The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1901-04-04

tellect keenly sensitive to exalted
emotions and piercing comedy.
Maurice Barrymore's life with his
brilliant wife. George Drew. was a
continual bombardment OF wit clever
queries ana answers which are classic.
one was quite the match for the other.
and the pair Incompatible. Both tail,
handsome, and stroL gly indiVidu II, they
were observable anywhere; but in their
hundred amiable battles of wit they
We're perhaps as unique and dazzling a
husband and wife as ever deVotedlY
entertaIped diverging Cpl ions. Georgie
was blonde, a deVout Roman Catholic,
and the gentlest of mothers to her pref
~ children; Maurice, dark as night, a
Bohemian of the widest popularity,
who believed in his wife and approved
OF her enthusiastically. He mourns her
always. now that she has gone, speaks
OF her as my George and loves to talk
about her. She was the daughter of the
famous Mrs John Drew and inherited
her exhaustless mothers various tai
ents
Once Maurice Barrymore played
Captain Absolute in The Rivals for a
benefit in which most of the Drew fam
lily and its addendas were represented.
Maurice never knew a line in his life.
and of course said whatever entered his
head instead CT the dialogue. Mrs. Drew
was confounded, and in a blaze of an
ger she Whitfield Scorn at HIM from the
hem of her petucoaf. and landed him
glares which would have tanned a Ze-
bra But through it all Barry was. as
cool as a sherbet, bowed gracefully to
her, showed his milk-white teeth. and
never blinked an eyelash to admit he
had received her subtly, but unmistak-
ably delivered shafts of rage Only the
actors who knew what should have
been done could detect this side drama
of mother-in-law and delinquent son,
and George Drew, who was in the cast,
nearly lalIOhAH herself for he
play at the duo her brilliant husband
and equally brilliant mother were do
ing minor key"
Barrymore was story teller beyond
compare and as a source of stories
which were told in great glce by other
members of the theatrical profession
he was the champion. His greatest
fondness, aside from his affection for
mis- wife and children. was for dumb
animals of any sort He had bears
and beavers, dogs. cats, mice and every
deScribable kind of animal that a man
travelling could come across, and his
menagerie finally became so large and
important that he was forced to buy
a country home where. Ire could store
them away. Some of the best stories
told on Barrymore relate to animals
that were in his keeping, or were of
interest to him, but his greatest point
Of interest, outside his profession, was
his wonderfully bright wit and his un-
limited fund of stories that he had
gathered from the world.
Mr. I5arrymOre'S cOSmOpOlitanism,s
sayS one story teller, was once defer
entially indicated when a suave, but
annoyed stage manager, came to him
and said, Mr.. Barrymore I'm very
grieved, but your American accent is
so decided that although we are sure
of your eminent fitness for the part al
lotted you, the London public, you
know
g oh, yes, I know said handsome
Barrymore, with his Adonis brow "a
furl, ] wonder what they'll do. In
America they won't have me because
I'm too blasted British, you know, and
here I'm too American. Do they ex-
pect me to confine my dramatic efforts
TO the transatlantic steamers?