The herald and mail. [volume] (Columbia, Tenn.) 1873-188?, 1876-03-24
Kate Field on the Death Of Young
ROucicault.

ROHcicault.
4 short time ago said "geod-by" to
Il genial, amiable voting man, utiiver-
sally liked; dearly beloved by his family
t-the eldest soii Of Dion and Agnes B0u-
cicault The days since fate sent me
over the Great Northern railroad, past the
scene OF the late terrible accident of
which young Boucicault was one of thir-
| teen victims. Piled in cars were the
debris of carriages and wheels; a bat
tered engine stood upon the side-track,
and on the embankment lay huge mass
covered with black as though i'll mour11-
ing for its sins of commission. 1t was
the engine of the " Flying ScOtchman."
Ground torn up as if by angry, iron
fingers; telegraph wires bent and sun
dered-this was all that told the fearful
story of last Friday night. The sun
shone brightly, for nature little heeds
human sorrow, and our express train
stopped unexpectedly at Huntingdon to
take up a party of mourners. / recOg-
nized Dion BOuciCault, his second son, and
an intimate friend. They had just buried
the youth so dear to them, and got into
the carriage adjoining mine. Thus We,
Who had parted in laughter, came UP to
London. 1t was very sad and as strange
as fate sometimes is. Why / was not on
that doomed train this same fate alone
can tell. The decision of moment pre-
vented. Do you wonder, then, that L
feel as though l had escaped by mira
Gle? ] think it was on Monday, JAN
uary II, that young BOucicault left
home to visit farm in Lincolnshire,
where he proposed making practical
study of farming preparatory TO going
upon a ranch in the far west Of America.
1t had been Mr.. Boucicault's desire to
purchase a large tract of land in Califor
MIA, place Willie upon it, and let him by
his own exertiens become proprietor.
With this idea in view the journey was
made, his family not knowing the precise
dav of his return, bat expecting him on
Saturday, as that was the last night of
the Z" Shaughraun." When the news of
the accident reached London, on Saturday
morning, the BOucicaults felt nOanxiety. |
1t was not until arriving at the theater |
that they began to be alarmed ut not |
finding Willie, and at half-past nine |
O'Clock Mr.. BOucicault sent a dispatch. |
The theater was crowded in every part, |
and at the close of the performance there |
were loud cries for BOucicault." They |
were in vain. The messenger returned |
with the fatal news half an hour before |
the close of the performance, but Mr..
Chatterton, the manager, wisely sent !
him to Mr. Boucicault's house. 1t would |
have done no good to have stopped the |
drama and proclaimed the tragedy be 7
FIRE an excited multitude. feel as If |
something dreadful was going to happen"
said BOucicault to his daughter, when
she urged him unavailingly to respond to
the calls for speech. On going homie
he saw several friends assembled. "My |
God! what has happened ?' he asked.
'' The worst" was the reply. Mr.. Bouci-
cault became perfectly rigid-fell is if he
had been shot, and it was come time be-
fore he regained consciousness. The blow
to Mrs. Boucicault is terrible. Her eld-
est son was her mainstay, and her friends
fear that she will never be her old self
again. Thus has n household interesting
to Americans been made desolate.