The morning times., 1897-01-24
The Awakened Clown
(Lcndon Telegraph

l had noticed all through the last re-
hearsal that there was sonnet ming wrong
with joey. He was 50 slow and clumsy in
some of the trick scenes that once or twice
he pretty nigh bUngled them all together;
and lie was so awful slack at the rallies
that, lori we r.ight have been a couple Of
old washerwOmen, trying to box each
others ears over the ten table.
Whats amisS, joey" / said, as we
walked home together You'll have to
play up a bit smarter than this tomorrow
night, old man, or the governor viii be
down on your libby. l saw him looking at
you rs black as his hat this afternoon
He made noanswer, and we Wake d on for
a few yards in silence.
1t Is no use, sammy he said at last
ITS gospel truth, l shah make big
failure
stared at him with all my eyes. You
could have knocked me down with a harle
quins lath. had never seen joey taken
like that before, though l had noticed he
had got a bir queer in his habits lately, and
had been once or twice TO some OF them
east end lectures Of what you may call
Though 1 DON'T an improving charac-
ter
a big failurer' says I, bit angry, OF,
rather pretending to be. What are you
giving us?''
Joey stopped dead still, and looked at
me.
'-Letme whisper in our ear, Sammy, 'he
said, his features working is he spoke, Just
foralI the world as ifhe was mueging at the
gallery toys. "Factis, I've found outsome-
thing out the comic business al paralyses
my artistic impulses, and knocks me bang
OFF nay wires
'Lor', Joey!' says lis it as lad as
that?''
yes he says. its 10 good keeping
it up. I've found the comic business out
at last. And so VIII you some day"
what have YOU found out about the
comic business?'tI asked in rather a shak-
ing voice, for was beginning TO tremble at
JoHy's awful tones.
why, this says he, solemnly, and with
4 sort OF glare in his eye that never saw
there before, not even when they chucked
carrots 1T us down at MuPgermouth, where
all the sailors comes in drunk to the panto-
mime why, this he says. The comic
business amt Comic.''
Amt comic?" / gasped
NO notcomlc, not funny don't you twig?
It's exactly what the chap called it at the
Improvement lecture It's miserable buf-
foonery, unworthy Of a reflective aEe'''
Joey" l said quietly after few mo-
ments, for / couldn't speak at once.
joey, you've eaten something that dis
agreed with YOU. Let's turn in here and
have drop of hot scotch''
We turned in and had a drop, but it didn't
seem TO hearten him up. He drank it in a
melancholy sortof way, and began pitching
the same story over again.
Its no good, Sammy he SAYS s.The
clowning business amt funny, and, what's
more, the kids have found it out.''
Found it out,'' l hollers, Knocked half
silly. for, Of course, if that was true, we
should have to turn it up. THE kids found
it out! Why, what are you talking about?
You heard EN- screaming at it last year"
"Only the babies" says Joey, in a mourn
full sort Of tone. "Only the babies and
they crow at anything till they take to
screaming at nothing. and then they has
TO be carried out. It's the young ones l
mean-the six and eight and ten-vear-
olGs. Why, L watched a lot OF 'em last
year all round the house. Their ewes got
bigger and bigger as we went, but blowed
il ever heard a laugh from any of 'em.n
What, not when you rubbed the pave
ment with butter and lot of people fell
down and piled themselves up one a-top of
the other? You mean to say they didn't
laugh at that?'' Joey shook his head, with
a sad smile.
Il believe they have got TO know that YOU
couldn t make a slide with butter if Won
tried, and thst it would be very wrong TO
do so if you could.''
What? Weren' they amused when you
managed to get me on to it and my legs
flew up n the air.
Not bit; no more than they were when
picked you up again by the-by the first
part Of your trousers that came to hand"
1t was all very surprising to me, for
had always laughed at this myself when
/ was n boy, and l could not understand
the stupidity of young people nowadays in
not seeing tAe joke of it. l thought that