About this time Fabian, who was a great projector of schemes, succeeded in organizing an actors' club, to which he made us all pay tribute, not only the actors, but a number of other professional men and good fellows were made members, and when the transient "stars" came along, we generally contrived to give them a good time, although our quarters were not so pretentious as those of the Alta or Comcial clubs of today. During the Adams-McCullough engagements these actors were the guests of "the club," and dear old Fabian was in his glory. Fabian was the president of the club, and he certainly wined and dined McCullough and Adams to their hearts' content. On their closing night we had a great carousal, even Miss Tracy did not escape. It was a memorable night truly. Everybody present seemed determined to give "John" McCullough and "Ned" Adams a royal time, and they had it.
"Care mad to see a man sae happy;
E'en drowned himsel among the nappy.
Kings may be blest, but Tam was glorious,
O'er all the ills of life victorious."
Burns' "Tam O'Shanter".
The stock company played one week, even after this brilliant triumvirate had united its course, with Mr. and Mrs. Carter doing leads. That they could hold the interest of the public after such a combination of talent as Adams, McCullough and Tracy dropped away from them was not to be expected. In looking back at it from this distance, the wise thing for the managers to have done would have been to close the season with that extraordinary engagement, but the Carters were here and had a play or two to exploit, and struggled through a week when the management were glad to close the season, with the Pioneer holiday, July 24th. Here was another case of playing all summer, for the theatre only remained closed about ten nights, opening on the 10th of August. The advent of the Carters into Salt Lake and their engagement at the Salt Lake theatre was not devoid of interest. It was well-known to many that Mrs. Carter (Carrie Cogswell) had been the wife of the veteran tragedian, Mr. T. A. Lyne, who was very much perturbed at their presence here. He declared that she had come here expressly to annoy him, and nothing could convince him to the contrary, so when after a short stay here, Mr. and Mrs. Carter and their son, Lincoln J., now the celebrated Chicago playbuilder and manager, took their departure for California, Lyne's heart was joyful. There were two children, a boy and a girl, the offspring of the Lyne-Cogswell marriage. The court, in giving Lyne the deliverance which he sought on the grounds of desertion, gave him the custody of the two children, and he had them in Salt Lake attending school, and he was very apprehensive that the mother might kidnap them. So when she had departed without any signs of having molested the children the veteran was happy, for he never dreamed they would return, but alas! for the contrariness of human nature, in this he was doomed to disappointment. Lyne had been for the second time a widower when he met Miss Carrie Cogswell. She was about sixteen and he about fifty. Lyne at this age was an active, fine-looking man with hair as dark as a raven's wing and a very commanding presence. Miss Cogswell was enamored of the stage and soon became not only Mrs. Lyne, but "leading lady" for Lyne. After some years of married life, and two children had been born to them, there came a cloud in their sky. In the same company chanced a young man by the name of Carter, whose father, Jared Carter, had been a leading light in the Mormon Church in the Nauvoo days. Disparity in age and incompatibility of temperament between Mr. and Mrs. Lyne gradually brought about a separation and divorce. By this time both had sought and found new matrimonial alliances. Mrs. Lyne had some years now been Mrs. Carter and Mr. Lyne had found consolation in a French widow whose Christian name was Madeline. Such was the situation at the time when the Carters made their first visit to Salt Lake, and the veteran tragedian having settled down in Salt Lake to end his days, was in mortal dread of the Carters fixing their future home here too.
CHAPTER XV.
SEASON OF '71-'72.
The season of '71 and '72 opened on August the 4th, only two weeks after the closing of '70 and '71. The Lingards were the opening attraction; they played only two nights. The Lingards consisted of Horace W. Lingard, Alice Lingard, his wife, and "Dickie" Lingard, a sister to Horace. They played short cast pieces and did not require many members of the company. The repertoire included "Caste," "The Weaver of Spitaefield," "Morning Call," "A Happy Pair," etc. They were followed closely by Kate Newton and Charlie Backus of minstrel fame, who stayed two nights; and these were succeeded by the Hyers Sisters, a colored concert troupe, who gave five concerts, opening August the 9th and playing up to the 13th.
On the 21st Joseph and Mrs. Murphy made their debut in drama—the medium being a hash-up of improbable incidents put together to string Joe's specialties on. He played a sort of stage detective and disguised variously as an Irishman, a Swede, a Dutch Girl, and a Nigger. This was the first performance of "Help" on any stage, and should have been the last, if merit alone counted.
The Salt Lake Theatre was made the bridge to carry a number of new dramatic ventures across the quicksands of dramatic speculation. Afraid to make the trial of a new play in San Francisco or New York, they have brought them to Salt Lake to "try them on the dog." "Help" ran three nights, 21st to the 24th, and was fairly launched on the dramatic sea, and Joe Murphy was no longer a blackfaced comedian but a versatile actor of the Irish comedy persuasion. "Help" served Joe faithfully for several seasons and put him on Easy street, financially.
August 25th the Stock Company, strengthened with the Cogswell-Carter troupe, resumed. J. W. Carter was engaged to play leads for a time; McKenzie was absent, Lindsay was gone, Hardie had deserted, and the management were in sore straits for a leading actor. The Stock played from August 25th to September 25th, when Mrs. Lander opened a star engagement in "Mary Stuart," continuing one week, during which she gave, in addition to "Mary Stuart," "Camille," "The Hunchback" and "Marie Antoinette." Mrs. Lander was at this time one of the bright particular stars of the American stage. She was a woman of superior intelligence and rare dramatic talent and played a fine engagement.