The times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1897-1901, 1898-08-21
STAGE STORIES.
n. Henry smifh. Actnr

'T part my name in the middle" he
told ne shortly after I met him. mot be-
cause 1t looks well that way on a three
sheet. but because a man with my title
must get out Of the rut if he has to print
the Smith with dashes between the syl-
tables"
For an instant the remark had stag
gered me. He seemed such an odd source
for Wit OF humor of any kind that the
effect was startling, to say the least.
In a years acquaintance l found that,
while the speech was wholly original. it
was one he had composed some time be-
fore and sprung on every man to whom
he was introduced. from the hotel boy
who called him up to the stage manager
who called him down. Still 1 was greatly
mistaken N my nrst estimate of the fell
low and could not nave helped being 50
from any reasonable standpoint.
In the first place, he was tall-so tall
that more than half his time was spent
in preventing low doorways from scalping
him-and hard times, together with meals
so irregular that / could never tell from
the time Of day whether he was eating
breakfast or dinner, and for how many
weeks back, had made him proportion
ately thin 1t was matter Of pride with
him that his physique had once been good,
and his clothes may have been made even
more baSgy through a desire TO show
that his Sauntness was artificial His face
was long and yellow, with deep lines.
telling as plainly do the rings of an
oak how much suffering he had gone
through Nothing would offend him more
than calling him old man." from which
/ judge that he must have chaIked close
up 10 sixty.
II Smith ever had barber that worthy
must have been starving. for the fine.
struggling hair hung far down his back
and his beard was well grown for that of
smooth-faced man, and stubby in the
last degree Another of his notable char
acteris1ics was afforded by his long thin
fingers. always moving nervously and
clutehing al whatever came in their way
a bad subject for a humorist and worse
for an actor.
Ihat he was fast drinking himself m
death was apparent. On one occasion he
mad placed my hand on his heart and 7
had felt that organ working like a steam
pump he breathed in quick. heavy
sasps, and the color of his face served &C
an excellent directory for the disease
within In the palmy DAYS gone by he
had been character actor of no mean
ability, but with the decline of his aris-
focratic class of drama he had found him
self out Of employment Still his ambi-
bition, his hope, and his trust in self
never left him. Wretchedly morbid at
times, 1t needed little TO make him happy.
and on such occasions he was the young
est and jolliest of the boys"
Often have seen him strutting down
the street. one hand in his hair or on
his thin lips, and the other in his coat
front, his silk hat perched steadily on
his head. and his long steps making him
sway forward and backward like a Chi
nese idol, while an expression on his face
would tell of every conflicting emotion.
j could always guess al such times that
he had come from some agency where an
appeal for a part had been unsuccessful
MY friend" he would say, with that
mixture Of the dramatic and the practi-
cal that he lapsed into so frequently,
"You may add another failure to mine
account They do not fully appreciate
ma There are no longer such critics as
there were In my day. But we viii show
them yet-we Will show them. Can you
lend me dollar until next Thursday"
II was only by chance that / happened
TO fall Unexpectedly upon him after one
Of these fruiuess errands one afternoon,
and discovered the true heartbreak he
felt over them. He had always concealed
that part OF the matter from me- not
through pride. but because he was unwill-
sng 10 acknowledge that he had lost hope.
II was for that reason more than any