Weekly Trinity journal., 1869-09-18
An Amusing Instance OF the Great Powers
OF Good Acting.

The occasion was the benefit night of Mrs.
Phillips. That lady was playing Jane Shore, in
Maturin's tragedy of that name. The house
and the Front Street theatre is a large one-was
crowded. In the first tier, on one side, in a
front seat of the box adjoining the proscenium,
was conspicuous the burly form OF sailor with
a large red face. He was well known to many
OF the audience as Captain Hugg, the prosperous
owner and master of Eastern shore oyster
schooner. He was watching the play with intense
interest and feeling, as was manifested by the
tears coursing down his eather-beaten cheeks.
He also frequently placed his right hand ner-
voqsy upon his left breast; but whether this
action had any connection with his sympathy for
the heroine of the play, or was the result of pru-
dent concern for the wallet full of Baltimore and
Ohio railroad shinplasters be was known to carry
il that region, the sequel will show.
1t is proper to state here, that, although the
date of these occurrences was long after the
money panic of 1887 (known as the " shinplasrer
era'' had subsided, and the banks had fully re-
snmed specie payment, yet the Baltimore and
! Ohio railroad company, by some fnaucial leger-
demain, kept the community flooded with its one
and two dollar bills, which almost the only
currency used in the smaller trade transactions
of the city.
The play had proceeded to the scene in the
last act when Shores beauteous wife (late the
omnpotent mistress of Edward the Fourth, but
uoW oy OlOStcl Ciuti guilty al OutCdSL Wdu-
derer in the streets, with to give her food
or sheter) comes upon the stage, utters heart
rending monologue, and falls, exhausted with
starvation, and fatigue to the ground. AS the
accompi shed actress proceeded in the melting
relation of her woes the audience were so rapt
by her beauty and misfortunes that but few of
them observed Captain Hugg's passion. That
gallant son o. Neptune rose slowly to his feet
convulsed with the throes of mighty sympa-
thy, and with fearful eyes and bated breath list
ened to James pittiful story. When at length
she dropped to the ground, seemingly in the last
extremity of exhausted nature, the captains COM
passion reached its climax. He sprang from the
box to the stage, Dent over her prostrate form,
jerked from his pocket his capacious wallet, tore
it open with trembling fingers, exposing to
view its pled-up treasures, and exclaimed, in a
voice choked with sobs, and tremulous with un
fegned emotion
"Look up, Mistress Shore, look up? By Cd
madam, you shan't starve while Tve Baltimore
and Ohio railroad shinplaster in my pocket
book"
What followed beggars description. For a
moment the vast audience remained hushed, as
if from involuntary admiration of the big-hearted
sailors generosity and gallantry. Then, as the
ludicrousness of the seemed to fash sud-
denly upon them there such clamor of
stamping feet, clappng hands, pounding of
canes. shouts, roars, yells, shrieks, and screams
of laughter, as never before or since shook the
walls of any theatre.
In the midst Of the uproar, Manager Wemyss
made his appearance, politely explained to the
Captain that Mistress Shores wants would be
duly administered to, and succeeded in leading
him off the stage.
Several Intellectual attempts were made to pro-
ceed with the tragedy, but the audience was too
thoroughly imbued with the mirth occasoned
by the sailors illusion to settle down to any,
thing serious. Each attempt of Mrs. Shore to
regain their lost attention was only greeted with
renewed convulsions of laughter, and cries of
Capt. Hugg. The shrewd manager only sue
ceeded in restoring semblance Of order by
starting the orchestra in full blast, and 20 ring
ing on" the ballet, after which a roaring farce
was Observation-Disclosures paper