Salt Lake Herald | 1891-04-30 | Page 6 | Barrett and the Dictionary

Barrett and tho Dictionary Poverty and drudgery kept Lawrence Barrett out of school and only when callboy call-boy did he really learn to read Then that head of his came to his aid Begging candle ends from the theater he would go to his wretched little room and stickthem on tacks purposely nailed into the floor as the ends were too short for a candlestick There lying flat on his stomach the future tragedian taught himself to read out of an old copy of Johnsons dictionary Ill wager I can trip you up on the first page said Laurence Hutton on being told this incident Try me replied Barrett A very extraordinary page is that first of Johnsons dictionary beginning with such unusual words as aaronical abacist abatis all of which Barrett spelled and defined correctly Whats abacot A cap of state used mold times by our English kings wrought up in the figure of two crowns Whats abannition A banishment one or two years for manslaughter Whats abditory A place to hide and preserve goods in The very words of a dictionary that Bar rett had not opened forthirtyyears Kate Fields Washington