The Van Buren press., 1898-06-18


the play that vas g zaeceed At lszt-
Since that evening ! had seea very
Little Of Bernard FroebeL ! had been
very Busy having regular employment
With thu magazines Therefore, al
fhoaeh ! knew that the cd mans
finances must Be at a low ebb. : vas
4ifA considerable II q shock that came
% realize that he Wa probably stzrv-
ing.
I could not work. my thoughts
strayed necessarily 20 the Cd man ap-
stairs. J had had = good supper i vas
lard 10 realize that FFaebel was lack
ing fe0d. I could ret ezdare the
thought. 7 Hent downstairs and out
u the house ! hurried to a nearby
restaurant s1d procured a nice game
pie. pat II butter some rolls and q
bottle Of wine. Armed With this went
70 FreebeEs room
found the door locked. This vas N
usual. To my knock the old man came
close TO the door and asked: Who ia
there2~
1T Is !, Froebel; let ne m cried.
Unless MS important 7 wish you'd
excuse me- he said. still keeping the
door shut. I'm very busy
oh open. mani cried; Eve some
thing to say 70 yor.s
Slowly he opened the door, and, bear
ing nv burden Of eatzbles. shamefaeed-
" I entered. By the light CT smoky
kerosene lamp I noticed that Froebel's
eyes we're red. He looked as 4 he might
have been weeping.
Its ny birthday to-day said. with
an attempt At laugh. and want 70
celebrate. I forgot all about it until
Just now, and then I felt i vas not
fitting for me to celebrate alone. Be-
sfdes, I sold an article to-day. 70 went
downstairs. bought some grub and came
up here 70 enjoy your company. Come
Or, old mar, ct "a eat ard drink and
be merry"
'Thanks-nol do-Hot-eare-ta,-
eat. YOu-WiII-excuse- be said
haltingIy. and with many q strange
glance toward the food. Il haEe-aI-
readF-had- - al = supper. A.
hearty sGppeF-thank-yoE.s
knew he lied to save his self-Ff-
speet. but what could T.do7 The I'D
man was trembling with weakness ard
hunger. NJ presence seemed to worry
him. To save the awkward situation
said. hgrriedlg:
~HON's the aeW play getting along27
This was familiar ground and sool
the Old man had sorted the manuscript
ard in a weak voice and With many a
cough was reading passages from The
play to me ! cannot give the pay.
scene for scene. bat. as reraeEn Der 4, i
was % De II four acts. II was, with very
slight variation, the story % the Old
msn't life very simple, kindly, low
able life. The action was unstHdied and
natural. there was 10 hint Of relo-
drama, no element Of comedy quiet,
quaint. simple play that touched the
haer chords Of human sympathy and
brought tears close to the eyes.
As the old man read on I could i'm
agine I saw him on the stage. acting the
part Of his principal character. his gray
hairs, bis furrOwed face, his halting
voice. bis pathetic story, all appealing
to the hearts and sympathies Of his au-
dience, and, as be laid the manuscript
down, / choked back the sob that rose
in my throat.
81 have not begun the last act yet"
said Froebel. "I-do-not-know-
to end-it."
"Why, I'll tell you'll" cried, with
burst Of hopeful confidence. ain your
last act make good fortune come to your
hero--yourself. Have the play accepted
and great success, and have riches
pour in upon the ng-disappointed
playwright so that, at last, he can leave
behind forever the misery and squalor
Of keen poverty; so that he can move
into the country, fresh and green, buy
little home with trailing vines and
flower beds about II and live there In
peace and happiness all his days"
It was nearly midnight when left
him. He was tired and was going to
bed, he said. In the morning he would
try TO finish the last act.
In the morning before | went to get
my breakfast l ran up to Froebel's
room. The door was locked. knocked,
but received no response. | knocked
again, louder. From inside there came
no sign. ! summoned the landlady.
With her permission forced the crazy
door inward, swapping the lock.
The old man sat in his chair by the
window. The poor old head was bent
forward on a pile OF manuscript. The
morning sun, beating through the
broken shutters, shone brightly on his
silvered hair. went over and touched
him on the shoulder.
The old mans pen was in his
cramped and rigid hand. Close TO It
was a sheet Of paper on which was writ
ten; The Last Act" Under this was
written:
And this, also. Is a sore evil. that In all
parts az he came, 30 shall he go. and what
profit hath he that hath labored for the
windY"
1t was his epitaph. The drama Of his
life had ended. The curtain had rung
down Golfers Weekly.