Knocked into a cocked hat

The haul at this premiere benefit augered badly for the Australian adventure. In the words of Frank Queen, the editor of the country's first theatrical trade paper, The New York Clipper: "... we don't think the boys have got hunches on their backs from carrying home the surplus cash." The departure itself boiled over into demands for pre-boarding advances for the players. In the end the whole thing fizzled, knocked into a cocked hat. However, in stepped Mrs. Maguire, to negotiate a new opportunity to perform in her husband's San Francisco theatres. Birch & Cotton, the citizens, not the troupe, left together for California on the Steamer Ariel.