The Late Night Drinking Incident

The source of the infamous "stayed up in the bar writing" story seems to come from a comment by Walker in an article in the 1909 Metagame, when he was being interviewed for the Pittsburgh run. There was already a lot of friction between Walker and Henrietta by then, and the article nearly caused the cancellation of the run. Reading carefully, Walker never indicates where the drinking took place.

We stayed up drinking and writing characters, and reviling Henrietta until about three in the morning. I had the foresight to purchase some cocaine at the pharmacy, and we put that into bourbon. I was accustomed to the damnable stuff, but it had a great impact on Marsden, who was not in the habit of taking it. I am told that he found me sometime after three with my face resting on the keyboard of my Smith-Premier No. 4 (a lovely machine which I later had the misfortune to hurl out the window of the Carrolton Hotel in Baltimore).

- Sydenstricker, Oscar, "Clarence has Runs in Pittsburgh, Cleveland!" Metagame, Vol IV, No. 2, Spring 1909.

"Marsden and Walker were in Marsden's room with a typewriter propped up on the bed. They were both in unusual spirits, and Marsden was agitated and sweating. He had stripped off his tie, and had his collar unbuttoned, and kept pacing back and forth in the small space available. They were mostly making abominable stories up about King and Henrietta, which featured Walker imitating Henrietta's high pitched voice while making sexual overtures to King. Even today, one couldn't print most of what they said, it was scatalogical, and as Freud - or Dr. Roquemere [sic], would have said 'anally fixated.' It seems rather embarassing now, but at the time it was the greatest fun. Marsden would sit down with a pen and paper and both would vow that they were going to write and be still, and for a few moments there would be soft scratching and the desultory tap of typewriter keys. Then Walker would intone "Ohhhhoratio!" in a falsetto, and both would collapse in giggles and laughter, Marsden wheezing out (in a false bass...he was through most of his life a baritone, and in those days being very young, was a soprano) "Ohh...Ettttter" which was apparently the name they had decided was King's lover's endearment for Henrietta. This would provoke gales of laughter until both were almost insensate. I am ashamed to admit I laughed along with them, though as much at Marsden's antics - he was usually a very earnest and studious boy - as at anything else.

I gave up about two in the morning, and staggered back to my room with a half quart of some astonishingly bad brandy in my gullet. I was later given to understand by Marsden that he found Walker face down on the keyboard at about three, absolutely lifeless except for some drool puddling under the keyboard. He couldn't sleep at all apparently, and not only did some actual writing around four a.m., but got up and painted a backdrop that hadn't gotten finished, which was still wet the next afternoon, and thus rather smudged, but was nonetheless a respectable piece of work. He was very energetic the next morning, but ate little and asked me some questions about what color human urine ought to be."

Dr. Milton Moore, Thirty Years Lost: A LARP Doctor's Memoir, Gerald Durell Publishing by arrangement with John Cushman Associates, Inc., 1958