The times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1897-1901, 1898-08-21
PEOPLE I'VE LAUGHED AT.
Memories of Contemporary Player


Memories of Contemporary Players.
nefit-giving in New York has be-
come system, and is carried on with
degree of lavishness that attracts the
admiration of the outsider. The enter
tainments often enlist the talents of fifty
or more of the best-known people in the
business. while the scenery and proper
ties of whole productions are frequently
carted from one end of the Rialto TO an
other in order that one act of the play
for which they are used may be given
1t was at one of these affairs that the
incident I related last week concerning
Mr.. Daniels occurred and it was on the
same afternoon that two other private
comedies were acted, with myself in a
stellar role.
After my interview with the comedian
the first piece was staged, and my strange
success in a newly-created part might
have determined me upon adopting the
drama as a profession. l was clad at the
time in a long overcoat and felt hat, and
Imagined myself rather well dressed. The
second act of Cumberland 81 was be-
ing given, and had drawn so near close
that long array of supe soldiers was
waiting TO enter on one side, with a num-
Der of native civilians-aIso supes-on the
other. These people were generally rag
ged and my consolation in thinking the
matter over is that my SOuthern-lOOking
sombrerO may have caused the mistake.
For as the cue was given for the men in
gray and the mountaineers to rush into
the church, and as / stood looking at the
affair with interest. the head of the sec
ond division, a brawny fellow, who car
ried big double-barreled gun, tapped
me roughly on the shoulder and remark
ed Come, now. amt you agoin' in TO-
night?''
And before my astonished intellect
! could find reply 20 this interrogation I
! had been pushed into the mob and by
| 1t showed blindly ahead until I found
| myself on the big stage of the MetropoH-
/ tan Opera House with the footlights and
/ the crowded auditorium before me- the
| last words of the act being spoken at my
/ side and a costume on my shoulders that
| must have seemed strangely out of place
! for a scene in the far South. Fortunate
| ly the curtain was soon rung down and
! l was enabled to make my escape
| The incident which followed this had,
at least, the merit of being unique.
Only shortly after this by the way. a
| decidedly unique incident occurred TO me.
| l had reached an exit and was about TO
! leave the theater when the stage door
| keeper with whom I was acquainted,
stopped me and asked if 1 would mind re-
| naming there a moment until he had
I crossed the street and gotten a drink As
/ the duties of a stage doorkeeper consist
! largely in checking the ambitions of soul
full dudes, clipping the wings of mschiev-
| Gus urchins and quarreling with newspa-
per men, and as l felt eminently quail
! ed oil 7 4 hot
/ would be glad to assist him.
The man had not been gone five seconds
when Harry Conner, for many years
/ leading man in Charles Hoyts compa-
| MES and creator of the part of Welland
| Strong in "A Trip to Chinatown" came
| into view, and after looking a me for an
! instant and staring al the blank wall still
| longer. queried. Where's my overcOat?"
! l professed my total ignorance of the
| garments whereabouts and had started
! to explain that the delinquent employee of
the house might have removed it when
| Mr.. Connor interrupted me. Don't say
a word" he clustered. Il hung the thing
there myself and now 1 return to find it
gone You have not taken it away and
consequently some one must have stolen
| it. If so, you are TO blame. Have you
! left the door this afternoon?'
| was in no humor to repeat old jokes
about my inability to have taken it with
me and consequently made answer that
| had Once more l began my explanation
and once more I was interrupted. Very
| WE'LL said the angry comedian. That 3
| all | wanted to know l shall report your
negligence to Mr. Grau in the morning
and see that you are made responsible
for the coat. Good day And he van
ished leaving me still in the middle of
| rIsS CnlhQpSS n
weather, the soothing qualities of good
| liquor and the thirst of my predecessor.
After the irate actor was well out of
| sight. l turned around to think the mat
| ter over and TO laugh at the combined
| incidents that had been so unpleasant
while they lasted. but were really en-
| ioyabIv humorous after. Both seemed
so ridiculous thai / had gotten in a fair
way to gain several pounds of flesh by
| means of the method adopted in the we'll
| known proverb before l turned back to
the other side again. When it occurred
TO me how unjustly l had been blamed
for something of which / knew nothing
and after l had recited to myself few
times the fact that / really had been ig-
norant of the garments location, l was
| quite as angry as its owner had been.
And then, all of a sudden, it struck me
that the stage .doorkeeper had told me of
the coat before going, and that had 7
| only taken time to have thought. could
have given information as to where it
| was. The accusations thrust upon me
| did not seem so fearful after all, and my
ideas had taken a change against myself
| when / turned and saw that unlucky
bit of wearing apparel hanging directly
by the entrance. 1t had been in plain
sight of both of US all through the dis
cussion and the comedian had even had
his hand upon it at one time. Which
brings to light again the line in "a Scrap
of Paper in which Suzanne says,
That's just where I'm going to look.
If he didn't want us to see the thing.
he'd put it where we couldn't help seeing
it,
To my sorrow have not seen Mr.. Con-
nor since. Nothing would give me greater
pleasure than a social meeting with him
over glass of something or other on an
afternoon when felt in the humor to re-
tail this story to him and to enjoy his
enjoyment