Wyandot County Republican. [volume] (Upper Sandusky, Ohio) 1869-1903, 1869-03-18
"Father. Come Home. .
A SERMON IN SoNG-THRILLING
EFFECT.

lowing account of the singing of
"Father, Come Home," in one of
the music halls in London. It is q
most beautifully touching appeal,
and the effect on all who read it
must, to some extent, be the same
as that produced on the London |
audience. Despair, love. hope and |
reform are all set forth in most WV
id colors: Er- r. z1sl ID
Having reached the hall, we paid
an admission fee of sixpence.
There was very neat stage, with
gaudy drop scene, side wings, and
a tolerable good orchestra. In the
stalls sat the chairman, to keep
order over as motely an audience as
ever was seen out of the gallery of
the Victoria Theatre. "Costers
seemed to predominant" All ap-
peared plentifully supplied with por
ter, and all were enjoying their
pipes to such an extent as to make
the place almost suffo eating, for
there must have been an audience of
nearly five hundred. A nigger
'twalk around" was just being fin
ished, and the shouts of encore,
whistling and stamping of feet made
the hall perfectly bewildering. A
name was pronounced from the
chairman, which we could not catch,
and amidst clapping of hands and
stamping of feet there was a buzz of
"This is the songw The waiter
called loudly, "Any more orders !"
and these being taken and duly
executed, all seemed to settle down
quietly to listen to the song. There
was the symphony, and another
buzz of"This is it p and we began
to feel anxious. Presently a female
came in front of the curtain, amidst
great applause, and commenced
''Father, dear father etc. Every
word was distinct and she sang
the ballad with great feeling In
order, however, to fully describe
the scene which followed each verse,
tits necessary to give "Little Mary's''
song: g. M
s'Father, dear father, come home with me now
The clock in the steeple strikes one!
You promised, dear father, tn at you would come
)1 home -'i
, AS soon as your days work was done. -
Our fire has gone Out-our home is all dark,
And mothers been watching since tea, --
With poor little Benny sick in her arms,
And no one to help her but me.
Co I've home, come home, come home,
Please, father, dear father, come home.''
At the conclusion of the last line
the drop scene drew up, disclosing
8 the father sitting at the door of 8
| public house, in a drunken. bemud
died state, with a pipe and pot be
fore him. Little Mary was trying
; to drag him from his seat, at tht
same time pointing to curtain be
hind, as she took up the refrair
from the lady, and touchingly sang
"Come home," etc. This other cur
tain was now drawn aside,. disclos
= ing wretched room, in which was
the mother, with the poor, sickly.
looking boy in her lap, and in the
, act of feeding him with a spoon
Simultaneously with the drawing oi
the curtain, the lime light was
brought to bare upon the tableaux
given them truly startling effect
After a moment or two, the act dror
: came down, and the lady proceeded
"Father, dear father. come home with me now
The clock in the steeple strikes Two!
t [gong, gong.
The night has grown COLDER and Benny is worse
But he has been calling for you.
1 Indeed he is worse, mother says he will die,
Perhaps before morning shall dawn,
l And this was the message she sent me to bring
\ | Come quickly or he will be gone.
Come home, come home, come home,
: Please, father, dear father, come home"
The act drop rises again, and nov
e the child has hold Of the pewter pot
trying to take it from the drunke1
) parent, and, as she continues the
!, last two lines, "Come home,' etc
the other curtain is drawn aside, ano
we next see the child stretched ou
t on its mothers lap, and, as it jus
!. raises its little head and falls bacl
e with gasp, with the lime light re
fecting strongly upon it, there wa
: a reality about the whole terrible te
! view. Sobs were heard coming
from all parts of the hall, from tn,
> female portion of the audience
;, while tears trickled down many .
t male cheek. We have seen "Susar
Hopley," "The Stranger "Jan'
Shore" "East Linne," and othe
affective pieces played, but never
; before did we witness a scene O
e such general crying. The principa
e feature called to mind the picture
4 of the s'Sister of Mercy" with the
dying child in her lap, and Geatf
: was fearfully natural. Even the
Z. lady who sang the song was effected
3 and could scarcely proceed with the
2 third verse: ~. ..--. -....
'Father, dear father, come home with me now
2 The clock in the steeple strikes three!
I'll lgong, gong, gong,
The house is 30 lonely, the hours long
For poor weeping mother ana me.
Yes, alone-poor Benny is dead,
l And gone with the Angels of light
And these were the very last words that he said
Iwant to kiss papa goodnight
- Come home, come home, come home,
| ~@. Please, father, dear father, come home'
, Again the drop rose, disclosing
) little Mary on her knees, appealing
to her father, who, with the pot ele-
f waited, as in the act of striking her
, with it, as she sings 'sCome Home
and then the back curtain draws
, aside, showing the mother praying
over child's coffin. But now the
sobs burst still more freely, and two
, females are carried out fainting.
The scene was truly narrowing, and
we turned gladly our eyes away.
An additional verse was sung
about "Poor Benny being with the
angels above. The drop rose: the
, father, sober now, is weeping over
| tho nnffin with tho m ofhar and littlo