The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1897-12-26

MY good friend / continued, almost
affectionately, you have come to me
] for advice, and I am trying to helI
you. Remember that your are about
to address yourself to the most bril-
liant and highly cultivated men and
women in New York society. Therefore
do not fail to place your fur-lined
| overcoat over the back of a chair sc
! that the lining may be seen by all. Ma
ture has been bounteous 10 you in the
matter of a fine, large beard The
overcoat and the WaIdorf-for, of
course, you will not dream of reading
anywhere else-will do the rest
| 1 am happy to say that this gentle
man was distinctly successful in his
| readings, although he is a scholar of
high ability.
AMERICAN PLAY ON GERMAN
STAGE.
Paul Potter has just arrived from
Europe and is rehearing his new play,
The Conquerors," at the Empire. Well
do [ remember a certain morning, a
little more than three years ago, when
L sat with Potter in his room in the
queer, old fashioned, down town hotel,
where he lived at the time, and dis
cussed with him the question of the
dramatization of novels.
Nov there is 'Trilby,'" [ said, chat
is having an enormous run as a novel,
but certainly no one would ever dream
of putting it into dramatic FORM
On the contrary" retorted Potter,
who was in an argumentative mood, ''it
has the making of a most excellent
play, and if l were to do it it would
be somewhat in this fashion, And
Herewith he rapidly outlined a play
which was, in all essential particulars,
the same drama that has since proved
so enormously successful in this coun-
try and in Europe. | sapiently assured
him that his scheme was worthless, and
that the Introduction of hypnotism
alone would suffice to kill it. but he did
not agree with me, and the next day
he began to work upon the drama in
order, as [ have always commended, to
prove that I was wrong. =.
We'll, [ acknowledge the corn, and
am glad to chronicle the fact that for
the first time in history, an American
play has actually taken possession of
the German stage, although when it
was given for the first time at the Carl
theatre in Vienna, it utterly failed to
awaken any enthusiasm. At its first
presentation there was about 500 in
the house. At it's second, the Crown
Prince of Austria, and still 800 in
money. At it's third, the emperor and
his court, filling every box; and then
the "Trilby' deluge that swept all over
Germany; all of which is very com
forting for us to hear about, for which
one of US is there who does not be-
Heve in his secret heart that he can
write a play?
Potter is now living in Paris and
writing plays which he hopes to pro-
duce simultaneously in England,
America and Berlin. am glad to learn
hn hn 70, 1f NJ,
a large income from the royalties of
the "Trilby" drama.
FLASH LIFE OF NEW YORK.
A fortnight ago I had something to
say about the all-night restaurants
that are SO popular on upper Broad
way just now, but 1 do not think 1
even mentioned a midnight resort
which is one of the most famous of
them all, because it has a distinct in
dividuality of its own, and can boast
Of a clientele that cannot be found in
it's entirety anywhere else. This place
is situated at the rear of the hotel to
which it belongs, and is reached by
doors in the side streets, as well as
from Broadway. 1t is known variously
as the palm garden" and the bird
cage" because of the palms used as
decoration, and the merry character
i
doubt if there is any place in the city
that can show a better representation
of the prosperous flash life of the town
than that which gathers here every
night after the theatres are closed, to
eat expensive dishes and partake of
drinks that range from Scotch and
soda to the highest-priced brand of
champagne. 1 never heard of anyone
brealSfasting or lunching here, but i do
know G 10 sscsfo
with the head waiter and secure a
table in advance if you wish to sup
here between 1870 and midnight, and
at that hour you can always see scores
OF people turning disconsolately away
because the rooms are full. Among
the men who frequent the palm gar
den may be seen bookmakers, theatre
cal managers and actors, members of
the Jeunesse doree and an occasional
journalist of the better sort. L do
not mean better in a moral, but in a
pecuniary, sense, and I am happy to
state that the earnings of a clever
writer of today are such that he is
able to enjoy luxuries which were be-
yond the reach of men of his class a.
dozen years ago. And as the Journal
lists have prospered, even so have the
once fortunate and we'll dressed gam
blerS fallen into decay, and it will be
difficult matter to find within the
walls of such a place as the palm
garden, a single faro dealer or roulette
expert. Their places have been filed
by sharp-featered, shifty-eyed book
makers and race plungers, and an in
ferior variety of so-called ''specula-
tor who buys wheat on a margin
through some bucket-shop by day, and
goes about at night, seeking whom he
may devour.
Among the women are certain rather
f1eshy ones who fit about the fringe of
society and are vaguely supposed to
nave some sort of a social standing,
comic opera singers and burlesque ac-
tresses and few of the SWEETEST mem
bers of the demi monde From time to
time there may be seen in the midst
OF the laughing, drinking, smoking
crowd a party of Sedate strangers who
have strolled in, perhaps by accident
and possibly because they wish to see
for themselves just what the Bird Cage
is like at the midnight hour They al
ways crane their neckS in every direc-
tlon and seem to be about as much at
home as the proverbial salmon on the
gravel walk. The wealthy young New
Yorker of fast proclivities is strong
ly III evidence here and an amazing
specimen he is. too. We are accustom-
ed to ridicule the agriculturalist who
comes to New. York to buy gold brick
or get a nice drink of Knockout drops.
and hold him up as an example of YER
dancy, but L can assure you that in
comparison with the dashing Young
New York swell of today this benighted
farmer is a Talleyrand in knowledge
OF the world and a Veritable Prince