The San Francisco call., 1903-12-06

It would have been nuts Tor me 10
have had the small boy there. in small
boy parlance. 1t would have been
pie" to have had the large boy there.
as be would say in pieful way. The
girls, too. though Herschel Mayal
stoutly disclaims any pull with the car
smel contingent.
Not that there was much room for
any one but Mr.. Mayall. the artist, and
myself, in the actors little 6xl0 dress
ing-room. where I went to chat with
him the other day. But OH how 1
should have liked TO take the gallery
in with me,-the gallery that whistles
virtue 10 heaven, and sizzles the tres
passer until the hiss Of him is heard
even unto the City Hail. the gallery
that weeps with beauty in distress.
chuclles with the sleuth. giggles with
the ingenue. but above all adores mag
nificently. unreservedly, the conquering
herol the gallery, in short, of the Cen
tral Theateri
And wherefore2
Because. gentle reader. it would have
indecOrOusly 5oyed me for the gallery
TO see this hero Of a hundred fights
he wipes the floor with a bunch Of
counterfeiters 'single-handed and
alone" this week-palpably and de-
lightfully afraid Of one small woman.
one realized luxuriously and reverently
the ppOwer of the ppress. Mr.. Mayall
sat there. with a chest swelldom he's
afraid TO own UP to, all but trembling
before me. He told me so himself al
most Immediately. And, alack-a-day,
the gallery was not there to heart
We did begin formally on the
through by -daylight-or- we'll bust
the-boiler," drammer. Naturally one
wondered what Mr.. Mayall, an erst-
while Ellert Lovborg, Petronius, Mer-
cutio. was doing in il. But the talk
soon drifted TO the art Of being inter
viewed. The Apollo of the Central sat
conscientiously in his padded chair.
background by the disguise in
which he runs down the counterfeiters
this week. AS seriously as he takes
everything else he took the Interview.
Au cOntraire, the interviewer has be-
gun TO believe. with long handling Of
the frying pan, that eels get used to
skinning.
You know Delsarte said that there
are 200 or 300 ways Of putting the
same phrase and each one looks differ
ent," the actor was saying. I'm quite
at your mercy"
My tender mercies. Mr.. Mayan,"
insisted. then reassured him. We'll,
have only once been accused Of mis-
quoting any one, and 'hen the lady
well. did not tell the truth"
But things look 50 different in
print"
Don't tell me you have sinned-
spare the gallery boy" 1 implored.
The atmosphere UP yonder reeks with
heroics.
Mr.. Mayau showed his handsome
dentistry in a slow smile and slowly
ventured: L think il would be best IL
YOU asked me questions and let me an
swer them
With little Q's and AS down the
columns2 Twould be original" re-
turned. but little formal"
How do you usually do?"
"Oh. II there's anything an actor is
particularly interested in-the National
Theater, for example-ask him about
that Then his theories of his art, his
history and so on are always interest
ing With you, for example, I should
like to know how you come to be play
ing Central melodrama?"
There are three things 1 dislike the
actor said then. in a sort of I-had-al-
most-forgotten-it way, going to the
dentists, having my photograph taken
and"
Being interviewed" I've heard it be-
fore.
He nodded his remarkably .shapely
head in affirmation and volunteered
7 was once interviewed by a girl in
Cincinnati and didn't know It. She wa:
a friend of mine, and we went to the
theater together one day. Naturally,
talked about the show and the acting
and next Sunday it all came out in the
paper. didn't even know that she was
a journalist. But that was just the
right kind OF interview"
That seems TO me a rather impossi-
bic sort of thing to do"
We were schoolmates," the actor
explained But do you find that peo.
pie will talk freely with that before
them ?"-my inch of pencil.
Frankly, Mr.. Mayall, / think peopl,
viii talk on the fascinating subject Of
themselves with anything before them
I get toe much. not too little, usually
OF heart-to-heartiness- In fact, I'm {
more or less discreet filter. Gosse says
tell everything you can in a chapter
on the ideal biographer. interviewing
is something the same, don't yoI
think?"
Il love you for myself alonei" Some
thing like this in stentorian tones from
the nearby stage luckily broke up tn,
interviewing talk, and Mr.. MayaI
smiled naturally and said: It's Shu
mer-Henry Shumer-our villain, and
curious to say. the 5olliest fellow in tn,
world of the stage"
Does that seem curious TO your"
We'll, II seems TO me that II you ar,
in love with your art you must carr,
away the atmosphere Of what you ar,
playing" the actor advanced. II re
member-I was talking about it only
the other day to Jack Maher at the Al
csxar-when first played Sir Bryce