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MR. STOLL INTERVIEWED, j

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MR. STOLL INTERVIEWED, Mr. Oswald Stoll evidently prefers to get his arrangements for the future well forward rather than talk about the unfortunate events of Tuesday morning. One of our representa- tives saw him superintending the arrange- ments for immediately opening the temporary show at the Philharmonic-hall. He was cool and undemonstrative as usual. In answer to our representative, he said no one could account for the fire breaking out, and the place of origin was equally unknown. He believed that the loss (which he could not quite defi- nitely state) would about be covered by the in. surance, though, when all came to be con- sidered, it would probably be a near thing. So far as he had had any con- trol over the erection of the building, the structure was made fire-proof. "It should have been fire-proof," said Mr. Stoll, drawing, as it seemed, a nice distinction between that statement and an actual asser- tion that it was fireproof. "But," he continued. "when iron gets hot it bends about, and is more dangerous than masonry. The concrete floors stood the test well. "The place was last seen safe at a quarter to twelve on Monday night, when it was locked up in the usual way, and he was called at a quarter to six on Tuesday morning by the police, who had a little while previously discovered the outbreak. As to plans for re-building, he could not say any- thing at present, but of course, there would be no delay in pushing the new building on. MISS LOTTIE COLLINS IN- TERVIEWED. Miss Lottie Collins wis in a state of alter- nate collapse and hysteria at her rooms at he Queen's Hotel when one of our reporters sailed upon her on Tuesday afternoon. She stated that she had not been well of late, and he doctor advised her at the end of last week not to go aw,iy from London for a time. But she v'as not willing to disappoint, and came to Cardiff on Saturday last. Her wardrobe. music, band parts, and effects generally had been completely destroyed. She valued them at R500. It wa-s, she said, the biggest loss she had ever sustained, and when our representa- tive asked her why she didn't insure her things she replied that she never gave the matter a thought. She did once, she said. whilst in America insure herself and her goods, but that had lapsed, and she never thought to re-insure. But when she went to Australia next year she would insure again. She was, she said, on a three weeks' tour, doing Cardiff, Newport, and Glasgow, and taking with her about a dozen new songs to get ready for a re-appearance in London. She sang four of her new songs in CarOiff on Monday night, viz., a new hunting song, a war song ("Au Revoir to Tommy Atkins"), "The Belie of Paris," and "The Far- son's Wife." All of these necessitated new dresses, and each dress had to be accompanied by a separate set of skirts.combinations, as they are called in the dressing-room.so as to produce the proper effect in the kick-up busi- ness. Her boots and costume in the hunting song. she declared, could not be re-placed any- where but at her spechil place in London, and, as for the thin dancing shoes veith elastic action for bending the foot outwards when doing the kick, a millionaire could not get them in the country. The fox's tail that she used in the hunting song was a "brush" from her own drawing-room. People told her not to cry, but when she began to laugh she became hysterical. She had been up since a quarter to seven, and had sent off over 50 telegrams for things to be sent from London. She had got one evening dress made for her locally. THE ARTISTES' LOSSES. It will natura"y strike the ordinary man of the world that mmic-hall artistes are par- ticularly careless about the safety of their effects, notwithstanding all the warnings that they and their professional fellows have had. not one of them who had their effects stored at the Empire have a penny piece to draw in the way of insurance to cover their losses. Miss Lottie Collins, the star artiste of the week, has estimated her losses at £ 500. She had some most lovely and expensive dresses in her great wardrobe; and of these and all her music and stage appointments there is not so much as a singed rag left. The others of the programme are quite in the same pjight. j'he Etharien Brothers, in addition to the loss of their clothes, have suffered heavily by the destruc- tion of some valuable mechanical eifcis, e,p2- cLIlly a spring dummy man for boxing, and a horse on wheels, which was full of springs and curious devices. Them represent a loss of at least. 1 £ 50 in money value; but the wsrsf part of the matter is that the things have to be made by the artwtf-s themselves, and cannot be replaced inside about six weeks. The same peo,)!" h:d a c;¡r of pantomime goods rearty for a pantomime at Newcastle-on-Tyne. I.to, Lilo, and Otto, the bicycle team, lost five valu- able machines averaging L-piece. Vtnle Belfry, who had some most charming dresses, told our representative that she 10.L thirteen gir,'S dresses, two boy's dresses, and about £1?, worth of paste jewellery. Her totnl lo'ip. must bp about fiiyj. The AfcNnlty Sisters, who have an fxtensivc wardrobe, are hit even heavier. t of the artistes, however, are procuring at Rhort notice new effects and from Lon. don. Ihe funny man in the bicycle turn told our reporter th?.t ho had heon round all the r.g stnpa of the town, and was fairly well supplied. SIEVES DESTROYED. Fr:d Fox, the chief scenic artist at the Eli,r.jis, is a very heavy loser by the fire, all PC*rfunal eff ?et«—some of which were valu- ao.3 family relics—having- been destroyed, and, liivc i.»e artistei, lie.WHS urInsured. Hchnd just ccl"Ict'ed One scene for the new Empire -iusic-iia- r.t IJolloway, London, upon which he hid lavisaed a wealth of skill, and which he consi.lerea one of the finest works he had c\f/ 5«d th; d'rection of. Mr. Fox was re-pon- VnlVf ^1! fhe at the Cardiff Empire, ant ai,0 for much of that used in the London and provincial hou,-«a. Habitues of the Cardiff I Emp-.i,e ztre abi, ',o of the great s,.iccess of Mr. Fox's Wolk. DESCRIPTION OF THE BUILDING. The Empire, which was opened on Monday, May 5th. 1896. was erected on the Bite of the old Empire and adjoining premises, the work of reconstruction having been -commenced shortly after the formation of the Cardiff, Newport, and Swansea Empire Company, of which Mr. Oswald Stoll is the managing director. The principal frontage was an jm- posing elevation of red brick and ]Bath ston.. The centre portion had been carried up as » tower, containing a large circular window, filled in with coloured glass, in the centre of which was tfee word "Empire," which was illuminated at night. <rhe ground floor was divided into entrances to the different parte of the hall, and ttie frontage with its arc lamps and flam- bean and bright-coloured glass made the whole tery effecUvO. The hail was designed with view to carrying 08 fwo performances a Bight, and special eontdfwation had been given tothe entrances and exit*, which were in dupli. I !• Br the provision of a waiting-room it |^>a*90Mible te-teke money lor th* seoond

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