Evening star., 1901-12-28


with her feet up by the horses ears"
Yes, and Fernona Is a member Of the
Professional Women'S League, too" put in
Miss Eleanor Wilton, ''and if a Lacquer isn't
all over dignity l don't know who is"
Well" groaned Miss May, and there was
concession in her tone, ''if that's the case
won't be selfish; if a Professional Wo-
mans Lacquer and an ex-operatic star at
that can consent to be tied feet first to the
back of a runaway horse I guess 1 cannot
be afraid to ride across the stage with an
escort Of cavalry-that is, If Mr. Selwyn
will be quite sure that the horse is gen.
tie one"
One of the brightest numbers in 1.-THE
Toreador' will be sung in the second act
by Adele Ritchie. 1t is called Keep Off
the Grass" One of the stanzas is:
In the merry month of May,
When COOS the dove,
A9gif VII naR tarn : to f1ass' ioss so they say
But to firt may cost you dear,
So I've been taught;
For she sheds an artful tear,
And then you're caught!
III, little boys!
Hi! little boys!
Hi
Take care now.
Keep OF the grass,
Keep OF the grass,
Quickly your heart you must harden,
II she should sigh.
Don't catch her eye
Keep OF the grass In the garden.
X X X
The penitentiary scene in "On the Stroke
of Twelve" which forms the attraction at
the Academy of Music this week, proved
to be a most realistic stage picture. The
rows Of cells with their iron grating looked
much as those in real prisons do, and bit
of realism was presented In the appearance
of the conyicts in the regulation peniten-
1t. ~
stage director of the production. and who
also plays the role of Henry Rutledge, the
millionaire, in the early part of the piece.
offered what proved to be an interesting
study in the character of prisoner 100, a
man whose unlawful Incarceration had un-
balanced his mind only to the extent Of
sharpening his intellect to a point SO keen
that it might be likened to the cunning of
a wildcat. Mr.. Thomas characterization
stood pre-eminent throughout the entire
scene and he played the part with much
force and intelligence.
The role Is not a very big one" said the
actor, but it calls for some little study
on the part of its interpreter. The man Is
not supposed to be a raying maniac. l
have been in the theatrical business for
many years, and l often think of with
what lofty ideas l started my career.
Castle building Is risky business isn't it?
Now. when I began my stage career l was
fully determined to play Shakespeare and
Shakespeare only. / had great visions of
my successes that were to be, but they
never got beyond the visionary stage I
played several Shakespearean parts, but
affairs on this little globe remained undis-
turbed by the fire of my art, and necessity
forced me to realize that my forte was
elsewhere. My height, or rather my lack
my becoming a disciple of the great bard,
and the irony OF it all was made manifest
in the fact that the best press notices l
ever got were for playing the part Of a
private in a military play. That has al
ways been regarded by my friends as a
great Joke on me. This is the first time that
have ever played in a popular price at
traction. but, like a great many others
who start out for arts sake and conclude
by working for a living. the salary was
sufficient to attract me, and here am"
X
William Redmund, who will make his
first appearance as permanent member
of the Bellows Stock Company on Monday
night. tells story which shows how thor
ough.y the actor may sway the emotions Of
his audience. The incident occurred in Pitts
bury, while the English actor. willard, was
playing '|rhe Middleman." It was during
the third asst. when Blenkarn, penniless, and
surrounded by his dying furnaces, in which
a thousand specimens are in danger of ruin
from lack of heat, appeals in vain to the
foreman of his mortal enemy for a small
loan to keep the fires In. that a denizen of
the upper gallery flung down coin onto
the stage. When Willard picked it up he
found 1t to be half dollar. The coin was
carefully preserved, and shortly afterward
Mr. Willard sent 1t to silyersmith to have
1t engraved with these words: From a
sympathetic god to Cyrus Bienkarn. Pitts
burg, october 15. 1891" But the silversmith
presumably plying the ignorance or irrev-
erance OF player folk" undertook little
alteration of his own. for when the coin
was returned few days later the inscrip-
tion read as follows: From a sympathetic
God to Cyrus Blenkarn, Pittsburg, October
15, 1891
B. F. Keith OF Boston, New York, London
and other cities. the dean Of polite yaude-
Vile and the originator Of the continuous
form OF light amusement, reached the city
yesterday for personal conference with
Mr.. Chase. Since Mr.. Chase entered vaude-
Vile with standard Of his own erection
namely polite vaudeville. he and Mr.. Keith
have been closely associated and along
every line Of effort their interests have been