His words died out in his throat.
“He’s going!” somebody whispered, for the company was gathered around.
There was a brief silence, and then the old man seemed to draw himself up with pride, as they had seen him do in life.
“Yes, sir,” he said, distinctly, “my name is Burns—William Shakespeare Burns—tragedian—at liberty.”
The old eyes closed, a faint sigh escaped his bloodless lips, and the old actor was “at liberty.”
CHAPTER XV.—A NEWSPAPER NOTICE.
“Yesterday afternoon, through the courtesy of Manager Frank Merriwell, an invited audience of at least five hundred persons witnessed the first performance of Mr. Merriwell’s revised and rewritten play at the Orpheum Theater, and the verdict of that audience, which represented the highest and most cultured element of Denver society, was that the sprightly, sensational, four-act comedy drama was a success in every way. The play, which is now named ‘True Blue,’ was originally christened ‘For Old Eli,’ and, after a single performance, Mr. Merriwell withdrew it for the purpose of rewriting it, correcting certain faults he had discovered, and strengthening one or two weak points. As he wrote the piece, he was able to do this work of reconstruction quickly and thoroughly, and the result is a play of which he, as author, manager and star performer, may well be proud. The following is the cast:
DICK TRUEHEART FRANK MERRIWELL
Barry Hattleman Douglas Dunton
Spruce Downing Rufus Small
Crack Hyerman Bartley Hodge
Reuben Grass Ephraim Gallup
Manny Sizzwell William Wynne
Prof. Gash Roscoe Havener
Edwin Treadwell William Shakespeare Burns
Carius Dubad Granville Garland
Spike Dubad Lester Vance
Millie Blossom Miss Cassie Lee
Inez Dalton Miss Stella Stanley
Nancy Noodle Miss Agnes Kirk
“College life is the principal theme of ‘True Blue,’ and Mr. Merriwell, having studied at Yale, is quite capable of catching the air and spirit of Old Eli, and reproducing it on the stage. This he has done with a deftness and fidelity that makes the play remarkable in its class, or, possibly with greater accuracy, lifts it out of its class, for, up to the production of this piece, all college plays have been feeble attempts to catch the spirit of the life they represent, or have descended into the realm of farce or burlesque.
“While the author of ‘True Blue’ has written a play to suit the popular fancy, he has not considered it necessary to write down to the general public, and, for all of the college slang, which of a necessity is used by several of the characters, there is nothing offensive in the entire piece—nothing to shock the sensibilties of the most refined. The comedy in places is a trifle boisterous, but that was to be expected, and it does not descend to mere buffoonery. It is the kind of comedy at which the spectator must laugh, even though he may resolve that he will not, and, when it is all over, he feels better for his laughter, instead of feeling foolish, as he does in many cases after witnessing other ‘popular plays.’