The Charleston daily news. [volume] (Charleston, S.C.) 1865-1873, 1869-05-20
THE LONDON MUSIC HILLS.
A Strange Scene.

The following patnetlc ACCOUNT oI Inc slnR-
ing OF Father Come Home, in one OF the
music halls in London. is from the correspond
ence of tho Troy IN. " Times:
Having reached the hall, we paid an admis-
sion fee of six penc5. There was very heat
stage, gaudy drop.scene. side wings aud TO-
erabiy good orcneslra. IL the sails sat tile
chairman, TO keep order over as motley an au-
d,euce as ever was out OF the gallery Ut the
Victoria. All apparel plentliully sup lied
with porter aud ull were eulnyIng their pipes
10 such an extent as 10 make the place alm' 81
suffocatlng; for thore must have been IN audi
cnce OF nearl, five hundred. nig.er wal {
round" was just beiug flushed aud tna shouts
of "eLcJre," whIstllng and stamping OF
feet mule the hall perfectly bewilIer-
lng. name Was announced from the chair.
mai, winch we could not catch, and
amidst clapplpg of hands and Stamping
hongl" The walters called loudly, Any more
orders ?" and these beiI.g taken and duly exc
Gu cd oil seemed to settle down quietly to
listen to the soug. There was the symphony
and buzz Of "Ihis is it" AID we began to leel
ANXIOUS, Presently Finale came III front OF
the curtain, amidst great applause. and COM
menced '.F ther, dear father" &c. Every word
was distinct, and she sang The ballad with great
telling. In order to fuiIv describe the scene
which Z ,lloged each verse, it ID necessary to
elye Little Mary's" song:
..Father dear father, come home with me pow,
lhe clock Ia the steeple strikes one H. ngll
You promsei. dear faith T, that you would como
homo
As coon as your days work was dom.
Our Ore Das gt ne 0us-our hou,e Is al dark,
And mober. been watching since tea.
With puor little Benny, 50 slck III her arms,
And no one to help her but me.
Come ONE, come home, come home,
Iledse, father, d. ar ia. her, come me-.
At the conclusion of The last line the drop
scene drew up, disclosing the father sitting at
the coor OF public house IN drunken. be-
mudded state, with his pipe and pot before
him. Little Marv was trying to drag him from
his seat at the same time pointing 10 the cur
tain behind, as she took up tho refrain from
the lady. and touchingly sang, Come home" "
&c. This other curtain was now drawn aside,
disclosing q wretched room, with the poor
mother sitting on the ground with q 81 :kly
looking b Y IN her lap. and in the aot Of feed
ing him with spoon. simultaneously with
the drawing Of tn. curtain, the lime light was
brought TO bear upon the tableaux, giving
them truly startling effect; Alter moment
or two the act-drop came down, anu the lady
proceeded:
"Fatb.r. dear father, come home with me now,
The CLOCK In the steeple strikes two igog. Rong,)
The night has grown der. aud Benny is worse,
But he has been cIling tor you
Indeed he ia wOreh-mOtner e6sr no Will usob
Pei hlps before morning shall Dawn,
And this WIS III. message she seut mo to bring
Come quick y, or he will be gone:
Come home como home. come home
P east ta,her. ar father, come home."
The act-dIGp rises again, and now the child
has hold of the pewter pot trying to take 1t
from her drunken parent. and, as she contln-
ues the two last lines, Come home," &C., the
other Gu tain is drawn aside, and re next see
the child stretched out oni's mothers 10 ,, aud
as It inst raises ITS little head and falls ba"K
with q gasp. with the lme-lIght rejecting
strongly upon it, there was reality about the
whole terrible to view. Sobs were heard from
| the female portion OF the audience, while tears
trickled down many rough male cheek; We
have seen Susan HopIey, lane Shore,
s.The Stranger" ''E ist Lynne" aud other Of
fectve pieces played, but never before did We
witness such scene Of general crying. Even
| the lady who saug the soug was affected and
could scarcely proceed with the third verse:
"Father, dear fail er. cone home With me now,
lhe clock In the s,eeple strikes three! gong. gong,
The bou e 8 70 lonely, the hours are 30 long,
For puor weeping mother and me.
Yes we are alone-pOoI Benny 10 dead,
And gone with the angels OF h&nti
And these were the v nv last wo Us snat no SAID:
want o k ss plpa-gooi ni2ns
Please iather, dear iLher. cono honla."
Again the drop rose, disclosing little Mary
on her knees appealing to her father, aho, vii Il
lot elevated is IN the act Of s:riRing her with
It tn as sLo sings, Como home" and then tho
buck curtain draws aslie, rhoWiug the mother
pray .ng over her ch,ld's coffin. But now the
scb. from the audIe CO burst out sllil nore
freely. aud Two ienllcs were clrriel out t;tlhl-
inr The scene was truly hafrowlng,. and we
niodlv tnrurI our e.es awly. An additional
vor.e w,s suur about "poor Benny" being
viii, tbs a.%eIs abovo. Tie drop rose; the
father, scb r now, is weeping over the coffin
with lie m 1ther, and little Mary on her kn.es,
singing, ''Home, horio. acar IT,, lafnsr a..,a como
drawn aside. aud lttle Benny is suspended
over tho o,ffii with wings, smiling d WI upon
them aud polnting upward. The father fills
forward on bis face. the aot-drop descends. and
tor M inu'e all is husbsd save the sobs OF the
females in tho audi ence.