Perth Amboy evening news., 1906-08-31
mr.. SFODDART
SEWAREN HOME
Aged Actor Living in Retirement
Finds Pleasure in Music
and Motoring.
On the Clia road at sewaren, hi

On the Cliff road at Sewaren, hiTl
above the sparkling waters of !
Staten Island sound, stands a no &c
Nesting among trees, with a spacious
garden stretching away to the back,
and in front a commanding view of
the tranquil sound. Here is the
home of James H. Stoddart, veteran
actor and in many ways one of the
most interesting and unique charac-
ters of the American dramatic world.
In this beautiful sport, far from the
Rialto, the aged player is passing the
sunset of his life.
Enfeebled now with illness and age
Mr.. Stoddart will be 70 on the 18th
of October-he whites away the long
summer in contemplation of the
beautiful scene before him, reminisc-
ing of the days gone by that were so
full of vigor and action. Though fore
ed to quiet now, it is with the con-
tent born of work well done and with
the memories of a well rounded life
that Mr.. Stoddart bears his exile
from the stage life he so loved, as
he watches the sail craft on the
sound fit to and fro in the sunlight.
There are two pleasures to which
Mr.. Stoddart still clings to while
away the hours of inaction-one an
enjoyment in which he has found de-
light since his youth, the other a
pastime which he has seer grow to
popularity since he has been an old
man. From his earliest recollection
A. OI4IIart In1 x1A, ,o,niA1n EAIr -
fond of music. This taste he now
gratifies in his country home with the
singing of his son., who has a fine
tenor voice, to the accompaniment of
his daughter. The other pleasure is
artomobiling. Though once quite a
hoRseman, the actor now fears to ride
behind a pair, and SO prefers the
motor vehicle.
Mr.. Stoddart rather enjoys the
long, swaying motion of a big touring
car, as it rambles over the splendid
shore roads, though his only com
ment on this form of lomotion is
shat it takes you over the ground
quickly Nevertheless, the old play
err enjoys the machine, and he is able
to stand trips of fifty OIL sixty miles a
day in it. A favorite tour is to the
seashore resorts south of Sewaren.
Mr., Stoddart has been to Belmar this
summer, and liked it so well, and the
change benefited him so that he con-
templates another stay at that resort
in a few weeks. He is not able to go
to the beach, but Is content to sit by
the hour watching the gay throngs
that pass by on pleasure bent.
MIR. Stoddart's interest in the Drama.
Though he has permanently retir-
ed from the stage, Mr.. Stoddart has
not lost hold upon things dramatic.
/ ans wide correspondence from friends
-otbpn his circuits he values above ev-
ything, though he is unable to an
MY er his mail personally. This spring
he received several inquiries from
managers as to whether he would
ever enter stage life again. If he
wished to, and were able, MI. Stod-
dart would be placed on the stage
tomorrow by any n of a dozen man
ayers.
In spite of his love for the stage
and the things connected with it, Mr..
Stoddart is and always has been by
instinct and nature a farmer. He is
p~assionately fond of the country and
Graves wide acres and rolling mea-
dows that he may call his own. AL
though his present home is ideally
situated and has around 1t more
ground than is usual in a town like
Sewaren, 1t does not satisfy him. "It's
very beautiful and does very WELL"
said Mr.. Stoddart, the other day to
a newspaper representative, "but
what | want is a real farm, not a
play one"
The old player paused a moment,
as though thinking of the time when
he was a real landowner, with for
tyg or fifty acres under cultivation,
then he continued:
Farming ut Railway.
ibid you ever hear of my farming
) venture over by Railway? Well, that
was a good many years ago, more
than twenty, when | conceived the
idea that ] would start some sort of
large farm, so that in my old age |
could retire from the stage and my
farm would support me. / was I'M
decided for a time what to grow on
my farm, for | wanted to specialize,
until | met M day an old friend OF
mine, P. T. Quinn, who, by the way,
is a fellow townsman of yours, a
Newarker, some years ago quite not
ed for his horticultural knowledge. If
/ remember rightly, he lived on Pro-
fessor Mapes' place, over at Waiver
ley.
ut had always been my ambition
to become somewhat OF a farmer, and
l had cherished a secret desire to
embark in the business of raising
pear trees for profit. Now, Mr.. Quinn
had a splendid pear orchard, and he
took me all through it, advising me
that If | intended to go into farming
on a large scale to try the pear Gull
ture, which | had so desired. He told
me to plant only two sorts of pear
trees-the Bartletts and the Ouch