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Show HOW THE ELDER BOOTH'S SWORD WAS ACQUIRED. AC-QUIRED. Shakespearean encounters are rich in incident and accident. Once when Louis James was playing play-ing Richard at the old Star theatre, in New York, his broadsword broke in the heat of the combat with Richmond. The fight was going furiously at that instant, and so great was the force of the blow when the sword was shattered against the weapon of Richmond that the severed end flew across the footlights and struck the face of a man in the fifth row. It barely missed- his right eye, and did cut a small gash just below it. As soon as the play was concluded the injured snectator sought Mr. Burnham, the manager of the theater. "You see?" he said in tones eloquent of prospective pros-pective proceedings for damages. "Yes, what of It?" "What of it! That fool king did it," the man explained. "Richard?" "Yes, Richard! Look there!" He held up very cautiously, as a valuable article ar-ticle of evidence, the piece of broken sword. "Kings sometimes get excited, like the rest of us," said Mr. Burjiham. "I'm sure he didn't mean " "Never mind what he meant!" retorted the Injured In-jured man. "What are you going to do about that eye?" Mr. Burnham looked carefully, not at the wound, but into the eye itself, endeavoring to find out tlio probable price. IniHHHHHBBmHaBHBaNiBHaMBHHiHi "We are going to have some very nice attractions attrac-tions the rest of the season," he said, tentatively. The man's face brightened, and he went on. I d like to have you drop in on us every week. Two seats a week you know is makes a nice thing in the " "Certainly. That's all right." So ho tendered his sword, and Mr. Burnham hung it up in his office. Ho prized it so highly that he put a card under it with the explanation that It was a piece of the elder Booth's sword, presented to Mr. Burnham by Edwin Booth in token, to-ken, etc. One day it disappeared, and that introduces intro-duces another person, who, perhaps, would like to learn that hjs precious relic of Booth is spurious. |