The Morris County chronicle., 1902-05-23

ADDRESS.
Venerable Actor Lectures Before
the Friday Evening Class.

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Many Anecdotes and "reminiscences
of By-gOne Days = Over Seven
Hundred rIembers and Friends
Present-Mr. Jefferson Warmly
Received and at Close of Lecture
Presented with Handsome Bou-
quet.
Joseph Jefferson addressed the
last meeting of the Friday Evening
Club for the season in the Lyceum
Hall Friday evening last. So great
was the interest of the public to hear
and see the eminent actor, that hardly
a vacant seat, of the eight hundred
in the hall, could be found.
Large branches of dog wood bios
SONS, together with potted plants and
palms adorned the stage.
The upper box on the left was occu-
pied by about twenty five of the pu.
pills of the Morristown School, where
Mr.. Jereffson s son, Frank is schol-
ar, accompanied by several of the
masters. In the opposite box was
seated a happy delegation of young
ladies from Miss Dana's School, where
Mr.. Jefferson's granddaughter is a
student: now and then wireless
telegraphy message, not of the Mar
conf type, but rather in the shape of
goo goo'eyes was flashed across the
intervening space.
At eight O'Clock Mr.. Jefferson was
introduced to the audience by the
president of the club, Mayor Fox,
amid storm of applause. His lec-
ture consisted chiefly in answering
questions which were written on slips
of paper by persons seated in the au-
dience, and then passed to the Mayor
who, in turn read the query aloud.
!" Are old or new parts most desired
by actors?" asked one. "It depends
whether the actor has good part or
bad part" was the reply.
Zone evening, many years ago, }"
said Mr.. Jefferson. "I was standing
in the corridor of the Fifth Avenue
Hotel in New York, awaiting the ar
rival of a friend, when a gentleman
stepped up to me, extended his hand,
and said, "How do you do, Mr.. Jeffer-
son?' 1 acknowledged the greeting,
grasping the outstretched hand, reply
ing at the same time, I think you
have the advantage of me. sir. Why,
am General Grant" replied the
stranger. You can imagine my sur
prise and Embarrassment, said Mr..
Jefferson, "but only to make matters
worse, replied, I've never saw you
before, General, with your hat on.
ooh, excuse me-, he said. instantly
removing it. Not wanting to get my
feet deeper in hot water, I hastened
off, leaving the General standing
there gazing at me in amazement.
The speaker then related an anec-
dote in connection with his play,
Rip Van Wrinkle. while presenting
it in a western town. After the first
night of the play he received a pro-
fusely supplementary letter from q
citizen who afterward called. "My
name is Brunk,'' he sad. 81 am the
inventor of Brunk's Patent Spring
Bed Mr.. Jefferson. have been very
much pleased with your play, and,
as a sort of a return for the pleasure
you have given me want to make
you a present of one of my spring
BEDS" "Of course, replied Mr.. Jeffer-
son, 'I could not do otherwise than
accept the offer, and asked if there
was anything l could do fer him.
"'The only request I have to make, "
said the man, is that at the point
where you wake from your twenty
years sleep in the third act, you just
say that you would not have slept
so badly if you'd been in one OF
Brunk's Spring Beds"
At the close of this talk, Mr. Jeffer.
son was presented with an immense
bouquet of carnations and roses.
In accepting the gift he said, "La
dies and gentlemen, l do not know
whether l look like one or not, but
never felt so much like prima donn'
in all my life"
Following the address the young
ladies from Miss Dana's were intro
droad to Mr. TofforSOn