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Show 1 might remark,' en passant that the heroine her-oine in real life dearly adored the hero, whose real name was Feter; but somehow or another there seemed to be a crablike retrograde movement on the part of Peter In tho matrimonial line. Peter's stage name was Reginald. To continue: Hero My own. (Sigh from the heroine, followed by silence.) Hero (in desperation) I have long waited for this chance, my own (applause), and now I come to cast myself at Beauty's feet, and ask of her the love of a true and trusting trust-ing woman. (Prolonged applause.) I was standing in tho flies directly opposite oppo-site to the heroine, and saw her eyes fixed on the ceiling in a rapt way. She did not speak her lines as she should have done, but continued her gaze above, and after a moment the hero went on: "Wilt thou marry mef " (Continued gaze by heroine, who evidently imagined the scene to be real.) Hero Wilt thou marry mef (Applause.) Prompter No. (Heroino silent.) Prompter NOI (Audience laughs.) Hero (getting nervous) Wilt thou marry mef Heroine (suddenly awaking from her day dream) Oh, Pete, yes! (Company behind , Bccnes roars.) No, what could I do but ring the curtain down and then get mud? The play was spoiled, knocked endwise, so to speak, at the critical moment when she ought to have refused him instead of being so awfully aw-fully worldly commonplace. But as that was the end of that act the curtain had to come down anyhow, and the company gave another act without any support from me, and finished amid wild enthusiasm. They killed the villain, killed my play and had lots of fun among themselves, and tho audience took it all iu. But the ' hardest blow was nfterward, when a lady came up to mo and said: "Oh, that play of yours was perfectly delicious; de-licious; and so full of surprises particularly particu-larly the last act" And that is why I have never written j another pluy. Flavel Scott Mines in Puck. IT HAD, IF IT HADN'T. My Suocees As a Playwright That is, It Would Have Been if It ( Hadn't Tailed. ' ' THE QBEAT DAILIES OF THE YEAR. To a flortain Extent He Was Poor, But Proud Stanley Was Rsady For Him. B an nnppened at the hotel whore we were spending the summer. The ladies of the place were very much interested in some local charitable institution, and because be-cause it gave thorn something to do, tho young people decided to havo a dramatio entertainment. If there is anything iu tho world calculated to distress a sensitive mind it is amateur theatricals, but because be-cause I happened to be a dramatic crit ic on a city paper, the instigators of the conspiracy conspir-acy did not credit me with having a sensitive sen-sitive mind, and appointed me muster of ceremonies, and put all tho hard work on my shoulders. . I will pass over all the early stages, spent in rehearsals and sorrow, and go at once to the "business," ns tho phrase is. You probably have nover seen the play, bo-cause bo-cause I wrote it myself, and probably never will, but for fine dramatic effect I challenge chal-lenge Sardou to produce its equal. There was a crescendo movement all through, and the climax was reached when the heroine, deliberately and with malico aforethought, declines the hero and confesses con-fesses a love for the villuln. It wits a work of art, oven if I do write it myself, for being, as I have said, a dramatic critic, I am in a position to state. I will narrate the events of that evening in their proper sequence. Ths dining room of the hotel, which was given up for the occasion, was crowded to suffocation, and the audience were kept in a state of alarm before the rising of the eurtain by the advent of a couple of bats. At length the curtain rose, and the uuili-. uuili-. ence forgot the bats and the performers their lines, but the prompter soon set them straight, and the first act went off as merrily mer-rily as a marriageable belle. At tho close of the second act the hero and the heroine were discovered alone. The play ran iu this wise: Hero My own. (Silence on the part of heroine.) Hero My own. (Continued silence on 1 the stt4jc; great applause in the audience.) |