The Mena weekly star., 1896-12-09
WHERE BLAINE USED TO LIVE.

WdEhE ELAINE USED JO LIVE. theater wanted his services, and he has since earned his living as a clerk in a clothing store. His example has proved to be influential with others, if any have been disposed to make the box of flee place for hirtations.
 Actors and actresses of ability and standing have splendid audiences here. MT. 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. Mir. 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 sev- 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- terior, with their families, occupied the lower tier of boxes.
 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 pu power of the celebrated delineator of the yagabond 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 convulscd with laughter in the humorous parts of the play, partic- uiarly when he tells his wife Gretchen to turn away the villain of the play. give him cold potato and let him go.'' Mir. Jefferson will probably never again give a 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 izes the plays, there has never been a first-class building in Washington un- 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 very handsome the ater and it is built upon the site of the late residence of James G. Blaine. It is historic place. For many years the old Washington club was there, and in front of 1t occurred the celebrated tragedy of 1859, when Daniel k. Sickles killed Phil Barton Key. It was in the same building that William H. 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 he 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 a 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 that site. SMITH D. FRY.