ff first. When Frohman heard of it he said:

"We must be in London first."

"But there are no sailings for a week," said one of his staff.

"Then we will hire a boat," was his retort.

However, there proved to be no need for this enterprise, because a
regular sailing developed.

"The Cat and the Cherub" won the race across the Atlantic and was
produced first. It took the edge off the novelty of "The First Born,"
which was a failure, but its fine quality gave Charles the premier place
as an artistic producer in England, and he never regretted having made
the attempt despite the loss.

Frohman became immersed in a multitude of things. In September, 1901,
for example, he was interested in five English playhouses--the Aldwych,
the Shaftesbury, the Vaudeville, and the Criterion, as well as the Duke
of York's. He had five different plays going at the same time--"Sherlock
Holmes," "Are You a Mason?" "Bluebell in Fairyland," "The Twin Sister,"
and "The Girl from Maxim's." This situation was typical of his English
activities from that time until his death.

* * *

The picturesqueness of detail which seemed to mark the beginning of so
many of Charles Frohman's personal and professional friendships attended
him in England, as the case of his first experience with Edna May shows.

One hot night late in the summer season of 1900 Frohman was having
supper alone on his little private balcony at the Savoy Hotel
overlooking the Thames. It was before the Strand wing of the hostelry
had been built. As he sat there, clad only in pajamas and smoking a
large black cigar, he heard a terrific din on the street below. There
was cheering, shouting, and clapping of hands. Summoning a waiter, he
asked:

"What's all that noise about?"

"Oh, it's only Miss Edna May coming to supper, sir."

"Why all this fuss?" continued Frohman.

"Well, you see, sir," answered the servant, "they are bringing her back
in triumph."

When Frohman made investigation he found that the doctors and nurses at
the Middlesex Hospital in London, where Edna May frequently sang for the
patients, had engaged the whole gallery of the Shaftesbury Theater where
she was singing in "The American Beauty," and attended in a body. After
the play they had surrounded her at the stage entrance, unhitched the
horse from her little brougham, and hauled her through the streets to
the Savoy.

This episode made a tremendous impression on Frohman. He was always
drawn to the pe