Abbeville press. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1860-1869, 1866-02-16
THE ABBEy1LLE MINsrRELs.

We had the pleasure Of attending the mu.
sical entertainment given by the Abbevillc
Minstrels in the Court House on Friday last.
The audience was large and nppreciutive-
keenly alive 10 the ludicrous. and easily mo-
ved oy the patheiic--respondingt TO each stroke
OF humoS and pathos. and the " touch Of nu-
ture" that "makes the whole world kim"
AS matter OF course. the juveniles were well
represented. and not o few Of the "grave and
reserved seignors," to give truth to tho adn:e
that ia little nonsense now and then. is rel.
ished by tho wisest men," Not tho least III
tereste6 part Of the audience were the " Amer
lean citizens Of African descent" who seemsd
fully to appreciate the charms of the music, the
cream Of the iokes, and the delineations VI the
"nigger" as he used to be.
The young gentlemen appeared rs veritable
"E,h;opians," with the usual accompaniments-
ebony faces aud "kinly' hair-"the fiddle and
the bow" and the banjo-the soft, ewovt, uuin.
strelsy. the quaint lingo and the rich irollery
which form the characteristic features of these
entertainments Their disgIiscs were we'll as.
su,ned, and the 7ols of each so we'll played, that
it required au acute ear and quick eve to re-.
cognze the we'll known tones. or the {" old fa
miliar faces"
Before such an audience, and with such ma
tsria', 1t is unnecessary 10 sny that the perfor-
mances were decided success The charms of
the music, tho fidelity of tho representations,
the dashes OF comic humor all contributed to
awaken interest, enlist the eympathies. and
keep alive the attention. Mirth ruled the hour.
"Mir'h, that wrnk'ed care derides,
And laughter holding both his sides"
As fret course in the bill Of entertainment,
we had Music, Vocal and Instrumental, will,
colloqri"s by way Of interlude, interepersed
with some rich specimens OF Ethiopic wit.
Tho Corps boasts no small share of musical tai
ent, and has some very excellent voices. stop
dat Knocking" THE Sweet Sunny South" and
other popular Melodies were rendered with
fine effect, whilst Bones" "Ginser," and the
colored brethren generally did justice to TIE
'comica!itics" Of the ocoaslon.
Next followed a series of ertravaoanxas-bur.
lesque representa- ions Of Mc.merism. Ambro
typ'ng, &c, which were well performed. with
due appreciation Of the innate tlrollery, light.
hearted gaiesv, anl careless impro evidence Of
The genuine "nigger"
That these entertainments are universalIv
popular, is not surprising. The material they
employ foym the web aud woof of every day
6y turns laughter. ani the source
Of sympa'hetio fears" Their Melodies strike
the popular heart every whrre-whilst "their
dashes ut life with Tree pencil" and their.
truthful delineations of tire groleseue phases Of
human nature embody snch marked character
lsties. that ell Gun comprehend, and hence, mp.
preciate them. To appreciate the Opera ro
quires q cultivated ear-to do justice to the
higheet order of dramatic excellence, prcsup.
poses genius somewhat kindred to that OF the
dtnmaiist and tragsdnn-bul none nrs inscu.i
ble to the claims Of "Cncls Ned" and "NelIv
wos Ludy,' or the comic phases. aud marked
Of the "ulj plantation life
They 'riie, too, SO many chords Of early asso
memories Of the golden past
that. to Southern audience, they must n. all
times be irresistibly attractive.