Mower County transcript. [volume] (Lansing, Minn.) 1868-1915, 1876-04-13
A Duel in the Dark.

The first time that Napoleon III.
saw Rossi on the stage he sent DR..
Conneau off with orders to bring the
'smighty tragedian" to him at once, and
said to him:
s'Monsieur. am not easily affected,
but own that in the last scene you
singularly moved me. You must have
made Desdemona suffer horribly when
you buried your nails in her throat;
her cries Of agony were too natural. !"
'sSire," replied Rossi, the artists
who act with ne are accustomed to
sacrafice everything to their roles. 1t
is possible that Ibear little heavily
on Desdemona's throat, but no one who
has played her part has dared to tell
me sO.'
Rossi is in the plenitude Of force and
talent, and singularly enough for an
Italian attributes his remarkable pres
ervation to his cold, morning bath,
which no severity ofseason ever inter-
feres with. Perhaps the very sober
life he leads has as much to do with it
as the cold bath. If his proposed Wis
it to America comes to pass. / doubt
if he be prevailed upon to take one
single drink at the inevitable bar. At
Cassale during farewell representa-
tiOn, the court society cllatted so loud
ly as to interfere with the representa-
ton. Rossi, who was playing Hamlet,
came to a full stop in the middle, of a
sentence, and turning toward a front
box from which the greatest noise pro-
ceeded, he bowed, and said. very tran
quilly:
II shall hush as long as you do not
hush.'
The public applauded, the Interrupt.
ton ceased, and the play went on, but
afterward Rossi was met at the door
by one of the young gentlemen, who
felt called upon to ask satisfaction.
Rossi made long face, for he was ex.
pected on the morrow at Milan. So he
explained to his bloodthirsty adversary.
and begged that, in order to get
through with their little affair as soon
rs possible they should go to his (Ros
si's) rooms at the hotel and quietly
shoot at one another there.
The proposition having been acce.led
to, they went to Rossi's rooms, and
had just placed themselves at either
end of the salon in order to exchange
three shots, when the inn.keeper
over-anxious as to his guests health
and hours, knocked at the door (which
he found locked), and asked, in al
anxious voice, if monsieur was ill, a:
his light burned so unusually late.
''No," replied Rossi, Il am going t<
bed; thanks good night -
'::You are deceiving me-" persisted
his anxious keeper, perhaps enlight
ened as to the scene in the theater
You are certainly ILL.,
$50 to bed,'; replied Rossi; II an
putting out my light;'' and in a lowe
tone he added to his antagonist, "Thi
is the only way out of it; blow out tn
| candles"
"What are we to fight with pistol
in the dark -
"Not quite; we will each smoke
cigarette, and that will serve to guild
our aim.''
''All right
And so the famous duel was fought
in which Rossi had the good luck t,
wound his adversary slightly. Ross
is a man who sleeps as little as huma1
nature can bear. He smokes con
stantly, and always horrid Tuscan,
cigars. which, us he says ''bear some
thing of his country to his lips IL
has only one old servant he has eve
been able to retain, his irritable TEN
per and capracious orders putting al
others out Of temper. This faithful
Sanco Panza only succeeds by assul
ing his master that the hundred OF
ders given in as many minutes are al
executed, and Rossi, having forgottel
all save the last, is satisfied. Lik
most geniuses, he fancies he has
greater than his own, and never fail
to affirm that, had he to begin lif
anew, he would be a tenor, and there
fore disposed to entertain his visitor
with any amount of bad music, think
ing to give them better entertain
ment than by recting any Of his won
derful parts.