The weekly ledger., 1857-04-25
The Life of an Actress.
BY REV. Il. GILES.

lDt iOllite VI tIC NlCtS vi tuc pVoi t"h
for our pity or our grief, but not for our
scorn or our smiles. In his poem of "The
Boroughs,n Crabbe is tremendously severe on
the players, and in his laderating description
of the poor strollers whom he satires, there
is unquestionable power; but when power is
turned against the weak and helpless, every
generous and plying nature rebels against
tyranc genius. The most prosperous in the
theatrical profession illustrate SO strikingly
the yicissitude and transciency of our human
state, that cannot connect them with only
sober associations; the unsuccessful, whose
work is hard, and whose pay is as certain as
it is scanty, / can regard only with sadness
and compassion There is so much of the
glare and grief Of life connected with the
stage, that it fills me with most solemn
thoughts To-day the god and goddess Of
the scene, stiRed with crowds, inflated with
applause, they tread with ecstacy giddy and
an airy height. That height has been at
tanned often, through years of labor, trials,
fear, want and suffering. Now wealth flows
in upon them with most ample measure; plau-
dts hail their triumphs, and intoxicated joy is
theirs to suffocation. All these will soon be
gone and silent--a brief enthusiasm will give
them to oblivion, or give them to the tomb.
heard the wonderful Malibran in her
latest concert. / listened to her dying song
She poured out her impassioned soul lin
linked sweetness long drawn out" through
all the mazes of music A glorious crowd
was before her Of jeweled and joyous beauty
light and gladness gave enchantment to the
hour, and thousands of excited hearts were
raised to the delirium of delight. AT this
moment life in her who caused the pleasure
was throbbing to its close. Encore upon en-
core echoed in shouts that seemed to rend the
ceiling. The poor singer came Oh, elated by
the cheers. Supported by wonted fervor,
her sinking form arose living and elastic; her
transcendant eye kindled with even unusual
fire; her magical tones swelled and sank, and
foated into wilder ecstacy again the build
ing rang with plaudits- they were her triumph
and her kne might have gone from this
place to the stage door Of the next theatre,
and there might have seen a weary creature
coming out from her nights unnoticed labor,
and she was also going home to die. No
praise cheered her spirit-no echoes, growing
fainter, fingered on her ear-no soul the next
evening would remark her absence-would
care for her return.
] might have seen a trembling girl, such
as Crabbe, in the section l have mentioned,
describes with pathos that compensates for
his severity towards the other members Of
her company. / might have seen this tremb
ling girl, who, moment before, was blazing
in tinsel, amidst gas and gliding, stealing to
her cold and shabby lodgng-the paint
washed from her cheek and leaving the palor
of consumption in its stead-the mimic smile
of gladness passed away, to be succeeded by
real tears of nature-tears that may now
flow in freedom, and flow in silence. Shame
upon the soul that could give her afflicted lot
only hard thought and hard word-shame
upon the phariseeism that could discern no
motive in her career but vanity, when charity,
that thinketh no evil" might suggest i'm
pulses more worthy-the necessities, perhaps,
of widowed mother, or sickly father, or
of helpless and orphaned brothers and sisters.
Shame upon the unmanly insolence that i'm
peded her way-shame upon the unmanly in
suit that crmsons her cheek-shame upon
the dastardly suspicion native to the mean
ness of small soul, and to the filth of a
corrupted heart, that supposes the unprotect
ed always to be vicious, the poor to be with
out honor, and the weak to be proper objects
of foul intentions.