The Birmingham age-herald., 1910-12-20
(<"ELL you of Christmases Pvt
 spent in other countries?" re
 4 peated KYrle Rellew. the gifte(

VE'NELL you of Christmases I've
 spent in other countries?' re-
 \ peated Kyrle Bellew, the gifted actor, lighting one of the cigarettes he has made famous in Rallies and set ting back in his chair.
 Well, there have been many. You know I spent most of my earlier years in foreign lands. I've toured the world twice with my repertoire company; and, then, I've been a sailor"
 There was a suggestion of a sigh as he mentioned this, for MT. Bellew loves the sea above all else and longs to return to 1t. Indeed, he intends to become a sailor actor and cruise in theatre ship about the world when he is finished In fare we'll tour of Rallies" in which he will come to the Jefferson theatre, January 1s-19. 1911.
 Acting was more an accident with me than anything else," he explained. l could leave 1t tomorrow without mo- ment's regret. If a man has once been a sailor there will be times when the ire sistible impulse comes to him to go back to the seas, to leave civilization, all the noises and worries of cities. newspapers, telegrams, interviews--Mr Bellew smiled b,andly and said-"which reminds me we are talking of Christmas"
 Perhaps the oldest Christmas day l ever spent was passed in an open boat on the Indian ocean. There was a ship on fire and I was sent with a boatload of seven from our vessel to take charge of 1t It was loaded with coal and we smotfiered 1t for a while, but finally the ship was blown up and we were adrift- seven men and a pig
 we noated about for two or three days and finally were picked up and landed by Ceylon."
 "The pig?"
 MT. Bellows easy chair took slight tack to windward.
 'You set seven men adrift in a small open boat with pig, and what hap pcnsr
 The interviewer quoted the lines: "1here was a young lady of Niger, Who went to ride on a tiger;
 They came back from the ride with the lady inside,
 And smile on the face of the tiger" Exactly" rejoined Mir. Beiiew There v--s smile on the face of the amateur oraiLsman as he told his Christmas story. That is life; the life that counts, the life of the open, the life on the sea with long days and nights, free, untramelled. 1T have spent more than one Christmas in the Australian bush. I think perhaps Americans think of the bush as they dc their own sage brush on the plains. In Australia that Is the name of the forest ard of the gerat expanse of uncleared country.
 What was there to do in the brsh on Christmas? Only the same as other days. One almost forgot the day of the year.
 "If you could once realize that beauti- full clearness of the atmosphere! l have been in the bush when 1t was possible to sec 120 miles. Through the gray green of the trees you could discern the little white specks of smoke, far of; think ol 1t, 12O miles, and that Is no unusual phe' nomenon. I know of no more wohoertu atmosphere unless 1t may be that or Soutf America. 4,.
 T went there principally to look after some land I owned in the gold country | I have been there two or three times. thu last time after had played in Melbourne Sydney, Adelaide, and Brisbane.
 "It was just before the war and ther' wos little theatrical interest. Everybod, he'd his eye on South Africa. So go | away and went in the bush and rode ant can,ped and watched the natives signal.
 "You know, the bpshmen have uniqu' way of signalling news. They can gossil iuxf about as fast as we can with ou daily papers. ''They make a fire in the stump Of al