The autobiography of Joseph Jefferson . pon the stage, humminga sprightly song, I thought him the handsomestlow comedian I had ever seen. He had a neat,dapper little figure, and a face full of lively expres-sion. His audience was with him from first to last,his effective style and great flow of animal spiritscapturing them and myself too — though I mustconfess that I had a hard struggle even inwardlyto acknowledge it. As I look back and call to mind the slight touchof envy that I felt that night, I am afraid that I had 82 JOSEPH JEFFERSON hoped to see something not quite so good, and wasa Httl
The autobiography of Joseph Jefferson . pon the stage, humminga sprightly song, I thought him the handsomestlow comedian I had ever seen. He had a neat,dapper little figure, and a face full of lively expres-sion. His audience was with him from first to last,his effective style and great flow of animal spiritscapturing them and myself too — though I mustconfess that I had a hard struggle even inwardlyto acknowledge it. As I look back and call to mind the slight touchof envy that I felt that night, I am afraid that I had 82 JOSEPH JEFFERSON hoped to see something not quite so good, and wasa Httle annoyed to find him such a capital actor;in short, I experienced those unpleasant twingesof jealousy that will creep over us during themoments when we are not at our best — thougfhthese feelings may occasionally produce a goodresult. In me, I know, it stirred up the first greatambition that I remember ever to have felt, andfrom that night of pleasure and excitement I re-solved to equal Owens some day, if I could. f/. ?11 ? JOHN E. OWENS AS SOLON SHINGLE. Chapter IV EARLY DAYS IN PHILADELPHIA AND NEW YORK Ci^ossing the Alleghanies — My Friend the ScenePainter—William E. Burton — An Effort i7iGreek Tragedy — Charles Burke IT was now decided that my mother and sistershould remain in New Orleans with some oldfriends while I went to join my half-brotherin Philadelphia. He had been urging us for sometime to come to the North, writing that arrange-ments were made for me to act the second comedyto himself and W. E. Burton, then manager of theArch Street Theater. My mother was banker, andso had charge of the money. I took enough tosee me to Philadelphia, supposing that no accidentwould happen; but before our steamer arrived atWheeling the river was blocked with ice, and wewere delayed over a week before we could reachthe line of stages that crossed the AlleghanyMountains. 84 THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY Some of the old folks of to-day, who live only inthe past and stolidly witnes
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