Evening star., 1934-06-03


His face is pleasing, open and full Of
character He has broad high fore
head crowned with heavy growth of
gray hair. His eyes are blue, keen
and bright; they look out from over
hanging brows of bristling gray. His
mouth shows much determination, and
his jaws. strong and well padded with
flesh, give a stick-to-itive expression
to his countenance that reminds me
much of the character of the tenacious
bulldog. This healthy man OF 85
has few wrinkles in his face, and l
see daily many men half as old who
show more crows feet around their
eyes than does Mr.. Corcoran.
John Howard Payne's history was
that of a Bohemian" said Mr.. Corco-
ran. Bright and brainy, he had
genius enough to have made him
wealthy. but he seemed to lack all
power of utilizing his talents or OF
saving any of the large amounts
which he made. Some Of the time
when he was in Europe he rolled in
the lap of fortune. Good offers poured
in to him from the varied theaters-
He was the friend of Edmund
Kean, the star of Drury Lane and the
lion of the metropolis. At other times
he was so poor that he had to borrow
money for postage, and his landlady
refused to let him have his clothes un-
til he could pay his rent. This was
especially so when he was in Paris
working over French plays for the
English stage. 1t was at this time
that Home, Sweet Home was written
The song was composed in a musty
garret chamber near the Palais Royal
and its author was living on bread
and cheese and sour wine while he
wrote it. Though now sung IN the
churches. it was written for the stage
and it came out in the drama 'Clari,
or the Maid of Milan.
Home, Sweet Home"
payne was longing for America at
the time he wrote it, and his soul
doubtless Travelled back to the humble
home of his father as he penned the
lines. The house in which he was
born still stands, and there is new
oil painting in the Corcoran Gallery
representing the kitchen where he
played during his boyhood days. 1t is
a plain, upholstered room filled with
rough furniture and with a great fire.
place looking as though touch would
throw its masonry into chaos. Before
it runs a string used to hang clothes
on for drying and within it hang the
hooks for roasting and cooking. The
ceiling of this room is rough boards
laid on massive rafters 1t is low. and
the ears of corn and great pieces OF
dried beef seem as though they would
| touch the heads of the people in the
room. The floor is unplaned, the
hearthstones rough and uneven, and
the doors, swung on great hinges and
| locked with wooden bolts, hang down.
ward as though in shame at the coarse
red paint which covers them. 1t was
not luxurious dwelling, even fol
those days, but it was home, and as
that, dearer to Payne's heart than al
of Paris or London.
| 'Payne's literary work was large,
Mr.. Corcoran continued. He wrote q
great number of plays. among which
were The Lancus Oswald of Athens,
Peter Smirk, or Which Is the Mil
ler?': Proclamation Theresa, Twas
L; Two Galley Slaves Ali Pasha, OF
the Signet Ring; King Charles the
Second, or the Merry Monarch
'Clari, or the Maid of Milan; 'Brutus
or the Fall Of Tarquin,' and Richie
lieu None of them ever netted hin
very much money. and 'Clari.' with
Home, Sweet Home was sold in q
lump of manuscripts in 1925 for $3.50
A year after it first appeared 100000
copies of it were sold, but Payne never
got royalty on one of them"
John Howard Payne was better
known as an actor during his day
| than as either editor or playwright. He
first appeared at the Park Theater ir
New York and his father was behind
the scenes while he played. This was
in 1909, during Madison's first term as
President. Master Payne was 16 years
old, small for his age and looking
still younger. He was very handsome
and his first performance received
great applause. From New York he
went to Boston, Philadelphia and Bal
timore, drawing crowded houses every.
where. William 3. Wood, in his Rec.
objections of the Stage" says:
"On my return to the United States
in October, 1909. I found young Mas
ter Payne in the full tide of popular
| favor at Baltimore, where the en-
thusiasm for his acting was probably
more intense than in any other city
speak particularly of his first en-
gagement, for such a furor could not
| be exDected tn last He aDDears as
Young Norval, Hamlet, Romeo, Tan
cred. Octavian, Frederic, Rolla, Ach-
met and Zaphna to large and brilliant
audiences.
His benefit proved a crownine
triumph. On his memorable night
the receipts touched the extraordinary
amount of $1,160. 1t must be here re.
marked that the house when filled tc
its utmost capacity had never yet pro-
duced $500. Where then, it may bs
asked, did we contrive to stow away
SLIGO? This is the answer: Great
numbers of tickets were paid for al
high prices. One gentleman I know
gave his check for $50 for a single
ticket, besides paying literally for the
box occupied by his family. Many
others paid large sums, varying from
SIS to $40 for single tickets, and the
large gallery was filled with the hold
ers of box tickets, failing to obtair
seats below"
What kind of a looking man wal
Payne?" I asked Mr.. Corcoran.
HE was spare and short, but h,
| Civkt, n,-ol