The Bessemer indicator., 1894-03-10
1RvING's LITTLE STORY.
ir WAS OF A POOR ACTOR
WITHOUT AN OVERCOAr.

The Poof Actor shivsrsd and the Con.
srous Amatsur Gave Him = Suit Of
Underwear That Warmed Him Up
Bplsndldly.
81
Tho place was q cosy room in .
cosy h6use in a quiet street of the
Strand, London; the time was Satur-
day; the hour. midnight A COM
pany Of professional men, compose d
Of some OF the lawyers, doctors.
newspaper men and actors whose
names are famous on both sides Of
the Atlantic, was scattered in groups
about the rooms smoking and chat
ting after the Saturday night sup
per, which had become standard
institution with them. In sheltered
corner over by the nrSr.ace SAT "a
small knot OF men, every ono OF whom
had reached the top. or at least tho
front rank OF his profession. The
talk, drifting in smooth, desultory;
half-sleepy way from phase to phase.
had gradually assumed a RETROSPECT
tive hue. From one to another the
story had passed, each telling the
tale OF an empty stomach, or an
empty pocket, or homeless tramp
Of thirty miles or so In thin shoes
along snow-bound road In search
of employment
Henry Irving. thoughtfully smok-
ing, 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
at them for moment, and then,
after pause. said:
1.-The recollection uppermost In my
mind just now, while you boys have
been talking about tramping and
winter roads and all that Is of q
eertaiil Christmas dinnor at which l
was present. wonder whether any
Of you remember poor feiiuw, long
since dead-Joe Robins-who played
small parts in London and outside il,
and who made the one big mistake
Of his life when he entered the pro-
fession. joe had been in the mems
underwear business, and was doing
for charitable object was organized,
and he was cast for the part, OF the
nlowh lii & biiriesque OF Guy Fawkes >
'Joe belonged to one OF the Bohe-
mian clubs, and on tho night OF the
show his friends among the actors
and journalists attended in body to
give him a 'send-of.' He played that
part capitally, and the mischief
might have ended there, but some
one compared him to Grimaldi. His
fate was sealed. He sold his stock,
went on the stage, and few months
later l came upon him playing gem
eral utility BIN T., sfiall SALARY III d
small theater in Manchester. One
relic OF his happy days still remained
to him. He had retained shirts, col
lars and underwear sufficient to last
him for generation.
but II Joe lacked ability as an a.
tor, he had heart OF gold. He
would lend or give his last shilling
to friend, and piece by piece his
stock Of underwear had diminished
until only d few shirts and under
clothes remained to him. .
year in which we played together
was. perhaps the bitterest I ever
know. Joe had part in the pan
tomime. When the men with whom
he dressed took off their street
clothes he saw with pang at his
kind heart how poorly some Of them
were clad One poor fellow. with
out an overcoat. shivered and shook
with every breath of the wind that
whistled through the cracked door.
and as he dressed there was dis
closed d suit Of the lightest sum mer
Rauze underwear which he was
wearing in the depths OF that dread
full winter, Poor as Joe was, he
was determined to keep up his an
nual custom Of giving his comrades a
Christmas dinner. Perhaps all that
remained of his stock OF under
clothing went to the pawnbroker.
but that is neither here nor there.
Joe raised the money somehow and
on Christmas day was ready to meet
his guests
Among the crowd that filed into
the room was his friend with the
gauze underclothing. Joe beckoned
him into an adjoining bedroom. and
pointing to q chair, silently walked
out. On that chair hung a suit Of
underwear. 1t was of comfortable
scarlet color;l 1t was OF silk and wool;
it was thick and warm, and it clung
around the actor as II it had been
built for him. AS the shirt fell over
his head there was suffused through
his frame gentle, delicious glow
that thrilled every fibre of his body
His heart swelled almost to bursting.
He seemed to be walking on air. He
saw all things through a mist of
tears. The faces around him, the
voices in his ear, the familiar objects
in his sight, tho worry snow falling
gently outside the windows seemed
as the shadows of dream, with but
one reality-the suit OF underwear. {"
"His feelings seem to have
entered your heart" said one OF the
listeners.
They might we'll do so," replied
Mr.. Irving, 'for was that poor actor. I"
Now IT'S an Aluminium Wedding.
The already long list of jubilees
and family Cala bra tinpc boo