John McCullough AS Man, Actor and Spirit BY SUSIE C. CLARK Author of "A Look Upward," "Pilate's Query," etc. " Thou art " mighty yet! Thy spirit walks abroad." Julius C&sar WITH ILLUSTRATIONS BOSTON MURRAY AND EMERY COMPANY 1905 VIRGINIUS FA/ . Copyright in 1905 by SUSIE C. CLARK. All rights reserved. INSCRIBED WITH REVERENT LOVE TO THE FA.DELESS MEMORY OF Cental 3nlftt CONTENTS. Chapter I. Introductory 9 II. The Dawn 15 III. The New World 23 IV. The Open Door 29 V. The Golden Gate 39 VI. The Golden Gate (Continued) 53 VII. In Other Fields 61 VIII. McCullough in Boston ' 75 IX. In the Metropolis 92 X. In the Metropolis (Continued) 104 XI. His Greatest Role Ill XII. His Wide Travels 124 XIII. Four Notable Banquets 136 XIV. A Sketch from His Pen 153 XV. Twilight 167 XVI. Sunrise 182 XVII. Impressive Obsequies 200 XVIII. Further Tributes 221 XIX. Final Honors 229 XX. Beyond the Bar 249 XXI. The Next Act in Life's Drama 259 XXII. His Public Work 269 XXIII. Class Work 286 XXIV. As Message Bearer 302 XXV. Reminiscences 310 XXVI. Spiritual Reveries 323 XXVII. Personal 334 XXVIII. The Voice of the Stars. 345 ILLUSTRATIONS. Virginius Frontispiece Coriolanus 82 Spartacus 174 McCullough Memorial 232 Virginius 266 JOHN McCuLLoucH AS MAN, ACTOR AND SPIRIT CHAPTER I. INTRODUCTORY. The harp that once thro' Tara's halls The soul of music shed Now hangs as mute on Tara's walls As if that soul were fled. So sleeps the pride of former days, So glory's thrill is o'er, And hearts that once beat high for praise Now feel that pulse no more." Thomas Moore, Fair Emerald Isle! In verdure clad, thy banks and hills still cheer the eyes of "weary, homesick men far out at sea." Fain would they, as Columbus did of yore, on a Western shore, kneel and kiss thy fair, green sod, which affords the first welcome glimpse of land. Like a sleeping princess thou dost rest upon the breast of thine ardent wooer the Neptune god! 10 JOHN McCULLOUGH A stormy record has been thine ! Kings and potentates have fought for the prize of thy possession. Thy green turf has been crimson dyed with sanguinary conflict, thy pure atmosphere polluted with plot and intrigue, thy ruined fanes have suffered the despoiler's hand. But from out this sore travail, thou hast given birth to kingly sons, who have grandly honored their royal lineage, statesmen, orators, poets and warriors, names whom history delights to recall Emmet, Grattan, O'Connell, Burke, Sheridan, Cas- tlereagh, Wellington, Goldsmith, Moore, O'Reilly and many another jewel in thy crown. And on one of the upper rounds of thy long ladder of Fame shines resplendent the name of still another noble son, that grand soul, great mind, tender heart and unusual person- ality of John McCullough ! God bless him ! The perspective of Time enhances true appreciation of all that is worthy of remem- brance. It is only the ignoble and puerile that the alembic of history sifts into oblivion. Great artists, creative souls, like pictures, need to be surveyed from a distance. Correct judgment, a clear discernment of their worth, INTRODUCTORY 11 is overpowered by the glamour of a too close range of observation. Even the matchless radiance of the Naza- rene was appreciated in His day by only a handful of followers, and the world does not yet comprehend or utilize the full significance of His life and message. Apology therefore is quite unnecessary for the fresh portrayal of a life which ceased on this mortal plane two decades ago, which flashed like a brilliant meteor across the sky of human activity and sank from mortal gaze all too soon. When it could be said of him, by one who knew the great tragedian well, that "no man ever lived who attached people to him as did John McCullough," it is evident that a lesson can be drawn from this life far grander than that gained from the meed bestowed upon dramatic genius alone, since Love, of which he was master and king, is "the greatest thing in the world.'' When the superintendent of Mount Moriah Cemetery, where rests the dust his great spirit once vitalized, could express profound surprise at the enduring longevity of the affection this man inspired, since the tomb of none other among the many silent occupants of his vast city of the dead, is ever sought out and in- quired for with such abiding interest, such 12 JOHN McCULLOUGH pathos of tender memory, as is that of the great actor today, a tribute is thereby paid to the majesty of a soul, which, in its passage through this world, briefly "pressed the earth but stained it not." And it is as a soul, that the writer would present him to the thoughtful consideration of the world he loved, and ever sought to bless, as a soul, uncreate, a soul whose age- long record is not compassed by the meagre half-century of this one mortal existence, a soul which was perhaps hoary with experience "before Abraham was," for only a ripened soul could make such indelible impress upon his age and time, as did this grand soul through the remarkable personality of John McCullough. To have known and admired him as the great actor, who, at last, by his affluent genius and unflagging industry, stood without a peer on the American stage, was only to survey one facet of the many-colored crystal of his beautiful character. His unimpeach- able honor, his spotless integrity, his quick, ready sympathy which led to such lavish generosity for all in need, his stanch friend- ship, unswerving fidelity, his modest, child- like humility (the test of greatness in any soul), are not these sterling attributes, and INTRODUCTORY 13 many more, indelibly inscribed on the tablets of every heart which was so blessed as to have known him? The record of his unobtrusive, unknown charities alone would fill a large volume. He owed no man anything but to love him. It speaks eloquently for his per- ennial patience and serenity, his unfailing sweetness of disposition, through every trial and vexation of his arduous profession, that he could have won and worn for so many years, the universal soubriquet of "genial John." One of his friends has testified that "when he entered a room, it was as if a glow- ing fire had been suddenly lighted in the grate; the beauty of his soul warmed one so tangibly." His life was a sermon of gentle deeds and gracious example more potent than many voiced by clerical lips. Dr. A. P. Peabody, in an address before his Harvard students, once assured them that every man should have both a vocation and an avocation; "the vocation being the prin- cipal business of life, the avocation some worthy pursuit to which one might turn aside for the play of other powers, and for refresh- ing contact with nature and human life." It would be hard to decide which was McCul- lough's chief vocation, his dramatic profession or the larger field of humanitarian impulse. 14 JOHN McCULLOUGH His life was not confined to the boards, behind the footlights. He lived himself into other lives, became absorbed in their interests and needs, in opportunities for helpfulness to friend and stranger alike. It was the broad universality of his love and fellowship that made it possible for him to enact a larger repertoire of characters than any other Amer- ican actor has ever performed, the strength and beauty of his spiritual nature making itself felt through every disguise. The fruit- age of such a soul bears a rich harvest of golden grain, one whose sheaves are seldom counted, whose work is seldom appreciated save in Death's aftermath. " He was a man, take him for all in all, I shall not look upon his like again." CHAPTER II. THE DAWN. " Sweet are the uses of adversity, Which, like the toad, ugly and venomous, Wears yet a precious jewel in his head." As You. Like It. When Lincoln was asked for some facts and circumstances in his early history to be inserted in the Congressional directory, he replied in his quaint modesty: ''They may all be compiled in one line, 'The short and simple annals of the poor.' No truer words could describe the birth and childhood of John McCullough. The curtain of his mortal existence was rung up on a scene of great obscurity and with a meagre audience, his theatre of action was restricted, limited and circumscribed by his environment, and for many years, no seer would have been so daring as to prophesy for this small Irish lad, a world-wide recogni- tion in the annals of Fame; and yet, so mys- terious are the ways in which Providence moves "its wonders to perform," this child was destined through his own innate genius and unwearied industry, his noble heart 15 16 JOHN McCULLOUGH and grand soul, to not only electrify the world with his dramatic art, but to become, years later, a factor in the religious, educa- tive and reformatory work of the twentieth century. On the north-east coast of Ireland, where the waters of the North Channel unite with the broad Atlantic, near that freak of Nature's sculpturing (with the basaltic rocks and cease- less ocean spray as material and chisel) known " as the Giant's Causeway," and at the mouth of the river Bann, is situated the town of Coleraine, in the County of Londonderry. Near this locality was the little hamlet of Blakes, where, in a modest but pleasant cot- tage, during the years from about 1825 to 1845 resided James McCullough, a farmer, and his wife, Mary.