Seven Ages “As You Like It.” Soliloquy on Death “Hamlet.” _Hubert_ and _Arthur_ “King John.” Churchyard Scene “Hamlet.” “The Bridge of Sighs” Hood. “The Bells” Poe. “The Vulgar Boy” Ingoldsby. “The Bruce” John Brougham. (Written expressly for Mr. Montgomery.) “Charge of the Light Brigade” Tennyson.
_Polonius_ to his Son “Hamlet.” _Wolsey’s_ Farewell “King Henry VIII.” Dream of _Clarence_ “King Richard III.” _Benedick’s_ Conversion “Much Ado About Nothing.” _Brutus’_ Oration “Julius Cæsar.” _Antony’s_ Oration “Julius Cæsar.” “The Raven” Poe. “Ben Battle” Hood. “The Bloomsbury Christening” Dickens.
As soon as possible after seeing Montgomery’s remarkable display of talent and versatility Belasco began to give public recitals, arranged in general upon the model of Montgomery’s, though varied to suit his own requirements. Chief among his selections were “The Vagabonds,” “The Maniac,” “Curfew Must Not Ring To-night,” “Bernardo del Carpio,” _Hubert’s_ scene with _Prince Arthur_, from “King John”; _Marc Antony’s_ Oration, and _Hamlet’s_ Soliloquy on Death. He also gave imitations of various actors well known to the California public.
In the latter part of 1870 or early in 1871, while giving recitations at Platt’s Hall and elsewhere in San Francisco, his attention was attracted by an exceptionally handsome girl,--whom he has described as one “all compact of sweetness,”--who occupied a front seat on every occasion of his appearance. This young lady (she was little more than a child, being then only fifteen years old) was Miss Cecilia Loverich. After some time he was fortunate enough to obtain an introduction to her, at a private house where he had been engaged to give some recitations, and the acquaintance thus formed, and earnestly pursued by the romantic youth, soon ripened into a serious attachment. “I was nobody,” said Belasco to me, “and she was a beauty, of wealthy family, and,--young as she was,--already much followed. I did not have much hope at first; but I didn’t despair altogether, either. If I was only a struggling
[Illustration: CECILIA LOVERICH. MRS. DAVID BELASCO
beginner on the stage, a sort of strolling spouter, still _she_ found my performances worth coming to see, over and over again!” The lover’s suit was not impaired by the fact that presently he suffered a serious physical injury, the rupture of a vein in one of his feet, which took a course so unfavorable there was danger that amputation would be necessary: a dark-haired, pale, dreamy-eyed, romantic youth sometimes becomes more than usually interesting to a gentle, compassionate young woman when he is hurt and suffering. Although incapacitated for several weeks, during which time Miss Loverich paid him many delicate attentions, Belasco finally recovered, after a minor operation,--though, from his account of this episode, I surmise he came near dying under an anæsthetic. For a while he was compelled to use crutches, but ultimately he resumed his professional labor. The marriage of David Belasco and Cecilia Loverich was solemnized, August 26, 1873, at the home of his parents, No. 174 Clara Street, San Francisco,--Rabbi Neustader performing the ceremony. At that time the actor was employed at Shiels’ Opera House: during about a year after their marriage his wife travelled with him on some of his various barnstorming expeditions--and that was the happiest experience of his life.