Evening star., 1908-01-26
TIL E cid N A p p e r S
Continued
Continued from page s

on deserted road on wonderful morning in
January, took her gloved hand in mine. and
raising it to my lips kissed the tips of her
fingers. The girl slowly withdrew her hand
from mine and settled back in the cushions
Of the sleigh. Her cheeks were flushed with
the sharp morning air; but the smile went
out of her eyes, and for the rest Of our little
ride she looked away from me and out at the
snow covered fields.
We separated at the hotel and l went to
my room to be interviewed by the reporter of
the only evening newspaper. | talked OF the
Pitts burgh art gallery, which had never seen.
and the Pittsburgh orchestra, which 1 had
never heard, and even spoke encouraglngiy OF
preferred Steel which l never owned; but at
mention of the tender mission which brought
me to Prescott blushed, but refused to talk.
And with few iaudatory words on the beauty
of Prescott l allowed my reporter friend to de-
part Later l went down to the lobby of the
hotel, where l found the men of the company
sitting about. | asked them into the cafe,
where drank to the success OF the new play;
and later L 1unched with Carroll and Altha
Ryan. For sometime we talked as we three
had always talked of New York.
Il suppose this amuses your" Carroll said.
"Of course" replied; "it's new story to
me. like the new towns and the new faces"
Carroll nodded. II suppose it was like
that to me once: but l cant remember it.
New towns don't mean anything to me any
more Do tLey to you, Althal"
The girl shook her head.
There is just depot" he went on, and
another depot and a hotel and an opry house ;
The people are all alike. they belong to the
town; and you don't You're the troupe, and
you come and go like a snow that lasts over
one night. The people are nothing to you.
and YOU are nothing to them If you haven't
got friends in the company, Heaven help
youi"
"That's right. Jim," said the girl: Its
the troupe or nothing
WELL" interrupted. smiling, personally
| like the troupe. | only wish you were all as
satisfied as l am"
"Oh, it's all right with you," Baker said
You don't really belong to the troupe. You
can leave whenever you want to and 60 back
to the white lights of Broadway.
And then Adler came to Our table and told
Baker and Miss Ryan to hurry over to the
theater for rehearsal, and | was left alone
again to wonder if was always to be an out
slider
alf-past eight found me seated alone IT.
the upper stage box at the first performance
of 1.-The Princess Popinjay" and the first ap-
pearance as a star of Miss Alice Abercrombie
From the rise of the first curtain the opera
went with swing and dash which was ex-
traordinary. Wainwright makes few mis-
takes, and this time apparently he had left
no loophole for failure to creep in. In misty
sort of way l can remember Altha Ryan and
Baker singing many verses OF duet. and Car
roll looking very well in his white duck suit
and sword clashing at his side. Many OF
the girls too, whom had formerly known on
the train in shirtwaists and short skirts.
recognized now as wonderfully beautiful
daughters of travelling English millionaire or
in the black tight fitting dresses of vendeuses
in Paris millinery shop.
But what saw distinctly, and it was what
everyone else recognized in that crowded
audience. was the sweeping success OF Alice
Abercrombie. She too had allowed for no
chance of failure. To that performance she
had brought the result of years of hard work
and the training of the best masters. To
one end she had toiled increasingly, breaking
down the barriers as she met them. and when
the great test came she rose to it and carried
everything before her. 1t was at the end of
the second act that she achieved her greatest
triumph Again and again she was called
before the curtain until it seemed there would
be no end to it. l looked down from my box
at the new star. and once | think she looked