The price of yearly subscription to THE THEATRE is four dollars in advance. We cannot undertake to return manuscript that is not suitable, unless we receive sufficient postage to do so. Care is always taken not needlessly to destroy valuable manuscript.

The Editor solicits contributions from the readers of THE THEATRE, and suggests that old play bills, and scraps relating to the stage, notes, news and items appertaining to the different arts, would be acceptable. It is the desire of the Editor to establish a widely-circulated magazine, and to further that end every good idea will be acted upon so far as possible.

*** All articles appearing in THE THEATRE are written especially for it unless credited otherwise.

Advertising rates of THE THEATRE will be furnished on application. Address all letters on this subject to GEORGE W. HARLAN, Manager Advertising Department.

ANNOUNCEMENT.

THE editor of THE THEATRE takes pleasure in saying that MR. HENRY EDWARDS, of Wallack's Theatre, will shortly contribute a series of valuable articles entitled "Among My Autographs." In the next number an illustrated article entitled "La Marecita."

DRIFT.

MR. BARTON KEY and Mr. Eben Plympton recently organized a company for the purpose of playing "Jack" in a number of cities. It was at a time when the season was well advanced and the people who were engaged were out of a position-some of whom were crying | for bread. There was much encouragement for the ultimate success of “Jack, but after ten weeks of travel the company was finally disbanded, after a week's engagement at the Fifth Avenue Theatre. I learn that all salaries were paid up to the last week and a half. The company had been provided with eight and a half weeks' traveling expenses, which allowed them to live with every comfort, and were also paid good salaries, and brought back to their homes in New York, with all their baggage. Messrs. Key and Plympton lost all the money they had put into the venture, however. to say nothing of much hard work and worry.

But as soon as the New York engagement was finished, and no salary for the week forthcoming, the "company" immediately uttered loud complaints, and by public utterance did much to

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hurt the credit and damage the chances of their employers. They should have thanked their lucky stars they had done so well, and have decently and quietly looked upon the trip as a business speculation in which they were benefited more than the principals. There does not seem to be any political friendship in the profession. An actor is his worst enemy in every sense of the word. The Benjamin Backbites are exceedingly numerous, and gratitude for what is really done is a very slim quality. An actor who has once commanded $125 or $150 a week for his services, would rather live on his friends, or borrow, than accept an offer for $75 or $100. In his desire not to be "underrated" he becomes a nuisance to himself when he cannot afford it. Of course, there should be in this business a certain value set upon worth, and the actor is perfectly right in demanding that; but this world is not always what we should like it, and every business man, every lawyer, every physician, and every student, of whatever profession, knows that there are hard rows to be hoed. In justice to those who are dependent on our exertions, it is better to take half a loaf than no bread at all. The public is the actor s constituency, and will always set him right. If his services are worth so and so much, he will get it by the regular demands which call forth supply, and managers will be forced to recognize this. I once knew a very clever fellow, an excellent actor, full of ambition and intelligence, who was for over six months out of employment, “because," as he said, "I do not propose to work for $50 a week when $100 is my price." His price! Meanwhile this young man was a source of much annoyance to his friends, and more than once I was led to embarrass myself to help him, although I was at the time struggling pretty hard for the same remuneration which he refused to take for his services.

HE had a wife to support, who seemed to be without many of the needs of happy life. He finally managed to obtain a position somewhere in the vicinity of his ideas, but his debts not only ate their way into his receipts uncomfortably, but he looked upon them as so many unjust demands and even persecution.

THE IDEAL OPERA COMPANY, the best organization of the kind, dramatically and musically, ever heard in this country, in my

humble opinion, has just concluded a most successful week in Buffalo. This has been for several years a favorite company in every city outside of New York. It has never been appreciated here because it had a local mismanagement, and the people, who would certainly have given it crowded houses, knew but little of the attraction. Every member of the company has a singing voice and every member is a good actor. Perhaps part of their failure "to draw here was owing to a poor selection from their repertory. Their three operas, "Victor, the Bluestocking,” “The Musketeers" and Adina," contain more solid merit than any light pieces New York has been treated to this season. It will be a matter of sincere

regret to many, then, to learn that this is very likely to be the last tour of this admirable company. There has been much dissension in the management of late; even the oldest members have fallen into restless ways and are not doing as well as they might. Mr. Barnabee retires from the company at the end of the season—he is the authority for this statement -and very likely Mr. MacDonald, Marie Stone, and Tom Karl. The manager, Mr. Foster, has a contract to appear in New York at the Fifth Avenue Theatre in 1888, but it only calls for Mlle. de Lussan, who is his especial pet.

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is frequently voted "a bore" by his disappointed admirers who seek to draw him out. But he's a clever fellow for all that.

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WHEN Lawrence Barrett was in Philadelphia two weeks ago, arrangements were made for him to personally examine the Forrest Home for aged actors, as he had been speaking very freely of the institution and the directors desired him to know more about it. Tuesday was finally set as the day, after numerous interviews. letters and telegrams, but the tragedian did not arrive. Again the time was set for his "positive appearance," and everybody assumed best graces for his welcome. The hour set, two o'clock, came and also a telegram saying Mr. Barrett would leave for the place promptly. Later on in the afternoon, when people were tired with waiting, another telegram came saying Mr. Barrett would not be there at all.

IT is said that during Mrs. Langtry's first engagement in this country Mr. Frederick Gebhardt spent nearly $35,000 for flowers, which were showered on her from every theatre in the country in which she appeared.

AT a recent reception given by the Harmonie Club, Fräulein Lehmann sang two songs,

says:

THE THEATRE was very amusing last Saturday, when it made a little wail against puffing," and just to keep up with the fashion it stated that during De Lussan's engagement in this city an order was given by an admirer of the little singer to a well known florist to send each evening that she sang a bouquet or basket, the cost of which was limited to $ico. "This is an item," says THE THEATRE, "which will particularly interest the Triplets; and the wan and pinched face of some one who is starving ought to thank God, some one is able to buy $100 worth of flowers every night for an actress to smile upon. The item is true, and the philosophy of THE THEATRE sound and healthy, only the joke of the thing is, that that $100 a night comes out of the box office receipts, and that admirer is the little manager. "Circumstances alter cases, don't they? in fact circumstances are the moral chameleons of life, no color at all until you look at the cause pro and con.

WELL, if the disbandment of the Ideals must be, I hope some good manager will wake up to the fact of it and introduce some new and most desirable people to a New York public. See here, Messrs. Aronson and McCaull, what are you about?

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HANDSOME TOM KARL is still as attractive as ever, and the women are captured and enraptured by him as they always were. In private life he is surprisingly indifferent to society, and avoids all company, however informal, and

A member of the club says the contract stipulated that the Fräulein would be escorted to and from the concert by no less an important a personage than the president of the club himself.

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THE Chicago Saturday Evening Herald

says:

A writer in the New York THEATRE states that Mr. Ignatius Donnelly's cipher system will not work out the same results in other plays than the one which he has been at work upon, and that he has thrown it up. Whether this

be the case or not, it is difficult to see how this can affect the results already obtained if they are in themselves satisfactory so far as a single Shakespeare play is concerned. The existence of the cipher in a single play does not necessarily require that it should be extended through the entire series. If its existence in a single play can be demonstrated Mr. Donnelly should give the results of his observations to the world, with an elucidation of the system upon which the cipher was constructed, as soon as he is satisfied that no further results are to be obtained by the application of the same system to any of the other plays. It is possible that no other play was required for the author's purpose, and the further non-existence of the cipher, if in fact it is carried no further, need not invalidate the discoveries, if genuine, that have already been made. There is no reason for the existence of any cipher in any of the plays aside from the will of its creator, and if the subject matter treated of is alleged to be a secret history of Elizabeth's reign, that would in itself be a sufficient reason why certain plays which are essentially fanciful should not contain it. Historical plays from their subject would admit of political allusions and Lames such as could not be admitted to such creations as the "Tempest," "Midsummer Night s Dream," "Winter's Tale," etc.

I HAVE also received this letter on the subject:

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS, ST. PAUL, Minn, February 11. EDITOR OF THE THEATRE:- Glancing over your issue of the 7th inst., in the Minnesota House of Representatives, this afternoon, I read with interest Mr. Baxter's paper on "Builders and Destroyers of Shakespeare's Name;" and thinking the reference to himself among the "Destroyers' might interest Ignatius Donnelly, I passed the book over to him. He emphatically denied the statement that he has written a letter admitting that his cipher fails in some of the plays. He says, on the contrary, that only a short time ago he wrote to Shakespeariana," reaffirming everything he

has ever claimed for it.

THE Manchester (England) Umpire of January 30 said:

A clever and bright little American weekly journal, entitled THE THEATRE, devoted, as its name implies, to chronicling things dramatic, does me the honor to quote my opinion concerning Mr. Whiffen's performance in "Hazel Kirke," and the little jokelet I ventured to tell anent "Lewis Carroll," his "Alice in Wonderland," and the Queen's request for another of his books

As I am a firm believer in reciprocity in these matters, I intend this week laying THE IHEATRE under contribution, and annexing portions of a well-written and, to my thinking, sound and sensible article on dramatic journalism. Of course, the article deals with the subject from an American stand-point, and one or two of the arguments consequently have reference to matters which don't appertain to enlightened Britain. But in the main the article applies with equal force in this country, and it would be well if the "organs of the profession" would read, mark, learn and inwardly digest the following extracts.

Then follow several long extracts from an article which appeared in THE THEATRE Some time ago about dramatic journalism.

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THE Umpire also tells this anecdote:

Talking of secret cosmetics, poor John McCullough had been to see Saivini when the great Italian was playing his first engagement in New York, and quite a friendship sprang up between the two. McCullough was most anxious to get from Salvini the secret of the preparation which gave him that realistic Moorish complexion in his Othello, and ultimately he obtained the secret It seemed that the chemicals, whatever they were, could not be removed by ordinary soap and water, after the performance, but that some other chemicals had to be used to remove the color. McCullough

got both recipes and opened an engagement in "Othello," at California, when he returned from New York. He put on the color all right and went through his performance. But when it was over and he was about to send to the chemist's to get the stuff to remove his color, he found that he had lost the recipe, and though search was made in his dressingroom high and low, it couldn't be found. Nothing would remove the color, and the unfortunate tragedian had to play Othello, as far as his complexion was concerned, all that night and until about eleven o'clock the next day, when a telegram giving the recipe was received from Salvini,

THE London Lancet thinks that, viewed from a physiological point, the performances of Blondin must be regarded as one of the marvels of the age, which grows more wonderful every year. Such feats as his are remarkable when done by men of twenty, but done at the 'grand climacteric" they are trebly so. Though on close inspection it is seen that Blondin bears marks of age, his step on the rope and his self-command in a "poke" or on his bicycle are as perfect as ever.

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MR. HENRY LABOUCHERE, editor of the London Truth, calls Bishop, “the mind reader," an arrant humbug, and says he has been exposed again and again. Muscle-reading is a very simple feat, which can be performed, with practice, by any one; thought-transference-i. e. the power of one man to read the thoughts of another without contact-is impossible. Let any one put a note for one hundred dollars in an envelope, hold it in his hand, and offer Bishop to bet him the value of the note that he will not state its number. If he sees that Bishop's money is deposited in a safe hand before the experiment takes place, the owner of the one hundred dollar note is certain to double his capital; so certain, indeed, that Bishop will take very good care not to submit to the test under conditions that make trickery impossible. For my part, continues Mr. Labouchere, I regret that Bishop is not making money by his tricks; if he were, and if he were to return here with it, I should have some chance of getting from him the costs which he has been condemned to pay me, but which I regard as about as doubtful an asset as a Honduras Bond.

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MRS. BELLE COLE is now the contralto soloist at St. Thomas' Church.

Trophonius.

ART CHAT.

THE STEWART COLLECTION.

I.

THERE is no denying it, the Stewart Collection is on all sides a disappointment. Hidden so long from public view, representing so many thousands of dollars, the announcement that these treasures were to be publicly exhibited and sold awakened general interest. On Monday afternoon, at the private view, the galleries of the American Art Association, where the exhibition is held, were packed to suffocation. During the whole week crowds have besieged the doors in Twenty-third Street. But I notice no enthusiasm on the part of these visitors.

Money, and not taste, has formed this collection; and that fact is evident at every turn. As a whole, it is uninteresting. It is not, then, in the ensemble that we are to consider it, but selecting the chef d'œuvres let us fall to studying them.

I SUPPOSE the critics would name the "Roll Call," by Mrs. Elizabeth Thompson Butler, as the greatest piece of painting by a woman, produced in the 19th century. If not disputing that distinction, Rosa Bonheur's "Horse Fair" would easily take second place beside it. As it now hangs in Gallery A, it can be seen perfectly. It is large in measurement, but also large in treatment. The brush work is masterly, the sunlight true sunlight, not white paint: the action of the horses is natural, not dramatic. They are working horses, heavily bullt, animated with the excitement of the show; but they are not prancing steeds. Think of the temptation this artist had to turn the homely, the commonplace, the "every day," into something grand, and see if you don't give her credit for what she resisted as well as what she has done.

*

AMERICA is lucky in the possession of this piece of feminine intelligence and dexterity, and it is to be hoped that this above all the other pictures of the Stewart collection may be purchased by one of our public museums.

**

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OPPOSITE, in the same gallery, hangs Auguste Bonheur's large woodland landscape with cattle, entitled "Environs of Fontainebleau." This picture is really not as masculine as his sister's "Horse Fair." But the canvas, howbeit, much too large for the mode of treatment, is charming in parts, and a good color scheme is found throughout the work.

** **

Now in the same gallery we find Church's

46

Niagara Falls from the American side." which makes one blush for American art, so tame is it, so far removed from anything like grandeur. Then we stumble against an awfully dry Bouguereau (painted to order for Mr. Stewart and considered by this artist at that time his masterpiece! so the catalogue tells us). Erskine Nicoll's "The Disputed Boundary," represents English genre painting fairly well-weak drawing, vulgar color, almost total absence of light and shade, and caricature of human beings.

Although Piloty is an Italian by birth he is German by choice, and his painting, “Thusnelda at the Triumph of Germanicus," is representative of modern German historical painting; generally graceful in composition and outline, but lacking depth in color.

This seen and we leave Gallery A for the present. Next week we shall mount the stairs to see the treasures in the other rooms.

NOTES.

The Art Review for January is an exquisite number; its four illustrations, an etching by Henry Farrer, "The Tow at Twilight," "Olivia, after Geo. H. Boughton, illustration from "She Stoops to Conquer," after E. A. Abbey, and Meditation," after a portrait by W. M. Chase, all photogravures, are of great interest, as they represent first-class artists only. If the Review continues giving us such fine productions as these its standing will soon be not only the highest in America but also in the world, for none of the foreign periodicals devoted to the fine arts are half so well gotten up. The letter-press consists of four papers, The Grant Monument." Henry Eckford; "Geo. H. Boughton at Home," Ira Carrington Cabell; "Rembrandt's Gilder," Harold Godwin, and An Outline Sketch," by Ripley Hitchcock. The Art Notes" are uncommonly newsy for a monthly.

viz.:

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THERE is now on exhibition at Moore's Art Gallery, No. 290 Fifth Avenue, a collection of works by William M. Chase, which will be sold at auction on the evenings of March 2d and 3d. A rather novel idea is carried out of having, besides the works to be sold, displayed a number of pictures loaned by their owner for exhibition only, so that Mr. Chase can be well judged by would-be buyers.

Few of our artists understand the human figure and its relation to a background better than Mr. Chase. He makes a good showing in this exhibition both in the portraits and landscape and still-life studies. Among the former the pastel "Meditation," a portrait of Mrs. Chase, the "Portrait of little Miss Howell," the " Lady in a White Gown," and of " Miss