aby' was given at the old Park Theater, with Edwin Thorne in
the cast. It was preceded by 'Old Love-Letters,' performed by Mrs. Agnes
Booth and Joseph Whitney. Doubtless neither the actors nor the audience
knew that the night was to prove itself an important one in dramatic
history, nor that the words which were spoken and listened to in the
careless fashion of every-day life were to inspire a young heart with an
ambition as boundless as it was sincere.

Chorus Boy In "Pinafore."

"In the center of the orchestra, by the side of a dignified, stolid
business man, sat a young boy whose golden hair, breathless face, and
ardent eyes attracted the attention of more than one careless spectator.
The boy was Henry Woodruff, nine years of age, spellbound at his first
glimpse of the actor's world. The man was his father.

"The flushed cheeks and the tingling soul were not the effects of a mere
holiday treat; no, they long outlasted the holiday time; they disturbed
his lessons. The memory of that one night filled his dreams, kept him
awake nights, sent him to the newspapers in the hope of finding he knew
not what, and finally riveted his eyes on a paragraph advertising for
children for the 'Pinafore' company at the Fourteenth Street Theater.

"Then the beating heart and the eager eyes realized their own purpose, and
silently, without assistance from friend or foe, the little man made his
plans, started from his home, asked his way patiently from Jersey City to
Chickering Hall, and finally stood inside beside the big manager, who was
examining a hundred or more children who had applied for the position. In
time he turned to the newcomer.

"'What can you sing, my little man?'

"With a horrible sense of misfitness he remembered he knew nothing but
Sunday-school hymns, but he answered bravely:

"'I can sing "Onward, Christian Soldiers."'

"'Try it,' said the man.

"They put him on the stage, and, fired by the great desire which had never
left him since he had seen those noble actors, the little fellow sang out
with all his soul."

How the Rungs Were Climbed.

He stayed in the chorus only three weeks, being promoted, first to the
part of the boatswain, then to that of _Ralph Rackstraw_, leading man, in
which capacity he went on the road. Daniel Bandmann then engaged him for
the page in his production of "Narcisse."

The next year young Woodruff was with Adelaide Neilson, in her last
engagement, presenting "Cymbeline."