MEMORIES OF AN OLD ACTOR. [UHI7ERSIT7] \^ MEMORIES OF AN OLD ACTOR BY WALTER M. LEMAN They are the abstract and brief chronicles of the time" SHAKESPEARE A. ROMAN CO., PUBLISHERS 1886 S" Copyright, 1886, By WALTER M. LEMAN, H. 3. CROCKER #'*'### " And Alexina Fisher, just the thing As you all know she's laughing at the wing ; lyittle, but big enough to lead the van, See her in boy's clothes ' every inch a man ! ' And she whose path may Hymen strew with flowers, The 'Child of Nature 'pretty Mrs. Bowers." Mrs. Bowers was then a member of the Com- pany, and had a short time previous made her first appearance as " Amanthis," in the " Child of Nature," when she was Miss Crocker. Mrs. Bowers' brilliant and successful career as a tra- gedienne is well known. She is another happy memory of the by-gone days, and with pride I include her in my list of old and dear friends. 194 Memories of an Old Actor. During my residence in Philadelphia I formed many acquaintanceships which time and distance have severed, and knew many friendships that death has cut short. Among the latter I may name the late John W. Forney, Esq., Pierce But- ler, Esq., and Mr. William Savory Torr. From the lips of the latter gentleman I heard an anec- dote respecting Edmund Kean, which he vouched for as being, from his own personal knowledge, absolutely true. I think it worthy of a place in my record. At an evening party given by Nicholas Biddle, Esq., to which Mr. Kean was an invited guest, a young lady playfully asked of Mr. Kean during the evening, what an actor's life was like, to which he replied, that if she would order the ser- vant to bring him a sheet of paper, he would give her an answer before the company broke up, and when she called for her carriage, he put into her hand a folded paper containing his answer to her question, which read thus " An actor's life a sea of ceaseless troubles ; An actor's fame but fleeting, child-blown bubbles, Wafted by folly's breath into the air, Dispell'd by blasts of envy or despair ; Floats on the breeze like Nautili o'er the main, Bursts and is gone ! ' sans everything ' again." I was invited on one occasion to fill the role of poet, at a celebration of the National Anniver- Memories of an Old Actor. 195 sary. Perhaps I may be pardoned for inserting the opening and closing lines of my address in these "Memories." The address was re-written at a later period, with additions, for an anniver- sary of the San Francisco " Mechanic's Associa- tion," and is, I believe, in print : 4 ' Home of the brave and free, land of my birth, Thou fairest, freest, happiest clime of earth, Thou glorious refuge of humanity, Spread from th ' Atlantic to the Western Sea, From far Alaska's cold, congealed snow To the volcanic hills of Mexico Where mountains rise, whose towering peaks on high Piercing afar the illimitable sky, Receive and flash the day-god's earliest glance, In golden radiance o'er the vast expanse That lies around ; where mighty inland seas Mount with the storm and ruffle to the breeze; Where the huge bison roams the prairie plain, And the swift steed, with wildly flowing mane, And eye dilated, keenly snuffs afar The hunter's lasso on the morning air; Where rippling brooks meander on through vales That breathe the wild romance of border tales, And zephyrs murmur amid verdant bowers Rich with the fragrance of perennial flowers; Where cavern-cradled tempests madly sweep In gusty currents from the mountain steep; Where through the fruitful plain majestic on Rolls the swift stream, and dashes madly down The roaring cataract, 'mid mists that rise And paint their rainbows on the o'er- arching skies; Where Nature, on her broadest, boldest plan, Proclaims aloud the nothingness of man; 196 Memories of an Old Actor. Where God hath blent the beautiful and grand Be thou my theme ! My own, my native land ! # ###**# Home of the brave and free ! dear native land ! With thee my theme began, and so shall end. If round thy onward path the storm should lower, Impell'd by traitrous or despotic power, Should knaves and slaves and demagogues combine. Fair Freedom's temple walls to undermine, Thy sturdy yeomen, undismayed and bold, Unswayed by station, unseduced by gold, Will at thy summons to the conflict rush, The foreign or intestine foe to crush ; Thy banner to uphold, whate'er befalls. True to the Union, when the Union calls. In vain the traitor's wiles, the coward's fear Essay to check thee in thy bright career. Thou ocean-bound republic ! for on high Where dwell the stars is writ thy destiny ; And there those shining orbs have pencilled forth Thy mission to regenerate the Earth, And bid the realm of liberty expand While floats thy starry flag, my own, my Native Land. I severed my connection with the Walnut Street Theatre, at the close of the season of 1849, having received a satisfactory offer from Messrs. Ludlow and Smith for St. Louis and New Orleans. I parted from Mr. Marshall with regret, for I had found him a courteous gentle- man, just in his dealings and considerate for the comfort of those in his employ. I never saw Mr. Marshall again, but am sorry to know that ill-fortune darkened his latter years. I do not Memories of an Old Actor. 197 know, but believe that he has passed away to the unknown shore. The prevalence of cholera in the West delayed my departure for some time, and I improved the opportunity to journey as far as Pittsburgh, by a mode of locomotion which steam has made a thing of the past. That summer trip in a canal packet across the great State of Pennsylvania to the Ohio River, is one of my pleasant " mem- ories." The novelty of the conveyance, its adaptedness to the wants of the voyager, the wonderful way in which room was made for everything, in a small ark in which at first sight there appeared to be no room for anything ; the good quality and abundance of the food ; the cleanliness of the cookery and bedding, and the discipline and order maintained on those little inland packets, which thridded their way through scenes of rural loveliness, agricultural abundance and natural beauty of valley, plain and moun- tain, can never be forgotten. And the trip down the Ohio was equally pleas- ant ; the river was at its very lowest stage emphatically what John Randolph called it, " a dried up, or nearly dried up ditch;" and I was told on reaching Pittsburgh that it would be impossible to get down the river ; but among the many tied-up steamboats there was one little stern-wheeler that was not tied-up, called the 198 Memories of an Old Actor. "Exchange," and her master, an energetic young fellow, assured myself and a few more who were anxious to get on, that he would take us through to St. Louis without delay, for the " Exchange" could run and make good time through " damp grass." And he kept his word. I don't think his craft drew more than seven inches of water, and the bars and shoals which had stranded larger boats were sparred over by our little craft with small loss of time. "La Belle Riviere" grew deeper in volume as we advanced. At Cincinnati we took the " Ben. West," a larger boat, soon reached Cairo, and thence made a quick run up the " Father of Waters" to St. Louis. Messrs. Ludlow and Smith, the well-known western managers, commenced their season in St. Louis on the i5th of August, and I opened as " Sergeant Austerlitz." Mrs. Farren com- menced a starring engagement on the i8th as " Lticretia Borgia," and I was the "Genarro." Mrs. Farren was at that period a great favorite with western audiences. She played the round of tragedy heroines and many other parts with judgment and power. Mr. George Farren was an admirable character actor; his performance of " Sergeant Supplice" in the "Child of the Regi- ment," and "Captain Cuttle" in " Dombey and Son," were fine examples of his ability and train- Memories of an Old Actor. 199 ing. Mr. and Mrs. Farren played until the end of the month, acting for their benefit " Much Ado About Nothing," in which Mrs. Farren was the "Beatrice," Mr. F. the " Dogberry," and myself the " Benedick." I knew in St. Louis Mr. Charles Dibdin Pitt, who spent a short time in America, and was esteemed a clever tragedian. Mr. James Stark also played an engagement ; I knew this gentle- man in my early theatrical days ; I shall have occasion to speak of him again. The " Heron Family" also appeared; I think that the party consisted of three or four young ladies ; " little Agnes" was the " precocity" of the organization. They faded out of sight many a year ago. During the season there was a grand revival of the spectacle of the " Forty Thieves." This old- time honored melo-drama was always a mana- gerial weakness, so to speak, of Sol. Smith. He was very fond of playing " Ali Baba " or " Mus- tapha," and if he ever saw a chance to have a " shy " at the " Forty Thieves," he never missed it. New scenery on a grand scale was painted for the piece, and the cave of " Orcobrand," the evil spirit, in addition to the serpents and dragons and birds of ill-omen, with which scenic artists usually adorn it, was embellished with two gi- gantic demons with bulging eyes, in a sitting posture on either side of a murky altar. The 2oo Memories of an Old Actor. scene on being discovered was received with a murmur of applause which swelled into a roar, when a long-limbed, long-haired, steamboat man in butternut clothes, rose in the pit, and address- ing some one whom he knew in the upper tier, cried out, " By G , Jim, there's Ludlow and Smith counting tickets in the box-office." The short season in St. Louis closed with the engagement of Mile. Herminie Blangy. This beautiful danseuse, was a competitor with the no less beautiful Augusta, for the honor of being enrolled as the successor of Fanny Ellsler. The St. Charles Theatre in New Orleans, opened on the evening of Saturday, November loth. My trip down the Mississippi on a L/evia- than steamer, with all the adjuncts that con- tribute to the traveler's comfort, was greatly en- joyed with but one drawback ; sitting upon the guards one day, my attention was drawn to an intelligent looking, light mulatto, who, to my surprise, had his two wrists linked together with iron fetters about a foot long. I was not at all conversant with the methods of the "patriarchal institution," and was somewhat shocked, when in answer to my inquiry of " why he wore them ? " hetoldmethathis, as Mrs. Judah was, my old and valued friend ; one has passed away may I long be able to say of the other u She still lives." Mr. Edward N. Thayer, another member of Mrs. Sinclair's company, I will mention as my associate and friend during a great portion of the period between "fifty-four" and "eighty-four." I think that almost every old Californian has sailed or ran back and forth from " Frisco " to the " States" and from the "States" to "Frisco" as we used to say, from one to a half dozen times, excepting Ned Thayer. I think that he really likes California, although he growls a little occa- sionally, and I know that the public like him, and his private friends like him notwithstanding his growling. Mr. Thayer is a son of the fine actor I have spoken of in an earlier chapter, as 238 Memories of an Old Actor. connected with the Philadelphia stage, and is a worthy son of an accomplished sire. I have said that San Francisco theatricals in 1854 had passed from the embryo stage, they were in a transition state, as was indeed the case with everything Californian ; the city that now numbers three hundred thousand inhabitants, then had but fifty thousand ; the time had not so long gone by when a woman walking along the streets was as much of a sight as an elephant or giraffe would be now ; where now are miles of lighted streets was then nothing but chap- paral and lagoon ; and it is almost impossible to conceive the difference between the then and the now. The circus ante-dated the theatre in San Fran- cisco early in 1849 an( ^ J 85o; two had been respectively opened, one by Mr. Joseph Rowe, who still -lives in the city which he has seen grow from nothing to empire, in which the easily satisfied populace were content to pay, without a murmur, three dollars for pit seats, five dollars for box places, and fifty-five dollars for the luxury of a private stall. Stephen C. Massett came next, after the circus and ahead of the theatre ; and here is a " memory " indeed ! Steve Massett! Who is there that does not know him ? or rather, I should ask who is there that Stephen C. Mas- Memories of an Old Actor. 239 sett does not know, from "king and kaiser," to a priest and potentate ? " In the year 1849, on the evening of Monday, June 22d, what may be considered the first among the regular amusements of the city was given by Mr. Massett ("Jeems Pipes") in a school-room, which was crowded to suifocation, yielding over five hundred dollars. The front seats were re- served for ladies, of whom there were but four present ; the Collector of the Port loaned the piano used by Mr. Massett (it was the only one in the country), and the porters received sixteen dollars for removing it from the Custom House to the school-room, on opposite sides of the Plaza. These facts are stated on the authority of "Annals of San Francisco." The entire performance was given by Mr. Massett. Tickets three dollars each. I last saw Mr. Massett, I think, in 1881 or 1882 ; I last heard of him as traveling somewhere in the " uttermost bounds of the earth," and mak- ing new acquaintances among the great men thereof. Everyone who lived in San Francisco for a long time after the date of my arrival, will re- member the old Signal Station on the summit of Telegraph Hill. The signal for a side-wheel steamer in the early days was two long black- boards, extended like two outstretched uplifted arms, one on each side of the long, black signal 240 Memories of an Old Actor. pole. Everybody knew this signal, and that the P. M. S.S. Go's steamships were all side-wheelers, and one can hardly understand, now, the excite-' ment created by the signal for a side-wheel steamer. One night the " Hunchback " was being played at the "American Theatre;" the house was crowded, and the play had progressed to the scene of "Julia's" quarrel with "Clifford," at the point of " Master Walter's " excited entrance; the actor's figure, dressed entirely in black, stood in bold relief against the light-colored scenery of the drawing-room ; throwing up his arms long and black, he shouted, " What does this mean?" " Side-wheel steamer ! " roared a stentorian voice from the gallery. The play was suspended "for a time." Another " memory " of Mrs. Sinclair's company comes back of Potter the ubiquitous, the ever- persuasive, the always-promising John S. Potter. The man who built more theatres and opened more theatres, and closed more theatres I think he closed twice as many as he ever opened than any man in the Union or out of it. Mr. Potter was a most remarkable character ; he was gifted with the organ of hope so largely that he could see a silver-lining to the darkest cloud in the managerial horizon, and, like Micawber, was always certain of something " turning up," but Memories of an Old Actor. 241 the main difficulty with him was his inability to inspire his actors and actresses with the same buoyant feeling. He had opened I don't know how many thea- tres in the West and in the Mississippi Valley before he reached California, and during his Cal- ifornia career he had opened as many more ; he was always in management, and I was amazed that he was enrolled only as an actor when I arrived ; but he started in on his managerial career soon after ; he had the reputation in the West of being able to keep his forces together without any treasure-chest or commissariat, sim- ply by his persuasive tongue. A friend once found him complaining that but for the ambition of his company his " season" would have been prosperous ; and being asked what their ambition had to do with his failure, he replied that if they hadn't been so ambitious for their salary he could have made money and kept them all together. ' Another time, to a poor histrion who begged in vain for a dollar or two of his unpaid salary, he replied : " What, ask for salary when blackberries are ripe !" He would any time, like Mr. J. P. Addams, play any part in the drama at ten minutes' no- tice, in a black cloak and wig, and would get the curtain up and down again, shift all the scenes, attend to the properties during the performance, 16 242 Memories of an Old Actor. and within five minutes or less after the fall of the curtain would have the receipts from the box office in his pocket, and be out of sight of his "ambitious" actors, who waited around in vain for " salary." I shall have occasion to speak of him again. Among the new parts that I played during something less than five months in which I was with Mrs. Sinclair, I recall " Ankarstrom " in " Gustavus III," the dual characters in the " Courier of Lyons," "Job Thornberry" in " John Bull," and one or two more. The season was almost a failure ; the expenditures much too heavy for the patronage of an exhausted public, and many of the stars had received exorbitant sums, inconsistent altogether with their attrac- tion. Mr. Samuel Colville was at the time in man- agement in Sacramento, and I joined him in the latter part of January, 1855. CHAPTER XII. The Sacramento Theatre Mr. Venua Mr. Dan Virgil Gates Mr. James Stark Mr. Warwick Mr. Folland Mr. Dumphries Mr. and Mrs. Kent Mr. Joseph Wilder Laura Keene Lola Montez's Marriage Mr. Edwin Booth The Gougenheims The Forrest Theatre Mr. Charles King Mr. George Ryer That "Rascal Jack " Miss Sophie Edwin Mr. John Woodard Mr. Frank Mayo Mr. McKean Buchanan Mr. Harry Palmer The Moun- tain Runaway Poker Jimmy Griffiths The Narrow Escape Miss Virginia Buchanan. IN the summer of 1883 there appeared on the streets of Sacramento a singular figure, clad in buck-skin coat and trousers, with head sur- mounted by a time-worn cap, from, under which flowed to the shoulders an abundance of gray hair, and a full, snow-white beard. This figure gave to the curious great food for conjecture, and to the older residents a sensation of surprise that one who had been supposed dead should re-visit the scenes of his former trials and disappoint- ments. This old man was Mr. Wesley Venua, who, in the year 1852, in company with two other 244 Memories of an Old Actor. gentlemen, erected the theatre on Third street, which, in January, 1855, was managed by Mr. Samuel Colville, "by whom I was engaged. Mr. Venua's career was a most remarkable one. A native of Bngland, when a mere boy of seven- teen he volunteered into the Portuguese naval service, for what was known as the " Donna Maria " war, and in an engagement had the calf of his right leg shot away. In 1834, he drifted to the United States, and eventually into one of the minor theatres in New York City. He was a member of the company at the St. Charles theatre, in New Orleans, when I was with Ludlow & Smith. From thence he went through Mexico to Acapulco, on the Pacific, and found his way, by a freight-boat, to San Francisco, in the flush times of 1851. He played in the Eagle Theatre, in Sacramento, of which I have spoken, and spoke the first line that was uttered on the stage of the "Jenny Lind Theatre," in San Francisco. In the year 1864, becoming tired of society, he took passage for the South Seas, and resided for four years in the Society Islands, and went thence, on board of a French frigate, to France. In 1869, ne was i n Italy and the south of France, and was imprisoned in Paris during the Franco- Prussian war, experiencing the privations and perils of hunger and siege. On the entrance of the Prussians into the French capital, he escaped Memories of an Old Actor. 245 the excesses of the " commune," and went to England, and thence back to California, where he found that his property had been mismanaged, and reduced to one-half its original value. Anx- ious to get away from society, he purchased a team, and started to find some abode of solitude, and eventually camped among the Cascade Moun- tains, in Oregon, where he now resides. He had ridden from his mountain home to Sacramento in fifteen days, using one horse, for which he avowed an almost human affection. I think that I know that horse ; it must be " Fox," and yet that can hardly be. In that first visit of mine to Sacramento, in 1855, he owned a horse named u Fox," of which he thought more than of any human being. It was said that he had ridden Fox to the summit of the Marysville Butte, from which he had to be lowered with a " fall and tackle;" but this I will not vouch for. Mr. Venua was a man capable of feeling for a dumb brute, and when he lost Fox, he, without doubt, found another, and attached him to his master by kindness. With his many eccentric- ities, Mr. Venua is a man to command respect, and the "soldier of fortune," the u wounded sailor," the "histrionic pioneer," the "voluptuary of the South Seas," the " starveling of the Paris siege," the "hermit of the wilds of Oregon," is to me a picturesque and pleasant memory. 246 Memories of an Old Actor. I think that I can choose no more fitting place to speak of another old dramatic pioneer on the Pacific Slope, well remembered by the survivors of " the days of old, the days of '49," Dan Virgil Gates. Mr. Gates was, I believe, a native of Rochester, N. Y., where he commenced his theatrical career with Mr. Augustus Addams. He possessed rare imitative powers, but like most young thespians inclined to tragedy. He ap- peared in the old American Theatre in San Fran- cisco, in support of Mr. James Stark, in 1851, and for some two years thereafter was a member of various organizations, playing in connection with Messrs. Stark, Baker and Proctor. In the winter of '52-53, he was " snowed in " at the town of Nevada with William Barry, David Anderson, Edwin Booth, and others, members of the com- pany of Mr. Willmarth Waller, and encountered with them some of the vicissitudes of early Cali- fornia life, which were not confined to the wielders of the pick and shovel alone. Subsequently, he traveled the length and breadth of the State mounted like a distin- guished editor of San Francisco on the back of a mule ; a whole theatrical company condensed into one man ; a host in himself rang the bell as he entered into each mining town or camp, posted his own bills, beat his own drum, fiddled, sang, danced, and recited, and gave a ball after Memories of an Old Actor. 247 the dramatic performance, to trie intense satis- faction of his patrons, who, to this day, tell of the glorious times they had in the old days with Dan Virgil Gates. As fortune smiled, he dis- mounted from his mule and traveled with a team of two horses, and then with a handsome turn-out of four, in company with Mr. Edmon S. Connor, another pioneer who was, like him, a hunter for nuggets in the early days. Mr. Connor I knew when we were both young in Philadelphia; he had a fair position before he came to Cali- fornia, though he never attained to eminence. As Polonius says, he was " a good actor," if not a great one. Mr. Connor used to say jocularly, that " a gentleman was a man who had a gold watch and forty dollars in his pocket." At this date he is living in Philadelphia, and upwards of eighty years old, hale and hearty, as I am in- formed. I hope that he is possessed of the watch and dollars, but he has always borne the char- acter of a gentleman. Dan Virgil Gates died in Leadville, Colorado, in 1876. Mr. Colville began his short season with Mr. and Mrs. James Stark. Mr. Stark had been with me in New Orleans, but in the three intervening years had made a profitable visit to Australia, and stood high in the esteem of the public of California, as well as of the Australian Colonies. He was an admirable actor, some few characters 248 Memories of an Old Actor. were exceptionally fine in the hands of James Stark. I will instance " Richelieu" and " Bever- ly," in the " Gamester." He was a man of kind and generous feelings, at one time wealthy, but I think lost the bulk of his fortune by unfortunate speculation. He died, I believe, while a member of Mr. Edwin Booth's company in New York. James H. Warwick was another acquaintance renewed from previous years. I believe that in a preceding chapter I have said he was a trage- dian, he was an aspiring tragedian. I met and acted with Mr. Warwick many times during his California career, up to the time of his entrance into political life. In 1862 he was nominated and elected to the lower house of the California Legislature, from the County of Sacramento, and had the oppor- tunity to reiterate before the " assembled wisdom of the State," a declaration that he never omit- ted to make from the stage when opportunity offered, " that it was his chief hope and wish, to lay his bones in California." It was a question among the miner patrons of the theatre in those early days, how Mr. Warwick could make his bones " go round," for he invariably promised to lay them in every town in which he played. In later years I made a summer trip through the middle mining region of the State with Mr. George Mitchell and what he called his "Eques- Memories of an Old Actor. 249 * trian Theatre." Well, it was an " equestrian theatre," for we had a horse, and Mr. Warwick, and Mr. George Peoples, and some others. Mr. Peoples was the tragedian who rode the horse in " Putnam," and Mr. Warwick was the " trage- dian " who played "Nick of the Woods," and I can certify, on oath, that Mr. Warwick solemnly swore to " lay his bones " in no less than fifty mining towns and camps during that summer. I have not seen Mr. Warwick for many years, but hope he is alive and well, and still has his " bones " with him. There was a young man named Folland in the company. I remember him because his sad fate a few months later, impressed itself on my mind. He accompanied Lola Montez on her departure from California for Australia, and was lost at sea. Dumphries " Dumpsy," we always called him was another of the early California actors, and he was a good one. Short of stature, florid complexion, a smiling countenance, bright, merry eyes, brown, curly hair, cheerful temper such was little " Dumpsy," and he made our traveling tours in those pleasant days, over the " divides," down the "canons," up the "grades," and through the piney woods all the pleasanter by his pres- ence, but he, like so many more, is u dead and gone." 250 Memories of an Old Actor. In the then thriving town of Marysville, which was the main depot for supplying the northern mining region, a pretty, new theatre had been erected, and thither I went, under engagement to Mr. F. M. Kent. He was a low-comedian, of some merit, and his wife, an exceedingly beau- tiful woman, was ambitious to play the heroines of tragedy indeed, any heroines that might be roaming around loose. It was a pleasant trip, remembered for my first acquaintanceship with young Joseph Wilder, at that time a model of youthful, manly beauty, and giving promise of a great future; all eventually blighted by ill-health, misfortune, and the thousand ills that flesh is heir to. Joe, too, is dead ; peace to his memory. I returned to San Francisco under engagement to Dr. Spalding, who had leased the " American Theatre," as stage manager, which I resigned at the end of two weeks, and was succeeded by Miss Laura Keene. I was at this period gradually drifting into the line of old-men characters, and the exigencies of over-study made a stage mana- ger's duty, if properly attended to, almost im- possible ; and above and beyond all other rea- sons, Miss Keene was infinitely better qualified. So the change was made, and I was an actor only. That was a pleasant season ; I forget how long we were together, I think some three months. We were strong, too Miss Laura Keene, Mrs. Memories of an Old Actor. 251 Judah, Mrs. Thomaii, Miss Julia Gould, Mr. Charles Wheatleigh, Mr. J. A. Smith and others. Lola Montez is a vivid memory of my early California days. Just after the commencement of our season at the " American Theatre," she sailed in a brigantine for Australia. On the night before her departure, Miss Laura Keeiie, with some of the company, including myself, went from the theatre after the close -of the per- formance, to her lodgings at the International Hotel, to drink a glass of wine and say " good bye." Lola was in the highest spirits, and full of pleasant and gracious farewell words for all. I think that even as early as that time, she had begun to abate something of the imperious and reckless manner for which she had been so notor- ious. The career of Lola Montez was unmatched by that of any female bohernian of our time, and her success was world-wide. An Irish girl of uncertain parentage, her only inheritance was a face full of expression, fine eyes, and hair that a mermaid might envy. As an actress and dancer, even before she had turned the head of that crazy old King of Bavaria whose weakness, although developed in a different manner, seems to assert itself in his grandson Lola had won the hearts and depleted the pockets of the half of Paris. 252 Memories of an Old Actor. When she had married the art connoisseur, Ludwig, she lived like a " beggar on horseback," and ran him to the verge of ruin, from which he was only saved by his subjects, who threatened revolution if she were not driven from the realm. Heart-broken, he parted from the syren, who tripped it over to London, danced herself, after a fashion, into notoriety, and, after two years, crossed the Atlantic, traveled as an actress, de- livered lectures, made money, and lost it all ; ceased to attract, became a victim of all who could get a chance to rob her, and finally died in a second-class boarding-house in the city of New York. One of the husbands of this much-married and eccentric woman was a Californian, and of those who witnessed that marriage two survivors remain, both personally known to me, Messrs. L. R. L. and H. J. C. Near midnight, previous to the morning of the eventful day, one of these gentlemen was told as a great secret, that " in the Mission Church, to-morrow morning, Lola Montez was to be married to Pat Hull, at matin bells." At sunrise, near the old Mission Church, some fifteen or twenty persons were walking listlessly around, as if waiting for something ; among them Governor W. and his wife, the only lady, Memories of an Old Actor. 253 besides the bride, who was present at the wed- ding. Presently the carriage containing Lola and Hull drove up. Lola turned, and on entering the church waved her hand to close the front door ; but some forty spectators in all had already got inside. Lola carried in her hand two vases containing artificial white roses, and presented them to the officiating clergyman at the altar. From the church the party went into an ante-room, where was a spread of cake, wine, cigars and cigarettes. Gov. W. giving Mr. C. a significant wink, approaching Lola kissed her, and C, to " make the occasion memorable," as he said, did the same. Lola made no objection, remarking u such is the custom of my country." She received the congratulations of all who were present and had a pleasant word for all ; she then inquired, "where can we get a good breakfast?" Hull replied, " at the Bull's Head;" Lola said " she had rather go to the Tivoli ; " and to the " Tivoli " they went. This strange marriage was but one of the episodes in the strange life of the Countess of Landsfeldt, Baroness of the Order of St. Theresa, and discarded wife of a king, whose life- dream flickered out in obscurity, and who now lies in Trinity church yard in an humble grave, 254 Memories of an Old Actor. above wliicli is the inscription, " Elizabeth Gil- bert, died in New York, aged forty-one years." The little rose-embowered cottage in which Lola lived with Pat Hull for a short time after her marriage, stood for some period, perhaps still stands, in the pretty town of Grass Valley in Nevada County, California. I mink that my next "memory" of the early California days is connected with Venua's thea- tre in Sacramento. Mr. Edwin Booth was a member of the company, and in one of the bills I find his name as " Jack Spriggs," in the comedy of " Look before you Leap ; " and in " Twelfth Night " his name for " Malvolio," and my own for "Sir Toby Belsh." I recall the admirable manner in which he played " Malvolio." He also played " Mr. Lionel Lynx " in " Married Life " and " Bucket " the Detective, in " Bleak House." The Misses Adelaide and Joey Gougenheim were the stars ; these two ladies had a large popularity for a short time in California, Joey, especially, and went subsequently to Australia. On their return trip from the Antipodes a suit at law was commenced to recover damages from the captain of the vessel in which they were passengers, for an alleged violation of contract. One of the specifications was that he had not, as agreed, fur- nished any sugar for their limes. It was a funny case, and the minstrels popularized a doggerel Memories of an Old Actor. 255 song, which the street gamins sung all over town, of u No Sugar on your Limes." On Monday evening, October 8th, 1855, the new " Edwin Forrest " Theatre in Sacramento, was opened under the management of Charles A. King and George Ryer. Mr. Ryer came to California in 1853, and was a member of Mrs. Sinclair's first company, at the " Metropolitan," in San Francisco. He dabbled in management a good deal during his sojourn on the Pacific Coast, was a very easy going kind of a man, never in a hurry, and never in a worry, and somewhat in- different to other peoples convenience, of which I remember an instance. A belated actor, when preparing in a hurry for the duties of the even- ing, found missing at the last moment, a very necessary portion of his costume, his nether garments, or "tights" as they are called; they were nowhere to be found, and 110 one in the dressing-room had seen or knew anything about them. The difficulty was surmounted by a kindly loan from a brother actor, and at the con- clusion of the play, while the actors were dis- robing, Mr. Ryer with a chuckle, drew from be- neath his doublet the missing " tights," which he had rolled up into a ball and crammed beneath his dress to produce the proper obesity of the character he represented. Mr. Ryer left Cali- fornia many years ago, and I believe became an 256 Memories of an Old Actor. army chaplain during the war of the rebellion. I think that such a position would have suited him exactly. Mr. King, or Charley King as he was always called, was a pleasant, genial gentle- man, and a fair actor in the line of eccentric and low-comedy. Like nearly all of the early Cali- fornia thespians he passed away, and his modest monument may be seen in the Sacramento cemetery. John Dunn, another merry " memory." Surely there are many on either side of the continent who remember that " Rascal Jack ;" what a buoy- ant spirit, what a careless, reckless, laughing soul. At home, everywhere, he had, as he boasted, hob-nobbed with and slapped on the back the King of the Sandwich Islands, and I think if the opportunity offered he would have done the same to the Czar of Russia or the Pope of Rome. He, too, is long since dead. And yet another memory of one who was with me at that time a gentle woman, a loving wife, a noble mother ; and to these higher titles may truthfully be added that of an admirable actress Sophie Edwin. She was pre-eminently a pio- neer of the California stage, having made her first appearance at the old " American Theatre," in San Francisco, in 1850, and had played u Al- bert," in " William Tell," in the u Tehama The- atre," in Sacramento. Again, in 1851, she had Memories of an Old Actor. 257 played at the first "Jenny Lind Theatre." She was married to Mr. W. Stevenson in 1854. For the period of twenty years, I knew Sophie Ed- win ; commencing at the foot of the ladder, she rose by her own merit to a high rank, and was deservedly popular with every community before whom she appeared. Miss Edwin was born in Sydney, Australia, and was thirty-eight years old at the time of her death, which occurred in San Francisco in 1877. As an emotional actress, she was not far behind the foremost of her pro- fession, and there was a sympathy in her voice that touched a sympathetic chord in the heart of every listener. With a proverbial industry in her calling, she yet found time to rear a family of children, with tender care and solicitude for their moral and educational welfare. Her hus- band, Mr. Stevenson, survived her some five years, and died respected by the community with whom he had lived so long. Mr. Woodard John Woodard was still an- other of the early ones whom I then met for the first time. He had walked the trails, and acted in every mining camp and cloth-and-paper town of every county in the State, and later was man- ager and popular vocalist of several minor thea- tres in the Bay City. He had much comic abil- ity, and was a gentleman of probity and honor. The old miners who still linger in the deserted 258 Memories of an Old Actor. placers of the State, will tell with rapture how John Woodard used to sing in the early times, " The days of old, the days of gold, the days of forty-nine." He has been long absent from California. Mr. Frank Mayo was a beginner in that Sac- ramento corps of 1855. He has since achieved name and fame in " Davy Crockett," and other popular characters. Caroline Chapman, of whom I have already spoken, was member of the company. Lacking feminine beauty, this lady was beautiful in soul and brilliant in talent. Another " memory" a gigantic one McKean Buchanan. I had known him in New Orleans, where he was a levee cotton broker at the time he startled the South with his advent. This gentleman's managerial and professional career is so well known, that I can hope to add but little to the record. He played with us at this time an engagement of six nights' duration. The "Naiad Queen" was produced with some eclat; and at the close of the season a young girl, though an old California!!, of whom I shall have more to say, appeared Miss Sue Robinson the Fairy Star ! I think that pleasant sojourn in the City of the Plains lasted three months, and at its close John S. Potter, the ubiquitous, who had been on Memories of an Old Actor. 259 the watch, threw his net and caught me for the Nevada Theatre, where on Thursday, February 1 4th, " Romeo and Juliet" was announced for representation; "Romeo" Mile. Marie Duret ; "Mercutio" Mr. Leman; "Juliet" Miss Sophie Edwin. Madame Duret is a marked " memory" of the early California days ; when younger she had played in New Orleans and some other southern cities, and had eventually strayed to the Aus- tralian Colonies, where, according to rumor (whether true or false I know not) she had be- come the wife of Mr. Gustavus V. Brooke. She was a capable actress, possessing some emotional power, and played some of the parts that Madam Celeste had made famous, with success ; later she turned her whole attention to elaboration of the character of Ainsworth's Newgate Calender hero, and was known far and wide as " the only Jack Sheppard." She was a pleasant and intel- ligent lady, but was overtaken by misfortune in her advanced years, and died in straitened cir- cumstances in San Francisco in 1883. McKean Buchanan had organized a small company of what his bills called the " finest art- ists on the Pacific Coast," and we started from Sacramento for Folsom on the i3th day of May, 1856, to enlighten the central mining regions of the State with illustrations of the drama, as it 260 Memories of an Old Actor. had never been seen before, and as the bills de- clared, " would never be seen again." Mr. H. D. Palmer the Harry Palmer of <( Black Crook " fame, who subsequently, in partnership with Henry C. Jarrett, made a for- tune by that spectacle was Mr. Buchanan's advance agent, or rather avant courier, com- bining the position of agent with bill-sticker, and went ahead with a light buggy and paste-pot to " bill" the camps. We had a four-horse team and carriage with capacity for ten passengers, were out six weeks, and played in some forty different towns and mining camps, traveling about seven hundred miles. Mr. Buchanan, like Mr. Potter, was a man of boundless resources, but, unlike Mr. Potter, was rarely impecunious ; for if business was bad and the box-office returns meagre, he never would have told a member of his company who asked for salary that " blackberries were ripe," but, like an honest man, would have gone out after play- ing " Hamlet " and won enough at poker to square the salary bill the next morning. We had some very funny scenes during that trip ; I wish I could remember them. Among the euphonious names of the places in which " the drama as it had never been seen before" was exhibited, I recall the following : " Tod's Val- ley," " Yankee Jim's," " Chips' Flat," " Cherokee Memories of an Old Actor. 261 Flat," " Smith's Flat," "Woolsey's Flat," " Rough and Ready," "Rattlesnake," " Mud Springs," " Indian Diggings," " Red Dog," " Hangtown," " Dry town," and " Fiddletown." In going from "Smith's Flat" to "Woolsey's Flat," we had to climb the divide between two forks of the Amer- ican River (I think it was), and the road being very precipitous, a team and span of mules were sent out ahead with the baggage; when they reached the summit, startled at something or other, they went off down the mountain in a "go as you please" style, scattering the baggage and wardrobe on the grease wood and manzanita bushes from the top to the bottom, a mile and a half of distance, with perfect impartiality ; Miss Vaux's skirts were dangling from one bush, Jim- my Griffith's russet boots and doublet in one place, my scarfs and other articles of stage attire in another, while Buck's trunk, being the largest and heaviest, had burst and scattered all his regal finery in the dust of the road, from the top of the hill to the bottom. Any other man than Buchanan would have abandoned the idea of playing that night, for it was dark before we reached the hotel ; but he was a man that never lost a night, "rain or shine," and he sent men back on the road to gather up what they could, got the curtain up the curtain in that particular "temple of the 262 Memories of an Old Actor. drama," I remember, was composed of four blue blankets basted together made a speech to the audience, which was a good one, and all the bet- ter for the mishap which had befallen us, and after the performance won enough at poker to repair damages. The old hall in Placerville better known as "Hangtown" by the early Californians had a supporting joist sustaining the roof, just in the front centre of the stage. When the room had been altered for theatrical uses, I presume it had been found impossible to remove this square pil- lar without endangering the safety of the roof. It was a very awkward obstruction for the play- ers, for we had to act round it, and it was a great eye-sore to the audience. With rare genius, Buchanan on one occasion utilized that ugly pillar, in the last scene of the " Merchant of Venice," when as "Shylock" he exclaimed: " Nay, take my life and all. You take my house, when you do take the prop That doth sustain my house. ' ' He rushed to the centre, and grabbing the ugly post, delivered the lines with an energy all his own. Jimmy Griffiths is another merry " memory" of the early days. " Little Jimmy," as he was always called, was dwarfish in stature, and looked Memories of an Old Actor. 263 as old when I first knew him in Sacramento as he did five and twenty years after. In fact, he always looked old, and always looked just the same. He was shrewd, quick, good-natured and high -tempered. He was property-man, scene- shifter, wardrobe -keeper, played three or four parts, and beat the big drum when we entered the mining-camps, except when, upon particular occasions, old " Buck " beat it himself. The wagon was a large one, and the drum was placed " way astern," as a sailor would say; and on cer- tain occasions Buchanan would take Jimmy's place, and thump the drum all the way to the hotel. I used to expostulate with him for this tmnecessary lowering of his dignity; but his answer would be, " Leman, my dear boy, you don't see the thing clear. It makes capital. They say I'm eccentric ; and when the miners see me beating the drum they '11 say, ' See, there's Buchanan, the great tragedian, beating the drum ; how odd ! It shows that, great actor as he is, he can descend from his pedestal. Let's all go and see him to-night." I have said Jimmy was high-tempered. Bu- chanan was a great swaggerer at times, and once he pushed the little fellow to the danger-point. Some over-work had been crowded upon him, and some unjust rebuke had been followed by indi- cations of a blow on Buchanan's part, when 264 Memories of an Old Actor. Griffiths dashed to the stage the china vase he held in his hands, and seizing an old rusty sabre, turned, with fury, on his manager, who knew, by the blood in Jimmy's eye, that he meant busi- ness, and incontinently fled. He dodged around the wings, half laughing and half afraid, with Jimmy after him for a few moments, until his anger cooled. The scene was supremely ridicu- lous to the lookers-on. At another time, Jimmy's promptitude saved us all from a catastrophe. We had wandered away up to Forrest Hill, in Sierra County, I think, and were playing in the upper story of a great wooden shell of a hotel. The hall, lined with cotton cloth, papered, was brimful of people, and the only entrance and exit was by a narrow, winding stairway, which led from the bar. Large kerosene lamps lighted the room and stage. In raising the curtain some obstruction occurred, and Buchanan, always hasty and impatient, seizing hold of the line, and disregarding Jim- my's request to wait until he could clear it, jerked it violently, and in so doing detached one of the flaming kerosene lamps, which fell upon the stage. The audience rose aghast, and Bu- chanan stood paralized; but Griffiths, with great presence of mind,, seized and extinguished it be- fore mischief ensued. Those who know the peril of conflagration that always environed the dwell- Memories of an Old Actor. 265 ers in the cloth and paper houses of the Cali- fornia mining-towns can appreciate the calamity that might have ensued if a fire had started in the third story of that flimsy structure, with one narrow and rickety stairway as means of escape for two hundred human beings. I had some further professional intercourse with Mr. Buchanan, of which more anon. He was most certainly a man of peculiar tempera- ment ; but with a deal of vanity and egotism, and a disposition at times to be overbearing, he nevertheless had true and noble characteristics. I always found in him inflexible integrity and honesty. I think his judgment was faulty, for most certainly he thought himself a great actor; but he is, by no means, the only actor whose judg- ment is misled by his self-esteem. If he could have curbed his dramatic Pegasus within reason- able bounds, he would have appeared better upon the stage ; but his steed always ran away with him. He would play some parts of a character, as "Richelieu" for example, admirably; but when he got to the "anathema" scene, in the fourth act, Pegasus would get the bit in his teeth, and "Richelieu" would shout himself hoarse, foam at the mouth, and sweep the circle of the stage in what Walter Bray once very appropriately called a "walk around." One part he played 266 Memories of an Old Actor. excellently well, as all who have seen his u Sir Harcourt Courtly" can certify. Mr. Buchanan left California many years ago, and for some time after had a traveling company in the Eastern States. He had learned by ex- perience how to economize, and avowed his deter- mination to engage no more leading actresses for a salary, as there were always plenty of "ambi- tious novices," who could be obtained for nothing. I don't think his system made him rich. Perhaps it might if he had lived longer ; but he died poor. Peace to his ashes ! Mr. Buchanan had a very beautiful daughter Miss Virginia Buchanan who became an actress, and, I think, is yet living. CHAPTER XIII. The Nicaragua Route Walker Baltimore Museum Miss Annette Ince Stuart Robson Charles Barton Hill Mr. and Miss Charles George E. Locke Mr. and Mrs. Florence The Ravels Mrs. Sydney L. Bateman Return to California Mr. J. B. Booth, Jr. Miss Julia Dean Hayne Miss Louisa Paullin Travel in the Mountains Hang- town Downieville The Drama under Difficulties Mr. Edwin Booth's California Career Interior Theatricals Mr. and Mrs. James Wallack, Jr. Washington Miss Albertine Mrs. John Wood Miss Avonia Jones ' ' The Seven Sons" Col. E. D. Baker Mrs. Woodward Mrs. Agnes Booth The Mandeville Sisters Buchanan Mr. and Mrs. Charles Pope Mr. Forbes Family Jars King Caucus. ON the fifth day of August, 1856, I embarked on board the steamer Sierra Nevada, for San Juan on the Pacific, en route to New York. There were on board some forty recruits for Walker, who was then at the height of his ephemeral power in Central America. Among them was the son of an old friend, a rash impul- sive, generous boy, who within six months died 268 Memories of an Old Actor. far away in a strange land, whether in battle or by disease, or treachery, his mother or his sister never knew. This young man during the pas-, sage, had a difficulty with the captain of the corps, resulting in a challenge, which was ac- cepted by the captain, and a duel with sabres was arranged to come off on the deck of the steamer at the hour of ten at night. The commander of the steamer put a summary stop to all further proceedings in the little " affair of honor," as soon as the intelligence of their intended meeting reached his ears. On reaching San Juan, the " custom's officials" of Walker's new-born nation came off to the ship with the flag of the Repub- lic at the stern of their gig, and on landing, the squads of soldiers met at intervals ; and the knots of natives, male and female, who, with furtive and lowering looks, gazed at the strangers, told of the short-lived power of the so-called " gray- eyed man of destiny," which was so soon to pass away in blood. No event of moment occurred during the safe and pleasant passage home. Mr. George Ince had become the lessee of the " Baltimore Museum," and on the evening of Monday, September 29, 1856, that establishment opened with the name of Walter M. I/eman on the bills as stage manager. The play was "Ingomar," the part of "Parthenia" by Miss Annette Ince. This lady was the manager's Memories of an Old Actor. 269 daughter, and had for some time held position as an attractive star. There was then, and at a later period, a sort of implied rivalry between Miss Ince and Miss Jnlia Dean. Both young, both beautiful and both highly talented, adher- ents were not wanting to maintain the claims of either to pre-eminence. Miss Ince was especially happy in her representation of " Ion," a part which Miss Dean never played ; and in very many characters it would have been difficult for the most impartial critic to decide the palm. Sub- sequently Miss Ince came to California, where she now resides, and, as always, is numbered in my list of old friends. Miss Ince's sister, Caroline, a pretty girl, danced between play and farce. She, too, is now a Californian. vStuart Robson ! Thou strange, eccentric, odd, unlike-anybody-else actor ! Come into Court. It was at this time I first knew Mr. Robson. On the opening night he played " Selim Pettibone " in a " Kiss in the Dark ; " he was a very young man then, and I certainly thought I had for my low-comedian the thinnest, queerest, squeakiest little man that I had ever seen. He made every- body laugh who saw him, and has kept them laughing ever since. I don't know whether Stuart Robson was in love before the Museum opened, but I know that he got married during 270 Memories of an Old Actor. that short season, and I know he'll not be offended at my mention of what has since been a subject for our mutual mirth, his impecunious- ness at the time which compelled him to ask a loan from the stage manager to "see " the priest. Mr. Robson is numbered among my old friends. Mr. Charles Barton Hill I also knew for the first time. Barton Hill, as he is more commonly called, is the son of the gentleman whom I have spoken of as manager at Louisville. Mr. Hill went subsequently to California, and was stage manager of the " California Theatre " during the last years of the lesseeship of Mr. McCul- lough. Mr. Hill is an actor of varied powers, and is, I think, still living. Mr. John E. Owens was around he always contrived to be around Baltimore during the gala, agricultural time, for he shrewdly knew that then the theatrical harvest was ripe and played for two weeks. Mr. F. Bangs joined the company. This gentleman subsequently attained eminence as a tragic actor. Mr. and Miss Charles appeared and played a long engagement. On referring to the bills, I find that I announced them as the " only rivals of Mr. and Mrs. Barney Williams." I dare say they might have been, but I honestly confess that I do not retain any remembrance of what Mr. and Mrs. Williams, or Mr. and Miss Charles Memories of an Old Actor. 271 ever did upon the stage. Some things are stamped on our memory, others are submerged in forgetfulness. Mr. and Mrs. G. E. Locke also played with us. Mr. Locke was the gentleman who, years before, had such unutterable feelings on witnessing the rehearsal of " Romeo and Juliet." He had now bloomed into a " Yankee comedian." His wife was a quiet little body. They afterwards went to California. Both, I believe, are dead. The short season at Baltimore closed on the sixth of December, and I was immediately en- gaged as stage manager at the " National Thea- tre," in the city of Washington, D. C., where I first became professionally acquainted with Mr. and Mrs. W. J. Florence, whom all the theatrical world knows. This lady and gentleman are still before the public. They cross and re-cross the Atlantic very often Mr. Florence to get some- thing new in the drama, Mrs. Florence some- thing new in the fashions, and I believe they al- ways succeed, for Mr. Florence is always present- ing some new novelty to the public, and his lady is noted as the richest and tastiest dresser on the stage. Mr. S. W. Glenn was another acquaintance. He was a capital actor in Dutch characters. Thalberg, the famous pianist, was with us one night, and the Ravels played a very successful 272 Memories of an Old Actor. engagement. Gabriel, though getting old, was still king of pantomime ; and there was a bril- liant dancer, a Russian lady named Yrea Mat- thias, not far behind Augusta or Blangy. But what I best remember during that short Washington season, was the production of Mrs. Sidney F. Bateman's comedy of " Self." It had been fairly successful in other cities ; Mr. Owens and Mrs. Melinda Jones were in the cast, but it failed to draw. I think that it was an angry controversy about Mrs. Bateman's claims to the authorship of this play that provoked a street fight in the city of San Francisco. The season at Washington was brought to an abrupt close in the first week of February. The great, barn-like structure, called the " National Theatre," caught fire in mid-day and was wholly consumed. In April I again embarked for California, reaching San Francisco on the i5th of May, and greeting my Sacramento friends, in company with Miss Ince, who had preceded me, in Knowles' play of the " Hunchback," on the eve- ning of May 25th. The " Clifford " of the cast was Mr. J. B. Booth, Jr. This gentleman, re- cently deceased, was so well known to the public, and so highly esteemed, both as manager and actor, that I can hardly hope to add aught of in- terest regarding him. I had known him when a Memories of an Old Actor. 273 mere lad, in Boston, where, I think, he first ap- peared in the old u National Theatre." He came to California as early as 1852, I believe, and had been in management prior to my arrival. His first wife was Miss De Barr and he was subse- quently married to a Boston lady Miss Harriet Mace whom I had known in my early theatrical days. I believe that he was the eldest son of his great sire and although a good actor, inherited none of the genius of the father. Perhaps I should modify that statement, for there were times when, for a moment, there would appear a flash of the Booth, but it would be a momentary flash only. In one scene of " King John " espe- cially this was evinced, and occasionally in other characters ; but it was a very fitful fire, and died almost as soon as kindled. In physique, Mr. Booth was a model of manly beauty ; very fond of athletic exercises, an admirable fencer, and sparred with skill and power ; and in addition to all this, he was of a genial, pleasant tempera- ment, a plain-spoken, upright man. Years later, I acted under his management, and as manager, actor, and friend, I respect his memory. Mr. Booth's third wife was Mrs. Agnes Perry, who survives him. Of this lady I shall have occasion to speak. In June, Mrs. Julia Dean Hayne leased the American Theatre in San Francisco, and I was 274 Memories of an Old Actor. again among old friends. I recall with especial pleasure that pleasant summer and fall, but I re- member no new names among my associates of that time, if I except Mr. George Waldron, who rose to favor subsequently ; Mr. Frank Lawlor, who afterwards became known as actor and mana- ger, and is, I think, still living, and a little girl, Miss Louisa Paulina, who is now a popular vocal- ist, well known in musical circles, and a member of the " Mikado Troupe." The soubrette of the company was Mrs. Leonard, a little native Australian nugget, petite, piquante and pleasing. On closing in San Francisco, we started on a tour lasting for nearly three months, embracing all of the central mining region, and combining with the dust and discomfort of California mountain travel, pleasurable sights and scenes of novelty and interest that none but those who have roamed the mountains of California can ever know. Many a time and oft, a party of us would antici- pate the coach departure, and tramp it over hill and through valley in the balmy morning air, or leave the carriage and take a cut-off trail beneath the shadow of mountain pines redolent with spicy odors, gaining perhaps a half hour's time, which would be spent upon the grass in company with a cigar, while we waited for the coach to come up. In the solemn silence of those forest hills, no sound would be heard save the woodpecker and Memories of an Old Actor. 275 the soughing of the wind amid the branches of the tall tree tops till anon, a subdued rattle of wheels slowly coming up the grade in the dis- tance. The driver coming in sight would crack his whip, the ladies in the coach wave their hand- kerchiefs, and on reaching the summit the horses rest and take a drink, and reseating ourselves in the coach we would roll merrily on. The tour commenced at Placerville, where a new and pretty theatre had been built (without any post in the middle of the stage) , and the new " Gary House " just opened. Placerville in the early days, was one of the liveliest towns in California, the center of a very rich " placer " mining region (hence its name, though it rejoiced in another). I remember that our arrival from Sacramento was at too late an hour for perform- ing on that evening, and we had a lively game of " hunt the slipper" on the parlor floor, Doctor and Mrs. Hayne being the leaders of the fun. We played in Placerville ten nights, which was a long time for " Hangtown," but the lady was a prime favorite everywhere in California. That uncanny name of Hangtown was applied to Placerville by the old forty-niners, to commemo- rate a notable execution under the code of Judge Lynch, in 1850. The large tree which bore such ghastly fruit, stood, perhaps now .stands, in the main street of the town. With the exhaustion 276 Memories of an Old Actor. of placer mining, and the increase of agriculture, Placerville became one of the most charming in- land towns of the State. I have not, however, seen it in many years. We got as far up in the mountain region of Sierra County as Downieville, which in those days was the " ultima thule " of actors. On my first visit to this place with Buchanan, we had to leave our concord wagon, and go down into town in the saddle, for no wheeled carriage could descend the grade. Downieville was another lively place in the early days, its glory was, how- ever beginning to fade, and I suppose after the lapse of all the intervening years, that it is now, like many of the old camps, where it was thought very dull indeed if they didn't have every morn- ing a " man for breakfast," another " sleepy hollow." We got into one camp away up among the hills I forget the name where the hall, in the upper story of a cloth-and-paper house, hav- ing no stage, we had to improvise one out of the two billiard tables it contained, .covering them with boards for that purpose ; there being no room for exit or entrance, excepting by a narrow door on one side, and two narrow windows lead- ing to the roof of a shed on the other, an heroic exit or entrance was out of the question, and in getting before the audience " Master Walter " had to push "Julia" up through the window, the Memories of an Old Actor. 277 frame being taken out, and in getting off let her down in advance ; the spectators seemed to enjoy the thing as much as the players, and there was a deal of fun if not of tragic fitness. In my pre- vious tour with Buchanan through the mining regions, more than once he knocked " Bos worth Field " all to pieces in his frantic tragedy of the fifth act of Richard III, for want of room to get on and off the stage. I have occasionally mentioned Mr. Edwin Booth in these desultory " memories." This gen- tleman, who to-day stands before the public as the representative American actor, has honestly won his spurs. All are familiar with the inci- dents of his career since he achieved eminence, but his earlier history is not so well known. Perhaps some reference to his early California days may not be uninteresting. As I have already stated, I first knew Mr. Edwin Booth in the old Sacramento Theatre, in 1855 ; U P to May, 1856, he played there, and in the Forrest Theatre, an extended round of characters, with varying success but with constant progress. His first performance of " Richard" was in August, and the Sacramento critics pronounced him "promis- ing." In that same month he played "Hamlet." I remember it because I played the " Ghost," and Mrs. Judah the "Queen," and the Union of the next morning said : " Mr. E. Booth portrayed the 278 Memories of an Old Actor. character of trie Prince of Denmark most vividly, and in some scenes ' his acting would compare very favorably with that of Murdoch.' ' He also appeared as " Demetrius " in the " Midsummer Nights Dream," and " Antipholis of Syracuse ; n but these performances called forth no comment. I referred to his playing "Buckett" the Detec- tive in a previous chapter, and of this the Union said : " He showed himself a genuine star." He also played " Marston " in the " Mil- lionaire," and " Wildrake" in the "Love Chase," with many other characters in support of the Gougenheim Sisters. He then took a trip to Marysville, and in November the two companies of the " Forrest" and the " Old" Theatre, were united, and he opened at the first-named house as "Benedick;" he also played "Charles Sur- face " and " Young Marlow." Mrs. Sinclair was then fighting her way through the notorious " Forrest divorce suit," and going up to Sacra- mento she took the " Old " Theatre, and enrolled Mr. Booth in her corps, in company with Henry Sedley and others. Here his acting of " Claude Melnotte " drew forth great praise, and a critic declared that "If the subject of this notice will but apply himself industriously, unceasingly and perseveringly to his profession, he will ere long rank himself among the foremost of living actors." This was prophecy. Memories of an Old Actor. , 279 He made his great success as " Phidias " in the " Marble Heart," which was played nineteen nights, the "Marco" of the cast being Mrs. Cath- erine Sinclair. The company then went to Nevada City and Marysville, and on their return the play was re- peated for many nights, when a complimentary benefit was tendered him, in recognition, as the bills declared, of the " genius of the man" and " in honor of his great talent." He continued playing constantly in leading and ordinary parts, and always rising in the esteem of the press and the public. In March, Mrs. Sinclair's farewell benefit was announced as she was " going East to appear in the second trial of her divorce suit" and on that occasion he appeared in " The Follies of a Night." That performance was a strange med- ley of the Classic and Ethiopian Drama Booth, Sedley and Wheatleigh in the first, Sam. Wells, Billy Birch and Coes in the latter. The ubiquitous John S. Potter next threw his net and caught Mr. Booth for the Forrest The- atre ; but the engagement was not a success. In April, Mr. Baker was manager, and Mr. Booth was again " leading man." On one night a Sacramento dancing-master attempted " Ham- let," and Mr. Booth appeared as the " Ghost ;" Sophie Edwin was the " Queen," and Mrs. Tho- 280 Memories of an Old Actor. man the " Ophelia." The dancing-master was not satisfied with one exhibition of his folly, and on repeating the play met with a " Shale's" re- ception, being hooted from the stage amid cries of "Hands across!" " Ladies chain!" " Down the middle!" etc. A few nights after, Mr. Booth played u Hamlet" to a splendid benefit, when the critics again said : " There is nothing now to hinder his onward march to the highest distinc- tion in his profession." Prophecy again. He also appeared as " Sir Edward Mortimer" in the " Iron Chest," a character in which his father was superlatively great. Afterwards he ran through the whole range of tragic characters, with increasing popularity ; and on one night appeared for the benefit of the family of James King of William, who was murdered by Casey. He also appeared as " Richelieu " for the first time. In this continuous round of arduous effort, ex- tending over a period of nearly twelve months, Edwin Booth proved the spirit that was in him ; and after a lapse of more than twenty years, during which he had achieved fame and fortune, he returned to California to supplement the tri- umphs won elsewhere with magnificent and unqualified success. Most surely, he has hon- estly won his spurs. Memories of an Old Actor. 281 It is quite possible that the reader may feel surprise that recognized and acknowledged art- ists like Mr. Booth and Julia Dean and others should incur, as they did in those early California days, the discomforts of travel, and the incon- veniences of ill-lighted halls and meagre appoint- ments in the pursuit of their art. But, apart from the fact that there was "money in it," there was an amount of intelligence in the audiences of those mining regions quite equal to that which gathered in the pit and boxes in San Francisco or Sacramento. College graduates and accom- plished scholars, as well as merchants and art- isans, were hunting gold in every gulch and ravine, and rough though their attire might be, they were as well qualified to judge of the merits or demerits of author or actor as a New York or Boston auditor. Management was shifty and uncertain in the Bay and Capital cities, and a well-balanced organ- ization rarely failed of profit in the interior. When I was out with Julia Dean it was a rare thing to play anywhere, even in the roughest mining camp, to less than three hundred dollars a night ; and the audiences were as appreciative, perhaps more so, than in places that boasted more refinement. The mountain tours were healthy, pleasant and profitable. 282 - Memories of an Old Actor. Between the dates of April 8th and June 1858, I made the interior tour of which I have spoken, under the management of Mr. George Mitch el, when we were accompanied by Mr. Warwick and his " bones." We started from and returned to Sacramento, playing in fifty- eight mining towns and camps, and traveling a little upwards of one thousand miles. I recall nothing worthy of especial mention. In July following, Mr. and Mrs. James Wai- lack, Jr., arrived in California, and I was glad again to meet old friends. Mr. Wallack, fine actor as he was, was not a pronounced success in California. He opened at Maguire's Opera House in San Francisco as " Macbeth," and afterwards took the American Theatre for a short season, where I joined him. My principal "memories" of that short season are of the production of two " original " plays, one a comedy by Mr. , entitled " Fast Folks in California," now forgotten by the public, and by myself, barring the title ; and another with the sounding name of " George Washington, or the Trials of a Hero," a tragedy in four acts, by R. M. B. This " tragedy" was certainly an original work, partly in prose and partly in blank verse, though it was hard to tell where either began or ended. I append two short Memories of an Old Actor. 283 speeches of the "Father of his Country" as specimen bricks : ' ' I but approve that war not conquer all Civilities. Enough of wounds are made By dire necessity : our cause can well Afford to treat polite our foe the English." Again 41 As often I advised, my friends, again I must repeat to you : When critical The times are, people all look with suspicion. My worthy generals, and friends farewell !" The intelligent reader must decide whether this be poetry or prose or what ? It seems to me like "what." I soon after made a tour of the central coun- ties, with a small company of which Miss Albertine was a member. This lady was not as prosperous as when I had known her in the East, and the freshness and vivacity of her per- sonations had departed. Her subsequent career was , a sad one ; in Australia, where she went upon leaving California, adversity overtook her ; poor and sick, and partially blind, she was found menially employed in an obscure locality, and given passage to America by the charity of some who had known her in better days. She has long since passed from public observation. It was, I think, in 1858 that Mrs. John Wood came to California. No more popular actress 284 Memories of an Old Actor. ever visited the Pacific Coast; her first engage- ments at the Opera House were a series of tri- umphs ; her songs were whistled and sung in the streets, and the audiences of the interior vied with those of the Bay City in praise of her sing- ing and acting. I played with her in 1859 for a month in various cities, and was with her at the American Theatre in San Francisco on her re- turn to the city in March. Mrs. Wood left Cali- fornia soon after, and never returned. As a burlesque actress, her equal has not yet been seen among those who have succeeded her. In April, 1859, I played for the first time at Maguire's Opera House with Miss Avonia Jones, and subsequently traveled with that lady in the interior for a short season. Miss Jones was the daughter of Mrs. Melinda Jones and the Count Joannes, and would have been, I think, a better actress if away from the coaching of the mother ; Mrs. Melinda taught her to over-act, which pro- pensity is not uncommon among the members of the profession, and was always a marked pecu- liarity of Mrs. Jones. Miss Avonia Jones went afterwards to Australia, and was reported to have been married to Mr. Gustavus V. Brooke, whether truly or not, I know not ; her death occurred not long after that gentleman was lost at sea. In 1 860-6 1, I was a member of the company attached to the Opera House, but was occasion- Memories of an Old Actor. 285 ally drafted for service in the interior. The feverish state of political feeling, foreboding the internecine war, towards which our country was drifting, had an ill-effect on theatricals ; and in some localities a free expression of opinion was, if not dangerous, impolitic ; my own convictions were so firmly rooted that I never feared to utter them on proper occasions, and in 1862 these con- victions found expression in a song, which I wrote for the " Seven Sons" a sort of twin extravaganza to the " Seven Sisters" produced in great style at the Metropolitan Theatre ; it was adapted to the "Glory hallelujah" air. I will not inflict this song upon my readers, but simply give the concluding stanza, as an intro- duction to what follows : "Swear, freemen, by your mothers' graves And by your glorious sires Swear by your country and your fame, And by your household fires ! By Ellsworth's Lyon's Baker's blood, Be the battle lost or won, Come weal or woe come life or death, The flag shall still march on. Glory, hallelujah, etc." I knew Col. Edward D. Baker well ; and had often sat enraptured by an eloquence, such as is rarely given to men. I recall the impression made on the crowd upon the plaza, by the open- ing words of his oration at the obsequies of 286 Memories of an Old Actor. Broderick "A Senator lies dead in our midst." He was a born orator and could sway trie souls of men. Col. Baker was very fond of the theatre. While traveling with Julia Dean, we were at the town of Oroville, where he was in attendance at the session of court in a case in which he was counsel, and sat one evening through the play "Old Heads and Young Hearts" with great apparent pleasure. I hope I may not be thought vain, if I say how much pleasure I felt in the compliment conveyed by his words, " Mr. Leman, I think you play "Jesse Rural" almost as well as Rufus Blake." In the cast of the " Extravaganza" was the name of a lady, one of the earliest among the dramatic pioneers to the Golden Land, Miss Mary Woodward, afterward Mrs. Mary Stuart. She came, I think, in 1852 and delivered the poetical address on the opening of the second Jenny Lind Theatre. In characters of " serious import " and some of the heavy heroines of tra- gedy, she was a good actress and it nearly broke her heart to have any one proposed for " Lady Macbeth," if she was by. This was certainly a pardonable self-esteem, for she played the char- acter admirably. Mrs. Stuart died in 1872 and lies with others, her brothers and sisters in the mimic art, in the cemetery of Laurel Hill. "Re- quiescat in pace ! " Memories of an Old Actor. 287 Another name in that list is revealed to me; what form shall it now take ? then we all famil- iarly called her "Aggy Perry." When some years before she came, a bright girl, from Aus- tralia, she was known as Agnes Land, at a later day she became Mrs. Agnes Booth, and now she is Mrs. Agnes Schoeffel ; but ever and always she was and is an admirable actress and the juvenile ability so evident, when but a mere girl, has ripened into the full fruition of artistic power. " Father Tom " greets his little " Colleen Bawn " of the old days across the continent with an All hail ! Two other names are in the programme of that " Extravaganza" and with what melan- choly feelings are they recalled : Jenny and Alicia Maiideville. Some years before the Mandeville sisters were great favorites with Californians, I had met them concertizing all through the State. The eldest, Miss Agatha, became Mrs. States and reached the position of recognized prima donna in Italian opera. Jenny was a pleasant singer and lively actress and Alicia, the youngest, almost equally capable. The two latter perished at sea, being victims of the terrible disaster which befell the steamer Pacific off the northern coast of Cal- ifornia in 1872. With Jenny were also lost her husband and her infant child. The eldest sister, Mrs. States, had died in New York a short time previously, and the old mother, going on from 288 Memories of an Old Actor. California to the last sad rites of her child, sick- ened and died herself within two or three days ; within a twelvemonth the whole family had passed away. The " Mandevilles " are to me indeed a sad and solemn " memory." My song was destined to create a lively breeze in the town of San Jose a short time afterwards. It was enthusiastically applauded by the Union portion of the audience and hooted by the oppo- site faction, who loudly called for u Dixie." There was fear for a time of a general row, when it was announced that Jennie Mandeville would sing the song on the following evening u if the house tumbled down." The theatre was filled in anticipation of the fun ; at the proper time Jennie came forward and sang u Our flag goes marching on " in her liveliest style amid the wildest applause. In the summer of 1862 an organization was formed, of which I was a member, and the " Union Theatre," (a building now demolished), was opened and successfully run for some three months. Some of the best of the old stock were in the venture and it deserved to succeed. Mr. Mayo was a rapidly rising young man and with Buchanan, Barry, Thayer, Mrs. Saunders, and Miss Virginia Buchanan, the manager's daughter, made a company worthy of praise. Our benefits were all successes ; Mrs. Memories of an Old Actor. 289 Julia Dean Hayne and Mrs. Judah played for mine and I had an audience up to the roof. On the 3d of November of the same year I started on what was intended for a short trip, but which eventuated in a successful season of sev- eral months' duration, most of the time in Sacra- mento. I can with truth record the whole of that season as a continuous series of pleasant California " memories." Starting out, as we did, without any great expectations and meeting with almost uninterrupted success, the satisfaction was general. Our hasty manager, the great Buchanan, was, to be sure, frequently in hot water, but he never retained heat or anger long, and I can say with truth, that all of the old fel- low's outbreaks were to me food only for mirth. I remember one particularly ridiculous scene, which occurred in the Capital city. When we reached that point, Buchanan strengthened his force with some additions, among whom were Mr. and Mrs. Charles Pope and Mr. W. C. Forbes ; this latter gentleman I had known in the early days of the " Tremont " Theatre, where he had been engaged one season. Although a tragedian, he had a soft voice and an almost womanly manner of expression ; his walk was peculiar, the muscles of his lower limbs seeming to move without any sympathy with the rest of nis corporeal organization, and with a kind of 290 Memories of an Old Actor. sorrowful look lie always appeared to be in trouble, whether he was or 110. Rufus Blake jocularly named him the "king of grief " and called his walk Forbes' " sliding scale." Mr. Buchanan and Mr. Forbes had met when they were both in England. Some unpleasantries had occurred between them, but when Mr. Forbes turned up in Sacramento, whatever their variance was, it was waived, and Mr. Forbes was engaged. It was not long, however, before the old trouble cropped out again and pretty soon grew into open war. I forget what the play was on the evening when it culminated ; I remember that the after- piece was the farce of " Family Jars." While I was upon the stage during the last act of the play, to my surprise, Mr. Forbes entered from one side, quite ignoring my presence, and in an excited manner began to talk to the audience, and immediately from the opposite side Mr. Bu- chanan, equally excited, came on and began to talk. As it was " not my funeral," I got off as quickly as possible, leaving the field to the two angry belligerents, who amazed and bewildered the public with a series of charges and denials assertions and counter-statements about some- thing or other of which they literally knew nothing and cared less. The more they talked the louder they grew, and while they were jaw- Memories of an Old Actor. 291 ing the audience applauded both, thinking the row was quite as good as any play. When tired out, they finally went off, and the mirth reached its climax, as I came on from the upper part of the stage and exclaimed " We will now proceed with 'Family Jars.'" The biennial session of the State Legislature occurred that year, and certain charges of bribery with respect to the election of one of its honorable members, made a great commotion in political circles ; the matter was ventilated in the House, and was for the time the talk not only of Sacra- mento, but of the whole State. I took advantage of this public exposure by composing a political squib, under the title of " King Caucus, or The Senatorial Muddle," which hit the public fancy, and filled the theatre for a week. This little extravaganza was arranged in " four sessions," and the characters were "made up" and recog- nized as prominent members of the Legislature. The bill was headed with the couplet " Scheming Rogues with forms to mock us, Straggling one by one to Caucus." And to enhance the effect, the " original ward- robe" in which one " honorable gentleman" hid himself, to listen to the bribe which another " honorable gentleman" was charged with pro- posing to a third " honorable gentleman," was 292 Memories of an Old Actor. brought from the " Golden Eagle Hotel" and used for the same purpose on the stage. The squib answered completely the purpose for which it was intended, and caused a good-natured laugh all around. CHAPTER XIV. Washoe Virginia City Zephyrs Opening Address Salted Mines A Narrow Escape The Sanitary Fund Grant and Pemberton Sacramento Mr. Albert Hart Adah Isaacs Menken Lake Tahoe The Big Trout Mr. S. Irwin A Mormon Bishop The Hawaiian Islands Hon- oluluAda Clare The Royal Yacht Volcano of Kilauea Hilo The Pic-Nic Native Bathing Dramatic Reading Honolulu King Kalakaua The Hula-hula. OUR prosperous season terminated about the middle of April, and on the twenty-second of that month we crossed the Sierra Nevada Moun- tains to Carson City, via Placerville, over the grade that Hank Monk made historic when he let out the lines over his six-in-hand, and assured Horace Greeley that if he'd " hold on" he'd have him in Placerville " on time." At Carson, Silver City and Gold Hill we filled up the time until the loth of May, when we got into Virginia City. This was in the flush times of the " Comstock," and the wild town on the slope of Mount Davidson was crowded with men who were there to make their fortune or had 294 Memories of an Old Actor. made it, in " feet." From the edge of Carson Valley, up through Silver City and Gold Hill, over the ridge between the latter place and Vir- ginia, where sometimes the " Washoe Zephyrs" blew with sufficient strength to overturn a stage- coach, along the whole line of the city to far north of the Ophir Mine, was, or was supposed to be, one vast repository of gold and silver, and from North, South, East and West the seekers for wealth had come to get it. The wonderful produce of the "Gould and Curry," the " Imperial," the " Ophir" and other leads that had then been opened, had made men wild, and holes in the ground were dug and " salted" and new " leads" discovered every day, which, with all their "dips, spurs and angles," were put on the market ; and men with mining " shares" in their pocket representing a value of $50,000 would frequently borrow four bits, if an- other equally wealthy friend had it to lend, to get a dinner at the restaurant. It was the commence- ment of the wild game of speculation which, at a later day, was transferred to San Francisco, making a few rich and beggaring thousands. Our first performances were given in a hall, the name of which I forget, and we had power- ful rivals in the minstrel and hurdy-gurdy estab- lishments. But a fair patronage was secured. The ground had been obtained for the erection of Memories of an Old Actor. 295 a new theatre, which was commenced soon after our arrival, by Mr. Thomas Maguire, and rapidly hurried to completion. Our company formed the nucleus of a new organization, which was filled by additions from the Bay City, and on the even- ing of July ad, 1863, the new theatre was opened with Bulwer's Comedy of " Money," preceded by an opening address by Walter M. Leman, spoken by Mrs. Julia Dean Hayne. In speaking of that first night, the Territor- ial Enterprise said : " There was scarcely space to move throughout the theatre, it was so densely filled. A strong wind blew during a portion of the evening and there was considerable agitation visible in the fairer portion of the audience; the most decided sensation of the evening was that produced on Mrs. Hayne by a mild shower of gravel-stones, which rained upon the building. Large as was the audience, its magnitude was surpassed by it's beauty and manliness. Well, we'll just bet, that if there's a marriageable actress in the company with winning graces and matrimonial inclinations, she never goes over the mountains unwedded." I append a few lines from my opening address, as a u memory" of the drama on the Comstock : 296 Memories of an Old Actor. Where the Sierra's rugged mountains show Their peaks aloft amid the drifted snow, Skirting the vale, where Carson's placid stream Flows onward to the desert where the gleam Of God's own sunlight shines in fervid power On rocks of gold, and hills of glittering ore ; Where thunder-smitten mountains lift on high Their rifted battlements against the sky. In this fresh clime, a youthful empire springs To life and vigor upon freedom's wings, Nevada ! soon her starry gem to set Upon our Union's glittering Coronet. * * -3f & -X- # # Amidst her rocky hills, of verdure shorn A young and gay metropolis is born Sudden as from the brain of mighty Jove Minerva sprang or, as the Queen of Love Rose blushing from the Adriatic Sea In beauty radiant and in fancy free; And here is reared a rich and gorgeous dome Of taste, the temple and the muses home/ And here, obedient to Thespian laws, We stand to-night to plead with you our cause. The "mild shower of gravel stones," of which the Enterprise speaks, not only produced a "sen- sation " upon Mrs. Hayne, but upon every one in the house ; I am sure it did upon me. When the :< Washoe Zephyr," sweeping up the canon, " rained " that stony artillery upon the rear of the new building, which creaked in the tempest like a ship at sea, I thought for a moment that the opening and closing of u Maguire's New Memories of an Old Actor. 297 Opera House " would occur on the same evening, but it was reserved for the usual fate, which be- fel it years after ; it went up in a cloud of fire, and took a good portion of the city along with it. Virginia City was rather a wild " metropolis " in those days " new discoveries " were reported every day, and speculation ran mad. There were two stock boards in operation, and it was only necessary to dig a hole, " salt " it a little, and put the " shares " on the market to become a capitalist or a beggar in four-and-twenty hours, dependent upon whether one bought or sold. Some of the sharps dug a hole upon the top of Mount Davidson, and within a day or two ele- gantly engraved shares of the " Mina del Alta," the mine on the mountain, were put on the board. Speculation on the " green cloth " of battle was also at its height, and the " tiger " walked abroad night and day. Law and order had the " best hand," as the sporting gentlemen allowed ; but still, it was thought a dull week when there had not been one or two u men for breakfast." I have found by experience, that a quiet man can get along very well, generally even in a stormy community, by minding his own business yet, sometimes it is risky to be in the vicinity of the unsettled spirits. I will mention an instance. I was living at " Wimmer's Virginia House." Wimmer was an old San Franciscan whom I had 298 Memories of an Old Actor. long known, was a popular landlord, and his lodg- ing-house was the best in the city ; he set no table. My room was one of many on either side of a hall, beneath which was a large saloon on the ground floor, where, when day drifted far into night, and men with angry antagonisms (for it was the time of civil war) , met together, each one with a pistol in his hip-pocket, a sharp word was often followed with a sharp report. My cus- tom was to go home from the play and quietly up to bed, which having done, one evening, as I sat on the edge of my couch undressing, with my head leaning forward, up through the floor came a pistol bullet, just grazing my ear, and buried itself in the ceiling of the room. I heard a rapid step in the corridor, and Wimmer pale as a sheet burst into my room, with " My God, Leman, are you alive ? " I was, but I was un- doubtedly quite as pale as Wimmer. He told me that he had been trying in vain to compose the angry disputants, and when the pistol was fired, knowing the position of my room and bed, he feared the worst. I didn't sleep very well during the rest of that night. The antagonistic feelings engendered by civil strife were very bitter in Virginia City at that time, but the Union spirit was greatly in pre- dominance. A big meeting was held in the Opera House on one afternoon, where, in less Memories of an Old Actor. 299 than an hour, $5,275 were subscribed for the sanitary fund, and the historic "sack of flour" was sold and resold, producing, I don't know how many, but very many thousand dollars. I, my- self, had the pleasure of owning that sack of flour for about three minutes. I was in acquaintanceship and on friendly re- lations with gentlemen, from whom, in political sentiment, I was as far as are the poles, apart. On one occasion, one of these friends met me as I entered the hotel, saying, with a satisfied tone, " Leman, old boy, I'm sorry to hurt your feelings, but we've got great news from -Vicksburg, and Pemberton has knocked h 1's bells out of Grant's wheel-houses." Within five days the truth came, and meeting my secesh friend, I said, " Mr. , old boy, I'm sorry to hurt your feelings, but we*ve got great news from Vicksburg, and Grant has knocked h 1's bells out of Pernber- ton's wheel-houses." In that era of sectional bitterness, happily now passed away, the utterance of disloyal sentiments was painfully prevalent, and spoken as they were in favor of men who upheld the " Patriarchal Institution" which claimed the right to manacle men because their skins were black, aroused in me the same feelings which caused me to reflect, when I saw the bright mulatto boy fettered for no crime, on the deck of the Mississippi steamer, 300 Memories of an Old Actor. and the poor old negro toiling in chains on the plains of Chalmette, and again I reflected on the so-called " Patriarchal Institution " which made our Declaration of Independence a living lie in the face of all the world, and felt that it did not perish from the land an hour to soon. The season closed in the latter part of Sep- tember, and I re-crossed the mountains by the grade (the name of which I now forget), but I remember that it led by the edge of the beautiful little Donner Lake, where, in the early California days, the wretched, snowed-in party perished one by one, the bodies of the dead feeding those who survived, and was in San Francisco, at the " Opera House," until the last week in December, when I again found myself with our old friend Buchan- an, in Sacramento. On February i6th, the " Millionaire " was played for the author's benefit, to a crowded house. " Marston," by Mr. Charles Pope, "Em- ily Larcelles," by Miss Virginia Buchanan, and " Swift," by Mr. Albert Hart. Mr. Hart was a well-known citizen of Sacramento, and had, in his early days, some experience of theatrical life. He appeared to advantage on this occasion. He has been in political life since then, having filled successively the offices of Governor's Secretary, State Librarian, and, I believe, Pension Agent. Mr. Hart still lives in Sacramento. Memories of an Old Actor. 301 I again crossed the Sierras, for a second season in Virginia City, where the theatre opened on the second of March, 1864, and during that per- iod made the acquaintance of one of the remark- able women of the day Adah Isaacs Menken. She was a thorough Bohemian, possessed won- derful beauty of face and form, and with these, accomplished triumphs which her indifferent stage ability would never have achieved. She was a rattle-brained, good-natured adventuress, born of Jewish parents, somewhere in the South- ern States. The conventionalities of society were quite disregarded by the " Menken," and she smoked and rode astride, and gambled with a freedom that was delightful to the men on the Comstock, who hailed her arrival with joy, for they adopted her at once as " one of 'em." "Ma- zeppa," u not over-dressed, nor wholly bare," but nearly so > was in her element with these men, for she had the faculty of adaptation to all kinds of men, and after the nightly exposure of the "Tartar Prince," " naked to the pitiless storm," and the eager eyes of admiring miners, she might be found in T. P 's, or some saloon where the red and white chips passed merrily from hand to hand, and where she said she went because T. P played a " square game." Miss Menken played nothing else but " Ma- zeppa" if I except the part of " Katharine 302 Memories of an Old Actor. Kloper," in the musical trifle of "Lola Montez," but this was feeble to the last degree and faro, which she played with skill and success. The career of the "Menken " was almost as remarkable as that of her great predecessor, Lola. Her first husband was John C. Heenan, the pug- ilist, then she captured Orpheus C. Kerr, and left him for a California gambler, with whom she went to Europe. When on the Continent, she was familiar with Dickens, Dumas and Swin- burne, and boasted that " beginning with a prize- fighter, she would end with a prince," reversing Lola's course, who began with a king and ended with a miner, and she came very near succeeding. Fair and false, and fast and faithless, her soul might possibly have gone to heaven as she said it would through the u gates of Paris," if it could have got out of that gay city, where her body lies buried beneath a monument inscribed with, " Thou Knowest ;" unsatisfactory as to its meaning, which nobody knows. Adah Isaacs Menken is a vivid " memory " of the drama on the Comstock, as is also T. P , in whose saloon she used to fight the tiger. T. P was a man of daring personal courage, and was, I think, a civil officer at the time. Subsequently, in an encounter so common in those days among men of his class, after re- ceiving a mortal wound, while his life-blood was Memories of an Old Actor. 303 ebbing rapidly away, he had the desperate deter- mination to raise himself on his elbow and shoot his slayer dead ; both were buried together. On the evening of May I3th, the writer was tendered a complimentary testimonial benefit when the " School for Scandal " was acted. "Charles Surface," Mr. Charles Pope ; " Lady Teazle," Mrs. Charles Pope ; " Sir Peter Teazle," Mr. Walter M. Iveman. The house was brim-full, which, perhaps, is the pleasantest among my "memories " of the Drama on the Comstock. On the conclusion of the season, Mr. Charles Pope and myself resolved to spend a day or two at Lake Tahoe and catch trout, before we re- crossed the mountains from the land of sage- brush to California, the land of fruit and flowers ; in pursuance of which plan we took the stage over into Lake Valley, and put up at the old tavern near the lake shore ; I forget the name of the house, for it was nearly a quarter of a century ago. I remember it was one of those comfortable old roomy log houses, with a fire- place in the great bar-room large enough to hold a whole load of wood ; and the flaming logs were piled upon the fire with reckless profusion. Mr. Pope was, as I supposed, a skillful angler and anticipated a great deal of pleasure from the splendid " catch " on the morrow. I hadn't 304 Memories of an Old Actor. much confidence in my own abilities, for gener- ally, when I went fishing, I got many bites and few fish ; but we were certain of a pleasant day on the lake, whether successful or not, and after breakfast the next morning, supplied with an ample lunch, we took seats in the boat, with trol- ling lines all prepared, and our boatman plying his oars, were soon out on the bosom of one of the loveliest sheets of water in our broad land. Pope had been anxious to get a bet on his catch- ing the first fish, which I didn't want to take, but finally accepted he lost the bet. We kept on, all earnestness, and presently I caught another, and after a little while a third. These were all small, which made Pope laugh, and declare that he didn't want any sardines, but he'd soon show me the kind he was fishing for. Our boatman slowly skulled the boat, with our lines extended perhaps a hundred feet or more, when suddenly came a pull at my line, as if a shark had taken the hook. The boatman told me to keep cool and haul steady and, all excitement, I succeeded in landing a beautiful trout, which seemed to me to be twice as large as any shad I ever bought in the Philadelphia fish-market. Charley looked on with interest and was as much excited as myself, for fear I should lose my noble prey, but when he was safe at the bottom of the boat, I think he began to feel chagrined at his ill-luck, but he put Memories of an Old Actor. 305 a good face on it and swore he'd " have the next big fellow." I think that I caught one more before lunch time, when we put into the little cove of Emerald Bay and enjoyed our meal and a cigar. Charley, certainly, was attended by ill luck. Up to this time he had not got a fish, although he had hooked several ; but the afternoon was to redeem his piscatorial reputation, and I hoped that it would, for I had a kind of guilty feeling, as if I were doing him a wrong by being so lucky. Well, we put out again on to the lake, and from that time up to the hour, when it was necessary to draw in our line and return to shore, Pope never caught one fish and I had got five or six more, for when we got to land and counted them, there were thirteen in all. Charley, cer- tainly, took his ill fortune with great good nature, but said little or nothing to the inquiries of the men, who came to the beach, as we landed, and wanted to know who caught that big fellow. We had a hearty supper and adjourning to the bar, I went up to the Register, which lay on the counter, where visitors, in addition to their names, had added memoranda of their fishing experience, as thus " May 25. J. J. and party, Sac. City, went fishing ; fine luck ; caught a dozen trout, one pretty large one," and turned over its leaves. I saw Charley looking at me, as 306 Memories of an Old Actor. if in wonder what I would write abont our day's fishing, and taking the pen, I. wrote thus after the name and date: " Went fishing with Mr. Pope ; had excellent luck ; caught one seven- pounder." After a moment or two Pope went up to the book, read what I had written and taking a pen, wrote underneath with a quizzical look at me before doing it : u Charles Pope went fishing with Mr. Leman ; had d d bad .luck ; caught nary pounder." That splendid trout was boxed up and sent to Mark Twain, for the delectation of the newspaper fellows of the Enterprise, with a letter from Char- ley Pope, and I fully believe that he told them he caught it ; if he did, I forgive him, as I trust he will forgive me for revealing his want of skill (I beg pardon) his want of luck the day that we went gypsying and fishing on Lake Tahoe, in the pleasant days of the long ago. I have sometimes thought that in returning to California from Nevada at that time, instead of going over into Utah, I made a mistake. Mr. Selden Irwin came to Virginia City during the season and played a few nights with us. He had been with his wife for some time in Salt Lake City, where he was quite a favorite ; indeed, I think he was the first professional player that reached that then isolated metropolis of the Saints. Memories of an Old Actor. 307 Mr. Pope and his wife and myself had seriously entertained the idea of going from Virginia City to Salt Lake, and Irwin especially encouraged the scheme ; clapping me on the back, with en- thusiasm he exclaimed: "Go! by all means, go ! Leman, you are the very man they want you'll be a Bishop in three months !" After some correspondence with Mr. Clason, Brigham's son-in-law, our plan was abandoned. Perhaps it was for the best, for with that Mormon Bishopric and the attendant harem of wives, I would hardly have survived to celebrate my golden wedding with one wife, which I did two years ago. On Saturday, July i6th, 1864, I embarked on board the bark u Onward," Captain Hempstead, for Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands. After a pleas- ant passage over a calm ocean, we sighted the eastern point of Maui, and passed along the northern coast of Molokai in the afternoon of the 3ist, and on the following day were moored at the pier in Honolulu. It was the anniversary of the Hawaiian Restoration, and I found the city decked with flags, the military on parade, and the population in festive attire ; the gala terminated with a grand ball in the evening, attended by most of the notables, foreign and native, to which I was an invited guest. On board the "Onward" I had as fellow- passengers, two gentlemen, residents of San 308 Memories of an Old Actor. Francisco, an old school-fellow whom I had not previously seen in many years, and a lady who had won the title of " Queen of Bohemia," and was perhaps the most marked specimen of her peculiar class Ada Clare. She was of Southern birth, and had a reckless, devil-may-care spirit within her that made her as utterly indifferent to criticism as Lola Montez or Menken ; she had a lithe form, a clear complexion, a nervous ex- pression, and a superabundant wealth of massy blond hair. She had written for the journals and had written some things worth remembrance though now forgotten ; she was pleasant com- pany on shipboard, and made the trip to the Volcano, riding astride, as the Hawaiian women invariably do, and as every sensible woman should do, in mountain travel. Miss Clare met with a painful death in New York, some years later, falling a victim to hydrophobia from the bite of a pet dog. On Thursday, August i6th, a pleasant party of six in number, the writer being one three ladies and three gentlemen embarked on what had been the Royal Yacht " Naheniena," for Hilo, Hawaii. This " royal yacht " was an Old- enburgh brig, which had been confiscated to the Hawaiian Government for some violation of mar- itime or commercial law, and his Majesty Kame- hamea V, having no navy, resolved to indulge in Memories of an Old Actor. 309 a yacht, and had her cleaned up, a crew of some forty seamen put on board, and made the voyage around his Island Kingdom in her, in the sum- mer previous to my visit. She was a lumbering old tub, drew as much water as a more modern vessel of three times her tonnage, and with an immense spread of canvas could, I think, have won any prize in a regatta where the victor was the one who came in last; but though slow, she was sure, and as strong as wood and iron could make her. The third day found us becalmed between the islands of Maui and Hawaii, but catching a breeze, we beat a long way to windward, and on Monday morning sailed into Byron's Bay, at the head of which is situated the pretty town of Hilo ; its neat white cottages nestled among the cocoanut and pandanus trees, each residence a fairy bower of taste and comfort. All our preparations completed, we started from Hilo on the morning of Wednesday, the 24th of August, for the volcano of Kilauea. I will not detail the events of that interesting ride, but touch only on some salient points. The whole face of the country was a kind of green desola- tion. Mauna Kea, the highest peak of the Islands, was on our right hand, 13,000 feet above the sea, to the southwest the long ridge of Mauna Loa rising to nearly the same altitude. At 5 P. M. 310 Memories of an Cftd Actor. we reached a native grass hut, where the residents, with the assistance of our attendants, three in number, prepared the evening meal, which we ate with sharp appetite and went to our repose on pallets of fragrant grass, while far in the southwest a fiery cloud hanging in the still heavens told us where burns ' ' Pele 's unquenched fire. ' ' On the next morning we rose at 5, were in the saddle at 6, and reached the crater at 10 A. M. The crater of Kilauea is of gigantic dimen- sions, oval in form, upwards of three miles in length by two in breadth and with almost per- pendicular walls or sides of from 500 to 800 feet in height. The bottom is a black flooring of hardened lava. In the center of this great crater is the ever-living lake of fire, which, in the day- light, shows from the outer bank of the large crater only a slumbering pit and surrounded by jagged walls of desolation. By a rough trail or path, we all got down upon what might be termed the first bench of the crater, where stunted trees and ferns contended for a foothold on the very borders of eternal fire and ruin. Here, also, we found the Ohelo, a juicy berry, abundant in the bushes and wild strawberries ripening in the sun. The weather, until the 27th, was unpropitious for our night visit to the burning lake. A thick Memories of an Old Actor. 311 mist began falling, as we commenced the descent, but, following our guides, we scrambled down into this immense bowl in the Earth, the depth and dimensions of which cannot be realized by looking into it from the bank above. A walk of half or three-quarters of a mile brought us to the lava floor. What, from above, appears an almost level surface, proves to be rough and bil- lowy, as if a sea of molten iron had rolled up in huge waves and cooled upon the gravelly shore. Stepping upon the adamantine surface, we advanced over this floor, rifted into a thousand tortuous forms, and crossing deep chasms and seams varying from six inches to four feet in width and of unknown depth, towards the Sty- gian lake in the center, passing cones and pin- nacles of lava, thrown up, sometimes in ridges, like a mountain chain, sometimes in isolated singleness. One remarkable representation bore a strong resemblance to a chapel in ruins, with its towers and pinnacles still standing and look- ing as if scared and blasted by fire. To this the guides had appropriately given the name of " Pele's Church." The day declined ; but long before we came to the brim of the abyss, we were made aware of its activity by the noise of the terrible cauldron. Language can hardly describe what may be said to be indescribable. For the last half century 312 Memories of an Old Actor. travelers have at various times visited the ( 'Crater of Kilauea " and hardly any two visitors have agreed in their description. This is not strange, either, for this ever-burning and unquenchable lake, this awful valve for the pent-up flames of the globe's center, is ever changeful in aspect, ever grand, mysterious, terrible ! On the night of our visit, the surface of the lake appeared to be about forty feet below the rim on which we stood, which rim, or bank, seemed to be of calcerous matter mixed with lava and of exceedingly irregular formation. As we stood facing the northeast, from the rifts and chasms of a depression on our right, masses of sulphurous vapors arose and along with the clouds of smoke from the burning lake were swept away to the northward. On our left hand the bank rose into a cliff some fifty feet higher than the level of the rim elsewhere. Part of this cliff, or precipice, had broken off some few weeks previous to our visit and fallen into the lake ; the part remaining had, from a stand-point a little to the right, the severe outline of a human face gazing down into the boiling cauldron, whose flaming surface cast upon it, through the gloom of the night, a spectral illumination, as of a lava Sphynx. The lava flood was, with slight interruptions of a few min- utes, in continual action during the five hours Memories of an Old Actor. 313 that we remained. Around the whole edge of the lake, where the lava impinged against the bank, a circle of sheeted flame and molten fire glowed with intense brilliancy, and like a bright belt, encircled the black island in the centre ; while every few minutes, in one or the other part of the surface, the lava cauldron would commence to heave in fiery throes, momentarily accelerating in force, propelling the jets of crimson metal or lava in cascades up to the height of ten, twenty, thirty feet, indeed, often higher than the bank on which we stood. These fiery jets would run, one into another, until frequently as many as six or eight were in furious action together, when their united power would suddenly open a blazing seam across the blackened surface of the lake, which cooled quickly after each convulsion. And then the liquid flood, released from the hardening crust that kept it down, would roll in flaming combers across the whole surface of the lake and dash itself upon the Stygian shore. For five hours we remained, gazing mute and awe-struck on this magnificent scene. High in the air a tropic bird floated slowly across the heavens, the flames of the crater gilding him like a meteor. Our blankets were unpacked, and refreshments taken, after which one of our ladies Miss Charles, of Hornelsville, N. Y. sang the songs of home and Fatherland. Never, 314 Memories of an Old Actor. I think, was "Sweet Home" sang to such an accompaniment the music of woman's voice, at what might appropriately be termed the very vestibule of Hell, while above and around ' ' Fiercely the spires of volcanic fires Steam on the sulphurous air. " As the night advanced the activity of the vol- cano increased ; but the surface of the lake seemed to lower somewhat during our stay this was not unlikely; tourists at different times have found its elevation variable, sometimes a hundred feet down, sometimes within a few feet of the bank. We judged it to be about forty feet down, and it certainly appeared to recede somewhat during our stay. Once or twice the momentary shifting of the wind blew the suffocating vapor partially upon us, and an immediate retreat was necessary ; it was, however, but momentary. The contingency of a change of wind blowing strongly upon the visitor when partially asleep, or dozing, seems to be the greatest source of danger, but no casualty of that kind has ever occurred. The banks of the lake are more or less covered with a fibrous substance, somewhat resembling threads of flax, and brittle as spun glass ; it appears upon the lava boulders like cobwebs. The appropriate name given to these fibres, Memories of an Old Actor. 315 found so near the abode of the dread divinity, is " Pele's hair." Our return was against the advice, and in spite of the opposition of our native guides who rather dislike tramping the floor of that awful amphitheatre, except by daylight. The night was intensely dark ; we started in Indian file ; one guide preceding us with a lantern, another in the center of the column, and the others skirting the flank of our march ; when we came to the chasms and difficult points, our guides would concentrate and light us over. Only in one or two instances did they diverge from the safe path, and then only for a rod or two, and the trail was easily found again. It was 11:30 when we started, and two in the morning when we reached the little grass hut dignified by the sounding title of the "Volcano House" thus occupying two and a half hours on the return. Tradition and the observation of intelligent residents of the Islands, all prove that the vol- cano is in a constant transition state, sometimes more active, sometimes less ; although for the past few years its general activity has undoubt- edly decreased, notwithstanding its occasional fiery outbursts. An old gentleman of Maui, who had visited it thirty years before, assured me that the burning lake then occupied fully one- sixth of the whole area of the crater. Estimates 316 Memories of an Old Actor. of its extent vary at different times we thought it not less than one thousand feet in diameter. The dark mythology of the Hawaiians has in- vested this appropriate arena with additional horror; it is the dwelling-place of their awful goddess, Pele, the prime divinity of their Pan- theon ; here, in company with her subordinate demons, she bathed and disported in its sulphur waves. Christian courage here subdued supernatural terror, when, in 1825, the converted chieftainess, Kapiolaui, braved the anger of the goddess and the attendant horrors of the path by descending alone into the crater, and casting with her own hands, into the seething gulf, the sacred berries, as an open and avowed act of desecration. Our party spent five days at the " Crater of Kilauea " and our return to Hilo was as delight- ful a ride, as our departure thence. Mr. Hitch- cock and all our friends rode out to meet us on the approach to the pretty town, where we found another plan had been organized for a grand pic- nic up the Wailuku, with a party of eleven, ladies and gentlemen, on the following Wednes- day morning. I will not attempt a description of that ever-remembered day, or of the surpassing loveliness of the scenery with its cascades and torrents ; the Rainbow Fall of 70 feet ; the Upper Fall, a grand cascade of 130 feet; the Pools, or Memories of an Old Actor. 317 Bowls ; the Circular Rainbow, and the thousand natural charms, that rival in beauty, if not in grandeur, Yosemite itself and which, if known to the traveling world, would throw most of what is now known far into the shade. In order to reach the proposed point for our picnic ground, it was necessary to send out a gang of natives on the previous day to cut a path with Matchetes through the dense undergrowth, and even with this preparation, our horses were with difficulty forced through the green obstruction. The Wailuku falls into the sea a little north of the tpwn of Hilo, and the southern bank, which is at this point a verdure-covered bluff of sixty feet in height, was a favorite bathing place and toward evening the youth of both sexes assembled to indulge in what to a Hawaiian is a necessary part of existence : with shouts of mirth and laughter they would dive or jump from the cliff, cutting the water like an arrow, and some- times re-appearing on the surface three or four hundred feet from where they made their plunge. I think that in this lively diving and swimming the girls were, if anything, more expert than the boys. They were of all ages from eight years to sixteen, and all quite nude, with the exception of a cloth around the middle, and most of the girls were in form models of feminine perfection ; what, with the merriment, and shouting, and 318 Memories of an Old Actor. leaping, and the wonderful aquatic gymnastics > it was a cheerful and pleasing scene. In the charming little hamlet of Hilo, there were, at the time of my visit, about fifty white, or as they were generally termed, foreign resi- dents, and most of these were Americans. I believe that I was the first actor, that ever landed on the lava strand, which fronts that little town in the " sun-down " sea and Mr. Cony, the Sher- iff, Mr. Hitchcock, Mrs. Capt. Spencer and others had determined that I should do what had never been done in Hilo give an entertainment. If I had been disposed to offer objections, they would certainly have been out of place, where so many courtesies had been received. To be sure, I had neither books nor memoranda to draw from, but Mr. Cony, in his beautiful little cottage, had a well selected library, which was at my disposal. I was told, that they only wanted me to appear ; they didn't care in what, or what I did ; they would make every preparation and all be present to honor me. So, in a beautiful moonlight evening, I walked down the little tree-embowered street, and saw through the foliage the picturesque, white-painted school-house (which was Court-house as well), gaily lighted, every window thrown up and sur- rounded by an eager crowd of natives, and the seats within occupied by every American lady Memories of an Old Actor. 319 and gentleman, with their children, resident in Hilo. With snch an audience and on such an occasion, I felt like doing my best. My programme for the evening was a series of recitations, serious and comic, and the reading of the fifth act of " Hamlet." As the papers say, my audience was " appreciative and enthu- siastic," and the Hawaiians on the " outside " seats greeted the comic recitations and the humors of the u Gravediggers " with unanimous and hearty applause. A charming collation at the cottage of Mrs. Capt. Spencer terminated the evening, where Miss Charles sang " When Stars are in the Quiet Sky " in a manner to make it one of the most delightful " memories " of a series never to be effaced. Mr. Cony left the next morning at an early hour, on official business, for Lapahoihoi ; but I found an envelope to my address with a gracious note and a handsome sum in current gold coin, the voluntary offering of friends whose kindness and liberality can never be forgotten. On the evening of August nth, previous to my trip to the Volcano, I gave a lecture at the Nuanee Hall, in Honolulu subject, " The Drama ;" and on my return, upon the evening of September i6th, a " Reading" at the same place. Both of these entertainments were well attended. 320 Memories of an Old Actor. On the night of Monday, the i9th, in company with several American gentlemen, I attended by invitation of the Hon. David Kalakaua then Chamberlain of the Palace and Postmaster-Gen- eral of the realm, but now "his Majesty Kalakaua I, King of the Hawaiian Islands" a grand " Hula-hula," the wild native dance, which, I think, is the more dear to the Islanders the more it is proscribed. Mr. Kalakaua was very courteous to me during my visit to Honolulu ; and I had the pleasure of meeting him, after a lapse of many years, on American soil, when he was a King. I think in the higher rank he is, as he was in the lower, a true gentleman. On Wednesday, the 2ist, I bade the last fare- well to my Island friends, and left the charming Hawaiian Islands, where I had spent three months among the pleasantest of a long life. And full of happy " memories," I arrived in San Francisco on Tuesday, October nth. CHAPTER XV. Home and Return Mr. Charles Thorne, Jr. Mr. George Pauncefort Mr. Louis Aldrich Mr. Pierrepont Thayer The Marysville Theatre Opening Address Vestvali Bandmann Miss Charlotte Crampton Mr. and Mrs. Harry Jackson "The Seven Sisters" Baker Miss Em- ily Thorne Mr. Edwin Forrest Isthmus of Nicaragua Sharks Fourth of July at Sea Mrs. Sedley Brown The Enterprise and Boxer Boston Theatre Mr. Frank Mayo IvOtta Mr. Bascomb Mr. J. Scott Mr. Edward I,. Davenport Dora Yosemite Hon. Mrs. Yelverton. I SAILED from San Francisco on the of October, 1864, crossed the Isthmus of Nicaragua on November 2d, and arrived in New York on the i3th. I recall the anxiety among the passengers, as we neared the end of the voyage, respecting the result of the presidential election, and I think I won a small bet on "the rail-splitter" "That true-born king of men." On the 2ist day of June, 1865, I again started for California > on the steamship "Morning Star," 322 Memories of an Old Actor. and on the 29th we passed the wreck of the " Golden Rule," stranded on Ran-cador, in the Caribbean Sea. I had made the voyage from Greytown to New York in the " Golden Rule," and felt sorrow for the loss of a noble ship, and some I knew on board. We made the transit safely, and I was again in San Francisco on July 2ist, 1865. After a vacation of nearly a year's duration, I re-appeared at the Opera House on the night of the 26th as u Sergeant Austerlitz." I found in Mr. Maguire's company at that time an actor with whom I had a slight acquaint- ance some years before, and who, some years later, won the title, and maintained it to his death, of being, if not the best, certainly among the very best representatives of the intense emo- tional school, which has to some extent sup- planted the older methods and produces its effects more by what it refrains from doing than by what it does not but that Mr. Thorne could act on the " old lines" as well, but he adopted the new method and became a proficient in it. Of a manly person and expressive face, and with a well-rounded voice, Mr. Thorne had all the nat- ural qualifications for success and study, aided by good judgment, placed him eventually at the top of the ladder. I was his professional com- panion for several seasons on either side of the continent, and recall some sad, but many pleas- Memories of an Old Actor. 323 ant memories of a deceased friend Charles Thome, Jr. Mr. George Pauncefort was another member of the Opera House Company at that time. Mr. Pauncefort was an Englishman of a peculiar temperament. He had been, I think, a member of the Boston Theatre Company with Mr. Thomas Barry, and remained but a short time in California ; long enough, however, to get married to Miss B D , who had been a Cali- fornia actress from the early days. After many years, Mr. Pauncefort was heard from, traveling through the wilds of Washington Territory with a horse and wagon, giving itinerant performances all by himself; and still later I read an account of his turning up as an Eastern potentate away off in Syria or Asia Minor, with a Harem, and Chibouks, and all the surroundings of a Persian Caliph. Mr. Louis Aldrich was another member of Mr. Maguire's Company. I can hardly call him an Old-Californian, though he is not so young, as when one of the famous "Marsh Troupe." He used to astonish the people by the exhibition of talents far beyond the "juvenile " order. Mr. Aldrich was a good actor then I mean, when I met him in 1865 he is a better one now and deserves the good fortune he has achieved with a successful play, the principal character of which is, in his hands, a fine dram- 324 Memories of an Old Actor. atic portrait. Although not a member of the " Young Men's Christian Association," he has many Christian virtues. I hope he may live long and prosper to the end. I also found Mr. Pierrepont Thayer with Mr. Maguire at that time. This gentleman was, I believe, a native of Boston, possessed of much capability for the stage, and, but for an unhappy tendency competent to make an honorable record as an actor, he had fallen away and resolved, again fallen away and re-resolved so often, that his best friends could see no other end than that which eventually came. A few years later, this gentleman's lifeless body was found, and, tying on the table near by, a paper, on which, in his own handwriting, were these words : u I test the problem." What problem ? of existence ? Life and death, though mysteries, are facts and not problems of existence hereafter ? It would seem, that the mind of that man, who would test the problems of future existence or non-existence by self-im- mutation must be warped by insanity. I believe that poor Pierrepont Thayer was insane. On the 1 6th of August, the New Theatre in Marysville, a handsome and commodious build- ing, was opened by Mr. Maguire with the com- pany from the San Francisco Opera House. The opening address for the occasion was from the Memories of an Old Actor. 325 pen of Mr. Walter M. Letnan and beautifully spoken by Miss Sophie Edwin. A few extracts are appended: Where erst a few months back, devouring fire Made of the Muses' Fane a funeral pyre, Whose tongues of flame shot madly forth on high, Mounting fantastic to the midnight sky And sending thence their red reflection down, Like a volcano, o'er the sleeping town ; To the proud duty, which he knows so well Starting the fireman by the alarum-bell ; Here, where the prosperous city spreads amain With living energy athwart the plain ; Here, where its busy marts and crowded streets Show how the healthful pulse of commerce beats 'Mongst pleasant homes, by Yuba's golden sands, Our new-born temple of the Drama stands. Perfect in structure, radiant to the view, To virtue dedicated and to you. #**,*** Friends of the Sage, upholders of its laws, The suppliant Drama brings to you her cause ; . While to the Drama's teachings we are true, Her cause, before the curtain rests with you. If you shall nod, or give approving smile, To prurient actions, or to words of guile, Oh, you and us shall be the double sin ; But if with wisdom's maxims we shall win, And mould your plastic sympathies of soul With Thalia's mask or with Melpomene's bowl To acts of truth, and virtue's true regard, To you and us shall be the full reward. And here the weary hours shall you beguile 'Neath the bright radiance of woman's smile And when your labor's done, at evening hour, Own the full influence of her magic power. 326 Memories of an Old Actor. Here shalt the Drama's glass to you impart The dark recesses of the human heart, And show the silver-lining to the eye That gilds the clouds of % human frailty. Old Lear, in accents wild shall rend the air With the loud wailings of his blank despair ; Hamlet, the heavens majestic roof shall scan, And show you " What a piece of work is man !" Here Juliet shall barb Love's quivering dart And send the shaft to Romeo's bleeding heart ; And Lady Teazle, with her scandalous school, Hold poor Sir Peter up to ridicule. And Rosalind in masculine bravery Lead young Orlando to a willing slavery. And here your hearts shall pay the ready boon Of pity for the hapless Octoroon ; And be again with grief and sorrow torn For the confiding, artless, Colleen Bawn. When floats the black-flag on the scenic breeze Here mimic Farraguts shall sweep the seas ; And in new battles for the rights of man New Grants and Shermans lead the glorious van, Along with Hooker bold and gallant Sheridan. And here shall drop the willing tear for those Who died to assuage their struggling country's woes, As the just Lincoln fell amid his bloody foes. In September we were all back to the Bay City, where "Vestvali," of whom much was expected, made her first appearance before a "Pacific" audience. Mile. Felicita Vestvali had been a notability in opera in the Old World, but abandoned the lyric stage when she came before the public in the New. She was a lady of pon- Memories of an Old Actor. 327 derous proportions and moderate talent, and made little or no impression. In October, Mr. Daniel E. Bandmann, who was announced as " the great Anglo-German Trage- dian, appeared and played on alternate nights with Vestvali and Mr. Bandmann's impression was like Vestvali's. I presume that this arrange- ment was made in order that the public might have forty-eight hours to get over " Vestvali " and forty-eight to recover from " Bandmann." Fortunately, there was no epidemic. In the latter part of December, while at re- hearsal, a lady clad in plain attire, plain almost to the verge of poverty, if appearances were a true indication, strolled through the front en- trance of the Opera House and sat down in the rear of the pit. I thought that her face seemed familiar; all wondered who she was and why she was there. Being accosted as to her busi- ness she wished to see the manager, and the manager appearing, the lady announced herself as Miss Charlotte Crampton. I was not wrong in thinking I had seen that face. Charlotte Crampton, nee Wilkinson, nee , had turned up in San Francisco, utterly unheralded and unknown ; from where I never heard by what means of conveyance I' never knew ; and during the short and fitful engage- ment of three or four nights, I hardly think any 328 Memories of an Old Actor. one knew from whence she had come or whither she was going. She was engaged instanter, for there were many in the theatre who knew her wonderful ability ; a proper costume was spoken for for she absolutely had nothing in the way of ward- robe and on the evening of the 27th she appeared as " Margaret Elmore," and electrified the audience with her wonderful feeling and power. "Hamlet" was the next character, and rarely had a more philosophical Shakespearean Prince of Denmark been seen. The way was open to favor to success to more, perhaps to fortune one other appearance " Marguerite of Burgundy," in " La Tour de Nesle," when Fate! Shall I call it "fate?" No; folly is a better term "Folly" assumed its baleful power, and all was lost. The lady appeared no more. In the cast of " Love's Sacrifice " I remember the names of Mr. and Mrs. Harry Jackson. This popular couple had lately come from the Austra- lian Colonies. Mrs. Jackson, nee Annie Lock- hart, was a fine actress in parts requiring pathos and Harry Jackson was a good character actor, especially in the line of Jews and " rustic " ruffians. The lady had a sad experience in Cal- ifornia and died some time after in Salt Lake City. Mr. Jackson went to London in the month Memories of an Old Actor. , 329 of July, 1885. I dined with him at his handsome residence on Russell street, Bloomsbury, said good-bye with a promise to see him as soon as I got back to London and returned in three months from the Continent to find him dead! Sad " memories " of both. And Harry Courtaine ! What " memory " of him ? Courtaine, until he had willfully spoiled himself the capable, facile, versatile, admirable Actor! Courtaine! By his willful spoliation of himself the vascillating, unrespected, degraded, unmanly man ! I saw him, too, in London on the strand once, twice, thrice! and he was Courtaine! swayed and ruled not by Fate, not by fatality, but worse by folly and by madness. In the spring of 1866 the " Extravaganza" of the " Seven Sisters " was produced, mainly for the purpose of introducing a new third act, which, at the request of the management, I had written under the title of " An Allegory of the Union." This sketch embodied a series of sym- bolic tableaux illustrated by dialogue, in which " Columbia," the " Genius of Liberty," " Uncle Sam " and all the " States " took part. In this dialogue ''Massachusetts" and u South Carolina" were the principal talkers and " Uncle Sam " had hard work to keep them apart, even with the threat of a spanking. Sophie Edwin was the 33O Memories of an Old Actor. " Massachusetts," Aggie Perry the " South Car- olina " and Walter M. Leman the u Uncle Sam." It ran sixteen nights. In the text of " Uncle Sam's" part in the " Allegory of the Union " was the following apostrophe to Baker, the last line of which is a repetition of his closing apostrophe to Broderick in the funeral oration delivered on the plaza in San Francisco, when Broderick was slain by Terry :- And thou ! The Soldier-Senator of spirit proud, Whose manly form ' ' wrapped in a bloody shroud ' ' Will soon, alas ! " lie dead within our midst. " What thy heart bravely thoiight, thou bravely didst ; Thy clarion voice, upon Potomac 's shore Was hushed thy eagle eyes will glance no more ! Farewell ! Thy race is run ; thy course is spent. Baker, farewell ! Thou ' ' Old Man Eloquent !' ' The grief, that chokes my words, Thy words may truest tell ; Brave heart ! Good friend ! True hero ! Hail and farewell ! On the 28th of March, the " School for Scan- dal " was played for the writer's benefit, on which occasion Miss Emily Thorne appeared as " Lady Teazle." This lady is not to be con- founded with the American family of Thespians of the same name. The press differed in their estimate of her abilities. Of her kindness I entertain a lively " memory. " I had the pleasure Memories of an Old Actor. 331 of meeting Miss Thorne in London in 1885, after a lapse of twenty years. She is now a member of Poole's Company in that city and a great favorite. On Monday evening, May i4th, Edwin Forrest made his first appearance in California as " Ri- chelieu." In the fourth chapter of this work, I have spoken of my earlier acquaintance with this distinguished gentleman and touched upon the adverse surroundings of his visit to the Pacific Coast. I think that to ill-health, more especially than to any other cause, may be attributed his failure. His engagement was shortened for that reason and he did not play in the state outside of San Francisco. Mr. Forrest was supported by Mr. John McCullough, and as a female second he brought with him Miss Lilly. Mr. McCullough will long be remembered. Miss Lilly was instantly forgotten. On Tuesday, June i5th, I sailed for the third time from San Francisco, bound to New York, and had for fellow passengers several professional associates. An incident which occurred on the Nicaraguan Isthmus is worthy of mention. Either the San Juan River was at a lower stage than usual, or our stern-wheeler drew more water than usual, for on going down that sluggish tropical stream we were frequently aground, and several times the little steamer touched at the bank 332 Memories of an Old Actor. where portages of a quarter of a mile or so, would be made to the next stopping place. A large number of the male passengers availed themselves of these opportunities to foot it from point to point through the dense woods, where superabundant vegetation wreathed the trunks of the great trees with a living green to their sum- mit, and monkeys leaped from branch to branch, chattering and mowing at the unusual presence of man. The paths were rough ones, and often crossed muddy little inlets, with a rail or branch laid across to assist one in getting over. There was a general desire to make the short transits as quickly as possible, to be in time for the boat, and the intense heat made these walks in the wilds of Central America, short though they were, very fatiguing, but still it was a novel ex- perience and enjoyable notwithstanding the dis- comfort. As Mr. Thorne and myself were getting over one of these inlets, rather larger than the rest, leading to a small lagoon a short distance from the river, we were astounded by a tremend- ous splash within six feet, and a shark six or seven feet long pushed his head and a third of his ugly body out of the water, half turning over in the act, and wallowing in the muddy stream. I think that if he could have got near enough to our legs or feet for a bite, he'd have taken it ; it was a rather startling and not very Memories of an Old Actor. 333 pleasant acquaintance. We were amazed to see a shark in a fresh-water stream ; but these raven- ous salt-sea monsters go up the San Juan River constantly, as far as the Machucha Rapids, for " plunder and prey." On Wednesday, the Fourth of July, we were off the Island of Cuba, and had a celebration of the holiday, with the " Santiago de Cuba " decked in flags and streamers. The programme in- cluded " Reading of Declaration of Independence," MR. HARRY WAU,. Song " Flag of our Union," . . MRS. SEDLEY BROWN. Address REV. MR. ELY. Poem "Our Country," MR. W. M. ICEMAN. " Drake's address to the American Flag, " MR. CHARLES THORNE, JR. We wound up that u Independence Day " with song and dance at night. While o'er the seas the tropic breeze Drove on our rapid keel With favoring gale and swelling sail, And swift revolving wheel. Mrs. Sedley Brown is the daughter of my old associate and manager in the early days, Mr. W. H. Smith, who was well-known to the public on both slopes of the Union. She had been in California but a short time, but has visited it often since. I had the pleasure of her company 334 Memories of an Old Actor. in 1884, at my home in San Francisco ; she was then a member of Wallack's Company, a part of whom were playing there at the time. I believe that Mrs. Brown is now the widow of Mr. Smith, a son of another old manager, who has been mentioned in previous pages Mr. Sol. Smith. Mrs. Sedley Brown is a trne and good woman, and an excellent actress ; with pride I rank her among my friends. I arrived in New York on the 8th of July, and was greeted with intelligence of the disastrous fire that had swept away one- half of the city of Portland, Maine. I read with painful interest the newspaper accounts of how that conflagration " burnt back " against the wind for a mile and a quarter from the point where it started, to the very base of the u Old Observa- tory," which, sixty years ago stood, perhaps now stands, on " Mount Joy." I used to roam all round about that vicinity, while studying my " parts " in those long-gone days, and into the old cemetery, where side by side lie Burroughs and Blythe, the American and English naval heroes of the sanguinary fight between the " En- terprise " and " Boxer," enemies in war, reposing in amity in the peace of the grave. I recall a distich that the patriotic gamins of " Bunker Hill Town " (as Charlestown was often called when I was a boy) , used to sing about that sea-fight Memories of an Old Actor. 335 " At length you sent your ' Boxer' To box us all about ; We had an ' Enterprising ' Brig That beat your ' Boxer ' out. She boxed her up to Portland And moored her off the Town To show those sons of liberty This 'Boxer' of renown." But this is digression. On landing, I was immediately met by Mr. J. B. Booth, Jr., then connected with Messrs. Tomkins and Thayer in the management of the " Boston Theatre," and engaged for that establishment, to commence with the opening in August. When the company assembled in the green- room, preparatory to the first night, it was in truth called a "California crowd," no less than seven of its members nearly one-half hailing from the Golden State. Bulwer's comedy of " Money " was the opening "bill;" Mr. Frank Mayo was the " Evelyn ;" Mrs. Agnes Perry, the " Clara Douglas," and Mr. Leman, the "Sir John Vesey " of the cast. I have heretofore spoken of Mr. Frank Mayo. He commenced his professional career, I think, in California. I remember him first in the "American Theatre," San Francisco, during my engagement with Julia Dean Hayne. He played with us later, in the " Union Theatre," rose rap- idly, went East, and made a phenomenal hit in 336 Memories of an Old Actor. Boston in the part of " Badger," in the " Streets of New York." From that time his career has, I believe, been a highly successful one. The play of " David Crockett " made a great deal of money for Mr. Mayo, and he now has a new play, entitled " Nordeck," which is reported to me by those who have seen it, as being one of the best American plays yet written. Frank Mayo is a handsome, stalwart man and an actor of whom California may be proud. He resides, when at home, somewhere in the State of Pennsylvania. In writing these desultory reminiscences of a long theatrical career, the use of the " first per- son, singular," becomes perhaps too often, a nec- essity. I have simply endeavored to keep the record consecutively, so far as I am personally concerned, without referring to what perhaps partial friends have said respecting myself; but I confess that if I were tempted to transgress the rule of a becoming modesty with regard to any period of the more than fifty years in which I was in theatrical harness, the three and a half years which I spent with my old Boston friends would be the time, but I forbear. Among the stars of the first season, I remem- ber Mr. Edwin Booth, who played a long and brilliant engagement ; Mrs. Scott-Siddons, Miss Kate Reynolds, Mrs. Lander, Mr. Forrest, Lotta and others. Memories of an Old Actor. 337 Lotta, thou midget ! come into my mirror of memory as I first saw thee, away up in the foot- hills, at lone City was it ? Yes, I think it was at lone City. I forget the county, but the State was California. A little girl with a banjo, which thou did'st play with grace and skill, hopping and skipping and kicking how thou did'st kick at everybody and everything, and when there was nothing else to kick at, thou would'st kick out into space ; how thou did'st squirm and do a " walk-around," and do all with an impunity and a vim that defied all opposition and criticism, for thou wast bright and merry, and everybody loved to see thee, laugh at thy capers, enjoy thy fun, and toss into thy lap the coins and nuggets of the land of gold. Miss Charlotte Crabtree (Lotta) had grown older but not much bigger than in the California era, and though her acting, judged from an artis- tic standpoint, did not call for much comment, she was always pleasing and wonderfully attract- ive. The idea of Lotta being serious in any- thing, seemed an absurdity, and yet in " Little Nell " she was serious, and played with feeling ; but she was born to make us laugh, and not to weep, and she has fulfilled and is fulfilling her mission. John Brougham called her a " dramatic cocktail," for the following reason 338 Memories of an Old Actor. Because in Lotta we can see Artistic concentration Of sweetness, strength and piquancy, A pungent combination. In the company of the " Boston Theatre " was a gentleman who subsequently became the vic- tim of a terrible calamity Mr. Henry L. Bas- comb. I had known his father, who was the landlord of the " Boylston Hotel," which stood upon ground now occupied by the magnifi- cent " Parker House," in School street. The " Boylston " was a great Thespian resort, and was the legitimate successor of the " Stackpole House," on Milk street, and " Bradstreet's," on Atkinson street, where, seventy-five years ago, Hodgkinson and Fennell and Snelling Powell and Barrett and Tom Cooper and the other worthies of the old Boston stage were wont to gather. Mr. Bascomb, a few years since, lost both of his feet by exposure to intense cold. It would seem as if his was a case that demanded recognition by the government of the " Forrest Home," but I do not know that it was ever brought to the notice of the trustees. I think that he now holds a position under the municipal government of Boston. Another friend, whom I shall always remem- ber John Scott not John R. Scott not as good an actor as was John R. Scott but as good Memories of an Old Actor. 339 a man, as good a man as ever lived was in that company. I have seen that old friend within a twelve-month in his happy home, near Boston ; he is now cashier of the Dorchester National Bank, and his name is S. J. Willis. The name of Scott was but a nom de theatre. Mr. Edward L. Davenport, one of the finest actors that the American Stage has ever known, played a very successful engagement. I had never had much professional association with this gen- tleman since the third or fourth year of the old 'Tremont" with the exception of one year at the Walnut Street, Philadelphia. His career in England had been a prosperous one, and there were not a few good judges who thought him, twenty-three years ago, the equal of any trage- dian. There was no man who so closely ap- proached the grandeur of the elder Booth in the character of "Sir Giles Overreach" as E. L. Davenport. There were always pleasant ties of personal friendship between him and myself. I honor his memory. During the first season at the "Boston," detach- ments of the company played occasionally in some eight or nine different towns in Massachu- setts ; in Providence and Newport, in the State of Rhode Island ; Hartford and New Haven, in Connecticut ; Portland, in Maine ; and Albany and Troy, in New York. And during the two 34-O Memories of an Old Actor. following seasons these excursion trips were re- peated, but not so often. They were pleasant in many respects, for they gave me an opportunity to renew old friendships and revive the memories of u lang syne ; }) and sometimes there was a great deal of fun extracted from them, especially when Charley Thome and Louis Aldrich were with us the first has passed away, but my old friend, Louis Aldrich, yet lives, and he will recall the merriment (wicked merriment, sometimes) that we used to extract from a much-married man, now deceased, who had an ardent devotion to two objects: his black bottle and his " little wifey- pifey," as he called her, though she was twice his size, and always got the better in their matrimonial combats, which were of frequent occurrence. Poor J ! Well, he is gone. Peace to his memory ! On one of these excursions an incident oc- curred, which has drifted into the newspapers as happening in various places, but which really happened in the city of Lowell, Massachusetts. I had been sent up from Boston with Miss Kate Reignolds and a portion of the company, to play " Dora." Mr. Leslie, the deputy manager, hav- ing everything to attend to, had neglected to procure the little child which is a very impor- tant factor in the interest of the play ; and at the last moment went out and brought in a great Memories of an Old Actor. 341 lubberly boy from the street, with dirty clothes and shoes, uncombed hair and unwashed skin, to represent " Dora's" pretty " four-year-old." Miss Reignolds and myself protested against sending this great lubber before the audience, as he was sure to turn the whole play into a ridicu- lous burlesque. But Leslie had too much on his hands to get a substitute, and Miss Reignolds took the Infant before the audience, who gazed in wonder and astonishment. As " Farmer Allan," I had to take the child, fondle him, and ask his age, as he sat upon my knee. With the hoodlum standing between my knees (I couldn't take him on my lap, for he was as big as his mother), and the audience by this time in unsuppressed laughter, I yielded to the current which I could not stem and instead of saying, " How old are you, my little man ?" to which question the child's proper answer is, " Four years old" I asked, "And how, old are you, my strapping boy ?" to which, in a harsh, hesitating, fish-market voice, he answered, " Four to-to six." "Forty-six!" I replied; "You look it, my boy you look it !" As a burlesque, " Dora" was that night a complete success. The little drama of " Dora " was wonderfully popular; during a series of summer excursion trips, combining relaxation with business, I think Miss Reignolds and myself played it more than 342 Memories of an Old Actor. half the time, and I had the same experience with Miss Ada Gray. The regular season of 1869 opened on the 2oth of September. Bouci- cault's play of " Formosa " was produced and fell flat before the public, which was not strange, for certainly, mighty as is its author's name, it is but a common-place, coarse and stupid affair. I made a final tour of a month's duration, among the New England cities, and terminated my engagement at the Boston Theatre on the i2th of February, 1870. During the three years, in which I was an employee of Messrs. Orlando Tomkins, Benjamin F. Thayer and Junius B. Booth, Jr., not an unpleasant word or occurrence ever marred our friendly feeling. All three of these gentlemen are dead. On Monday, the I4th of February, 1870, I left Boston on my fourth trip to California, and this time overland. On reaching San Francisco, I found there my friend, Mr. Thorne, who, like myself, had been anxious to return to the Pacific Coast. Early in March we opened at the Opera House in the " Three Guardsmen." Mr. Mayo soon after came out, and an unsuccessful season lingered along for some months, against the superior attractions of the " California Theatre," then in its second season under the management of Messrs. McCullough and Barrett. With Madame Methua Scheller we made a pleasant Memories of an Old Actor. 343 tour in the interior. This lady was a pleasing Anglo-German actress, who played in comedy, drama and tragedy with less force than the Jan- auscheks and Modjeskas, but still with skill and power. She fell a victim to the cholera a few years later, while playing in one of the Missis- sippi River towns. I withdrew from the Opera House on the advent of a company of " British Blonde Beauties," as they were termed in the bills, and on the yth of July started, in company with Professor Wolcott Gibbs of Harvard Uni- versity, the Rev. Clarence Bddy, S. N. Roberts, Esq., of Boston, and three ladies for Yosemite Valley. At Stockton, our party was augmented by a gentleman and his sister, from San Fran- cisco, making us nine in number. It is not my purpose to enter into a description of the wonders and beauties and sublimities of Yosemite, with which the world has already been made familiar. Five years before that time, with San Francisco two hundred miles distant and the great plain of the San Joaquin intervening, with but a few towns and villages scattered over its vast expanse, there seemed little probability of the rushing army of civilization reaching the Yosemite by any other method than the tortuous bridle path, which our party took soon after leaving Mariposa. In 1865, only 147 tourists visited Yosemite Val- ley ; in 1869, the year before our visit, when the 344 Memories of an Old Actor. Overland Road had been completed, 1122 tour- ists registered as visitants. I believe that I was the second " actor," who ever stood npon the grassy floor of Yosemite, Mr. Joseph Proctor being the first. While it is not my intention, as I have already said, to describe a Yosemite," I will briefly speak of an adventure, which occurred to us while en- route : As I have stated, our party selected the Mariposa Route to the valley, as a portion of them wished also to visit the Mariposa Grove of Big Trees. This motive had no weight with me, however, as I was already familiar with these monarchs of the forest having, while with Bu- chanan, played one act of the comedietta of " Used Up " upon the stump of the " felled-big- tree" in the Calaveras Grove. From Mariposa we were accompanied by two attendants, to act as guides in the valley, with two extra horses in addition to those they rode, and they occasionally relieved the team, by giv- ing some of us gentlemen passengers a spell in the saddle. When we were a little more than half way to Clark's Ranch, I thought I would try it for a mile or two, as a kind of preparative for my equestrian feats in the valley, but I was so well pleased with my Bucephalus and we got on with such accord he never once trying to get me off- that I made the remainder of the Memories of an Old Actor. 345 distance in the saddle, along with one of our party and the two guides up and down the grade, over the Conchilla mountain to the romantic spot on the south fork of the Merced River, known as " Clark's Ranch," whence we were to start on the morrow for Yoseniite. As the day closed and the balmy night came on, we wended our way over an excellent road far in advance of the stage wagon, up and down among the gigantic and picturesque pines ; each turn and change on our ever-changing way open- ing a new vista of beauty ; the moon sending her silvery beams through the branches, each new turn forming a new development of " Fretted Roof " and "Gothic Aisle" far surpassing all that I had yet seen of man's architecture. Sometimes one of us, and sometimes the other, would be in advance, but we generally kept pretty well together for conversation and com- panionship, and it was well that we did so, for we came almost directly on a she-bear with her two cubs. Two of our party, who chanced to be a few paces in the lead, stopped not more than fifty paces from Mrs. Bruin and her family. We reined up suddenly, turning and backing away a little ; it was almost impossible to hold our steeds in hand. The bear and her two young ones, after a minute or two, made tracks down the mountain side, expedited by our shouts and a 346 Memories of an Old Actor. flambeau, which our guides kindled with match and papers found in their pockets. If we had got more close to her, there might have been trouble; a grizzly or cinnamon bear with two cubs is very likely to bite and tear, if molested ; but I confess, that my first thought was not so much of the danger of being chased by the bear, if she should pursue us, as of being tumbled off my horse in the chase ; for a man, who gets on the outside of a horse only once or twice in ten or twelve years is not likely to be an accomplished rider. I was very glad, when we came in sight of the house, far beneath us, and still gladder, when we reached it in safety eight long hours from Mariposa. The balance of our party came up in the stage wagon an hour later. I certainly lost no time in getting to the haven of rest and safety, especially for the last two or three miles down the mountain ; for in the moon- light every white stump and old log looked like a bear. We started from Clark's on the follow- ing morning, reaching the vicinity of the Valley after the hour of noon, and as we progressed down, down, down, beneath the overhanging rocks from " Inspiration Point " and along the brabbling Merced ; in the cool of the evening ; at the base of the great cliffs, upon whose summits we had stood in the morning ; the glistening blue California sky, tinged with amber and sparkling Memories of an Old Actor. 347 with a million stars over our heads ; " El Capi- tan " and the " Sentinel " and all the great pin- nacles and domes looking down npon us ; with gigantic pines towering up all around and the air fragrant with sweet-smelling wild herbs, we realized the surpassing grandeur of nature, com- bining the beauties of torrent, and river, and moun- tain peak, and forest in a marvelous and perfect panorama. But, faithful to my word, I will attempt no description of u Yosemite." We lingered in the grand and lovely valley a week and our visit was made doubly pleasant by the company of a lady we met there, and who, though now no more, lives with all of us as one of the pleasant- est " memories " of " Yosemite" the Hon. Mrs. Teresa Yelverton. In the year 1860, a remarkable trial occupied the attention of the Dublin Courts. The cele- brated suit was brought by a gentleman against Major Yelverton for a sum of money due for the board of his wife, Mrs. Teresa Yelverton. After making the arrangement, the Major deserted his wife and married again. He denied that he had ever married her, and claimed that she had lived with him as his mistress ; that he went through the forms of the ceremonies to " ease her con- science," and that he had no thought of making her his wife. It was thought that his family caused him to take the step he did, and that his 348 Memories of an Old Actor. marriage to Mrs. Forbes was also the result of their efforts ; she had a large fortune and Major Yelverton had nothing but his pay, as an officer of the English army. The Major was the son of an Irish peer, who was himself a British officer. Miss Teresa Longworth, the lady he thus stig- matized, had been twice married to him, once by the Scotch, and again by the Irish law. Their marriage was kept secret, lest his family should learn of it and disinherit him. He was the heir apparent to the Avonmore peerage, and an officer in the artillery, and Miss Longworth was not a member of the nobility. He was simply Captain Yelverton when she met him, but in a few years he became a Major, and previous to .his death he assumed the title of Lord Avon- more ; but if not noble, the lady was of high position ; her mother dying when she was very young, she was sent to Paris to be educated in a convent, her family being of the Roman Catholic faith. The acquaintance between the two commenced on the English Channel in 1852, where the lady, who was returning from France, was introduced to Captain Yelverton by some friends on board the steamer. The acquaintance was kept up in London, and by correspondence afterwards, both being evidently greatly attached to each other. Memories of an Old Actor. 349 Miss Longworth spent two years in Italy, and when her education was completed, she returned to France, in a memorable year, 1855, when young ladies of rank went as Sisters of Mercy to the Crimea to nurse the sick of the Allied Armies, and she went with a party of ladies on this errand, being at Malta six months or more. In all this time she had not met Captain Yel- verton, who was stationed at Malta, but was in England at the time. When he returned to his regiment he offered his hand to her. For a time there was a happy companionship between them, for the beautiful girl was deeply attached to the young officer. He proposed a secret marriage, on the ground of opposition from his father, on whom he was dependant. Miss Longworth was not to be led into this arrangement, and broke the engagement. She went to the Crimea with an officer's family, and again met Major Yelver- ton, whom she had not seen for some months. He again proposed a secret marriage, and was again refused, and Miss Longworth returned to her sister in Wales. At this time she was in the heigth of her charms, and known for her beauty where she was unknown personally. Major Yelverton desperately enamored of her, and un- happy in his exile, obtained a leave of absence and followed her. During the winter season she was at Edinburgh, and he was constantly at her 350 Memories of an Old Actor. side, and persisting in his appeal to be married secretly. She refused again and again. One day he induced her to let him read the Church of England marriage service to her, and when he had completed it, told her that in Scotland that constituted a marriage. She returned to her sister in Wales, and was claimed there by him as his wife, and induced to go to Ireland to be re-married by a Catholic Priest. Up to this time, and subsequent to the marriage, which was performed by the Parish Priest of Rosstrevoir, with the consent of the Bishop, she believed him to be a Roman Catholic. Miss Longworth made her first mistake in agree- ing to keep the matter private. They traveled through Ireland together, and went to Scotland, and at the trial the various travelers' books in public places were produced as evidence, to prove that he wrote her name everywhere as Mrs. Yelverton. Their passports were taken out in his name, and they introduced each other to their friends as husband and wife, as the case might be. The letters written by Major Yelverton to her when absent were read, and created a profound sym- pathy for her, and a great array of witnesses came from far and near to testify against the de- fendant. Memories of an Old Actor. 351 The jury were out only an hour, and on the rendering of their verdict, which was in Mrs. Yelverton 's favor, the excitement was of the wildest description. Outside the courts thou- sands of people had congregated, and as soon as the news was announced, the horses were taken from the coach which was to convey Mrs. Yel- verton to her hotel, and down the quays, lined with people, was drawn in triumphal procession; the efforts of the police were unavailing, and the little lady was carried up the stairs of the hotel and on to the balcony, where she could be seen by all. She was weeping, and had to be sup- ported, but soon realizing the generous kindness of the people, she advanced to the railing and in an eloquently pathetic manner, thanked them for their kindness. In the meantime, Major Yelverton had mar- ried Mrs. Forbes, and he appealed the case. It was reversed in an English court, and the' verdict of the Irish court was set aside. Broken-hearted and ruined in health, Mrs. Yelverton left England forever, and came to America. She was at this time twenty-eight years of age, highly accomplished, a superb pian- iste, and had a rich contralto voice which, in con- versation, was music. From New York she went to Missouri, where she purchased a stock-farm, and for some years lived almost entirely alone. 352 Memories of an Old Actor. It was said that she never saw a piano while in Missouri, but this was untrue, for her log-house contained, in addition to a piano, other musical instruments and a great many books. Anxious to get still further from a world where she had suffered so much, she sold her Missouri farm and went to New Zealand, where she had a cattle- ranch, and shortly after died there. Such is the story in brief of the lovely lady I met in Yosemite Valley. Her conversational pow- ers were wonderful, her affability was endearing, and her lovely face was a pleasure to the sight, albeit the great sorrow of her life had saddened and subdued it to a painful degree. She was a companion in our rides and walks, an associate in our junketing and pic-nicking, and will ever be a sweet and gentle " memory " of our visit to the Valley of the Yosemite. CHAPTER XVI. Mr. Joseph Proctor Mr. Cathcart Miss Sue Robinson Miss Rose Evans Miss Eva West Mr. Eben Plympton Viv- ian Mr. John McCullough Salt L,ake Brigham Young California Theatre Company The Emperor of Brazil Mr. John Raymond An Actor's Fatality Mrs. John Drew Semi-Centennial Benefit Portland Theatre Van- couver An Indian Talk Walla -Walla Miss Rose Eytinge Puget Sound Victoria. IT was on my return from Yosemite that I first met with Mr. Joseph Proctor. This gentle- man, although he had been connected with the drama in Boston for a part of the time in which I was engaged there, I had not personally known, or known only as the most casual acquaintance. At the .time of our meeting, he had leased the " Metropolitan Theatre," in Sacramento, was gathering his company, and was in quest of u just such a man as me," to use his own words, and it took but a few moments to come to an under- standing which was mutually pleasant, and with- out a single ripple of discord during the two years of our connection. 354 Memories of an Old Actor. Mr. Proctor had an unquestionable right to be called a California actor, for he was among the early comers to the Pacific Coast. He was, I think, a partner of Mr. Venua in the building of the " Sacramento Theatre," in 1852 ; but I be- lieve that he did not remain long at his first visit. Mr. Proctor was a forcible and capable actor in the line of tragedy, and was shall I not rather say, is? for he still lives infinitely more pleas- ing and satisfactory in many of the classic tragic roles than some of those who claim a higher rep- utation. He k7iows his business thoroughly, and if he plays the "Jibbenainosay " more frequently than Shakespeare, it is not that he loves the im- mortal bard the less, but that the multitude love the " Jibbenainosay " the more. His performance of " Damon " and " Virginius," of " King Lear" and "Alexander the Great," are admirable repre- sentations of thespian power. In private life he is unimpeachable ; as a man- ager just; and in all the relations of life, an hon- est man. On the 3Oth of November, 1883, Mr. Proctor was the recipient of a testimonial benefit from his Boston friends, to celebrate the fiftieth anni- versary of his professional life, which was large- ly attended. No man more worthy of such a compliment ever came before the public. Memories of an Old Actor. 355 Mr. Proctor commenced his campaign on the loth of September, just prior to the commence- ment of the State Fair, thereby availing himself of the advantages which that great gathering offers to those who cater for public patronage. The weather was intensely warm, but the week's business was very lucrative, and his season had an excellent " send off." The stage manager was Mr. J. F. Cathcart. This gentleman came to California not long be- fore with some organization which got stranded in San Francisco ; he was a good general actor, and had been through an English Provincial experience. Mr. Cathcart subsequently visited California, playing the seconds with Mr. Charles Kean. Miss Sue Robinson was our leading lady ; she had grown up from a child on the Pacific Coast, and was known far and wide, in every mining camp of the early days, as the " Fairy Star" brim full of natural talent. If she had been taken when young and given the culture and training of a proper dramatic school, I can think of none more likely to attain to the highest grade of her profession ; but when nuggets and handfulls of gold-dust were thrown to the little girl who twirled the banjo and danced the clog and sang the topical song, those who controlled her were too eager to gather the spoil of the present to 356 Memories of an Old Actor. think very much of her future. When she joined Mr. Proctor she was a very good actress, in spite of very bad training, or rather of no training at all ; and in the two seasons which she remained with us her development and im- provement were wonderful ; her performances in some of the higher characters of comedy would have done credit to any first-class theatre ; and the vocal and terpsichoreal extravagances of her earlier youth, modified by good judgment and taste, were powerful adjuncts to her attractive- ness. Towards the close of the season she was in treaty with a prominent New York manager, and getting ready to start for a new field, when death intervened, and she was suddenly cut off at the threshhold of what I believe would have been a great artistic future. Poor Sue Robinson ! Her picture hangs in my chamber a not alto- gether sad "memory" of the past. Mr. Proctor had very few stars during his managerial career in Sacramento ; nor did he need them. He had a working company, and there was a very generous response on the part of the public to his efforts. I recall the name of one young actress, whose appearance, both in the Bay City and Sacra- mento, was a pronounced success. Petite in figure, with a finely-moulded form and childishly beautiful face, she had nevertheless an astonish- Memories of an Old Actor. 357 ing amount of nerve and power. Among her other characters, I remember " Nell Gwynne," "Mrs. Oakley" in the "Jealons Wife," and, above all, " Jnliet." This latter character in her hands was superb ; in form and feature she was the typical u Juliet" of our imagination, and in her wild bursts of passion, not behind Neilson. She, too, is dead. (" Whom the gods love, die young.") Her name was Rose Evans. Miss Jenny Mandeville was a member of the company, as was also Mrs. Stuart (nee Wood- ward) and Mr. Robert Fulford, who subsequently married Miss Annie Pixley, another California girl, who has made her mark in dramatic annals. Mr. Proctor crossed the mountains with his troupe, I think, in December, and some time was spent in Carson and Virginia City, where Miss Leo Hudson played an engagement as "Ma- zeppa." This lady had a shapely form, and was rather a pleasing actress within her sphere a narrow one. She was seconded by Miss Eva West, a young lady who could, if need be, take her principal's place, if for any cause disabled, and, strapped to the " wild steed of the Ukrame," make all the " runs," utterly insensible to per- sonal fear. Miss West was a far better actress than her leader, and has since then been oftener before the public, and always to their acceptance and gratification, and has had to encounter ill- 358 Memories of an Old Actor. health and many of the hardships which await the members of a profession where the most de- serving are not always the most successful. I hope her future may be prosperous. There were many changes in the company for the second season of Mr. Proctor's management. Among the new-comers was a young man, a per- fect novice, who commenced low with a determin- ation to " fly high," and who, from that hour, never faltered in courage to do, what he had the will to resolve, and stands to-day one of the fore- most of young American actors Bben Plymp- tbn. Mr. Plympton is favorably known in Eng- land, where he has played with great acceptance the seconds to Edwin Booth and Miss Adelaide Neilson. Miss Sue Robinson was "succeeded by Mrs. F. M. Bates, who is now (1886) a member of Mr. McKee Rankin's " California Theatre Company," and Mr. Crosby, now (1886) with the " Bunch of Keys " company, was the low-comedian. Vivian, the carricaturist, was with us. Mr. Vivian was called in the " bills " the " Great Vivian," but he was not, to speak truth, very large. Mrs. W- , a " society lady," backed by a gorgeous wardrobe, appeared as " Lady Gay Spanker " and two or three other characters, evincing a capacity for the stage, which, with study, promised success ; but I never heard of her after. Memories of an Old Actor. 359 With the possible risk of being called mer- cenary, the writer of these " memories " confesses that the two most pleasant remembrances of that season are associated with the evenings of Octo- ber 4, 1871 and March 15, 1872, when his name was on the bills as a beneficiary. The compli- mentary card, tendering the first one, was signed by one hundred and fifty prominent citizens and the audience numerous and brilliant. The play was Morton's comedy of " Speed the Plough." At the second, the beneficiary essayed for the first time the character of " Falstaff," which was thrice repeated. About the middle of the month of April, I got a dispatch directing me to meet Mr. John Mc- Cullough at the railroad station, and the result of that brief interview was my engagement for the California Theatre in San Francisco ; where, early in May, I appeared for the first time as " Adam," in " As You Like It ; " the " Rosalind " being Miss Carlotta Leclerq ; the " Orlando," Mr. John McCullough ; the " Touchstone," Mr. Williamson, and the "Banished Duke," Mr. Henry Edwards. Perhaps I may be called pre- sumptuous in the assertion that with respect to perfect appointment, fitness of all the surround- ings and appurtenances, beautiful sylvan scenery and appropriate music, never since time was has Shakespeare's charming idyl been better put 360 Memories of an Old Actor. upon the stage. The exquisite song, sang by that most exqtiisitely sympathetic tenor, Mr. Joseph Maguire, now deceased, of " Blow, blow, thou winter's wind, Thou art not so unkind As man's ingratitude." Lives with me, and will live ever as a sweet and melodious " memory." The death of my old associate, Mr. W. H. Smith, with whom I had played in Boston nearly half a century previous, opened the way to my connection with the California Theatre, which, under the direction of the late John McCullough, maintained for a period of nearly nine years its claim to be the best managed and most prosper- ous theatre in the Union, the best theatres in New York, or any other city, not excepted. John McCullough is no more ; his lamp of life went out in mist and darkness. It is not for me to comment on his status as an actor, but it is wholly proper and congenial to my feelings to say of him : That, as a generous and just man- ager, as a kind friend, ever ready to relieve the distressed, not alone of his professional associ- ates, but of all who needed aid, he was indeed a " man of men." Who, of the large number of prominent actors and actresses, who for many successful seasons played at the " California;" who, of the still larger number of the supporting Memories of an Old Actor. 361 corps, who from year to year aided in the work, will not certify to the liberality in business, and kindness in intercourse, of John McCullongh ? I venture to say, Not one ! In pondering on the recent afflicting termina- tion of a career so full of promise, as was Mr. McCullough's ; nay, rather of fruition than promise, for fame came before death the "mem- ories " of many departed associates come up to ine like sombre shadows and " so depart." At the obsequies of very many of these I assisted, among whom may be mentioned Frederick Glover at Sacramento, William Leigh ton, Harry Perry, Nathaniel Bassett, James Kendall, Mortimer, George and Caroline Chapman, Mary Stuart, Mrs. Judah, William Barry, Sophie Edwin, Mon- tague, Samuel Piercy and others. To these brothers and sisters of the mimic art the end has come; may those who are left be just, without fear or guile, realizing that ' ' It is not all of life to live, Nor all of death to die." The season at the " California " terminated in about six weeks from the time of my joining the Company and in the latter part of June I went East overland once more to my "native heather" and with my old manager, Booth, played for my more recent manager, Mr. Proctor, in the drama 362 Memories of an Old Actor. of " The Red Pocket-Book," which had been suc- cessful in California, but was only moderately so in Boston. This engagement of two weeks, terminating on the i5th of September, 1872, closed my career in Boston, which had commenced five-and-forty years before. On the i Qth day of September, I left Boston to cross the continent for the fifth time, and availed myself of the opportunity to visit Salt Lake City. Brigham Young was then in the plenitude of his power. He was courteous to strangers, and received a little party, of which I was one, with all the coolness and a-plomb of a man of the world which, indeed, he was. There was an intensity of expression in his steel-blue eyes, that pierced into the thoughts of men, and after seeing him, I hardly wondered at his power. Salt Lake was and is still, I presume a pretty city. The early Mormon residents were very fond of the theatre and had constructed a hand- some building, where Brigham used to sit on a Boston Rocker in the center of the pit, with his numerous family in the lower tier of boxes on either side. Payment, at first, was taken in pro- duce, a bushel of potatoes or a fat turkey for a box ticket, or pit admission, as the case might be. He talked freely of the theatre and was high in praise of Mrs. Hayne, who had recently played in Salt Lake City. I confess, that the Memories of an Old Actor. 363 general appearance of the gentle sex at Salt Lake did not make me much regret the opportunity I lost of obtaining a bishopric and a harem, by refusing to act on Irwin's suggestion at Virginia City, nine years before. The u California Theatre," altered and re-dec- orated, opened for the season on the evening of Monday, September 30, 1872, with Lovell's com- edy of "Look before you Leap." The record of the " California," under the ad- ministration of Mr. McCullough, was, from its com- mencement to within a year of its termination, one of almost unexampled prosperity, but to- wards the end the clouds began to lower. The erection of the " Grand Opera House " and the u Baldwin Theatre " would not necessarily have jeopardized that prosperity, apart from other causes. The first, as a business venture, had been conceived in folly, lingered to a slow, half- completion, after months of delay, and was an elephant on the hands of its builders ; the latter was backed by wealth, but persistent ill-fortune attended its earlier management. The increased competition of two large thea- tres in addition to the two already existing, called for increased energy, and some of the man ager's best friends thought he made a mistake by leaving the field in San Francisco to his lieu- tenants, to fight his battle for fame and fortune 364 Memories of an Old Actor. in distant fields. A discussion of the cause and the result would be profitless and uninteresting in these pages. In each successive season of niy continuance at the "California Theatre," "star" followed "star" in rapid succession ; piece after piece was produced with lavish expenditure, and the dram- atic and orchestral force were kept up to the public requirement. Some changes were made in the stage department, but the personnel of the company remained, on the whole, the same: The leading gentleman and lady of the first season were Mr. George Chaplin and Miss Annie Graham. In 1873, Mr. Lewis Morrison and Miss Ellie Wilton held respectively those positions, and in the Fall of the same year, Mr. Barton Hill became stage manager. The next year, Miss Belle Pateman was leading lady ; Mr. Mor- rison was succeeded by Mr. Thomas Keane as leading man, who held the position until Mr. Mc- Cullough's retirement. The successive low-com- edians of the company were Messrs. Williamson, Pateman, and C. R. Bishop, and the orchestral department was under the direction of Mr. Charles Schultz. To the names of- all these ladies and gentle- men, I might add those of Henry Edwards, John Wilson, W. A. Mestayer, Owen Marlowe, Ebeii Plympton, Stephen W. Leach, E. N. Thayer, Memories of an Old Actor. 365 Fred Franks, William Barry, J. N. Long, Nelson Decker, Frank Kilday, W. B. Curtis, J. P. Bur- net, Louis Harrison, and J. Tighe ; of Mrs. Judah, Mrs. Saunders, Helen Tracy, Minnie Wal- ton, Carrie Wyatt, Nellie Cummings, Rellie Deaves, Louisa Chambers, Sophie Edwin, Georgie Woodthorpe, Louisa Johnstone, Kate Benin, Maggie Moore, Alice Harrison, Belle Chapman, Eleanor Carey, Frankie McClellan, and very many more who were in the " stock " during the palmy days of the " California Theatre," some of whom are now "stars" in their own right, and some have passed away, never to return. Among the stellar luminaries I recall the names of Lawrence Barrett, Chanfrau, Bouci- cault, Sothern, May Howard, Shiel Barry, Ade- laide Neilson, John Raymond, Wm. Hoskins, Mrs. Bowers, Rose Eytinge, Edwin Adams, Charles Fechter, Mr. and Mrs. W. J. Florence, Lizzie Price, Catharine Rodgers, Modjeska, Owens, Rose Evans, Augusta Dargon, De Bar, Edwin Booth, Alice Dunning, Ada Cavendish, Frank Mayo, Janauscheck, Fanny Davenport, Jeffreys-Lewis, and yet the half not told. Of all these the writer has pleasant " memor- ies " because, as my friend Mr. Henry Edwards truthfully says, in his feeling oration at John McCullough's tomb, " there was a something in 366 Memories of an Old Actor. the atmosphere of thoughtful kindness that per- vaded the place, that made everyone who came within its influence feel the calm comforts of a home ;" and we both of us speak ' ' Of that which we do know. ' ' One of the pleasant outgrowths of those happy days in the California Theatre was the or- ganization of the " California Theatre Boat Club." Among the leading spirits of the club were Messrs. Wm. Mestayer, Thomas Gossman and John Trueworthy ; the somewhat unsylph-like frame of the first was unfitted for continuous effort with the ash, but the two latter were powerful members of the " California Crew," which gener- ally captured the laurels from all opponents. The organization was composed mainly of at- tachees of the theatre, reinforced by a few gen- tlemen from the outside, among whom was my old friend Dr. Knowlton, so well known to all San Francisco for superior skill in his profession, and for his websterian faculty of combining the elements, which, when in proper combination, make a fish chowder a " feast for the gods." The club utilized this faculty at their merry- makings, and the Doctor was always a willing volunteer. I append a few lines, which, at his request, I wrote for one of those festive gather- ings Memories of an Old Actor. 367 SONG OF THE CALIFORNIA THEATRE BOAT CLUB. No fairer sight beneath the light Shed by the god of day Was ever seen by mortal e'en Than San Francisco Bay. No stouter arms or truer hearts In all the Union wide Than those that skim its crested waves And stem- its restless tide. Chorus Then raise on high the joyous shout And let the chorus swell . The California Boat Club ! hip, hip, hurrah ! With lapstreak or with shell. Enthroned in state by the Golden Gate The queenly city sends Her crowds of youth and beauty forth To greet their stalwart friends Whose manhood with the bending blade Was never known to quail ; Whose muscle in the sharpest "spurt " " Knows no such word as fail. " Chorus Then raise on high, etc. Then clear the track, craft all aback, The racers now are placed, Each oarsman grips the sturdy ash And every nerve is braced. The signal gun they're off! hurrah ! The stake-boat soon is reached, The California's round it first ; They're on the homeward stretch. Chorus Then raise on high, etc. The line is crossed, the flag is won, The rattling contest ends, The vanquished know no bitterness, True oarsmen all are friends. And the victor California's boys No sordid triumph feel, For they honor every foeman Who is worthy of their steel. Chorus Then raise on high, etc. 368 Memories of an Old Actor. During Mr. McCullough's management many eminent personages visited the theatre, of whom, one especially eminent, not only as a ruler, but as a man, may be individualized the Emperor Dom Pedro of Brazil. He attended a matinee performance on the 28th of April, 1876, the play being " King Lear," selected by himself. No extraordinary preparations were made for his re- ception ; with one or two attendants he came as a private gentleman, and the only recognition of the illustrious visitor's presence was the trophy of Brazilian flags twined over the mezzanine box which he occupied. His Brazilian majesty seemed greatly interested in the performance, paying, I think, quite as much attention to the book of the play, which he held in his hand, as to the actors on the stage. . Between the fourth and fifth acts a little girl entered the box and presented him with a bouquet, when he took the little one upon his knee and made her proud with a kiss truly is it said, " One touch of nature makes the whole world kin." And when the play concluded, walked quietly through the lobby to a coach in waiting, with no notice of his rank from any one, other than that of courtesy, as he passed. A word or two more, and the " California The- atre " and all that pertains thereto is dropped from my pages. The Patemans are in England; Memories of an Old Actor. 369 Mr. Morrison is traveling with his own com- pany ; Mr. Thomas Keane is also traveling with his own company ; Mr. Williamson has been for some years a successful manager in Australia ; Bishop Charley Bishop, " too handsome for anything," and whose look alone is enough to put a "soul under the ribs of death" is still playing in San Francisco ; Harry Edwards has been for many years at Wallack's Theatre, in New York ; John Wilson has gone to a better land as have Owen Marlowe and William Barry. Mestayer has been his own manager for many a year, and made a fortune ; and so has Curtis ; Eben Plympton has risen to high rank, and commands his own terms ; Ste- phen Leach lives in Oakland, California, and nurses the musical talent of the Bohemian Club in San Francisco ; and Louis Harrison is his own manager, and banks his own money. Of the " stars " whose names I have enumer- ated, seven have paid the " debt of nature," and the rest still gleam in the theatric horizon. Mr. Barton Hill and Mr. Robert Eberle still live ; the former is acting in the eastern cities, and the latter is the efficient manager of Mr. Hayman's company, at the Baldwin Theatre in San Francisco. Of the ladies named as being members of the stock company, I think all but four survive. 370 Memories of an Old Actor. Mr. John Raymond, whose name is in my stellar list of the California Theatre, was the low-comedian of the company, I believe, during the first season, when Mr. Lawrence Barrett was associated in the management. He has been eminently successful and, indeed, deserves to be, for where shall we find his match ? I am reminded here of a ludicrous incident which occurred when he was manager ; perhaps he has forgotten it I had almost forgotten it myself; but I think it was in 1871, in San Jose, where he opened a theatre, a new one, and made " his pile" in a week. The play was " Richard III," and the " Rich- ard" was Mr. McCullough. Of course, Manager Raymond could not lavish so much money on the appointments and scenery of his new theatre as if he had been the lessee for a year instead of a week, and the armies of the representatives of the contending houses of York and Lancaster were somewhat spare in numbers and meagre in dress and armament ; to tell the truth, although I suppose John would deny it, he sent ''Rich- mond" on the stage with an army of one man. " Oxford," in addressing the Earl, says "Your words have fire, my lord, and warm our men, Who looked methought but cold before disheartened By the unequal numbers of the foe"- Memories of an Old Actor. 371 "Oxford" looked round, and seeing "Rich- mond's" gallant army of one man, ill-dressed, with a tin-foil helmet on his head, standing " all forlorn," he took in the situation at once, and changed his speech to " Your words have fire, my lord, and warm this man," etc. It was a judicious departure from the text of Shakespeare, and the San Jose critics never uttered a word of censure. One ludicrous thing reminds me of another which occurred in the Old Theatre in Sacra- mento. A certain member of a company then in occupation of the theatre was addicted to occasional intemperance ; he was naturally of a serious deportment, and in excuse for his indul- gence always avowed that the propensity was a disease that it was, in short, a fiat of the Almighty that he should be' drunk, and he had to submit. On the night in question he went before the audience so inebriated, that their dis- pleasure was shown by a general hiss, when, staggering to the front of the stage, he laid his hand on his heart, and throwing a look of drunken solemnity around, exclaimed, " La- ladies and gent-gent-lemen, a visitation of God!" and staggered off. For some time after, the irreverent men about town were wont to invite to the social glass by suggesting " a visitation of God." 372 Memories of an Old Actor. Mr. McCullough was for a short time the lessee of the " Baldwin Theatre," and it was opened with the " School for Scandal," intro- ducing Mrs. John Drew. This lady was, and I believe, still is, manageress of a Philadelphia theatre; and her " Lady Teazle " was pronounced by the critics " perfectly delightful in grace and movement and gesture, and all the qualifications which bespeak the true artist." Mrs. John Drew was the little Miss Lane whom I remembered in the Tremont Theatre, nearly fifty years before. In August, 1878, I was engaged at the Opera House, and there met Mrs. Scott-Siddons. This lady reminded me in her style and method of Mrs. Mowatt; she possessed grace, but lacked power. On the i6th of November, the " Semi- Centennial Testimonial tendered by the public of San Francisco to Walter M. Leman, on his com- pletion of fifty years' service on the stage," took place. On this occasion, I had the volunteer assistance of a large number of ladies and gen- tlemen connected with the theatre, and of several gentlemen prominent in social life. It was a brilliant financial success, the great theatre being absolutely full. In point of fact, the semi-cen- tennial date had passed, for I had commenced in 1827. Memories of an Old Actor. 373 A poetical address, written especially for the occasion, was spoken by the beneficiary, of which the following lines are a portion': ' ' The old man links the present with the past, His step is firm, although his locks are white ; You have met him often amid scenes of mirth, Yet scarcely happier than he is to-night ; You have often seen him in his mimic life, Play the sad semblance of a dark despair ; You have seen him, when reality most real, Found echo only in the listening air. His cup is full this last most welcome boon His grateful heart fills brimming full and cheers ; But why assert in words ? since I am sure His face an index of his heart appears. " This neat and friendly offering was from the pen of B. P. Moore, Esq. On the first of December, I left San Francisco on the Steamer " Great Republic " for Portland, Oregon, nnder engagement to Mr. John Maguire, then manager of the " New-Market Theatre " in that city. His acting manager was Mr. Marcus R. Mayer. The season commenced with Miss Ada Cavendish and was one of moderate success. My visit to Portland is one of happy memories, for I met old friends, and the continuation of my tour made me familiar with some of the grandest scenery on the continent. At Vancouver, which was for many years the principal trading-post of the Hudson Bay Company, and is now one of the 374 Memories of an Old Actor. prominent military stations of trie great North- west, I found in the garrison some gentlemen of my acquaintance, who became soldiers at their country's call, and remained in the army after peace returned. The post was under the command of General Sully, a scar-worn veteran, who was, I think, a brother of the famous painter of that name. He must have imbibed some of his brother's tastes, for the pretty little theatre in the garrison was decorated with scenes, most of which were painted by him. The General died not long after my visit. From Portland, a small company, of which I was one, started for the thriving town of Walla Walla, the center of a wonderfully rich grain region, where but a few years back the painted savage held undisputed sway. At Van- couver, the boat took on board General Howard and Aid, and our trip up the Upper Columbia was one to be remembered. I had not then seen the Rhine I have since. There are no old feudal castles on the first-named river and none are needed to make it what it is, in every point of grandeur and beauty by far the finer of the two. At Wallula, another novelty awaited me: the chiefs and head men of a small Indian tribe, I forget the name, were to meet General Howard for a " talk " and I was present, with some ladies and gentlemen of our company, in the dingy room where the talk was held. The principal Memories of an Old Actor. 375 spokesman was an old chief, " Homily," who, as General Howard afterwards assured me, had always been a friend to the whites and a u good Indian," in spite of the growing opinion, that no Indians 'can be " good," except dead ones. The General told us, that all of these red men would want to shake hands, and would take offense if refused, and so we went through the proffered hand-shake with each one in succession. The council, or talk, broke up in about an hour. At Wallula we took the railroad for Walla Walla, a distance, as I remember, of some thirty odd miles. Walla Walla is a beautiful town, full of life and energy, with spacious houses of busi- ness and elegant homes. In this pretty town where we contemplated a stay of but three weeks, we remained six ; and went for three or four nights to " Dayton," thirty or forty miles dis- tant, through a grain region where a yield of from forty to forty-five and fifty bushels to the acre is, I believe, the rule and not the exception ; the wheat of the Walla Walla country is world famous. I spent a pleasant day while in Walla Walla at the Cavalry Post, some three miles from the town, where I had an opportunity to see for the first time an exciting series of cavalry maneu- vers, and I remember a funny object which, how- ever, was looked upon with indifference by the 376 Memories of an Old Actor. soldiers one of their number walking about within prescribed limits, enclosed in a barrel minus its two heads the culprit seemed to care as little for his disgrace as the lookers on. One of the men told me that he lived in that barrel half of the time, " for he would get drunk, barrel or no barrel." We returned to Portland, and on the 8th of April, recommenced with the engagement of Miss Rose Ey tinge, which continued for two weeks, and thence started for another section of our wide-spread republic, which I had long wanted to see the Puget Sound region, and who so does not see it, misses the sight of what I think is in the near future destined to be the " promised land." Puget Sound, our beautiful Mediterra- nean of the Northwest, indented with bays and inlets deep enough to float the largest iron-clad ; its shores skirted with mighty forests, above which " Tacoma " towers with his 15,000 feet of glistening snow can hardly be described by description it must be seen. We played in Olympia at the head of the Sound, where the hotel a good one was kept by a colored woman, a refugee slave who had escaped, and found a far- away home among the free, and ate oysters abundant in quantity, minute in size and sweet in flavor. From thence by steamer to Seattle, beautifully situated like an amphitheatre on the Memories of an Old Actor. 377 shore of the Sound, and hoping to be, like many other places, the " great city of the Northwest," in which race it seems thus far to have the ad- vantage ; and again by steamer over that beauti- ful inland sea to Port Townsend, and across the straits to the quaint and interesting city of Vic- toria, within the realm of her gracious Majesty of that name, where we remained for a week, which was moderately remunerative and in- finitely enjoyable, and returned to Portland, where we took steamer and sailing down the river crossed the angry bar in safety, and so to San Francisco. CHAPTER XVII. Mr. Robinson Miss Georgia Woodthorpe Mr. Samuel W. Piercy Captain Jack Crawford Romeo and Juliet Ben- efit The Stage Its Influence on Society The Starring System An American Drama Europe Killarney The Irish Problem Chester Glasgow The Land o ' Burns Rothsay Castle Stirling Edinburgh Abbotsford Lon- don Obsequies of Grant Paris Venice Verona and its Amphitheatre Home. IN the middle of October, 1879, 1 again left the Pacific metropolis, playing in the cities of Oakland, San Jose, Stockton, Sacramento, Reno and Carson, and thence to Virginia City, where Miss Ada Cavendish joined us for a week, and Mr. Frank Mayo for another, and returning home- ward, closed at the " California Theatre " my last engagement, and practically terminated in San Francisco a theatrical career which commenced fifty-two years and four months before, in Boston, Massachusetts. There have been since then, occasional renew- als, as for the benefit of a charity, or to serve an old friend, or assist in the production of a new Memories of an Old Actor. 379 play, the last of which occurred in February, 1886, at the " Bush Street Theatre," in Bouci- cault's comedy of the "Jilt," fifty-nine years from the time I tumbled over " Petruchio's " legs as " Nicholas," in the " Taming of the Shrew." There were with me, in my visit to Portland and Victoria, three individuals who deserve men- tion in these reminiscences, the first of whom should by no means be omitted in any record that treats of " old Californians " connected with the stage. Dr. Robinson, the father of " Sue Robinson," the " fairy star," of whom I have previously spo- ken, was one of the early comers to the land of gold. He had played in all the mining regions of Oregon and California, and the lavish favors of fortune had been followed by her frowns so often that he had become indifferent alike to frown or smile. The dilapidated old theatre in Victoria, in which we played, had been erected by him twenty-five years before. I do not think that Dr. Robinson had ever received anything like regular theatrical training, but, like John R. Potter and J. P. Addams, he was " up " in everything, and some parts he played well. When I last saw him, eight years ago, he was poor. Perhaps fortune has changed and made him rich ; I hope so, with all my heart. 380 Memories of an Old Actor. Miss Georgie Woodthorpe was a little San Francisco girl, who made her first appearance on the regular boards some few years before, at the " California Theatre," as "Arthur," in '-'King John." She had developed into an actress, and made such improvement that the leading parts in juvenile tragedy and comedy found in her a fair representative. Miss Woodthorpe went East subsequently, and I am unaware of her present residence, or whether she is still on the stage or not. She had all the elements for success, if in- dustry was not wanting. The third name I recall is that of Mr. Samuel W. Piercy. This young man was a native of California, had commenced as an amateur when quite young, and obtained some little recognition during the early years of the " California Thea- tre." He went East, making rapid advancement, and returned to his native State a very fine juven- ile actor. Mr. Piercy married a lady of San Francisco, and lost her in Philadelphia within two years, but had a daughter on whom to bestow the love that had been a wife's, but not for long ; for ere a twelvemonth had elapsed, he followed the wife and mother to the tomb, far from home and kindred, but not from friends. For Samuel Piercy there was a great future, had he lived, but death came to him in loathsome shape and sud- denly, by small-pox, in the city of Boston, in Memories of an Old Actor. 381 1880. Many months after his decease his re- mains were brought to San Francisco, and re-in- terred in the family vault. It was my sad privi- lege to participate in the burial ceremonies. I may be pardoned for inserting here a short ex- tract from my funeral eulogy. "Samuel Piercy sleeps, calmy, at rest; separated not divided by a few rods of our common mother, earth, from the wife he fondly loved. Nature and humanity recognize neither prelate nor council, nor consistory, nor dogma, nor creed. The gentle zephyrs of the Pacific will blow sweetly over both, and the soft dews of heaven will descend alike upon the graves of the husband and the wife; in death they are not divided." In the month of August, 1879, I had received the nomination in convention of my fellow citi- zens, for the position of one of the "Justice's of the Peace, for the City and County of San Fran- cisco," and in the following October election had been chosen to fill the place, as " Col. Sellers " says, " by a large majority." This was previous to my last theatrical engagement, and in Janu- ary, 1880, I took my seat on the bench as one of the minor magistrates of the city and county. It can hardly be said of me that I filled the " great bard's" picture ' ' In fair round belly, with good capon lined, With eyes severe, and beard of formal cut ' '- for I had but little belly, and no beard at all ; nor was I ' ' Full of wise saws and modern instances ' ' 382 Memories of an Old Actor. for all I knew of law was gathered from a very cursory reading of " Blackstone" and a tolerable acquaintance with the requirements of the Civil Code of California. My pleasantest memories of that j udicial term are of the "happy couples" presumably happy, at least whom I united, amounting to one hundred in all. Two hundred "souls with but one" hundred "single thoughts" two hundred "hearts that beat as one" hundred! The reader will be careful to make the proper numerical distribution outside of Brigham Young's king- dom one a piece. During the summer of the year after the close of my official term, I was called upon to occa- sionally lecture, or deliver an address, and found myself at Los Angeles, where Captain Jack Crawford or "Captain Jack," as he was usually called was playing with a small theatrical com- pany. I had known this gentleman in San Francisco, where as a kind of semi-professional actor he had been connected with several organ- izations not over successful. He was a whole- souled, generous, noble-spirited fellow, had been in service on the frontier as a scout and on Crook's staff, and rode a horse as if born in the saddle. He could write very fair verses, and was a pretty good actor. Now, whether my " Captain Jack " is the Captain Crawford whom Memories of an Old Actor. 383 the Mexicans have recently murdered in Arizona or no, I know not ; I think he is ; but, if not, my Captain Jack is still a pleasant memory. And still another memory of that summer I recall ; one in conj unction with whom I gave a musical and literary entertainment in the pleas- ant burgh known as R C y. The lady was Mrs. L S C . She was the daughter of one of the most beautiful women ever seen on the London boards, who, fifty years before, had been the reigning toast among the bloods of the British metropolis. Mrs. C had made an unfortunate marriage, and was engaged in an honorable struggle with fate and poverty to rear the two dependent children that had been left upon her hands. She sang and played well, though with some exaggeration of style ; was extremely impulsive and erratic, but had a thoroughly good heart, and had sufHcient confidence in herself to attempt anything. Our joint programme of readings, recitations and musical selections produced some profit, and was repeated in S M o. From a western magazine I copy an article, of which this fair lady was the heroine : u There came, one day, from the railroad into Deer Lodge Montana, a solitary freight team, part of the burden of which were two broken- down show people. The freighter brought them 384 Memories of an Old Actor. up more through sympathy than for compensa- tion, for when they landed in the suburbs of the town they had but a lone half-dollar between them to commence business with. u The man looked anything but a showman a little pinched-up fellow, with face to drive rather than draw an audience ; but the rascal had been fortunate in striking a partner. (The ways of an actress are past finding out!) Broke, like himself, it is true, but possessing a fair wardrobe and any amount of confidence in her abilities, this lady of the stage, when the kind-hearted freighter set her down in the suburbs of our town dirty and dusty, her unartistic garments faded and worn, unkempt hair floating in the evening breeze, her shoes too much worn to afford protection from the prickly cactus was more an object of pity than of curiosity. "There was no similarity in the names of these show people. Professor and Laura Agnes sounded strangely when they traveled in one firm, lived in one wagon, and owned but one pair of blankets ; but stage people come and go in their own peculiar way, and we must take them as we find them. " Laura Agnes made good use of the river that flowed by their camping-ground, for in the morn- ing, when she strode into the office of the New Northwest, in good attire, her complexion bril- Memories of an Old Actor. 385 liant as a rose, and her face full of smiles, I did not at first recognize her as the woman who sat on the ground by the freighter's wagon the eve- ning before, crunching slap-jacks and sipping coffee from a tin cup. "Well, Laura Agnes found the editor in his den and bearded him ; she interviewed him as to the prospects of getting a paying audience in town, the price of hand bills, local blasts, etc., and was in ecstasies when she learned that no first-class troupe had played there since the immortal Jack Langrische had swept the town of its last dollar ; as luck would have it, a new hall had but recently been completed for banquet and ball purposes, and altogether Laura Agnes' star, that had set in the unappreciative Sierras, was beginning to rise in glory to shine forth 'mid the valleys of the everlasting Rockies. She made an impression on the editor, I think (those actresses are such winning things) ; he was a bachelor, and a long way from home, and he told Laura Agnes that if saying good things of her would bring her good- luck, then she might count on a house that would do her eyes good. "When Laura posted off to see about the hall, I took occasion to mention the little history of her, that I had from the freighter, that I thought it my duty to inform him of the state of Laura Agnes' finances, and that I believed that she was 386 Memories of an Old Ac/or. owner of just a half dollar. The editor was a man noted for his kindness of heart, and his de- sire to see everybody prosper, and he only re- plied that if she was down we must help her on her feet again. "Well, Lanra Agnes returned to the office with the cosmetics fairly running from her face, bear- ing the announcement that the hall was secured, and that we could go on with our good words, and then returned to the wagon to gather her little baggage and wait the appearance of the paper, which was to come out in the afternoon, satisfied that she had found friends in a strange land. Then we went to work and got up the post- ers ; they were immense ; they could be seen afar off. There had never been seen such an artist on that side of the range before (so the bill said) , and probably never would be again. It was the only opportunity, now was the accepted time to see and hear the great Laura Agnes Conie one ! Come all ! "In the meantime Laura and her tag had taken rooms in the highest-priced hotel in town, and was treading majestically to and fro on the bal- cony where she could be seen to the best advan- tage from the street. " When the paper made its appearance that afternoon, Laura must have been astonished to learn that she had played before all the crowned of an Old Actor. 387 heads of Europe ; had crossed the ocean and startled the greatest cities of the East with her wonderful acting, but above all, must have been surprised to learn through the local columns of the New Northwest, that to her money was no ob- ject, that, having already a large bank account laid away, she had come to the mountains merely to recuperate and get away from the excitements of the stage for a time, and had only consented at the earnest request of a few who had heard of her fame to give an entertainment at Deer Lodge. That evening, nearly every man in town, married and single, took supper at the hotel (ostensibly, to get a square meal), but in reality, to get a square look at the wonderful Laura Agnes. OPERA MAD OPERA MAD; OR, ROMEO AND JULIET, Greeted the eyes of the Deer Lodgers at every turn next day, and some of the bills found their way into the nearest mining camp, ten miles away. The theatre was all the rage, the price of admission was fixed at one dollar, which was next to nothing in those days, and the large hall was jammed long before the curtain rose. " At last, the bell tingled l all ready ;' the cur- tain slid hurriedly to one side ; for a quarter of a minute after you could have heard a canary Memories of an Old Ac feather drop, then came one spontaneous out- bnrst that shook the very ground on which the building stood ; there was nobody on the stage but Romeo; he was the most forlorn looking lover that ever appeared on any stage ; he stood slantwise to the audience, a wild vacant stare in his eyes, like a dead man looking off into the other world. " Romeo was a cheap man in ever}* sense ; his foundation was a block of wood, in which two sticks were inserted for legs, on which rested a bust of some kind, and on this a block for a head, and over this a false face and one of Laura's wigs ; a hugh mustache set around on one side of his mouth did not help his looks ; he was dressed in a red cambric gown, and this was the Romeo a perfect blockhead in every respect. ' That's a wooden man, too dead to skin.' said some one in the crowd ; this brought forth another roar of applause ; when this was over, a miner rose np on a back seat and shou: 'We've seen Romeo, now -bring on your Julio !' which was followed by cheers and cries of 'Julio! Julio!' " After a minute or two, the curtains of a little dressing room in the farthest corner of the hall parted, and ' Julio J strode majestically across the stage and made her courtesy amid the wile uproar. Memories of an Old Actor. 389 " When the audience had calmed down a little, she explained that she was supposed to be a young lady, who had gone opera-mad, and was practicing with an imitation Romeo, preparatory to going on the stage. A lad}^ in town had lent a piano for the occasion, and Laura sang and played in a manner that surprised the natives, after which she made love to Romeo after a style that kept the house in a continuous roar. But Romeo couldn't be prevailed upon to return her demonstrations of love, and when she would rush at him with outstretched arms and beseech him to speak to her, to embrace her just once, he would only stare at her with those frightful eyes but it invariably brought down the house. Once, when she rushed at him, threw her arms about his neck and called upon him to embrace her, a man on a front seat became so impatient at Romeo's indifference, that he sprang to his feet and shouted ' Go for her, Romeo, or let some one there that can ! ' u Between acts, Laura Agnes sang and played, and spun strange yarns until near midnight, and it was only with the greatest reluctance that the seats were vacated then. If ever an audience got the worth of their money invested, it was that one. Laura announced an entire change of programme for the next night, but on the follow- ing day a petition was presented to the successful 390 Memories of an Old Actor. Laura, requesting her to repeat the programme of the previous evening, and give them ' Romeo and Julio ' over again, and her fame went out into the mountains that day, and the second house was even greater than the first. " But Laura Agnes' success didn't end in Deer Lodge. She made a tour of the Territory and was everywhere greeted with the best of houses. It was at Pioneer, however, where the admiration for her acting swept the whole town off its feet and brought downfall to Romeo. At that time, there were in Pioneer seven or eight hundred miners and not a stingy one among them. The mines were rich and everybody made money, but they only made it for the fun of spending it. Some of the miners had been to Deer Lodge, when Laura played there, and when she passed through Pioneer on her way to the Missoula country, a committee of miners waited on her, and promised her, that if she would play there on her return, every man in the diggings would go to hear her. Laura fulfilled her promise and was on hand at the appointed time. The people went wild ; mining and business *of all kinds suspended and Laura Agnes realized what it was to play to an audience of gold miners, who didn't care for expense, so they had fun. The hall was filled and men climbed on top of each others' shoul- ders to see Laura, when she made love to Romeo. Memories of an Old Actor. 391 Between the acts the house was emptied and the saloons were filled, and when the last scene was over, the town was in a glorious state of intoxi- cation. In the excitement of the closing scene, Romeo got separated from ' Julio ' and was borne by the boys to a saloon, where he was stood up at the bar, and made to take part in the midnight orgies of the miners. He was drenched with whisky, until the paint came off his face and not a dry stitch was left upon him. While in this condition, he was pushed against a man too drunk to know the difference. He imagined he was assaulted by one of the boys, and pitched into Romeo, while the crowd stood back and urged him to ' give it to him ' for insulting him. Romeo went down in the battle and when his adversary had done with him, he was completely demolished ; his red coat was torn to shreds, his nose bit off, his eyes gouged out and his cheeks smashed in. The pieces were gathered up and laid behind the bar and the miners went on with their drinking and carousing. "In the meantime, Laura Agnes had become uneasy about Romeo, and had sent a man to look him up. The man found him' lying all in a heap in the saloon. Some one suggested that the frag- ments of Romeo be gathered together and re- turned to his mistress with a suitable apology. He was stretched on a board and carried by two 392 Memories of an Old Actor. men to the hotel, while a crowd followed at their heels to see the fun. "Laura was at the breakfast table with a good many others, when her dead Romeo was carried in and deposited in the center of the hall ; then one of the pall-bearers addressed her in the most solemn tone : " 'Madam, it becomes my most painful duty to present to you the remains of your beloved Ro- meo. He would run with the boys last night, and would drink, and would fight, and this is what is left of him.' "Laura gazed at the figure a moment, then rose up, and with a scream that brought a rush to the breakfast room, fell upon Romeo. ' Dead ! dead!' she exclaimed ; ' my Romeo my dear Romeo, speak to me this once ! tell me you love me ! it cannot be that he is dead ! Romeo ! Romeo ! my darling Ronieo ! Yes, yes, he is dead ! dead ! Oh, Romeo, Romeo, Ronieo !' and with tears stream- ing down her cheeks, tumbled over on the dilap- idated remains of Ronieo, to all appearances, as dead as a mackerel. " The miners couldn't stand this last act, and made a rush for the door, their solemn faces and glistening eyes telling their suppressed emotions. "No sooner was the room cleared than Laura Agnes sprang up from the floor, wiped her eyes, and sat down to the breakfast table again, laugh- Memories of an Old Actor. 393 ing at the manner in which she had u played it" npoii the boys. "The miners returned to the saloon, a sad-look- ing set, where they raised among themselves a purse of dnst large enough to buy a regiment of Romeos. "When the stage called at the hotel that morn- ing to take Laura Agnes on her way back to Deer Lodge, the miners gathered round to bid her good bye, and as she took her seat, the purse was tossed into her lap and Laura was ' gone from their gaze.' "This remarkable woman left the mountains with many regrets and many dollars." Since Mrs. C 's profitable adventures in Montana, she must have experienced severe re- verses, for she was very poor. I honored her for her perseverance and courage in fighting the bat- tle of life, and for her fidelity to her children, who were entirely dependent upon her, their father, the little " pinched-up " fellow who rode with Laura Agnes into Deer Lodge in the freight wagon, having deserted her and them. I have now to record an event which is one of the most grateful "memories " of a long life. It will be stated in the most succinct manner by copying the heading of the " California Theatre" bill, of June 22d, 1881 : 394 Memories of an Old Actor. SPECIAL WEDNESDAY MATINEE. JUNE 22, 1881. GRAND BENEFIT Tendered by the members of the Madi- son Square Theatre Company, and the resident dramatic profession TO WALTER M. ICEMAN. The programme included selections from the " School for Scandal," the opera of " La Mas- cotte," and two acts of " As You Like It." To all of the ladies and gentlemen who zealously participated in this gracious offering, I felt and still feel grateful a gratitude of the heart, rath- er than of spoken or written words. In August, of the same year, I received the nomination in convention of my fellow citizens, for the office of " Public Administrator of the City and County of San Francisco." The result of the election may be briefly told in the follow- ing editorial, copied from the columns of the San Francisco Evening Bulletin: "THE HIGHEST ON THE TICKET. "It has turned out just as though it had been a play. The ' good man ' of the play, if it be not a tragedy, always comes off nicely with his audience. He thwarts villainy, protects innocence, and is assured of sympathetic applause. More- over, great is his reward, generally, in the drama. When the curtain falls, it falls upon the fullness of his night's honors^ Memories of an Old Actor. 395 " Perhaps he imagines himself for the time being, the ac- tual character that he personates. Mr. L,eman has for years without count been the ' good man ' of the stage. How many mimic rascals he has brought to deserved justice in his long career as an actor he could not approximately number himself. His efforts and successes on the boards, excellently rendered, have brought to him great popularity; no political services have given him nominations and votes. ' ' Theatre-goers of all parties know him in a pleasant way, and have assisted him in his candidacies. Although nothing of a lawyer, yet he has made an acceptable justice of the peace for this city. His decisions have been formed on the plain principle of right between man and man ; they have not been misguided by such legal technicalities as commonly have weight in the lowest of our courts. His success in that pub- lic capacity warranted his party in tendering him this year the nomination for the far more important office of Public Administrator. He is elected, and both his vote and his ma- jority are greater than those of any of his associates on the ticket. It is the 'good man's' special victory. He was popular with Democrats as well as with Republicans. If more of the voters had seen him act frequently, it is quite probable that his majority would have been even much larger. As it is, it must be to his sufficient gratification. If he shall make as good a Public Administrator as he did a Justice of the Peace, he may never have occasion to return to his old pro- fession." The result of the election in the following year was disastrous to the political party which had my allegiance. The tidal wave which swept the Union and the State swallowed up all oppo- sition in the city and county and not one can- didate on the ticket whereon was printed my name was chosen ; all went down together. I 396 Memories of an Old Actor. accepted the situation, without loss of appetite, or sleep, or spirits. I hope that I may not incur the charge of self-adulation, by saying that all the estates that came into my hands, during my incumbency, were settled and closed within a twelvemonth from the end of my official term. This is to me a pleasant memory, and all the more so, that it is justly complimentary to the legal ability and promptitude of my attorney and friend, Frank J. French, Esq., of the San Francisco Bar. Nearly four years have passed, and six have already been added to man's allotted " three score and ten." If on the active stage of the Drama or in the arena of Politics I may no longer live and move, I still may and do feel a deep interest in the honor and purity of both. The uses and abuses of the stage have been defended and anathematized since the dawn of the drama, and will be to the end of time. In our own land there are very many who, if not opponents of the drama and the stage, still take a pessimist view of the theatre and its influence on society. They shrug their shoulders and say, " Oh ! if we could have a pure drama, an American drama untainted with the leaven of vice ! If we could have a moral stage ! " Memories of an Old Actor. 397 These are without doubt very suggestive Sfs y and carry weight in view of the questionable imbecilities which a class of modern translators and adapters have inflicted on the public. The revolution in the control and conduct of the theatre, which has been effected within the last two decades, has been attended especially in our own country with great detriment to the best interests and influence of the drama. The disbandment of regularly organized the- atrical companies, where the young actor was by a proper training fitted for his calling, and taught how to play subordinate parts before being en- trusted with leading ones, and the unlimited extension of the starring system (which in its inception was vicious) have been most disas- trous. We shall have a pure drama, an American drama worthy of the name, when playwrights cease to write plays with one part only ; when managers relegate the transplanted drama of the demi-monde to the place of its birth, and have sufficient judgment to discover merit, when the playwright possesses it, even if he should have the misfortune to be born on this side of the Atlantic. And the American Theatre will have a better moral standing when municipal magistrates have sufficient consideration for the youth who are 398 Memories of an Old Actor. destined in the immediate future either to honor or disgrace their country, and sufficient official firmness to close the filthy "dives" of our cities where men are degraded, women debauched, and the Drama bastardized by the manager (God save the mark !) who calls his den a theatre. And when elderly gentlemen, with scanty hair upon their heads, take their wives and daughters to the boxes to listen to Shakespeare, instead of going solus to the front-orchestra seats, with opera-glass exactly focused to see the Queen of the Ballet. ' ' Fair Angiolini bare her breast of snow, Wave her white arms and point her pliant toe. ' ' I dare to hope that the time is not far distant when the genius and spirit of our land will be as ably illustrated in the field of dramatic com- position as they are now in every other branch of literature ; as they are at the bar, in the pul- pit and forum ; as they have been, and are, by all her victories in the arts of peace, no less than by her triumphs on the slippery deck and bloody battle-field. With brief reference to a short tour in the British Islands and Central Europe, this record of the remembrances of an old actor may prop- erly close. On the 23d of June, 1885, I landed from a Cunard steamer at Queenstown the Cove of Memories of an Old Actor. 399 Cork one of the finest harbors in the United Kingdom, and from the city of Cork went, with- out stopping to kiss the blarney stone, to the Killarney region, where lakes and fells and mountains are hallowed by romance and legend and story, and celebrated in poetry and song. With a glance at the Currah of Kildare, I next found myself in Dublin, and learned to know how false and unjust our impressions may some- times be, for Dublin is a beautiful city, embel- lished with costly public and private edifices, with every evidence to the stranger of municipal good government. My stay in the Green Isle was necessarily brief. It is a lovely land, where the blessings which God vouchsafes to his creatures seem ever destined to be marred by the perversity of man. Whose perversity is most responsible for the evil I will not undertake to say ; why Lord Kenmare and Mr. Herbert, with their vast and magnificent estates in the Killarney region, should be unable to collect twenty per cent of their rental, and are made practically poor by their great wealth ; and why the Killarney mountaineers should be in abject penury beneath a sky and in a land so bright and lovely, is beyond my ken. Perhaps the " Irish problem," as it is called, is near solution ; let us hope that it is. 400 Memories of an Old Actor. I met a pompous u Binney, the Butler," in the hotel at Killarney, and was bored by an ignorant prig in attendance at the " castle," in Dublin, but I found the women of Ireland modest, gentle and attractive ; the men frank, honest and sin- cere. Across the Irish Channel, rolling on by the ruins of Conway Castle, grand in decay, to Ches- ter, with its walls and battlements that have stood a thousand years ; thence to the great mart of Liverpool, in all things the antipodes of Ches- ter, to Glasgow, the industrial and commercial metropolis of Scotland, with its grand cathedral (now restored), whose history would be an epit- ome of the ecclesiastical history of Scotland, and its grand necropolis ; down the Clyde to Greenock ; thence to Ayr, the " land o' Burns," where I met the last surviving relative of the poet, his niece, Miss Begg, a bright, intelligent lady, 73 years of age ; and wandered amid "The banks and braes o' Bonny Doon. " On the banks of the Frith of Clyde, ten miles below Greenock, I visited the old ruin, Rothsay Castle, with its legend of the Norse warrior and the Lady Isabella ' ' And oft in the murk and midnight hour, When a' is silent there, A shriek is heard, and a ladye is seen On the steps o ' the bluidy stair. ' ' Memories of an Old Actor. 401 From there, up the Frith to Dunbarton Castle, to the summit of which I mounted this forti- fied rock contains the* sword of Wallace and so to Loch Lomond, skimming its surface by steamer, and returning by rail to Glasgow. I came suddenly upon the monument and tomb of James Sheridan Knowles spoken of in a preceding chapter in the Glasgow necropolis ; the memories of fifty years and more came back as I looked upon his grave-tablet, and I could hardly realize that the dust of the genial Irish- man the brilliant dramatist the energetic act- or and, strange to write it, the controversial clergyman was at my feet. From the walls of Stirling Castle I looked forth upon six battle-fields, and climbed the mas- sive tower, surmounting the Abbey Craig, which tells of the glory won by Wallace and Bruce on Bannockburn beneath. Edinburgh, the most picturesque city I saw while abroad, held me enchained by its mighty memories. I sat in the chair of the " Wizard " of Abbotsford and held in niy hand the ivory and mother-of-pearl cross, that Mary Stuart held in hers, when she mounted the scaffold. I roamed in Melrose Abbey, and lingered in Ross- lyn Chapel, and explored the vaults of the mighty old Norman Keep, that stands on the banks of the Esk. 26 402 Memories of an Old Actor. Edinburgh Castle the Canongate Holy Rood ! The very names bring back, not to me only, the memories of a visit, but to all mankind the " memories " of seven centuries. I found myself in London in July, where within the national place of sepulture whose monuments " epitomize a people's history," where kings and queens, warriors and statesmen, and the intellectually great of the past lie side by side in eternal silence I sat, when a high dig- nitary of the Church in the presence of hereditary nobility and the representatives of royalty, rank and power, paid a noble tribute to the strength, self-control and magnanimity of the simple sol- dier, whose deeds have become his country's heritage, in these words : ' ' Such careers as Grant 's are the glory of the American continent ; they show that the people have a sovereign insight into intrinsic force. If Rome told with pride how her dictat- ors came from the plough-tail, America, too, may record the answer of the President, who, on being asked " What should be his Coat-of- Arms ? " answered, proudly mindful of his early struggles : "A pair of shirt-sleeves. " ' ' The answer showed a noble sense of the dignity of labor, a noble superiority to the vanities of feudalism, a strong con- viction that men are to be honored simply as men, not for the prizes of accident and birth. " No more trenchant words were ever uttered in Westminster Abbey and we, who sat in the place of honor, looked in each others' eyes, proud that Memories of an Old Actor. 403 we were born in a land, that produced a rnan worthy of such a eulogy in such a place. I lingered on my way from the Scotch metrop- olis long enough in York to see the great Min- ster, and in Durham to inspect its famous Cathedral "Half house of God, half castle 'gainst the Scot." From London to Paris, to Basle, to Lucerne, to Interlaken, Berne, Lausanne and Geneva ; thence by Chamounix, via the Tete-Noir Pass, to Mar- tigny and Brieg on the Swiss frontier ; over the Simplon to Pallanza on Lake Maggiore, through the chain of Italian lakes to Como and from there by rail to Milan and thence to Venice. When I left Venice, I doubled on my route for the short distance between Venice and Verona, where, within the mighty circle of that heathen temple, erected two hundred and forty years before Christ was born, I sat, where the beauties of Verona once sat with smiling faces and cruel hearts, and, like their sisters in Vespasian's still mightier temple, turned down their thumbs as a signal for the slaughter of the conquered gladi- ator "Butchered to make a Roman holiday," And lingered for a while in contemplation at the Apochryphal Tomb of Juliet. From Verona I went northwardly, via the Tyrol, to Innspruck, 404 Memories of an Old Actor. and from there to Munich, next to Strassburg, Heidelberg, Frankfort, Mayence, down the Rhine to Cologne, Amsterdam, The Hague, Antwerp, Brussels and Ostend, and, recrossing the Chan- nel to Dover, sped by rail again to London. On leaving the great city, I crossed central England in order to visit Stratford-on-Avon, Warwick and Kenilworth Castles to Liverpool and met the steamer for home. This tour, which, in addition to the British Islands, embraced a part of France, Alsace, Switzerland, Northern Italy, the Tyrol, South Germany, Holland and Belgium, is crowded with a myriad of sweet and bitter memories. I had stood upon the floor of Notre Dame, and the Saint-Chapelle, of Les Invalides, and the Pantheon, of the cathedrals of Milan and Strass- burgh and Antwerp and Cologne, of the wond- rous Basilica of St. Marc, in wondrous and "Beautiful Venice the Bride of the Sea." I had mused and pondered at the tombs of Scott and Burns and Shakespeare, had roamed through Holy Rood and Hampton Court and Windsor palaces, and wandered through the gorgeous Salons of the Louvre, the New and Old Residenz in Munich, the Doge's Palace in Venice, and other royal dwellings. Memories of an Old Actor. 405 I had gazed on some of the masterpieces of art, which can never die, while roaming through the grand museums and galleries, with which the great centers of Europe are crowded. I had mounted triumphal pillars, erected to commem- orate the glories of the great, and had thridded candle in hand the crypts of Chillon, the dungeons of the Doge's Palace, and the horrid vaults of the " Stein " in Antwerp. I had climbed the Alps and floated on the Irish and Scotch and Swiss and Italian lakes. I had strolled through many a gorgeous pleas- ure-ground, and trod the marble floors of many a baronial hall and castle, but I had been in no land in which, as in my own, the humblest and poorest citizen can easily acquire and hold a castle of his own. I had seen the grandeur of of Nature for God's work everywhere is grand but I had seen no mountain higher or whiter than " Tacorna," no lake more beautiful than 1 Tahoe," no stream so mighty as the " Missis- sippi," no valley so sublime as " Yosemite," no cataract so grand as " Niagara." Realizing, as an American, our own short- comings that we have too little respect for the restraints of law, and too little regard for moral obligations and the sanctities of home, I yet returned home an American in every fiber of my being, with small respect for the American 406 Memories of an Old Actor. who, whether his sojourn abroad be brief or otherwise, comes back with a real or pretended admiration for foreign institutions over those of his native land. On looking back over the years that are gone, I call to mind scores of dramatic luminaries of either sex, with whom at various periods of my career I have been on terms of more or less social and professional intimacy ; and also many prominent personages whom I have known with- out the dramatic pale, whose names are unmen- tioned in this volume ; but at seventy-six years of age our mnemonics lapse somewhat, and were it otherwise, the briefest individual reference to them would swell the book to unreasonable limits. The great master has told us that "All the world's a stage, And all the men and women merely players. " If in these desultory memories of a long life, the greater portion of which has been spent within the inner circle of the mimic world, and now in the course of nature rapidly drawing to its close, the writer has penned aught that will interest or beguile the tired hours of one weary struggler in the great drama played on the world's stage, his object has been attained. And so hoping, he bids his Readers courteously farewell. ^g*-*^^ ^> OP THB^^ fat W T IT "to T5 C 7 m T^ 14 DAY USE RETURN TO DESK FROM WHICH BORROWED LOAN DEPT. RENEWALS ONLY TEL. NO. 642-3405 This book is due on the last date stamped below, or on the date to which renewed. Renewed books are subject to immediate recall. IUL 1 1970 47 REC'DLD RHX C| 1 FEB 2 6 M3 APR 198T BEC. cm HfiP 8 DEC .11 1980 JUL 2 2 1988 ; i J 3 ' JAN30B92 SEP 182005|imf?ja LD21A-60m-3,'70 (N5382slO)476-A-32 General Libri University of Californis Berkeley U.C. BERKELEY LIBRARIES