Frostburg mining journal. [volume] (Frostburg, Md.) 1871-1913, 1903-10-17
STONEGRAVE
OVERMAN
IOriginal.l
you the mauuper?"


here? directed the attendant to ad-
init no one"
Never mind that. l am here TO read
you a play, n play in which there is a
great deal Of money, play
Leave it. will read it,
Give me five minutes of your time.
! will read you the first lines. Then
you can finish it Mt your leisure"
Without waiting for permission, the
stranger, a tall, spare man, with point
ed mustachc and chin tuft, a glitterlns
black eye and hook nose, began to re-
cite without referring to the manu-
script the opening lines OF his play.
Never before had the manager heard
such versatility in the assumption OF
different characters. Now the reader
was the loving father, now the inno-
cent girl, the hopeful man Of twenty
one Into all these he infused the In
dividuality of the part. but when he
came to the principal character, the
villain, his listener was lost in wonder.
Presently the reader stopped, took out
his watch and said:
1.-THE time l asked is up"
go on"
The reading proceeded, and when the
play was finished the manager, as
founded at the vigor Of the play and
the genius of the reader, asked for his
name.
MY name is StOnegrave Overman. l
think | have satisfied you that l can
write play. At the first rehearsal
shall satisfy you that can act part
You will personate"-
1.-THE villain
In half an hour the playwright left
the theater with contract, and in two
weeks the play was produced, with
Stonegrave Overman cast for the prin-
cipal part.
What singular name" exclaimed
every one. "Stonegrave Overman! Who
Is the man anyway? l don't find any Of
the theatrical profession who ever
heard Of him.
When the star came on, nOtwith-
standing there was something forbid
ding in his personnel, he soon captured
his audience. He was villain-it was
y
was a seductive villain who made the
part which had been constructed to
show the superiority Of virtue con-
tcmptibe. The manw played this vir-
tuOus role had long been n favOrite on
the stage and was noted for the effec-
tivcness with which he would declare
n noble sentiment And yet tonight his
efforts seemed to be strained. Try as
he would he could not infuse into his
many opportunities for making 1.-THE
good" seem adorable the necessary vim.
Beside the stranger. with his insinuat-
ing villainies. he seemed to dwindle Ell
ther into insignificance or pharisaical
cant or both.
In the third act, wherein was the eli
max Of the play, the air without had
become heavy laden and fierce
the lightning blazed, the thunder
crashed. This commotion of the ele-
ments seemed to inspire the star with
genius. While the other actors and the
audience We're trembling he glided
about the stage as if stimulated by re-
freshlng drafts of sparkling wine. His
wit, his sarcasm all those speeches that
were thrown in to give effectiveness
and charm to his part, fairly scintillat-
ed. Once several of the audience, those
with remarkably acute eyesight,
thought they saw a myriad Of faint
sparks enclrcling the actor, which they
attributed to the electrical condition Of
the atmosphere.
Suddenly there came a remarkable
change. During mOmentary lull in
the storm when the star was address,
ing the man of the noble part with
mercilcss satire that was making him
cringe In spite of himself, lowering his
voice and pausing to render the last
word effective, there came the faint
sound Of a distant bell. Whether it de-
noted the celebration Of mass, a toll
ing for the dead, whatever it was, the
actor seemed TRANSPORTED. From the
bold. devil may care creature whose re-
splendent acts and words were throw
ing the good into shadow he became in
a twinkling whipped spaniel. There
were three strokes Of the bell, indicat-
ing that 1t signaled the elevation Of the
host At the first the actor cringed, at
the second drew back step toward
wing close beside him and at the third
passed behind 1t. During the whole Of
the retreat he was still the trembling
dog. with its tail between its legs. cow
ering before the raised whip of its
master.
Something had gone wrong, but no.
body knew what it was. The stage
manager had the presence OF mind to
ring down the curtain. Later he came
before the audience to announce that
the star had suffered physical col
lapse and the play would not go on.
Behind the scenes all was cOmmotion.
Some one turned out the lights, though
in the investigation that followed no
one would admit having done so. The
stage manager directed call boy to go
for doctor, then hurried to the wing
behind which the star had retreated.
When he reached the spot 1t was dark
rs Erebus. He called and receiving no
response CROPPED about. expecting to
find the actor on the floor. Then the
lights were turned on, but the stricken
man was not there.
For months there was incessant dis
pute as to who the strange playwright
and actor was. Some said he was an
escaped lunatic who fancied himself