Cabin" Company, whose advance fortunes Frohman had piloted in his
precarious days on the road.

Just as Frohman led the American invasion in England, so did he now
bring about the English invasion of America. He had inaugurated it with
Olga Nethersole. He now introduced to American theater-goers such
artists as Charles Hawtrey, Mrs. Patrick Campbell, Charles Warner, Sir
Charles Wyndham, Mary Moore, Marie Tempest, and Fay Davis, in whose
career he was enormously interested. He starred Miss Davis in a group of
plays ranging from "Lady Rose's Daughter" to "The House of Mirth."

In connection with Mrs. Campbell's first tour occurred another one of
the famous Frohman examples of quick retort. He was rehearsing this
highly temperamental lady, and made a constructive criticism which
nettled her very much. She became indignant, called him to the
footlights, and said:

"I want you to know that I am an artist?"

Frohman, with solemn face, instantly replied:

"Madam, I will keep your secret."

One of the early English importations revealed Frohman's utterly
uncommercialized attitude toward the theater. He was greatly taken with
the miracle play "Everyman," and brought over Edith Wynne Mathison and
Charles Rann Kennedy to do it. He was unable to get a theater, so he put
them in Mendelssohn Hall.

"You'll make no money with them there," said a friend to him.

"I don't expect to make any," replied Frohman, "but I want the American
people to see this fine and worthy thing."

The play drew small audiences for some time. Then, becoming the talk of
the town, it went on tour and repaid him with a profit on his early
loss.

* * *

One of the happiest of Charles Frohman's theatrical associations now
developed. In 1903, when the famous Weber and Fields organization seemed
to be headed toward dissolution, Charles Dillingham suggested to Willie
Collier that he go under the Frohman management. Collier went to the
Empire Theater and was ushered into Frohman's office.

"It took you a long time to get up here," said the magnate. "How would
you like to go under my management?"

"Well," replied Collier, with his usual humor, "I didn't come up here to
buy a new hat."

The result was that Collier became a Frohman star and remained one for
eleven years. He and Frohman were constantly exchanging witty telegrams
and letters. Frohman sent Collier to Australia. At San Francisco the
star encountered the famous earthquake. He wired Frohman: