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THE STAGE FIFTY YEARS AGO
with two Evas, two Topsies, two Uncle
Toms, and the like.
At the time of which I am writing farces
were greatly in vogue, and, indeed, were
favorite side dishes upon theatrical bills
of fare during the entire half century which
ended with 1880. They had a definite
place in the dramatic literature of the pe-
riod, and may be said to have constituted
an order or variety of that literature. Some
of them, such as Lend Me Five Shillings,
which Mr. Jefferson yet plays. To Paris
and Back for Five Pounds, and A Phe-
nomenon in a Smock Frock, were obvi-
ous and confessed translations from the
French ;
and scores of others were stolen
from Parisian playwrights, the marvelously
fertile Augustin Eugene Scribe being the
prime source of supply. But the English
adaptations were of remarkable freedom
and force, and often took on a flavor of
their own which gave them almost the
quality and value of original works. Box
C 13 ]