The Comedian's Downfall
Directed by Charles H. FranceWhen Bob Buster, the famous comedian, saw Semolina Brown sitting on a park bench one morning, his heart tilled to the point of overflowing. For Semolina was unmistakably a militant suffragette and she was just the type Buster had been looking for. So Buster sat down on the next bench and made a careful sketch of her. It was a singularly unfortunate thing that the suffragettes should select Thursday night for their rally in Holborn Hall, because on that same night Mr. Bob Buster was scheduled to appear at the Holborn Club in his latest character sketch. "Holborn Hall" does sound very much like "Holborn Club," if two people happen to be in a great hurry, and that is probably the reason why Bob Buster, dressed in the costume he had carefully copied from Semolina, was enthusiastically greeted by an excited throng of women, while Semolina was clapped on the back by several jovial men and congratulated on the excellence of her makeup. Semolina realized that a mistake had been made when she saw from the stage of the Holborn Club that the entire audience was composed of men. Nonetheless, she was by no means averse to making a few converts, and she plunged into her fervent speech. Naturally enough, the crowd, still thinking her to be Buster, roared and Semolina, infuriated, leaped from the platform and smote a stout individual in the front row, who seemed to be particularly amused. A small riot followed and Semolina was dragged from the building by two policemen. Poor Buster rushed on the stage at Holborn Hall without realizing in the least where he was, and remarked, "To begin with, let me say that I firmly believe a woman's place is in the home." He never exactly remembered what happened after that.
