The Cape Girardeau Democrat. (Cape Girardeau, Mo.) 1876-1909, 1897-12-04


tened to his fearful and picturesque
stammering would not believe that he
was the same John j. Burke at all. In
fact, it is related hat Burke went to
the Columbia theater one night to step
III and see a part of the performance,
and he had some trouble in convincing
The man ION the door" that he was a
professional.
I'm J-J|oh-Joh-Joh-John B.
NEUTRALITY-SUSPICIOUS., he be,
gan.
"The actor" asked the ticket man.
Where are you playing now?"
ca-Chica-Ch-Ch-Chicago Op-Op-
Op-Op-Op-'
"All right" said the d~oortender. go
in; l don't want you to miss the last
act"
Although Burke's stammering off
the stage was something wonderful and
incurable, he would manage by hard re-
hearsing and the manful twisting of
the button to speak his lines on the
stage in such a way as to give no sug-
gestion of his affection. But one even
ing, just as he was about to receive the
cue for his entrance to the stage, a mis-
chievous actor in the company skipped
up to him and cut off the button.
Burke stepped out on the stage, felt for
his button, and couldn't find it. Ee
stood silent and helpless. The cue for
his speech was repeated. He tried to
speak his lines, but with fright and the
dismay over the loss of that button, he
suffered until no one could understand
a word he said. The audience thought
it was funny, and laughed. but the
comedian was in agony until he could
get off the stage to have another button
sewed on.
Speaking of persons who stammer,
Henry Guy Carleton, the dramatist, was
a newspaper man in Chicago a good
many years ago, and incidentally he
stammered very badly. One day an ac-
Guaintance asked him: mfr. Carleton,
did you always stammer?"
Without going into the phonetics OF
stammering, Mr.. Cartoons reply was:
"Oh. no; not always"
"When did you begin to stammer?"
"When l began to talk"
To return to the eccentric habits of
public speakers.
The audience at a recent meeting in
the interests of labor organization had
a diverting exhibition.
The orator of the evening was n man
of earnest methods. When he addressed
n house he threw his whole soul" into
his remarks. He teetered back and
forth on his heels and toes, bent his legs
into acute angles, shook his clenched
fist at his auditors and perspired man
fully. He combined mental effort with
Il full set of gymnasium exercises.
And he was a great speaker-almost
as great as Lieut.. Gov. Haggard, of
whom it has been said: "On a clear day
he can be heard a mile"
The labor orator had spoken but a few
moments when he was trembling, pant
ing and perspiring. He put his right
hand into a side pocket of his coat and
pulled out n handkerchief, with which
ne ulOpptu HIS UlOlSJ COuHleIdHCe.
Then he shifted his handkerchief to his
left hand. pointed his right forefinger
at the listening assemblage and re-
sumed his speech.
a few minutes later he put his right
hand into his pocket and brought out
another handkerchief, wiped his fore
head with it and passed it into his left
hand.
When he produced the third handker-
chief and went through the same per-
formance, by this time having three
handkerchiefs clutched in his left hand.
n smoker ran through the audience.
The speaker paused and frowned. His
hearers Strengthened their faces and
the speech was resumed.
There was another smoker when the
fourth handkerchief was dug out from
a hip pocket and n few persons laughed
aloud when the orator began n rambling
search for a fifth. He felt in one pocket
after another, and all the time he had
four handkerchiefs rolled into a ball in
his left hand.
Finally a committeeman on the stage
stepped up to him and called his atten-
ton to the four handkerchiefs in his left
hand. The orator looked at them
blankly and the spectators shouted with
laughter.-Chicago Record.