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Updated: July 16, 2025
"My first encounter with Archibald Florance was very funny," proceeded Mr. Seven Sachs, blandly deaf. "I was starving in New York, trying to sell a new razor on commission and I was determined to get on to the stage. I had one visiting-card left just one. I wrote 'Important' on it, and sent it up to Wunch. I don't know whether you've ever heard of Wunch.
Florance, the most urgent thing in this theatre is that I should have an increase of salary! I guess I licked the stuffing out of him that time." Edward Henry gave vent to one of those cordial and violent guffaws which are a specialty of the humorous side of the Five Towns. And he said to himself: "I should never have thought of anything as good as that." "And did you get it?" he asked.
"The old man said not a word," Mr. Seven Sachs went on in the same even, tranquil, smiling voice. "But next pay-day I found I'd got a rise of ten dollars a week. And not only that, but Mr. Florance offered me a singing part in his new drama, if I could play the mandolin. I naturally told him I'd played the mandolin all my life. I went out and bought a mandolin and hired a teacher.
He himself was high, and so he could judge the greater height of Seven Sachs; and it was only through the greater height of Seven Sachs that he could form an adequate idea of the pinnacle occupied by the unique Archibald Florance. Honestly, he had never dreamt that there existed a man who habitually smoked twelve-shilling cigars and yet he reckoned to know a thing or two about cigars!
"I beg your pardon!" he apologized. "Not at all," said Seven Sachs. "I was only going to say you've probably heard that I was always up against Archibald Florance." "Really!" murmured Edward Henry, impressed in spite of himself. For the renown of Archibald Florance exceeded that of Seven Sachs as the sun the moon, and was older and more securely established than it as the sun the moon.
It was the first night of 'Overheard. Florance was playing at the Hudson Theatre, which is a bit higher up Forty-fourth Street, and his name was in electric letters too, but further off Broadway than mine. I strolled up, just out of idle curiosity, and there the old man was standing in the porch of the theatre, all alone! 'Hullo, Sachs, he said, 'I'm glad I've seen you.
"'Are you an actor? he said. "'I want to be one, I said. "'Well, he said, 'there's a school round the corner. "'Well, I said, 'you might give me a card of introduction, Mr. Florance. "He gave me the card. I didn't take it to the school. I went straight back to the theatre with it, and had it sent up to Wunch. It just said, 'Introducing Mr.
The customarily silent Seven Sachs had little by little subdued him to an admiration as mute as it was profound. "Nearly five years after that I got a Christmas card from old Florance. It had the usual printed wishes 'Merriest possible Christmas and so on' but, underneath that, Archibald had written in pencil, 'You've still five years to go. That made me roll my sleeves up, as you may say.
Florance, I said. 'Something very urgent. He turned on me and scowled: 'What is it? he said, and he looked very angry. It was a bit of the best acting the old man ever did in his life. It was so good that at first I thought it was real. He said again louder, 'What is it? So I said, 'Well, Mr.
I'd never played the infernal thing before anybody at all only up in my bedroom. I struck the first chord, and found the darned instrument was all out of tune with the orchestra. So I just pretended to play it, and squawked away with my song, and never let my fingers touch the strings at all. Old Florance was waiting for me in the wings. I knew he was going to fire me. But no!
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