Omaha daily bee., 1902-05-04

stsTring, paying IN Ihr9e staSols , Trthna III
came "A Poor Relation" in 1SSs-lssO; THE
Tale o., a Coat produced az DAYS In
Weather" a revival Of The Heir-at-Law"
and "a Bachelors Romance" II was IN
production at the Garden theater. that
Mr.. Russell made his last appearance in
The Hon. John Grigsby," and while ap-
pearing in the play. at the Grand Opera
house Chicago. December Is his break
GUS attack, forgot his lines and the cur
tain had to be rung down. His physicians
not mend. however, and efforts of skilled
physicians and visits to various health
resorts were OF no avail.
Chicago is Just now more than r~eveling
in the delights OF a melodrama built on
Jim Bludsoe" and "BaAty Tim" two Of
Secretary Hays early poems Of life along
the Mississippi. 1t Is called Jim Bludsoe."
and its chief attraction Is, OF course, the
interesting and exciting episode that ended
the caloric and strenuous career of that
picturesque individual who SO cheerfully
exhibited a lofty disdain and absorbing
disregard for the comfy Of civilized insti-
%tutions. such as marriage. the rights Of
property and individuals and the like.
We all recall that Mr.. Hay wrote:
Jim warn't no saint; them engineers
Is pretty much all alike.
He'd one wife at Natchez-Under the-Hill
And a mother one here in Pike"
Jim was addicted also to the use Of the
bowie knife, and had made a record at
Natchez-Under-the-Hill in the line of an
artistic manipulation Of that storied weapon
which fully equalled his accomplishments
In a matrimonial way. This in itself was
no mean achievement. in fact It was al
most sufficient to ensure him fame as last
inc aa that which rama thrOnOh the uufuua
manner of his ultimate taking of. For
1t is recalled by those who remember the
river that in those good old ante-bellum
days life in Natchez-Under-the-Hill was OF
such sort that any man who accomplished
deeds OF wickedness of a degree to occasion
comment was assuredly an artist whose
name would be remembered with no other
especial reason in all communities save
that unfavored spot which has dwindled to
Sabbath quiescence with the decline OF
steamboating. But, as "all boats have their
day." so did Jim, and in the present in
stance his historian has charitably omitted
all reference to his personal habits. his
moral obliquities and his matrimonial ad-
ventures, and instead has grated on him
the virtues of that sturdy resident Of
Egypt" the old-line democrat who laid
his politics aside to keep till the war was
luTOuBHg llllLudu Joy. MT. Joy Cdm0 10
the front at a mass meeting OF his old
neighbors, who objected to the presence
Of one certain negro boy, known and de-
scribed az ''Banty Tim" In impassioned
Sucker dialect Mr.. Joy recounts the doings
Of 1.-THE day our left struck Vicksburg
heights" and tells how Banty Tim saved
his life on that occasion. He concludes
with these words:
80, my gentle g~azelles, thars my answer,
] And hyar. stays Banty Tim.
He trumped Deaths ace fer me hat day
And 1 hain't goin' back on him.
Now, we kin resoloot till the cows come
home,
But eff one of you teches that boy, d.
He'll rassle his hash tonight in hell,
Or my name amt Ttllman JOY"
With all Of the Joy virtues and force Of
character. added to the natural dash and
intrepidity Of Bludsoe, quite a charming
hero is made. not a w~ishy-washy Harding
Davis or Stanley weyman sort. but a good,
old fashioned rip-snorting westerner of the
original mintage. And so when the final
climax of the play comes,
And when the smokestacks fell
! The ghost of Bludsoe went up alone,
I In the smoke of the Prairie Bell"
the critics feel that
And he went for II thar and then,
And Christ amt goin' to be too hard
On a man that died fer men,"
So the play lives.
Roaring Dick" as Mr.. Richard Mans
field is afectionately called by his admir-
ing friends behind his back) is the object
of more brutal misrepresentation, probably,
than any man on the stage. He has been
made the hero of all manner Of sensational
yarns, In which his violent temper, his in
tractable nature. his insufferable egotism
and his supreme disregard for the rights
l and faaltn0c ~ Athawa AaIo A@A-
In most vivid language. Mr.. Mansfield is
too well balanced mentally to allow these
yarns to disturb him, or II they do disturb
him. he manages quite well to hide the fact.
No one likes his joke better than Mans
field. even at his own expense. In his
home are two large group photographs.
Each represents Mansfield surrounded by
his company, to whom he is reading a
manuscript. In one he appears much
bored, but everyone else Is alert and inter-
ested. In the other he is all smiles and
interest, but the company have gone to
sleep. He often points the latter picture
cut to a caller and remarks: That's one
OF my own plays I'm reading them"
At a dinner at which Mr.. Mansfield was
a guest the hostess asked one OF the gentle
men to be so good as to raise a certain
window. He graoiously made the en-
oeaVOr, out Iresh paint neld the frame rast
and the young man had only his rufned
linen and beady Precipitation on his fore
head for his pains. But he kept valiantly
at his struggles until he saw Mr.. Mansfield
approaching. q picture of a modern
Brummel. The actor looked him over, and,
inwardly conscious OF his own complacent
temper and immaculate linen. replied
lightly:
Eyes. I may be ingenious enough to raise
the window. but I'm not ingenious enough. E"
or course there Is a division OF opinion
as to the actual facts in such stogies. But
no one, even those who discredit them, but
say. 1T would be Just like Mansfield to dc
things on that extravagantly grand scale.
Mr.. Mansfield has always considered Il
mira dig. to deny the many silly fetionl
about temper. harshness and kindred
weaknesses which have been the stock IL
trade for years. He has been equally
modest about his kindly deeds. and is S,
sensitive that he never permits anyone t
speak In his presence Of his benefactions
his presents or his courtesies. This sensi
tiveness is almost painful. He has said
II hate to be thanked. II embarrasses m
so. / never know what to reply"