The Birmingham age-herald., 1922-01-27
LoDely LiHle Mary Marble


 Up on the tip-top of Shades noun tain stands wonderful Windmill" on the spacious grounds of Brace wood," the beautiful country home of Mir. and Mrs. Edward W. Barrett, and right here is just as good a place as anywhere else to tell you that it is replica of tho "Windmill" which was used in The Land of Dykes. i" the charming sketch which lovely It, tlo Mary Marble and Little Chip appeared in here a score of years ago.
 When l mentioned it to Miss Mar ble yesterday afternoon-when I had perfectly charming hour with her Just before the matinoe-she was like a little child with a new toy. so happy was she to know that her name was linked with anything so lovely in Birmingham and that she hadn't been forgotten since those good old days when she and her handsome hus- band, John Dunn. Little Chip" Ger trude Hoffman, Max Hoffman, Su- game Rocomoro, Florrie Madison, Etta Pierce. Otis Harlan and all those clever people who composed the per sonnel of Birmingham's first stock company, numbered their friends by the hundreds in this community where they gave 50 muCn pleasure by their art and talent.
 Miss Marble is the incarnation of youth, and might easily have given Ponce de Leon some pointers about where 1t might be found, for her beautiful big brown eyes are radiant as ever; her petite figure ns youth full as a debutante's her little "baby' voice and that cunning little gig gle" (of course you remember it?) and her enthusiasm and her vivaoity all are as pronounced as the first day she made her bow to a Birmingham audience.
 T am perfectly delighted to be back in this wonderful city" said Miss Marble yesterday, as she called Mir. Dunn to join us, and chat over old times and about old friends, and old plays why, I can never forget Blr- mingham-and my wonderful days here, when Little Chip and I sang, -ling-a-loo, Chinese Land and Zulu u'-and all the other atUac- tive things which clever Max Hoff- man wrote. Did you know that Max Hoffman, Jr.. has made quite a hit on the stage? He is married and is q star on Broadway-and, dear mel why Gertrude Hoffman-always the daring, artistic, wonderful creature of moods and fancies-is still fasci- hating Broadway with her wonderful 'revuesl' The pretty chorus girls l mentioned are all happily married all three of them-and have families and beautiful homes-and arc very, very happy"
 And Little Chip'?" I asked. in- terestedly.
 Mary Marbles eyes filled with mis- tiness and her face grew sad as she repeated the question after me-ana then. with her voice bit shaky ana uncertain she said:
 q can't bear to talk about him! He died, you know. five years ago. and for q while I thought l could never bear to appear on the stage again without him; he had been my partner so long and we had worked so splendidly together-ano then suddenly one evening, after one or our very best performances-as the curtain was rung down-his little body. fraiI and delicate. passed out the final curtain call for dear Little Chip'!"
 "It was all so sudden" Miss Marble said, wiping the tears from her big brown eyes, that at first we couldn't realize 1t. Within Is minutes It hao all happened and his body was being removed from the theatrei his heart had lust snapped; we didn't have time to do anything for him; he didn't have time to do anything for hlmsel1 Lit was all over so quickly--so sud denly But perhaps after all he IS better off, because life Is so difficult so hard. sometimes-with It's ups and downs, with its sorrows and its worries.
 But that's all gone now-and in the meantime my husband and l went to Texas, where we lived for couple of years, and then the call of the stage came to me once more-and here I am-at your service. If you please, In a charming little skit writ ten by Maude Fulton. Of course you know her. She wrote The Brat and played 1t, too. She has contrived very neat little sketch for me which shows me to my friends as I am to- day-and later transforms me Into the little blue rompers and yellow wig-which my audiences remember me so well as wearing. Maude Full ton has made it very clever-and she has worked out a very attractive ef- feet.
 And by the way, speaking of old friends-we spent Christmas day with Jake Wells-at his beautiful home in Norfolk. We were playing Christ mas engagement there and we had Christmas dinner with him and en- joyed the day tremendously Of course he was the great impressario of the old stock company-and everybody