Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1899-06-02
OUR NEW YORK LETTER.
Stuart Robson ltclates Some
Stories of Booth and Barrett
Lying'-Junius 9rutus
Booth ana Liquor Bnrrctt's Sus-
ceptibiIity to Humor-Thorn's Pow
err to Make barrett Laugh.

Booth and Liquor - Bnrretts sus-
ceptibiIity to HumOr-Thorn's Pow
err to Make barrett Laugh.
NEW YORK, June Especial No |
actor now on the American stage is u bet |
ter racontour than Stuart Robson, and no |
one likes better to talk of other days than |
he. Gossiping of the past, when in New !
York recently, Mr.. Robson said:
LAS boy played in amateur thcatric
ais with Edwin Booth so long ago that |
don't like to count up the years. After
my childish association with him our &c
quaintanCc was broken off for nearly three
decades Then l met him at Cohassot,
where he was guest of Lawrence Bar
rett. He had nearly forgotten certain in
cidents of our boyhoOd that were deeply
engraved on my memory, but they came
back to him readily when recalled them.
Then we fell to talking about his father.
and have often thought it would be
good thing if a report of the conversation
could be published
The Elder Booth In Drink.
Gle said that a singular misapprehen-
sion concerning his father had grown up
in the popular mind 1t seems to have
been generally believed, and has been SO
that Junius Brutus Booth could do much
| better on the stage when drunk than when
sober; that, in fact, it was almost essen
tial that he should be well loaded If he
were to do his best in any of his great
| roles. There was one story in particular
| to the effect that the elder Booth scored
| magnifccntly brilliant success one even
| ing Just after having been awakened from
| a drunken sleep and thrust upon the
stage.
THE truth of the matter Is, as Edwin
| Booth used to tell it. that his father was
almost entirely incapable of acting at all
WHOM under the influence of liquor. His
magnificent voice, so full and resonant
and so well controlled when he was quite
himself was hardly audible after he had
| INDUCED in one or two drinks Not one
of the picturesque alleged happenings
seeming to show how much he owed rs an
artist TO the influence Of alcohol, was true
so far as Edwin Booth had knowledge
Yet he had more than once heard these
stories told by persons who were undoubt-
eddy truthful in ordinary circumstances,
but unconscionable liars when it came &c
talking about .Junius Brutus Booth.
Edwin Booth used TO regard these 70
mances with much liberation. He bclicv'
ed those who related them were uncon-
scious of their untruth, and he used to tell
a series of stories regarding the dclusions
of various persons on various subjects t.
prove that it is the easiest thing in the
world for almost any one of us to become
convinced Of the truth of certain pictur
esque flctions.
Thorn's Control over Barrett.
In speaking of Barrett Mr.. Robson said
that the susceptibility TO humor was bet
ter developed in that actor than in any
other person he had ever known and rclat
ed an anecdote to show the truth of the
J statement.
AT one time company with which
was connected numbered an actor W,
might here name John Walters among it,
members. Walters was handsome chap
not great actor by any means, but ont
who played certain society and simila
roles with decided impressiveness. liz
sometimes drank too much, and on sucl
occasions was probably the funniest thinl
: ever seen in this world Yet, even in tn
.. height of his intoxication-when fairf.
= boiling drunk, so 10 speak-he invariabl,
maintained an air of such dignity ant
. supreme good taste that few or none in tn
audience would suspect him of being in
; toxicated. But sometimes he would forge
his lines, and then there was trouble. o.
one such occasion Walters was playing
e part which required him at certain poin
) in the third act of the play TO raise him
e self to his full height and say impressively
5 al am Tom Henshaw.'
II "All through the first and second act
: he got along very we'll, but between tn
e second and third acts he managed TO loa
o himself about to the limit. No one /
: front suspected anything amiss, but
l. on the stage saw that trouble was ahead
"a so q member of the company who unde
'r stood Walters failing made it point
l. be near him constantly TO help him pa
A. the critical points. The moment he stuc
this friendly actor murmured loud enoug
for Walters to hear:
ECO ahead now, Walters: II am
s, ann
Is "'Oh, yes, muttered Walters; then
id am Frank Chanfrau' rolled majestical
10 from his lips
in You can imagine the effect Of tn
+. much better than can describe it to 20
" 1t virtually broke up the Performance
ne though we managed to struggle throuG
n. the remainder of the play after a fas
al ion Here is where Lawrence Barre
comes in. l told this story TO Charl
Thorn, and it amused him enormousl
When l had finished and he had do
laughing, he asked me to make him
promise.
ly ~ want you to let me tell that story
Barrett said Thorn, and promise u
les more amusement than you can possih
X: get by telling him yourself.
ali 81 promised, and Thorn told the va
he to Barrett the first chance he got.
,u- thought Barrett would laugh himself
IN DEATH and the best of 1t was that aft
IRE that Thorn could throw him into pi
ny oxysm of mirth whenever he chose to
on peat the story. 1t was only necessary
lie. Thorn to begin, i AMI am to
ad Barrett off in an agony of cachinnatic
ew and still later Thorn had only to lift
ent finger and look archly at Barrett to bri
my on perfect paroxysm of laughter. do
&C know what would have happened h
NY Thorn ever recalled the case of poor W
ali tiers to Barrett when he was acting, but
our am firmly convinced that it would hi
on ended the performance then and the
70 even had Barrett been delivering the
ent nous awful circle of the church of Ror
ST speech in 'Richelieu.
,ide ApDrecintes His Contemporaries
ma Although Mr.. Robson delights so mu
,en. in recalling the past, he is not one of tn
,nts actors who believe modern players sh
ing small traces of genius as compared W
those who have gone before.
Mr.. Robson thinks James A. Herr
se' work in his own play of "Shore Aor'
, its one of the finest representations e
| In