Norwich bulletin., 1918-02-16
cHAPTER xyIII-continued.

g,ss OE1AF l
 About five that night they returned covered with grime and dust, but loaded down with miscellaneous as sortmert of everything under the sun. They must have thought that I was going to start a department store, Judging from the different things they brought back from their pillage. After eight days constant writing l completed a two-act farce comedy which 1 called fHThe Diamond Palace Saloon. "a Upon the suggestion of one of the boys in the section l sent a proof of the program to a printing house in London. Thers 1 assigned the different parts and started re- hearsing. David Belasco would have thrown up his hands in despair at the material which I had to use. Just imagine trying to teach a Tommy, with strong cockney accent to im- personate a Bowety. tough or South ern negro. ,T l Adjacent to our billet was an open | field We got busy at one end or 1t l aud constructed a stage. We secured I the lumber for the stage by demolish- | ing an old wooden shack in the rear of OUT billet. -
 1 The first scene was supposed to rep | resent a street on the .Bowery in New w Illl6 .tIl0 SCCIlEe Ol lHC SCCOi1u act was the interior of the Diamond l Palace Saloon also on the Bowery. 1 In the play took the part of Abe l Switch, a farmer, who had come from
 Pumpkinville Center, Tennessee, to
 make his; first visit to- New York. 1 In the first scene Abe Switch meets
 the. proprietQTs of thes Diamond Palace | Saloon. ramshackle affair which to the owner was a financial loss. l The proprietor's name was Ton | Twistem, his bartender being named Fihem Up. tog sR@1i g
 l After meeting 7Abes Tom and Fillen r Up persuaded him tos buy the place | praisingF it to the skies and telling
 wondrous tales of the money taker
 over the bar
 While the-- are talking, an old Jew named Ikey Cohenstein comes along and Abe engages 2; him for cashier
 After engaging key they meet an olt Southern negro called Sambo ana upon the suggestion of Ikey he is en gagged as porter. Then the three O
 them, arm in arm. 3eave to take pos
 session ofathfs wonderful palace whicl
 Abe had just paid s60eO for. (Cur
 tain)7i2 sHt ft HTIf
 f In the second act the curtain rise
 on the interior of the Diamond Palac aloon, and the audience gets it's frs Itshock. The saloon looks like a pig !, pen, two tramps lying drunk on tn floor, and the bartender in a dirt
 shirt with his sleeves rolled up, aslee
 with his head on the bar.
 Enter Abe Sambo, and Ikey. an , the fun commences.
 One of the characters in the sec
 ond act was named Broadway Kate J and had an. awful job to break i !, one of the Totnniies Ito act and tai J like Woman. 3ial73iq Another character was Alkali Ik' an Arizona cowboy, who just befor 5 the close 76f the play comes into tn saloon and wrecks it with his revolve We had eleven three-hour reheal
 sals before I thought it advisable present the sketch to the public. l The whole brigade was crazy 5 witness the first performance. Tn { performance was scheduled for Fr z day night and everyone was full ( 2 anticipation; when bang! orders can . through that the brigade would mo1 D at two that afternoon. Cursing ar
 blinding was the order of things upc : the receipt s of this order, but V 6t That night weisoreaehed the lit i village efa Sand again went in c rest billets. We were to be there tW
 weeks. Our company immediate
 got busy and secured the village for
 suitable place ini which to present ol
 production. Then we received anotl
 CT shock.
 e A rival company was already estai oo lished in the village. They calle . themselves "The Bow Bells" and p1 ! | on a sketch entitled 'Blighty--Wh; . Hopes?" They were the Division Concert Party.
 : We hoped they all would be soon l Blightye to give us a chance.
 This company charged an admissie 8 of a franc per head and that nigl 4 our company went en rnasse to s' 1 their performance. It really was goo , had a sinking sensation when ? thought of running my sketch in ol = position to, it. a7 5ayr o7-
 0i In one of their scenes they had
 soubrette called F1essie.7 The soldi
 that took this part was clever al
 made a fine appearing and chic gi
 We immediately fell in love with h until two.-d days after, while we we l on march we passed 7Fqossie wi 5 "her" sleeves rolled up and the swe 'Z pouring from "her'' face unloadil 4 shells from a motor lorry.
 AS our StClIuIl1 PdSSSu- hei, yCii = out: Hello, F1ossie, Blighty - Wh 'z Hopes?" Her reply made our 10
 die out instantly. K HsAh, go to he'll"
 I7 This brought quite a, laugh fire ;7 the marching column directed at II )N and ]. instantly made up my mind tn IA our sketch. should immediately r - in opposition to sBlighty-Wh ,s Hdpes?"
 When we returned 3t to our bil
 from the march, lC Curley2 Wallace. T .7 theatrical partner, fnerrunning ov 10 to me and said he. had found swan 77o place in which to produce our show DO After taking off my equipment. a 59 f1 followed abya@the rest ofsthe section - went eYeGEtass the shui4ding he h zo with aspiatforffi af c rse 2 tnd whi
 would s1naiss an .ideal sstage The. SC s5 tion got. rightst On taia a JoIEsand befe ga night had that place rfgged out % apple pie ordera " eI9 M
 56 The next da& was Sunday and af 72 church parade we put all our time - a dress rehearsal and it went fine TO Ifmade four or five large signs a