THE TRAGIC CLOWN.

Hauraki Plains Gazette, Volume XXXX, Issue 5373, 11 January 1929, Page 4

THE TRAGIC CLOWN.

ECCENTRICS IN FACT & FICTION. ON THE STAGE AND OFF. One hundred years ago—on June 27, 1828 —Jc.e Grimaldi, the greatest clown in the annals of the theatre, made las.t bow to the public. Broken in health and spirit, almost too weak to stand, he contrived) to fulfil the announced promise to “act clown in one more scene” before his last audience. Then, in private dres.s, amidst the thunders of. applause which rang through Drury Lane, he made his farewell speech., “. . . . To-night has seqn me assume the motley for the last time —it clung to my skin as; I took it off, and the old cap and bells rang mournfully as I quitted them for ever. . . .” A SIMPLE NATURE. A life; of 'hard work and sobriety, a sentimental and protracted love affair; a simple nature, subject to profound despondency under the burden of many financial and domestic disappointments; a quiet life in a cottage; at Finchley rather than revelry in to.wn; a passion for long country walks in search of butterfly; a man of great feeling and ensibility; these do not accord with the once popular idea of a mirth-maker’s private life. Grimaldi's “Mepnoirs,” edited and prefaced by the immortal “Boz,” and illustrated by Cruiqkshank, contain little of humour, but relate many of the serious, even tragjc, adventures which befell the unlucky man whose mission it was to send crowds into paroxysms of laughter.

Young Jo,e, aged) three, made his first appearance at Sadler’s Wells — as a monkey on a chain. The; c.lown (his father) would swing him round and round, at chaiin’s length, with the velocity. Here he had first mishap. One evening the chai n broke. “The ‘monkey’ was hurled into the; pit, but escaped serious injury through (to quote “Boz”) being flung into the arms of an old gentleman who was sitting gazing at the stagp with intense interest.” A few years later Grimaldi had small parts at Sadler’s Wells and Drury Lane. Frequently he was engaged at both on the same evening land had to run from one to the other, which he is reported l to have done in eight min- ' utues; from Sadler’s Wells to the Haymarket took hilm a quarter of an hour. MISHAPS AND MISFORTUNES. At the age of nineteen Grimaldi married the daughter of one of thq proprietors of Sadler’s Wells. His courtship had h e en long, and anxious on ac.count of the difference in social status. But a reputation for hard work and, steadiness turned the scale, andi he was overjoyed l when eventually Mr Hughes gave hiS| consent. His J happiness was of short duration. In 1 the following year hits wife dic<L Joe was distracted, and Ihis mental condi- ' tion caused.great anxiety. Yet he attended the; theatre as usual, “chalking over the seams on his face, to be hailed with boisterous applause in the merry Christmas; pantomime.” ONE THING AFTER ANOTHER. His second marriage was; the outcome of another stage mishap. A pi,s-| to) was accidentally discharged in his, top boot, and while the audience laughed heartily, thinking it a goodi joke, Grimaldi continued playing his part in great agony with the inside of his boot on fire. Mites Bristow, an actress at Drury Lane, nursejj his attentively for a month, and spon afterwards she became his wife. In ISOB a mysterious incident occurred wihch greatly upset the clown. His brother, a sailor, whom he had not sqen or heard of for fourteen years, suddenly appeared at the theatre and asked for Joe. The first greetings over, the clown resumed his part on the s;tagq. On the conclusion of the performance he went to change his clothes, having arranged, that his brother should go home with him. Hurrying down from .the dressing-; room, hq made his way to the spot where he had left his brother. He Was not there. The doorkeeper reported that a man had gone out a few minutes earlier, joe rushed off in pursuit, but could see no sjign of his brother. Nor did he, or anyone, ever seq the sailor again. It was assumed that he was murdered’. “An. untoward event.” — Duke ef Wellington. An untoward event in, summer, such as a sudden change in the weather, might be the means of your catching an annoying cough or cold. Keep “Baxters” by* you. This rich, red, farming, soothing compound will bring instant relief. Baxter’s Lung Preserver, the popular specific for over sixty years, is excellent for coughs, colds, asthma, croup, an,d all throat and lung, complaints. Possesses unique properties, too. In three sizes at all chepists and stores. Generous-?ized bottle 2/6; large family size 4/6; and bacheld size 1/6.