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less valued Jefferson, and by him presented to us from this cup and this souvenir of long ago--my father's flagon--let us now, beneath his portrait and on the anniversaries of this occupation, drink: To the Players Perpetual Prosperity.

LIGHTING THE YULE-LOG.
The toast was drunk with right good-will, and as Mr. Booth turned in the direction of the large fireplace in the main hall the Yule-log blazed up.  It was the first fire started in the house and cheerily it burned, shedding a comfortable winter glow of welcome over all.  The log, which was about three feet in length and one foot in diameter, was cut from the trunk of a gnarled and aged blackgum by special order of Mrs. Edwina Booth Frossman, and arrived in New-York yesterday by express from Boston.  Before the fireplace stood a heavy wrought-iron fender and a creaking crane, from which hung a useful-looking pot.  The great seal of the order, in papier-mache, was inserted in the ornamental brickwork under the grand olf Italian mantelpiece,with its Empire brackets and Japanese surroundings.  The seal represents tragedy and comedy.  Immediately above it are these lines of warning, which all are expected to heed:
Good friende, for friendship's skae forbeare
To utter what is gossip heare
In soceal chatt, lest unawares
Thy tongue offende thy fellow-plaiers.

MR. DALY ACCEPTS THE PROPERTY
In behalf of The Players, Augustin Daly acepted of Mr. Booth the deeds to the property.  His remarks, a fitting tribute to the generosity of the giver, found an echo in the heart of every listener.  This is what he said:
Mr. Booth and Fellow-Players--My position at this instant is double embarassing.  I am not a maker of speeches, or, at least, not a deliverer of speeches, and I have been requested to make a response which might well call forth the most brilliant effort of the most brilliant talker.  Alas, I am everything but brilliant and everything but a talker.  But this truly royal present which Mr. Booth has made to his brother players, in that princely yet truly modest manner which is quite his own, must be accepted, and I have been requested to accept it, and I do accept it on behalf of my fellow players; not only on behalf of those who are in the flesh and about us now, but those who are in the shell of time, that far-reaching caravan, the unborn generations of players who shall be privileged in the happy hereafter to assembleunder this roof!
Most notably has our honored host followed out the instructions, which, as Hamlet, he has uttered to Polonius a thousand and a thousand times himself; to see the players well bestowed; and truly has he used them after his own honor and dignity.  As I said before, gentlemen, I am not a speech-maker; would that I were, that I might do justice to this exceptional occasion.  That justice, however, will be done heareafter in the grateful recollection of every player on the world's broad stage who crosses this threshold, in which will be cherised the remembrance of Ediwn Booth, while a stone stands upon another to recall the loving companionship which actuated the giver of this noble gift.
I congratulate you, gentlemen, upon the possession of this noble club-house which places " The Players" upon a solid foundation from the start.  I congratulate Mr. Booth upon the inspiration which moved him to demonstrate in this royal way that " true generosity defers not its gifts" until the coffin and the grave makes one's worldly possessions personally valueless.  And I congratulate the public at large of this great and grandly growing city upon this monumental addition to its representative institutions--within the walls of which we hope immediately to demonstrate the desirability of a fellowship, as Shakespeare puts it, in " a cry of players."
I believe, gentlemen, that Mr. Booth wishes to ahve the privilege of giving you the first toast to-night, but he cannot be offended if I ask you all to anticipate him and to wish, with a hurrah from your heart of hearts, long life and every honor to Edwin Booth.
Who can doubt that every man sprang to hsi feet and drank a hearty Amen to all that Mr. Daly said?

MR. BARRETT SURPRISES THE COMPANY
But Lawrence Barrett furnished the surprise of the occassion.  Everybody knew he was to take a prominent part in the ceremonies, but what that part would be none could hazard a guess.  A speech was expected by many, a letter and a poem by none.  Even Mr. Booth was in the dark.  He and Mr. Barrett, after nearly three hours of Shylock and Bassanio at the Fifth Avenue Theatre, rode over to the house of The Players together, but Shylock did not dream of the great surprise that Bassanio had in store fro him.  Mr. Barrett arose holding in his hand a letter in the dainty handwriting of a lady.  As he proceeded to read it aloud to the company, the eyes of the Players, wandered from him to Mr. Booth and back again, only to keep on repeating their journey until the last word was spoken.  It required all Mr. Booth's art to conceal from his brethren the pleasurable emotions that stirred within him.  This is the letter:

Boston, Dec. 31, 1888
My dear Mr. Barrett: At my request our poet friend, Dr. T. W. Parsons, has written some beautiful verses which I wish to read and presented to my dear father on New Years's Eve, the opening of the Players' Club.  But the matter must' be kept strictly private, both from papa and from his friends, s it is my very earnest desire to have both the address and the accompanying wreath a complete surprise to him.  As you are his trusted friend I come to you with my precious confidence, feeling assured that you will respect it and share with me a sincere interest.
Will you favour me by reading the verses inclosed within?  No one else could deliver them so well, for they must be spoken with love as well as with elocutionary sentiment.  Therefore I confiede them to you and hope you will not deny me.  I sugest that you quietly place the wreath upon the dear brow which I love so well and which so well deserves a crown of merit and of love.
I am, dear Mr. Barrett, cordially yours.
EDWINA BOOTH GROSSMAN.

A TRIBUTE TO THE GENEROUS ACTOR.
Mr. Barrett then read Dr. Parsons#s verses, which unfortunately cannot be published here, 

These are only a sample of the housand and one interesting relics that have bee presented to the Players.  On the walls of the lounging room are tw oil paintings from the brush of Joseph Jefferson.  It is not generally known that Mr. Jefferson is a painter.  One of the canvases is entitled " Louisiana" and is a picture of two fishermen angling in a dark and dismal lagoon.  The other is  a landscape in the Scotch Highlands.  Sir Joshua Reynolds's celebrated protrait of David Garrick hands beside Mr. Jefferson's work.  On the opposite wall is a portrait by Gainsborough.  Both of these were presented to the club by Mr. Booth.  Another conspicuous canvas is J. Alden Weir's portrait of John Gilbert.

A GLIMPSE AT THE LIBRARY.
A wonderful collection f dramatic literature fills the library on the second floor.  Here are 1,200 volumes presented by Mr. Booth, 2,000 presented by Lawrence Barrett, and a large number of rare and priceless works from Augustin Daly, T. B. Aldrich, Stanford White, Laurence Hutton and ever so many others.
Wandering into the upper regions of the Players found the third and fourth floors given over to baths and bed rooms.  In the basement they came upon billiad table and the kitchen.  A small passenger elevator carried them from top to bottom.  The entire house was greatly admired.  The floral decorations were by Hodgson and consisted of mandarin orange and lime trees in pots, loaded with ripe fruit, and festons of smilax in the flower, fresh from Newport for the occasion.
Inquirers were told that the excellent arrangement of the interior was mainly due to Stanford White, of the firm of McKIm, Mead & White.  He was aided in no small degree by suggestions from the House Committee, A. M. Palmer, E. C. Benedict and Charles E. Carryl.  The pictures, books, and, indeed, all the furnishings were in the hands of the Committee on Literature and Art, Joseph F. Daly, Brandor Matthews and William M. Laffin.  When the Players had familiarised themselves with their new premises they sat down to supper.  Few invitations had been sent out.  These were to General William T. Sherman and Major Martin Maginnis of Montana, who were present, and the editors-in-chief of the New-York papers.

SOME OF THE LEADING MEMBERS.
The Players number 140.  These are some of the leading members:

ACTORS.
Joseph Anderson,
Lawrence Barrett,
Edwin Booth,
E. S. Connor,
John Drew,
Harry Edwards,
Owen Fawcett,
Charles Fisher,
W. J. Florence,
John Gilbert,
Joseph Jefferson,
Edward Harrigan,
John A. Lane,
James Lewis,
W. J. Lemoyne,
James E. Murdock,
Gene W. Presbrey,
Walden Ramsey,
Sol Smith Russell,
Alexander Salvini,
Francis Wilson.

MANAGERS.
J. W. Albaugh,
Arthur P. CHase,
J. C. Duff,
T. Henry French,
Daniel Frohman,
Charles B. Jefferson,
Marshall H. Mallory,
A. H. Palmer,
Frank Sanger,
E. C. Stanton,
Eugene Tompkins.

DRAMATIC AUTHORS
T. B. Aldrich,
S. L. Clemens,
Augustin Daly,
William Gillette,
G. P. Lathrop,
D. D. Lloyd,
Brander Matthews,
T. R. Sullivan.

DRAMATIC COLLECTORS AND WRITERS ABOUT THE THEATRE
William L. Andrews,
J. H. V. Arnold,
William Bispham
H. H. Furness,
Laurence Hutton,
Joseph N. Ireland,
Thomas J. McKee
J. Hampden Robb,
Franklin Sargent.

MISCELLANEOUS
S. P. Avery,
S. L. M. Barlow,
C. C. Beaman,
E. C. Benedict,
Charles E. Carryl,
Charles P. Daly,
Joseph F. Daly,
R. W. Gilder,
Parke Godwin,
John Hoey,
A. S. Hewitt,
Brayton Ives,
James Russell Lowell,
Stephen H. Olin,
James R. Osgood,
John W. Mackay,
Horace Porter,
G. L. Rives,
Elihu Root,
Augustus St. Gaudens,
J. Alden Weir,
Stanford White.

Mrs. Grossman's Yule log, which, by the way, was beautifully decorated with misteltoe, holly and pressed Japanese ferns, ought to burn for a whole week, but the good old custom of taking a holiday sa long as the fire lasts cannot prevail with The Players.  Having seen themselves well bestowed, they return to strut and fret their hours upon the stage this evening.
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---------- Reopened for Editing 2023-04-22 11:19:59