Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1875-09-10

Mas. Spp,N> AND SOM OF LIsToN's pEoL
LERIz-.-It was while We were living in
Covent Garden that Mrs Siddons returned
to the stage for one night, and acted Lady
Randolph flr my fathers benefit. OF course,
| heard much discourse about this. to Us. i'm
portant and exciting event, and used al
my small powers of persuasion to be taken
to see her. My father who loved me very
much, and spoiled me not little, carried
me, early in the afternoon. into the market
place, and showed me the dense mass Of peo-
pie which filed the whole piazza, in patient
expectation of admission to the still unopen-
/ Ell door. This was hy way of proving to me
how impossible it was to grant my request.
| However that might then appear. il was
granted, for | was in the theater at the be
ginning Of the performance hut can now
remember nothing of it but the appearance
ofa solemn female figure in black, and the
tremendous roar of public greeting which
welcomed her, and must, suppose, have
terrified my childish sense, by the impression
still retain Of it; and this is the only oc-
casi3n on v hieh saw my aunt in public
Liston, the famous comedian. wa~ at this
time a member Of the Durham company,
and though be began his career there by
rec iting Collins's ode to the Passions ,attired
in a pca-green coat, buclsklns, top boots,
ard powder, with a scroll n bis hand and
followed this essay Of his powers with the
tragic actors batile-horse, the part Of Ham
let; he soon found his peculiar gift to lie
in the Numerically opposite direction of
broad farce. OF this he was perpetually
iaterpOlating original specimens in the gray-
est performances of his fellow actors on one
occasion, suddenly presenting to Mrs Stephen
kemble, rs she stood dishcyelei at the side
scene, ready to 20 on the stage as Ophelia
in her madness, basket with carrots. tur-
nips, onions, leeks and pot-herbs, instead of
the conventional flower, and straws Of the
stage maniac, which sent the fair representa-
tive Of the Opholia on in broad grin, with
Unsurpassed fury and laughter. which must
have given quite an original character Of
verisimilitude 10 the insanity she counter
ieted. On another occasion he sent all the
little chorister boys on, in the lugubrious
funeral procession in Romeo and Juliet,
with pieces Of brown paper in their hands
to wipe their tears with. The suppression
of that very dreadful piece OF stage pageant
~ has at last, believe, been conceded to
the better taste Of modern audiences but
even in nv time it was still performed, and
an exact representation of funeral process
sion, such as one meets every day in Rome,
wiki torch-bearing priests, and bier covered
with it, black velvet pail, embroidered with
skull and cross bones, with corpse-like
figure stretched upon 1t, marched round the
stage chanting some portion Of the fine RO-
man Catholic requiem music. have twice
been in the theater when persons have been
seized with epilepsy during that ghastly ex-
hibiti0n, and think the good Judgment that
has discarded such mimicry Of solemn
religious ceremony highly commendable
Another evening, Liston, having painted
Fanny hemble's face ike clowns posted
her at one Of the stage side doors to confront
her mother, poor Mrs Stephen Kemble, enter
ing at the opposite side to perform some dis
mally serious scene of dramatic pathos, who,
on suddenly beholding this grotesque ap-
partition Of her daughter, fell into conyulsions
Of laughter and coughing, and half audible
exel' nations of"Goaway, Fanny I'll tell
You ur father, miss" which must have had
the effect of sudden seizure Of madness to
tb audience, accustomed to the rigid de-
cnrum of the worthy woman in the discharge
CT her theatrical duties.-lNrs KemJle's
"OH Homaa's Gossip IN August Atlantic.