The semi-weekly miner. [volume] (Butte, Mont.) 1882-1886, 1882-05-13

A-eemus Wsrd IN 1ha3and.
,r,.a Artemes Ward arrived here in
~ ~ vas 10 dying man. ] can see
.ov a he came On the platform In
~ If bis inferior panorama, and
-. Glance ct the densely packed
ho.e.. ni then at his panorama. Hi
- limit. though slender figure, hin
~ light hair and large aquiline
ofy,~ always reminds me Of 4
49,, III. thin face flushed with CON
p..;,,n. his little cough which seemed
a1r. him tn pieces, and which he
Ns s,ss ..wearinG him out" ct which
sla III laughed irresistjbly, and then
v .shaned Of our elves, % we'll We
~ ~. INT he himself seemed to euioH
n9"',,,,h 1t was all part Of that odd
bs eyv mind In which everythipe
se:.red most natural when upside
do ".. srst entering he would seem pro-
UaIv unconscious that anything was
Nu..:d of him, but after looking 1t
e1rs".licnce, then at his own clothes.
tneI then ALPHABETICALLY at his piano.
~" he lwran to explain its merits.
nm,'"crt was that Artemus intended TO
Ins '1 The finest scenes that could be
D..;"ted. but he gave that up on account
c.he ..xpel,se, and then determined to
o. n. ~. the worst ~ the next best thing for
r. mrm,.e. When anything very bad
We n,e M he would pause and gaze adj
fa ::";."iy at the canvas, and look around
'i :.,;e rppr.r.chiully at the company.
s.Tn;. PICTURE" he would say, "is u
80 work Of art-it Is an oil painting
; ;an" in petroleum.. 1t h by the old
'S"'s 1t is the last thing they did
''tore dying. They did this and then
.<nire.l. wish you were nearer to it
vou could see 1t better. / wish !
lid take it to your residences and let
rou sec it by daylight. Some Ut the
latest artists in London come here ev-
Nv morning before daylight with lam
,.;n, 10 look ut it. They say they never
' S.w ANYTHING like it before and hope
,hey never shall again."
Nothing could be more imprOmptu,
and therefore riveting, than his man
.sr throughout from the moment he
Sstered: he seemed to he doing every
thino for the first time and without the
80 preparati0n, and indeed he was
..ost nm like such mechanical artists as
AIhert smith, who used TO say he could
.. thro,9h his ''Mont Blanc' half
s.eep. Artemus was always in reality
Il hirh pressure. He was never twice
.he same: poured ont new jokes with
nrdirality; every gesture was origina!
Ind ,r,se out Of the immediate Occa-
.;on. His fi.,ger was ever OH the pulse
al the people; they were always allsO-
jutely in his power, whilst he battered
them by appearing tn he entirely theirs.
He would .:OnciIiate them, inspire pity,
claim indulgence, throw himself upon
their generosity. pretend to exert him.
self. to labor under = depressing sense
Of failure, even make capital out of his
NOR cough; then he was deeply wound
Fl if sonle poor joke failed to elicit ap-
nhuse. that he would stop end look re-
pr6uchfully ut the people until they
shook with a new sense Of the absurd
situation. At other times, when inter-
ult,.l Nv laughter, he would look
around with surprise and say, II did not
pxMvt YOU to laugh ut that. can throw
utf numbers Of those little things, but
ssxur. you can do better than that"
When he opened his lecture on the
. M"ln"1s f ESei"da don't 1 e2pect d do
much here, but thought It could
make money enough to buy me pass
age 10 New Zealand, / should feel that /
had not lived in vain. | don't want 20
live in vain. I'D rather live In Maryate
"rh here"
The heat was mas most oppressive and
thu hall very crowded the day Was
there. and lonking up tn the roof he con-
tiuueti: but ! wish when the Egyp-
:ians had built this hall they had not
forgotten the ventilation" Apropos OF
nothing at all, Il little further on nc Oh
served, IL really don't care for money !;
| only travel around h show my
rlotinx" This was favOrttc joke "t
his; be would Look with u pites''ls ex-
PRESTON oi' discomfort and almost mis-
Try 1T his black trOwsers and swallow
tail coat, a ct,s!iI,na in which he said ne
vas almost wrctcheal. "rhese clothes
have on," he continued, ''were q great
success in Anne, ica' land then quite IT.
relcvantiy and hastily, "hOw often 90
large fortunes ruin young men. snO"Iu
iketo IN. ruined, but l can get on very
we'll ~ | ann So the lecture drloOlet!
~ with little fragments Of tmpert,nen'
biography, mere begs for slender VIII.
.isn,s like this: "When quite y child
used to draw on wood; drew . small
.art!".d Of raw material over wOodefl
bridge; the people Of the village noticeG
Inc; drew their attention; they saia
had future before me; up to that time
Ihad ~, idea it was behind me. Vi
this: IL i,ecnInc man. I have always
BEEN mixed nm with art. have an un
rle who takes photographs, and 1:haye :
servant who takes anything he can '"S
his hands On.'
But Ward was something beside
sparkling h,,morist; he was \ man -, .
character and principle; there was a"t ~
ing Of The a.lventurer-very little ID ~ 80.
specuiatnr even about him. Even jill 49,
de,ah, Of comedy he was always on tn
side Of j,,<,ic. and virtue, and not VIII
the big tatiaIions. II TX these Iut'
TONS ,a!.ut Louis NapOie0nl' say