d settled somewhere, he set out.

But Kentucky did not prove to be the golden country. He was advised to
go to Ohio, and it was while driving across the country with his line of
goods that he came upon Sandusky. The little town on the shores of a
smiling lake appealed to him strongly. It reminded him of the home
country, and he remained there.

He found himself at once in a congenial place. There was a considerable
German population; his ready wit and engaging manner made him welcome
everywhere. The road lost its charm; he turned about for an occupation
that was permanent. Having picked up a knowledge of cigar-making, he
established a small factory which was successful from the start.

This fact assured, his next act was to send to New York for Miss
Strauss, who joined him at once, and they were married. These were the
forebears of Charles Frohman--the exuberant, optimistic, pleasure-loving
father; the serene, gentle-eyed, and spacious-hearted woman who was to
have such a strong influence in the shaping of his character.

The Frohmans settled in a little frame house on Lawrence Street that
stood apart from the dusty road. It did not even have a porch.
Unpretentious as it was, it became a center of artistic life in
Sandusky.

Henry Frohman had always aspired to be an actor. One of the first things
he did after settling in Sandusky was to organize an amateur theatrical
company, composed entirely of people of German birth or descent. The
performances were given in the Turner Hall, in the German tongue, on a
makeshift stage with improvised scenery. Frohman became the directing
force in the production of Schiller's and other classic German plays,
comic as well as tragic.

Nor was he half-hearted in his histrionic work. One night he died so
realistically on the stage that his eldest son, who sat in the audience,
became so terrified that he screamed out in terror, and would not be
pacified until his parent appeared smilingly before the curtain and
assured him that he was still very much alive.

* * *

Frohman's business prospered. He began to build up trade in the
adjoining country. With a load of samples strapped behind his buggy, he
traveled about. He usually took one of his older sons along. While he
drove, the boy often held a prompt-book and the father would rehearse
his parts. Out across those quiet Ohio fields would come the thrilling
words of "The Robbers," "Ingomar," "Love and Intrigue," or any of the
many p