The bee. (Earlington, Ky.) 1889-19??, 1914-05-22

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 was a most intimate friend OF
Payne's and they had an 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 versa. When Payne gave up
the stage his dramatic impulse led him to become
a playwright and his first work for the stage
was adoption entitled "The Maid and the
Magpie," 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 was produced by Edmund Kean at
Drury Lane on December 3, 1918, and ran sew
take the role as Titus himself, but the manage
ment thought that 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
utilized in his tragedy of "Brutus," still he was
accused of plagiarism Washington Irving
promptly came to his defense, and showed the
public the righteousness of the accusation.
Payne then made an attempt at management
which resulted rather disastrously He was by
no means a business and his brief career as
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
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 sent to Paris by the rival Con-
vent Garden management to watch for theatrical
successes and make rapid adaptons of them In
October 1922, he wrote to Henry Rowley Bishop,
who was composing the music for Convent Gar
den pieces that he would make three adaptions,
Ali Pacha," "The Two Galley Slaves" and
fOrt han IL
financial condition was at rather low ebb at
this time. when Charles Kemble manager of Con-
vent Garden Theater, bought quantity of his
writings, among them "Clari the Maid of Milan"
1t was at Kembles 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. Clari. the heroine
elopes with duke but is led to return to her
parents by hearing company of strollng play
ers sing one of her native songs, which in Payne's
version is Home Sweet Home"
The poem as originally written contained two
stanzas third and fourth which have since
been dropped, and the original is neither as sim
pie 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 an appeal as
the more simplifed form. It's plantive melody
and tender pathos will always adorn with affec-
tionate regard the memory of its author. Home
Sweet Home" became famous in night, and it
is said that one hundred thousand copies of the
song were 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 may roam,
Be it ever so humble, there's no place like Home!
A charm from the sky seems to hallow there,
Which, seek through the world, is ne'er met with