The Barre daily times. (Barre, Vt.) 1897-1959, 1913-04-16
MAGAZINE REVIEW
Adventures of a Buncoer.

In the April American Magazine APP
pears "The Autobiography of The
atrical Press agent" an extract from
which follows:
1.-TWO blocks away from the hall where
we were rehearsing there was shoE
which dealt in theatrical frames that
is, they made the portable wood and
glass affairs that enclose displays OF
portraits and iash-hghts, such as arr
found in every theatre-l lobby during the
show season bought of the proprietor
a fine set suitable for hotel, theatre
and window work They contained pic
lures OF the principals and scenes in q
gorgeous musical comedy that had gone
broke in Pittsburg three weeks before.
The owners had never paid for them,
and / got the lot for fifty dollars. While
the name of the old show was being
painted out and that of ours slapped on,
| hustled around to a theatrical Pho
tographer and purchased ten dozen loose
photographs of good lacking chorus girls.
None Of them were in our company, but
that didn't matter. At an engraving
plant | bought an assortment of Sec
ond hand electrotypes of various faces
and Sizes threw them and the pictures
in my trunk, ordered the frames eN-
pressed to me at Richmond, caught the
train. and was off
Eve opened TO good business, and it
continued throughout our course down
the Atlantic coast to Florida. In the
first three weeks the profits were near
" five thousand dollars, and | had
visions of finishing the season with eight
or ten thousand of my own in a bank,
a safe deposit box, stocking or some
other hiding. place. About that time we
struck regions where the crops had been
poor, where strikes had thrown thous-
ands out of work, or where floods had
knocked into cooked hat
all local desire to patronize the lyric
and dramatic arts. To make expenses
had to resort to every known trick,
and several hitherto undreamt Of. jew
Fl robberies, beauty contests, milk baths,
benefits, cut rates to lodges, cash prizes
to the persons who could guess the cor
rect weight Of the fat comedian and
The tender age of the blond chorus girl
who kicked second on the O. ?. side
N the opening number tried all OF
these stunts, and more.
"In city largely populated by Ro
nan Catholics | advertised the tenor as
he pope's fayorite cousin, and, next to
1aruso, the worlds best voice. Not only
hat, but l made him get up at day
Freak and sing an Ave Maria in the
ocal cathedral. He really was there
With the vocal apparatus, but we turned
hem away matinee and night.
"When we struck Georgia | shuflled
he cards and dealt her a fresh hand. |
'he became a great granddaughter of
;eneral Sherman, told how glad she was
hat he had marched to the sea, and |
to newspaper reporters that |
f all the Civil war generals. she liked |
er great grandad and Ben Butler best.
''This made few people so mad that
hey came to the theatre to see what !
ort OF lunatic the young lady was.
"The soubrette was my life saver,
nd | worked her to a FRAGILE. Before
'e had been out six weeks | had her
ngaged to two governors sons and the
ct offspring of a wealthy southern
rewer. In Carolina she gave out inter-
Jews about her family before the war
the plantations they had owned, the
attles they had won, and the slaves
ley had possessed"