The Helena independent. [volume] (Helena, Mont.) 1875-1943, 1890-10-22
JOHN |. MAY Do TRAGEDY.
he Feels Rather Afraid Of Compare
son With Booth, Barrett
and Others.
Nevertheless, He May Put On q
Hump and Tackle
Richard Ill

He Expected to BE Guyed when He Went
ON the stage Working
Very Hard.
swell, know that you boys like to guy
Fellow said he, land suppose it's bust
hess; but that's all right. Take seat,
won't your he said to Chicago Post re-
porter.
He was ia his shirt sleeves with an extin-
&quished cigar between his lips and the am
Die folds of his broad trimmed collar rising
in pillows above his waistcoat. But he did
mot speak as If he had a mortgage on the
town, nor did he seem anxious to get con-
. troll Of the universe. Indeed, If it were not
| for the enormous expanse of chest, the
giant arms and the heavy muscular neck,
no one might have imagined that the host
was John L. Sullivan.
''Guying fellow is good fun enough,
guess" he continued. ''some men kick at
it I suppose, but-well, you know half the
folks that read guy don't know that it's
meant for a guy at all and would not care a
pin anyhow. The other half reads it and
says, Well, guess we'll go and see what
sort Of brute that chap Sullivan is, any
howl After all it's only sort Of advertise
ment."
He leaned back in his chair as he spoke
and gave the perfecto another twirl in has
lips and looked out of the window. That
window looked out on the lake front and the
few stragglers who wandered through the
park taking air despite the clustering
breezes.
''There's Joe La nnon and his wife, said
he, walking around Just like any other
peaceable citizens. Wonder does the pub
lie think it funny that prize fighter should
be walking about with his wife instead of
going homo and licking her? know I'm
r i hs eonsna s apd know Is
end of joke to have fellow like me going
on the stage. But I'm not hurting any
body, am II And to tell you on the square,
I'm doing my leve: best to act. You can't
This acting is better job than prize fight
ing. Most folks call it more respectable.
What in - is the matter with my
having a try2 OF course, knew /
was going to be chaffed all over
the shop about it when began. When
opened at Bridgeport saw the telegram
from the editor Of the New York World to
the editor of the paper there telling him to
send on a column of stuff. picking out all
the faults he could in my style and making
might have ruined q poor devil that had
to make hit ON the stage, but did not
mind it bit. I knew it was what would
have to kick against. But then You see the
fellows that wouldn't come to see Sullivan.
the prize-fghter, would come to see big
fool making a chump OF himself, and
guessed that before they would tire of John
i. would have time to learn enough to be
an actor, and that am trying to do"
John l.. Sullivan had spoken. His words
we're uttered in no agerieved tone, and the
reporter who had come to gather his opin-
lens on Shakesperian drama felt bit nom
plussed. He edged on to the subject near
est his heart-John l.. in tragedy-and the
well, this tragedy business isn't my
be the ~ to pay in the galleries if tried
anything of that sort. Mr.. Harrison wants
heavy, like Richard III. or that, and-what
do think about himP Well, to be dead
straight, l don't know. I don't pretend to
be scholar or critic or that. but can
learn my lines al! right and they are
teaching lament me cot all eno sSGut Of eestSS s@
down b;s' but I'm willing to learn '0 gea
see. Damon and Pythias' was the play we
had in view, with Duncan as Damon and
ing I'll get from the newspapers if try one
Of those pieces that Booth and Barrett and
those fellows play in!
It is short show anyhow-only an hour
and forty five minutes or thereabouts-and
Harrison had a little bit of one-act affair
to lengthen it out with. Forever and a
Day he called it-a sort Of genteel comedy,
You know. Well, you can understand that
! amt quite in it, with Renteel comedy,
though. as ! said before, III try anything
they ask me tor
There was not suggestion of the sup
pressed almighty about the prize fighter as
he spoke. OF course one has heard better
rounded periods and sentences more pol
self assertion about John. In fact, while
really conversationalist Of no mean
ability and one who 10 most amusing racon-
teur when 1t comes to anecdotes of q some
what interesting career, there could be no
one moro averse 70 dogmatism, no one
ing criticism Of his own. Instead Of the
brute struggling to demonstrate itself
through external humanity, be was an i'm
stance Of vivid humanity strongly portray
ing itself in every character Of the alleged
a knock came at the door while no was
still speaking and DR.. Garceau-the house
physician of the Leland-came in. Some
body introduced him by name and the big
slugger took him by the hand.
-W '- 80 uot =.
''Yes." interjected the quiet little doctor,
with lan:s. Pm one Of themv'
Then the two began to talk of old times
and old places. The old school, the old
schoolfellows, the old times, the old places,
the kindnesses Of his kindred. that seemed
to run the doctors stock away mp in G with
the exApugilist
at is fact" explained the doctor a. he
left the room with the reporter. "Iremem-
Der John i. Sullivan when he was boy. ]
know him when he 10 at home still to-day.
just the same OPEN handed careless John,
who will divide his last half to help
maybe q worthless sponger. They
talk Of his being tough, and
maybe he was as prize
fighter. but-well, you can't tell me that his
heart 10 not in the right place. remember
him at the old Washington grammar school
in Roxford, Boston, where Nat Goodwin,
Henry Dixey. myself and-oh, . whole loi
Of other fellows learned their alphabsts.
Afterward he attended the Jesuit college
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