I started to play one of them, but as I insisted on making it an aged negro with songs, Barrie and Frohman got discouraged and let me play the villain, Lord Rintoul, in which character I was great.

Maude played his part in five different ways and dialects so as to see which he liked best, he said.

It was a bit confusing.

Then one of the actors went up in the gallery and pretended to be a journalist critic who had sneaked in, and he abused the play and the actors with the exception of the man who played Whamond (himself) whom he said he thought showed great promise.

Maude pretended not to know who he was and it fooled everybody.