New-York tribune., 1921-06-26

lng.
Well, I hold no brief for Carpenter.
don't know him; I have not spoken
with him. Reason tells me that this
son of poor coal miner Of Lens,
picked up, young, starving cat, by a
/ iowly acrobat-gymnast; who since the
age OF eleven had spent his time be-
tween tho ropes, or with those that
I've between the ropes. is not unlikely
to prove under close scrutiny rather
sorry guy. But I am telling, only OF
the outward appearances, Of what I
saw. And telling Of it as | saw it.
He stood moment at the gate,
acknowledging the discreet hand clap
/ ping and greeting particular friends.
he wore, as / have said, batnrobe
! Have you ever tried to look beautiful,
or. even dignifed in bathrobe !?
Well, he gave that bathrobe sort of
fine distinction. His body, OWNED
/ beneath It, had taken easily, and all
of itself, the pose-except that It was
not pose-made famous by The Apollo
Belvedere. And there was in his posi-.
ton, i'll his smile, in his pleasant nod
dngs, the most appealing mixture,
really, of ease, together with touch
of shyness.
he began TO move up toward the
barn where he was to begin his work.
AS he passed friends would come up
and, passing, he greeted them with
/ that French hand-shake which is much
less shake than pressure. One Of
his friends called him over and intro
duced him to three ladies'. I watched
him carefully. He bowed, as French
men bow--but with just exactly the
right touch-with just enough Of the
hnre d1,n
aggeraslg it to the point where it
transfers the Importance to the one
rendering it instead Of the one receiy-
ing.
He said few words, just enough;
he fingered moment, just enough;
he left with just the proper amount
OF decision and regret. And the whole
thing was still further toned down by
that subtle touch-and most charming,
really-of shyness. A most incredible
performance. altogether, for one seek
ing, in two weeks, the CROWN of the
worlds champion bruiser.
Step Would Not Bow Violet
He now came on, up the incline to-
ward the barn, and discovered one Of
the elements which entered into the
impression of frsilty and lightness
which he gave. And that was the
lightness Of his step. have never
seen any one step SO lightly as Car
pentier. suppose, realistically speak
| ing, that is mostly a matter of feet.
He must have perfect feet, with arches
as If of resilient steel. But the effect
did not seem connected with matter
and was vaguely disturbing. 1t gave
this man, who soon must 60 up against
the grossest and most material of tests,
q remoteness from the earth, sort of
wraithlike quality, almost, which was
highly disconcerting.
FINALLY he was close up to me and
could see his features clearly. These
are known to every one, think. They
/ are better than shown in his pictures.
which have tendency to make his
chine retreating one, whereas the line
of the profile down the high brow to
the tip of the chin is very straight.
On the other hand, there is something
gentle and almost feminine about it
. which comes from the eyes.
5f9iAIhey are large, gray eyes, very clear
end wide open, and the lashes are long
:; and curled. AT first you say: Gosh,
they are like woman, like a stage
beauty'sl" And then you wonder. They
are, as / have said, large and lustrous
and gray. But their grayness is a
; strange gray, and their wide-openness
is enigmatic, and sometimes singu-
lar light passes swiftly across them
!, from corner to corner.
!. One thing | noticed. They are always
perfectly relaxed. I have friend in
New York, physician and oculist, who
believes that all defects Of the eye
come from strain and that all defects
OF the eyes can be cured by relaxation
Well, that physician and friend would
be altogether delighted with Carpen-
tiers eyes--those eyes even in effort,
even in infighting, remain ever wide
open and pleasingly relaxed.
i thought, as he passed very close,
that he looked drawn rather fine and
bit tired; in the condition in which
!, distance runner, say-trained down to
the limit, the day before the race to
which he has devoted his soul. There
were slight, sagging lines, holding
shadow, running between the inward
corners Of the eyes and the corners of
the mouth. And this, added to the al
ready extraordinary effect something
again extraordinary. hesitate to write
It, But 1t was a wistfulncss. Something
slightly piasntive. A touch of suffering
gently and patiently borne.
Well, we went up with him to the
barn, which is up against hillside. so
that at the rear the second floor is
Iiush with the ground, and there, with
the whispering crowd masscd before
the great doors, and small boys--and
also little girls-perched about like
,, birds, he began his workout by
punching the bag. But first, of course.
he slipped Oft his bathrobe and stood
revealed, stripped but for his short
trunks and high-laced shoes.
incoDgruity Approaches Grotesaue
The impression which had when
, first had seen him appear from out
OF the shrubbery was now repeated.
and, If anything, in more definite and
|, powerful form than before. With the
/, vision of the Dempsey maulers som e.
where back in my mind, was hit all
OF q heap with a sense Of fantastic in
congruity, of folly--and of sacrilege--
4 to the point that I felt almost physi-
i cal pain, as though it were my own
q solar plexus which in advance were
being struck, and my own body. with
i all its delicate interior mschinery--to
which am rather partiai--which was
4 being shattered.
i don't know exactly whence comes
Iithis impression of fine frailty whic,
Nhe thus gives--for. after ali, one must
remember that he has fought since the
age of eleven, is heavyweight champion
of Europe, light heavyweight champion
gaofsstlaSpswo woriGsand has knocked out and !.
quickly, too Wells, Beckett and Le-
L. ,r-xr r.