The Evansville journal. [volume] (Evansville, Ind.) 1866-1870, 1867-01-04
q STAGE JEWELS.
. BY BUTTON COOK.

CONTINUED
asssalss hsEsfITGsA

| 90 you IulHhy 4N6u . doAcu NI OSO1-
frey glancing towards the boxes.
1.-The King Ofwhat' are you think
ing, Sir Godfrey? He never sets foot
If theatre" ,sHdiW
81 forgot, [ forgot. Times are
hanged. Perhaps he does well to
aide his grim nut-cracker face at
Hampton and Kensington, and such
outlandish places. The players must
speak High Dutch for him to under
stand them. Our English tongue is
thrown away upon him. oss 3sloN
Hush, hush, Sir Godfrey" inter
posed Mr.. Hervey. looking over his
shoulder apprehensively..
y y" Nay, man, care not who over
hears me. I wish King William no
harm. But l can forget old times.
I've. seen, In those boxes, when Sir
William Davenant was manager, his
most gracious Majesty King Charles
the Second, with his Queen and the
Duke and Duchess of York, attended
by all the rank and beauty of England
it was sight worth seeing-with my
Lady Castlemaine and Mistress Flea
nor GRyn glaring at each other from
different sides of the house, as though
ready to pull caps or begin scratch
ing match at short notice. All, Ned,
those were timesto live in -
Mr.. Hervey was possibly a little
wearied by the frequency of his
friends references to the past.
would we were to have tragedy
In lieu of this comedy" he said again,
as he studied his DlaVbiIl
Let us be content, Ned" said Sir
Godfrey; I warrant the rogues will
do their best to please US. 10
But the story 1 promised to tell
had reference to the tragedy in which
Knevit and Mrs. Askew last appeared.
We might have had some repetition
of the scene tonight
give me the story, Ned; twill
pass the time till the music begins
"You are aware, Sir ,Geofrey, that
the players who appear as lovers on
the stage do not always bear them
selves so tenderly toward each other
behind the SCENES
Doubtless that is true, Ned"
(" Well, last night was performed
the late Mr. Otway's beautiful tragedy
of Venice Preserved, than which, /
think, a finer work does not exist in
the drama of the country. Shakes
peare has not its equal in pathetic
beauty and elegance of dietion; he is.
content with a vulgar delineation of
the passions. Well, Knevit was the
Jafier; Mrs. Askew the Belvidera
Butzthey played. together. less happily
than usual. There seemed some
want of agreement between them
The lady s. warmth spgang rather
from her anger than her love. She
glared resentfully when she should
have. gazed telderly;; 4 baleful fury
stood in. her eyes when they should
have been streaming with tears. And
Jafler seemed rather tomock her sor-
rows than to pity them; at least so
the spectators judged in the perform
ance We arrived at the fifth act;
and when, after she had said = Be-
queath me something-but one kiss
at parting, the lovers ran to each
others arms, Belvidera was seen to
fairly bite her lord upon the cheek in
lieu of kissing himl Jaffier could
scarcely finish his part, he smarted so
with the pain"
Sir Godfrey laughed heartily at
this. narrative
1.-The dog must have vcxed her
sorely, | doubt not. Very likely he
deserved all she gave him: Though
to bite man s cheek, the vixen! 1t
might have been serious matter A
lovers quarrel, | suppose; but it was
sadly cut of place in Mr.. Otway's
tragedy. [ know the play. l saw
Betterton and Mrs. Barry, in it. wears
ago. And | cried like child, [ re-
member. ~
At the back Of the playhouse. be-.
hind the scenes, dimly lighted by tai
low candles, amidst much litter of
theatrical properties and stage garni
ture, two of the players were engaged
in an earnest and somewhat angry
conversation. The one was Mrs.
Margaret Askew-splendidly dressed
in pink satin trainz-.the Leonora of
Mr.. Crowns comedy-the other was
Mr.. George Knevit, the Sir County
Nice of the evening. A
The lady was very handsome,
though her beauty was rather of a.
haggard kind. In spite of her rouge.
there was a hollow look about her
wonderful black eyes. Her complex
ion naturally dark, even to swarthi--
ness was much aided and frightened
| BY the candle-light of the theatre.
| She was still quite young, notWith-
standing the rather, deep lines upon
her face. and, famed for her personal
charms and her skill as an actress.
was "a fayorite, toast among, the gal
slants of the day. AT the present.
however, she was hardly looking her,
best. She could smile most bewitch-
ingly when she chose; but she was
not smiling now She was, indeed,
very angry. Her forehead, was cloud
ed, and she had been biting her red
Hips until they we're wet with blood. b