The Climbers

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Climbers, The

The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Climbers, by Clyde Fitch This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.net
Title: The Climbers A Play in Four Acts
Author: Clyde Fitch
Release Date: September 3, 2005 [EBook #16635]
Language: English
Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1
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THE CLIMBERS A PLAY IN FOUR ACTS
By CLYDE FITCH

NEW YORK SAMUEL FRENCH PUBLISHER 25 WEST 45th STREET
LONDON SAMUEL FRENCH, LTD. 26 SOUTHAMPTON ST. STRAND
Reprinted by permission of Little, Brown & Co.

COPYRIGHT, 1905, BY LITTLE, BROWN, AND COMPANY. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
This play is fully protected by the copyright law, all requirements of which have been complied with. In its present printed form it is dedicated to the reading public only, and no performance of it, either professional or amateur, may be given without the written permission of the owner of the acting rights, who may be addressed in care of the publishers, Little, Brown, and Company.

TO CHARLES T. MATHEWS
IN GRATEFUL RECOGNITION OF HIS TRUE FRIENDSHIP AND LOYAL ENTHUSIASM FROM THE BEGINNING
C.F.

[Transcriber's Note: One character is listed as Dr. Steinart in the List of Characters, but Dr. Steinhart in the body of the play.]

THE CLIMBERS
ACT I. IN LATE WINTER. _At the Hunters'._
ACT II. THE FOLLOWING CHRISTMAS EVE. _At the Sterlings'._
ACT III. CHRISTMAS DAY. _At the Hermitage, by the Bronx River._
ACT IV. THE DAY AFTER CHRISTMAS. _At the Sterlings'._
NEW YORK: TO-DAY

THE PEOPLE IN THE PLAY
RICHARD STERLING. EDWARD WARDEN. FREDERICK MASON. JOHNNY TROTTER. GODESBY. DR. STEINART. RYDER. SERVANT _at the Hermitage._ JORDAN. _Butler at the Sterlings'._ LEONARD. _Footman at the Sterlings'._ MASTER STERLING. SERVANTS.
MRS. STERLING (_née Blanche Hunter_). MISS HUNTER. MRS. HUNTER. JESSICA HUNTER. CLARA HUNTER. MISS GODESBY. MISS SILLERTON. TOMPSON. _Mrs. Hunter's Maid._ MARIE. _Clara Hunter's Maid._

Originally produced at the Bijou Theatre, New York, January 21, 1901, with the following cast:--
Richard Sterling Mr. Frank Worthing Edward Warden Mr. Robert Edeson Frederick Mason Mr. John Flood Johnny Trotter Mr. Ferdinand Gottschalk Dr. Steinart Mr. George C. Boniface Godesby Mr. J.B. Sturges Ryder Mr. Kinard Servant at the Hermitage Mr. Henry Warwick Jordan } Servants { Mr. Edward Moreland Leonard } at the { Mr. Henry Stokes A Footman } Hunters' { Mr. Frederick Wallace Richard Sterling, Jr. Master Harry Wright
Mrs. Hunter Mrs. Madge Carr Cook Mrs. Sterling (_née_ Blanche Hunter) Miss Amelia Bingham Jessica Hunter Miss Maud Monroe Clara Hunter Miss Minnie Dupree Miss Hunter Miss Annie Irish Miss Godesby Miss Clara Bloodgood Miss Sillerton Miss Ysobel Haskins Tompson } Maids at { Miss Lillian Eldredge Marie } the Hunters' { Miss Florence Lloyd

Produced at the Comedy Theatre, London, September 5, 1903, with the following cast:--
Richard Sterling Mr. Sydney Valentine Edward Warden Mr. Reeves-Smith Frederick Mason Mr. J.L. Mackay Johnny Trotter Mr. G.M. Graham Godesby Mr. Horace Pollock Dr. Steinart Mr. Howard Sturges Master Sterling Miss Maidie Andrews Ryder Mr. Henry Howard Jordan Mr. Elgar B. Payne Leonard Mr. Littledale Power Footman Mr. Rivers Bertram Servant Mr. George Aubrey
Mrs. Sterling Miss Lily Hanbury Miss Hunter Miss Kate Tyndall Mrs. Hunter Miss Lottie Venne Jessica Hunter Miss Alma Mara Clara Hunter Mrs. Mouillot Miss Sillerton Miss Florence Sinclair Tompson Miss L. Crauford Marie Miss Armstrong Miss Godesby Miss Fannie Ward

ACT I
_A drawing-room at the Hunters', handsomely and artistically furnished. The woodwork and furniture are in the period of Louis XVI. The walls and furniture are covered with yellow brocade, and the curtains are of the same golden material. At the back are two large windows which give out on Fifth Avenue, opposite the Park, the trees of which are seen across the way. At Left is a double doorway, leading into the hall. At Right, opposite, is a door which leads to other rooms, and thence to other parts of the house. In the centre, at back, between the two windows, is the fireplace; on the mantel are two vases and a clock in dark blue ormolu. There is a white and gold piano on the Right side of the room. The room suggests much wealth, and that it has been done by a professional decorator; the personal note of taste is lacking._
_It is four o'clock in the afternoon. The shades of the windows are drawn down. There are rows and rows of camp-chairs filling the entire room._
_The curtain rises slowly. After a moment,_ JORDAN, _the butler, and_ LEONARD, _a footman, enter from the Left and begin to gather together and carry out the camp-chairs. They do this with very serious faces, and take great pains to step softly and to make