The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1898-12-04

one who aspired to membership. y
wish to put my best foot forward said
Mr.. Couldock, and so I selected Shy
locks great scene at the trial. [ played
it with all the vigor of my young lungs,
and thought l was going on swimming
ly. h official critics sat in state in
the front row and watched the perform
ance with owlish eyes.
One of them was a Houndsditch
few. Suddenly he cried aloud: s. help
me, Bob, I can't see him in the partn
I just wilted,' continued Mr.. Couldock,
and 1 don't know how I managed to
get through the act"
DO you remember Doris % said Mr..
Ellsler. "Couldock played a clergyman
in it. and looked as venerable and as
sanity as a bishop. Whenever 1 could
1 would get choir boys for the church
scene. In Omaha 1 was fortunate
enough to get an entire choir. The boys
ranged in years from IA to 6, and there
were two or three of these very little
tots. Their only association with clergy
men had been in their own chancel,
with one of the right brand, so they
naturally thought Couldock was a min
lister also.
Nov, Couldock is one of the most
vigorous II original 1 have
ever heard. AS a usual thing he had a
dressing room on the stage level. SO
as to save him the fatigue of climbing.
AT Omaha, however, this was impos-
sible, and so he was put in one up
stairs.
In making a quick change of scene
the property man took a number of
cushions that had just been used, and,
instead of carrying them to the. prop
erty room, laid them down on the
stairs. Just at this time Couldock came
down, and not seeing the cushions
slipped upon them. He did not fall
down stairs, but was pitched against a
brick wall at the side. The minute he
got his breath he opened up, and in all
my long experience with him I never
knew him to swear so forcibly or so
fluently.
The choir boys looked at him aghast,
especially the very little boys. Their
wonder soon d%eepened into fright, and
the very smallest made a bolt for my
sisters dressing room. The door was
not locked, so he rushed right in, and
grasping Fife buried his head in her
dress.
"'Oh! OH he cried, I never heard a
minister swear like that before
"Couldock was raging like a mad bull,
but when Fife went out and told him
what the little fellow had said it Gained
him down in a minute, and the rest of
the engagement he was particularly
kind to the choir boys. He was very
fond of children, and it touched him to
think that he had forfeited the respect
even of this little tot"
g 9 g
"Mr. Couldock was always very kind
with me-" said Miss Ellsler, "but he
lac a sharp tongue toward the rest of
the actors when anything went wrong.
He was playing Luke Fielding at the
Academy of Music once, and John Og-
den, the low comedian, was in the cast.
Ogden had to climb over a wall in the
course of the piece, and he did not do
this to Mr.. Couldock's satisfaction.
Then. his reading of the lines was not
what Mr.. Couldock thought they should
have been. He said nothing to Ogden
that night, but the mex evening sent
for Ogden to come to his dressing room.
Not knowing the object of his call, Og-
den was highly fattered over it, and
went to the stars dressing room with
a happy heart. He was not disenchant-
ed at first, for nothing could be kinder
than the way in which he was re-
ceived.
"Have you been long on the stage,
Mr.. Ogden?
"tOnly a year or So
"tAre you fond of your profession?'
at love it
care you a hard worker, and have
you ambitions?'
Ct wish to rise in my profession,
full
Does Ellsler pay you a good sal
ary?'
81 have nothing to complain of on
that score. though, of course, 1 would
like to make more