The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1895-02-04
AT THE THEATER.
". IT. Crane in .sThe senator To
uIZhf-Iu-er.oII Next.

night-InEersOIl Next.
Savannah theater-goers viii see W. Il
Crane tonight for the hrst time since his
separation from Stuart Robson and the
dissolution OF the partnership which had
existed so long between them. Ar. Robson
has been seen here sevral times since
then The last Performance here Of the two
comedians together was Ia Merry Wives
Of Windsor" IN The Senator Mr.. Crane
viii be seen tonight in the play which
has made him famous. Its story is faml-
lar to most theater-goers. Il recalls an in
cident OF the Worlds Fair. Many who
visited the fair no doubt noticed on the
shore OF Lake Michigan. near the naval
exhibit, an Old cdd-lo0king gun with a lit
tie placard on Il reading Long Tom.
crane, who played IN Chicago during the
falr' probably viewed this gun with more
interest than any one else who saw IT, lie
mad reasons for this interest, for the gun
furnished the plot OF THE Senator" This
gun was one Of several which IN 1914 were
on the American prlyateer Cen. Arm
strong. On Sept 26 In that year the vessel
put INTO neutral hart1r IN the Azores
for a supply OF fresh water. and while
there was attacked by British squadron
on It's way 70 capture New Orleans. The
doughty American with the aid OF the
long gun. played havoc with the attack
ing party, ana in a short time the British
loss amounted to over 20 killed. The
commander Of the squadron then sent in
two OF his ships to lick the Americans, and
the captain Of the Armstrong. seeing that
Il would be impossible to hold out against
such odds scuttled his ship and with his
men escaped in the small boats. Just
before the vessel went down the English
set nre 10 It. Long Tom" was after
ward raised and mounted in a Portuguese
fort, where nOsey American discovered
IL and its interesting history. In this
way the gun found its way TO the worlds
fair. The United States government asked
indemnity from Portugal for the loss OF
the ship, as the English had no right to
sink il in a neutral harbor and Portugal
had no right TO allow il 10 do so. NO at
tention was paid to the matter, however,
and the heirs Of the owner Of the ship
asked congress to right the wrong. II
was only after seventy years of weary
waiting that congress saw that justice
was done in the matter. Many people in
Washington remember the claim and the
claimants. The play is founded on this
claim. and the part which Mr.. Crane plays
in il is that Of the senator who succeeds
in having the claim allowed
Lovers Of fine oratory viii hardly fail to
attend the lecture by Robert G. Ingerson
Wednesday evening. On this occasion he
will deliver his celebrated lecture On
Shakespeare. Col. IngersolTs lecture is
an array Of reasons for ranking the i'm
mortal bard of Avon first among the
poets Of all time. He expresses his ad-
miration In the superlative degree, and
he explains wherein such a measure CT
admiration is deserved. Starting out with
the proposition that Shakespeare was
1.-THE greatest genius Of our world" he
uses the arts Of the orator and the lawyer
in substantiating this asseveration. His
lecture VIII delight those already acQuaint-
cd with the great dramatists works, and
1t will be full of instruction to those whose
Shallespearean education has been neg
lected. The salient beauties of the great
plays are pointed out, so that all may see
in what their greatness lies.