Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1915-02-02

I enjoyed as much as his friends the re-
( marks made about him not long ago by
/ two chauffeurs brought into his court
for exceeding the speed limit; Isn't
! he the felah as used TO write plays
and such-like" asked one OF the other
| Yes was the reply but we've all
/ had our beginnings, SO let's hope he's
/ honest now"
Once a prisoner before Gilbert on a
charge of begging tried TO gain his
sympathy by quoting line from "Ihe
Mikado"; please, Sir William. make
the punishment fit the crime" Ger
tainly," responded Gilbert, you are
sentenced for the rest of your life not
to beg" Some friends being present
in Gilberts court one day asked him
what qualifications he had to dispense
legal wisdom. The answer was a quo
tation from one Of his own works.
THE law is the true embodiment
Of everything that's excellent,
II has no kind of fault or flaw.
For /, my lords. enTDody the law"
But Sir Gilbert had studied and prac-
ticed law In 1862, at the age of 20. ne
resigned a clerkship in the privy coun-
ell office that he had held for five years
10 prepare for the bar. 20 which he
was called two years later as bar
rister in the Inner Temple. HIS spare
time-and he had a great deal Of it,
Gilbert devoted to writing for humor-
GUS publications.
An Unimpressed Father.
The success gained for Gilbert By
Il
humorous contributions in prose, the
latter of which have never been col
Iected, impressed ali those who knew
him except his father. Suddenly the
elder Gilbert. who hitherto had never
betrayed any literary ability, wrote "A
novel and continued 10 write for many
years The reason for his fathers
pluuging into a literary career was eX-
planned by Son Bill as follows; Father
thought that If I could write anybody
could. and so ne took mp his pen and
wrote" Gilbert did not follow his
fathers example in writing plays i'm
which the heroine was introduced in
the first act and kept in her dressing
room until the moment when the
curtain was ready to drop on the last
scene.
Il was while Gilbert was minglins
law and fun that he entered upon his
career as a dramatist. Emden, the
manager OF st. James theatre. in De
cember, 1866, asked him TO write a
Christmas piece as quickly as possible,
and the struggling lawyer-humorist
gladly accepted the commission. With
in eight days Emden had in hand Dull
and the author wanted 80
guineas for 1t. As Gilbert used TO tell
in his golden days When one Of his
operas meant thousands OF guineas for
his bank account, Il reckoned IL up;
eight days made into 10 at ! guinea
each. incidentals 10 guineas more and
another 10 TO go on" "Guineas." eJac-
llated Emden. I'VE don't deal in
guineas here; make IT pounds" The
young dramatist acquiesced, and when
he manager paid over the money he
iryly advised Now. MIR. Gilbert, new
pr you sell another piece like that for
30 pounds" Il never did," Gilbert
always added with a chuckle as he fin
shed the story.
'Dulcamara" drew fun houses for
several months. and Gilbert was en-
to write a bur7esque. Robert
he Devil" which was first produced
n 1858 at the Gaiety. and IAN Old
score. his first comedy. Shortly aft
inward his meeting with Sullivan took
lace and the immortal collaboration
'egan.