The Bourbon news. [volume] (Paris, Ky.) 1895-19??, 1914-05-19

people. He had the pleasure of possessing the
friendship of Coleridge, Shelley, Lamb and Wash
ingtOn Irving while in London. In fact, Wash
ington Irving a most intimate friend of
Payne's and they had arrangement whereby
they exchanged lodgings in London and Paris as
the circumstances required. Payne would re-
move TO the Paris rooms when Irving came to
London and vice When Payne gave up
the stage his dramatic impulse led him to become
playwrig INT, and his first work for the stage
Maybe" for which he received one hundred and
fifty pounds from the Convent Garden manage
ment His next adoption, Accusation" was
ing the leading role. Payne staged his "Brutus"
himself, designing the scenery properties and
costumes. 1t produced by Edmund Kean at
Drury Lane December 3, 1918, and ran sew
take the role as Titus himself, but the manage
ment thought that an actor should not appear in
his own play and he did not appear.
Although Payne took care to give credit to
several authors for suggestions which he had
accused of plagiarism Washington Irving
promptly came to his defense, and showed the
public the righteousness of the accusation
Payne then made attempt at management
which resulted rather disastrously He was by
no means a business man and his brief career
a manager sent him to the debtors jail. 1t was
his good fortune while in jail to receive couple
of plays from Paris. In one of these, "Therese,
the Orphan of Geneva" he discovered such great
opportunities that he had made an adoption of
it in less than three days and sent it to Drury
Lane. 1t was rushed on the stage and Payne
attended some of the rehearsals and the first
night in disguise. He was enabled to pay his
debts and get out of jail because of its great
success. He was sent to Paris by the rival Con-
vent Garden management to watch for theatrical
successes and make rapid adaptions of them. In
October, 1922 he wrote to Henry Rowley Bishop,
who composing the music for Convent Gar
dsn psess that he would make three adaPtons
"Clari," for two hundred and fifty pounds Payne's
financial condition at a rather low ebb at
this time, when Charles Kemb1e, manager of Con-
writings, among them "Clari, the Maid of Milan"
1t at Kemble's request that Payne altered this
play into an opera and introduced into it the
words of Home, Sweet Home" "Clari" is real
ly more than an adoption and Payne could not
have derived more than the plot from the
original In turning it into play, Payne wrote
original dialogue and verses Clar the heroine
elopes with duke, but is led to return to her
parents by hearing company of strolling play
sing of her native songs, which in Payne's
version is Home Sweet Home"
The poem as originally written contained two
stanzas. a third and fourth. which have since
been dropped and the original is neither as SIM
pie nor affecting as it became when Payne in
corporated it in "Clari."
This lyric became what it is by elimination
and not by elaboration. The original form of
the poem lacked the familiar refrain and while
it contains many of the essentials of the poem,
does not make as direct and strong appeal
the more simplifed FORM It's plantive melody
and tender pathos will always adorn with affec-
tomato regard the memory of its author. Home,
Sweet Home" became famous in a night, and it
is said that one hundred thousand copies of the
song sold in a single year and it brought
the original publisher over $4,000 within two
years from its publication. The following form
of the poem is that with which all are familiar:
Mid pleasures and palaces though we may roam,
Be it so humble, there's no place like Home!
A charm from the sky seems to hallow there,