The Climbers A Play in Four Acts   By: Clyde Fitch (1865-1909)

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: