The daily Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1873-1877, 1874-07-11
Ghe Daily Atens.
An Australian Crummles.


Among the most charming of Dickens S
realistically humorous portraitures are
the Vincent Crummles people in "Nicho-
las Nickleby," in whom, as in all the COM
ic delineations of the Shakespeare of Nov
elists. the bold first strokes of apparently
buresoue characterization soon assimilate
orgapically with the commoner texture
and coloring of true and familiar type
of human nature The country manager
and his impressive high-tragedy wife are
nart;cularly faithful to their living class
in their amusing manner Of carrying the
tbeatrial tone and air into private life.
Their tremendous bearing at the wedding
Of Henriette Petowker, and the grand
dramatic tableau devised by Mr.. Crum-
niles and sons in farewell to the amazed
Nicholas at the stage office, are unexag-
perated illustrations of genuine profession
al idiosyncracies, and find more or less
repetition every day in the commonest as
sociations of the playertolk. What great
tragedian is ever wholly an ordinary NOR
tai in his dress and address, or what pop
ular comedian can abstain wholly from
stagebusiness in his social relaxations?
Not to generalize further, however, a
correspondent of the San Francisco
| Chronicle finds in the recent appearance
upon the boards in that city Of certain
actress from the Australian theatres an
amusing reminder of a bygone piece of
Crummlessm equal to anything in the
novel. In her maiden days Miss Cath
cart and pupil of the late Gustavus
Vaughn Brooke, the female performer in
question, was a member of the Australian
company of Mr.. George Coppin, best
known in the Eastern States as the
Barnum- like manager of Charles kean 5
American tour. Highly approaching
both her personal virtues and profitable
professional abilities the shrewd Coppin
conceived the idea of making her his wife
and to this end offered her his hand,
with the additional inducements OF car
riage and settlement OF five hundred q
wear. But the young woman was already
privately engaged to a younger man, al
actor at a rival house, and, instead OF ac-
cepting the protfered managerial houor,
made it pretext to desert forthwith tx
the other establishment This being
breach of contract the rejected sutton hac
recourse to another style of courtship, II
which the court ruled out the lady's plei
of the moral improperly of remaining il
Mr.. Coppin's employment after the mat
( rimonial overture he had PERSISTENT.
made-justly remarking that the highes
compliment man could pay toa woman
was a proposal of marriage-and com
manded her to fulfil her dramatic engage
ment. Having thus saved his affair o
sentiment from pecuniary penalty, tn
manager magnanmously retracted ~
marital pretenslon, and enthuslastlcal'
announced IN all the newspapers and play
bills that a formal reconciliation be
tween himself and his recovered star
would take place in his theatre, betwee
the acts, on certain evening, AS tn
circumstances of the previous aenatio
, had become known to the public throug
the above lawsuit, this announcement
drew such an immense audience to wtnes
the sublime moral spectacle that many per
sons were unable to get into the theatre
What, then, does our Vincent Crummle
of Melbourne do but advertise at once IL
l all the papers again that to accommodate
those who could not obtain admittance OF
the first occasion the reconciliation
would be repeated on the following night
In fact, this characteristic utilization o
pathetic private sentiment for public pat
ronage was as profitable as a successful
new play; and when, soon thereafter, th'
heroine of the ludicrous episode married
- the young Thespian of her choice, the If
|repressible manager heroically gave the
bride away, with his most elaborate ano
breast heaving theatrical assumption O
bengant self sacrifice.