The Hickman courier. [volume] (Hickman, Ky.) 1859-current, 1878-06-07

neavy with passion, and, to throw the
last shadow over her gloom, at this mop
perfume time and miserable moment she
detected q wrinkle on her brow, and in
the dark and glossy hair parted over her
forehead two or three lines OF white. It
is thus that mortality breaks upon the
aspirations of the earthly dreamers.
The curtain fell, but the audience re-
manned, and, with vehement clamors,
demanded the manager. On his appear
ance q general cry expressed the wish
that Marina shou d receive an immediate
engagement as prina donna. The ready
caterer for their pleasure acquiesced, of
course delighted to find q new treasure.
Three heavy rounds of applause, Offering
parting tribute 10 the newly risen star,
and then night, calm and quiet, settled
over the gllttering bay and half aerial
mountains, the silent and the sleeping
city For some days nothing was talked
of but Marina. How capricious is the
popular judgment How utterly it will
be ravished to-day with that which to
morrow will be flung by and forgotten
Gambrica's name was scarcely heard but
as the precursor of an invidious compar-
ison. Marina filed every heart. Marina
was uttered by every lip. Marina was
the theme of every cafe, every street,
every square.
How unlike Gambrica !" was the un-
grateful exclamation.
All pocsrina, she has had her day, -
cried one.
She was good, but she is terrible
pGSse," said another.
For me-" cried third, " I always
knew she was overTated."
A sunhower by the rose said a
fourth.
"Too large, too round, too tall, too
/ heavy; her hair too black, her eyes no
softness," added ffth.
"1hen," said the first, 'Thow 6Vs. 70.
matte! We are too clOyed with too
/ studied aud two>voluptuOus style.
| Nature is too deliberately improved upon.
/ Nothing is left to itself She may be the
| first of her school, but the school OF
| Marina is the first. Did you observe her
attitude last night when she drew the
dagger ?''
"She is a great singer, though, T"
! ventured little dandy who had not
{ heard Marina
Certainly very great, but she is al
! ways the same"
/" And what horrid faces"
These structures were general They
were the first that Gambrica had ever
encountered. They fell on her heart like
| lava.
Again the night came, and the theatre
/ was besieged by an enthusiastic thrOng.
/ Equipage after equipage dashed up !;
! party after party FASTENED in; each seat
was filed; the aisles were crowded the
/ Hobbies overhowed; all the nobility,
( fashion, science and beauty fortunate
enough TO secure places were assembled.
Sounds of impotence arose. Never had
thsre been a more brilliant audience.
/ In q small private box over the stage,
/ IN full view, sat Gambrica alone q spec
I tator OF this eyentful hour, dressed IN a
simple white robe. No ornament Oh her
uncovered head but the raven hair
parted over her brow. It was observed
! that once or twice her dark eyes flashed
and that her cheeks were pale.
" Poor Gambrics !" whispered many !;
her day is over
Marina appeared. Not her fOndest
friends had dared to depict so great q
/ triumph. She was trebly successful-as
/ the soveliest creature that was ever seen,
IS the most touching, noble and pure
actress, and, as a singer, trauScsndant
over all her predecessors. Her voice was
q phenomenon. She herself had never
before known al its deep powers, its
( divine revelations As she proceeded in
her role, at each instant subduing
electrifying, inspiring her hearers, the
enthusiasm and applause arose to an
exsltatiOn understandable, and when she
had sung the finale several times, each
time more charminrly, the rounds Of
applause were blended into one cons
tinued shock, the audience rose in 81
delirium, and ec5tacy rarely seen outside
of an Italian opera-hoUse, and crowns,
verses, wreaths, flowers, laurels and roses
were showered down at her feet.
She stood silent, trembling, over
whelmed in the presence Of these
laundering thousands, her hands crossed
upon her heaving bosom, her eyes bent
modcstly and gracefully to the ground.
Few sights are more striking than the IN
teriOr of spacious theatre completely
crowded, around, above, row behind row,
circle after circle, tier over tier--au
amphithtRtre of heads; the floors, the
ample walls, swsying with q sea Of faces
alive with human intellect, iOrid with
burning eyes, from the stagelights back 10
the receding columns, melting into vague
masses up TO the roof; aud these thou
sands OF awakened minds concentrated
upon one creature, worshipped ike n
deity. Next TO a Roman ovation come
the half unearthly triumphs Of al opera.
Gambric4 rose, attracting universal
attention, and for p moment the stormy
roar abated. The dethroned queen lifted
her tall figure, and turned her eyes upon
the multitude. In her hand, and resting
upon the balustrsde, she grasped a
massive wreath of everything green.
Generous Gambrica," cried a voice,
"sbe will award the wreath
The most lively applause followed this
suggestion, proclsiming st once that it
was Inagnanimous aud Just, and the lips
of q thousand echoed, "The wreath,
the wreath !" Then there was r mo-
ment's silence.
''Let her advance" was heard dis
tinctly in every part of the house, IL the
silver tones of that well-known voice.
Marina, her lashes glittering with
tears. her cheek flushed, her bosom
heaying with delight, advanced few
steps and bent her beautiful bend in an
attitude sweet as Psyche before the
mother of Love.
That arm, majestic, was raised aloft
The wreath was cast. A chaos of applause
greeted It's fall; but high, shrill and
audible above the roaring thunder pierced
the shrek OF that beautiful victim.
Marina fell dead upon the boards,
erimsoned with her blood.
The fatal wreath was of bronze.
Italy is the land of poetry, even IN its
crimes. The incident il said to be a
literal fact, snd Of recent occurrence
r New York World.
An Amer,can ebaI;an.oo n P,an.a