The times., 1899-03-05

Alter iHt uUdi curtain HdS ldAIsh tOlutS
long wait at the stage door in company |
with several other "horrid creatures"
whose regard happens to have fastened on
the same actor. Finally that being passes
out. looking very commonplace without his
sword and patches. his white wig and vel
vet breeches. A hum of awed wonder goes
the rounds of the group as he walks By
with superb disdain-caused either by prop
er ideas or dignity or dreams of dinner
and then the girls 20 home to indite mash
notes" on pink paper with gold crests and
to seal their envelopes with blue wax be-
fore posting them with that feeling of min
gled fear and delight peculiar to the school
boy who places a tack in working order
on his teachers chair Finally comes n Pc
riod of hopeless waiting, some further talk
with anyone who will listen and then an
other return to the portrait and the maga-
zines and-Other things.
Asunder and aside from the gloom that
must prevail abroad, since there is no such
industry there, must be considered the de-
plorable effect dearth of matinee girls
may have on trade. Not only should the
atIes feel the bad effects keenly, but the
| financial loss occasOned in other directions
| is probably terrific. First of all. the con-
! fectiOner must suffer terribly, for the true
! woTshiper cannot idolZe without a box of
/ bonbons TO MUNICH and to receive her salty
! tears when the time comes for shedding
/ tnsln. through IHiS the uBUllSl anu lHt
! doctor have reason for complaint, and so
the druggist and the supply companies
Pocket handkerchief manufacturers and
agents for rubber goods who make life
preservers are also the worse off for this
deplorable state of affairs, as are the
! messenger service, the florists, and even
the government postoiiice department. So
| it may readily be seen that the lack of
this class of theatregoers may prove seri-
| Gus.
Worst of all, the ilk may be counted
upon to grow smaller shortly even in the
United States. Idols are getting scarc-r
and scarcer every year until the time can
not be far away when a stage hero Will
be rarer than the skeleton of prehistoric
beast. With f. Fl. Sothern married AMI
getting gray either as a cause or resu OF
that alliance; with James K. Hackett safe
| ly welded and with Nat Goodwin not only
"spiced" but settled down to a path OF
| strict virtue, what is left to the unfortu-
nate worshipers? William Courtleigh is
no longer on the market and has a little
red headed boy to claim his attention:
Robert Edeson owns TO a wife and family;
John Drew's beauty seems to be growing
continually less; William Faversham and
Herbert Kelcey have taken to playing VIII
| lains. Cyril Scott fiirts with a score OF
women in musical comedy, and Chauncey
Olcott has given out that hereafter he Will
have only one matinee week.
From where new favorites are to come
cannot be imagined. She would indeed be
bold maiden who would attempt to win
Sol Smith Russell over to her. and William
Gillette's chilliness offers quite as many
obstacles Richard Mansfield has a bet
ter half and is reputed not to be the best
tempered of men, though content to fight
his duels with his tongue rather than with
property sword. Then ". II. Crane is
getting old, James O'Neill has gotten old,
and Francis Wilson has given up working
for principle and begun trying to make
money and all OF 1t that happens to be
near him. Andrew Mack is controlled by
servant girls. Henry Miller is really the
most promising of the candidates, while
Robert Mantell's widowerhood also makes
him eligible. But none of these can fill
the place of the former fayorites and so
it would seem that the race is diving out
Still. some time will probably elapse be-
fore this country will be in the deplorable
state described by the English critic. The
wcrshipers, who have proven their ability
10 imagine charms where there are none in
dozens of prominent players. give no
ground for fear that means of alteration
will fail them. So ones whole sorrow may
be confined to the unhappy condition of
England-with a little pride at learning
that the matinee girl is wholly domes-
tic product.
There has just been received at this Of
flee manuscript copy of a one-act play
written by \. A. Sousa, of Washington and
called The Draft. Mr.. Sousa is a broth
er of the composer and bandmaster so that
these is nothing surprising in the fact that
he should have entered the field Of dra-
matte authorship. The Draft" IS a really
clever comedietta and deals with a familiar
subject in most entertaining manner.
Some of its dialogue is exceedingly bright
and the entire work gives great promise
for its writer Mr.. Sousa is also response
Bile for the book of ''Romona," an operetta
The AutomatOn." a farce: THE Art OF
Composing" another farce, and ''Homeo-
pathy," three-act comedy
Some philosopher has remarked truly il
not newly that every rose must have its
thorn" and indications are that the brier
mentioned will not be altogether lacking
in the case of Richard Mansiield's S local en-
gagement, the sale for which opens tomor-
row. All during the past week numbers OF
professional spectators have been arriv-
ing from New York and other cities in
which they flourish and the result is that
one may expect systematized attempts tC
rob the public just as soon as seats be-
come trifle scarce at the box office It
has been estimated that in Pittburg and
in at the theatre was expended for tickets
some people giving much as $40 for a
single coupon and 50 for admission. The
profits of the legal highwayman were cnor-
nous, and an effort should be made to pre-
vent their being here.
The spectators work on definite plan.
and generally are able to procure what they
desire despite the best endeavors of house
managers. Along Mr.. Mansfields route
| arrangements have been made by which
no more than six chairs are sold to any one
person unless that individual is known Ia
be responsible and TO have purchased the
pastebOardS for his own use. This plan
will hold good at the Columbia. Neverthe-
less, the ticket brokers arrive in such
numbers and show so much persistence
that the advance guard is generally quail.
fed to secure from three to five hundred
seats which are then handed over to tn,
late cOmers and by them unloaded on the
public after the house rack has been emp
1 tied
9 The remedy for such an outrage lie!
with the Observation-Disclosures themselves
r Spectators have never flourished in Wash
ington and there is reason why the!
$ should be permitted to do so now Peopl,
who determine early upon hearing Mr.
Mansfield have as good a chance TO bul
2 tickets as the most enterprising of the
[ brokers and there is no necessity for then
, procuring the reservations outside OF tn,
box Office. Local play-lovers have it il
their power to see that the visitors tax,
. no money away from here and thus tC
= make it improbable that they will eve
: again attempt to carry on business in thi!
i city.