The San Francisco call., 1895-12-18

would be on hand in a few days and that only
80 per cent of the receipts would be expected
in payment.
The old miner thought he had struck some
thing satisfactory and went to the stage office
daily to await his attractions. In about
week q company of twelve people arrived and
the manager took the owner of the opera
house in hand for a business chat.
"'What have yougot for usT inquired the
local philanthropist
"'A great repertoire answered the manager;
East Lynne Lights o. London Shadows OF
a Great City and Uncle Toms Cabin
"Iook a-here, mister, what l want is
Shakespeare. Nothin' but Bill Shakespeare
will open this here house. Now that goes.
What's the matter with Damon and Pythias'
or Dick the Third"
"The crafty manager smiled softly at the
suggestion of Damon and Pythias' as Shakes
pearean play, but promised to put on Richard
ILL., Everything was satisfactorily ar
ranged and the fy-by-night company re-
hearsed Richard once or twice and the town
was billed for the play.
"When the curtain went up on the initial per-
formance the magnitude of the audience was
gratifying to all hands, as the theater was
packed from the gallery to the pit. There was
not even standing room. The cast waded
through the piece laboriously, but from the
miners, prospectors, cowboys and farmers
there came not suggestion of applause. The
entire five acts failed to produce fragment OF
enthusiasm but the manager and the owner OF
the house were so overjoyed at the size OF the
audience that no attention was paid to the
scant appreciation.
"On the following night there were present
about twenty people, and they only attended
because it was impossible for them to get in
the night before. The owner OF the house and
the manager glared at each other and finally
went into the barroom to have talk.
"'What in is the matter with your
town? snarled the manager. Here we are
putting on tirst-ciass attraction and the audi
ence is rotten
"sWell, say, young feller, if you want to
know why the intelligent inhabitants of this
here city don't attend your show I'll tell you
the reason - quick. You come up here from
San Francisco paradin' somethin' big, but
we're onto you with both feet and don't mind
tellin' you fiat-footed that they are dead sick
and mighty hot ebout youse fellows try1n' to
palm show off on them where the leadin'
man is - cripple"
J. o. Forbes Jr. after being commissioners
chant and life insurance man in this City as
well as the Postmaster at Tahoe City, Lake
Tahoe, for ten years, and also president of the
years and incidentally a resident OF George
town for some time, comes back to this City
from Rich Gulch, where he met with some
good fortune, and announces that he has
struck the bonanza of the earth. Mr. Forbes
is stopping at the Grand Hotel and tells the
following romantic tale of how he stumbled
on the property:
"Not long ago I visited old hermit living
at Grizzly Flat. His name was Garvina Bor-
Il had tha mic
fortune to lose my watch. / told him OF my
loss and he promised to recover the property,
which he did, much to my amazement. Of
fered to pay him for his trouble, but he re-
fused to take money on the ground that / was
his guest.
"He told me, however. that could repay him
in another way--by placing his mine on the
market for him. I said was willing to do that
If knew what kind of property he had, and to
my surprise he took me up to Rich Gulch and
showed me the best mine / ever saw. The
lowest rock went $1S and the best reached
thousands. ] have got hundreds of pounds OF
specimens with me, and as the ledge is located
in Ell Dorado County, near old Hangtown. l
feel pretty sure that am in one of the greatest
mineral-bearing sections in the world"
MI. Forbes has many fine samples OF rock in
his room and it is Uttered all over the place.
MISS Lillian Lewis, who has been appearing
so long at the Columbia as Cleopatra, has a
robe SO useful in her winter trips that she
would not part with it for pot OF money.
There are only seven of them in the United
States, 30 its value may be understood. The
robe is the skin of a giant musk-ox. It was OBJ
tanned by her at Tacoma recently, after great
deal of effort. 1t comes from the far region
1000 miles north of the Northern American
boundary in the British possessions.
The hair on it in some places is eighteen
inches long. Beneath this is thick fur, soft
almost as eider-down, ana rising three or four