THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF JOSEPH JEFFERSON.' AUSTRALIA. ful catastrophe that once occurred in the very sight of the spot where the ship is sailing. We N the 10th of September, 1861, stood out well to sea that night, as the weather I sailed from San Francisco had a threatening aspect, and at daylight, the in the fine ship Nimrod, wind being fair, made again for the land. The bound for Port Phillip and pilot sighted us, and brought the ship safely over the harbor of Sydney. I had the treacherous shoals into the beautiful harbor only my son, my agent, and of Sydney. Once inside, if the day be fine, what my agent's mother with me. perfect fairyland is here: the rocks are of a There were two or three other passengers besides beautiful siena tint, surmounted with rich foli­ ourselves, one of whom I must make special age in every shade of green; numerous little mention of: he was a Catholic priest, a cheer­ crescent bays edged with white sand curve in ful, pleasant man, named Father O'Grady. and out, meeting the deep blue water; islands From California to Australia is what the crowned with tall and graceful trees; parrots sailors call a fair-weather passage, most of it in the gaudiest coats of plumage fly in flocks being made through the trade-winds. Our chattering and screaming through the air; and present voyage was what might be called a the whole harbor is dotted with white sails and pleasant, uneventful trip of sixty-four days, gaily painted streamers. In the middle distance I passed most of the time in reading, sketch­ is the beautiful city of Sydney: a long, low line ing, and trying to divert Father O'Grady from of shipping stretches in front, and as the high celibacy; I told him he was altogether too bluff rises behind the tapering masts, the town, good a fellow for a single man, and assured him with its tall, white stone buildings and church that he would never know what true happi­ spires, finishes the picture. As our ship sailed ness was till he got a wife by his side and had into this dreamland of beauty there was a rich half a dozen children on his knee. Our theo­ purple haze veiling the scene; the sun shone logical arguments on the quarter-deck were a like gold in the far-ofi" horizon, and as it sank source of great amusement to ourselves and behind the city the purple deepened into blue. the passengers. O'Grady when he got excited We reached the town and dropped our anchor, would walk up and down the deck, tossing his the night came slowly on, the new constel­ long arms wildly about as if he were making lations of stars (not seen in our firmament) signals of distress. sparkled over our heads, myriads of lights in We passed to the south, and just in sight the city and the surrounding shipping were re­ of Norfolk Island, which is said to be the love­ flected in the water, and all these glittering gems liest spot in the Pacific Ocean. It was for­ twinkled and flickered like fireflies about us. merly a convict station, but the prisoners had The next morning I rose early, and rejoiced been removed for many years, and the place after sixty-four days' rolling about to get my was then, and I believe is now, occupied by feet once more upon land. As I stepped a colony called the Pitcairn Islanders. The ashore I had that curious sensation which all " mutiny of the Bounty" it will be remembered, must feel when for the first time they find them­ occurred during the latter part of the last cen­ selves in a new country where, though they tury, and the people now living on Norfolk speak the same language, not a soul knows or Island are the descendants of the mutineers. has ever heard of them. I walked through the On the 4th of November the coast of Aus­ busy streets holding my son by the hand, and tralia loomed up before us. A great wall of rocks tightly too, for it was comfort to feel that there rises almost perpendicularly from the ocean, and was some one near who knew and felt an in­ the narrow opening directly in front of us is terest in me. I seemed to regret that I had called Sydney Heads. When a ship arrives come so far from home, and wondered whether in sight of this formidable place it is custom­ I should ever be able to raise any interest ary for the sailors to inform the passengers among the vast crowd of strangers that sur­ that this is the most dangerous spot in the rounded me. world. A thrilling story at this point of the I met my agent by appointment at the lit­ voyage seems to be in order, and one of the tle hotel where we stopped, and he handed crew is generally called upon to relate an aw­ me the money he had gone in quest of The 1 Copyright, 1889, by JOSEPH JEFFERSON. All rights reserved. PRODUCED BY UNZ.ORG ELECTRONIC REPRODUCTION PROHIBITED 136 THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF JOSEPH JEFFERSON. first thing to do now was to purchase new concerned the reputation of his theater would clothes, something that would at least faintly be in no way desecrated by any Shaksperean resemble the costumes of the people, which productions. Besides, I admitted his perfect mine certainly did not in any degree. The hat right to protect himself against fraud, and is always the first thing to change; everybody that, as I was a stranger, I proposed first to looks at your hat as soon as you arrive in a show him what my material consisted of, and strange country. These little matters were soon wound up by oflfering to rent his theater and amended, and in a short hour I looked quite company, paying him a good bonus to relin­ like the people, but not a bit like myself My quish the management into our hands for a agent had been a manager in Australia some month, and that if we could agree upon terms years before, so he knew everybody. We went his money should be paid in advance. At this to the theater, where he introduced me to the proposal the hard features of Mr. Rolamo manager; and as I shall have some little softened into an oily sweetness that was lovely business relations with this gentleman of an to behold; he gendy put out both hands to interesting sort, perhaps it will be as well to grasp mine, his eyes fairly beamed on me with describe him, he being almost an historical affection, and his heart seemed so touched that character. He was an under-sized, round- it quite choked his utterance. shouldered little cockney, named Rolamo. " My dear lad," said he, " that 's the way I Where he got this remarkably Italian appel­ likes to hear a cove talk; for I always believes lation I cannot say, but if his ancestors be­ in a cove wot beheves in hisself" longed to the " land of song " they must have Terms were soon agreed upon, and it was strayed into the very heart of Whitechapel settled that the contract should be signed that just previous to the birth of their son and heir, evening and the first advance paid. In due as' his dialect was strongly impregnated with time our printing was posted on the walls, and the drawling twang of that locality. It is the lithographs — a novel feature in those days recorded of him that he never was known — were placed in the shop windows. I passed to put an h in the right place, and his talent my time in wandering about the streets, ob­ for reversing the w and v almost amounted to serving the startled inhabitants as they scanned genius. He had originally been lamplighter the pictures, stopping from time to time to lis­ in the theater, but by his industry and intelli­ ten to their remarks. gence he rose to be its manager, and he was in Of course my first night in Sydney was spent the zenith of his fame when I arrived in Aus­ at the theater, always an attractive point to the tralia. After my introduction by my agent to actor. It is said that few men are in love with Mr. Rolamo as the coming man who was to their vocation, but this remark cannot be make his (the manager's) fortune, that worthy apphed with justice to members of the theatri­ cast a patronizing eye over me, but did not cal profession; some actors will play without seem at all overwhelmed, taking my arrival salary rather than not act at all. On this oc­ with provoking coolness. This chilling atmos­ casion, however, it was more a matter of busi­ phere pervaded the office until my agent un­ ness than pleasure that took me to the play. rolled some highly inflammable printed matter, I was anxious to see the kind of acting that the novel character of which seemed to attract was most effective here, and also to examine the great man's attention, and condescending the qualities of the company in reference to to address me, he said, "You see, Mr. Jef­ their fitness for the characters in my Ust of fries,—oh, beg pardon; Jimmison, I mean,— plays. I found the acting much better than I with all due respect to you, there 'as been so expected; in fact, throughout the colonies I many blawsted Yankee comics over 'ere that was invariably impressed by this dramatic we are kind o' sick on 'em.