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Show I lff 0 O Publicise - mt" fpk &nm& .. ATTRACTIONS THIS WEEK. l' Salt Lake Theater "Our New Minis- 1 tci" Tuesday and YVednosday nights 1 and TVodnesdav afternoon ; Anna Hold In "Mam'scllc Napoleon," Thursday Friday and Saturday nights and Saturday Sat-urday afternoon. Grand Theater "New York Day by I Day." Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday Wednes-day nights and Wednesday alternoon: "Toll Gate Inn," Thursday and Frlduy 1 nights; "Cinderella," Saturday after noon, "Kidnapped," Saturday nlghL . " i One of the bis attractions of the year, 1 I Anna Hold's "Mam'selle Napoleon, ' 1 comes to the Salt L.ake Theater this , -week. It opens on Thursday nlsht for four performances. It is the most elab-1 elab-1 oratelv staged and costumed play In which Miss Hold has yet appeared, and was adapted for the American stage by 1 Joseph W. Herbert and provided with . music bv Gustav Luders, the composer ' I of "The Prince of Pllsen." "King Dodo, I , ' ( etc. Miss Held has an excellent op-, op-, j portunity of displaying her personal charms in conjunction with a native " I dramatic ability she has not betore manifested, in the role 01 .une. j ma she Is called upon to exploit her dra-l dra-l 1 rnatio quallllcatlons and has given evl- douce that she has the ability. H' The scene of tho play Is laid In France during the most brilliant period of the Hl Napoleonic regime, the character as- 1, sumed by Miss Held being tho historic one of the Emperor's favorite actress-i actress-i The play Is In three acts and five tab-! tab-! leaux, and has no fewer than forty-four 1 speaking or singing parts, and a chorus, It Is said, of 100 persons. The first act shows the green room of i the Comcdic Francaise in 1S09. which serves at the same time as a dressing-Toom dressing-Toom for Mile. Mars.- The second act takes place on the lake Compelgne. Na-poleon's Na-poleon's summer residence. The stage i represents an Island In the middle of the lake in moonlight, and with the chateau Illuminated for an Imperial fete j In the background. In this act Mile, fl Mars has her greatest scene with Na- polcon. Ifii Scene one of the third act represents I, the Interior of the Grand Opera-house. , I Paris, during a masque ball, with a dance by the opera ballet. Napoleon's , I "Return from Elba" Is shown In the J J I background as a second tableaux, with I , ' the Emperor and his staff on horseback. The company Includes Joseph W. Hcr-bert. Hcr-bert. Knox Wilson. Henry Bergman, Franz Ebert, Frank Ttushworth. Harry H f ' M- Blake. Billy Norton and others of " the original cast. There are twenty , t musical numbers In the piece. The chorus Is one of the handsomest and H, best gowned ever, seen on the stage. t Anna Held's "A la Mode Girls" prom- lse to create a furore. The sale of ' seats begins Tuesday morning. H "Our New Minister,"1 written by Den-Hi Den-Hi i man Thompson and George W. Ryer, Hy "will be given at the Salt Lake Theater HU t, on Tuesday and Wednesday nights and Hli M at a popular matinee on Wednesday. Hl! , This season's company 13 a better one Bi than the one that presented the play j, last year, and comes from a four i months' run In New York. It was the purpose of the writers of this play to Hli "paint the real outside with fidelity and i . care, and then Impart into their charac- H'i : ters the motives which would rule them 'i ' If the millennium wore here; the mo- Hj tlves which Mr. Hoe and a host of Sun- , day-school story -writers have portrayed for generations. Perhaps it would be more Just to say that they develop those 1 ( better traits of human nature which 1 v.-Ill some day make the millennium p'os- i , slblc." 1 c ' At the Grand this week the Elleford j company will present four plays. "New H, !' York Day by Day," a melodrama of , New York life, will be played during I the first half of the week. "New York H' Day by Day" tells a thrilling story of Hn .,' a side of life in the great metropolis H1 that is seldom seen by the visitor. Among the most Important are "Battery H'l I Park by Moonlight," "New York Har-I Har-I bor," "Harlem Bridge," which Is shown Hi through a blinding blizzard; "A dive on , ' lower East Side water front, the hol- H'j bad of crime in New York," and other ecencs produced wltli special scenery. "Toll-Gate Inn," which will be played H1 on Thursday and Friday nights, is a ' beautiful and Interesting tale of Revo- lutlonary days, full of heart Interest, laugh provoking situations and thrilling scenes. This drama will be put on with elaborate costuming and scenic cf-H, cf-H, ( fects used In the original production in New York City. Hi On Saturday afternoon the company H) "v-'IH Kive a special matinee for ladles and children, presenting the beautiful , i spectacle "Cinderella." On Saturday j Olsht "Kidnapped"wlll be repeated for J "izz performance, owing to the demand I for a repetition of this big success by Hij patrons of the Grand who were unable Hil i to ecc It during Its previous prcsenta- i I' i i "Shenandoah" will be the bill at the , L Grand during next week, and with the Hj last performance of It on May 1-Uh the H J'j Elleford company will close its engage- 1 Hh (I ment here. H! " Mrs. Annie Adams Is again visiting n 'l Salt Lake, after an absence of four H years. Mrs. Adams Is now perhaps best j , , Icnov.-n as the mother of Maude Adams. ij But her own dramatic accomplishments H, u entitle her to fame. Like her talented H: 1 1 daughter, she is of Utah birth, having HL 1 been born in South Cottonwood about H! h r5 years ago- She has been on the stage 1 'J? for nearly forty yeara, having appeared ' ! In her first part at the Salt Lake The- j a ler July 25, 1SC5. And she is still a HH most capable and admirable actress. H , During the past season she has been H',.j;,i1 -with Ethel Barrymore In "Cousin Hf I i' Kate." Mrs. Adama has many friends 1 j j ( ANNA HELD IN "lI'IaSELLE NAPOLEON." here, who are clad to have her again umong them. She will remain until the engagement of. her daughter late in May. Unique Play Captures Paris. The theatrical sensation of the, hour In Paris I? Anatole France's dramatization dramati-zation of his celebrated novel "L'Men-nequln "L'Men-nequln d'Osler" (the Wicker Dummy or Dress Stand), now crowding the Renaissance Ren-aissance theater. The plot Is extraordinary extraor-dinary for the Paris stage. Mr. Bcrgernt, the central figure (personated (per-sonated by Luclen Gultry), Is a professor profes-sor In a provincial university, married to a woman who proves to be Incompatible. Incom-patible. She finds the town whoro he is teaching stupid and wears him out with complaints. They have two daughters, Pauline and Juliette. The former resembles the father and the latter her mother. Juliette Is on the eve of making a rather foolish marriage when the play opens. The father tries to dissuade her from it, but prefers to let her decide for herself. His wife chooses one of her husband's university students for her lover. One day Mr. Bergerat finds them In each other's arms. He walks out of the room as If he had never seen them and goes plunging Into the fields, half mad with anger and a desire for vengeance. But the fields calm him. He confides his grief to the first simple woodman he meets and the country man's counsel comforts him. In a few hours he Is once again the philosopher. He does not demand even a divorce from his wife. He allows her to go her own way, and It Is she, forced by his serene Indifference, who finally Is obliged to solicit It. He Is appointed to a professorship In the University of Paris and comes here to live with his daughter Pauline, leaving leav-ing his daughter Juliette with her mother. The idea of not revenging himself on his wife when she has Insulted his honor hon-or Is nn Innovation upon French standards. stand-ards. Chicago Record-Herald. Tragedy and Business. The allegation In one of these discursive discur-sive articles, eays Norman Hapgood in the current Collier's, that tragedy Is not much of an Investment In any country, Is combated by one of our best Informed correspondents. "Really," says Mr. James Piatt White, "I should wish no better Investment than tragedy on the continent. I suppose we should agree that the Deutschc3 theater Is the greatest theater In the world, not only from the artistic but from he financial point of view. A theater which has every season one play which runs for a hundred or more performances, two or three more with from forty to sixty performances, the first season, and a large repertory of older plays that still draw large crowds whenever put on, has a steady financial position that even Mr. Charles Frohman may well envy." Mr. White goes on to show that the greatest successes for the past ten years at this theater have been tragedies. Including In-cluding "Die Weber," "Die Versunkene Glocke," "Johannes," "Fuhrmann Hen-schel," Hen-schel," "Der Probe Candldat," "Rosen-montag," "Rosen-montag," "Es Lebe das Leben," "Mon-na "Mon-na Vanna" and (If we choose to call It a tragedy) "Cyrano de Bergerac." ' A "Doll's House," "Ghosts," "An Enemy of the People," "The Wild Duck." "Ros-merholm" "Ros-merholm" and "Hedda. Gabler" of Ibsen Ib-sen have also succeeded In Germany, as has Tolstoi's "Power of Darkness." The "tragedy of blood" also is represented repre-sented there by a number of popular dramas. In Berlin "Beyond Human Power" has had almost as great a vogue as "Old Heidelberg," the first part of tho BJornsen play (which Mi's. Patrick Campbell gave In America), passing the hundredth performance In Its first year, and the second part doing almost as well. Among the great successes suc-cesses of tho Leasing theater have been "Die Ehre," "Johannlsfeuer" and "Hel-mat" "Hel-mat" of Sudermann, and "Jugend," which was produced at the Resldenz theater, was also favorably received. "The Lowest Depths" has had 300 performances per-formances this year. Such Instances make an honorable record for Germany, and something can" be done In the way of a similar argument argu-ment for Paris and Vienna, but a misunderstanding mis-understanding or a Juggling with terms or facts must underlie such arguments. Many of the best theaters In Europe are subsidized, and spend every year more than they, take in. Even those which "pay" among the theaters which produce pro-duce the beat drama, with very rare exceptions, ex-ceptions, merely make a respectable In come on the money invested. I do not believe tragedy, even In Germany. Is as good an Investment as Standard Oil, farce, musical comedy, extravaganza or breakfast foods can be made by astute management. Not tho most successful play In this striking German list has made as much money as "Ben Hur," "The Old Homestead" or "Charley's Aunt," and no manager of a high-class German playhouse coins as much money as Klaw & Elanger or Weber & Fields. Undoubtedly, tragedy can be made to pay, on the standards proper to art; but before It can be with us what it is with the Germans the stage must cease to be primarily a device for the heaping together of gold. The Play and the Production. In discussing the condition of the drama in England and America, It Is worth observation that the two men of recent times to whom we justly ascribe the best services In Its behalf are really the men who contributed the most to one cause of Its present depression. Henry Irving began his management of the Lyceum with a "repertory" company" com-pany" devoted to the performance of a great variety of plays, both old and new. .Having a genius for stage management, man-agement, he gradually developed the' pictorial side of the art until his "productions" "pro-ductions" became so elaborate and expensive ex-pensive that It was necessary to run a play an entire season to recover the original outlay. Necessarily, these productions pro-ductions became less and less frequent as they became more and more elaborate, elabo-rate, and the repertory was correspondingly corre-spondingly restricted. Of late years Irving has produced not more than one play a year, and If that failed he fell back upon a diminishing number from the old stock. He has not produced a new English drama for several years, and when we rejected Sardou's Impossible Impos-sible "Dante" this season, he had nothing noth-ing to offer Instead but two or three plays which he did much better on his very first visit here. That visit, nevertheless, set a standard stand-ard of cosily costuming and stage effects ef-fects which other managers have been compelled to emulate. Augustln Daly's example was very similar. He began with a varied repertory, gradually ho came down to one play, sometimes serious seri-ous and Bometlmes trivial, on which he expended the revenues of a season. sea-son. The most ordinary German farce must have a substantial setting, with "real" furniture made expressly for It, and we were no longer content with Shakespeare or with Sheridan unless we could be impressed by the "production." "produc-tion." Daly's influence proved very potent. A company could no longer rely upon the stock scenery of the theater. There must be a special equipment for every play, and this must be at least as fine as anything seen before. As a necessary neces-sary result, we have seen fewer and fewer plays, and the art of scene painter and costumer has developed at the expense of both the poet and the player. The people who are Interested In tho drama for ltd own sake, and would be content with such rudimentary rudi-mentary suggestion of scenery as satisfied satis-fied even the last generation of playgoers, play-goers, are a small minority In any community. com-munity. Even at the opera we hear complaints of the most trivial stage details de-tails from persons who might be expected ex-pected to think mainly of the music, and It will require a great deal of education edu-cation to persuade the average theater audience not only that the play Is more important than Its Interpreter, but that both are more Important than their pictorial surroundings. Philadelphia Ledger. Rough Biding on tho Stage. When a stage quarrel comes to pistol shots the audience knows that, however ferocious the display, there are no real bullets Involved und no one Is going to be actually hurt. And I think people have Eomewhat the same general feelings feel-ings toward feats performed with stage horses the animals are real, to be sure, but they are In some mysterious way not loaded; the danger Is Just part of the game. There Is. of course, a certain truth in this. The wild steed of the rescrt has been carefully trained to his role; his dash up the cliffs Is an orderly part of his day's work. But nothing that involves a live horse can be reduced to mathematical certainty, and there have been moments In the life of every stage horseman when, his own personal danger was quite as real as that of the character he presented. In "Under Two Flags." as Cigarette, I had to ride from the fltafisi up c .zig zag run that disappeared In the flies-fleeing flies-fleeing from tho Arabs up a mountain pass to save my lover. The run was narrow and unprotected at the sides, no that a misstep might have meant a fall of forty or fifty feet; but good llttlo Co Cheese did not make missteps, and even, by his own wit mved the day once or twice, when his rider could see nothing but disaster ahead. I shall never forget one experience. At each angle of tho ascending run was a platform plat-form which gave the horse Just room enough to turn and ro on. Arabs were stationed at Intervals up the pans, and this night, as we came tearing up the run I saw with horror that several of these had by mistake taken their places on the next platform. There they stood crowded helplessly together, their faces as white as their robes, too bowlldercd to move as we charged on them. That we should all go over tojrother seemed the only outcome; out-come; but Co Cheeo was not going to be downed Inglorlously by blundering rupcrs. Whirling about, in the narrow run Just short of tho platform, ho leaped the property rocks that hid the next run, landing like a cat on the narrow nar-row footing above, and flew up to his reward of applause and sugar. No one knew, of course. In the house, but for a few of us It was a bad moment. Blanche Bates in Outing. Prima Donna Has Trials. Few people who see the popular prima donna during the two or three hours of an evening at the theater realize rea-lize the amount of hara work that her position entails. Take, for Instance, the case of Frltzl Scheff in "Babctte." The transformation from being a little devil of grand opera to a prima donna of comic opera was apparently an casy one for Miss Scheff to make. But It implies im-plies very much harder work and so exacting and confusing 11 that ehe has hardly any time for social pleasures or festivities. When she- Is not working work-ing she In resting. She lo practically a slave to her vocation. In grand opera Miss Scheff sang perhaps per-haps two or three times a week never more than that. In comic opera she Is obliged to sing seven times a week and sometimes eight, and tho part Is much longer, the changes of cootumc more numerous and the necessity for hard acting much greater. People think that a prima donna just puts on some fancy drew, goes on the stage, looks pretty, sings some, goes home, and the rest of the while enjoys her great big salary. But It Isn't a bit like that. Frltzl Scheff's day Is from 0 o'clock In the morning to 1 o'clock In the morning. morn-ing. That leaves loss than eight hours for sleep. Laboring men get as much as that. She takes her coffee In bed Then It takes nn hour to dress. By th time she has read the papers and attended to her correspondence It Is 12-o'clock, 12-o'clock, and It Is time for breakfast. If It Is matlneo day It Is time to go tot the theater. She has five different costumes cos-tumes to wear In "Babctte," and for each one she has to change all the way through shoes, stockings and everything. every-thing. Putting on and taking off each costume makes ten changes to a performance. per-formance. On matinee days with two performances this makes twenty changes. Taking off the dress she wears to the theater and putting It on again after the performance twice a day, Is four more that's twenty-four. Dressing Dress-ing in tho morning Is twenty-five and undressing at night Is twenty-six. ELEANOR BOBSON'S IDEA. "When a part appeals to you. Is It because there are certain elements In the character which you recognize In yourself?" ' the dramatic writer asked Miss Robson, in his interview with her that appears in Pearson's. "No. that Is not It. A part appeals to an actress first because Bhc can picture vividly to herself Just how It should be enacted, no matter whether It is like, her real self or not. But there Is another an-other and more practical element in the appeal. She must be physically .ble to do the things which she pictures in her Imagination. She must consider the mechanism of her own personality and assure herself that she can command com-mand it up to the full measure of the part. Many parts appeal to me, which I know I cannot play, because I cannot control the mechanics of them." There is a thoughtful dellberateness about Miss Robson's way of looking at you -when you are talking to her. She never replies Impulsively and often pauses before replying. But when she speaks, It Is with a directness that knows no hesitation. You know she has been making up her mind for herself her-self and not trying to frame a reply to suit the circumstances. With this calm sincerity of mind it is no wonder she finds association with books so Important Im-portant a part of her existence. She evidently meets books, not as books, but much the same as she meets other experiences In life." WHAT THEY "WERE DOING THEN With the revivlal of "The Two Orphans" In New York with a "wonder" "won-der" cast, It is Interesting to take a retrospect glance and study the following list which, was prepared with the assistance of Annie Irish, Clara Morris and James O'Neill, and which gives, as accurately as memory will serve the parts being played by some of our leading players, past and present, thirty years ago the date of the first presentation of "The Two Orphans." Ada Rehan appeared as Big Clem-ence Clem-ence in Augustln Daly's production of "L'Assommolr." John Drew was a member of the newly formed Daly company. May Irwin and her sluter Flora were doing Bong and dances at Tony PaBtor's theater on Broadway. Annlo Russell went to t,he West Indies, In-dies, where she played the children roles In a company that included Felix Morris, Mor-ris, J, H. Gllmour and Tommy Russell. Jennie Yeamans was a Topsy in a revival re-vival of "Uncle Tom's Cabin." Rose Coghlan was appearing in Bouclcault'o drama, "Rescued," at Booth's theater. Henry E. Dlxey was seen as Tom Bowline in "Pinafore." Mrs. Minnie Maddcrn-Flake -was playing the leading part in "The Messenger Mes-senger From Jarvls Station." Thomas Q. Seabrook appeared as Bertie Cecil in "Cigarette." Lillian Russell was singing ballads at Tony Paator's theater. Richard Mansfield played a part In "Les Mantcaux Nolr" at the Standard theater. Maurice Barrymore was a member of the atocM company nt Wallack's theater. thea-ter. Nat Goodwin made a hit In "Hobbles "Hob-bles at Haverly's Fourteenth Street theater with his impersonations of well-known well-known actors, E. M. Holland was at Wallack's. Modjeska was drawing big houses at the Grand Opera-house in "East Lynnc." ' Charles Coghlan appeared at Wallack's Wal-lack's as Felix Fealhorstone in Sidney Grundy's play, "The SnowbHll." Sol Smith Russell began his starring tour in "Edgewooil Folks." Louls-i Bcaudet was a member of Maurice Grau's French Opera company, which included Capoul, at the Fifth Avenue theater. E. H. Sothern was a super in bis father's company. Roland Rccd was seen as Seraph In "The- Magic Slipper" at Haverly's Fourteenth Street theater. Julia Marlowe was with a juvenile "Pinafore" company. Lotta and Maggie Mitchell, now living liv-ing in New York city, were starring In their repertoires. Mrs. Charles Walcot played at Che Grand Opera-house under Augustln Daly's management. Charles Walcot and' Joseph Whcelock. Sr., appeared as Mercutlo and Romeo at Booth's theater. Mme. Janauschok played "Mary Queen of Scots," in New York. Agnes Booth appeared with John Mc-Cullough Mc-Cullough in "King John." Kitty Blanchard, the original Hcn-rlette Hcn-rlette In "The Two Orphans," appeared early during that year with Charlotte Cushman In "Meg IMerrllefts." Jeffreys Lewis appeared as Esmeralda Esme-ralda In "Notre Dame," at the Fourteenth Four-teenth Street theater, November 28, 187-1, and afterward Joined the Wallack company. Clara Morris played "Camllle" at the old Fourteenth Street theater March 26th of that year, supported by Kate Claxton, Marie Wllklns (the original Frochard In "Two Orphans"), F. F. Mackay and Frank Mayo. The great Adelaide Nell3on, the most beautiful of actresses, appeared In New York In "Much Ado About 'Nothing." J. M Bellew, the father of Kyrle Bel-lew, Bel-lew, gave readings In New York city the year before the production of "Tho Two Orphans." Oliver Doud Byron played "Across tho Continent" in New York. Maude Granger and F. B. Warde (now stp.rrlng) appeared at Booth's theater. Ed Harrlgan was starring with Har-rlgan Har-rlgan and Hart. Francis WJlson was one of a "team" with Mackin and Wilson, and late In the season appeared as Tufts In "An Unequal Match" In Philadelphia. George Holland, the father of E. M. Holland, wan leading comedian in tho Wallack slock company. E. H. Sblhcrn's father was starring in "Lord Dundreary." C. Leslie Allen, father of Viola Allen, and now In her company, was a member mem-ber of the Boston theater stock company. com-pany. ' De Wolf Hopper was playing a comedy part In "Our Daughters," which was presented by the Criterion Comedy company, Richard Golden was a member of Rice's "Evangeline" company. Cora Tanner appeared In "The Danltcs." John T. Kelly was at Tony Pastor's. W. J. Ferguson was In Gilbert's "The Wedding March" at Abbey's theater. Joseph Jefferson wao playing In a play called "Rip Van Winkle." PLATS AND PLATERS. Millie James, formerly the star of "The Little Princess," has gone to Tampa. Fla,. on account of her health The report that she has retired permanently perma-nently from the stage lacks confirmation. confirma-tion. "It was years ago," said W H. Thompson of "Tho Secret of Pollchl-nelle," Pollchl-nelle," "when I was a boy 'suplng' in a traveling repertoire opera company 'Faust' was billed for this particular night and I was cast for the important part of the seventh Imp In the scene of Hades; doubling up also as some other of the minor characters. "Manj' of the "supes we engaged in each town as we needed them. Sometimes Some-times they were a sorry lot, too," chuckled Mr. Thompson. "On this evening I stood in the wings waiting for my cue to rush on and pi-routte pi-routte with th'jthcr devils. The women wo-men were dauring, and rather stolldly golng througtvi-wlth tho tortures of tho damned, when one lost creature was supposed to throw up her arms and sink to bottomless depths. "All wen? well at first the red flro blazed beautifully and the audience was holding Its breath In delighted horror, when, with a blood-curdling shriek, this particular woman reached the trap. Unfortunately, her girth -was great, and as the trap had not been built to her measurements I regret to state that she stuck midway. The upper part of her body fitted above the stage as a cork In a bottle. Agony waa depleted upon her countenance, and her arms waved wildly as a stage hand below tugged frantically, but Ineffectually at her dangling feet. "My cue came and I made my entrance, en-trance, but nobody noticed the Imps, for just then a volco from the gallery sang out, 'Cheese it, boys! Hell's full!" ' The curtain waa rung down amid shrieks of laughter, and my scene waa irrevocably ruined." New York World. Speaking the other day of his experiences experi-ences on the stage, Kyrle Bellew related how ho was poisoned several yeara ago. "The play was 'In His Power,' " said Mr. Bellew, "and we were doing It then In London at the Globe or the Olympic. I forget -rthlch. Mrs.Beerbohm Tree was the leading lady. I plnyed the part of an officer, and In one scene I drank a cup of coffee which Mrs. Tree was supposed sup-posed to have drugged. "I hade been suffering Intensely with neuralgia, and I had in my dressing-room dressing-room a vial of laudanum. The laudanum lauda-num bottle and the bottle from which Mrs. Tree poured the supposed drug were exactly alike, and by chance the call boy gave her the vial of poison. Unsuspectingly I took the coffee, though the taste was queer. Then I began to feel the poison work. "I was supposed in the play to fall asleep and fall asleep I did. When the curtain fell they had to carry me off. They sent around to Charing Cro.ss Hospital for a physician, and he came .with a stomach pump. Oh, yes, we had a, little longer wait than usual between the acts, I was able to go on and finish the play but well. I made sure the laudanum bottle didn't get misplaced again." The annual spring cleaning In Broadway Broad-way Is in full swing now. Plays of serious ser-ious Intent are being brushed away and In their placeG arc. coming a few bright and cheery things to amuse U3 when we are all poosessed of the merry thoughtlessness of the good old summer time. What a change will takn plsco In tho next two weeks! YJtfore that time hac passed hardly n half-dozen of the regular winter offerings will be here, and the majority of leading actors whn have been coaxing us to their doors will have departed, either In nearch of pleasure or else in hunt of stray dollars dol-lars in tho oblivion of one-night stands. Many players have gone to Europe already, al-ready, and more will sail before the month runs to un end. Almost before we have realized It tho dog duys will be at hand, and playgoers who have been faithful In patronage ?Ince last September well may raise a nigh of relief re-lief and exclnlm In unison: "Thank heaven for brief respite"" New York Press. A theater merger with $1,000,000 capital capi-tal JJ, process of tounatlou In Pari3, and includes four houses. Negotiations Negotia-tions are pending for two more. Tho authors' committee has decided to do no business with a man managing more than one theater. Dramatists' authorization authori-zation will be given from month to month. Pierre Veber thinks a rupture Inevitable, with the consequence that with a merger the theaters will be unable to present any French plays. X After trying and discarding three plays In one season success has at last beamed on William Collier' In Richard Harding Davis's comedy "Tho Dictator." Just as the "Florodora" company wac about to disband for the season it got Into a wreck in Virginia. fNo one was hurt, but every member of the company com-pany was paid from SJ0 to .?200 as damages dam-ages and departed for Now York In a happy frame of mind. M Acting Is often more In earnest than the ypectators suppose, as Is proved by this t'tory told by Charles Warner, nn English actor: "It was during tho first pcrfonnaace of 'Michael Strogoff.' in the AdelphI theater, London," said ilr. Warner. "I had stage-managed the piece, which was a most elaborate production, and was playing Michael StrogofT, the hero. All went well until the last act. I was supposed to be blind in that act, and the vllllan of the play thought It advisable ad-visable for me to disappear from .the scene In order not to frustrate hlM villainy, vil-lainy, and attempted to stab me. I seized his wris-t. and. In the struggle, by pure accident, thr- knife a long hunting one-rwput through my hand, breaking the bone eji severing the sinew?. The audience imagined it waa a trick. "The trick nearly coat mo my life. I wan actually bleeding to death, but I would not leave tho ;te, and continued con-tinued the ii;rfoniai;c-j. Mlss Florence Gerard, afterward 2Irs. Abbt-y. was playing tho heroine, and she saw. my bleedlnR hand whJci 1 had pl.ec-a behind be-hind me lo hide it frcru the audience. She ran on tho Kty.fi: and placed a. handkerchief in my hard. "I c'ld r.ot leave the fft'.ge for twonty-f;ve twonty-f;ve mhiute, and ov, Uie fall of l$p curtain cur-tain my life was ebbing fior.; Vt. Four physicians arrives! .'.vrn Charing Croes hospital, and It wan de?rnI ndvlwble to pond for mj' wife ar.d relatives. I am here today to tel! ;hv story, fortunately, fortu-nately, but I can afllrrr. that I have known what Is the wns; tlon of passing the-porta Uj into the unknown." "The Enchanted Talc" S3 the iiamo of Victor Herbert's latest open, which will bo produced in the Etust nxt season. sea-son. Tlu- ucene is laid in. nr.. imaginary land and will give Out scenic artists thc-ir costumorp a chance to draw on their imagination. Mr. T-Jetbcrt also announce- tho composition of a nrs.w romanza, which will not bo h.v.rd until ! he has organized JcjorcJiesLra. j |