Daily press. [volume] (Newport News, Va.) 1896-current, 1905-04-30

| that If they would place their case In
his hands he would see that the license
was removed. He asked no compensu-
ton, and said that he had offered him.
self for the task only In the interest
of fair play.
When the case came to hearing
the young lawyer argued 1t so wittily,
tactfully and thoroughly, and kept the
city fathers in such constant gales Of
laughter with his anecdotes and good
humor that they RECONSTRUCTED thcirspc.
ton and declared the prohibitIve tax
loft" a,
The lawyer in the case was Abra-
, ham Lincoln.
A Story of the "Road."
One of the stories OF the road
that Mr.. Jefferson delighted to tell
grew out of an experience In an Indi-
ana Town, where he WAS presenting
| RIP Van Wrinkle" many years ago.
In the hotel where he stopped was
an lrishman who was employed as
porter. but from the serious interest
he took in the house he might have
been clerk and proprietor rolled into
one.
AT 6 in the morning Mr.. Jefferson
| was startled by violent humping ut
his door. With slowly returning con-
seriousness he remembered that he had
| left no call OH the night before, and
naturally became indignant. His sleep
was spoiled for the morning, SO he
arose and appcarcl-before the clerk.
! See here" he demanded, why
4 hor?" = So :. - - .e.E: 8
81 don't know, replied the clerk.
''I'll ask Mike" af
The porter was summoned mike,
thcrc was no call for Mr.. Jefferson
! Why did yon disturb him 2" he wns
asked
] Taking the clerk by his coat sleeve.
| the Irishman led him to one side. Gle
was snoring lOilic a horse, sor,", he
explained, "and I'd hecrd by the .b-yes
how onct he were after shlapin' for
twinty years, SO. says to myself, It's
comm on to him agin, an It's yer
july to, git the crayther out o. the
/ house Instantly"
Opposed Athletic Training. 4.
J Though a passionate lover Of out
of-door life and n firm believer in re-
(, creation, one of Mr.. Jefrerson's hob.
i bies was rabid disapproval of athletic
training. He pointed to his own long
and vigorous life as proof of the sound
ness Of his views on the subject.SsIn
an interview that appeared In n Chica-
, go newspaper he said not long ago:
Athletic training Kills off more men
than IL benefits. Nearly all the prize.
fighters and the best trained mon die;
young. The strain of training Is the
trouble. 1t undcrmines the system,
forces the heart to 4 task far beyond
It's powers. and as result there Is
"a 1F In I F,Z lit
before It's time .. ..65
! His Va'edictory Utterance.
:, The sweetness OF this great and
venerable comedians character and
the beauty and optimism of his nature
were mirrored in the valcdictory ut
tcrances he made when he decided to
/ retire from active professional life
| about year ago.
: "Of the stage as | leave it and tho
stage as | found 1.-THE diffcrence?'
he asked. "a mighty development.
Ia wonderful diffusion. do not say
that the individual acting is better,
or perhaps as good, but productions
are SO much grander, effects arr so
much finer and so much more, certain.
All stage machinery, accessories, hight
/ ing, etc., are so much improved Per-
(, haps these things. In n way, have
lessencd the demand upon the actor.
The actor, pcrforce, loomcd mp larger
in the past. 1t was the necessity Of
the case. We can, however, surely
say that the advance of the ACTOR has
not been as great as his physical s,lr-
ronndinss. The great names Of the
past still seem a little lonely.
"a man said to me, Why can't we
! have another Shakespeare, another
Shcridan? And I said to him, Nature
is economical. She gives lis Shakes.
pcare and we have him, and then she
breaks the mold: there is no necessity
; for second We do NOT need new
Shakespeare. but VIC shall have other
brands and stamps of genius to ut the
times. ] am frankly optimistic OH this
point.
Don't let us look hack always with
the same old regret. For the young
world, the new fashion. You know
the 'palmy days will be just about 40
years back to the ED Of time
Baltimore Sun.