The Savannah morning news., 1902-03-03
GHOSTS IN THE THEATER.
One Explanation why Fires Don't
Destroy the Historic Building.

Destroy the Historic Building.
The old Savannah Theater seems to
bear charmed life. Time and again
it has been threatened with destruc-
ton by fire. as it was yesterday morn
ing, and just as often it has escaped.
AS is known, the theater. as thea
tiers go. is crowned with a venerable
antiquity, being the oldest in this
country. Tradition has it that the
ghosts of some of the old stage favor
ties, who trod it's boards in sock and
buckskin, still hover around the place,
where, to the applause of delighted
audiences, their genius once illumin-
ated the lines of Shakespeare and Sher-
idan. To these shades of departed
genius those who have lived near the
building and in the shadow of its ira
ditions ascribe its seeming immunity
from destruction by fire.
Possibly no one knows more about
the building and its tradition than Mr.
Tomlinson F. Johnson. who for more
than decade was me owner and man.
ager of the theater. In his retentive
mind are stored away many of these
old legends. some altogether true, some
perhaps tinged by the careless play of
too VIVID imagination-not Mr.. john
sons, of course, but part of the mental
equipment of some one else.
There wasn't any real use for the
fire department" said Mr.. Johnson
yesterday, referring to the fire of the
early morning. that old building will
never burn down. There is as little real
prospect of its destruction by fire as
there is of the death of the Wandering
Jew. 1t bears a charmed life. One Incl
dent nay illustrate my mea ming. Years
ago this happened. The theater was
locked one night. every door except the
stage door from within: that was lock-
ed and bolted when the stage manager
left the building. When he visited it
in the morning he found every lock and
bolt just as he had left it, there was
no indication that anybody had visited
the building, nothing was disturbed,
there had been no fire the night before
and yet in the center of one of the
dressing rooms a hole had been burned
clean through the floor Why the fire
had gone out without doing other and
more serious damage was as great a
mystery as the manner in which it had
started. ut
But all the old theater hangers-on
swore the fire and its distinguishing
were alike the work of ghosts. The
old hostlers in Harmon's tables, across
the way, are accustomed to tell of the
times, during the early morning hours.
when they have heard in the theater
the roar of thunderous applause, fol-
lowing the dying echoes of somev bit
or impessioned defamation. Ghosts,
these old fellows say, and am half
inclined to believe the stories myself
Mr.. Johnson had drifted into a rem
iniscent mood and from the depths of
his memory brought up other stories
of the old theater
Il remember" he said, IAN incident
that happened while / was manager.
was having some repairs and improve
ments made to the interior of the
house, and among other things had
directed the removal of United States
coat of arms. that at that time deco
rated the center of the proscenium
arch.
Il was on the stage and there was
a carpenter on a scaffoding near the
coat of arms. / told him to remove if.
and he placed the claw of his hammer
behind it and began to tug away. In
stead of the customary pairs of brads
used to hold in place such articles of
theatrical adornment, the coat of arms
was fastened to the arch by a number
of nails. AS the man finally lifted IT
away. he said:
There's something written on the
back of this, and threw it down to the
stage.
Il remember the Inscription as
though | had read it yesterday. In a
plain and legible script had been writ
ten:
From every state in the American
union, we have driven a spike in this
coat of arms, with the exception of
Massachusetts, and when she proves
her allegiance to the general govern
ment Well drive spike for her The
inscription was written at a time when
Massachusetts was threatening to Sc
cede from the Union, and was signed
by Forrest, Fanny Kemble and a dozen
others of the foremost actors of that
day.
II kept the old coat of arms, intend
ing to give it to the Georgia Historical
Society, until Charley Bishop at that
time celebrated comedian, came to
Savannah. i showed him the curiosity
and told him its history, and he an
enthusiastic collector of relics theatre
cal and otherwise, became at once in
spired by a passionate desire to be-
come its possessor. He begged me to
give it to him or sell it to him, or ex-
change Ut for a sword, with history
as long as my arm, that he had in his
collection, but l thought it should stay
in Savannah, and refused.
81 thought no more of the matter I'M
| til some days after Charley had left,
when 1 received from him a letter
something to the following effect
Dear johns: The coat-of-arnis now
rests in the bottom of me trunk. !
have f1lched it
letter from him is the last l ever heard
of hn of ~.