The Bismarck tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, N.D.) 1916-current, 1927-11-25
IN NEW YORK

folk who hide the grim despair be-
hind a comic mask.
Nor Of those gay, sparkling young
sters who come out Of nowhere into
spectacular success only to be strick-
en- as they stand balanced upon the
peak.
Within a week they buried both
Marceline and Florence Mills. They
buried the Harlem blackbird" in q
$4,000 casket, as they had buried
that fellow Giglielmo, known to the
world as Valentino.
They buried the tiny black spark
of personality who came rs a pick
anniny, and 10000 people-black and
white-jammed Harlem. The whole
world had had it's heart torn just q
little by the diminutive Negress who
seemed to put all the tragedies of
her race into q single blues song and
who could caper and strut as no one
else.
She mixed an ineffable sadness
with dashes Of the grotesquely
comic; she made fortunes and once
bought an apartment house where
white folk" had gnubbed her; and
in the end she built herself a little
palace in Harlem, where she lived
with he nanny andswhere she died.
White folks wept with black when
they buried the Harlem blackbird."
Which would seem to give that
"hard-boiled New York" notion an
other jolt.
.
It was last winter that I first saw
Marceline. His tiny figure was
draped over an iron stairway leading
to subway station. He had an old
face, sad face. group Of show
people "at libert. perched about.
They were talking about jobs. He
was complaining of rheumatic
twinges in legs that used to caper
for the laughs Of millions.
There was nothing about Mar
celine to suggest the clown, least
Of all the greatest clown Of his.time.
AS q matter of. fact he resented the
implication that he might be q clown.
He would object to the use Of the
word in connection with his name.
It suggested something that serious
man, q sensitive man, a tragically
minded man could not take pride
in. And Marceline-he was real
~ Spaniard by the name Of Orhes
was an overly serious fellow. He
called himself "a droll' or ian au-
gust" He sensed the tragedy Of
clowning, Charlie Chaplin was one
of his idols.
Once he said that he had never
laughed when inventing capers that
sent others into laughter. He never
had been able to .smile at his own
antics.
The day came when the whole
world knew him. He appeared be-
fore royalty and he appeared at
the bedsides Of crippled children.
Even when he no longer could get
a job he would 60 to hospitals to
amuse the youngsters.
He remembered well q lad Of
seven in Sargossa, Spain, who ran
away from a tailor's apprentice
ship to be clown with a tiny travel
ing circus, who sneaked under the
ltent and, dead tired, fell asleep, to
find that he had chosen spot next
to the lions cage. Children, he felt
always had been and would be his
best audiences.
He grew rich. He grew famous
His clowning partner, another tragic
mime, committed suicide about IL
years ago. Marceline quit the "game'
and opened a cafe. He was toe
much Of an artist. His place failed
One by one other business prof.
ects failed. The great clown be.
came q little man, hunting jobs
on the "big street" and not get.
ting them. He became q little man
sitting on subway statid.l rails. ant
never saying q word. He became
Q pauper-and one day they tount
him in his room, . bullet through hi
head. There had been nothing funn,
about life.
The great city had not even known
him a. it swept paet. Millions WIZ
cheered him passed by into theatres
to cheer other clowns.
That is the way Of Broadway.
GILBERT SWAN.
Copyright, 1927, NEA Service, Inc,