“The Heart of Maryland” was acted for the first time anywhere at the Grand Opera House, Washington, D. C., October 9, 1895; and the first performance of it in New York occurred on October 22, that year, at the Herald Square Theatre. It is a meritorious and highly effective melodrama, and its New York production marks a vital point in the career of its indefatigible and brilliantly accomplished author. When the curtain rose on its first performance in the metropolis he had been for nearly a quarter of a century toiling in the Theatre, working in every capacity connected with the Stage; he had written and produced, for others, plays which had received thousands of representations and to see which several millions of dollars had been paid: yet he was,--through no fault of his, no improvidence, dissipation, reckless neglect or abuse of talent,--still a struggling author, without recognized position, without place or influence in the field of theatrical management, and so poor that, if the venture failed, he had no better prospect than renewed drudgery in a subservient place, working for the profit and aggrandizement of men vastly inferior to himself in every way. Perhaps the best explanation of and commentary on this fact were supplied, several years later, when, testifying in court during trial of a lawsuit of his against the late Joseph Brooks, he said of himself: “I have long been connected with the theatrical business and know its customs, but I know more about the stage part of it than I do about the business side. I have been a manager for twenty-five years, and have always managed to get the worst of my business affairs.” STORY AND PRODUCTION OF “THE HEART OF MARYLAND.”--ITS GREAT SUCCESS. “The Heart of Maryland” belongs to the class of _post-bellum_ plays represented in the years immediately [Illustration: Photograph by Sarony. Belasco’s Collection. MRS. LESLIE CARTER, ABOUT 1895]