The Birmingham age-herald., 1909-12-05
NJ KIND IF NOISE BOTHERS HIM NOW After Training In Theatrical
 Boarding House GRADUATES EXPERIENCE Says He Could Sleep Like Child in a Rlotous Lunatic Asyum-Thine
 Is Just Matter of Habit,
 He Says.

came New York from small western town a good many years ago, doesn't bother me. I suppose I'd be able to sleep in lunatic asylum with all hands gibbering all night. It's all a matter of getting used to noise. wasn't, of course, used to much noise when I first came to New York. but the first place I lived in when l came here fixed me out with a real im- perviousness to noise.
 Tt was a theatrical boarding house. and drifted there accidentally. I turned fin soon after dinner that first night, for I had to get to work at 8 o'clock the next morning. and I was suffering too severely from hesnesickness to want to keep awake, anyhow. had the middle roczn on the third floor It was black dark in there even on the sunniest day, and the gas had to be lighted when I stayed in there on Sundays. But didn't mind l wasn't looking for a luxurious life. I was glad to have a Job in New York and place to rest my head.
 Broke Into BaIefuI Language.
 T sat up straight in bed, in the black dark of my room. very soon after getting to sleep that first night It was a most demoniacal shriek--whether of man. wo- man, owl or loon, I couldn't tell-that caused me to sit up in bed and feel scared I'd read a lot of terrible stories Of crime in New York before getting here. So I was scared all right. Sitting up in bed then and my heart smashing against my ribs, I heard proceeding from the I>~z zI- me that had unwittingly stumbled upon nest of crime.
 Following the shriek came a lot of diabolical male laughter. It was certainly the horriblest, gloatiest, cruellest lot of ha-haing that ever I'd heard. Then the laughter broke into baleful language:
 And so yuh scawned muh? he said in his awful voice, following the words up with more of that nerve racking ha-ha stuff. 'Scawned muh, aftuh I had wasted the love of muh life upon yuh? Ha. Ha. Prepaiuh, then, tuh die! Iris useless tuh beseech mer, foolish gairIl. tuh spaiuh yuhl Thy doom is upon theei Thy houah has comei The blade is sharpened! Make thy vain appeals tuh the Powuh above, not tuh mehr
 Have yuh no maicyY the voice of A female in obvious agony of mind came then. Oh, pitiless stahyuhs, have yuh no maircyl'
 "'Yeh do well to ask maircy of the pitiless stahyuhsl' said the male voice then, and immediately there was another of those frightful shrieks, followed by a bloodcurdling sound of humping and of furniture being overturned.
 Well, that was enough for me- I scrambled out of bed. lit the gas, hustled into my trousers. kicked my feet into my shoes, and with that terrific pumping still going on next door and urging me
 
 banged on the door of the third floor back I meant to put my shoulder to the door ard at least make try to bust it down if nobody answered my banging.
 Immediately Answered.
 But my banging was immediately an- swered. The pumping and humping in the room instantly ceased and a good natured looking chap in his shirt sleeves and with the pirspiration pouring down his face threw the door open wide, let ting the light from his room stream upon me, standing there with my night shirt tucked into my trousers. Over on a dilapidated settee sat a pretty wom with her blond hair down all over her shoulders and her house jacket so disor- dered as to reveal an exceedingly attrac- .tive pair of shoulders. She didn't look as if she'd just been in mortal peril of her life. Tn fact, she was just in tho act of biting into a Swiss cheese sand wich and takin ga sip out of a glass of beer.
 Whats the trouble, shipmate?' the good-natured looking chap in his shirt sleeves said to me, grinning. Hope we didn't disturb you. You've got tho next room to us, haven't you?'
 [" 'Wellr I could only gasp.
 T thought-er-well, I was afraid started to say-and I guess I must have looked pretty chalky around tho gtl1s-I was told so often enough later anyhow I was afraid that you were-er-doing some harm to the lady, and
 well that settled it. The good-na- tured looking chap just tottered into chair, holding his sides, and the pretty blond woman had to drop her cheese sandwich and her glass of beer to enable her to hold her sides, too. Up to that time I'd never seen human beings laugh the way they did Guess I did look pretty funny at that. with that tucked-in night shirt and my scared face; and my Shoe- strings flying wild. and all that. After they'd laughed for about 10 minutes. said the man:
 "'sorry to've worried you. old man. We've only been rehearsing in our naw funk. that's all. We'll can the rehearsals for the night, though. You'll get used to this stunt in time, around here
 Sounds of Distress.
 .sIIe was pretty nice about 1t, of course, but 1t was too good to keep. None of 'em in that house ever get up much before noon. whereas the next morning was out of the house before 8. so I didn't meet any of them at breakfast. But met 'em all at the dinner table that even ing. and they sure did hand It to me. Not in any mean kind of way. understand, for these folks of the stage are mighty care full about hurting folks feelings. But the grin was all over tho table when en- tered the dining-room, and they ban tered me about the happenings or the night beefore, and one of the men, huge chap with a bull voice, got my groat all over again by leaping from his place at the table, grabbing at the throat of the man seated next to him, and bawling at the top of his lungs. Give men them naners or I'll tear up the che-ild! I viawed this sudden outburst with an ex- rression that must have indicated ex- treme apprehension, and they all broke into q roar. It was a little hazing that they were handing out to tho greenhorn. Useful haxing, too. Nothing in the blood curdling line that heard in that house alarmed me after that. I was fortunate in being set right so soon after taking up my residence there for the terrifying rehearsing was in progress all over the house at all hours of the night. But it didn't terrify me after that first expe- rience. It took me quite while to learn to roll over and go to sleep when was awakened by shrieks, demoniacally tri- umphant laughter, and such like. But I achieved this fully in time. The thought of moving away from the theat- rical boarding house on account of the noises never entered my mind
 "Once in great while. 1 should say.