Watertown republican. [volume] (Watertown, Wis.) 1860-1906, 1884-02-13
BOB BURDETTE.
A Serious View of the Great Humorist's
Life.
from the Atlanta constitutional

Ll1es
from the Atlanta constitutional
Bob Burdette is known the country
over as the humorist of the Burlington
HdaUkeye. He is the most successful
of our funny men. His books have
constant and increasing sale. His sal
airy from the HdtOkeye gives him a
handsome income, and his little sketch
es command the best prices from the
magazines. In addition he has $3.50 to
$3.50 night whenever he wants to take
a lecturing tour of one or two weeks.
His humor is delicate, true and abun d.
ant, and he is an honor to the lighter
American letters, because of his liter
airy achievements.
But better and more honorable than
all this is the story of his hearth-stone.
When he was a young man of 26 he
was engaged to Miss Carrie Carrot, of
Peoria, Ill. She was frail and deli
cate girl, and one evening Burdette
was summoned to her bedside with the
message that she was dying. Little
hope was entertained for her life when
he reached her. It was determined, at
the wish of both he and she, that they
should be married, even if death should
at once claim the bride. The ceremony
took place In fifteen minutes, the little
lady being able 10 respond only by
motion of the eyes and gentle pressure
of the hand. In spite of the doctors
predictions she rallied, and was finally
well enough to move to the quiet and
coy home her husband had provided
for her.
But she has been an invalid all her
life. More than once her life has been
despaired of. Usually she has been
confined to her room and unable to
walk. One night at theater in Phila-
delphia the writer saw pale and earn
est man making his way to a private
box with delicate, clinging woman in
his arms. Her girlish face was full Of
pathos that passes description, but
was wonderfully pretty. And strangely
happy, too-full of content Every
body made way for the little lady, and
her great tender eyes seemed to send
thanks to every gentleman who moved
aside in courtesy. 1t was Bob Bur-
dette and his invalid wife. This is an
index of his life. The temptations of
the world, the dazzle and glitter of the
society that has welcomed him-the
converse with brilliant men, the club,
theater, wealth, fame-all and either of
them failed to win his heart from the
little woman who sat at his Preside and
lived on his love and sympathy.
Nor was there lacking q practical re-
ward of this devotion. Mrs. Burdette
has been the inspiration of her hus-
bands life-at once his spur and his
counselor. She first discovered the
rich quality and the spontaneity of
Bob's humor, and the homely flavor
that would carry it to the heart as well
as the intelligence of the public. Imag-
inc the humorist reading the most
laughable stories at the bedside of his
invalid wife. He tells himself of how
she forced him to write his first lecture
in these words:
Zone day, when she was lying help
less, she said she believed that [ could
write lecture and deliver it success
fully, and so she sat me down to write
that lecture, and from time to time I
rebelled with tears and groans and
prayers. I told her that [ was too little,
that l had no voice, and that couldn't
write lecture anyhow. She kept me
at it, and in due time we had a lecture
on our hands, 'The Rise and Fall of
the Mustache' This was all right
enough. But now how to get an
audience. I thought L would try it first
at Keokuk. If I delivered it first at
Burlington, even though it were tame,
tanner, tamest, I thought they might
pat me on the back. But Keokuk hated
Burlington, and [ knew if it was fiat
the Keokuk people would say so. Mrs.
Burdette said, as she was responsible
for that lecture, she was going to hear
it delivered. So [ carried her aboard
the cars. We went to Keokuk, and the
people pronounced it good"
From that day he has prospered
wherever his homely, insignificant little
figure has been seen.