10 nut IL all