Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1894-02-01
1.-THE OLD STOCK DAYS MADE ACTORS"

''THE OLD STOCK DAYS MADE ACTORS"
lights is Mr.. Howe of Henry Irving's COM
pany. He is slightly older than Couldock,
but he is an Englishman, and is consc-
quently lot nearly SO we'll known here as
the American actor.
Who is there that goes to the theater at
all who does not remember with pleasure
Couldock's magnificent impeTsonation of
Dunstan kirke, the stern father of Hazel
, Kirke? He is now playing the rector in
Robert Drouets play, Doris, which Effie
Ellsler is presenting this season.
Naturally Mr.. Couldock has an interest
ing and apparently inexhaustible fund of
"reminiscences After having appeared in
England n great many years, he came to
America in 1S49 in Charlotte Cushman's
company. He concluded to remain here,
and the rest Of it can better be told in his
own words:
1.-The next year l became leading man in
great New York success, The Willow
Copse, just such another play as Hazel
Kirke.' / determined to start on a starring
tour with it as the feature of my repertory.
opened in St. Louis in 1868 or 1854 at Ben
De Bars Opera House.
Poor Ben De Bar. What a great fellow
he was" he went on. ut was through De
Bar that | met John Norton On the street
in New York one day De Bar came to me
and asked if had seen john At that
time had not learned that De Bars mem
DRY was about gone. '.Iohn.' l inquired.
John who? What John.' oh, l don't
know De Bar answered He's a good &C
Ntor and a good fellow 1t wasn't many
hours after that until saw Ben again.
He had found john and then for the first
time | met Norton.
The old stock days in this country made
actors. Every actor,had dozens of things
to do in u season, and as II result of the
training good actors We're graduated year
in and year cut. Then, under that system
a poor player had chance to command
some of the comforts of life-now he is
hustled from city to city, week after week,
\ all through the season. The average young
man who plays one part three or six months
closes his engagement with little learned.
That is the reason that the stock system
was better for the players than the plan of
today
How did l happen to give up drinking
liquor? Oh, | don't mind telling you. l
had been steady drinker for years-not a
drunkard, but an absorber of alcohol.
When the terrible murder of President Lin
coin was committed | was so completely
unnerved that ! gave myself away to the
habit. cancelled engagements, drifting to
Chicago where | drowned my grief in
whisky. Why was l SO wrought up over
the affair? Well, l knew John Wilkes
Booth intimately. He was an actor. Those
are the reasons. Our profession had been
charged with poverty, but there was no
blood on the escutcheon. Vowed at first
that | wouldn't act again until Booth was
caught. l kept my word. Indeed it was
some time after the man was dead when I
resumed my work Friends in Chicago
brought a doctor to me and asked him to
do something in my behalf. The physician
looked ME over carefully. Then he report
ed that / was sure to die il | continued to
use whisky, and that if l didn't use it !
would die all the sooner from exhaustion.
He left prescription for "A tonic, which
began to take that evening.
when / heard the doctors statement of
my case, resolved to disappoint him. All
that night walked in and about the IRE
mont House unable to go to my room.
Everybody else had gone to bed but con-
tinued to tramp. Il gnawing at my stomach
like the tearing Of Il thousand devils, driv-
ing me almost to MADNESS But l knew
that if got through those "a hours Iwould
be the victor. got through and for weeks
| took the tonic that the doctor had left.
Soon after this siege physician suggested
| would do well to begin the drinking of
beer. After Il few months acquired a lik-
ing for it, and in Il short time it was q
source of much satisfaction to me- 1t was
not many years, however, until l was
stricken with govt. The doctors said that
the beer did it. Since then / drink only
ginger ale, and every day am locking for
that to get some sort of an advantage over
me.
Let me tell you, young man, that be.
lieve that the introduction of lager beer,
as bad as it is for. the liver, has wrought
untold good in the United States. 1t has
curbed whisky drinking. ! remember the
day when all youth that drank at all drank
whisky. That day is no more. When you
find "A young man who takes Il bit of beer
that is usually the end of it. OF course
there is adeplorable abuse of whisky now,
but the world is learning to take better
care of itself"
Mr. Couldock is a splendid pool and card
player. He pushes around billiard cue as
lively as any one. !; cigar in his mouth, and
his Colonel Moberly hat ON the back of his
head. Occasionally the old gentleman ut
tiers a swear word, butof late years his tenn
per, which was !, vigorous ore in days gone
by, is much less violent. Many good sto-
ries are told, nearly all of which Mr. Coul.
dock denies, about that temper. Several
years ago. rs one tale goes. THO old actor be
, came angercd as female member Of the
company III which he WIS engaged. She
was veritsble yirago. and he didn't waste
many words in getting at the point Of what
be wanted to say to her.
Look here. madame..'' he shouted do
you know hades is full of such as yous'
Then, shamefaced at such speech to
woman, he retreated. The lady at once
asked tire manager to demand an explana-
ton of Mr. Couldock. That official did not
hesitate.
$50 she wants an apologyr' the old man
said Well, get the company together
and I'll explain and apologize"
Ten minutes Later the actress Mr. Conf.