Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1899-11-13

THEATRICAL GOSSIP.

EuWln Brewster Is an accomplished mu-
stefan, and before he became an actor was
the musical director of a repertoire opera
company. better known on the route of
the Northern Pacific railroad than in any
other part of the country. 1t was neces-
Sary for Mr.. Brewster to go ahead of the
company In order to renearse the orchestra
at BOZeman, where = series of. performances
was to be given. After an a!I-night ride
i'll freight train he arrived his destina-
ton ard proceeded to the theater. The or
chestra was supposed to comprise eight
tirst-Class musicians. There was no one
present, and Brewster resolved to await
developments. In about hour a red
headed individual, clad in overalls and car
rying a black box resembling a musical
instrument case, walked down the center
aisle and climbed on to the stage He pro-
ceeded diligently to sweep the floor but
finally paused to remove from the box an
exceedingly battered 3 fiat cOrnet, and to
ask if Mr.. Brewster was ready to begin
rehearsal. Where are the other men?"
asked the leader. "Shure, they won't be
here till night" replied the man in the
overalls, with a strong Hibernian accent,
they're over bayant the hill at the pic
mic why are you not there?' queried
Brewster Well, l wud he there, too, said
the musician, If l could play good
enough"
Mr. Brewster, like most musical directors
with travelling organizations has had many
experiences quite as unique as that at
ter says, he attended a rehearsal In a
small town, when It was found the double
bass was absent. 1t was impossible to pro-
coed without him, and the other members
of The orchestra relieved the tedium Of
waiting by making frequent trips to the
ncighbOring saloon. After an hour or two
spent In this fashion Mr. Brewster's pa
thence began to be exhausted, and he de-
mandCd the reason for the delay. The cor
net player, German named Bruner stand
ing at the stage door, looked anxiously at
the sky. There was hardly a cloud to be
seen. eff it rains. SchmeItz chat was the
name of the double bass will be here in
half an hour" What do you mean by If
it rains?" asked Mr.. Brewster. "Schmeltz
drives sprnkling wagon" was the re-
Spouse.
Jim Barry used to tell story that rus
tics fairly raved over, but that CITY audi
time passing through small country town,
and, stopping off, took dinner at q farm
house. 1t happened that one of the LATEST
men in the town had recently died and
Barry was asked if he remembered a HUI
mOrous incident connected with the death.
Mr.. Barry avowed his ignorance and his
interrogation endeavored to cn.ighten him.
The old squire" he began, had a son,
Zeb, the --LATEST mortal on earth, and when
the squire died twenty years ago this rel
ative was hequeathed an old clock, one with
the hemispheres and all the occult signs
upon its face Zeb priced the heirloom and
delighted to wind it regularly every morn
ing, in order to watch the mechanism move
as the different hours passed. This WAS
about the only work he had ever done,
and one morning he was surprised at it
by a friend of the family The friend
asked Zeb how often he wound the clock
and Zeb replied: Every day The friend
tod him he wasting his energy, as the
clock was an eight-day affair and did not
need daily winding. Zeb stopped and slowly
left the room. All day he figured upon the
time he had wasted in winding the clock
for twenty years and next day he became
i'll. Two weeks later he died, you know,
and although only forty-five years old.
the doctor said he died of old age. The
calculation too much for him
Down in SyOsett, L. l., there Is a man
who apparently is an ardent admirer of
Louis Mann. He has never seen Mr. Mann
on or off the stage and therefore his habit
of writing letters is the more to be Won
dered at. Within a year he has sent three,
each treating of a different topic, which
seems to show that he possesses versatility,
if nothing else. First he wrote to inquire
if the actor wanted to buy a small farm
on the north shore of Long Island. Mr..
Mann replied that he didn't. Then the man
wrote to ask if Mr. Mann would aid him
in patenting an air pump which he had
invented after many sleepless nights and
much worry. About two weeks ago NJ. LIE
Bardy Mann's character in his new COM
edy The Girl In the Barracks) received
polite note from his special correspondent
which read
II have considerable amount of confed-
crate money, which my father left me on
| his dying bed and which / cannot seem to
get rid of in Syosett, one will accept
| it at anything Ike par. Now, you are
| travelling around more than me- constantly
meeting people. and consequently you have
a better opportunity to unload this stuff,
which am told is good in certain parts of
| the country for nearly its face value.
will send you hundred dollars in the hope
| that you may get enough regular money
n n a nlD n ffy
| cherished ambitions, which Is to own BIZ
cycle. The roads around here are in fine
! shape for wheeling. Deduct reasonable
| commission for your trouble"
| Up to the present time the money hasn't
arrived. and Mr.. Mann hopes the Long
| Islander has forgotten all about 1t.