The San Francisco call., 1898-02-01
Under an Assumed Name. He Will Strive to
 Win Fame.
Society Belles Despondent. at the Misfortune Which
 Awaits Them.
TO APPEAR IN "oUR FLAT :.
First He Wrote Plays and Now He...=,N w ants to E 5. .-.:=
 Act. <. ::.s x ...=.:.. ..=.:..

George. de Long, the popular society man and leader of the .cotillon, is go- ing upon the stage. F. ::
 He will make his debut under an =as4 sumed name, and will play a part which has not one. dancing step. in it..
 In fact, the society man is not going to rely even. a little bit on his. great social successes, his unusual aptitude for the deux. temps or his talent and taste In executing and selecting intrf-. cate figures for tie saerman. There will be no Lily. :Langtry nor Cora Pot ter. tactics. about his debut. The name thar is always kept. in type, fol. con stant use in the: social column, is to be dropped and a nom de theatre, that ! no bribe can prevail upon the gentle. man.to disclose; will be adopted in it's. stead. sz ~:4: ~.".*-#: F.
 In=a a modest little road company, with. Leila Burton, daughter of Colonel. George. Burton, as the very capable head, George &de. Long is to make his. initial professional bow: : He is to play. .Nane in <"Our. Flat" and only his own. greatness may: save the thankless part from utter oblivion. ....::. .s.-.zs :.
 For some weeks the ninble-toed beau. 
 though he has been observed to sneak off between dances and mutter and ges-. ticulate in a wild and awful manner still he manages to carefully guard his. secret, until the proverbial little bird, discovered the fact, and-soeiety lost a: beau and the stage gained an embryo. actor -: ..:z. ss 7. ....s ss 7 Ten minutes after the little bird"5 whispered the tale society was astir.= First the buds and the *belIes and even. the matrons were Respondent the verge of tears, but after some little re. fiection, when it began to dawn upon them that-perhapS as. AfontmorencyA Al gernon de Vere-their# faYorfte: dancer, might electrify the world. and: that his halo of glorious light might cast a fee bIe ray in their direction, their lace .InOuchoirs were quoted at. a. premium, bright eyes shone again, and the sweet young things who make up the army Of dear matinee girls went out and bought reams of scented, tinted: note. |Daper. And the hero of all. this. .commotion and future devotion emphatically de- nies all knowledge of a stage debut.
 Broadhurst, author of What Hap pened to Jones'" says De. Long. ap- preached him on several occasions, anxious to join the company in which Corson Clarke is to star, but: De: Long. denies it all = .. = -:@.: -:@.: =..@+.
 Miss Leila Burton admits that De Long is rehearsing with her daily, but De Long says there is some misunder- standing, and with gentlemanly tact denies it all. -::.- :-=:' . : .:: .~:,.
 And so the matter stands. The ma jority says, Yes" the minority--in this. case De Long himself-says emphatic: ally upon his word of honor as a gen. tleman," "No!" .:>:: Z :. .@ : ... .
 MT de Long, a year GOT more. ago. took enough time from. his. social duties to dash off" a play in seven acts and seventeen tableaux. Managers. how. ever could not be made to see the many excellent qualities of De Longs. play, and the only hope of a: produc- tion appears to be in the dim and dis tant future, when De Long will be: great star and possibly a great man ager as we'll. ~. = : . '., =: :