St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1886-12-27
CLIMBING THE LADDE r.
Lawrence Barrett TefiS How He
Started at the Foot and Went
SLOWLY.

Lawrence barrett fc1lS HOW fhe
Started at the Foot and Went
slowly.
Washington Post
suppose Barrett is rich now, but like
most rich men. he began his climb at the
very lowest round. He was born at Pater-
son, n. j. His parents were the poorest of
the poor Irish. and his name, like theirs.
was Barrett, not Brannagan. He went to
school about year. all told; then at 9 he
drifted away from home and lived on what
he could pick up in errands and little jobs.
Now he is rich. Not only that, but he is
gentleman of education and culture,
reading his Greek and Latin and speaking
the principal European languages. There
is probably no man in his profession who
reads so much-so broadly and deeply as
he. happen to know that he has read
through six of the largest histories of
Greece, and he is equally acquainted with
other history, ancient and modern, and
with imaginative literature.
l asked him what he did after he left
home al years of age.
81 shuffied around and got my living as
best l could" he said. Il was very
ignorant. By mere accident stuck around
theaters. and did odd jobs there-the very
commonest work there is. Finally found
myself at Detroit. and there, by much
finesse and log rolling, | got my name put
on the regular payroll at So. so week. 1t
seemed great thing, but my pride was
kept subdued by the circumstance that the
payroll was precariouS, and l didn't sue
coed in getting the money much more than
half the time.
"Here, at last, after two or three years
of awful drudgery, L was taken notice of
by the old low comedian, William Forrest.
l never think of him without gratitude. He
saw that l was alone, and he tried to help
me. 1t was uphill work. L was not a
promising pupil. | was IA or Is, sharpered
by rough contact with the toughest corners
of the world. but ignorant awkward and
afraid of my shadow. | was given the very
lowest parts-just word or two to speak
and l stumbled through them. Poor
Forrest was discouraged. l remember his
taking ME by the shoulders one day and
showing me off the stage, exclaiming:
There, get out! You'll never make any
thing! There's no stuff in your And the
very next time saw him he patted Inc on
the back and told me to keep stiff upper
lip and try again.
well, tried again and again. 1 fell
down and got up. and learned little by lit
tie laboriously. l tried to improve my man.
ners and my speech. l stuck to Forrest
and persisted. He finally cast me in a low
speaking part in farce, The Turnpike
Gate l committed it. learned the bust
ness that was required of me. and when
the eventful evening came stood trembling
at the wing waiting for my cue. The ter
ror of the situation burst upon me all at
once, and half a minute before my turn
came bolted-shot out of the rear door
and ran up the street hatleSs and GREATNESS
and took refuge behind a block of stores.
Of course wasn't on hand to pick up my
cue, and the play, to that extent, was mu-
tilated.
up to this time I had read nothing
hardly, but one day 1 got hold of all I'M
abridged dictionary. 1 took it up and
glanced at it. 1t was mostly new and
found it interesting. l began at the begin
ming and read it through, column by col
umn. 1t was a genuine revelation to me,
and as fascinating as novel. committed
whole pages of it to memory. and that
knowledge has served ME all my life.
soon got so could stand up and speak my
words correctly on the stage. In year or
two had read the whole standard English
drama. At II was leading actor in that
Detroit theater at S14 week. playing Cas-
sius. Brutus. Macbeth and quite a line of
tragedy. All, sir, that seems century
agor'