Springfield globe-republic. (Springfield, Ohio) 1884-1887, 1886-09-26


master to let him leave work at O'Clock for
one evening in each week in order that he
might attend evening school at a charge Of
twopence. This request the merchant granted
to him for about six weeks, but at the end Of
that time, finding that the boy was too much
missed, he withdrew the permission And
this was the extent of the schooling of Wilson
Barrett. But his mind was developing rapidly
without the aid of teachers. He had been
trying his hand at little dramas, and on his
way home from the store at night he fire.
quently used to slip into the theatre and see
the last part of whatever play was on. Then
he would shin up" the water pipe and into
his low bed room and undress as quietly as
possible so as not to awaken his parents, who,
he knew, would not approve his conduct.
But this growing love for the stage became
stronger and stronger in HIM. One night he
saw Henry Neville, then the leading actor at
the Olympic, in "Camilla's Husband" 1t
was very warm evening Young Barrett
sat in the galleries and then ran all the way
home after the play. He took a chill which
resulted in Inflammation of the lungs and
pleurisy, and for a long time the poor child
wavered between life and death. During
this sickness the sum of sixteen shillings,
which he had been saving up penny by
penny as a starting fund for. entering the
dramatic profession, and which he had al
ways kept in his pocket by day and in little
canvas bag under his pillow at night, was
discovered and paid over TO the doctor. Very
recently, when Mr.. Neville told Mr.. Barrett
that English actors looked to him as the head
OF their profession, the latter said: That's
good 10 hear from you, as you nearly killed
me at the beginning
After his convalescence young Barrett
went back to the corn dealers, and shortly
afterward to a large bank note printing
Office. Here he rose rapidly, receiving at the
start fifteen shillings a week, and as the
hours of work were not so confining as with
his former employers he found time to write
his first completed drama, Robin Hood"
He was now Is years old, and with some
other lads of about the same age accom-
plished an extraordinary thing. He arranged
an old shed in the back Of garden as
theatre, with stage and scenery, and in lieu
of gas or footlights devised q scheme Of oil
lamps, whose wicks could be turned up or
down all at the same time by pulling a wire.
For the boxes a board was painted and cut
out in the shape of curtains, so that a man
standing outside looked from the stage as il
seated in regular theatre box. There were
six members in young Barrettis company,
and, after several rehearsals, tickets were
issued to fifty or sixty friends and relatives
of the actors. The play was u great success,
and the amateur theatre was nightly crowded.
The actors did the scene shifting, and Mr..
Wilson Barrettis brother George, the now
wellknown comedian of the Princess theatre,
had for his inspiring portion of the work 10
sit on a narrow board up over their heads in
the flies, the ladder by which he had mounted
being taken down in order to make sure of
his staying there till the end of the play It
was very hot on his perch, and he sometimes
got very tired, and had to be poked with
long stick in order to be kept up to business.
They purchased calico and stained and cut
and stitched their own costumes, young
Wilson doing all the devising, designing and
literary work. Their orchestra consisted of
a violin, English concertina and flute They
wanted a drum; but, the orchestra being too
small to accommodate the real article, tine
plan was hit on Of covering a small square
box with thick brown paper, kept taut by
spirit lamp. This was a fair drum if not hit
too hard
About this time a very large robbery of
bank notes occurred and detectives were fol-
lowing every person connected with the
printers firm where young Barrett was EN-
ployed. One night, being a little late, the
boy ran all the way from the office To his
theatre, which awakened the suspicious of a
detective, who dogged him and marveled to
SEE him slip in among q score or two of people
In q back yard Following in himself he