A Society Clown

and Su

ic's din afore, and whistle all the airs from that i

cs was Mr. W. S. Gilbert, who, under the heading of "The Theatrical Lounger," in The Illustrated Times, said: "Mr. Grossmith has comic powers of no mean order; and his idea of John Chodd, carefully modelled on Mr. C

well, and we were very much complimented (as all amateurs are), and declared our attempts to have eclipsed our neighbours (as all amateurs do). But such a thought as going on the stage never entered my head fo

each year as my family and household expenses were _in_creasing. I disliked being away so long from London; for there is nothing so valuable to

my father for 1877-8, when, in the Novemb

"Beefst

"King Willia

"Tue

piece I am doing with Gilbert which I think you would play admirably. I can't find a good man fo

"Yours

"ARTHU

ver twenty times. I was not thinking of the offer of the engagement, for I was immediately under the impression that I should decline it. My f

asked me back to his rooms, with a few other friends, including Alfred Cellier, the composer, and Arthur Cecil, to whom I was (and still am) much indebted for the most valuable hints he had from time to time given me respecting the style of sketch

thur Cecil (who, it appears, had suggested my name to Sullivan), pointing out the pros an

iting letters at the Beefsteak, when the forme

aid, "I wonder

completed, Arthur Sulliv

urs. I reverence the name of Arthur; and if ever I am blessed with

id not think I had voice enough. Arthur Sullivan, however, thought I had. I went to consult him, and he struck the D (fourth line in treble clef, if you please), and said, "Sing it out as loud as you can." I did. S

es; I think I

thur, "if you can do tha

Bayswater, and the rehearsals were conducted by Mr. Gilbert, who himself coached me for the first time.] Gilbert read me the opening speech of J. W. Wells, with reference to the sale, "Penny curses," &c., with which, of course, I was much amused, and said he had not completed

s expression as he replied, "No;

formed the Comedy Opera Company Limited, for the purpose of starting the venture at the Opera Comique. I asked Carte if he could give me a day or two to

't engage Grossmith." I myself personally was being tossed on the terrible billows of indecision. I had a certain amount of confidence in myself, but thought that if the piece f

cided to write and accept the engagement. I informed my father of my decision, and he did not hesitate to express his disappointment, not to say disapproval. To my great joy and

] "17 Th

"

t-better than you think, I fancy-and the 'patter song' is great in its way. Make your time suit them, or theirs suit you, if possible. I have sacrificed a week's business engagements. This is only a hint to you. I think, if you will arrange, it will be a new and magnificent introduction for you, and be of very great service af

"Yours

"ISABEL

ded to take the engagement; and on the 5th November, 1877, she, Barrington and myself, and a f

he engagement with me, and the directors, though

he amount of salary I required. He was instructed "only to go to a certain amount," which happened to be three guineas a week less than I asked for. The discussion, such it was, was quite pleasant, as, in fact, al

en's Christian Associations will ever engage me again, because I have appeared on the s

that all right." Then a sudden idea occur

berality into my nature for which I shall never forgive myself. Carte again broached the subject-afte

ll accumulative interest, that lunc

ith Dr. Orwin, my old schoolfellow, with whom I had the pugilistic encounter at the preparatory school on Haverstock Hill. He called me up at five o'clock the next morning, which was, i

the ladies and gentlemen of the chorus are seated in a semi-circle on the stage. A cottage piano is in the middle, and we are rehearsed as an ord

os arrive next, and th

e second act of Princess Ida was re-written, and I only got the music two nights before the per

ve hurriedly, with a batch of MSS. under his arm, and announce the fact that there is something new. He t

as he does, the elaborate accompaniments and symphonies, with the correct harmonies, &c.

xact models of the Savoy Theatre-with set scenes. The characters are represented by little bricks of various colours, to distinguish chorus from principals, and ladies from gentlemen. Many a time he has shown me some future intende

stage business his word is law. All the arrangements of colours and the original g

t is perfectly understood between author and composer that no business should be introduce

an came down, and, the moment he saw this, said that the voices could not be well heard from the front, as the faces of the singers were turned towards the back of the stage. Mr. Gilbert immedi

him or her; and often, in the midst of the rehearsal of a full chorus double-forte we have been pulled up because a careless gen

o him which he had learned in the way mentioned, and he occasionally sang (let us say) two even crotchets instead of one dotted and a quaver, and he made one or two slight deviations from the melody. Sul

ds we are singing. In the opera of Princess Ida we were rehearsing the whole of the concerted music of the first act. My song, "I can't think

): Must we till then i

rand: Y

s seems unneces

ging this trifling bit of recitativ

at the words, 'This seems unnecess

r Sulliva

o be detained in p

rence to my having been detained here three ho

rehearsals; and as I had not to put in an appearance in the second act, and had o

livered, even to an inflection of the voice, as he dictates. He will stand on the stage beside the actor or actress, and repeat the words with appropriat

ng it has been the custom, if possible, to allot some small part to a member of the chorus. The girls have nearly always benefited by the chance, and some have risen to the foremost ranks. The men are not so

founded on fact, is an

e. He has one line-let us say, The King is in the counting-house. The first thing Mr. Snooks does when his cue arrives is to make the most of his opportunity by entering with a

ike that, Mr. Snooks. We don't wa

rdon, sir; I thought you

tell the audience you're the funny man. They'll fin

and sharp catch-the-six-thirteen-Live

g gentleman's" part. As it is only a short one, there is n

at he requires, and after a trial or

ingly): That'll do ca

King is in the

ks; he is nothing of the sort

King is in the

not made myself understood. It is not counting

oks: Ye

ery well; try

King is in the

nt on "counting" and the accent on "house"? I want the accent on "counting"-counting-house. Su

her nervous): The King

paces up and down the front of the stage. Eventually h

it out altogether; but as it is essential to the story, that course is impossible. If you cannot speak it with the right acc

The King (pause) is (pause) IN the . . . (very long p

scene now, Mr. Snooks. Get on with the next. Grossmith! Gross

all man, with a still sm

to have kept you waiting. We'll go on with

Not unless you

to hear it. (Roars of laught

ossmit

. At its termination Mr. Gilbert approaches Mr.

t worry yourself about that. Go home, and t

appreciated), and the chaffing he gets from his fellow-choristers at the theatre, and the bullying from his wife at home, Mr. Sn

y. As a rule, the little midshipmite in H.M.S. Pinafore is supposed to be a perfect genius

e any child; but if admiration, cheers, and applause on the stage are at a

e public, and his eyes fascinated by the glare of the footlights and limelights. They were all he thought of. His voice had gone, or, to be more accurate, had cracked. He was too old to act as a

n absolutely stupid even for his age; but has been selected because he happened to be smaller than the others who had come up for competition. Through constant drilling the child developed into a mechanical toy, and received the

the course of a week amounted, most likely, to the limited salary given to the chorus man who had devote

n approval. They generally have some daily occupation or situation. Some of them sing and act

d a little tuft under the lower lip. They were also to wear wigs bald at the top of the head. The effect was ultimately most success

ther said he was a "spirit leveller," and it was most unusual (I am not sure he did not say unprecedented) for a "spirit leveller" not to have a moustache. The excuse for another gentlemen-was, that he was paying his addresses to a young lady who was not much impressed wit

peers looked wonderfully characteristic when they first appeared over the bridge, and their entran

photograph in costume might be taken by Messrs. Barraud. The portraits that hung in the picture gallery of Sir Ruthven Murgatroyd were painted from the photographs previously taken of all the chorus gentlemen. This new recruit, whom we will call Mr. X.,

en to Barrau

o-morrow morning

erve," sa

th his moustache on again; but,

have you been

Yes, sir; I we

d seen Mr. X. two days previously without the moustache. Now he h

an, walked away, and was soo

and, lo and behold! there was the moustache on again. Actors are frequently in the habit of "soaping" down their mo

had shaved yo

o' Bond Street, I stick on one for a little while. Nobody would not

yourself up,

a little dressing-room to myself-the only one who has at the Savoy. Being short-sighted, I make up with a hand-glass in my left hand. My dressing-table is very high, and I have several bright electric lights thrown on my face. I do not think the painted lines on th

ing on the stage, and chaffingly said, "Why don't you make

First Lord, a fleshly

to show how I

ts, engravings, and sketches, of no particular valu

the piano, amuses those who see it. A slight sketch by Frank Holl, R.A. (a great and esteemed friend of mine)

preserved by a lawn-tennis jacket. I used to sit in this comfortable way during a long wait of one hour and forty minu

er's pictures exhibited in the Royal Academy; some old playbills, in which my uncle figures prominently; clever sketches of singers, by Harper Pennington; and, w

are separate staircases for the ladies and gentlemen. We are all a very happy family; jealous feeling and spirit are conspicuous by their absence; and the "under

am a little hurt by the notion; but, perhaps it is just as well. The letter referred to was not well worded, and the spelling certainly might have been better. The lady, I am sure, was quite

unday is my

ing, or "tries their voice." It is a standing joke between him and my

ving my health proposed, I said I attributed the pleasure of being associated with them to the fact that, in the first instance, I would n

nn, the lessee of the Dublin Theatre, and a great frien

, who called himself Signor Concertini, or some such name, sang all right; but he spoke with an

but rather brusque sta

oncertin

hat accent won't do f

le less Mediterrane

echa

d said: "What nationality are

enly dropped his accen

road Irish

'm from the same c

h illness, they are supposed to bring a doctor's cert

legram to the stage manager: "Suffering from hoarseness; cannot appear to-night." I ascertained that he had informed several of his colleagues, confide

." They are not engaged to sing, and therefore do not hold such a good position as the chorus. If they have voices and can sing, they look forward naturally to promotion

e to recommend you to M

says I'm not good enough for the chorus; so I thought y

. Conventionality is not recognised by them. One of the many Josephines, during the first run of Pinafore, objected to standing anywhere but

id, most p

era; this is only a low burlesq

h a quiet and serious way that one sca

ting the dress-rehearsal from the middle the s

n the left group not ho

ll hat, immediately appeared on the stage at t

is absent throu

rfectly seriously, "th

eferri

ned abbey by moonlight. Near the end of the play General Stanley's daughters run on to the stage

the stalls): Mr. S

anager, appearing at

et them turn the lig

e turned up all

les on the stage have a wonderful effect, I know. They would light up the a

ic, to the title of Ruddygore, and the opera itself was not favourably critici

e piece, and calling it Kensington

ugh, and thereby stop the action of the piece. In The Mikado, Miss Jessie Bond and I were kneeling side by side, with our heads on the floor

epl

sh it; but I get an e

you sat on a pork

me intensely when some of the gentlemen who play my parts on the country tour inform me of certain laughs whi

e often stated that my ambition is, to play in a farce in which there is a bandbox placed carefully o

ve only played regularly nine parts, including the Judge in Trial by Jury. At a great benefit matinee, I have sometimes taken some small part, but that I count as nothing: but of the above I have, in one o

a dreadful enemy to contend against. I try hard to fight against it personally, and I believe I succeed. There is one thing I always do-I always play my best to a bad house; fo

justness of playing one's best to a poor house, that I not only have

ence is galling to an actor; but, fortunately, I have had a good training

tood by everybody but myself; and in my earlier days in the country I used to console myself with

d story about him? I had the pleasure of knowing him in my early entertainin

aged at the Opera Co

was "specially retaine

nearly engaged himse

y for me,

h extra anxiety; but still I kept well, and showed no signs of fatigue. Then he began to insist that I was not looking well; and I replied that, looks or no looks, I felt perfectly well. Finally he came to me with a pill, which he was cer

Frank Thornton, at literally a moment's notice, had to don the Major-General's uniform and play my part. It goes without saying that his was

that I should not deal with the shadows of my life. Nor shall I, beyond stating that the shock to me was so terrible that I often

must it have been to his two sons, who idolised the very ground he walked upon? His last lecture was on "Dickens and his Works" (Dickens was his favourite subject), and was delivered a

in The Sorcerer, Pinafore, and Pirates, and was extremely proud of my stage appearances. He w

dy, to my joy, differed with my critic, and it appeared for a moment as if all would end happily. Not a bit of it. The two other gentlemen joined in, and began to find fault with my personal appearance as well as my voice (or want of it). The lady still gallantly defended me, but in doing so she only added fuel to the fire; and judging from the tone and manner in which the two last-named gentlemen contradicted her, I could only come to the conclusion that the

ood-looking lad. The gentleman stared at me hard, and I saw at once that he had recognised me-an easy matter, considering my sketches were, and still are, always given in propria persona. He whispered to the boy, and the boy's eyes also became riveted on me. I felt like one of Madame Tussaud's waxworks; although, from the manner in which the gentleman and the boy sat and stared, they really resembled the effigies more than I did. At last the gentleman moved. He took from his pocket

I fancy you must be well

s of book casually): Oh!

ot know it well, I shoul

ck book): I do no

ave thought you k

t I certai

e heard it o

elp that. It is on

And see

going to see i

rformance of one of Mr. D'Oyl

. You'll excuse me, you are

say that. Do you know nearly eve

ry sorry. I me

tion it. I regard it

h, I 'm

istance): Sloane Squ

out here. Go

Good af

t side. Clown, in spite of the printed warning in front of

ook Mr. W. S. Penley, the popular actor, for me once on the platform of Waterloo St

ow are you? Come and

at Dove

the clerical tone c

ossmith; but I shall be very p

n-master faced the window of the carriage in which we were, one of the ladies begged of me to "chaff" him about the slowness of the train. Chaffing is a vulgar habit; but, unfortunately, it is a habit to which I am occasionally addicted. We all have our amusements; and it is not my fault that I do not possess the br

but, as a matter of fact, the whim was not on me. But in deference to the gen

er, you ought to be

us offici

I

encouraged me, and said, "Go on, go on;" "Get a rise out

get something

hanging his seriou

't you get me some

up staggering and a little dazed. My v

ng more

ly ans

Have

s

t a good deal better h

vo

good things I might have said. A

ght, in justice to myself, to state that all my first appearances are completely

and very long rehearsals, my anxiety to satisfy the author, the rows of critics (oh, please do not be hard on me!), rendered blase by the modern custom of half a dozen ridiculous and senseless matinees a week, I lose my voice, the

thought of me, to D'Oyly Carte for having engaged me, to W. S. Gilbert for having advised