engaged Sallie Cohen (now Mrs. John C. Rice), and sent her down
with Lucas, who, by the way, provided the money for the trip. Charles
then proceeded to cover his "Lemons" posters with "Uncle Tom's Cabin"
printing which he hastily acquired, and awaited results.

"Uncle Tom's Cabin" was played to a packed house at Richmond, and the
company was able to get out of Kentucky. Gustave now had visions of big
business in Ohio, and especially at Wilmington, which was Sam Lucas's
home town. But the result was the usual experience with home patronage
of home talent, and only a handful of people came to see the play.
Sallie Cohen, despairing of getting her salary, had quit the company,
and on this night Polly Stoddart, who was a tall, well-developed woman,
had to play Little Eva. When she sat on the lap of Wesley Sisson, who
played her father, she not only hid him from sight, but almost crushed
him to earth.

Wilmington proved to be the last despairing gasp of the Stoddart Comedy
Company, for the trouble-studded tour now ended. Some of Lucas's
diamonds were pawned to get the company back to Cincinnati.

The sad news was telegraphed to Charles, who was billing Newport,
Kentucky, which is just across the Ohio River from Cincinnati. He
received the message while standing on a step-ladder with a paste-brush
in his hand. Now came an early evidence of his humor and equanimity. He
calmly went on posting the bill for the show that he knew would never
appear. Afterward in reciting the incident he made this explanation:

"I didn't want to tell the bill-poster that the company was closed,
because he had just made a fresh bucket of paste and I didn't want him
to waste it. Besides, he had become enthusiastic at the prospect of
seeing a real negro Uncle Tom, and I had just given him some passes for
the show. I didn't want all his disappointments to come at one time."

After all the hardships of the previous months, and with salaries
unpaid, the company now found itself stranded in the spring of 1878 at
the Walnut Street Hotel in Cincinnati. Gustave's problem was to get his
people home. Fortunately, most of them lived in the Middle West. By
pawning some of his clothes and making other sacrifices he was able to
get them off. Only Frank Hartwell and Charles were left behind.

Gustave got a pass to Baltimore, where he borrowed enough money from
Callender, then in his decline, to take care of Hartwell. Charles was
left behind as security for the