Evening journal., 1912-10-07
NEW NEWS OF YESTERDAY
The Sudden Thought That
Made a New Playwright
BY Holland.

One day In the early winter Of 1884
I received a note from David Demar-
est Lloyd, asking me to call upon him
at bis Office on F street, in Washing
ton. Mr. Lloyd was at that time IN
charge of the Washington bureau Of
The New York Tribune. He had gain
ed an enviable reputation as a Wash
ington correspondent
In response to his invitation I call
ed upon Mr.. Lloyd After some gem
eral conversation he opened a drawer
IN his desk and, with a strange. shy,
smile, drew from It large file Of
manuscript.
"You probably think" said he,
that / have asked you to call on me
that l might read to you a newspa-
per story, but / have no intention Of
that kind. / would like, however, to
read a few pages form this manu-
script.
He had not read more than a dozen
lines before ! realized that he was
reading from the manuscript of eth
er a play or a novel.
do you know what this is" he ask
ed, shyly. And when l said It sound
ed like a play he told me that / had
guessed correctly.
"Some months ago" Mr. Lloyd con-
tlnued, 81 went TO the theatre and saw
John 7. Raymond play the part of
Colonel Mulberry Sellers in Mark
Twain's dramatization of The Gilded
Age You may recall that Mr.. Ray
mond is very psuccessful in depicting
that eccentric character Suddenly,
In the course of the play, there pop
ped into my head the thought that
could write a play of which the cen-
trail character would be a politician,
and that it would fit John # Ray
mond perfectly.
81 went away from the theatre with
that idea more and more impressed
upon me. The next day ] sketched
out the scenario. From time to time
in my leisure / have been writing the
play. ] have called 1t The Politi-
clan Now, what do you think I am
going to do?"
Il presume you will try 20 get some
manager to produce it, ] replied.
Il shall do nothing of the kind,
Mr.. Lloyd said Raymond Is coming
here again in the course of two or
three weeks, and I am going some
morning TO his hotel with this manu-
script in my pocket and I am going to
ask him TO let me read the play to
him. ! don't know him, and ] don't
purpose using any kind of influence
to persuade him TO let me read the
play 60 him But If he does read il
and accepts il and plays it as / think
he can, then my fortune is made and
| will quit the newspaper business.
Some two weeks later Mr.. Lloyd
called upon John II. Raymond, who
permitted him to read an act of the
play When Mr. Lloyd had done this
Mr.. Raymond asked him to read the
second act, and that seemed encour'
| aging. AT last Mr. Raymond said
THAT character fits me like a book
I will take the play and produce Il
at the beginning of next, season.
At the time the rehearsals of th'
play began, Mr.. Raymond confessed
to Mr.. Lloyd that he had been loolin;
fer two years for a play OF that kind
He said that he had paid Mark Twain
something like sixty thousand dollar
in royalties for the production o
"The Gildod Age and he had lonFe'
to get a play Of which he himsel
would receive the lions share OF tn
royalties
The play was produced and In spit
of some crudities of construction no
greater than those of the Glide
Age" it was a success, Mr.. haymon
adding It to his repertoire.
A year or two later Mr. Lloyd wrot
another play. called "The Senator
In which William H. Carne assume
the leading character. lt was q tr
umphant success. Mr.. Lloyd was the
spoken of by critics as the America
most likely to succeed IN tho writin
OF comedies depicting certain phase
OF American public life with gent
aud kindly satire And put f1r h
sudden and untimely death at a tin
he was contemplating a Bew play Tia
prediction would undoubtedly hay
been justified.
Mr. Lloyd always wondered whetl
er the sudden idea that came to hi
when he saw John T. Raymond ;
Mulberry Sellers was really a ne
and unexpected inspiration or whet
er Il was the full development Of {
. ambition, hitherto unrecognilzed,
. become a great dramatist.
, Copyright, 1912, by e. j. Edward
Tomorrow Mr. Edwards will tell
'The Only Time Lincoln Show
I Fear"