"In 1879 'Baby' was given at the old Park Theater, with Edwin Thorne in the cast. It was preceded by 'Old Love-Letters,' performed by Mrs. Agnes Booth and Joseph Whitney. Doubtless neither the actors nor the audience knew that the night was to prove itself an important one in dramatic history, nor that the words which were spoken and listened to in the careless fashion of every-day life were to inspire a young heart with an ambition as boundless as it was sincere. Chorus Boy In "Pinafore." "In the center of the orchestra, by the side of a dignified, stolid business man, sat a young boy whose golden hair, breathless face, and ardent eyes attracted the attention of more than one careless spectator. The boy was Henry Woodruff, nine years of age, spellbound at his first glimpse of the actor's world. The man was his father. "The flushed cheeks and the tingling soul were not the effects of a mere holiday treat; no, they long outlasted the holiday time; they disturbed his lessons. The memory of that one night filled his dreams, kept him awake nights, sent him to the newspapers in the hope of finding he knew not what, and finally riveted his eyes on a paragraph advertising for children for the 'Pinafore' company at the Fourteenth Street Theater. "Then the beating heart and the eager eyes realized their own purpose, and silently, without assistance from friend or foe, the little man made his plans, started from his home, asked his way patiently from Jersey City to Chickering Hall, and finally stood inside beside the big manager, who was examining a hundred or more children who had applied for the position. In time he turned to the newcomer. "'What can you sing, my little man?' "With a horrible sense of misfitness he remembered he knew nothing but Sunday-school hymns, but he answered bravely: "'I can sing "Onward, Christian Soldiers."' "'Try it,' said the man. "They put him on the stage, and, fired by the great desire which had never left him since he had seen those noble actors, the little fellow sang out with all his soul." How the Rungs Were Climbed. He stayed in the chorus only three weeks, being promoted, first to the part of the boatswain, then to that of _Ralph Rackstraw_, leading man, in which capacity he went on the road. Daniel Bandmann then engaged him for the page in his production of "Narcisse." The next year young Woodruff was with Adelaide Neilson, in her last engagement, presenting "Cymbeline." She took a great fancy to the little fellow, and used to make up his face for him and give him the flowers her admirers sent her. To the boy she seemed the wonder of the earth, and she was continually talking about the sunshine of his hair and the earnestness of his blue eyes.