Providence Morning Star

NED ADAMS WELCOMED HOME.

An Enthusiastic Benefit Given Him, at the California Theatre.

Probably no actor living has so many sincere and close friends as Edwin Adams, and the announcement of his return from Australia with health so completely broken down that it is doubtful if he will ever be able to act again, caused many regrets. In San Francisco Mr. Adams has always been very popular, and it was at once decided to give him a benefit. It took place at the California Theatre on the evening of the 12th.

The opening play was Robertson's comedy of "Home," with Mr. Sothern as Colonel White. After this the curtain rose and discovered the company of the theatre grouped about Mr. Adams, who occupied a chair in the centre of the stage. Great applause followed, during which Mr. Sothern came forward and said:

LADIES AND GENTLEMEN: Mr. Adams will have an opportunity to say a few words to you a little later. My position this evening is a peculiar one. On occasions like this, humorous speeches are out of place altogether, and I am not well qualified for serious oratory. This is not an ordinary benefit. The public know well enough that Edwin Adams-I usually call him "Ned" Adams, as does everybody who knows him familiarly-is one of the most talented of actors, having no superior on the American or English stage.

Very few except his own friends know what a simple, true, manly, honest heart he has. (Applause.) This welcome home-I am very nervous, very much agitated -this nervous home-(laughter)-that just proves how nervous I am- this welcome home really means far more than dollars and cents. It means an enthusiastic public recognition of his great talents as an actor, and of his courageous, manly heart, and that we want to prove to him our love and sympathy. Permit me, ladies and gentlemen, to close my few remarks with the sentiment "God bless Ned Adams!" (Applause.)

A handsome basket of flowers was presented to Mr. Adams by the associate journalists, and, after the reading of a poem, written for the occasion by Mr. Geo. H. Jessop, by Mr. Barton Hill, Mr. Adams rose and advanced to the footlights amid an enthusiastic and long-continued storm of applause. When silence was at last obtained, he said:

Ladies And Gentlemen: It seems but a short time-only a few months ago-that I left here with a house almost as brilliant as this when you give me a testimonial and farewell upon my departure for Australia. I started full of hope, thinking at least that I should be gone two or three years and then return. My hopes were banished on my arrival there. I became ill, and was ordered by my physician to return home as soon as possible while I still had the strength to do so. I thought the advice correct, and turned my face homeward. I did not feel that I was reaching home until within three days of my arrival at San Francisco, and when I did arrive, before three hours had passed, I felt that I was at home and had friends surrounding me. (Applause) But I did not expect such a reception as I have received, and most especially this ovation you have given me here to-night... It is more than a welcome home. It has done my heart good, and I assure you, ladies and gentlemen (with emotion), that I tender my sincere thanks to you all and to the company of the California Theatre, with whom I have had the pleasure of appearing and working, from the highest to the lowest. To my brothers and sisters of the Grand Opera House I tender my sincere thanks for their kindness. And most especially do I tender my heartfelt thanks to the newspapers of the city, who have rendered me such aid on this occasion, and from none of whom have I received a harsh word. I assure you all that I feel it deeply. There is one whom I miss, one for whom I look in vain to-night in all this vast assemblage, one whose genial face I would be glad to see, one whose manly heart and generous qualities you all recognize-I mean John McCullough, the proprietor of this theatre. To a generous public I render my sincere thanks. To my intimate friends it is not necessary for me to express one word of thankfulness-they know my heart. If I can get through this illness, and my physician will permit, I may again appear before you in some familiar character. Again thanking you warmly, let me bid you a kind good-night. (Renewed applause)

Then, with another burst of cheers and not a few tears, both in the audience and on the stage, "Auld Lang Syne" was sung.

Alice Harrison takes the solo and the company tremulously in the chorus.

During the singing Mr. Adams exchanged looks with Mrs. Judah, the oldest member of the company, who was standing with some signs of feebleness with the rest. Mr. Hill left his place and led the tottering old lady towards the chair in which Mr. Adams was sitting. He rose and embraced her, offering the seat, but she declining to take it, he reseated himself, and she stood with her hand upon the back of it weeping when the curtain fell. The scene was one of more than ordinary pathos, and was sympathetically received by the audience. The situation was genuine, and needed no acting to make it effective. The audience was so much impressed that it demanded another view of the scene after the fall of the curtain. No finer tribute of feeling was ever offered to an actor and a gentleman by a kindly, appreciative public. The services of all participating were generously contributed, and the beneficiary realizes from the performance not less than $2,600, of which Mr. Sothern paid $500 for one seat in the parquet.