The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1893-02-05
THESPIS, THE ACTOR.
Pioneer Days in the Kerosene
Oil Circuit of Greece.
A PRESS NOTICE BY HORACE.
Once Americans W orshipped the Solemn
Dignity Of the Indian Chief
Joe Jefferson's Joke.
copyright, 1898, by Edgar ". Nye1

copyright, 1898, by Edgar ". Nyel
1t may be interesting to know that the
pioneer American humorist, who was first
to study and depict the humor Of the
Yankee. and good naturally to attack the
brag and buster of the enthusiastic Amer
lean, got his first inspiration from Joseph
Jefferson in "A Terrible Fix
Charlie Browne (Artemus Ward) had
amused his friends many times by his look
OF intense sadness even while he was in
some grotesque situation which itself made
everybody laugh, but he did not know that
he was acting. He did not know that he
was doing comedy part without support
or stage till he saw jefferson in "a Terri
bic Fix
Then his Yankee shrewdness showed
him that ne might utilize this power to
his own advantage and the entertainment
of others. Then he said to himself: II
need not rely wholly on my pen to give
me living. Here's chance to do better,
and at the same time to do something that
is agreeable to myself"
So he became the first lecturer in Amer
lea and England who could please and de-
light an audience alone with his humor.
heightened by the art of the stage.
he and Edwin Forrest went to hear Ward
together, and Forrest especially was dis
appointed. That never impaired my good
opinion of Ward. for another man once
said that the greatest task of the humor-
Gus lecturer is to work all of one evening
to make those laugh whom God had never
intended should laugh. Forrest belonged
to time when school children believed
hot ka oh I'd t. &c,
Black Hawk and Logan were greater
men than John Quincy Adams and
Benjamin Franklin. Franklin used to
say humorous things between times and
when worn out after a days angling
in the sky for new kind of lightning
wrote humorous things for an almanac
This lowered him in the estimation of
those who worshiped the solemn dignity
of Logan, who Twas the friend of the
white man." and who dared "any white
man to say that he ever entered Logan's
1t is said that 'Col. Cressap in cold
blood killed the family of Logan" SO that
there ran not in the veins of any living
creature one drop of the blood Of Logan.
Later historians say that Logan had no
family, dying bachelor and entirely up
stump. as regards his family tree. being ut
terry destitute of parents as far back as
the eye could reach: also that a school
teacher near Cohasset wrote all Of Logan's
speeches for him.
But since that time we have learned
that the best dramatic work is the best
representation of human action and
human life. Human life is not all poison
and murder. and Save me! Save me |!
for l am but poor sewing girl" (pro-
nounced sueing girl, but there are times
when people eat we'll, sleep well and have
fun in preference to running around with
a four-foot sword sticking out between
their shoulder blades.
presume that in the days of Thespis,
when his first tragedy was produced. there
was nothing to laugh at except his poor
Greek pronunciation and the dignifed
way his dead men had to walk off the
stage without assistance.
No doubt Thespis did the kerosine oil
circuit with his first tragedy. The dress
ing rooms were as bad as they are now.
It's pretty hard to say, but very likely in
the smaller towns, after you left Attica,
the record of Alvin Joslyn's company in
pencil on the wall and a rude Autograph
of Alvin with dried quid of tobacco on
his two pound diamond. Dressing rooms
in those days also had a view of a colored
gambling hell on the alley, and Thespis
entered by means of the trunk chute.
Dressing then was less difficult, no
doubt, and the star wore his street costume
and had no valet. If the roads were bad
he turned up the edges of his drapery till
time to ring up, and then turning it down
and powdering his legs where the briers
had cruelty scratched them he sailed in.
After he was over with his work friends
came back to shake hands with him and
hear him tell meekly of his success, and
how they hired field near Icaria and
then turned people away.
PisIstratus was contemporary of Thes-
pis AID admired him very much. They
collaborated on play called How Greece
Was Tried" 1t ran a week in Attica and
then went on the road. Thespis furnished
the blood and Pisistratus the teams. The
support was poor and immoral Psistratus
took tickets at the door and drove the
team daytimes.
When the cleaning came Thespis, who
sat on the front seat, would say. STRATUS,
do you reckon We are far enough away
from the last town to try it here?"
Thespis played mostly by main strength