Plymouth banner. (Plymouth, Marshall County, Ind.) 1852-1855, 1854-06-22
4 Touching Incident.

& L ne CHitI dCttf Nd~ iaSOttte one, anf
the theatre, small provincial one. wa:
very crowded. The curtain drew up. an,
amidst u burst of applause the hero o
The piece made his appear rance He hat
hardly said twenty words when it s,rlcl
me that something was the matter of him
The play WAS bois;erous comedy of the
old school. and required considerable
spirit and yivacity on the part Of the ac
tors 10 sustain Improperly; but in thi:
man there was none; he walked and talk
ed like person in dream; his best
points he passed over without appearing
10 perceive them. and altogether appear
ed unfit for the part. His smile was
ghaslly, aud his laugh was hollow and
unnatural; an;l frequently he would stop
suddenly iii his speech. and let bis eyes
wander vacan;! over the audience. -
Es, n when in his character of silly
husband, he had to allow himself to be
kicked around the stage be- the young
rake Of the comedy. and afterwards be-
hold that careless individual making love
10 his wife and eating his supper, while
he was shut up in a closet from which he
could not emerge. his contortionS of lu-
d!crous wrath. whici. had never before
failed to call down plenty of applausa.
We're now such dismal attempts TO por-
tray he passion. that hiss~s were audible
IN various parts of the audience.
The audience were fairly out of temper,
and several inquisitive individuals were
particu.or in their inquiries as TO the ex-
tent Of the potaiionS he had INDUCED in
that evening. \ storm o: sibilution and
abuse now fell around the ear o. the de-
voted actor; and nol content with verbal
insult, orange peel anu apple few Upon
the stage. lie stopped. and turHed round
TO ;he shouting crowd. never saw such
misery in human countenance. His face
was worn aid hnggard. and large tears
rolled down his painted cheeks. saw
his lips CULVER with inward agony; saw
his bosom heaYe with conYulSions and
suppressed emotion. anu his whole mien
belokened such depth of anguish aud dis
tress. that the most ruthless heart ,nust
have ,h.obbed with pity. The audience
was moved and BY degrees the clamor of
inveciives subsidized into solemn silence,
while he stood near the foot lights, pic
ture Of detection.
When all was calm. he spoke; and in
voice broken with sobS that seemed TO
rend his bosom, proceeded to oitel this
little explanations:
Ladies and gentlemen, though in my
acting to night. am conscious Of mer-
l'inS your disPleaSure IN one thing you
do me wrong. am no, intoxicated =
Emotion alone. aud that of the mos;
painful kind. has caused me 10 fulfil my
part SO badly. My wife died but few
hours ago aud left her side 10 fulfil nay
unavoidable engagement here. | have
Lot pleased you; forgive me. loved
her. grieved for her. and if misery and
anguish can excuse fault, bear my
apology-herel'
lie placed his hand upon his heart. and
stopped. burst of teais relieved his mo-
menlary paroxysms of grief. The audi
ence were thoroughly affected. aud an
honest burst Of sympathy made the wall
tremble. Women wept loudly. and strong
mainder of the evening his performance
was scarcely audible lhfough the storm Of
applause by which the crowd sough. to
soo,he the poor fellows wounded fee
iings. There was something melancholy
In that wre.ched mans coming from the
bed of dea,h TO don gay attire and utter
studded witticism for the amuse ment of
n crowd. not one of which dteamed Of
the anguish that lay fostering upon the
painted cheek and stage smile.
And In the gay theatre Of life, how
many are there around us like lha. poor
actor. smiling at :he multitude. while at
home lies some mystery Of sorrow whose
shadow is ever present with them III busy
places. and in solitude revels upon hearts
like ghoul among the tombs.
DISTRESSING CASE OF DEsrIruTioN-
We were informed yesterday of veIy
distressing and narrowing case of desti
tuition and misery, that occurred al Law
renceville day or two ago. a young
man from one of lhe eastern states. whose
name we could not learn, and who has
resided in Mississippi for some time past,
arrived in that village last week. on his
way home. He had barely means enough
to bring him TO that place, and after his
arrival was completely destitute Of mon
ey. Having no friends to assist him and
no resources to raise enough to take him
further OH his way. he applied to the own
er of a stable for permission to sleep in
it. No more notice was taken Of the
ailnir until Thursday morning. when
some one entering the stable. discovered
him lying on the hay in dying cond-
ton. He had just strength enough TO
say that he had been taken sick three or
four days before. and being too weak to
call for assistance. had remained four
days without food. All the necessary
aid was Immediately rendered. but with
cut avaiL-,he poor fellow died within
an hour afterwards. Post.
president Pierces bust is much admir-
ed!" Ike" said Mrs. Partinglon, ''did
you read that just as It's printed? Well |
shouldn't wonder If Washington was dos