Mineral Point tribune. (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1869-1938, 1893-12-23

New York Herald: The often r.,,..
ed statement little believed in ~
ever, by the unprofessionaI public ~.
an actor can not learn his own In
was cTiously proved the other day !,
the players ceremonies in the Ma,
son square Garden concert halI pnaa
the birthday anniversary OF Edvi,
Booth
1t is quite incredible to most rs-
sons that any one Of average melnorr
should be unable 10 commit VOL
which he himself has written. On N,
contrary il would seem that the aptbo.
should be able to remember the word,
which crystalize his own thougbt.
much better than any one else.
The proof OF this apparently sol,
evident proposition seems to lie in tba
fact that public men. orators. cIargy
men aud other frequent speakers ara
mol only in the h. bit of committip,
70 memory their own literary produr
tons, but that, after few wears NJ
practice, they do it with an ease which
is positively surprising
1t is well known for instance that
Chaunccy Depew has to do little moro
than write his speech to have il nv
heart. He can compose a long Grafton
lat home one night. and the next night
after a busy day at his business. can
deliver it almost verbatim. recalling
the words with an ease which enable.
him 10 devote his attention on tba
platform wholly TO the oratorical of
feet of his delivery.
Why, then cannot professional
actor whose marvelously rapid acqui.
sition Of the phraseology Of complicated
parts" is proverbial, learn parts or
speeches which he himself has con.
posed:
But the proof of the pudding lies in
the eating. as | learned the other day
when ] attended the Booth exercises
To make IA report of them for the Her
aid
Three great actors were there to
make addresses in memory of the IA
nous dead they each had intimately
known. They We're respectively repre-
sentative OF the very first rank of their
profession i'm three different nations
and all Of them were men whose hair
was whitcncd by years and labor, and
who were far above the trivial affec.
tations of the younger men OF their
craft
They We're Joseph Jefferson. Henry
Irving and Tommaso Salyini
Anxious to obtain copies Of their
speeches in advance, if possible, l asked
Mr. jefferson I'm the anteroom before
the program was begun if by any
chance he had prepared copies of his
speech for the press.
why. no ne said slowly. Il have
not l haven't even made n copy for
myself. J haven't written any speech
for l couldn't learn it if had"
why. that is curious, / said. smil.
ing.
"W,ll, it's u fact" said Mr.. Jefferson.
quite earnestly II can't possibly learn
my own lines, so I don't try. l have
merely mapped out in my mind, in a
very general way, what / am going ia
say
1t may be said right here that it
was well Mr. jefferson did not pre-.
pare and deliver set speech, for no
words prepared beforehand could pos
Sibly have cqualed the simple and won
dcrfully effective address he delivered
coming. as ii nd, on the spur of the
moment elcquently and broken by
emotion, from the warm heart of Ed
win Booths dearest friend.
Henry Irving came in presently and
took a modest seat on the floor near
the platform, crouchlng comfortably
down, his legs crossed and his fine
face nearly concealed by the hand upoS
which il rested When / asked him the
same question I had asked Mr.. Jeffer.
son he looked up smilingly and said:
Yes, I have written out a speech
just a few words
But ! have unfortunately only enc
copy of it, and I cannot give that 10
you now for | have been unable to
commit the words and must read them
But l viii cheerfully give 1T to you
afterward
Mr.. Irving took his manuscript upon
the platform with him. and, though b'
did not actually read from it, he
glanced at it four or five times during
the brief delivery. He made good bis
promise TO give me the manuscript
afterward
| have il before me now three small
sheets of single note paper Of the Ly,
ceum theater Upon the reverse side OF
these are written In Mr. Irving's largest
and plainest hand 25S words-his en-.
tire address.
Two hundred and fifty-cight words
And vet the greatest of living English
actors, who has mastered innumerabie
parts. in his long and successful
career, was compelled to carry tne
manuscript upon the platform with
him and to refer to it a half dozen
of times
Mr., Salvini sat beside me- but !
did not ask him for his speech, for TIE
double reason that / did not speaA
Italian and that / already possessed