Southwest-sentinel. [volume] (Silver City, N.M.) 1883-189?, 1894-02-20
TEE FRlEND IN NEED.
RvNo's STORY or THE "sUsTED"
ACTORS GOOD SAMARITAN.

A nsminissene, which Seemed TO Tooeb
80 Rsialors nsari-Ones ne Was very
Peer ana Unknown. bat Now No IL Rich
p lanes m An Lands
The place was q cozy room in a coy
house In a quiet street of the Strand,
London. TIE time was Saturday; the
hour, midnight. a company OF profess
sional men. composed Of some Of the
lawyers. doctors, newspaper men and
sectors whose names are famous on both
sides Of tho Atlantic. was scattered In
groups about the rooms smoking aud
chatting after the Saturday might sup
per, which had become a standard insti-
tution with them. In a sheltered cor
ner over by the fireplace sat a small
knot Of men. every one Of whom had
reached the top, or 1t least the front
rank, Of his profession. The talk, drift
ing IN = smooth. ~desultOry, half sleepy
way from phase 20 phase, had gradually
assumed a retrospective hue. From one
TO another the story had passed, each
telling the tale Of an empty stomach, or
on empty pocket. or a hopeless tramp
Of 80 miles or so in thin shoes along a
snowbound road in search Of employ
meat.
Henry Irving, th%oughtiully smoking.
with an air Of deep attention, had not
spoken and did not speak until the
others, having exhausted their stock,
turned to him. He had experienced
harder luck than any Of them, and they
knew It. He looked mp at them for a
moment and then. after a pause. said;
The recollection uppermost in my
mind Just now, while you boys have
been talking about tramping and winter
roads and all that. "a Of a certain Christ
mas dinner at which ! was present. I
wonder whether any Of you remember a
poor fellow. long since dead-Joe Robin
who played small parts in London
and outside it, and who made the one
big mistake Of his lifo when he entered
the profession. Joe had been in the
mems underwear business and was do
ing well when an amateur performance
for a charitable object was organized,
and he was cast for tho part OF the
clown In a Lurlesque Of Guy Fawkes.'
Joe belonged to one Of the bohelnlRn
clubs, and on tho night Of the show his
Hiends among tho actors and journalists
Attended in a body to give him a send
bf.' He played that part capitally, and
THE mischief might have ended there,
but some one compared him to Girl
maldi. His fate was sealed. He sold his
stock, went on the stage, and a few
months later l came upon him playing
general utility on a email salary in a
small theater in Manchester. One relic
Of his happy days still remained to him.
BE had retained shirts, collars and un-
derwear sufficient to last him for a gem
Grafton.
Bat IL Joe lacked ability az an ac-
tor he had a heart Of gold. He would
lend'or give HIS last shilling 10 a friend,
and piece by piece his stock Of under
wear had diminished until only a few
shirts and underclothes remained 20
HIM.
Tho Christmas Of that year-tho
year in which we played together-was
perhaps the bittercst l ever knew. Joe
had a part In the pantomime. When
the men with whom no dressed took Oh
their street clothes, he saw with a pang
at his heart how poorly come Of them
were clad. One poor fellow without an
Overcogt shiyored and shook with every
breath Of the wind that whistlod through
tho cracked door, and as he dressed there
was disclosed a suit of the lightest sum-
mer gauzo underwear which ho was
wearing in the depth Of that dreadful
winter. Poor as ZOO was, he was deter
mined to keep mp his annual custom Of
giving his comrades a Christmas dinner.
Perhaps all that remained Of his stock
Of undertaking went to the pawnbro-
ker. but that IS neither here nor there.
jos raised the money somehow, end on
the Christmas day was ready to meet
his guests.
Among the crowd that fled intothC
room was his friend with the gauZe un.
dorclothing. Joe beckoned him into an
adjoining bedroom, and pointing to
chair silently walked out. On that chaii
hung a suit OF underwear. II was of
comfortable scarlet coior; It was OF sill
and wool; It was thick and warm, an,
Il clung around the actor az II VI ha,
been built for him. As tho shirt fel
over his head there was suifuscd through
his frame a gentle, delicious glow tina
thrilled every fiber Of his body. Hi
heart swelled almost to bursting. III
seemed 10 Ne walking on afr. lie saw
all things through a mist of tears. TIN
faces around him, the voices in his ears
the familiar objects in his sight, tn
very snow falling gently outside tn
windows, seemed as tho shadows OF
dream with but n rgality-the suit @
underwear.
''His feelings eeem 10 have entcre0
your heart, " said one Of The listeners.
They might well d0to, replied In
Irving, ''for / was that poor actor. -
New A1rk Tribune.