BOUC1CAULT, DION. 



bolivianos, and the internal debt at 8.736,075 

 bolivianos. Floating liabilities are said to swell 

 the total to more than double these sums. Over 

 two thirds of the public revenue is devoted to 

 maintaining the standing army of 2,000 men 

 and 1,020 officers and the National Guard, in 

 which all citizens are obliged to serve. . 



Revolutionary Manifestations. In the 

 summer of 1890 various violent attempts to 

 overthrow the Government were made. In dif- 

 ferent parts of the country risings took place. 

 The most serious one was led by Camacho, 

 whose force was defeated and dispersed in the 

 middle of July. The Government declared over 

 the whole republic a state of siege, and several 

 political leaders were arrested and escorted to 

 the frontier. 



BOUCICAULT, DION, a British dramatist 

 and actor, born in Dublin, Ireland, Dec. 26, 

 1822; died in New York city, Sept. 18, 1890. 

 He was the son of a French merchant in Dublin, 

 and his education was conducted by his guard- 



BOUCICAULT AS CONN, IN "THE 8HAUGHRAUN." 



ian, Dr. Dionysius Lardner, of the University of 

 London, who designed to make him an architect 

 and civil engineer ; but unusual ability for dra- 

 matic composition developed so early that the 

 studies were abandoned. Before the age of 



eighteen he had written ' Napoleon's Old Guard " 

 and " A Lover by Proxy," a farce, from the prep- 

 aration of which sprang his next play, " London 

 Assurance," which was at once successful, and 

 has held the stage ever since. His account of 

 the way it came to be written is as follows: 

 " Mathews was then in power, and to him I sub- 

 mitted the farce, which he promised to read. I 

 called on him several times, but of course did 

 not succeed in getting an audience. Finally I 

 caught him dining and was admitted to his pres- 

 ence. ' Ah, young man,' he said, ' you wish to 

 know my verdict on your farce? It is promis- 

 ing, in fact, clever; but 1 can not produce it at 

 present, for my time is filled up. However, if 

 you care to leave it, I'll see what can be done 

 hereafter. There are good points in Harry Law- 

 less. If I had a part like that in a five-act play, 

 I'd jump at it.' Well, 1 knew that Mathews had 

 not the remotest idea of bringing out my farce, 

 but I saw light in his remark regarding a five-act 

 play. I went home and began ' London Assur- 

 ance,' and in six weeks completed it. This was 

 in March, 1841, at the age of eighteen. Again I 

 went to Mathews and showed him the comedy. 

 ' But I ordered no comedy,' he exclaimed. ' I 

 am aware of that,' 1 replied. ' You did say, how- 

 ever, that if you had a part like Harry Lawless 

 in a five-act comedy you d jump at it. I've writ- 

 ten such a character for you.' k What ! ' he cried, 

 'do you mean to say you've written a five-act 

 comedy in six weeks, on my suggestion 1 ' ' Yes.' 

 My perseverance so astounded Mathews that his 

 indifference turned to interest. He read Lon- 

 don Assurance,' accepted it, and, when I read it 

 to the actors of Covent Garden, Madame Vestris 

 was so pleased that she came to me, saying: 

 ' Whatever may be the public verdict, we feel 

 sure that you have written a great comedy.' " 



His next success was " Old Heads and Young 

 Hearts," 1848. He continued to write or adapt 

 plays until 1853, when he also went upon the 

 stage as an actor. In the same year he married 

 Agnes Robertson, an actress, and came to the 

 United States, where he delivered lectures and 

 he and his wife acted. In 1858 he established a 



returned to London, and there brought out, at 

 the Adelphi, his famous Irish play of " Colleen 

 Bawn," founded on Gerald Griffin's novel of 

 " The Collegians." The next year, at the same 

 place, he produced his successful play, " The 

 Octoroon;" which was intended to set forth the 

 evils of American slavery. Drama followed 

 drama in rapid succession, some being original 

 and some adaptations from the French. Of his 

 three hundred plays, some of the best known of 

 this period are : " Dot," and " The Relief of Luck- 

 now/' 1862 ; " The Trial of Effie Deans," 1803 ; 

 " The Streets of London," 1864 ; Arrah-na- 

 Pogue," 1865; "The Flying Scud," "Hunted 

 Down," "The Long Strike," 1866: "How she 

 loves him," and, in connection with Charles 

 Reade, a dramatization of the latter's novel of 

 " Foul Play," 1867; "After Dark," 1868; "Lost 

 at Sea " and " Formosa," 1869 : " The Rapparee " 

 and "Jezebel," 1870; " Babil and Bijou," 1872. 



The dramatization of Washington Irving's 

 story of " Rip van Winkle," made world-famous 



