dramatizer, as his version of "A Gilded Age" bore witness, and he no doubt found plenty of materials to use in his craft, whose authors were not so well known as Mark Twain nor so particular in regard to their copyrights. Willie learned the truth of the axiom that "All that glitters is not gold," even _"A Gilded Age"_ on that memorable night, for it materially injured the business during the remainder of his engagement. "Built on Sand" was the next evening's offering and it was probably too suggestive of Willie's hopes in respect to "A Gilded Age" to be a good drawing card, so it only went the one night. The company had their work cut out here also; the next play was a new one with them; he called it Madge of Elvanlee; it was a dramatization of Charles Gibbons "For the King," a very powerful story of the Restoration period, and gave Rose Bain, his wife, the chance of her life to make a hit as a leading actress; but she failed to score any marked success, giving only a passable rendition of the character. Fortunately again for this individual, he had during his absence played in this play at the Bush Street Theatre. Jim Herne used it as the vehicle for the debut of a talented San Francisco' lady, who created a little ripple of excitement by her advent on the stage. I afterwards played the leading character in it at Virginia in conjunction with Miss Bain and Mr. Gill, so that it was comparatively easy for me in regard to study. This play was forced two nights, meantime the company had another new play sprung on them for Friday night. Miss Rose Bain was evidently bent on being the bright particular star of this engagement. Willie had failed in his Col. Sellers scheme, and Rose saw her opportunity and pushed it to the utmost. "The Sphinx," a mythological play, taxing the powers of no less an actress than Annette Ince (one of the greatest of her time) was the next offering to the public, and an exacting task for the company. Here again I was lucky, as I had only about six weeks before played a week in the piece with Miss Ince at the Bush Street theatre, and although I had now a different part, I was sufficiently familiar with the play to make my task easy, as compared with the rest of the company. "The Sphinx" did not prove popular, owing largely to Miss Bain's inadequacy. So "Madge of Elvanlee" was restored for Saturday night, and so ended a very unprofitable week, both for "stars" and management. Willie Gill afterwards acquired fame as the writer of several successful comedy sketches. Rose Bain we have never heard of since. From the 13th to the 22nd of February, the theatre was dark, which gave the overworked stock company a rest they no doubt enjoyed, but cut off their salaries, which they did not relish.