Public ledger. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1865-1893, 1878-11-23
THE THEATER

permissible things. Memphis has
passed through an ordeal rarely expe-
rienced by any community in the
present century. and if all who have
lost friends were to wear mourning :
the universal style would be black and
sombre. This, however, would not,
and does not constitute valid rea-
son why we should close places Of !
business, change local customs or
deprive ourselves of the rational en- /
joyments which in ordinary seasons ,
would enter into the calculations and
arrangements of life. It will not bet
ter our hearts or bring back the dead
to indulge in excessive mourning
Death is allotted to all men, and it is
our duty to make the most Of life
while it lasts. The duration and use
fulness Of life depend greatly upon
proper habits and ideas Cheerfulness
is duty and virtue. Health Of
body and of mind is incompatible
with morose and despondent dispo-
sition. To continue our existence we
must have food and clothes To be
useful in the world we need strength,
equanimity Of mind as well as physical
energy. The mind and body are in
sympathy; the condition of one affects
the other, There arc times when we
Of the city need to go to the country
for physical rest, and there are times
when it is equally as essential to have
social and mental recreation With
out these our faculties would become
dulled and we the most selfish and
sordid of creatures The bow that
is kept continually bent loses its
elasticity and power, and it is so with
the mind and the soul There is that
within us of a spiritual and ethereal
nature which must be fed and toned
up, else we would be only higher
type of the brute creation. The stage
with all its abuses, has done as much to
educate the public mind to encourage
virtue and condemn crime, to promote
art and healthy sentiment, to Instruct
us in what is useful and good and to
entertain us when weary and heartsore
with the struggles of life, as more pre-
tentious agencies, The drama is a
library of the worlds great au-
thors, and the people who go to the
theater with proper ideas and mo-
tives are the pupils in that school, and
while often amused and pleased are
nearly always benefited and improved
The man who can laugh or who sits {
good play through feels better after
ward and always learns something
We are to have very charming com
edian here next week and feel that /
will be blessed relief for those VIII,
have entered again upon the duties
the struggles and the anxieties Of lif
to go and hear him. Mr.. Raymond
will personate Colonel Sellers, 0
the Gilded Age, an old friend that w
have often seen in the common walk
of life. Every neighborhood and com
munity has its Colonel Sellers, an
while we laugh at his innocent fail
ings we may learn to avoid them, " 70
there's millions in it. Next Monda
the Memphis Theater will be opene
by the enterprising lessees, who hay
done so much heretofore to entertai
the Memphis public. Last seaso
they gave us an exceptionally good liz
of standard attractions, although at
financial loss to themselves, Th
winter another effort will be mad
and we believe that the support of tn
people will be but another evidenC
Of the life and recuperative power
of Memphis. With all our troubl,
the world still moves, and Memph
must not 60 down or backward. 81
must make a superb effort to build I
the place and allits institutions. III
lessons of the past need not, al
should not be lost or forgotten, but Il
living issues and concerns of life mu
engage us. and we will need to utili
all our resources and energies
yell-conductcd theater is not on
good commercial adyertis
ment and Investment, but it j
fuses life, spirit and taste
people. We are promised tn
season succession Of high-toned a
fractions. Mr.. Raymond will appe
both as Mulberry Sellers and
Risks, a new play. He will be follow
by a new version of Uncle Ton
Cabin, and A Celebrated Case tn
by the gifted favorite, Mary AndcrsC
Christmas week, and after her will f
low Fanny Davenport, McCulloug
Lawrence Barrett, Mrs. Oates, Em,
sons minstrels, and other popular
fractions. which will deserve libc
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