The Lambertville record. [volume] (Lambertville, N.J.) 1872-1968, 1891-02-18
WEDNESDAY, FEB. IS. 1891.
THE SUPERSENSITIVE.
MEN. WHO THINK THEY ARE GARCIA
TuRED BY AUTHOR AND ACTOR.

sothern,s Experience with Count JOAN
mesa Duel with Cannons Proposed.
People Who Were Unconsciously Of
Tended by Wilkie Collins.
One Of the most popular entertainers
the world has seen suffered greatly, ow-
ing to the persistence with which people
would see likenesses to themselves in
the creations of his fancy. If he chose
the namo Of Brown. Jones or Robinson
for one of his characters, some real cog
nomen wrote to him, complaining bitter
" against his "satirizing a class" and
then pointed out certain Of their dis
tinctive peculiarities which were, they
alleged, burlesqued.
On the other hand, if he invented, as
he Thought, an uncommon name, some
body wanted to know how it was he Sc
lected him for ridicule. Why, asked
the indignant writer, did not the enter
tainer choose some common name, such
as Brown, Jones or Robinson, and not
that borne by him? 1t was useless to
point out to such people that the enter
tainer had never heard of their existence
even. Each of them firmly believed that
he was the original of certain character.
soTHERN AND JoANSEs.
Sothern again; what a curious expe-
rience was his, The actor, when play
ing in America as Fitzaltamont in The
Crushed Tragedian," one morning was
called upon by an interviewer" who
told him that Count Joannes, once an
actor of the old school OF which Sothern
made fun, had brought suit to stop the
performance of the piece on the ground
that the comedians makeup maligned
him and burlesqued his identity. Soth-
ern thought the affair was q joke, but
when the reporter assured him it was
serious he said:
s'If have TO go down to that court to
show cause, by Georgel pity the man
that brings me. / won't let him rest
while his worried life clings to him. He
shall get kilograms and postcards from
this time on forever. Do about it Why,
shall appear, of course.
Presently another reporter was az.
nounced. Sothern again professed never
tohave heard of the suit brought against
him.
''How would you fight it ii the count
should challenge your asked the press
man.
81 should prefer the date to be the list
Of April, and although 1 haven't very
fully considered the question, think
the weapons should be cannon. Yes, on
reflection, / am sure should insist on
those cannon that discharge 10 shots o
minute. He should sit upon one of those
engines and / upon another, and we
should continue to discharge them until
there should be no remnant of either
count or Sothern."
All this and much more was published
under startling headlines on'the follow
ing morning. Count Joannes, however,
was terribly in earnest, though, of
course, nothing came of his suit except
q capital advertisement, of which full
advantage was taken.
ANaERED BY wuKIE COLLINS.
OF modern authors Willie Collins de-
cidedly had the most remarkable series
of encounters with the class of people
who identify themselves with purely i'm
aginary personages. ga bourgeoise Of
Paris" he himself has told us, reading
The Woman in White in q French
translation, wrote to say that he had
flung the book to the other end of the
room on discovering that Fosco was an
absolutely perfect likeness of himself.
He naturally insisted on receiving salts
faction for this insult, leaving the choice
- d. 4,1e 10 -. 1l> Il
lenged person. Information ON which
he could rely had assured him that / med
itated journey to Paris early in the en-
suing week. A hostile meeting might,
in such circumstances, be easily ar
ranged" Arrived In Paris, Wilhie Col
Inns looked for his honorable opponent in
vain.
Again Mr.. Collins invested charac-
ter who was so careful about the guam.
tity of his food that he weighed 1t in
little scales at table. Shortly after the
publication of the novel a gentleman
called upon the author.
"You have no right, sir, to carics<urt
mep' exclaimed the caller to the aston
ished novelist; II weigh my food in lit.
tie scales, sir. Here they are, sir.
always carry them about with me by
the advice of my physician; but Is tina
any reason why should be held up t,
ridicule, sir?"
And the gentleman refused to be paci
fed, though Mr.. Collins protested tina
he had never before heard of such
habit. On another occasion q reader o
"Armadale" called upon him and up
braided him for putting his house int
print. The description, it is said, wa
exact, although the popular writer ha'
never seen the place. Cassell's Saturda,
Journal.