Produced by David Garcia, Melissa Er-Raqabi and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net. Produced from images provided by Kentuckiana Digital Archive. THE CLIMBERS A PLAY IN FOUR ACTS By CLYDE FITCH NEW YORK SAMUEL FRENCH PUBLISHER 25 WEST 45th STREET LONDON SAMUEL FRENCH, LTD. 26 SOUTHAMPTON ST. STRAND Reprinted by permission of Little, Brown & Co. COPYRIGHT, 1905, BY LITTLE, BROWN, AND COMPANY. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED This play is fully protected by the copyright law, all requirements of which have been complied with. In its present printed form it is dedicated to the reading public only, and no performance of it, either professional or amateur, may be given without the written permission of the owner of the acting rights, who may be addressed in care of the publishers, Little, Brown, and Company. TO CHARLES T. MATHEWS IN GRATEFUL RECOGNITION OF HIS TRUE FRIENDSHIP AND LOYAL ENTHUSIASM FROM THE BEGINNING C.F. [Transcriber's Note: One character is listed as Dr. Steinart in the List of Characters, but Dr. Steinhart in the body of the play.] _THE CLIMBERS_ ACT I. IN LATE WINTER. _At the Hunters'._ ACT II. THE FOLLOWING CHRISTMAS EVE. _At the Sterlings'._ ACT III. CHRISTMAS DAY. _At the Hermitage, by the Bronx River._ ACT IV. THE DAY AFTER CHRISTMAS. _At the Sterlings'._ NEW YORK: TO-DAY _THE PEOPLE IN THE PLAY_ RICHARD STERLING. EDWARD WARDEN. FREDERICK MASON. JOHNNY TROTTER. GODESBY. DR. STEINART. RYDER. SERVANT _at the Hermitage._ JORDAN. _Butler at the Sterlings'._ LEONARD. _Footman at the Sterlings'._ MASTER STERLING. SERVANTS. MRS. STERLING (_nee Blanche Hunter_). MISS HUNTER. MRS. HUNTER. JESSICA HUNTER. CLARA HUNTER. MISS GODESBY. MISS SILLERTON. TOMPSON. _Mrs. Hunter's Maid._ MARIE. _Clara Hunter's Maid._ Originally produced at the Bijou Theatre, New York, January 21, 1901, with the following cast:-- Richard Sterling Mr. Frank Worthing Edward Warden Mr. Robert Edeson Frederick Mason Mr. John Flood Johnny Trotter Mr. Ferdinand Gottschalk Dr. Steinart Mr. George C. Boniface Godesby Mr. J.B. Sturges Ryder Mr. Kinard Servant at the Hermitage Mr. Henry Warwick Jordan } Servants { Mr. Edward Moreland Leonard } at the { Mr. Henry Stokes A Footman } Hunters' { Mr. Frederick Wallace Richard Sterling, Jr. Master Harry Wright