A Christmas With Edwin Booth

"I remeinber a Christmas I spent in Mr. Booth"s company many years ago," said a young theatrical manager in the foyer. "He had bought a summer residenoe at Cos Cob, Conn., the previous summer, and invited me up to play Santa Claus and do the chimney act. His property was a fair sized little promontory of land, bounded on one side by the Connecticut river, on the other sido by Long Island Sound, and the New Vork and New Haven tracks formed the base line. If there is any one road affected by trampa it is that same New Haven road, and when I arrived, two or thrce da-s before Christmas, there was a line of them waiting their turn at the gate that reminded me of a highly successful advance sale, one tramp near the gate even offering to sell his advanced position for ten cents. Booth was mach worried about the dangerous looking fellows, and it struck me that a dog would bo highly appropriate as a gift. "I wired to a friend in New York, and the day before Christmas the biggest Siberian hound I ever saw was waiting at the little station for me. Booth was tickled to death, and we managed to chain that dog just inside the main gate near the lodge, and then we shook hands. It was an awful big dog, bigger than a little donkey that arrived on the next train with a go-cart as a present to his little daughter Edwina. Well, we fixed up the presen ts that night. I dressed up in f ur rugs and traps as Santa Claus, and had arranged to drive the donkey into the reception room and distnbute the gifts from the well laden go-cart. The dog was to reruain in the little shed we had extemporized for him, but he didn't. He was there on business, and he attended to it promptly. The chaiu broke like a piece of twine and I broke for the balcony, which I just managed to reach from the cart. Of course there was a racket, and I got into the window, and by the time we had armed ourselves with antique swords and a revolutionary musket the noise had subsided sufficiently for us to venture forth. The dog was just Been in the moonlight disappearing over the stone wall, thousandsof dollars' worth of presenta were scattered in the deep Know, and donkey meat and fur were lying an inch deep over the three acres of the Booth premises. The Siberiüii bloodhound had torn the donkey ■to atoras."