CHAPTER XV.
A NEWSPAPER NOTICE.
"Yesterday afternoon, through the courtesy of Manager Frank Merriwell,an invited audience of at least five hundred persons witnessed the firstperformance of Mr. Merriwell's revised and rewritten play at the OrpheumTheater, and the verdict of that audience, which represented the highestand most cultured element of Denver society, was that the sprightly,sensational, four-act comedy drama was a success in every way. The play,which is now named 'True Blue,' was originally christened 'For Old Eli,'and, after a single performance, Mr. Merriwell withdrew it for thepurpose of rewriting it, correcting certain faults he had discovered,and strengthening one or two weak points. As he wrote the piece, he wasable to do this work of reconstruction quickly and thoroughly, and theresult is a play of which he, as author, manager and star performer, maywell be proud. The following is the cast:
DICK TRUEHEART FRANK MERRIWELL Barry Hattleman Douglas Dunton Spruce Downing Rufus Small Crack Hyerman Bartley Hodge Reuben Grass Ephraim Gallup Manny Sizzwell William Wynne Prof. Gash Roscoe Havener Edwin Treadwell William Shakespeare Burns Carius Dubad Granville Garland Spike Dubad Lester Vance Millie Blossom Miss Cassie Lee Inez Dalton Miss Stella Stanley Nancy Noodle Miss Agnes Kirk
"College life is the principal theme of 'True Blue,' and Mr. Merriwell,having studied at Yale, is quite capable of catching the air and spiritof Old Eli, and reproducing it on the stage. This he has done with adeftness and fidelity that makes the play remarkable in its class, or,possibly with greater accuracy, lifts it out of its class, for, up tothe production of this piece, all college plays have been feebleattempts to catch the spirit of the life they represent, or havedescended into the realm of farce or burlesque.
"While the author of 'True Blue' has written a play to suit the popularfancy, he has not considered it necessary to write down to the generalpublic, and, for all of the college slang, which of a necessity is usedby several of the characters, there is nothing offensive in the entirepiece--nothing to shock the sensibilties of the most refined. The comedyin places is a trifle boisterous, but that was to be expected, and itdoes not descend to mere buffoonery. It is the kind of comedy at whichthe spectator must laugh, even though he may resolve that he will not,and, when it is all over, he feels better for his laughter, instead offeeling foolish, as he does in many cases after witnessing other'popular plays.'
"The pathos strikes the right chord, and the strongest situations andclimaxes are stirring enough to thrill the most sluggish blood. In somerespects the story of the play is rather conventional, but it is handledin a manner that makes it seem almost new. Through the four acts _DickTrueheart_, the hero, is pursued by his enemies, _Carius Dubad_, andhis, worthy son, _Spike_, and on various occasions they succeed inmaking things extremely unpleasant for the popular young athlete.
"Through two acts the villains pursue the hero, keeping the audience onthe _qui vive_.
"The climax of the third act was the great sensational feature of theplay. In this act _Dick_ escapes from his enemies and all sorts ofcrafty snares, and is barely in time to take his place in the Yale boat,which is to race against Harvard and Cornell. _Carius Dubad_ hasappeared on the scene, and, at the last moment, in order to break_Dick's_ spirit, he reveals that _Dick's_ guardian has squandered hisfortune, so that the hero is penniless and will be forced to leavecollege. For all of this revelation, _Trueheart_ enters the boat andaids in winning the race against Harvard and Cornell, greatly to thediscomfiture of the villainous father and son, who have bet heavilyagainst Yale. Of course, Mr. Merriwell made Yale win in his play. Themechanism that showed the boat race on the distant river, the movingobservation train, the swaying crowds with waving flags, hats, andhandkerchiefs, was truly a most wonderful arrangement, and it filled thespectators with admiration and astonishment. A quick 'dark shift'followed, and then the boats actually appeared, with Yale the winner,and _Trueheart_ was brought onto the stage in the arms of his admiringfellow collegians, while the curtain descended amid a burst of genuineenthusiastic applause such as is seldom heard in any theater. Mr.Merriwell was called before the curtain, and he made a brief speech,which seemed modest and characteristic of this young actor andplaywright, who is certain to follow a brilliant career on the Americanstage.
"In the final act the hero was in straitened circumstances, but all endswell, with the discomfiture of old _Dubad_ and his worthy son, and thefinal settlement of all jealousies between the other characters.
"Not only as author of the play, but as the star does Frank Merriwellmerit a full meed of credit and praise. Although he is young andimpulsive, and his acting might not meet the approval of certaincritics, there was a breeziness and freshness about him that captivatedand carried the audience. It is said that he has never attended a schoolof acting, and this may readily be believed, for there is nothingaffected, nothing stiff, nothing stilted and mechanical about his workon the stage. In his case, at least, it has been greatly to hisadvantage not to attend a dramatic school. He is a born actor, and hemust work out his own methods without being hampered by convention andinstruction from those who believe in doing everything by rule. He is ahandsome young man, and his stage presence is both striking andeffective. Worthy of note was it that he enunciated every worddistinctly and pronounced it correctly, in great contrast to many otherstars, who sometimes mangle speech in a most distressing manner. He hasa voice that seems in perfect keeping with his splendid figure, beingclear as a mellow bell, full of force, and delightful to hear.
"The work of Douglas Dunton as _Barry Hattleman_ was good. Mr. Small,who is a very large man, faithfully portrayed _Spruce Downing_, the lazystudent. _Crack Hyerman_, the hot-blooded Southerner, as represented byBartley Hodge, who made the Southerner a thorough fire-eater, who wouldfight for his 'honor' at the drop of the hat. As _Reuben Grass_, EphraimGallup literally convulsed the audience. Without doubt his delineationof the Down-East Yankee was the best ever seen in Denver.
"Miss Cassie Lee played the sweet and winsome _Millie Blossom_, and hersinging and dancing met approval. The _Inez Dalton_ of Miss Stanley washandled with great skill, and she was jealous, passionate, resentful,and loving in turn, and in a manner that seemed true to life. As _NancyNoodle_, an old maid in love with _Prof. Gash_, Miss Agnes Kirk wasacceptable.
"And now comes the duty of mentioning a man who was the surprise of theevening. His name was given on the program as William Shakespeare Burns,and, as he represented a burlesque tragedian, it was supposed that thename was assumed. It has been learned, however, that this is the name bywhich he was known in real life. Mr. Burns first appeared in the secondact, and as _Edwin Treadwell_, the frayed, back-number tragedian, heliterally caused many of the audience to choke in the effort to represstheir uncontrollable laughter. At the close of the third act, a localtheatrical man declared that W. S. Burns far excelled as a comediananybody he had ever seen essay a similar part. But the sensation came inthe fourth act, when the actor started to parody _Hamlet's_ soliloquy,but seemed to forget himself and the parody together, and swung into theoriginal William Shakespeare. The laughter died out, the audience satspellbound, scarcely breathing. The eyes of every person were fixed onthe actor, who went through the soliloquy to the end, giving it with allthe power of a Forrest or a Booth. As the actor retired, the audienceawoke, realized it had seen and heard a man who was no clown, but a realtragedian, and the applause was long and loud.
"William Shakespeare Burns did not appear again on the stage of thattheater; he will not appear again on any stage. He is dead! But fewparticulars have been learned about him, but it seems that this was hisfirst attempt to play comedy--and his last. He regarded himself as theequal of any interpreter of Shakespeare, living or dead, but misfortuneand his own weakness had never permitted him to rise to the heights towhic
h he aspired. Grim necessity had compelled him to accept Mr.Merriwell's offer to play in 'True Blue' the part of the burlesquetragedian. His heart and soul had rebelled against doing so, and oftenat rehearsals he had wept with mortification after going through withhis part. His body was weakened by privation. He declared last nightthat his heart was broken. A few minutes after leaving the stage thelast time he expired in one of the dressing rooms of the theater. Thusended a life that might have been a grand success but for the failingsof weak human nature.
"Mr. Merriwell will go on the road at once with 'True Blue.' He hasengaged a competent man to fill the place made vacant by the death ofMr. Burns. His route for some little time is booked, and he leavesDenver to-day for Puelbo, where he opens to-morrow. The play, the star,and the company merit success, and we hope Mr. Merriwell will find itconvenient to play a regular engagement in this city before long. It iscertain, if he does, he will be greeted by packed houses."--_DenverHerald and Advertiser._
* * * * *
All the Denver papers contained notices of the performance, but the onequoted was the longest and the most elaborate. Not one of the noticeswas unfavorable. They were enough to make the heart of any manager glad,and it was not strange that Frank felt well satisfied.
But he was inexpressibly saddened by the sudden and tragic death ofWilliam Burns, for he had recognized the genius in the old actor, whohad been dragged down from a highroad to prosperity and fame by thehands of the relentless demon that has destroyed so many men of genius,drink.
On account of his bookings, Frank could not remain in Denver to attendthe funeral of the veteran tragedian, but he resolved that Burns shouldbe buried with all honors, and he made arrangements for a suitablefuneral.
Of course, the papers announced the funeral, and, the story of Burns'remarkable death having become familiar to all, the church was packed tothe doors. The man whose wretched life had promised a wretched death anda nameless grave was buried without pomp, but with such honors as mighthave been given to one well known and highly esteemed.
Above his grave a modest marble was placed, and chiseled on it was asingle line from the "Immortal Bard," whom he loved and understood andinterpreted with the faithfulness and fire of genius:
"After life's fitful fever, he sleeps well."
And every expense Frank Merriwell provided for. Nothing was neglected;everything was done that good taste and a good heart demanded.