The Prescott daily news., 1908-11-02
OPERA HOUSE n TUESDAY NIGHT NO VEM B E R V C. S. Ruble presents Freda Slemon's
 Beautiful Southern Drama, EE The Sweetest
 Girl i1 Dixie, v A Southern Story by a Southern
 Woman. As pure and sweet as a magnolia blossom Not problem play Endorsed by press and pulpit
1heWOrld MOvesOn
A Southern Story by a Southern
 Woman.

ciation.l
 When it was announced that Thorn ton Thorne-his real name was Tim othy Jenkins-WaS to leave the stage to engage in commercial pursuits, not only the theatrical profession. but all true lovers of the play. stood acor. i Thorne, though but twenty-three years old, had risen to a high rank as an actor. And now, on the very threshold of brilliant career, he was to sink ou. of sight in trade
 No reason was given for this re- markable step, which was known only to Thorne himself and one other. He loved a strict member of the Presby- terian church, and she would not mar. ry an actor. Forced to make a choice between her and his profession, he chose her.
 ThOrne resumed the name of Jen- kins, married and went to Australia, where he accumulated fair fortune Thirty years after his marriage he re- turned to America on business, leaving his wife and family in Melbourne On the steamer he met company of play CTS, from whom he borrowed a num- Der of printed plays with which to amuse himself on the voyage Among them were several by which he had won fame. Before the voyage was over he was eager to act.
 This relapse troubled him. His wife had lived in fear of it all their mar ried life and had parted with him re- luctantly, fearing that when away from her influence he might be tempt ed to return to the stage. True, she had lost her prejudice against it, but considered that any such return would be unwise Her husbands business needed his attention, and the rowing life of an actor would break up their home For this reason she had kept him away from the theater.
 But the more Jenkins read plays the more he became fascinated with his former life. Judging from some of those that had been written since he left the boards, he was of opinion that playwrights were dying out. At any rate, he did not consider their efforts 1 equal to those of former days. He found little or nothing dramatic in any of them and pronounced them dull and talky.
 When Jenkins reached America he saw posters announcing that certain managers would present" certain the atrical stars. He wondered if talent had sunk so low that the most prom inent players must be presented by some man who couldn't himself take a walking part. In New York he found three theaters to one that existed when he left the country. Perhaps compe- tition was killing the business.
 On the evening of his arrival at New York a man entered his hotel whose face was familiar to him. Aren't you Tom Abercrombie!" "Yes, but you have the advantage of me-" "Thorn- ton Thorne" You don't mean it. Haven't seen you since you were play ing Hamlet here at Wallack's." Il wish I were playing there now" You couldn't; it's torn down. But his eye suddenly lighted-"I was ticket seller when I knew you. Now I run seven theaters. 1 have Hamlet on this very night at one of them, and the Dane is in bed with grip. How would you like to try it?"
 There was terrible struggle in the breast of Mir. Jenkins, and he fell before a desire to again be Hamlet. He would show these degenerate peo- pie the real Dane. He knew the part he had never forgotten it-no need for rehearsal He would be ready at the rise of the curtain. What pleas ure to galvanize an audience worn out with poor plays and poor acting
 He found q meager audience, but was told that Shakespeare had gone much out of fashion with the average theater goer. Nevertheless there were those in the theater who loved Hamlet When he began his lines people looked surprised. He soon saw that he must win his audience, something he had not been obliged to do in bygene days. At the end of the first act the man. ager approached him and said:
 "Great Scott, man! Your Hamlet has grown quarter of century older.' How" Don't know, but there's some thing musty about it. Nobody does it that way now.''