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 1
 
 REMINISCENCES 
 
 BY 
 
 KELIX IVIORRIS. 
 
 " nothing extenuate, 
 
 Nor set down aught in malice." 
 
 Otiieli.o. 
 
 NEW YORK : 
 INTERNATIONAL TELEGRAM COMPANY
 
 DEDICATION. 
 
 I affectionately dedicate this little work 
 to the Old Actors of our profession, those 
 who commenced, as I did, at the very bottom 
 of the ladder — veterans, who have borne the 
 heat and brunt of the battle for many a year, 
 and who now find themselves elbowed away, 
 pushed aside in the struggle and almost for- 
 gotten. 
 
 In remembrance of the kindness, good-will 
 and loyalty of the past, 
 
 I subscribe myself, 
 
 Thtir Friend, 
 
 New York, 
 u. s. A.
 
 PREFACE. 
 
 The honor of prefacing this dainty 
 volume has been allotted to me. It is 
 the modest record of a modest toiler, the 
 fruit of whose toil is beginning to show its 
 golden-ripe side. 
 
 Felix Morris long ago consecrated his 
 life to art. The road by which he 
 reached his present eminence, in the 
 judgment of the "judicious few/' and in 
 the admiration of the enthusiastic many, 
 was not a primrose path. Often his feet 
 have smitten the cruel stones ; and pang 
 instead of pleasure, poverty instead of 
 prosperity, long stalked at his side and 
 mocked his effort. But never has Hope 
 forsaken him or turned away her face.
 
 Like the children in one of the pretty 
 fancies of a great master of the human 
 heart, he sees the star always shining. 
 Failure does not dismay him. He learns 
 wisdom from rebuif, and turns to Nature 
 in the sure confidence that if he can but 
 reproduce one of her unnumbered forms 
 with a fair measure of fidelity, art will 
 then have its advancement and labor its 
 reward. 
 
 These reminiscences are a simple and 
 direct recital of a career of unintermitting 
 struggle, of many defeats, of few cheering 
 victories, of invincible patience, of tireless 
 industry and of abiding faith in ideals. 
 Necessarily they are personal ; and while 
 they do not compass a complete autobiog- 
 raphy, they nevertheless give us large 
 glimpses of the life of a player who has
 
 fixed what appears as an enduring impress 
 upon the stage of his time. Incidentally, 
 they illustrate the movement in theatrical 
 art, and they acquaint us with many inside 
 facts in theatrical history. The familiar 
 style in which they are written makes 
 them pleasant reading. To us who have 
 enjoyed personal association with the 
 author of them, they come as a direct 
 message — hearty, humorous, sincere; free 
 from offensive egotism and characteristic 
 of the man. In no respect does the 
 sweet gentleness of his nature appear 
 more fair than in his acknowledged and 
 obvious dependence upon the beloved 
 companion who has long been his discreet 
 counselor and alert guide. 
 
 Geo. p. Goodale. 
 Detroit, Nov. 19, 1892.
 
 FELIX MORRIS.
 
 FELIX MORRIS'S REMINISCENCES. 
 I. 
 
 IT is really remarkable how many re- 
 cruits the stage has obtained, of late 
 years, from the medical profession. The 
 embryo doctor — the medical student, or 
 "Sawbones," as Sam Weller called him — 
 is often an erratic creature, who devotes 
 himself with flaming enthusiasm to any 
 form of amusement to the almost certain 
 neglect of his professional studies. At 
 least, such was my own case, in my stu- 
 dent days, at Guy's Hospital, London. 
 A victim of the amateur theatrical craze — 
 carried away by the mild success of my
 
 lO FELIX MORRIS S REMINISCENCES. 
 
 efforts, which were magnified into glorious 
 triumphs by my fellows — I determined to 
 abandon physic for sock and buskin, and, 
 to the intense disappointment of those 
 who had a right to expect better things ol 
 me, I started for the United States, with 
 very little money in my pocket, but forti- 
 fied with a supply of determination and 
 ambition that I had never displayed in 
 any previous undertaking. 
 
 In my optimistic eyes my future was 
 assured, for of worldly wisdom I had 
 none and of practical common sense I re- 
 joiced in the possession of a very short 
 allowance. Thus equipped, I set out to 
 revolutionize the stage. I would court 
 the Tragic Muse, I thought, and modern- 
 ize the art. Granted, my face and figure 
 were not of the romantic mould, but what
 
 FEMX MORRIS S REMINISCENCES. I I 
 
 of that ? Little David Garrick had con- 
 quered such trivial deficiencies, and I 
 would do likewise, I said. America ! 
 what a busy world it seemed ; how the 
 rush of life dazed me ; how powerless I 
 felt — an absolute stranger without even an 
 introduction. What to do or where to 
 turn were serious questions, and, standing 
 face to face with stern reality, how my 
 dreams vanished. The battle of life was 
 all before me — grim, silent and menacing. 
 I had no one to advise me, and my ex- 
 chequer was steadily diminishing. There 
 would be no chance for me in a great 
 metropolis where competition was so much 
 keener than in a smaller city ; and thus 
 reasoning I hit upon Albany as my field 
 of action. I could reach my destination 
 at a very slight outlay ; a ticket on the
 
 12 FELIX MORRIS S REMINISCENCES. 
 
 night boat would do very well ; and thus 
 fate, fortune, destiny, what you will, 
 brought me to the old Knickerbocker 
 City. 
 
 I shall never forget my first journey in 
 the New World. It was a June night, 
 and I rapturously viewed the lovely scen- 
 ery along the Hudson, and it entranced 
 me. Indeed, its splendor made me quite 
 forget the discomfort of a deck passage. 
 I sat up all night watching the glorious 
 scene, hallowed and softened in the gor- 
 geous moonlight. It inspired and en- 
 couraged me, for youth is ever hopeful, 
 and such a fair land, I told myself, would 
 treat a stranger kindly. Here I could 
 start afresh, carve out my own career and 
 prove myself worth something after all. 
 Arrived in Albany I discovered that the
 
 FELIX morris's reminiscences. 1 3 
 
 theatrical season had closed. For at least 
 two months nothing would be done ; so I 
 wrote to the stage manager of the leading 
 theater soliciting an interview, which he 
 kindly granted. Desperation gave me 
 courage, and I deluged him w^itha torrent 
 of enthusiasm. He listened patiently and 
 with ill-concealed amusement. His ad- 
 vice was excellent. 
 
 "Choose any other career," said he. 
 " Education opens the way to success in 
 any other pursuit, in this country." 
 
 "Why not in the theatrical business, 
 then ? " I asked. 
 
 " Uncertainties too great; competition 
 too keen ; success generally impossible," 
 he rejoined sententiously. 
 
 My continued arguments to the end 
 that the burning cause of tragedy might
 
 14 FELIX MORRIS S REMINISCENCES. 
 
 unknowingly possess in me a new Kean 
 or Macready, drew forth the following 
 never- to-be forgotten remark : 
 
 "A fellow with such a mug as yours 
 play tragedy ? Bosh ! No, sir, if you go 
 into this business you may in fourteen or 
 fifteen years be receiving $15 per week, 
 and you'll be pretty doggoned lucky if 
 you do that ! " I have to acknowledge 
 his foresight with regard to tragedy, 
 and I endorse his reference to the "mug," 
 as he termed it, but in the matter of salary 
 his prophecy was not verified ; for at the 
 expiration of fourteen years I found my- 
 self back in London playing the Scotch 
 Professor with an attendant compensation 
 of one hundred and fifty dollars per week. 
 
 My interview with the Albany manager 
 ended without any definite understanding.
 
 FELIX MORRIS S REMINISCENCES. I 5 
 
 He was impressionable and very kindly 
 promised to do what he could for me. 
 At the same time expenses had to be con- 
 sidered, and after some little difficulty I 
 secured a temporary situation in a drug 
 store, the compounding of medicines 
 having formed a part of my education in 
 the old country. In this capacity I got 
 along very well, and was enabled to pay 
 my own way for the first time in my life. 
 My spare time was devoted to the study 
 of legitimate parts, and in a very roomy 
 attic I howled through Richelieu, mur- 
 dered Hamlet, and caricatured Claude 
 Melnotte to my heart's content and to 
 the amazement of my fellow boarders. 
 At length patience was rewarded, a 
 letter from the stage manager in answer 
 to my numerous reminders of his
 
 1 6 FELIX morris's REMINISCENCES. 
 
 promise bringing me ihe glad news that 
 I could go into the box-office of the 
 little theater on Division street, and if an 
 opportunity were presented I should be 
 entrusted with a small part on the stage. 
 This was enough, and in a very short 
 time I found myself busily engaged in 
 box-office work, content to drudge in the 
 present, so long as the future held in store 
 the fruition of my rosy dreams. I was 
 exceeding verdant at first, of course, 
 and many were the ingenious devices of 
 the enterprising small boy to gain admis- 
 sion to the theater on nominal terms. I 
 had charge of the gallery sale of tickets, 
 and bogus shin plasters and rolls of neatly 
 whittled brick with a cent at each end 
 were all too artistic for detection by my 
 trustful eye, and losses from my lack of
 
 FELIX MORRIS S REMINISCENCES. I 7 
 
 cleverness in detecting frauds of this de- 
 scription frequently had to be made good 
 out of my very small salary. Experience 
 teaches, however, and I soon put an end to 
 these little pleasantries. I really became so 
 useful that I stood in my own light, my 
 manager displaying no anxiety to give me 
 the opportunity I so ardently desired. But 
 nothing is truer than that everything 
 comes to him who waits. Actors were 
 erratic in those days, and sudden indispo- 
 sitions were not uncommon. Thus it 
 happened that as I was about to close the 
 box-office one afternoon, the stage man- 
 ager came to me and, in rather a mysteri- 
 ous manner, said : 
 
 " Felix, you had better get up in this 
 part, as you'll have to go on for it to- 
 night ! "
 
 10 FELIX MORRIS S REMINISCENCFS. 
 
 " To-night," I gasped, " how about re- 
 hearsal ? " 
 
 "Come back with me on the stage and 
 I'll go through the part with you," he 
 said. 
 
 We groped our way to the stage. I 
 could hardly see the lines in the wretched 
 light. The stage manager was in a hurry 
 to get home, and he brought me on at 
 one entrance and took me off at another, 
 in the most perplexing manner. This he 
 repeated through the various stages of the 
 play, until my head began to swim, and 
 then he hurried off to supper, saying it 
 would be all right at night. 
 
 I rushed home and did the best I could 
 under the circumstances. Memory seemed 
 to have forsaken me, but I finally com- 
 posed myself and got back to the theater
 
 FELIX morris's REMINISCENCES. I9 
 
 fairly well prepared for the ordeal. But 
 everything was against me. Instead of 
 being allowed to go quietly to a dressing- 
 room and make deliberate preparations I 
 was compelled to sell my gallery tickets as 
 usual, and it was not until five minutes 
 before the curtain went up that I was re- 
 leased. I rushed down to the dressing- 
 room in mad haste and speechless with 
 excitement. The part I had to play was 
 that of a detective whose duty it was to 
 arrest the villain of the piece, and to guard 
 me against resistance at the villain's hands 
 I was escorted by two military representa- 
 tives of the British Army — in reality two 
 very sad-looking supers, in dirty, red coats 
 and gaiters and carrying old-fashioned 
 muskets. The overture was finished in 
 an inconceivably short space of time, and
 
 20 FELIX MORRIS S REMINISCENCES. 
 
 I found myself standing with my escort, 
 in an upper entrance waiting for my cue. 
 
 Thoughts of home, of the unexpected 
 opportunity, of all that I had gone through 
 for this one supreme moment, brought a 
 big lump into my throat. I was rudely 
 awakened, however, by an unexpected dig 
 in the back. This was a friendly reminder 
 that my cue had come and a roll of the 
 drum in the orchestra announced our 
 approach. I boldly sallied forth, fol- 
 lowed by my escort. 
 
 * * * * Flash-bang-crash — 
 where am I ? Is the whole building on 
 fire ? Jets of light surround me, the 
 stage heaves again ; am I in heaven or the 
 other place ? Thunders of applause 
 from the boys in front of the house cut 
 off my last glimmer of reason. I float
 
 FELIX MORRIS S REMINISCENCES. 21 
 
 down to the extreme R. cor. and clap 
 the defiant villain on the back. With a 
 snarl and an imprecation he turns upon 
 me. Mental and physical paralysis follow ; 
 utterance is beyond me. I stand and gasp 
 at him — chained to the spot in convulsive 
 spasms. 
 
 The line I should have spoken — " Ro- 
 land Hetherington, I arrest you " — was 
 whispered and muttered and finally shouted 
 by every person on the stage, except my- 
 self. The audience after a while took in 
 the situation, and fairly screamed with 
 laughter. 
 
 "Take him off, take him off," was 
 shouted from behind the scenes, and I was 
 summarily led off by my military escort, 
 the bold, bad man, who should have 
 resisted arrest in a most spirited manner,
 
 22 FELIX MORRIS S REMINISCENCES. 
 
 having to follow in our wake in the 
 meekest and most lamb-like way imagin- 
 able. Thus did my golden apples turn to 
 ashes and thus ended my first professional 
 appearance on the stage. 
 
 I was soon recalled to the reality of 
 affairs by the voice of my manager, who 
 in emphatic language told me to get into 
 the box-oflfice and never show my nose on 
 his stage again. I expostulated, but to 
 no purpose, and finally settled matters by 
 sending in my resignation, which was 
 promptly accepted. My kind friend, Wal- 
 ter Keeble, the stage manager, tried to 
 dissuade me, but without avail. He 
 pathetically warned me of the rigors of 
 winter, predicting difficulties and hard- 
 ships ahead, if I persisted in my deter- 
 mination. Poor Walter Keeble has long
 
 . FELIX MORRIS S REMINISCENCES, 23 
 
 since passed away. A kind heart was his 
 and he was a good actor, and a consider- 
 ate man and a true friend. I gladly add 
 my small tribute to his memory. 
 
 II. 
 
 In spite of friendly advice I stuck to 
 my determination and at the end of the 
 week severed my connection with the 
 Division street theater. After setding up 
 all indebtedness I had a balance on hand 
 of about eight dollars. With this munifi- 
 cent sum I determined to tempt fortune 
 again. It was at the end of October and 
 early winter was approaching. In quitting 
 Albany I took the precaution of leaving 
 behind me my dress suit, which afterward 
 proved of great service to me. In fact, 
 that dress suit played a conspicuous part
 
 24 FELIX MORRIS S REMINISCENXES. 
 
 in my varying fortunes later on. I went 
 away from Albany with more hope, per- 
 haps, than circumstances justified and 
 made New York my objective point. 
 
 I felt that my slight experience in the- 
 atrical business would help me there and 
 enable me in some way or another to 
 carry out my cherished hopes. I man- 
 aged my little capital as carefully as pos- 
 sible, allowing myself fifty cents a day to 
 cover all expenses. I sought out the 
 theatrical agencies in New York and was 
 dismayed at the crowds of applicants. 
 I timidly approached the lairs of the 
 theatrical lions and was dismissed before I 
 had even stated my case. This occurred 
 again and again until I realized the abso- 
 lute hopelessness of my position. Slowly 
 I became convinced that I must turn to
 
 FELIX MORRIS S REMINISCENCES. 25 
 
 something else. I would apply for a situ- 
 ation in some business house — an insur- 
 ance or a lawyer's office — anywhere, in 
 fact. There would be, surely, no diffi- 
 culty, I argued, in the matter, with my 
 knowledge of French and German. 
 
 Filled with these ideas I would sally 
 forth, bent upon sccuiing something to do 
 and then hesitate, doubtful of my recep- 
 tion. I would linger for an hour on the 
 threshold of some business house and at 
 last, in sheer desperation, sneak in and in 
 quavering tones ask if there were a vacancy 
 in the establishment, or timidly state that 
 I was looking for a situation. I was in- 
 variably dismissed with scant courtesy and 
 would turn away heart-broken and de- 
 jected. Then I would wander down to 
 the ocean steamer piers with the idea
 
 26 FELIX morris's REMINISCENCES. 
 
 of working my passage home. But I 
 shrank from the notion of returning to 
 England a defeated man and something 
 would dissuade me. My shame of defeat 
 — a-never-say-die sort of feeling — would 
 pull me through and another wretched 
 day would glide by. To-morrow, no mat- 
 ter how bright it seemed to-day, brought 
 forth the same bitter experience, until my 
 money was all gone, in spile of the most 
 economical management. My fare for 
 the last three days of my struggle con- 
 sisted of a roll of bread and an apple for 
 breakfast, and, by way of variety, an 
 apple and a roll of bread for supper, 
 
 I mention these facts, painful though 
 they be, that they may serve as encourage- 
 ment to any and every struggler in life's 
 battle. The hardships I survived were, as
 
 FELIX MORRIS S REMINISCENCES. 27 
 
 I view them now, to a great degree self- 
 imposed. If I had possessed one scrap 
 of the self-reHance and push of the Amer- 
 ican boy I would have made known my 
 position and would have met with that 
 kindness and assistance which Americans 
 are ever ready to extend to those who need 
 them. A placard finally caught my eye, as 
 I strolled along the river front. It read ; 
 " Wanted, green hands for a whaling 
 voyage." I ascended a rickety flight of 
 stairs and in a few moments had signed 
 articles for a four years' cruise in the 
 Pacific ocean. That night I was one of 
 a number of men who were hurried off by 
 train to New Bedford. 
 
 I realized the mistake I had made long 
 before our destination was reached, and 
 made my plans accordingly. The associ-
 
 2 6 FELIX MORRIS S REMINISCENCES. 
 
 ations were too dreadful for words, and, an 
 opportunity offering, I ran away from the 
 whaler and walked from New Bedford to 
 Boston, leaving my portmanteau behind 
 me. This was a great loss, as it con- 
 tained all my clothes, with the exception 
 of the sailor's suit in which I was dressed 
 and in which I made my first appearance 
 in Boston. I need not dwell upon my 
 experiences in that city. They were hard 
 indeed, but I put on a brave front and 
 earned my daily bread by the sweat of my 
 face. 
 
 I found employment in an iron foundry 
 and went through my daily labor to the 
 satisfaction of my foreman and I secured 
 the good will of my fellow-laborers. The 
 strain was tremendous, however. After 
 two months of it Nature rebelled, and
 
 FELIX MORRIS S REMINISCENCES. 29 
 
 I became ill — rheumatic fever having taken 
 advantage of the situation. I was taken to 
 the hospital and for eight weeks hovered 
 between life and death. In the meantime 
 my kind hearted Irish landlady, rummag- 
 ing among my papers during my illness, 
 discovered that I had friends in England, 
 who were speedily communicated with and 
 assistance was thus elicited. Simultane- 
 ously great inducements were held out to 
 me if I would give up my vagabond ways 
 and return to my native land. But I de- 
 clined and my recovery found me more 
 determined than ever to work out my own 
 salvation. 
 
 Through an advertisement which I an- 
 swered, I secured a situation once more, 
 in a drug store. Although greatly weak- 
 ened by my long illness, a sufficient meas-
 
 30 FELIX MORRIS S REMINISCENCES. 
 
 ure of success attended my second season 
 as a drug clerk to warrant my employer 
 in exhausting all arguments at his com- 
 mand to persuade me to give up my silly 
 stage notions, but all to no purpose, the 
 one aim and object of my life being to 
 do what I had set out to do. So I again 
 communicated with my kind friend Wal- 
 ter Keeble, who had undert-aken the man- 
 agement of the Division street theater in 
 the meantime, and in reply to my letter 
 he offered me the position of head super, 
 as it were, without the promise of any 
 parts. 
 
 I was simply to lead the shouts, take 
 part in any pageant, and make myself 
 generally useful, and for this he would 
 pay me I5 per week. He thought in such 
 a position I would overcome my extreme
 
 FELIX MORRIS S REMINISCENCES. 3 I 
 
 nervousness and if I had anything in me 
 it would manifest itself. I was beside 
 myself with joy at the brilliancy of my 
 new prospects, and in the fulness of time 
 I found myself once more in Albany and 
 ' ' eager for the fray. " 
 
 It was certainly a great advantage to 
 me to be under the immediate direction 
 of a most painstaking and excellent stage 
 manager in the person of Charles Waverly, 
 a man of great experience, who would 
 spend hours with us in rehearsing some 
 fearful stage struggle. He would wrestle 
 and tug and strain until we all panted for 
 breath and considering our stupidity he 
 was wonderfully patient and abnormally 
 hopeful. Broadsword combats were a 
 weakness of his, and the way in which we 
 slashed and cut at one another and made
 
 32 FELIX MORRIS S REMINISCENCES. 
 
 the sparks fly was a caution. Dear Wav- 
 erly has joined the vast majority, but I 
 never think of him without feelings of 
 gratitude ; for he taught me the ground- 
 work of my business. His instincts were 
 always artistic, and his skill in make-up 
 and stage craft was remarkable. 
 
 I worked with enthusiasm and was in- 
 variably in the theater an hour and a half 
 before the curtain went up. I was deter- 
 mined to possess the virtue of being 
 prompt, at least. Gradually 1 was as- 
 signed the responsible role of stage police- 
 man, a part I filled without evoking the 
 usual sarcasm from the gallery. The boys 
 treated me with the most kindly respect. 
 Why they were so considerate I don't 
 know to this day ; for I was certainly an 
 undersized representative of law and order.
 
 FELIX morris's REMINISCENCES. 33 
 
 I took great pains with my uniform, al- 
 ways wore a cap that fitted me and my 
 white cotton gloves were scrupulously 
 clean, while my boots were polished most 
 extravagantly. I was entrusted, after a 
 time, with the part of a "snide" lawyer 
 in some little farce, and secured the first 
 legitimate laughter I had ever evoked on 
 the professional stage. It was a very 
 short part, but it went well, and my ever- 
 watchful stage manager was pleased. I 
 felt emboldened by his encouragement 
 and improved even this slight opportunity 
 to urge my preference for tragedy. He 
 roared with laughter, but noting the 
 pained expression on my face he said : 
 "Well, never mind. I'll see what I can 
 do for you. " 
 
 We used to conclude our performances
 
 34 FELIX MORRIS S REMINISCENCES. 
 
 on Saturday night with some blood-curd- 
 ling melodrama or nautical piece. Charles 
 Waverly was very fond of heroic stage 
 sailors, and he cast the piece — the "Gipsy 
 Farmer " — and to the amazement of every- 
 body and the chagrin of my rival utility 
 men, he gave me the part of the Gypsy 
 Farmer^ a sort of heavy leading part. I 
 was in a seventh Heaven, and gracious ! 
 how I worked at my part ; how I toiled 
 in my very small hall bedroom trying ef- 
 fects before a looking-glass that was smaller 
 than a dinner plate, all unabashed by the 
 comments of my fellow actors, some of 
 whom suggested that I should play the 
 Farmer in a hauberk. The proper cos- 
 tume was modern, of course. 
 
 We rehearsed the piece most carefully ; 
 my enthusiasm was boundless ; the diflfi-
 
 FELIX MORRIS S REMINISCENCES. 35 
 
 cullies were overcome and the eventful 
 night arrived. On I dashed for my first 
 scene, which ended somewhat disappoint- 
 ingly, for a still small voice from the gal- 
 lery exclaimed, "Oh, cheese it," and the 
 audience tittered. Nothing daunted, how- 
 ever, I waited for my great scene, as I 
 thought it. I had to rush on again, and 
 with a heavy cowhide pretend to strike 
 the juvenile man who was defending the 
 heroine from the assault of some of my 
 confederates. Carried away by excitement 
 1 brought the heavy whip down with all 
 my might upon the defenceless head of 
 the juvenile man who, with a groan, sank 
 to the stage exclaiming, " Good God, I'm 
 murdered ! " 
 
 It was some time before confidence and 
 harmony were restored, and the accident
 
 36 FELIX morris's REMINISCENCES. 
 
 did not advance my tragic aspirations. 
 And so I blundered on, crushed by many 
 failures, only to rise and try again. In the 
 meantime, as a sort of side issue, I made 
 two most careful character studies ; one 
 of a negro barber, the other of an Italian 
 peanut vender. The colored barber had 
 the most delicious southern dialect and a 
 laugh that would have been a fortune to a 
 minstrel performer. After much patient 
 eifort I acquired both the dialect and the 
 laugh with the gratifying result that I be- 
 came the recognized nigger of the theater. 
 I also used my intimacy with the Italian 
 gentleman as a means to his duplication 
 on the stage, and to very good purpose. 
 
 Before the end of our season I had 
 quite a little reputation and the gallery 
 boys were pleased to endorse me in my
 
 FELIX MORRIS S REMINISCENCES. 37 
 
 small character efforts, but no encourage- 
 ment came to me in the line of parts in 
 which I really wanted to excel. There- 
 fore these little successes, though sweet, 
 were not without a tinge of acidity, for I 
 was winning my way simply by getting as 
 far as possible from my long-cherished 
 ideals. Later in my life, when my hopes 
 of becoming a great tragedian had crum- 
 bled into dust and I was becoming recon- 
 ciled to the public's notion that I belonged 
 to comedy, I happened upon a story of 
 Thackeray, in which the writer said that 
 it was the dream of the author of "Vanity 
 Fair " to be regarded as a great cross- 
 country rider. Even his success in win- 
 ning one of the highest places in English 
 literature, the narrator said, came to 
 Thackeray minus the bloom, for simulta-
 
 38 FELIX morris's REMINISCENCES. 
 
 neously with one of his greatest literary 
 triumphs came to his ears the frankly ex- 
 pressed opinion by a friend, that of all the 
 absurd objects in England nothing could 
 possibly be more ridiculous than Thacke- 
 ray's appearance when mounted. I never 
 heard of anything that came home to me 
 with more striking force. 
 
 People in the old Knickerbocker city 
 were kind to me. The story of my vicis- 
 situdes had got about among them and 
 they maintained that I had shown a genu- 
 ine article of courage in my efforts to be 
 an actor. They had never forgotten me, 
 and to this day receive me in the kindest 
 manner and look upon me as an Albany 
 boy. At the end of my first season I real- 
 ized that I had only reached the threshold 
 of a most difficult achievement, that I had
 
 FELIX MORRIS S REMINISCENCES. 39 
 
 done little more than overcome an extra- 
 ordinary nervousness and that even the 
 rudiments of my art had not yet been 
 acquired. 
 
 But I was hopeful and determined. I 
 had paid my way, thank Heaven, and did 
 not owe a cent, and I had accomplished 
 that on $5 a week. It was a commend- 
 able showing, it seemed to me, but now 
 came a new dilemma — how was I to get 
 through the summer ? I would not run 
 in debt, and so when the inspiration came 
 at last that I could easily and healthfully 
 fill in the time on a farm, on the Helder- 
 bergs, and my fancy was fed with the 
 sugared supposition that the air would be 
 glorious and that the abundance of eggs 
 and milk would make me so strong that 
 work would be a pastime, I tried it. Re-
 
 40 FELIX MORRIS S REMINISCENCES. 
 
 suit : Air, great ; milk, all sent to town ; 
 work, South American slavery. But I 
 stuck it out and returned to Albany and 
 the theater lean and gaunt, but as hard as 
 nails. 
 
 III. 
 
 My farming experience occurred during 
 the summer of 1872. Our season opened 
 at the Division street theater in the fall, 
 and my salary was increased to $8 per 
 week. We started in again with great ex- 
 pectations, but we were doomed to dis- 
 appointment. Walter Keeble's health was 
 slowly but surely breaking down, and 
 by Christmas he had to relinquish his 
 duties. The fatal Bright's disease had de- 
 clared itself and he was ordered south 
 by his physicians. We all readily volun-
 
 FELIX MORRIS S REMINISCENCES. 41 
 
 teered for his benefit, which took place at 
 Martin's Hall and was a great success. 
 We wished him Godspeed with sad hearts, 
 and he had our prayers for a restoration 
 to health, but after lingering for some 
 time he died in Aiken, South Carolina. 
 
 Mr. John Albaugh had become lessee 
 and manager of the Opera House, the 
 leading theater in Albany, and I and seve- 
 ral other members of Mr. Keeble's com- 
 pany were fortunate in securing an engage- 
 ment with him at the same salaries. In 
 this theater the company supported in 
 regular rotation all the first-class stars, 
 and our work called forth keener and 
 more detailed newspaper criticism than 
 had been elicited by our efforts in the 
 smaller theater. 
 
 The constant change of programme
 
 42 FELIX MORRIS S REMINISCENCES. 
 
 necessitated a frequent change of ward- 
 robe, and we poor utility men were often 
 driven to our wits' end. The theater 
 wardrobe was very Hmited, we could ill 
 afford to hire anything, and I am sure 
 often presented in Shakespearean pieces 
 the most ludicrous appearance. My pos- 
 sessions in the wardrobe line consisted of 
 a dress suit — the old original one already 
 referred to — a pair of black tights and one 
 wig. 
 
 That wig ! shall I ever forget it ? It 
 was of the Albino shade of hair and was 
 what would be termed a straight wig. By 
 an ingenious application of india-ink I 
 converted it into a black wig ; or, if the 
 occasion called for blonde locks, a liberal 
 wash of yellow ochre produced the desired 
 shade. Then, for "reverend, grave and
 
 FELIX MORRIS S REMINISCENCES. 4$ 
 
 potent seigniors," white goat's hair stitched 
 to the back served the purpose. These 
 effects were produced with the utmost 
 care. I spent hours in my preparations 
 and I never could understand the want 
 of appreciation on the part of my fellow 
 actors. Their comments seemed strangely 
 out of place ; their jokes, at my expense, 
 quite uncalled for. I was so in earnest, 
 so serious in the responsibility of my work, 
 that when hysterics were in order it 
 seemed almost inhuman that hilarity 
 should be awakened instead, however close 
 to the wellspring of laughter may lie the 
 fountain of tears. 
 
 Once, when we were supporting E. L. 
 Davenport in a round of his masterly por- 
 trayals, I was cast for the Doge of Venice. 
 Mr. Davenport played lago, and Mr.
 
 44 FELIX MORRIS S REMINISCENCES. 
 
 Albaugh Othello. I wore an armhole 
 cloak, much too large for me — the only 
 thing of the kind to be found in the 
 wardrobe — which with my black tights 
 with modern slippers, with huge home- 
 made rosettes and the wig with goat's hair 
 attachment, were the foundation of my 
 make-up. I had covered my face with 
 what I thought looked the ideal of a 
 Venetian beard. On my head I carried a 
 papier-mache crown, several sizes too 
 large for me ; in my hand I held a trun- 
 cheon, and I was seated on what is termed 
 a throne chair, on a raised platform, my 
 short legs dangling playfully in the air. 
 To the right and left of me sat the 
 "approved good masters " looking quite 
 as fantastic and impossible as myself. 
 After the preamble I granted audience to
 
 FELIX MORRIS S REMINISCENCES. 45 
 
 the Moor and on came the procession 
 headed by Mr. Davenport and Mr. Al- 
 baugh. A snort from lago disconcerted 
 me. 
 
 "Good God! what is that?" inquired 
 lago, sollo voce. 
 
 "That's the Doge of Venice," an- 
 swered Othello. 
 
 " Gad ! I thought it was the Dog," said 
 lago, and the procession exploded. 
 
 I had spent hours over the part, and 
 had worked lovingly upon it. Was it not 
 the great master's creation ? Covertly I 
 hoped that my rendition would, in a way, 
 vindicate my tragic aspirations, and this 
 was the result. With the utmost difficulty 
 I stammered through a line or two, and 
 then, abandoning blank verse, assured 
 Brabantio that he would find his son-in-
 
 46 FELIX morris's reminiscences, 
 
 law much more of a colored gentleman 
 than a white man. I scurried off, fol- 
 lowed by my wretched retinue, in the 
 most undogelike and eccentric manner. 
 You can imagine the effect upon the au- 
 dience. Was it any wonder the papers 
 asserted in the morning, after paying 
 glowing critical tributes to the principals, 
 that " Felix IMorris and the rest of the 
 rag tag and bob-tail were simply abomni- 
 nable." 
 
 I record, with profound pleasure and 
 fond remembrance, the kindly word and 
 generous encouragement of Edwin 
 Adams. How good he was to us ! We 
 utility men fairly worshiped him, and 
 what a voice he had — so sweet and mel- 
 low — and what a Jack Rover (in "Wild 
 Oats ") we thought him. I played Lamp,
 
 FELIX MORRIS S REMINISCENCES. 47 
 
 the theatrical manager, in that produc- 
 tion, and made a little hit in the part. 
 Even the Albany papers, whose target I 
 had been so long that I rather looked for 
 abuse from them, spoke well of me. Em- 
 boldened by Mr. Adams's commendation 
 I opened my heart to him and told him 
 that I yet hoped to become a tragedian. 
 " My boy," said he, " don't bother about 
 Tragedy. Stick to Comedy and you'll 
 succeed. After all it's better to make 
 people laugh than cry." 
 
 I was still unconvinced, in spite of my 
 regard for him. Shortly after this I was 
 cast for Cardinal Pandulph, Junius Brutus 
 Booth, Mrs. Agnes Booth and Joseph 
 Wheelock being the stellar attractions. 
 The part was given to me by mistake, but 
 I was allowed to keep it, and Mrs. Al-
 
 48 FELIX morris's reminiscences. 
 
 baugh assisted me materially in the cos- 
 tuming. She was always most consider- 
 ate and kind to us in our struggles. She 
 lent me the cardinal's robe ; some cheap 
 curtain material answered the purpose of 
 collar and cuffs, while a little red flannel 
 served for his eminence's skull cap. 
 
 I had a vivid recollection of Richelieu's 
 picture in the gallery at Versailles, and 
 even with my remarkable wig was able to 
 reproduce him fairly well. To the amaze- 
 ment of everybody, my effort was received 
 with the utmost attention by the audience 
 and crowned with hearty applause. The 
 newspapers again approved, one paper 
 going so far as to predict a gilt-edged 
 future for me. 
 
 I was enabled, through this litde suc- 
 cess, to bring into our company a young
 
 FELIX MORRIS S REMINISCENCES. 49 
 
 friend of mine — a refined, educated, de- 
 lightful fellow. He served in the capacity 
 of super, and being familiar with my 
 struggle he was perfectly willing to begin 
 as I had done at the very bottom of the 
 ladder. On Friday night we were to play 
 "King John." He attended rehearsal in 
 the morning, and everything went well, 
 his principal duty being to bring the king 
 in on a bier. Four men carried him on. 
 The king had to rise from the bier, and 
 the four men, still holding it, had to catch 
 him as he fell back exhausted after his 
 scene. I made up rapidly and hurried 
 down to see how my friend looked. He 
 had purchased a pair of very white 
 tights, and the hauberk he wore was 
 painfully short and exposed an extra- 
 ordinary length of limb. I consoled him.
 
 50 FELIX MORRIS S REMINISCENCES. 
 
 however, and said the general effect was 
 all right. 
 
 In due time the King was brought on; 
 the scene was enacted and back he fell 
 with a thud upon the stage, my friend 
 having let go of the bier. Down went the 
 King to the floor and down came the cur- 
 tain. Up rose the enraged King, and 
 without a word of warning he grasped my 
 astonished friend by the throat and backed 
 him off from the middle of the stage to 
 the wall of the theater, each step accom- 
 panied by the strongest comments. I 
 shall never forget the scene — my friend's 
 head against the whitewashed wall, his 
 tongue protruding, his eyes rolling, and 
 Mr. Booth's frantic efforts to drive him 
 through brick and mortar into the adjoin- 
 ing building. When finally released, my
 
 FELIX morris's REMINISCENCES. 5I 
 
 ambitious recruit gathered what was left 
 of himself together, rushed to the super's 
 room, tore oft' his hauberk, seized his 
 unmentionables, clapped on his overcoat, 
 and fled the scene. It was weeks after 
 that before he would even speak to me. 
 He seemed in some occult manner to link 
 me with his mishap, and though on speak- 
 ing terms with him, our intimacy was 
 never fully restored. 
 
 Incidents of this nature were of fre- 
 quent occurrence in those days ; and 
 though they appear humorous in descrip- 
 tion, perhaps, they were the cause of 
 much anxiety and worry to me at the 
 time. In everything I attempted I was 
 my own severest critic, and am to this 
 day. Very seldom indeed, in spite of 
 long experience, do I feel absolutely satis-
 
 52 FELIX MORRIS S REMINISCENCES. 
 
 fied with my most successful efforts. My 
 own shortcomings were ever before me 
 and I was discouraged at the slowness of 
 my progress. An unusual, abnormal ner- 
 vousness, which I have never thoroughly 
 conquered, was at this period of my career 
 my chief obstacle. Artistic instincts, origi- 
 nal conception, and unusual perseverance 
 I had, but much that I did was marred 
 and blurred by my arch-enemy, nervous- 
 ness — by my want of confidence or 
 " cheek," as we are wont to term it now. 
 
 This hard-earned experience was, how- 
 ever, invaluable to me, and although it 
 was unpleasant enough to have four and 
 sometimes five small parts to play in one 
 evening — such parts as an Irishman, an 
 Indian, a policeman and a nigger, and the 
 following week have to appear as Horatio,
 
 FELIX MOKKISS REMINISCENCES. 53 
 
 Glavis, the Apothecary and such ilk — I 
 was imperceptibly absorbing and ac- 
 quiring that knowledge which, it seems 
 to me, is essential to permanent success in 
 our difficult art. 
 
 I must devote a word or two to the 
 prominence given my dress suit in these 
 early struggles. It was a valuable pos- 
 session in those days, and very few utility 
 men owned such a thing. It was common 
 property among us, of course. We shared 
 alike in everything. One of my fellow 
 sufferers was a very tall man, the other, 
 poor little "Reddy,"a remarkably short 
 one. The tall man was middle aged, 
 with a painful defect in one eye. He was 
 a man of sorrows and he was acquainted 
 with grief, for he had a large family and 
 a small salary. Naturally, he was driven
 
 54 FELIX MORRIS S REMINISCENCES. 
 
 to Strange expedients in his eflforts to dress. 
 We looked up to him, for his age com- 
 manded our respect and his fertihty of re- 
 source astonished all of us. Among other 
 miracles that he could work was that of 
 converting a sheet of plain foolscap into 
 a shirt bosom. Clean collars and immacu- 
 late cuffs he readily produced from ordi- 
 nary note paper. 
 
 On one occasion I remember we were 
 supporting Yankee Locke, a celebrated 
 character comedian. I represented in my 
 dress suit, embellished with the Order of 
 the Bath, Star of India, etc., the Governor 
 of Australia, as the character presented it- 
 self to my mind. I had granted an inter- 
 view in the front scene to the ingenious 
 American, Yankee Locke, whose object 
 it was to introduce some patent or another
 
 FELIX morris's REMINISCENCES. 5^ 
 
 into Australia. At the first entrance stood 
 the tall man in very soiled shirt-sleeves, 
 but with spotless paper bosom, collars and 
 cuffs. As soon as I came off I wriggled 
 out of my dress coat, which the tall man 
 immediately put on, and before the flats 
 were withdrawn he took his place in the 
 halls of dazzling light, and with a jaunty 
 air and a stage swagger he sailed gallantly 
 up and down the back of the scene, a fair 
 ballet lady on his arm. 
 
 Together they represented the nobility 
 and fashion of the day. Keeping well up 
 stage the shortness of sleeve and the glar- 
 ing misfit of the body of the garment were 
 not perceptible to a confiding public. In 
 the next act the small man, who had at- 
 tached to the same coat a red flannel col- 
 lar and twisted some Dutch metal around
 
 56 FELIX morris's REMINISCENCES. 
 
 the buttons, appeared to great advantage 
 as a liveried footman ; and thus we turned 
 and toiled and contrived in our efforts to 
 obey the master's injunction to hold the 
 mirror up to Nature. 
 
 It was at this time that a ray of sunlight 
 came from an unexpected quarter into my 
 hopeful, if not always successful, life. 
 Joseph Jefferson occupied a box in our 
 theater at the performance given by Mr. 
 Locke, and he was kind enough to inquire 
 who the little man was who played the part 
 of the Governor of Australia. When 
 told who I was, and not recognizing 
 in my name one that he had heard before, 
 he sent me word that he was pleased with 
 my work, and added : "Tell him to per- 
 severe and he is certain to be heard of 
 hereafter." It is a very long list of
 
 FELIX MORRIS S REMINISCENCES. 57 
 
 kind remarks such as that which, al- 
 most as much as the infinite number of 
 generous and helpful acts which have 
 characterized the lovely and lovable life of 
 this great actor, will cause him to be 
 remembered by those who have felt the 
 need of his encouragement and assist- 
 ance longer, perhaps, than even his mas- 
 terly impersonation will keep his memory 
 green in the hearts of an affectionate and 
 adoring public. 
 
 IV. 
 
 Mr. John Albaugh re-engaged me for 
 the following season at $12 per week, an 
 episode which I construed as an evidence 
 of my increasing value. The $8 per week 
 that I had been working for did not leave 
 much surplus for summer, though I had
 
 58 FELIX morris's REMINISCENCES. 
 
 made sundry small additions to my ward- 
 robe out of my modest income. It was, 
 therefore, with enthusiasm that I accepted 
 the offer of a Mr. Cotton to join his com- 
 pany and play a summer season through 
 the small towns of Vermont, Massachu- 
 setts and New York States. 
 
 The salary offered me was nominal, but 
 the inducements in the line of parts were 
 sufficient for my vaulting ambition. I was 
 to play Julio Dormilly in ' ' Six Degrees of 
 Crime," a leading part ; Aminadab Sleek 
 in the "Serious Family"; Meller Moss in 
 the " Ticket-of- Leave Man," and a long 
 list of farce parts of equal prominence. 
 We carried our own orchestra, consisting 
 of four pieces. The services of the mu- 
 sicians were required on the stage as well 
 as in the orchestra. A song: and dance
 
 FELIX MORRIS S REMINISCENCES. 59 
 
 man worked the snare drum, and I figured 
 in the capacity of bass drummer, I ob- 
 jected very much to this new departure, 
 but as I read music it was decided the 
 success of the undertaking depended on 
 my acceptance of this trust. 
 
 On our arrival in any little town the or- 
 chestra had to assemble at the hall, and 
 thence sally forth and advertise our enter- 
 prise by a public-out-door demonstration. 
 Our street parade was a feature, and, con- 
 sidering our numbers, we succeeded in 
 making more noise than any organization 
 of the kind it has ever been my misfortune 
 to listen to before or since. Another 
 addition to my numerous duties immedi- 
 ately suggested itself to our thrifty mana- 
 ger. To save printing, it was decided that 
 the one bill-stand, to be found in all small
 
 6o FELIX morris's reminiscenxes. . 
 
 towns, should be covered with sheets of 
 white paper and ornamented by me. So, 
 armed with brush and lampblack, and 
 perched on a ladder, I printed in bold 
 characters our programme for the length 
 of time we were to remain in the place. 
 When I think of the amount of work that 
 was exacted of me, and the guileless man- 
 ner in which I undertook everything, I 
 marvel, now, at my absolute simplicity. 
 At the time I fairly revelled in my work. 
 Youthful enthusiasm is often deaf and 
 blind ! 
 
 We did remarkably well, at first. It 
 was the early summer, when blue birds 
 mate and robins love ; when streamlets 
 babble and Nature dons her wedding 
 robes; when the soft south wind woos the 
 timid leaf and sighs her amorous strains,
 
 FELIX MORUIS'S REMINISCENCES. 6 1 
 
 Man — impressionable man — follows Na- 
 ture's lead, and our company was seized 
 with a matrimonial epidemic. Pretty 
 Gertie Granville was one of our earliest 
 victims, and then the manager, receiving 
 an arrow from Cupid's fatal bow, yielded 
 to the force of circumstances, and again 
 the air was laden with the silvery song of 
 joyous wedding bells. Honeymoon junk- 
 eting became the order of the day, and in 
 the meantime, those of the company who 
 were merely spectators at the gladsome 
 court of Hymen remained iti statu quo. 
 
 No performances were given, and the 
 lovely days were spent on the green hill- 
 sides. We surrendered ourselves to the 
 delights of trout fishing, while baseball, 
 swimming and every form of recreation 
 constituted our general occupation. It
 
 62 FELIX morris's REMINISCENCES. 
 
 was delighful, to be sure, to thus drift 
 along, but our hotel bill was gradually 
 and surely mounting up, and when the 
 revels were over and we again addressed 
 ourselves to prosaic labor, we found our- 
 selves embarrassed by a ten days' hotel bill 
 and the enforced companionship of the 
 landlord in our travels to our next halting 
 place. His devotion to us was steadfast, 
 and he remained with us until his claim 
 was settled. Thus were we passed along 
 from one hotel proprietor to another, for 
 the fates were not propitious, our business 
 gradually becoming worse and worse. 
 Matters finally reached a climax at Glens 
 Falls, where our baggage was seized, and 
 we had to shift for ourselves and do the 
 best we could. I saved my dress suit by 
 wearing it under my ordinary attire, but
 
 FELIX morris's REMINISCENCES. 6^ 
 
 my phenomenal wig, the serviceable black 
 tights and much that was useful to me I 
 was compelled to leave behind. It was 
 somewhat of a blow, but I had survived 
 so much already that I took heart and 
 straggled back to Albany and began my 
 third season's engagement there. 
 
 This proved quite an important season 
 for me. Advancement was rapid and I re- 
 alized at last that the line of business in 
 which I might eventually succeed was not 
 tragedy. 
 
 It is a great victory, when one is pur- 
 suing the wrong course, to have his bad 
 half hour over with and to set out on the 
 right road, even though it may cost him 
 many a pang to bid a final adieu to hopes 
 long cherished but never to be fulfilled, 
 and awaken in his breast a certain reluc-
 
 64 FELIX morris's REMINISCENCES. 
 
 tance to making friends with a new series 
 of conditions which were not included in 
 his primary survey of the great field of 
 artistic endeavor. 
 
 My character studies were invariably 
 recognized and encouraged by the press, 
 while it was obvious that my dramatic 
 value steadily increased. Mr. Alfred 
 Becks, well known in theatrical circles, 
 was at that time manager for Lotta, and he 
 selected me to play a character part in 
 " Musette," then a new production. His 
 kindly advice was of infinite value to me, 
 and on the first night the piece was done 
 I was surprised at the impression my eftbrts 
 seemed to make on the audience. 
 
 At the end of one scene, which went 
 remarkably well, I wandered down to my 
 dressing-room in the regions below. I
 
 FELIX morris's REMINISCENCES. 65 
 
 could hear the continued applause, and 
 was startled beyond description by cries 
 of " Fe-e-1-ix ! Felix!" I rushed to the 
 stairway fearing that something had gone 
 wrong, and was told to come up at once. 
 I did so and found the kindly little lady 
 waiting on the stage. When she caught 
 sight of me she came to the wings and 
 gently led me — astonished and puzzled — 
 before the audience. Under the auspices, 
 therefore, of this charming woman, I re- 
 ceived my first call before the curtain. So 
 pleased was she with my success that she 
 caused an offer to be made for my services, 
 but my manager did not wish to release 
 me and I had to remain where I was. 
 
 We supported John T. Raymond in his 
 inimitable Col. Sellers, and what a per- 
 formance it was ! What an astounding
 
 66 FELIX morris's reminiscences. 
 
 example Raymond was of fortune's vagar- 
 ies. Nobody ever had a harder struggle 
 than he. Suddenly, however, the clouds 
 were lifted, and popularity and money 
 fairly rained upon him. Lucille Western 
 was an extraordinary clever emotional act- 
 ress. I shall never forget her performance 
 in ' ' The Childstealer " and ' ' East Lynne. " 
 Her pathos was astonishing. I had also, 
 during my Albany experience, encountered 
 another remarkable actress named Char- 
 lotte Crampton, a little bit of a woman 
 who played Richard III in a wondeiful 
 manner. Her fight in the last act im- 
 pressed me wonderfully, as it did Rich- 
 mond too, for it took him all his time to 
 parry and guard her onslaught. Jane 
 Coombs was then an attraction, and Mrs. 
 D. P. Bowers was a very great favorite. E,
 
 FKLIX morris's REMINISCENCES. 67 
 
 L. Davenport was masterly in "Hamlet" 
 and tremendous as Sir Giles Overreach. 
 Edwin Adams — most popular in "Enoch 
 Arden " — was delightful, while Frank 
 Chanfrau, in "Kit," was also inimitable. 
 A wonderful comedian I thought him. 
 
 And so on through a long line of vary- 
 ing attractions we played, doing everything 
 in the way of support, from burlesque, with 
 pretty Eliza Wethersby, to stirring melo- 
 drama. Even ' ' Mazeppa " held the boards 
 for a week each season, and in that, as in 
 everything else, we contributed our share 
 to the performance as a whole. I do not 
 pretend to say our performances were ex- 
 cellent. We were simply an ordinary 
 stock company, with requirements which 
 were all too varied for a perfect result. 
 Again, our preparations were too hasty to
 
 6S FELIX morris's REMINISCENCES. 
 
 admit of much good work. But the 
 amount of rough experience gained was 
 invaluable. 
 
 Towards the end of the season I re- 
 ceived an offer, through Mr. Alfred Becks, 
 to play in the original production of the 
 " Shaughraun " in Canada. This offer I 
 accepted after much consultation with my 
 friends in Albany, who thought the oppor- 
 tunity a good one and a decided step in 
 advance, as I was to occupy the position 
 of comedian in my coming engagement. 
 I took leave of my comrades and left the 
 the old city with much regret, for it had 
 been the scene of my many struggles and 
 of the few triumphs that had rewarded my 
 persistent endeavors. We opened in Ottawa, 
 and the production was very successful. 
 Mr. Becks was with us as Mr. Dion Bou-
 
 FELIX morris's REMINISCENCES, 69 
 
 cicault's representative. He had to collect 
 royalties and watch Mr. Boucicauh's in- 
 terests. 
 
 From Ottawa we visited the smaller 
 towns of Western Canada, and, of course, 
 did badly. Salaries were in arrears, and 
 royalties too, and this led to constant 
 friction between the manager and Mr. 
 Becks. We worked along, however, the 
 railroad frequently advancing tickets on 
 our baggage in order to facilitate our 
 migrations. It was sometimes inconven- 
 ient, to be sure, to be subjected to these 
 temporary divorces from our impediments, 
 but we were a jolly crew and didn't mind 
 it much. 
 
 We had one or two thirsty souls with 
 us, and these gentlemen were often driven 
 to strange expedients to raise a little
 
 70 FELIX MORRIS S REMINISCENCE^. 
 
 money. Coming upon a little crowd of 
 people on Dominion Day on the parade 
 ground in Chatham, I noticed that they 
 were intently watching something that was 
 going on. To my amazement, as I drew 
 near, I recognized two members of our 
 company ; one, quite a clever conjurer, 
 was giving proofs of his skill, while the 
 other gentleman was dilating upon his dex- 
 terity and entertaining the crowd in the 
 most pleasant and familiar manner. The 
 performance ended with the incident of a 
 hat being passed around. A neat little 
 collection was taken up, and I dare say 
 the burning thirst of the performers in this 
 impromptu entertainment was subsequent- 
 ly allayed. 
 
 We eventually reached Quebec, where 
 we intended to fill in a final week. But
 
 FELIX MORRIS S REMINISCENCES. 7 I 
 
 fortune smiled, business opened well and 
 continued so for six weeks, the company 
 in the mean time having taken affairs in 
 their own hands. We were enabled to 
 pay off Mr. Boucicault's claims, discard 
 the " Shaughraun" and appear in a reper- 
 toire of our own. This change of plan 
 met with such welcome success that finally 
 our financial difficulties were straightened 
 out and the summer season came to a 
 satisfactory and propitious end. 
 
 V. 
 
 Our manager had, in the meantime, and 
 in spite of financial troubles, secured the 
 lease of the then new theater in Montreal, 
 the Academy of Music, a remarkably fine 
 building erected by a company of wealthy 
 Montrealers, with Sir Hugh Allen at the
 
 72 FELIX MORRIS S REMINISCENCES. . 
 
 head of aflairs. How this transaction was 
 brought about I am at a loss to know. 
 Perhaps the impression made by the sum- 
 mer company,whose varying fortunes I have 
 already described in brief, had something 
 to do with it. At any rate, I was engaged 
 for the opening season at Montreal. 
 
 Upon the dissolution of the summer 
 company I went from Quebec to New 
 York, as I had some weeks to tide over 
 before my season began. Diflficulties again 
 stared me in the face, for I had very little 
 money on hand ; but just as affairs were 
 beginning to look serious a telegram from 
 St. Johns, New Brunswick, summoned me 
 there. My railroad ticket came the next 
 day, and off I started with less than 
 seventy-five cents in my pocket. Arrived 
 at Bangor, Maine, I discovered to my dis-
 
 FELIX MORRIS S REMINISCENXES. 'J 'i 
 
 may that the train stopped there for the 
 night, and here I was with eighteen cents 
 in hand. I consoled myself with the idea 
 that I could remain in the wailing room 
 of the railway station all night. In this 
 laudable design I was doomed to disap- 
 pointment as an official, after a short de- 
 lay, began locking doors and applying 
 bolts. On questioning him he informed 
 me that the train started at 8.30 in the 
 morning and that he was closing for the 
 night. 
 
 As I turned away from the little depot 
 the cold, white fog came rolling up the 
 street, adding materially to the discomfort 
 of my situation and emphasizing the futil- 
 ity of summer attire as an adequate 
 protection against the chilly and nipping 
 air of Maine. I strolled about a little, then
 
 74 FELIX MORRIS S REMINISCENCES. 
 
 solaced myself with a cup of coffee and a 
 doughnut, and, thus fortified, passed the 
 long, cold night, occasionally varying the 
 monotony by short cat-naps on the wooden 
 steps of the little station, my actions, mean- 
 time, being suspiciously watched by an 
 Irish guardian of the peace, who would not 
 be satisfied with the explanations I vouch- 
 safed him, and who eagerly awaited the 
 development of some burglarious scheme, 
 with which I felt certain he associated me. 
 The longest night has its ending, and 
 morning came at last. I was very weary, 
 however, as I boarded my train and 
 started for St. Johns, which I reached at 
 about 7.30 that night, just in time to rush 
 to the theater in season to step upon the 
 stage a little after eight o'clock, as Father 
 Doolan in the " Shaughraun. " Happily
 
 FELIX MORRIS S REMINISCENCES. 7$ 
 
 for the audience, with the exception of a 
 slight weakness of voice, nothing in- 
 dicated the ordeal I had gone through 
 the preceding night. I mention this in- 
 cident as another proof of my lack of 
 assurance, my utter want of that knowl- 
 edge which enables men to get on in the 
 world. It never occurred to me to make 
 my case known to a hotel proprietor who 
 could readily have verified my statement 
 by telegram, and thus saved me a most 
 unpleasant experience. It is recollections 
 such as these that convince me that nature 
 dealt with me in a most niggardly man- 
 ner in respect of foresight. The man of 
 whom it was said that he had his head in 
 the clouds and his feet in the mud surely 
 had a counterpart in me in those early 
 days of my dramatic career.
 
 76 FELIX morris's REMINISCENCES. 
 
 Finally, the opening night of the new 
 theater in Montreal came, and with it 
 a packed house and splendid audience. 
 "Rosedale" was the attraction, and the 
 verdict was unanimous — a great "go." 
 Everybody was delighted, and we pro- 
 duced in rapid succession all the Fifth 
 Avenue successes — ''Divorce," "Pique," 
 "A Big Bonanza," "Saratoga," and 
 "Under the Gaslight." Also the Union 
 Square pieces — "The Two Orphans," 
 "The Geneva Cross," and "Rose Michel." 
 I had a most gratifying line of pans, 
 and I revelled in them to my heart's de- 
 light. My popularity was quickly at the 
 full, our receipts were very large, and the 
 harvest never-ending. And yet I had the 
 utmost difficulty in getting my salary. 
 Our business manager was a most evasive
 
 FELIX MORRIS S REMIXISCEXCES. 77 
 
 person. He had a knack of vanishing 
 behind doors and of disappearing around 
 corners, and as for excuses, he was a per- 
 fect master in the art of making them. 
 I never met his like, and I hope I never 
 shall again. My salary was very small 
 considering the position I held and the 
 popularity I enjoyed. 
 
 I was urged by my fellow actors, Fred- 
 eric Bryton among the number, to insist 
 upon an increase. This I hesitated to do, 
 for I was happy in the enjoyment of my 
 extraordinary popularity and in the 
 knowledge that my name was a house- 
 hold word. As an indication of the 
 ascendency in which I found my star, I 
 may pardonably mention, I think, that 
 once when, as a result of a severe cold, I 
 had lost my voice and was confined to my
 
 78 FELIX morris's REMINISCENCES. 
 
 room for ten days, the most renowned 
 specialist in Montreal, Dr. Major, at- 
 tended me, and would not hear of com- 
 pensation. My room was a bower of 
 flowers sent by friends and anonymous 
 adm.irers. Dozens of jars of jellies and 
 home-made remedies attested the kind- 
 ness of the public, and when I appeared 
 again a perfect ovation awaited me. Few 
 actors, whatever their position, have been 
 so generously treated as I was in Montreal, 
 and I look back with natural pride upon 
 these events and cherish their memory 
 with fondest recollections. 
 
 Numberless considerations influenced 
 me in my hesitation about asking for ade- 
 quate compensation, but at last I sum- 
 moned up courage and approached my 
 manager. An opportunity to attack him
 
 FELIX MORRIS S REMINISCENCES. 79 
 
 ofTered at his hotel, and I lured him into 
 the smoking-room, which happened to 
 be vacant. He was unsuspicious of my 
 motive and slapped me on the back and 
 in pleasant tones assured me of his 
 esteem, I hemmed and hawed a little, 
 and then ejaculated the words, " Increase 
 of salary. " With a broken, dejected look 
 and a smothered groan he sank into a 
 chair like a man stricken with disease, 
 and actually wept. 
 
 "My God," said he, between sobs, 
 "after all my kindness, after all I've done 
 for you. Why, Felix, I've made you, and 
 this is your gratitude ! " 
 
 I never felt so guilty in all my life, and 
 vainly tried to comfort him. The scene 
 ended in my being almost as much affected 
 as he was, and away I went, loathing my-
 
 8o FELIX morris's REMINISCENCES. 
 
 self for having caused his gentle heart 
 such pain. On comparing notes with 
 my fellow actors I found my account of 
 the interview was received with the utmost 
 levity, not to say hilarity, and that the 
 whole scene was simply a chestnut. Tears, 
 sobs, groans and pocket handkerchief had 
 frequently been used before as a means of 
 escaping the payment of a well-earned 
 increase of salary. The magic touch of 
 Midias was no more certain of a golden 
 product than any talk of more money 
 was to bring about a lachrymose condi- 
 tion of affairs with this fair-dealing gentle- 
 man. 
 
 An offer from Mr. McVickar, of Chi- 
 cago, happened along very opportunely, 
 however, and the difficulty was removed. 
 I obtained a small increase of salary when
 
 FELIX MORRIS S REMINISCENCES. 01 
 
 it was found I was wanted elsewhere. 
 We supported, during the course of the 
 season, George Fawcett Rowe, in his un- 
 rivaled performance of Micaivher, and 
 the incomparable Adelaide Neilson. We 
 had been waiting about at the theater for 
 hours, one day, expecting her arrival. 
 Trains were delayed, and it was three 
 o'clock before she put in an appearance. 
 At that hour she bustled on to the stage 
 in traveling ulster and soft-crowned hat. 
 She was very tired, and evidently out of 
 sorts. She was accompanied by Eben 
 Plympton for leading support. 
 
 "And this is the great Neilson," I told 
 myself. The reverie into which I disap- 
 pointedly had fallen was disturbed by the 
 sound of a gruff voice accompanied by an 
 angry push.
 
 82 FELIX morris's REMINISCENCES. 
 
 "Clear the stage, you supers," said the 
 voice. 
 
 "One moment," I explained. "I'm 
 the super who plays Touchstone." 
 
 Plympton understood his mistake, and 
 made amends by introducing me to Miss 
 Neilson. At night what a transformation 
 we witnessed in this remarkable woman ! 
 As she sailed oh she was nothing short of 
 a vision, and her performance of Rosa- 
 lind was a revelation. She was very gra- 
 cious to me ; sent for me to come to her 
 dressing-room and complimented me in 
 the most flattering terms on my Touch- 
 stone. 
 
 The success of myShakesperian comedy 
 characters I attribute very largely to the 
 kindly interest of my old friend, Mr. T. 
 D. King, of Montreal. He was an en-
 
 FELIX morris's REMINISCEN'CES. 83 
 
 thusiast, and had accumulated a valuable 
 Shakespearean library. Together we made 
 researches, compared notes, verified cer- 
 tain readings, and the results were un- 
 usually satisfactory. When Mr. King 
 died, his valuable collection became the 
 prope/ty of McGill College. 
 
 As the season drew to a close, my 
 name was put up for a benefit. I was 
 the recipient of a handsome testimonial 
 from the company in the form of Knight's 
 Edition of Shakespeare, and an overflow- 
 ing house greeted my appearance. I 
 played Boh Sackeit in Bronson Howard's 
 "Saratoga." A tremendous call brought 
 me before the curtain, and after a shower 
 of bouquets I was allowed to return 
 thanks, which I did in a few carefully 
 prepared remarks. I was somewhat dis-
 
 84 FELIX morris's reminiscences. 
 
 appointed, however, at the reception of 
 my words. They caused much merri- 
 ment, and I had intended merely to ac- 
 knowledge, in elegant and well-rounded 
 phrase, my obligations and gratitude. 
 The fact was that half my moustache had 
 disappeared in the excitement of the 
 occasion, and when I discovered my loss 
 I was compelled to join in the laughter 
 my appearance provoked, and thus the 
 performance ended. 
 
 The evasive person already mentioned 
 settled up with me the next day, and 
 to my astonishment proved by abstruse 
 and marvelous calculation that I was a 
 creditor to the amount of something less 
 than $30. ]\Iy share of the benefit was 
 supposed to be one-third. The receipts 
 could not have been less than $1,200.
 
 FELIX morris's REMINISCENCES. 85 
 
 But the blandness and humility of this 
 mathematical conjuror were allowed to 
 prevail. He produced numerous little 
 slips of paper which were simply con- 
 fusing, as in our irregular methods I 
 never kept an account of anything, and 
 although my credulity was severly taxed 
 I accepted his figures. He was generous 
 enough to declare that I had a great future 
 before me, and with a warm shake of the 
 hand and a most angelic smile, he 
 quietly vanished from my view. 
 
 VI. 
 
 The flood tide of prosperity began to 
 ebb. Our manager had launched out 
 into all sorts of enterprises. Interest in 
 the new theater flagged ; receipts fell off, 
 expenses increased, and the inevitable col-
 
 86 FELIX morris's reminiscences. 
 
 lapse followed. Injudicious friends urged 
 Mr. Neil Warner and myself to assume the 
 management of the Academy of Music ; 
 we did so, and struggled frantically to make 
 a success of our enterprise. As long as 
 we adhered to the combination system 
 we were successful. We played George 
 Rignold in "Henry V," and a very fine 
 production it was; "Evangeline," with 
 Nat Goodwin as notary. Pretty Eliza 
 Wethersby, Harry Dixey and Richard 
 Golden were also in the cast. Joe Murphy 
 came to us in "Kerry Gow ; " my old 
 Albany manager, John Albaugh, and com- 
 pany added their excellence, and we did 
 remarkably well. But when our stock 
 company assembled the trouble began. It 
 certainly was no fault of the ladies and 
 gentlemen comprising the company.
 
 FELIX morris's reminiscences. ^'J 
 
 We had been most careful in our selec- 
 tion. Gertrude Kellogg was our leading 
 lady, George Riddle our juvenile man, 
 Mrs. Jordan, an excellent actress, our old 
 lady. I played comedy and eccentrics, 
 Neil Warner leads, and so on. Our ex- 
 penses were altogether too heavy, our 
 financial backers became weary, and we 
 had to wind up affairs as best as we could. 
 Our company was most considerate. A 
 benefit gotten up in my name proved a 
 great success. We turned the receipts 
 over to the company, and were enabled 
 to pay off most of our indebtedness in this 
 way. The failure was really a great blow 
 to me, at the time. I had hoped so much 
 and it seemed such an opportunity for so 
 young a man. The crash staggered me, 
 and I returned to New York broken in
 
 bo FELIX MORRIS S REMINISCENCES. 
 
 spirit and poorer in pocket than when I 
 first landed in the New World. 
 
 The proverbial "silver lining," how- 
 ever, appeared in the form of an engage- 
 ment under Mr. Stephen Fiske's manage- 
 ment at the Fifth Avenue Theater. He 
 had succeeded Mr. Daly. I was in the 
 cast that supported Mary Anderson in her 
 first New York engagement. She was at 
 that time a big, beautiful girl and as play- 
 ful as a kitten. Totally wanting in an 
 idea of the responsibility of her work, she 
 often surprised us with flashes of rare 
 talent, while her melodious Southern voice 
 reminded us of Mr. Richard Grant White's 
 definition of another woman's voice which, 
 with bold originality, he classified as 
 " vocal velvet. " Then came INIodjeska's 
 first appearance and unqualified success,
 
 FELIX morris's REMINISCENCES. 89 
 
 followed by several stock productions. 
 Among these was Mary Fiske's play en- 
 titled " Dioulmough." We were not suc- 
 cessful, however, and our season ended 
 unsatisfactorily. 
 
 It was during this engagement that I 
 had the pleasure of meeting a comedian, 
 whose modesty was as remarkable as his 
 talent, and whose pleasant, unaffected 
 manner impressed me very much. I re- 
 fer to James Lewis. Aunt Louisa Eld- 
 ridge was also a member of the company. 
 Her vivacity and good humor were al- 
 ways contagious and helped to lighten 
 the burden of the hour. Now came an 
 opportunity which might have led to for- 
 tune, but want of confidence on my part 
 again stood in my way and I did not ac- 
 cept the offer. A manager wanted to
 
 90 FELIX MORRIS S REMINISCENCES. 
 
 take me out West and star me in the part 
 o^De Boots in "The Widow Hunt." He 
 was what is termed a hustler, and was 
 prepared for a vigorous campaign. The 
 idea of responsibility and possible failure 
 was ever before me, and I dreaded a re- 
 peated ordeal of hypothecated trunks and 
 very uncertain remuneration. He had 
 seen my performance of the part in 
 Canada, and felt sure of success. He 
 failed to persuade me, however, and left 
 me with the remark that I was the blank- 
 est fool he'd ever come across. 
 
 An offer of an engagement to play in 
 May Howard's company in Halifax, 
 N. S., came in the nick of time. The 
 salary was very small, but I had no choice 
 and accepted it. The expression, "Go 
 to Halifax," was not unfamiliar to me.
 
 FELIX MORRIS S REMINISCENCES. 9I 
 
 I evoked it on many occasions in my 
 dramatic life, and now I had literally to 
 obey the mandate. But I cared not for I 
 was becoming acclimated, as it were, to 
 the slings and arrows of outrageous for- 
 tune. My struggles and best endeavors to 
 excel had brought me more kicks than 
 half-pence. Fate was against me and 
 hope had left me. In this mood I ar- 
 rived in Halifax. 
 
 Business was good and our season con- 
 tinued longer than we expected, and I 
 soon forgot, in the prosperity of the pres- 
 ent, the hard conditions of the past. 
 After our performance it was customary to 
 meet, in the Halifax Hotel, a few merry 
 souls, and with them while away the night 
 in blithesome chat and liberal potation. 
 This we fretjuently did until "the morn
 
 92 FELIX MORRIS S REMINISCENCES. 
 
 in russet mantle clad" would send its 
 glowing light through the clinks of shut- 
 ter and the sun shoot a glimmer over the 
 dingy blind. On one such sweet May 
 morn, we revelers — "The Owls " we called 
 ourselves — touched by the spirit of early 
 dawn, determined upon a long walk to 
 the point, a lovely spot where jagged rocks 
 are bathed in ocean's spray, and the silver 
 maple flutters in the morning's breath. 
 Here we played and romped like very 
 school lads. We raced and fenced and 
 sparred, and did all sorts of mad things, 
 and then back to the hotel and to prosy 
 life again. After breakfast came the 
 theater, and rehearsal, of course. There 
 our escapades were discussed by some 
 members of the company, and one 
 young lady said to me quite seriously.
 
 FELIX morris's REMINISCEN'CES. 93 
 
 the others treating the matter as a huge 
 joke: 
 
 "Don't you think it a pity that any one 
 with your talent should throw himself 
 away as you are doing ? " 
 
 I was stricken dumb. I stammered 
 out something and moved away. This 
 remark set me to thinking, however. 
 Nobody had ever taken that view of my 
 proceedings before, and the idea bothered 
 me. Indeed, it haunted me. I could 
 not rid myself of it. I gradually with- 
 drew from the Owl Club, where I had 
 been a leading light, and the influence 
 of that one remark was manifest at the 
 time and has since become manifest 
 for all time ; for that young lady sub- 
 sequently became my wife, and to her 
 sagacity and forethought I attribute any
 
 94 FELIX MORRIS S REMINISCENCES. 
 
 success I have since made in the pro- 
 fession. 
 
 George Fawcett Rowe and his bride, 
 Kate Girard, a lovely creature, came down 
 and played an engagement with us. They 
 were, at that date, in what the French 
 term their hine de miel. Never were two 
 such lovers. To the prosaic and unen- 
 amored their cooing was an amusing 
 study. They were at the "lovey-dovey" 
 period of existence, and influenced by 
 sentiment, and, in defiance of common 
 sense, determined to appear in "The 
 Ticket- of- Leave Man." Mr. Rowe played 
 Bob Brierly and his wife May Edivards. 
 It was a most ordinary effort on his part, 
 and he was so eccentric and peculiar that 
 his Bob Brierly was entirely out of har- 
 mony with all the traditions of what the
 
 FELIX MORRIS S REMINISCENCES. 95 
 
 character should be. The audience was 
 amused. Mr. Rowe's pathos was laughed 
 at, and his comedy received most serious 
 attention. He was oblivious, however, to 
 the situation, and with streaming eyes 
 and besmirched face — for his make-up 
 had run in every direction — he assured me 
 that "this sort of part, dear boy, always 
 takes it out of me, and to have such an 
 
 angel to play wiih is too d d awful 
 
 for anything." I mention this incident 
 with no idea of detracting from his match- 
 less performance of Micawber — a perform- 
 ance that delighted Charles Dickens him- 
 self, and one that will live forever in the 
 memory of those who were fortunate 
 enough to witness it. It must take rank 
 as a work of exquisite drollery. Fawcett 
 Rowc was a man of highest intelligence
 
 96 FELIX morris's REMINISCENCES. 
 
 and attainments, possessing exquisite 
 taste and sententious humor, a delightful 
 companion, and a rare, kind heart. 
 Surely, the place that he occupied is still 
 vacant and will not again be filled. 
 
 An unusual incident occurred at a 
 benefit performance, which was tendered 
 to me by the officers of the North Atlantic 
 Squadron, then in the harbor. They re- 
 quested me to play William in "Black- 
 eyed Susan " — rather a singular request, 
 but there was no way out of it. They de- 
 manded it and I had to comply. ' One of 
 the officers was an old fellow-student, and 
 I rather think he instigated the conspiracy. 
 To make the production as realistic as 
 possible, all the necessary uniforms were 
 furnished by the officers, together with 
 boatswain, boatswain's mate and twenty-
 
 FELIX MORRIS S REMINISCENCES. 97 
 
 five Jack tars. The admiral was present, 
 and ladies and officers from the foit were 
 there — a truly delightful audience. 
 
 The first piece went admirably, and then 
 we cleared the decks for action. The 
 sailors had been kept in the background 
 during the early part of the evening. Some 
 were watching the play from the wings 
 while others were satiating a liberal thirst 
 by frequent visits to the adjacent dram- 
 shops. The play proceeded splendidly 
 until we arrived at the scene where Wil- 
 liam and all his pals are enjoying liberty 
 ashore. One of the company sang Nancy 
 Lee, the sailors joining in the chorus. 
 They sang with a will. They would not 
 belay. "'Vast heaving," shouted the 
 boatswain, but no notice was taken The 
 boatswain's pipe shrilly whistled " Belay!
 
 98 FELIX morris's reminiscences. 
 
 belay! belay!" The song was a favorite 
 with them, and this was their chance. So 
 they improved it with a vigor character- 
 istic of men who plough the waters. 
 
 The audience waved and applauded 
 which only increased the hubbub. 
 Finally, from sheer lack of breath, the 
 men quieted down, and then one of their 
 number danced a hornpipe. He was the 
 swell dancer of the fleet, and the enco- 
 miums and encouragement he received 
 from his mates were too realistic for any- 
 thing. The tars had the deck and for the 
 time we were powerless. To cap the 
 climax, at the conclusion of the dance a 
 big, brawny, bearded salt staggered down 
 to the footlights, and, shaking his huge 
 fist at the audience, hurled a challenge 
 in stentorian tones to "Any bloomin'
 
 FELIX MORRIS S REMINISCENCES, 99 
 
 number of bloomin' landlubbers who 
 wanted their bloomin' daylights staved 
 in!" It took ""the whole crew and the 
 bo'suns two," to get him away and allay 
 his excitement. It looked at one time 
 as if the Irish remedy of a free fight would 
 be the only means of restoring harmony, 
 and we all felt greatly relieved when the 
 curtain fell, and after much handshaking 
 and three rousing cheers we parted com- 
 pany with our nautical friends. 
 
 At the end of the Halifax season we 
 went, under Mr. Leslie Gossin's manage- 
 ment, to Jamestown, Lake Chautauqua, 
 N. Y. The summer days went pleasantly 
 by, and we were fairly successful. We 
 enjoyed the place hugely. I played 
 rather a ridiculous figure there one day. 
 I indulged my fondness for swimming on 
 s
 
 lOO FELIX MORRIS S REMINISCENCES. 
 
 every possible occasion, and was arrested, 
 together with half-a-dozen dirty little 
 urchins, and taken by the village Dogberry 
 before the squire. This important person- 
 age, who was happily an inveterate theater- 
 goer, dismissed me with a reprimand, 
 which he afterwards explained, as we 
 pledged each other in a friendly cocktail, 
 was necessary on account of Dogberry. 
 
 Morris Simmonds, to whom I am in- 
 debted for many engagements, sent me an 
 offer to play comedy parts in the Califor- 
 nia Theater, San Francisco. After some 
 negotiating the contract was signed and 
 the future looked hopeful to some one 
 else besides myself — one whose interest in 
 my affairs has never flagged, whose judg- 
 ment has never erred, who, bearing with 
 me the heat and burden of the day, fares
 
 FELfX MORRIS S RF.MINISCENCF.S. lOI 
 
 forward with me, ever cheerful and ever 
 hopeful. 
 
 vir. 
 
 The journey across this wonderful con- 
 tinent was full of interest to me. I real- 
 ized for the first time the vastness of the 
 land in which I lived. After leaving 
 Omaha fourteen years ago hardly a house 
 was to be seen — nothing but rolling prairie 
 and never-ending alkali plains. Tiny 
 settlements clustered around the railroad 
 depots and rough shanties abounded, 
 while empty tomato cans and bottles 
 were the chief features of the landscape. 
 But now in place of these we see flourish- 
 ing towns and thriving villages, which 
 attest the wonderful growth and develop- 
 ment that have taken place in that com-
 
 102 FELIX MORRIS S REMINISCENCES. 
 
 paratively short period since my first 
 journey to the sunset land was undertaken. 
 Ogden, with its magnificent depot of to- 
 day, was then one long, low, rambling 
 shed, with here and there a solitary ft-ame 
 house in the distance. You saw the same 
 beautiful green valley, the same glorious 
 range of mountains ; but the country was 
 sparsely settled — a lovely but lonely place, 
 I thought it. I strolled up and down the 
 railroad platform, and at the farther end 
 saw a man unloading a wagon load of 
 apples. The fruit looked so fine, they 
 were such splendid specimens, that I asked 
 him where they came from. 
 
 "Oh, jeest a wee bit up the valley," 
 said he, "I raise them myself" 
 
 The moment he opened his lips I knew 
 he was a Scotchman, and I immediately
 
 FELIX morris's REMINISCENCES. IO3 
 
 addressed him in the Scotch dialect. I 
 branched out on the subject of Mormon- 
 ism, and expressed myself rather freely 
 thereon. He listened and replied: 
 
 " Weel, I'm jeest a wee bit o' a Mor- 
 mon myself." I didn't believe this pos- 
 sible of a Scotchman with strict Presby- 
 terian principles, with the old kirk and 
 teachings ever in his memory. 
 
 " Aye, there's a good deal in what you 
 say, nae doubt," said he; "bit I've been 
 here maeny years, and I've done vera week 
 I've done vera weel" he repeated, and 
 with an indescribable wink of the eye and 
 an impressive hand shake, he got into his 
 wagon and drove away. The Scotch ex- 
 cuse amused me very much. It was so 
 characteristic, such a touch of nature. I 
 am half Scotchman myself I know the
 
 104 FELIX MORRIS S REMINISCENCES. 
 
 peculiarities of the race and the impor- 
 tance they infrequently attach to the solids 
 and substantials of this life. 
 
 With the exception of a little excite- 
 ment caused by a rumor of train robbers 
 and the presence of a guard of United 
 States troops on our train, nothing hap- 
 pened to mar the pleasure of the last part 
 of our journey. After the snow sheds are 
 passed the descent from the Sierras is 
 rapid, and pines give way to live oak; 
 sage bush and vines and orange and fig 
 trees reveal a land of perpetual sunshine 
 and cloudless sky. As we rolled on to the 
 railroad pier at Oakland glimpses of the 
 Golden Gate and the hazy, limitless be- 
 yond, bathed in warmest tints of setting 
 sun, held me spellbound. A friendly 
 voice and a slap on the back brought me
 
 FELIX morris's REMINISCENCES. IO5 
 
 to earth again. Frank Colter, my old 
 friend of my first Canadian campaign, had 
 taken the trouble to come and meet me. 
 He was the juvenile man of the California 
 Theater. 
 
 This theater was under the manage- 
 ment of General Barton and Frank Law- 
 ler. They had already opened with the 
 new company and had fared indifferently 
 at the hands of critic and public. The 
 memory of John McCuUough and his un- 
 rivaled band of players was too strong to 
 be easily forgotten, and I realized the 
 difficulties before me. It was no easy 
 triumph, I thought, to gain recognition 
 in the face of such slanch adherence to 
 the old rdgime. Robert Paleman was my 
 predecessor, and he was an excellent 
 comedian and character actor. A simi-
 
 I06 FELIX morris's REMINISCENCES. 
 
 larity in our st}le was recognized which 
 rather tended to intensify comparison. 
 My opening was unfortunate. The part 
 oi Dan, the fire laddie, in the "Streets of 
 New York," in which I appeared, did not 
 leave scope for much variety. The papers 
 criticised my appearance and spoke of my 
 advent as another disappointment in the 
 new stock company. I said nothing, of 
 course, but I thought a good deal, and 
 prepared for the struggle before me with a 
 degree of determination and perseverance 
 that meant either death to my dramatic 
 and domestic aspirations or a brilliant vic- 
 tory for both. 
 
 The comic opera "Fatinitza" was to 
 receive its fiist presentation in America in 
 the California Theater. I was cast for the 
 Reporter, the leading tenor part. I told
 
 FELIX MOKKISS RKMINISCENCKS. IO7 
 
 Barton Hill, our stage manager, that I was 
 not an operatic tenor. 
 
 "Never mind, my boy, it is a good 
 part, a good part," said he, " you'll be all 
 right." 
 
 I doubted the assertion very much, and 
 when my voice was tried it was at once 
 discovered that instead of being all right 
 it was all wrong, Charlie Schultz, our 
 musical director, remarking : 
 
 "Auf you sing ut like dat, you'll get 
 h !" 
 
 I quite agreed with him. 
 
 Harry Gates, the well-known tenor, 
 was finally engaged for the part, and I 
 was assigned the part of the Pasha. I 
 asked Barton Hill if I might pad the part 
 a bit. He very kindly allowed me to do 
 what I liked with it, stipulating only for
 
 I08 FELIX morris's REMINISCENCES. 
 
 the cues. I played the character with a 
 slight French accent, crowding into it all 
 the slang I could think of, and always 
 apologizing for so doing with the gag, 
 "Excuse the Western expression!" It 
 was an act of desperation on my part — a 
 stake all in a lottery sort of thing — and 
 I fortunately drew a prize. The effort 
 was applauded and laughed at by the 
 audience, and most heartily and gen- 
 erously commended by the press, and so 
 the battle was won. I steadily and surely 
 increased my reputation, and to-day I 
 have no kinder friends, no more steadfast 
 admirers, than those who greet me in San 
 Francisco. 
 
 Mining speculations were rife at the 
 time, and a boom was on the boards. 
 Sierra Nevada stocks were flying heaven-
 
 FELIX MORRIS S REMINISCENCES. IO9 
 
 wards ; the whole city trembled with ex- 
 citement ; it was contagious ; your very 
 shoeblack thrilled you with the latest news 
 as he polished your boots ; your Chinese 
 laundryman imparted mysterious pointers; 
 fortunes were to be made for nothing — 
 without outlay ; a nod of the head and 
 you were worth thousands. Wiser men 
 than I were carried off their feet and over 
 their heads in the overwhelming tide. It 
 was no wonder, therefore, that Mister 
 Noodle went and did likewise. 
 
 How rapidly it was done, too ! A ray 
 of light is not swifter in its progress than 
 the Stock Exchange transaction I went 
 through and which landed me with a debt 
 which it took most of my season's salary 
 to pay off. A speculation on margin is, I 
 believe, the correct definition of the finan-
 
 no FELIX MORRIS S REMIMSCENCES. 
 
 cial nightmare that swept over me like a 
 cyclone. My very good friend, Tom 
 Maguire, Jr., our treasurer, helped me out 
 of the difficulty by paying my notes as 
 they came due, deducting payments from 
 my salary, thus easing the pressure for me. 
 His peculiarity is an abnormal develop- 
 ment of heart. He is, in fact, to his inti- 
 mates, a modernized edition of " Tennes- 
 see's Pardner," a type you seldom meet 
 with outside of California. As an in- 
 stance : A friend wanted to borrow a 
 certain sum, and of course applied to Tom, 
 who happened to be short of funds at the 
 time. 
 
 "Is it very particular.?" queried Tom. 
 
 "Very," said the friend. 
 
 " Come back in half an hour and I'll 
 see what I can do for you. "
 
 FELIX MORRIS S REMINISCENCES. Ill 
 
 At the expiration of the half hour the 
 friend was on hand with a pleasant smile. 
 Tom produced the money and handed it 
 to the friend with a " Don't mention it, 
 old man," in answer to the friend's tlianks. 
 It was afterward revealed by a third party 
 that Tom's favorite diamond stud was the 
 collateral used to raise the money for the 
 friend. And the friend was myself. I 
 never think of the incident without ex- 
 claiming, " Greater love than this hath 
 no man !" 
 
 Our season progressed satisfactorily, 
 business appeared to be flourshing and it 
 was not until the advent of Stars that our 
 luck changed. Lawrence Barrett played a 
 not very lucrative engagement. "Yorick's 
 Love," however, which was produced for 
 the first time, made an excellent impres-
 
 112 FELIX MORRIS S REMINISCENCES. 
 
 sion and did well. Boucicauli's engage- 
 ment was not profitabje to the manage- 
 ment, his guarantee of $500 a perform- 
 ance handicapped the receipts, and it was 
 not his first visit to the coast either. The 
 engagement was for four weeks, and it 
 crippled the management in spite of that 
 great artist's work. Who can ever forge t his 
 Con, the Shaughraun, and his inimitable 
 Kerry ! The finish, delicacy and pathos of 
 the latter performance has seldom been 
 equaled and never surpassed on any stage. 
 Ada Cavendish played a very good en- 
 gagement with us in a round of legitimate 
 characters. Our company was strength- 
 ened, and such artists as INIrs. Judah, Mrs. 
 Saunders, Kate Denin, Ada Oilman, 
 Jeffreys Lewis, sweet Nina Varian, old Mr. 
 Lehman, Tom Keene, John Wilson,
 
 FELIX MORRIS S REMINISCENXES. IIj 
 
 Harry Courtaine and others rendered the 
 productions in every way effective. 
 
 Lester Wallack's engagement was some- 
 what of a disappointment. Many of his 
 pieces had already been played by the old 
 stock company, and I think, if I remem- 
 ber rightly, he shortened his stay by one 
 or two weeks. He was very kind to me. 
 After playing his son in "My Awful Dad" 
 he inquired where the deuce I had been 
 keeping myself He had never heard of me 
 before, and he asked me to let him know if 
 I ever found my way East. I enjoyed his 
 performances immensely. How handsome 
 he was, the beau ideal of a light comedian! 
 Few young men of that day, or of this day, 
 for the matter of that, could compare with 
 him then. John T. Raymond, Robson 
 and Crane and Frank Chanfrau followed
 
 114 FELIX MORRIS S REMINISCENCES. 
 
 in rapid succession. My dramatic expe- 
 rience was thus wonderfully varied. 
 Florence, too, played an engagement with 
 us. John E. Owens, in a round of 
 comedy characters, impressed me very 
 much. I still regard him as one of the 
 most unctuous and versatile comedians I 
 have ever seen. His performance in 
 " Forty Winks " was perfection and his 
 Solon Shingle was a masterpiece of comedy 
 characterization. 
 
 In spite of past experience in mining 
 operations, I was induced again to dabble 
 in stock. This time it was our idea to 
 start a practical miner out to a new district 
 to locate mines. We did so, equipping 
 him in every way. Alas ! he left for parts 
 unknown and we never heard of him 
 again. Details of my transactions were
 
 FELIX morris's REMINISCENCES. I I 5 
 
 carefully reported to one in the East who 
 had my interests very much at heart, and 
 in spite of family counsel and friendly 
 warning, her argument being that if ever 
 I wanted help and assistance and advice 
 now was the appointed time, she valiantly 
 started to the rescue. I was at the time 
 living with some of this young lady's con- 
 nections and they very kindly made prep- 
 arations to receive her. We were married 
 immediately after her anival, on Sunday 
 afternoon. In my excitement I, of course, 
 mislaid the marriage certificate, and rushed 
 all over town only to find it safely stowed 
 away in my inside vest pocket. 
 
 After the ceremony, a delightful little 
 wedding feast was tendered us by our 
 friends. My duties called me to the 
 theater, but what the performance was or
 
 Il6 FELIX morris's REMINISCENCES. 
 
 how I got through it I cannot to this day 
 remember. The day had been one of sun- 
 shine and shower — clouds and alternate 
 azure — but as the minister marshalled the 
 little troop and addressed us, the clouds 
 kindly dispersed and the glorious beams of 
 the setting sun biightened the scene and 
 gladdened our hopeful hearts. We took 
 courage and had faith in the future. That 
 faith we siill possess and will to the end. 
 Common sense and practical methods soon 
 restored a financial equilibrium, and the re- 
 mainder of our stay in California was soci- 
 ally and professionally pleasant in the ex- 
 treme. We need not marvel, then, that our 
 hearts warm to the kind hearts, to the true 
 friendships and to the lovely W^estern land 
 we know so well.
 
 Till-: GAME OF CARDS.
 
 FELIX MORRIS S REMINISCENCES. II7 
 VIII. 
 
 We left California for the East, and for 
 a time the sunshine of prosperity was 
 dimmed, our struggles frequently going 
 unrewarded and our salaries being often 
 unpaid. I blamed myself very much for 
 these lesults, as the following account will 
 explain. Lester Wallack heard of my ar- 
 rival in the East, and through Morris 
 Simmonds engaged me to support him 
 through New England. Everything went 
 well until we played in New Haven, and 
 there at the matinee something upset Mr. 
 Wallack's temper and he pitched into the 
 carpenters, and while he was in a stormy 
 mood several members of the company 
 evoked his ire. I happened along at the 
 time and he paid his respects to me. I
 
 Il8 FELIX morris's REMINISCENCES. 
 
 felt aggrieved, as I had done nothing to 
 warrant the attack. I told him this and 
 in a high-handed manner demanded an 
 apology before I would go on the stage 
 again. This was conceded and the play 
 proceeded. Mr. Wallack never forgot the 
 incident, and at the end of the engage- 
 ment, which was for six weeks, he re- 
 marked to Fawcett Rowe, "There's that 
 fellow Morris, just the man I wanted, but 
 by Gad, sir ! you can't touch him with a 
 forty-foot pole ! " 
 
 As a rule, Mr. Wallack was kindness 
 and consideration itself to everybody. On 
 this occasion, however, something or other 
 had disturbed the serenity of his mood 
 and the stand I took in the matter was an 
 extreme one, and logically enough it was 
 the most disastrous in its effects, as will
 
 FELIX MORRIS S REMINISCENCES. II 9 
 
 appear. Two or three short engagements 
 filled in a few weeks — what is termed 
 "jobbing" in the profession — which were 
 neither satisfactory nor remunerative. 
 Then we drifted over to Jersey City under 
 the management of Mr. Gouge, and vainly 
 struggled to establish a stock company 
 there. The season ended in a short time 
 with salaries unpaid and the outlook most 
 unpromising. Our next move brought 
 us West to Louisville and vicinity, where 
 for four weeks we appeared in Col. Nu- 
 nez's play, entitled "Saints and Sinners," 
 and then we very gladly accepted an invi- 
 tation to spend the summer with my wife's 
 relatives. 
 
 Another season opened with no better 
 luck. The engagement was unsuccess- 
 ful, and I must acknowledge my despond-
 
 I 20 FELIX MORRIS S REMINISCENCES. 
 
 ency at the time, in spite of my wife's en- 
 couragement and sanguine views. An 
 offer of an engagement which took us to 
 the West Indies was finally made. We 
 were both engaged and we started off in 
 high spirits, and more hopeful than our 
 friends were when they heard with dismay 
 of our departure. I will not attempt a* 
 description of our passage. In the com- 
 fortable steamer of the Atlas line we had 
 the usual blow off Cape Halteras and the 
 gradual gliding into perfect weather. 
 Spice-laden zephyrs fanned our progress 
 as we approached Crooked Island, and 
 the rest of our journey was an el}sian 
 dream. 
 
 We landed at Kingston, Jamaica, De- 
 cember 24th. Every one there predicted 
 absolute failure, citing any number of in-
 
 FELIX MORRIS S REMINISCENCES, 121 
 
 cidents to prove the impossibility of suc- 
 cess. We knew our manager's capital 
 consisted of scenery only and that his cash 
 had been expended in the transportation 
 of his company. But we were not dis- 
 mayed. My wife thought a trip to the 
 lovely island worth any financial incon- 
 venience we might be subjected to, and I 
 felt hopeful from the fact that my name 
 was well known in Jamaica, where my 
 father was one of the oldest and best 
 known traders, and where he owned prop- 
 erty on the north side of the island. That 
 a certain amount of curiosity would be 
 evoked on account of my connections I 
 was quite certain. Our engagement was 
 for two weeks only and we gave but four 
 performances a week. 
 
 The opening performance was a tri-
 
 122 FELIX MORRIS S REMINISCENCES. 
 
 umph and our success was instantly as- 
 sured. We remained eight weeks and 
 appeared before crowded houses in a re- 
 pertoire of not less than thirty pieces. 
 We gave "Pinafore" with pretty Annie 
 Russel as Josephhie, Tommy Russell as 
 the Midshipmite, Jack Stewart as Dick 
 Deadeye (one of the best performances of 
 the part ever given), J. H. Gilmour as the 
 Bosun, myself as Sir Joseph Porter, 
 K. C. B. This performance had to be 
 repeated again and again. We were en- 
 tertained by officers on sea and officers on 
 land and were socially feted and petted 
 everywhere. Our reception called to mind 
 my former IMontreal experiences. 
 
 In spite of the incessant work the 
 change of programme entailed, our stay 
 was full of enjoyment and crowded with
 
 FELIX morris's REMINISCENCES. I 23 
 
 pleasure. Our next point was Barbadoes, 
 one of the Windward Islands. The Royal 
 mail steamer Medway was the one selected 
 for the voyage. She was a magnificent 
 boat, perfectly officered and manned. A 
 Siamese prince, a cousin of King Thee- 
 baw, was one of a number of distinguished 
 passengers. He was a midshipman in the 
 British navy and was going to England on 
 leave of absence. He was a mild-man- 
 nered person with a perfect mania for 
 waltzing. We touched at San Domingo, 
 on our way, and were amused at the rep- 
 resentatives of the island, who raced out 
 in huge scows to our steamer lying in the 
 offing. We were at least a mile from the 
 island and the frantic eftbrts of the native 
 boatmen to reach us were indeed amus- 
 ing. Their jargon when they did arrive
 
 124 FELIX MORRIS S REMINISCENCES. 
 
 consisted of incomprehensible French. It 
 was a babel, and free fights galore were 
 features of the demonstration. Order was 
 restored only by deluging them all with 
 water from the ship's hose, one of the 
 sailors remarking : "It's the only way ye 
 can manage them bloomin' duft'ers. " 
 
 Then Barbadoes ! a densely populated, 
 glaring place with roads that scintillate 
 and glitter in their whiteness ; so shiny 
 that at noontime they are painful to gaze 
 upon. The sugar cane fields aflford a 
 grateful contrast, of course, but oh I how 
 the sun beats down and how the intensity 
 of the glare grows upon you. 
 
 And the "true Barbadian born" col- 
 ored gentleman — what an aggressive, rabid 
 creature he is ! And how generally un- 
 comfortable and miserable you feel, and
 
 FEI.IX MORRIS S REMINISCENCES. I 25 
 
 what a wretched hotel, within a few yards 
 of the public slaughter house ! How ruth- 
 lessly interrupted is your restless sleep, and 
 how the certainty of some portion of one of 
 the wretched animals finding its way to 
 your breakfast table haunts you until the 
 very thoughts of pig make you groan! Of 
 course, one cannot forget the superb view 
 from Hackleton's Cliff or the sea bathing 
 at Hastings. The people were most kind 
 and hospitable and our business was excel- 
 lent. We were not sorry, however, to 
 leave for Demerara, South America. 
 
 Georgetown, the capital, was a surprise 
 to us, lying almost below the level of the 
 sea. It had been treated by its former 
 possessors, the Dutch, very much after the 
 method of their native Holland. Diked 
 in every direction, it boasted a modern
 
 126 FELIX morris's REMINISCENCES. 
 
 market erected by an American, and it 
 had street cars, gas and a wonderful trop- 
 ical garden. Here success crowned our 
 efforts, business being extremely good. 
 Reports of yellow fever outbreaks in Trin- 
 idad, a contiguous island, and one or two 
 sporadic cases in Demerara itself, we re- 
 garded in the light of warning. We had 
 already reached the month of May, had 
 worked unflaggingly for six months in the 
 tropics and longed to get home again. 
 
 For some reason or other our anxiety 
 was not shared by the management, so we 
 declined to continue and demanded a set- 
 tlement. This was refused and we placed 
 our affairs in the hands of the principal 
 lawyer of Demerara. He told us the law 
 of debit and credit was very concise and 
 he would easily obtain our just due. The
 
 FELIX MORRIS S REMINISCENCES. I 27 
 
 expense of the journey home by steamer 
 was very considerable, so I determined 
 upon a sailing vessel, a Nova Scotian 
 by the way, a schooner of 90 tons reg- 
 ister. She looked the merest mite for 
 such a voyage. The captain's wife was 
 with him and this satisfied my own wife. 
 We expected to make the run in twelve to 
 fourteen days. We started and in a short 
 time were becalmed in the muddy waters 
 of the bay. There we wallowed and 
 washed about for twenty- four hours and 
 then proceeded on our course. A smart 
 breeze drove us past Barbadoes. The last 
 glimpse of that island, with gorgeous trop- 
 ical sun setting behind it, vanished from 
 our view in golden shimmer. 
 
 In a few hours our breeze again deserted 
 us and for twelve long days and longer
 
 128 FELIX morris's REMINISCENCES. 
 
 nights we hardly stirred. A breathless, 
 dazzling, awful monotony it was, unbroken 
 by any event worth recording beyond the 
 capture of a huge shark, the daily report 
 that the water supply was getting short 
 and the alarming diminution of the totally 
 inadequate supply of provisions. Our 
 captain, who had been jollity and good 
 humor itself, and who would in the dog 
 watch enliven the situation with his violin, 
 became by turns taciturn and morose and 
 then wildly excited. The demon of dis- 
 cord seemed to possess the crew and one 
 or two fearful fights ensued. Our situa- 
 tion was really alarming, for we were 
 short-handed. 
 
 And still we stirred not, but like a log 
 our vessel lay cracking and blistering under 
 the vertical rays of the fiercest sun. Then
 
 FELIX MORRIS S REMINISCENCES. 12CJ 
 
 all at once, as if maddened by an angry 
 sleep, a southwest gale sprung up and 
 swooped down upon us, lashing itself 
 into a wild, white scudding fury, goading 
 our frail vessel to the utmost, until tremb- 
 ling, groaning, staggering she flew before 
 its wrath, escaping for a moment only to 
 be mocked again by fiercer onslaught. 
 
 The captain in drunken delirium 
 crowded on every stitch of canvas until 
 it seemed as if we must founder. On we 
 raced for days in fog and mist and fearful 
 tempest, and at last made out Cape Sable 
 light, and rushed into the Bay of Fundy, 
 where we landed on the Nova Scotian 
 coast. After twenty-eight days of such 
 terrible experience we were indeed thank- 
 ful to escape with our lives. We had be- 
 come accustomed lo surprises, but a new
 
 130 FELIX MORRIS S REMINISCENCES. 
 
 one yet awaited us, for when we had 
 reached New York in safety our dehght to 
 be back again was heightened by finding a 
 letter from the lawyer in Demerara enclos- 
 ing a draft for the balance due us for serv- 
 ices while there. 
 
 IX. 
 
 As time rolled on the battle became 
 fiercer, the struggle more arduous, the 
 vein of comedy that seemed to permeate 
 my bachelor experience disappeared, and 
 the responsibilities at times weighed 
 heavily. I will endeavor to condense my 
 recital of the next few seasons and briefly 
 state that after our return from the West 
 Indies I was engaged by Mr. Samuel Col- 
 ville in the original production of 
 "Michael Strogofl"" at Booth's Theater,
 
 THE , ENGLISH CORRESrONDENT.
 
 FELIX MORRIS S REMINISCENCES. I3I 
 
 New York. The piece was splendidly 
 mounted, with Frank Bangs in the title 
 role and Newton Gotthold as Ogareff. 
 
 I was engaged for the English corre- 
 spondent and felt dreadfully nervous about 
 the part, as changes were frequently made 
 as the rehearsals progressed, and I felt 
 that my head might be chopped off at any 
 moment. The result of the first night's 
 performance did not tend to allay my anx- 
 iety, as Mr. Colville, watching the pro- 
 gress of the piece from the wings, would 
 occasionally snort and stamp and start off 
 on a short, rapid trot, ominously swinging 
 his coat-tails behind him. This was al- 
 ways a sign of displeasure in his case, and 
 at last I heard him say in the most em- 
 phatic manner to the unfortunate per- 
 former who played the opposite part to
 
 132 FELIX MORRIS S REMINISCENCES. 
 
 me : " Not a d d bit like it, my very 
 
 dear sir, not a d d bit like it !" W. J. 
 
 Ferguson was immediately summoned, 
 and we got on swimmingly thereafter. 
 
 After the first run of the piece we were 
 re-engaged by that prince of managers, J. 
 H. Haverly, who was then at his zenith. 
 He was a kindly, generous-hearted and 
 unobtrusive little man, and wonderfully 
 successful at the time. Then came the 
 production of the comedy of " Mother-in- 
 Law " at the Park Theater, which was 
 quite successful. We had John Dillon 
 and that very clever actress, Mrs. Jane 
 Germon, and Ed Holland, too, if I re- 
 member rightly, in the cast. I played the 
 part of a theatrical manager of some sort or 
 another, and made, according to the crit- 
 ics, quite a little hit. Mr. Samuel Colville
 
 FELIX MORRIS S REMINISCENCES. 1 33 
 
 then engaged me for his piece, "Taken 
 from Life." 
 
 Mr. Beveridge was brought over from 
 London to produce it and play one of the 
 leading parts. Gerald Eyre played the 
 other. The latter died afterwards in Aus- 
 tralia. We opened in Chicago at Mc- 
 Vickar's Theater. At rehearsal Mr. Bev- 
 eridge, an excitable person, berated and 
 bully-ragged the supers, who with one 
 accord lifted up their voices in blasphe- 
 mous protest and walked out of the theater, 
 leaving behind them a much surprised and 
 crestfallen stage director. 
 
 Managerial schemes now began to come 
 under my notice. Enterprises that could 
 not help paying handsomely were de- 
 scribed to me. Problems were worked 
 out on paper into dead certainties. It
 
 134 FELIX MORRIS S REMINISCENCES. 
 
 seemed like singular short-sightedness on 
 my wife's part that she should hesitate for 
 a second. Alas ! woman's excessive cau- 
 tion often frustrates man's grandest oppor- 
 tunities. Verily, nothing venture nothing 
 have. Good heavens ! golden fruit within 
 our reach, only waiting to be plucked ! 
 The prospect was too alluring to be re- 
 jected, so we organized and went forth to 
 Newfoundland, of all the ends of the 
 earth the most inaccessible at that time of 
 year, and the bleakest, dreariest, saddest, 
 sorriest hole conceivable. 
 
 We appeared and disappeared and the 
 place thereof knew us no more. We moved 
 in a mysterious way and finally reached 
 New York again, dazed and perplexed. 
 I roamed about waiting for the sapient re- 
 mark, " I told you so," as the final drop
 
 FELIX MORRIS S REMINISCENCES. I35 
 
 in my cup of disappointment and chagrin. 
 It never came, however, but in its stead a 
 flood of practical suggestions (for which 
 Mrs. Felix in our fiimily circle is famous), 
 whereby, by still more careful economic.^, 
 our debt of some $300 could be expunged. 
 Now came Harry Pitt's offer of an en- 
 gagement at the old Bijou Theater on 
 Broadway. We opened in " Caste," with 
 Selina Dolaro as Polly Eccles, Fanny Ad- 
 dison as Esther, Eben Plympton as U Al- 
 rqy, Pitt as Hawtree, and old Mr. William 
 Davidge as Eccles. I was Sam Gcrridge. 
 The production made quite a little stir in 
 New York and we seemed to be success- 
 ful. Then followed the "Two Roses," 
 and several of Alberry's pieces. Our 
 success was ephemeral, however, for 
 the season ended after a visit to Bos-
 
 136 FELIX morris's REMINISCENCES. 
 
 ton with salaries in arrears and pockets 
 empty. 
 
 A friendly slap on the back and a cordial 
 "Howdy" broke the monotony of my 
 trudge on Broadway one day. I turned, 
 and the grasp of friendship that greeted 
 me, and the affectionate inquiries that 
 rained upon me, were quite cheering. It 
 was Mr. Ed Rice, of "Evangeline" 
 fame, who was so solicitous. He had 
 been looking everywhere for me. I was 
 the one being on earth, it seemed, with 
 whom it was absolutely necessary for him 
 to come in contact. 
 
 " It's all right my boy; comic opera is 
 your sphere. There's where you're a dead 
 sure winner," he exclaimed. 
 
 " But the voice — I don't sing !" 
 
 " Sing !" he replied, " I don't want you 
 
 i
 
 FELIX MORRIS S REMINISCENCES. I37 
 
 to sing. I wouldn't have you sing. 
 Come right along and sign with me ; I've 
 got your contract in my pocket." 
 
 Taking out numerous documents, he 
 selected one, and we adjourned to an ad- 
 jacent cafe. "What are you going to 
 have, old man ? " he asked. He was 
 always the soul of hospitality. And thus, 
 after a careful filling in of documents, 
 the ceremony ended in an attachment 
 of signatures, and my fate was sealed. 
 
 We were to open in Philadelphia at the 
 Arch Street Opera House, so we bundled 
 ourselves over there, baby daughter and 
 all, and found quarters. We hired a 
 piano and began our operatic career. 
 Vocal culture was the first step on the 
 ladder of fame. So I took singing les- 
 sons. The tianquility of home life fled,
 
 138 FELIX morris's REMINISCENCES. 
 
 an unmusical nightmare followed. Fever- 
 ish anxiety possessed us. Even our little 
 daughter's sympathy was evoked. My 
 violent eiforts distressed her. She fre- 
 quently remarked : " Poor little papa has 
 to sing so hard." To intensify the situ- 
 ation, a painful uncertainty about salary 
 forced itself upon us. From the begin- 
 ning of the enterprise we received small 
 instalments instead of the weekly sum 
 agreed upon. It was discouraging, but 
 there was no alternative. Hope sustained 
 us, and enthusiasm did not desert us, and 
 Ed Rice was such an ingenuous, plaus- 
 ible debtor, so fertile in promises that 
 your ire was soothed, your anxiety al- 
 layed^ and before an interview with him 
 ended, your magnanimity and admiration 
 were aroused in his behalf.
 
 FELIX MORRIS S REMINISCENCES. I39 
 
 We produced, after several other efforts, 
 "Lieutenant Helene," a comic opera, in 
 which I played a burgomaster. Henry 
 Dixey was my secretary and Hubert 
 Wilke made his first appearance in an 
 English-speaking role in this same piece. 
 I mention the fact simply to recall 
 Henry Dixey's wonderful imitation of 
 Irving, which he first attempted in this 
 production. My comic operatic experi- 
 ence came abruptly to a most unsatisfac- 
 tory end, with the enterprising manager 
 very considerably in our debt. His as- 
 surances of speedy settlement were never 
 fulfilled, although our frequent applica- 
 tion kept the matter constantly before 
 him. My wife undertook the doubtful 
 task of making a collection, and I must 
 own that she invariablv received the
 
 I40 FELIX MORRIS S REMINISCENCES. 
 
 politest attention and warmest welcome. 
 But that was all she did receive. The 
 nearest approach to a settlement was an 
 expression of regret that she had not 
 arrived a little sooner, as she might have 
 accepted a turkey, which he had received 
 from a friend in Boston, and had gener- 
 ously bestowed upon a more fortunate 
 creditor. That turkey, as he sententiously 
 remarked, would have been something on 
 account, anyhow ! 
 
 The idea finally occurred to us that we 
 could better stand the slings and arrows of 
 outrageous fortune in a very modest 
 establishment of our own. We, therefore, 
 discovered a little flat and furnished it in 
 the simplest manner, our sitting-room 
 having to remain in a state of nature, so 
 to speak, as our funds would not admit
 
 FELIX MORRIS S REMINISCENCES. I4I 
 
 of the luxury of furniture of so elaborate 
 description as is demanded by sitting- 
 rooms. Snugly installed in our own home 
 we could work out our salvation and live 
 according to our slender and uncertain 
 means, we said. The Puritan simplicity 
 of our surroundings did not lessen our 
 contentment nor dampen our enjoyment. 
 A few little plants, a hyacinth or two, a 
 little caged songster and a sweet little 
 baby voice gladdened our home and 
 lightened our cares. Thus encouraged, 
 blessed hope grew strong again. 
 
 Our sitting-room, with its open grate, 
 we converted into a grand playroom. The 
 bare floors were just the things for our 
 romps and the huge fire sparkled and 
 crackled and roared at our games. It 
 was almost a disappointment when our
 
 142 FELIX MORRIS S REMINISCENCES. 
 
 means enabled us to furnish the sitting- 
 room, and most unexpectedly the oppor- 
 tunity came about for us to do so. A 
 lady called upon us with a letter of intro- 
 duction from one of my artist friends and 
 proceeded to explain that she was desirous 
 of appearing in the guise of a dramatic 
 author. She knew nothing of the require- 
 ments of that most difficult branch of 
 literature. She had an idea, she thought, 
 which was susceptible of dramatic treat- 
 ment. She produced a very slim scenario 
 and asked me to undertake the matter for 
 her. The comedy must be in four acts, 
 she said, and ready for her by Thursday. 
 It was Monday when she presented her- 
 self, and if she approved of my work she 
 promised to pay me a snug sum. Her 
 offer opened up to view a new El Dorado. 
 
 I
 
 FELIX MORRIS S REMINISCENCES. 143 
 
 The amount offered seemed a small 
 fortune. INIy name was not to appear in 
 the transaction at all, but from one point 
 of view, at least, this was an evident ad- 
 vantage, as I could not hope for fame 
 from any such forced labor. After some 
 argument an extension of time was granted, 
 and I promised completion of the woik 
 by Saturday morning. That gave me 
 four days and nights for the effort. The 
 playroom became my workroom. I rolled 
 off sheet after sheet of arrant nonsense, 
 my wife copying away for dear life. 
 The pressure was tremendous, and we sat 
 up all night. Meals were forgotten and 
 sleep defied until the poor brain rebelled. 
 Something had to be done. Tennyson 
 derived inspiration from gin and water, 
 we said, and so I tried gin and milk.
 
 144 FELIX MORRIS S REMINISCEN'CES. 
 
 This was a rude shock to my helpmate's 
 ideas on the subject of temperance and 
 moderation. But I carried out my plan, 
 arguing that my stimulant was a modifica- 
 tion of the poet laureate's. The nourish- 
 ment derived from the milk, and the 
 brain stimulant yielded by the juniper 
 juice, was all that I required, and so at 
 regular intervals, homoeopathic doses of 
 the beverage were supplied, and the four 
 acts were at last completed. 
 
 Gaunt and weary and worn, we re- 
 ceived the lady on Saturday morning and 
 went through the ordeal of reading that 
 which had been so hastily prepared. To 
 our indescribable delight she pronounced 
 herself charmed with the piece, and gen- 
 erously paid into our itching palms the 
 amount agreed upon. She immediately
 
 FELIX morris's REMINISCENCES. 145 
 
 left for Washington, and we saw her no 
 more. What the fate of the piece was 
 I never knew. I am only certain of one 
 thing, and that is that it was never pro- 
 duced. 
 
 X. 
 
 I\Ir. Samuel Colville had, at consider- 
 able expense, procured the rights of pro- 
 duction of the then reigning Parisian suc- 
 cess, the "Pavements of Paris." D'Ennery, 
 that master of melodrama, was one of the 
 authors of the piece ; it was adapted by 
 Cauzeran and produced in splendid shape 
 at Niblo's I was one of what the play 
 bills termed "a carefully selected cast," 
 and we had a run of six weeks there to 
 good business. The expenses were heavv, 
 however, and the piece was adjudged un-
 
 146 FELIX morris's REMINISCENCES. 
 
 profitable for the road, and was with- 
 drawn on that account. I was seized 
 with the idea that there was material in 
 the piece, and that it could be worked 
 into a great popular success. The heavy 
 scenery would have to be simplified, the 
 plot condensed, etc. ; and I mentioned my 
 convictions to my wife. 
 
 My excuse for the introduction of this 
 subject at the beginning of this chapter is to 
 record a fact which we deemed to be most 
 important at the time, and that is that we 
 made our first bank deposit during the run 
 of the "Pavements of Paris," now some 
 eight years ago. Mr. Colville gave me a let- 
 ter of introduction to his bankers, and with 
 a kindly hand-shake said : " I don't know 
 any one I am more delighted to introduce 
 or to indorse." The opening of our bank
 
 FELIX morris's reminiscences. 147 
 
 account was brought about by the most 
 careful management, of course, and by a 
 systematic saving and curtailing — a con- 
 stant watchfulness of corners. It meant 
 self-denial in many ways, but we were 
 convinced from actual experience that Mr. 
 Micawber's advice as to the expenditure 
 of an annual income was absolutely cor- 
 rect, and the only way to insure happiness 
 or success was by living a little within 
 one's income. We have continued our 
 plans with satisfactory results, and "the 
 measure of meal " has never become ex- 
 hausted, and the "cruse of oil" has not 
 run dry. 
 
 As this is the last opportunity I may 
 have of mentioning Mr. Samuel Colville's 
 name, it is my duly to record my obliga- 
 tions to him. I liked him very much. The 
 7
 
 148 FELIX morris's REMINISCENCES. 
 
 feeling was mutual. He always thought 
 of me in any of his many productions. 
 His word was his bond. His interest in 
 me was most kindly, and many is the loan 
 he has obliged me with to tide over some 
 unexpected difficulty. His advice was 
 always sound and his business ideas were 
 excellent. I was greatly indebted to him, 
 and we venerate his memory. 
 
 I was engaged to create a part in Bart- 
 ley Campbell's new piece entitled "Sepa- 
 ration." The offer was made in glowing 
 terms and was considered at the time quite 
 a recognition for me, as the rest of the cast 
 was composed of the stock of the Union 
 Square Theater. It was an excellent com- 
 pany, too, with Charles Coghlan in the 
 lead, Mr. Parselle in the old men parts 
 (and how admirable he was)! Mr. Stod-
 
 FELIX MORRIS S REMINISCENCES. 1 49 
 
 dard played eccentrics in a manner at 
 once unctuous, quaint, artistic and mag- 
 netic. And what a simple, kindly soul he 
 is! I never heard him speak of himself 
 on any occasion. Joseph Whiting was 
 also in the cast, also Eleanor Carey, Maud 
 Harrison, Effie Ellsler, Mrs. Phillips. 
 Altogether the company was excellent and 
 the production a great success. Bartley 
 Campbell's work was lauded by press and 
 public, and the Union Square Theater 
 night after night was filled to overflowing. 
 The one hundredth performance of the 
 piece was celebrated with a supper in Del- 
 monico's best style. This was tendered to 
 the company by Bartley Campbell. Joseph 
 Howard, Jr., Steele Mackaye and several 
 other distinguished guests attended, and 
 the evening was in every way a memor-
 
 I 50 FELIX MORRIS S REMINISCENCES. 
 
 able one. Mr. Campbell had devised a 
 number of surprises for the ladies, one of 
 which was a canary bird cunningly hidden 
 in what appeared to be a mould of Char- 
 lotte Russe. Each lady was served in 
 this way. The floral decorations were 
 beautiful, too, and the speeches were 
 worth listening to. There is no happier 
 after-dinner speaker than Steele Mackaye, 
 and no one can be more entertaining 
 than Mr, Howard. The eulogies be- 
 stowed upon Bartley Campbell touched 
 him to the heart, and it was with difficulty 
 that he concluded his remarks with any- 
 thing like coherency. The disease which 
 at last proved fatal was already making 
 inroads upon him, and the haziness of 
 infancy was returning. He was very sad. 
 His fate was really terrible. His was a
 
 FELIX MORRIS S REMINISCENCES. I5I 
 
 bound from penury to comparative afilu- 
 ence. He was a great worker, and suc- 
 cess seemed ever at his elbow. Fortune 
 toyed with him for awhile and then re- 
 morselessly, as she sometimes does, flung 
 him over, bereft of everything. Death 
 was his best friend. 
 
 The "Pavements of Paris" had again 
 tempted fortune under the capable man- 
 agement of Mr. John Rickaby, but with 
 no better results, when it occurred to my 
 wife to lay my proposition before Messrs. 
 Colville and Rickaby. They were averse 
 to any further outlay. INIr, Colville had 
 already sunk eighteen thousand dollars in 
 the piece, and it was hoi)eless. "But," 
 urged my wife, " my husband will do the 
 work on approval." And so permission 
 was eventually granted, and I set to work.
 
 152 FELIX MORRIS S REMINISCENCES. 
 
 I reconstructed the piece, wrote in one 
 catchy, clap-trappy act, founded on an 
 act in the "Two Orphans," wrote up the 
 comedy scenes, making them part and 
 parcel of the main plot, simplified the 
 heavy scenery, opened the piece with a 
 strong prologue and put in a hissing, 
 whistling locomotive steaming on the stage 
 in the last act as a grand and novel 
 feature of the nineteenth century. My re- 
 vised version was received with acclaim. 
 An excellent, hard-working, experienced 
 company was engaged, and after much 
 careful preparation we started for Chicago 
 one sweltering August day. 
 
 McVickar's Theater was the scene of 
 our triumph, for so it proved. The melo- 
 drama caught the fancy of the public. 
 Our original lime was extended from two
 
 FELIX morris's REMINISCENCES. 153 
 
 weeks to four, and our business was 
 extraordinary in spite of hot weatiier. The 
 papers considered the work far ahead of 
 the ordinary melodrama. There were 
 some picturesque views and tableaux of 
 the rag-picker's side of Parisian life, wiih 
 a quaint wedding procession, winding up 
 with a wild bacchanal. The curtain used 
 to go up and down five and six times on 
 one particular stage picture. The debt, 
 on account of the original production, was 
 soon wiped out, and there was nothing on 
 the road that season as successful as the 
 " Pavements of Paris. " 
 
 In all my experience I never remember 
 any company that worked so admirably 
 together as this one of ours. John Rick- 
 aby had used great judgment in his selec- 
 tions. 'Each actor was physically qualified
 
 154 FELIX MORRIS S REMINISCENCES. 
 
 for his part, and was at the same time 
 thoroughly experienced. Harold Fosberg, 
 for instance, was a seedy representative of 
 disgraced nobility, with the manners of a 
 courtier and the principles of a pickpocket. 
 In this grimly humorous style of part he 
 was unequaled. I recall a performance 
 of Robert Macaire, by Fosberg, years ago 
 in Albany, which I have never seen 
 equaled. He had the height of the great 
 Frederic Lemaitre (the original Robert 
 Macaire) and much of the eccentric bra- 
 vado characteristic of that great actor ; also 
 broad flashes of intensity and a strong vein 
 of irresistible humor. 
 
 So pleased was Mr. John Rickaby with 
 general results that he came to me towards 
 the end of the season with a proposition 
 to adapt, or rather dramatize ' ' YoUng Mrs.
 
 FELIX morris's REMINISCENCES, I 55 
 
 Geoffrey, "by the Duchess, for Miss Helen 
 Dauvray, He was to be that lady's man- 
 ager the following season, and the piece 
 had to be ready in four weeks. I read 
 the novel, at once realized the stupendous 
 difficulties in the way of making a play 
 out of such a mass of rubbish, and felt 
 inclined not to entertain the proposition, 
 but finally yielded and made the attempt. 
 The silly, impossible plot was of very little 
 assistance to me. I was exhausted, more- 
 over, the work of the season having been 
 arduous. I had played two parts at every 
 performance, both very distinct and very 
 laborious, and I felt, with such material, 
 my labor in Miss Dauvray 's behalf would 
 be in vain. I struggled on, however, and 
 handed in Act I, which was deemed per- 
 fectly satisfactory. Each succeeding week
 
 156 FELIX morris's REMINISCENCES. 
 
 found an act complete and accepted, and 
 in the stipulated time the play was finished 
 and payments were made according to 
 agreement. 
 
 I record herewith my admiration of and 
 gratitude to John Rickaby, who was a 
 wonderfully excellent business man, a 
 steadfast friend and the first of American 
 managers, perhaps, to pick me especially 
 out of the rut and place me on some dis- 
 tinct eminence. His faith and absolute 
 confidence in me were unbounded, and 
 when he died we lost a true friend, indeed. 
 The reason of the whole inexplicable 
 hurry afterwards transpired. Miss Dau- 
 vray had determined to make her re-appear- 
 ance by a certain date, and, having taken 
 a fancy to the character of Young Mrs. 
 Gocfjrey, she seemed to think any mediuni
 
 fELiJc morris's reminiscences. 157 
 
 would do for her introduction to a New 
 York public. That object once attained, 
 the rest, she believed, would be plain 
 sailing. There was no lack of funds. 
 The Star Theater was engaged, and every- 
 thing in the way of scenery and upholstery 
 that could be asked for to ensure success 
 was supplied. An excellent company 
 was engaged, and the piece entitled 
 " ]\Iona " w'as produced. It was a failure. 
 It ran for three weeks, but was then with- 
 drawn. It was the means, however, of 
 placing E. H. Sothern in a more prom- 
 inent position before the public than he 
 had hitherto occupied. He played an 
 eccentric part in " Mona," and made a hit 
 which led to his re-engagement b\' Miss 
 Dauvray in subsequent productions, and 
 brought him eventually to the notice of
 
 158 FELIX morris's REMINISCENCES. 
 
 the Frohmans, and thus indirectly the 
 general public have gained by my failure 
 in Mr. Sothern's well-merited success and 
 universal popularity as the portrayer of the 
 Burglar, Lord Chtmiley, Allan Rolliit, 
 etc., etc. The result of my attempt at 
 adaptation, although expected, was a 
 severe blow to my pride. A thousand 
 dollars had been paid for my work without 
 a grumble, a fact that intensified my de- 
 spair. Overwork did not account for the 
 failure, and an increased bank account 
 would not bring sleep to my weary brain. 
 Mrs. Felix suggested a trip to England, 
 and her proposition was eagerly enter- 
 tained. Fourteen years had elapsed since 
 I left my native land. The change would 
 be beneficial, I told myself, and I would 
 return within a month restored in health,
 
 
 Tin-: SCOTCH PROFESSOR.
 
 tELlX MORRIS S REMINISCENCES. 1^9 
 
 and ready to renew the struggle. The 
 next chapter will reveal how I went, what 
 I did and ihe length of lime that did elapse 
 before I returned to America. 
 
 XI. 
 
 I landed in England after an absence of 
 fourteen years, and found myself almost a 
 stranger there, although relatives were 
 alive and former friends still in existence. 
 We looked so different to each other — so 
 shop-worn and battered by the hand of 
 time — we had diverged so completely in 
 our careers that we seemed to have little 
 or nothing in common, and the feeling of 
 disappointment that came over me was no 
 doubt shared by them. I had been an un- 
 known quantity for so many years that, 
 although my welcome was a kindly one,
 
 1 6o FELIX morris's REMINISCENCES. 
 
 I felt it was extended to me more from a 
 sense of duty than from the old-time love 
 and family feeling. 
 
 I had been irregular in my correspond- 
 ence, as one is apt to be when the 
 Struggle is unremitting and frequently 
 overwhelming. It was my own fault, but 
 I could not help realizing that " the place 
 thereof knew me no more," and I deter- 
 mined at once to return to my family in 
 America. I called in at Charing Cross, 
 on my way to the steamship office, for my 
 letters, and found one from an old Mon- 
 treal friend, asking me to meet him that 
 day at the Conservative Club. I kept the 
 appointment, and was amazed to find that 
 he wanted me to play in a piece to be pro- 
 duced in two weeks from that date at the 
 Strand Theater. It was a localized ver-
 
 FELIX morris's REMINISCENCES. l6l 
 
 sion of "Ultimo" or "The Big Bonanza," 
 as it was called in America. The title 
 given to it in Lonilon was "On 'Change." 
 I was to play the part of the Professor, 
 and to make it more realistic I was to use 
 the Scotch dialect. My friend felt certain 
 the Scotch impersonation would attract 
 more attention, as nothing of the kind had 
 been attempted in London for years. I 
 agreed to everything, as it was for a 
 matinee performance only, and my per- 
 formance of the part was merely to oblige 
 my friend, who appeared to have set his 
 heart upon the production. The part was 
 placed in my hands. I re-wrote it in the 
 Scotch dialect, cabled my wife and 
 daughter to start immediately for London, 
 and set about a most careful preparation 
 of the part. I attended the rehearsals and
 
 1 62 FELIX morris's REMINISCE^•CES. 
 
 felt very shy and uncomfortable, although 
 I received the kindest consideration from 
 the company. Mr. William Farren (a 
 grand old actor, unapproachable to-day 
 in his line) played the opposite part to 
 me. Monsieur Marius was our stage 
 manager; and as our opening date came 
 near, I could see that my efforts at re- 
 hearsals had made no particular impres- 
 sion on M. Marius or any other of those 
 interested in the production. 
 
 I confess that I held myself well in 
 hand, doing everything that was neces- 
 sary, but repressing the one touch of 
 nature and omitting the minute details. 
 These finishing touches I most carefully 
 worked over in private. In the meantime 
 my wife and daughter had arrived, and we 
 were glad to be together again. The mati-
 
 FELIX morris's REMINISCENCES. l6j 
 
 nee performance of "On 'Change" was 
 to take place on Tuesday, and we made 
 arrangements to start for New York by the 
 White Star Line the following Thursday. 
 Not a word had been said about me in 
 any of the preliminary press notices. My 
 name appeared in the cast as if I had been 
 in the habit of making a nightly appear- 
 ance before the great London public for 
 years past, and on account of that nothing 
 was expected of me. I was a simple 
 nonentity, and my wife and I both said 
 that if the whole thing was a failure no 
 harm could come of it, and that we could, 
 at any rate, say we made "one consecu- 
 tive appearance " in the great English 
 metropolis. 
 
 We were relegated to a cubby- hole of a 
 dressing-room near the flies, on the event-
 
 164 FELIX morris's REMINISCENCES. 
 
 ful Tuesday afternoon, and I must con- 
 fess to a very considerable degree of trep- 
 idation and nervousness as my make-up 
 progressed. We comforted ourselves with 
 the idea that the ordeal would soon be 
 over, and thus fortified I faced, for the 
 first lime in my life, a London public. 
 The house was crowded, and the audience 
 was silent and most attentive. I was 
 listened to for a short time very quietly. 
 Suddenly something seemed to strike the 
 audience as being mirth-provoking and 
 from that moment peal after peal of 
 laughter greeted the sayings and doings of 
 the Scotch Professor. His national char- 
 acteristics were recognized; his tesliness, 
 his frugality, his egotism — every little point 
 was taken up and endorsed in a manner 
 that was almost bewildering to me.
 
 FELIX morris's REMINISCENCES. 1 65 
 
 Between the acts my wife and I com- 
 pared notes. I thought the piece was a 
 success, but she felt uncertain. A Lon- 
 don audience was more demonstrative 
 than ours, she argued, and so we doubted 
 and wavered in our opinion until the 
 final curtain dropped. In the meantime, 
 and unknown to us, a popular manager 
 had already negotiated for the production of 
 "On 'Change" for a run. As my wife and 
 I quietly prepared to leave the theater, we 
 were set upon by a small mob of congrat- 
 ulators. We felt very much embarrassed, 
 and thought such enthusiasm unwarranted. 
 
 The morrow set our minds at rest, how- 
 ever. Every newspaper in London con- 
 tained detailed notices of the piece. It 
 was pronounced the hit of the season; the 
 great dailies, The Times, Standard, Daily
 
 i66 FELIX morris's reminiscences. 
 
 Telegraph, Daily Neivs and Morning 
 Chronicle were full of the most elaborate 
 and carefully written criticisms. 
 
 In all my career I had never evoked half 
 the eulogies lavished on me by the London 
 press. Their recognition was unstinted 
 and unanimous. They placed me unhesi- 
 tatingly on a par with their best character 
 actors. From absolute obscurity, at least 
 so far as London was concerned, I leapt 
 into the sunshine of reputation. Such an 
 achievement, the press declared, was 
 almost without a parallel. Even Punch's 
 commendation was absolute ; its article 
 ending with the following : "We wonder 
 if the Scotch Professor will have shrewd- 
 ness enough to make the same use of 
 the hit he has made in "On 'Change" 
 that Mr. Sothern did in "Lord Dun-
 
 FELIX morris's REMINISCENCES. 1 67 
 
 dreary" and Mr. Jefferson in " Rip Van 
 Winkle." 
 
 I trust I may not be misunderstood in 
 my Statements. My motive is not one of 
 self-laudation or exaggeration. I state the 
 incidents and facts as they occurred, and 
 my personal friends insist that it is my 
 duty to publish them, as they have never 
 in any way been referred to since my re- 
 turn to America. It was indeed the tide 
 in affairs which, if taken at the flood, would 
 have led to fortune, but from untoward cir- 
 cumstances we were unable to avail our- 
 selves of the golden opportunity. It was 
 conceded that the Scoich Professor (nobody 
 ever spoke of me in the matter — it was 
 always the Scoich Professor) was indispen- 
 sible to the production of " On 'Change, " 
 and I referred the applicants for my services
 
 1 68 FELIX morris's reminiscences. 
 
 to Mrs. Felix as my business manager. It 
 is needless to say she made most satis- 
 factory terms with them and I was engaged 
 for the run of the piece. 
 
 In commenting upon my singular good 
 fortune, Mr. Harrison Grey Fiske, of the 
 New Yoik Mirror, said: "Felix Morris 
 has done in London, in one afternoon, 
 more than he has been able to accomplish 
 in fourteen years of conscientious and un- 
 tiring effort in America." It did appear 
 so at the time, perhaps, but on reflection 
 it will be seen how widely different is the 
 situation between the London stage and 
 that of America. London is the artistic 
 and authoritative focus of the land. The 
 greater enthusiasm of the London public 
 is accounted for by greater familiarity in 
 my case with the character portrayed. The
 
 FELIX MOKRIS'S RKJIINISCENCES. 169 
 
 Scotch Professor could never have created 
 the impression here that he did there, be- 
 cause he would be an unfamiliar type here. 
 Again, we have several centers ox foci. The 
 endorsement of one is not always followed 
 by the approval of the others. A New 
 York success often fails to win favor in 
 Boston or Philadelphia or Chicago. 
 
 The hits I had made in America from 
 time to time were invariably followed by 
 the disappearances incident to the piece 
 being taken en tour after the run in New 
 York. It is only by a constant and steady 
 appearance before the public that any 
 serious and lasting impression can be 
 made. 
 
 We produced "On 'Change" at Toole's 
 Theater in August, and it ran at various 
 theaters in London uninterruptedly until
 
 ijO FELIX MORRIS S REMINISCENCES. 
 
 the end of the following May. We played 
 it, counting matinees in London, at the 
 Crystal Palace and at Brighton, three hun- 
 dred and sixty consecutive times, and Mr. 
 Hawtree, of the Globe Theater, said to 
 me that if he had owned the piece he 
 would have gotten three years out of it. 
 Dissentions between the partners, how- 
 ever, brought things to a climax, and this 
 valuable theatrical property was prema- 
 turely withdrawn, although still playing to 
 excellent business. In the meantime, we 
 were most comfortably ensconced in a de- 
 lightful little villa in St. John's Wood. 
 We made some very pleasant acquaintances 
 among our artist neighbors. We had 
 several friends from America to spend the 
 summer with us, and the arrival of a little 
 English daughter enlarged our family
 
 FELIX MORRIS S REMINISCENCES. I7I 
 
 circle and added to our happiness and 
 general prosperity. 
 
 After playing the Sco/c/i Professor for 
 some fifty performances, it was rumored 
 about that I was a Scotchman and could 
 play nothing but that style of part, so I 
 produced, as a part of the same bill, the 
 farce, "Turn Him Out," in which I played 
 the part of a Cockney costermonger. The 
 public was delighted and the press was 
 most generous in its approval. After that, 
 anything I attempted received the kindest 
 consideration. During the run of "On 
 'Change " I was surprised one night by a 
 knock at my dressing-room door. I 
 opened it and found a pleasant-faced little 
 man standing there. I asked him in. He 
 said, warmly, shaking my hand at the 
 time: "I won't interrupt you, and I want
 
 172 FELIX MORRIS S REMINISCENCES. 
 
 to see your next act, but I felt I must 
 come and congratulate you on your splen- 
 did work. My name is John Hare; good- 
 by, good by ; come and see me ! " A 
 kinder tribute was never offered by one 
 actor to another. Here was an artist in 
 my own particular line of business, a 
 great popular favorite and successful man- 
 ager, who went out of his way to con- 
 gratulate and encourage me. I was in- 
 deed touched by his kindness and shall 
 always remember it. 
 
 We had the most distinguished audi- 
 ences. The Prince and Princess of Wales 
 and other members of the royal family 
 were present on various occasions, but in 
 spite of all my success I was unhappy, 
 for my health was wretched. I shunned 
 society. I only popped my nose into the
 
 FELIX MORRIS S REMINISCENCKS. I 73 
 
 Savage Club once, and immediately with- 
 drew it again, as there appeared to be a 
 very animated discussion going on and 
 clouds of tobacco smoke filled the air. 
 The Green-room Club I visited twice. 
 It was most cosy and pleasant, but I had 
 no heart for such visits, which was, of 
 course, unfortunate, for in England it is 
 necessary to be seen and to meet people. 
 They are enthusiastic and hospitable and 
 they want to know what manner of man 
 you are. If I had been in good health 
 I would have taken a theater, and with 
 some good play by a writer of acknowl- 
 edged ability would have followed up the 
 advantage 1 had secured from my triumph 
 in " On 'Change. " This course being im- 
 practicable, I went starring in the prov- 
 inces ; I visited those cities that had not
 
 1 74 FELIX MORRIS S REMINISCENCES. 
 
 already been assailed by the country com- 
 pany which had been playing the piece 
 during the whole of the London run. 
 Glasgow was one city that we played in, 
 and Belfast another, and Dublin and 
 Cork were also in the list. In Ireland 
 it was decided that I should play Kerry as 
 a first piece. Fortunately for me Mr. 
 Boucicault had not played there for many 
 years, and his great impersonation of 
 Kerry was but dimly remembered. On 
 that account mine found favor and was 
 splendidly received. It was rather beard- 
 ing the lion in his den, I thought, but the 
 cordial sons of Erin took me to their 
 hearts as one of their own countrymen, 
 some of the newspapers going so far as to 
 locate my birthplace in the County Cork. 
 My manager would not hear of any cor-
 
 FELIX MORRIS S REMINISCENXKS. I 75 
 
 rection being made or of any information 
 being supplied that would dispel the illu- 
 sion that all the Morrises were of Irish 
 origin. 
 
 Of my experience since that memorable 
 trip to Ireland, of my final appearance in 
 England and of our return to America, 
 much might be written that I have left 
 unsaid. Whenever I have thought of just 
 where to end these random recollections, 
 it has occurred to me that the peculiarity 
 about all reminiscences is that they resem- 
 ble Mr. Tennyson's Brook ; and so, if I 
 have happily escaped the charge thus far 
 of running on forever, let me save my 
 reputation by ending my story not very 
 far from here. 
 
 For the attention my reminiscences 
 have received and for the many letters that
 
 176 FELIX morris's REMINISCENCES. 
 
 have come to me from those whose sym- 
 pathies are quickened by the trials and 
 triumphs of a fellow creature, I am deeply 
 grateful. If I have done anything in re- 
 turn to interest those who have followed 
 my unpretentious narrative, I shall feel, 
 to paraphrase a somewhat overworked 
 comparison, that though a man may relin- 
 quish his lofty aspirations to excel in 
 tragedy and consent to tread the more pro- 
 saic walks of comedy, still, if by honestly 
 telling the story of his life he instructs, 
 entertains or encourages others, then may 
 it be said of him that "he has not lived 
 in vain." 
 
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