Our base-ball friends in New York, who had been looking for us for three

days, had been early apprised that the 'Adriatic' had arrived off Sandy
Hook, and, boarding the little steamer 'Starin' and the tug 'George
Wood,' they came down the bay, two hundred strong, to meet us
Our base-ball friends in New York, who had been looking for us for three
days, had been early apprised that the 'Adriatic' had arrived off Sandy
Hook, and, boarding the little steamer 'Starin' and the tug 'George
Wood,' they came down the bay, two hundred strong, to meet us. With the
aid of 'a leedle Sherman pand,' steam whistles and lusty throats they
made noise enough to bring us all on deck in a hurry. As the distance
between the vessels grew shorter we could distinguish among others the
faces of Marcus Meyer, W. W. Kelly, John W. Russel, Digby Bell, DeWolf
Hopper, Col. W. T. Coleman and many others, not least among them being
my old father, who had come on from Marshalltown to be among the first
to welcome myself and my wife back to America, and who, as soon as the
'Starin' was made fast, climbed on deck and gave us both a hug that
would have done credit to the muscular energy of a grizzly bear, but who
was no happier to see us than we were to see him and to learn that all
was well with our dear ones. I"m not sure but the next thing that he did
was to propose a game of poker to some of the boys, but if he did not it
was simply because there was too much excitement going on. That evening
we were the guests of Col. McCaull at Palmer"s Theater, where De-Wolf
Hopper, Digby Bell and other prominent comic opera stars were playing in
'The May Queen.' The boxes that we occupied that night were handsomely
decorated with flags and bunting, while from the proscenium arch hung an
emblem of all nations, a gilt eagle and shield, with crossed bats and a
pair of catcher"s gloves and a catcher"s mask.

In a play by Mr

In a play by Mr. James Bernard Fagan, _The Prayer of the Sword_, we have
a much clearer example of an inadequate obstacle. A youth named Andrea
has been brought up in a monastery, and destined for the priesthood; but
his tastes and aptitudes are all for a military career. He is, however,
on the verge of taking his priestly vows, when accident calls him forth
into the world, and he has the good fortune to quell a threatened
revolution in a romantic Duchy, ruled over by a duchess of surpassing
loveliness. With her he naturally falls in love; and the tragedy lies,
or ought to lie, in the conflict between this earthly passion and his
heavenly calling and election. But the author has taken pains to make
the obstacle between Andrea and Ilaria absolutely unreal. The fact that
Andrea has as yet taken no irrevocable vow is not the essence of the
matter. Vow or no vow, there would have been a tragic conflict if Andrea
had felt absolutely certain of his calling to the priesthood, and had
defied Heaven, and imperilled his immortal soul, because of his
overwhelming passion. That would have been a tragic situation; but the
author had carefully avoided it. From the very first--before Andrea had
ever seen Ilaria--it had been impressed upon us that he had no priestly
vocation. There was no struggle in his soul between passion and duty;
there was no struggle at all in his soul. His struggles are all with
external forces and influences; wherefore the play, which a real
obstacle might have converted into a tragedy, remained a sentimental
romance--and is forgotten.

"Well," he smiled, "that would be an improvement on most Academy

titles
"Well," he smiled, "that would be an improvement on most Academy
titles. An ordinary artist would simply name it 'Young Gentleman by
Trout-Stream.' Haven"t you often gone through a gallery picturing all
sorts of dramatic meanings in paintings, only to have your illusions
shattered by the catalogue?"