 He then focused, despite continued bouts of ill health and periods of convalescence in Europe, on journalism and writing farcical plays and musical theatre works.In 1900, he became a Roman Catholic and later visited Downside Abbey, in Somerset, where his son became a pupil in 1901.His stage works, in addition to those mentioned above, include the farce "The Cuckoo", which premiered at the Avenue Theatre in London (1899), also playing on Broadway the same year at Wallack's Theatre; a comic opera, "The Lucky Star" (1899), written in conjunction with Adrian Ross and Aubrey Hopwood for the D'Oyly Carte; a play called "I Pagliacci", based on the opera, at the Savoy Theatre (1904); the comic play "What Pamela Wanted" at the Criterion Theatre (1905); and another comedy, "The Lady Burglar" at Terry's Theatre (1906).