Audubon Republican. [volume] (Audubon, Iowa) 1894-1925, 1896-11-26
WHERE BLAINE USED TO LIVE.

polite way where the lady desires to be
seated, and he will frequently receive
sharp and petulant answer. The
men, too, make many similar blunders
in dealing with the ticket seller, but the
man behind the window keeps his tenn
per.
Actors and actresses of ability and
standing have splendid audiences here.
Mr.. Joseph jefferson gave perform
ance of rip Van Wrinkle" last year
and the audience was one of the finest
that could have been assembled in the
world. You probably have heard that
the great actor and President Cleve-
land are very warm personal friends,
and of course President and Mrs. Cleve-
land attended that performance. Mr..
Jefferson always has large audiences
wherever he goes, but the fact that
the president was to attend naturally
induced many prominent people to wit
ness the performance who might not
otherwise have gone on that particular
occasion. In box adjoining the stage
sat the president with his wife and sew
eral of her intimate lady friends. The
ether boxes were occupied by members
of the cabinet and their families. The
secretary of state, the secretary of the
treasury and the secretary of the in
terror, with their families, occupied the
lower tier of boxes. In the audience
there were all of the diplomats from
foreign countries, majority of the
senators and representatives, the chief
justice and associate justices of the
supreme court, and others of national
reputation and distinction. 1t is sell
dom that any actor has such an audi
ence.
The veteran performer has played
Rip Van Wrinkle for fully 30 years, but
never did he appear to better advantage
than upon the occasion described. The
ease, grace, naturalness and climatic
power of the celebrated delineator of
the vagabond Rip brought forth round
after round of applause. In that mag
nificent scene where the old man pleads
for recognition and finally compels
his daughter to remember her long
lost father, the actor brought tears to
all eyes, and Grover Cleveland was
obliged to rub his handkerchief over
his eyes, just like the rest of us. With
equal facility the actor caused the audi
ence to be convulsed with laughter in
the humorous parts of the play, partic-
ularly when he tells his wife Gretchen
to turn away the villain of the play,
give him cold potato and let him 60"
Mr.. Jefferson will probably never again
give rendition of his celebrated
play; certainly never again to such an
audience.
Although this city is what the theat-
rical people call "a good theater town."
that is, city which literally patron
ICES the plays, there has never been a
tirst-class building in Washington I'M
til within the last year. Of course, the
opera houses and theaters have not
been common, but there has been none
to compare with the places of amuse-
ment in the great cities.
We now have a very handsome the
alter and it is built upon the site of the
late residence Of James G. Blaine. 1t
is historic place. For many years
the old Washington club was there, and
in front of it occurred the celebrated
tragedy Of 1859, when Daniel E. Sickles
killed Phil Barton Key. 1t was in the
same building that William II. Seward
resided as secretary of state when the
assassin entered and almost killed him
on the night when President Lincoln
was killed. While Blaine was secre-
tary of state ne resided there, and in
that house he died.
There was almost universal protest
against the transfer of the property to
new proprietors for the purpose of
building theater, but Mrs. Blaine pur-
sued her own course, as she has done
all her life, regardless of the will and
wishes of others. Consequently our
amusement-loving people find their
handsomest and best theater on thar
site. SMITH d. FRY.
The statue of Jupiter Olympus by
Phidias was of gold and ivory and was
SO feet high. 1t was finished in the year