Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1906-08-10
Amusing Incident when the Come
dian Was Playing For n Benefit.

dian Was Playing For n Benefit.
A curious incident occurred during
one of the visits TO Birmingham, Eng
land. of the late John Lawrence Toole,
the English comedian. On that occa-
sion there We're some fifty seats ar
ranged behind the scenes for eager
spectators. Toole, coming from his
dressing room to the stage, had to
pass some of these seats. The fore
most occupants were a would be aris-
tocratic old lady and her daughters.
When Toole passed them, as Tom
Cranky, the bricklayer, in The Birth
place of Podgers.' the old lady's blue
blood boiled at the indignity of such
men being near her, and she muir
INJURED audibly that she wondered the
Workmen were not kept away. The
young ladies were quicker and discov-
cred their companions error and told
her of it. However, in the next piece
n somewhat similar mistake arose in
the old lady's mind. and, finally in the
last piece, which happened to he oil
yer Twist" when Toole drew near
her party, again on his way to the
stage as the Artful Dodger. her anger
knew no bounds. and she declared,
looking around her haughtily, that she
had never before been in such low
company. and that the workhouse must
have been let loose into the theater.
Her daughters had some trouble in
convincing her of her third mistake,
and doubtless to this day she main
tains TO her own private friends that
10 mo Of
ter was very careless as to whom he
admitted within his establishment
Toole told an amusing story as to his
makeup. The incident occurred when
he was playing for a benefit at Sadlers
Wells, in London. He performed ut the
Surrey theater and at the Adelphi. in
London, on the same evening and had
little time to lose in dressing. How
ever, his performance being over at the
Surrey and the Adelphi he left the lat
ter house, taking cab in order to be
driven to Sadler's Wells. He entered
the cab as Mr.. Spriggins, an old man,
the character in "Ici on Parle Fran
cais,' which he had just been playing,
and, to the claimants intense surprise,
when he opened the door of his vehicle
for his fare to dismount at the stage
entrance of Sadler's Wells, the popular
attire of Muster Grinidge in THE
Green Bushes" met his eye. There
was of course no vestige of old Mr..
Spriggins in the cab. What have you
done with the old man?' cried the
startled cabman, frightened at his sud-
den disappearance. where's the old
manT' Hereupon Toole explained to
him that he and the old man were
one and the same person, held out
liberal fare and told him that they were
waiting for him on the stage inside the
theater. But the cabman was obdu-
rate and refused to let his fare go, call
ing on him continually to produce the
old man. The disturbance might have
been prolonged had not some of the
theatrical officials come outside to look
for the recreant actor and found him
struggling between the cabman and the
appreciative crowd. A release was eff
fected and Toole taken in triumph to
the stage.
Toole was not only comic actor. He
had serious pathetic powers, and his
rendering of Caleb Plummer in 1.-The
Cricket on the Hearth" impressed all
who saw It,