New Orleans Republican., 1877-05-19
BREAKNECK ACTING.
Au Old story,

An Old story.
The PicGytns quotes the following:
Miss Nelson, chatting with a reporter
of the San Francisco Chronicle, amused
him with personal anecdotes, as follows:
at was, think, in one of the smaller
cities of New York where the balcony
scene was performed under very ludicrous
circumstances. A tbree-legged table was
used for the balcony, supported by two
men. One of them having but one leg of
the table to hold on to, kept letting it
down, SO that there was q continual wob-
BILE, and was in constant danger of fall
ing While leaning over delivering my
impassioned lines to Romeo, had almost
every moment to look down, as / vibrated
back and forth, and give some terrified
directions to my supporters. The dia-
1ogue ran somewhat in this way:
Thou know st the mask of night is on nv face,
Else would maiden blush bepaint my cheek.
"Prsy, sir, hold the table frm."
For that which thou has heard me speak to-
night
"For Heavens sake, gentlemen, don't
let me drop"
Fam would dwell on form, fain fair deny
What have spoken
"Oh, Lordl I'm going"
But farewell compliment
s Dost thou love mel know thou wilt eay ayei
And will take thee at thy word
"I'm slipping off again
Yet if thou swearest,
Thou may st prove talsei at lovers perjuries
They say JOve laughs
Here O. me little broader careenjng of
the table, and JuiisI, gripping the edge of
the scene, recovered herself just in time to
81 on with the lines,
Oh, gentle Romeo,
If thou dost love, promise it faithfully, etc.
Before the audience, who seemed amazed
OF the depth and variety of my emotion,
had time to discover the cause So it
went on to the end Of the scene, when,
uttering my lines,
Parting is such sweet sorrow.
With an agonizing spasm of terror slid
of in reality, and with sprsined ankle
lnped off to my dressing room, aston
iAhed at the novelty of the feelings which
] had not discovered in any previous study
OF Jalid. Somewhere, don't remember
Rhere, in the tomb Of the Capulets they
gave me a rickety sofa TO lie on. Scarcely
bad / taken my place when one Of the
legs came OF, and / had to keep the sofa
geady and hold myself up with one foot
When the tomb was open and Romeo was
rushing to embrace me, cried out in an
undertone: Don't touch me Don't
touch me You'll knock the sofa over
and spoil the scene" Romeo recoiled
suddenly in alarm, but managed to COM
plete the scene with composure. A heavy
lamp suspended in the tomb once fell and
narrowly escaped my head Had it varied
q few inches from the line Of its fall the
accident would have proved fatal.
One of the most amusing stage incidents
that can now remember occurred in Liv-
erpool few years ago, when was. play
ing the Lady Of Lyons" The gentleman
who played Claude Hsln0tte had been quite
i'll, and was scarcely able to appear upon
the stage. IN the cottage scene, at the end
OF the fourth act, have to rush at him
while say:
"Tll work for thee, tend thee, bear with
thee, and never shall these lips Eeproaeh
thee for the past
1 had promised here to do my spiritine
gently, but, carried away by the enthusi-
asm of the moment, rushed upon him
with such force that Knocked him over,
and not being able 70 save myself, fell
over upon him. The audience laughed,
but they might have preserved their dig.
nifty to certain extent and allowed the
play to proceed If Ciduds had not beer
Obliged to say immediately afterward:
This is the heaviest blow Of allI'
At which there Was prolonged roar Of
laughter, amid which the curtain was runQ
down upon the unfinished and ludicrous
scene.
Il is hardly probable that1liss Nelson
''ehatting with the reporter" told any
such story, but then the dramatic critic
Of the tar0niels was compelled to Gay
something to show bis admiraiion. Mr.
George Vanderhoa, using tho words q
his vile, quoted from her note book. toll
The story in his EeminiHeenees, publishel
in 1860, Is follows. and locates it il
Rochester. in Kent, EnglnRd:
But the contrasts a tie theatre weY,
stronger and stranger still Shall I evei
forget Romeo and Julie11 az the Roch.
ester Theat9ef That balcony scene Is.
peeially. The platform stood on was
marrow door hised OF its hinges to up.
hold JHIffa lfels rfeIiuG veFV fnoecprelV
ana scarcely vide enough to admit Of 8
chair; lheze aas one bnt ! dared not siI
pn 4 tor iese q d msshap The railine
W me DaisanB wins formed BY carpen.
fue ladasH Supported * arms lanes6 hy
lNo men. one tsAInt he scenes. at one
Apd. oar ef aioA. md ne o1AeI, on tho
sa ane masked b p'ses of the scene
t1un8 vail 1N6s i tad 3 most
kloGaty elAntl1e ndIne' 'pIates
a 4af Lam On lhs fA a kadsr9
eEl0 Ne uNAs ~ aHtpbfl
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