Evening star., 1926-06-13

was leader, at least he was an inn
portant man. In the theater business
during the Civil War and for two or
three decades in pre- and post war
times. He managed theaters and dra-
matte and operate troupes and he
put on new plays. He also wrote
plays, and one of them was Our
Boarding House." which drew crowds
and laughs. If you are Of respectable
age and were not against the theater
on what some men call "moral
Boarding House" 1t was played first
at the Park Theater, n. Y. January
81, 1877, and in Our Boarding
House." William H. Crane and Stuart
Robson acted in partnership for the
first time.
Mr. Grover deserves TO be thought
of with several men who We're known
by a great many persons and remem-
bered by many Some in that group
were known by more persons than
knew Grover. but some were not so
wide known as he. The names that
come to mind In this connection were
Maurice Grau. Henry Eugene Abbey
Col. James Henry Mapleson, Augustin
Daily, Albert Marsham Palmer Steele
Mackaye, John A. Ellsler, Benjamin
McCauley and James Mcguire.
Perhaps some old reader who took
his wife to the opera once--on his
honeymoon-when he stopped at Nor
ton, Gilsey. Sturtevant, Brevoort, or
even at the Fifth Avenue. Windsor or
buckingham, in New York, or the
Girard or Continental in Philadelphia.
or the Barnum Hotel in Baltimore
VIII wipe his glasses and say: Il was
devoted follower of Grau, Abbey
nd .Ir- Il
and Carl Rosa. ! never missed the
opera when those men put it on. Yes.
sir, | was "a great opera-goer and
first nighter before / got this habit
of sitting in rocking chair on the
back porch. Yes. sir; that Rambler
fellow got the names right"
Some OF the men named were not
known to you. Steele Mackaye con-
Quoted the Madison Square Theater
one of the early small and intimate"
theaters, ana he wrote and put on
Hazel XIX" with Charles w
Couldock in the lead; "A Fools Err
rand, Won AT Last. Through the
Dark" and Paul kauvar," but /
believe that Hazel Kirk" had the
longest run.
There was another play that was
successful at Steele Mackaye's the
ater and came to Washington. 1t
was Widow Bedotte.' All that l
remember about it is that ii was very
funny. Although | get a princely
Salary-Some princes are out of work
for remembering things, the Ram
bier finds that he cannot remember
everything that has happened, and
he fears that sometimes he remem-
bers things that did not happen. But
you can probably call to your mind
at h al
Percy Mackaye, dramatist, poet, ac-
tor. scholar. is son of Steele
Mackaye.
John A. Ellsler had a famous stock
company in Cleveland before the Civil
War and one in Columbus during that
war. and 1t was in the Cleveland COM
pany that n poor. timid little girl got
job in the chorus at SO d week
That poor little girl, whose devoted
mother was Il SeamStresS in Mrs.
Miller's boarding house in Cleveland
was Clara Morrison, whom Americans
of intelligence honored for two, three
generations as Clara Morris. She did
not change her name. Mr.. Ellsler,
in writing her name on his pay roll
set it down Norris instead of Nor
rison, and poor. timid little Clara
thought it too small d thing to cor
rect. Clara Morris tMrs. Frederick G.
Harriot). died at New Canaan, Conn,
November 90, 1925, aged 20.
= < x
IN the memoirs of Clara Morris,
published in 1901. you can read a
good deal about John Ellsler Clara
had a small part in the Ellsler COM
pany In Columbus and there made a
friendship which lasted through life
with Don Piatt. then a member Of
the Ohio legislature. and with John
A. Cockerill, then n messenger in the
Assembly and q reporter on the Gin
cinnati Enquirer John and Clara
were engaged to be married. John
became distinguished as a newspaper
man in New York. OF course, you
heard of him. Is it possible that there
is u Ramble reader who has not heard
of Don Piatt? He came to Washing
ton as a Cincinnati correspondent in
1868, lived at COL Eighteenth street.
founded the Capital in 1871. retired
to his Ohio home in 1880. sold his in
terest in the Capital in 1890 and died
at Cleveland in 1891.
/ read Clara Morris memoirs about
year before her death. having bor-
rowed the book from my old friend,
Ed Scanlon, son of Mike. Ed and i
meet often at lunch at The Plate of
Stew That is not as presumptuous,
or sumptuous as the place you take
your out town friends when you
want to make them think the car is
paid for and money Is no object.
1t is one of those restaurants where
a fellow does not have to be so formal
as to put on a dress suit or a collar.
When you say, Waiter. serve me
an order Of wheaton cakes" the bar
tender calls to the cook, stack EN-"
1t reminds me of Bogle's restaurant,
on Eighth avenue, where o Henry
used to eat, only there Is no Aileen,
no Tilda. You have forgot the story?
Well Aileen, waitress In Boyle s,
was so good looking that she got in
yites down to Coney on Sunday.
Tilda was so plain that she ne'er got
a word endearing. Not glance! One
day Mr.. Seedy, who worked in a
lalindrv. came to lunch drunk, and
he hugged Tilda. 1t was the thrill
of her life. Next day Mr.. Seedy came
in sober and humbly said, 'Tilda. you
must excuse me, for / never would of
done such a thing if hadn't of been
drunk" Tilda was crushed. but the
charming Aileen, to soothe her said:
"Never mind, Tilda, he amt no gen.
tleman. else he never would OF apollo
giZed."
Let me get back to the group of
men named early in this story. Bar
ney McCauley was famous as q STOCK