Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1905-02-11

GILLETTE AS ACTOR AND PLAY
wRIGHT-It is noteworthy that Inc Ao-
mirable Crichton'' is the first play not MS
own work in which William Gillette mas
anpeared for some years. beginning Win
..rThe Professor" which was produced III
1881 and which established Mr.. Gillette
both as an actor and playwright ne mas
displayed a very Justlhapie Iohdness ioi
appearing in plays which he mad written
either wholly or in part hlmseL. He
r,araldo" he wrote in collaboration with
Mrs. Frances Hodgson Burnett, and in the
dra natization of the Sherlock Holmes
Sfories he had the assistance of DR.. Conan
Doyle Among Mr.. Glllettes pest known
plays are Too Much Johnson neg s.Sta ps
lock Holiness" 1t is in the leading role OF
the last two named plays that he is best
known in this country ana IN EnsIdnu'
where he played at the Lyceum Theatef,
London, for eight months 70 cloWueo HOUSES
in Sherlock Holmes
The career of TOO Much Johnson is not
without interest to those who believe that
the element of chance is large factor III
things theatrical. Produced on the road
This nlay gave every indication of being
what theatrical people term a frost ana
was winding up its career in Brooklyn
when the failure of production at New
YORK theater called for stop-gap there. Mr..
CiIIette's play was brought across the
river received enthusiastically by New
York and ran the whole season to crowded
houses only to leave Ne" YORK lof very
PROSPEROUS season on the ROAD.
II was the personal request of j.. M.
Barrie, who wrote THE Admirable erich
tom that Mr. Gillette should play the title
role on this side of the Atlantic and after
reading the play Mr.. Gillette consented to
give IN temporarily the production of
new play from his own pen and his lnten-
ton to appear as Hamlet.
A TRAVELLERS TALES.-Burton Holmes
told the following stories short time ago
in reference to measuring distances. He
said that while he is more or less famil-
lar with the different words that in differ
ent countries have reference to what Is
known in our country as mile, such as
a league in France or knot on the wa
ter. all his wits we're necessary to straight
en- out the replies that he received down
in the Blue Ridge mountains in North
Carolina, here in our own country.
eve had been riding for hour or two,
hoping almost against hope that we would
run across some mountaineer's hut and
elicit the information we desired relative
tn the loca ton of our camp or If possible
persuade him to be our guide. We finally
reached a two-room log cabin and l rode
my horse up into what by courtesy we can
call a yard, and hollored. After several
attempts the door opened and typical
long haired half-civiliZed mountaineer stood
in the doorway. l knew that 1 must be
somewhere in the vicinity Of our camping
place but was not sure how far we had
: come so l put my question and in reply
my informant stepped from his doorway
and pointing in the direction in which we
were going said: .Ez. near ez l kin reckin
hits bout ez fer ez yer kin see, then bout
that fer agin.'
"a day or two afterward, in practically
the same locality, I was asking the dis
lance from the farm where we had stop
ped for lunch to the town We were making
for. which was the county seat of Mitchell
county, and the good lady who had pre-
pared our MONDAY meal informed me that
stwern't fur, only bout two whoops en-
sight At this last bit of information 1
was completely puzzled and remained so
for several hours until 1t dawned on me
that she meant to convey the idea that the
town was as far away from where I was
then as my voice would carry twice and
from that point as far as could see."
AN EARLY TRIUMPH.-Miss Marie
Drofnah. Charles B. Hanford's leading
lady. declares that the discoverer of her
penchant for the drama was neither man
ager nor a critic, but staid and matter
of-fact superintendent of schools. After
completing her education she essayed for
a little while the guidance of the youthful
mind In the paths Of learning, 1t was her