Omaha daily bee., 1903-04-05

for shakesperean productions on an elab-
crate scale his friends argued with him
that he could make a great deal more
money by holding to his famous character
studies. They we're right and he knew It.
II is surely a proof OF sincerity in his
work and the unswerving character Of his
determination 90 keep on his way toward
the high ideals he is seeking to reach that
he gladly sacrificed great pecuniary gains
in order to further his object.
ut is true that my bank account would
have been larger during the last few years
IL l had not taken up Shakespearean
plays" This Is what he says on this sub
ject. But the people have responded to
the presentations nevertheless, and It is
worth something besides money to know
that audiences OF from IL, 200 to 5000 a
week are being brought into closer touch
with the beauties and poetry OF Shakes
peare."
One Of his principal reasons for going
lack to the worlds great playwright is the
scarcity of great modern plays. He ex-
amines hundreds Of manuscripts every
month, and says that not / per cent OF
them have merit enough to warrant any
thing more than a superficial glance. No
ambitious playwright need do another days
work as long as he lives II he can give
Mr.. Mansfield a great character work. One
OF these, by the way, asked Mr.. Glover a
week ago what the star would offer for a
"Arst class vehicle suited to his strongest
stage ability" He got a reply out Of hand
and without consultation, "$10O, 900 to start
with and more to follow"
Either the playwright's modesty was
1horEnd mr. hfa hrnfp Wna ffrpad for ha
disappeared without another word into the
wilderness Of the city streets and has not
been heard from since.
But the offer stands in all good faith
Just the same.
SuperstitiOus Notions.
When Mr.. Mansfield travels he has a
private car. The one he uses now was
bought only a little while ago from Pres
ident ingalls, of the Big Four road and is
one Of the most costly and beautiful in
America. The luxury Of it pleases him and
the furnishings are his constant delight,
but the one thing he revels in more than
all the others put together is a little
speed indicator set in the woodwork Of
the apartment he uses for a study. BY
looking at 1t he can tell at any moment
how fast the train is travelling, and the
hhOWlSuBS 10 the JOY Ol Hs nedTI anu ln-
cidentally the bane of the existence of all
about him.
He refuses to travel at any speed greater
than thirty or forty miles an hour, and
has a feeling that amounts to superstition
about going any faster. Before he got hold
Of the wretched indicator, which came
with the car, he didn't know that such
things existed. Up to that time his trav-
cling companions had been accustomed to
telling him all sorts OF fairy tales about the
rate of running-in knots at that-as a sort
Of recognition of his possession of a fine
yacht.
Now, however, there can be no more
gentle prevarication and when the indi-
Gator whizzes above forty miles-or in
Mansheld's car p~arlance "thlrty-seven
spankin' knots al hour'-a p%eremptory or
der is sent forward to the engineer of the
special to shorten sail. And Mr.. Mansfield
stays with his glasses glued to the indicator
till he has assured himself that the de-
mand has been obeyed.
Travelling time is rest time with him.
Often on all-night trips he will throw of
all thought Of stud. and work, and with a
select company gathered about him will
entertain for two hours at a stretch with
songs-he has a fine barytone voice-dances,
representations and stories that run along
without q break.
His musical director, Carl Krusada,
Joined the Mansfield company a little over
two years ago in the artistic capacity OF
baggage handler. Arriving in America
pennlless from his Tome in Austria, he
took the first Job that came to hand and
found himself on the road with Beau
eaire." A few weeks later whispers
raaohad Mr. Mangaald aAnuk 1noa 80 ktg haa-
gage men who carried a violin everywhere
with him and played 1t when he was not
working. The young man was sent for
while the company was making An all
night rail trip and shown into the private
car. where Mansfield told him that he
wanted to hear some music. The lad pro-
tested that his fingers and hands we're too
rough from hard work for his to do his
instrument Justice. However, he finally
yielded and played. The star knows some
thing about the violin himself, but it did
not take him more than a few moments
to find out that his baggage smasher"
knew a great deal more.
do you know" he said, "yqo've got an
easy living and fame in those fingers OF
yours. In going to send you to a school
and get some training"
Krusada grinned. I've had a little
training Already
"Where7' asked Mansfield.
the Conservatory of Jenna"
This was an affair after Mansheld's own
heart. He probed It, found that Krusada
had been the best baggage handler the COM
pany ever secured and promptly laid him
of and put him on a liberal salary 'till
his hands got knocked back into shape"
Six weeks later he placed him in the cast
OF "Beaucaire' and let him play a violin
solo In the fourth act. With the begin
ming Of the present season he doubled his
salary and made him his musical director,
a position he fills with rare skill and judg-
ment.
When Mansfield was playing "Richard
III a little girl in his company acting the
part of the Prince OF Wales was taken seri-
ously i'll. He at once sent the child to q
private hospital, brought her mother to
look after her there and continued her sal
airy, besides footing all the bills. AS the
weeks went on the child grew worse and It
was seen that she could not recover. Her
one sorrow was that she had not seen Mr..
Mansfield play Beau Brummel." They
told him OF her wish, and one day when the
company was filling an engagement $50
miles away he slipped aboard a train, bum
died in a heavy overcoat, and a few hours
later was at the bedside Of the child.
When he took his coat of the doctors