The Portland daily press., 1881-07-27
[Belgravia.l
Blind Players.

There have been blind players. In the
Wolverhampton Chronicle, December, 1892,
appeared statement to the effect that one
Brlscoe, the manager of a small theatrical
company then in Staffordshire, although stoue-
blind, represented all the heroes in his trage-
dies and the lovers in genteel comedies. In
1744, April 2, the Drury Lane playbill was
headed with quotation from Milton: "The
day returns, but not to me returns" The per-
formances were given for the benefit of DR.
Clancy, author of the tragedies, "Tamar
Prince of Nubia," and "Hermon, Prince of
Chor@a," who had become blind. The public
was duly advertised that ''Dr. Clancy being
deprived of the advantages of following his
profession, the master of tho play house had
kindly favored him with benefit night; it
was, therefore, hoped that as that was the first
instance of any person laboring under so heavy
a deprivation performing on the stage, the
novelty as well as the unhappiness of his case
would engage the favor and protection of
British audience" The tragedy of "Gdipus''
was represented, and the blind man personated
the blind prophet Teresias. The performance
produced some profit, and Dr. Clancy was fur.
ther assisted by pension of el0 per annum
out of the privy purse. Imperfect sight has
RoscluS is said to have been afflicted with OBJ
liquity of vision, and therefore to have PLAYED
in wizard, until his autlence, recognizing his
great histrionic merits, induced him to discard
his mask that they might the better enjoy his
exquisite oratory and the music of his voice.
The great Talma squinted. And a dramatic
critic writing in 1925, noted it as a strange
fact that "our three light comedians, EIliston,
Jones and Browne" each suffered from "what
is called cast in the eye.'' Mr.. Bernard in
bic ssR trocn
tor OF some reputation who, although possessed
of but one eye, played call the lovers and har-
lequins." With shortness of sight many of
our players have been troubled or how can we
account for such well-known facts, for instance
as the eye-glass of Mr.. Bancroft and the pince-
nez of Mr.. Irving? Poor Mrs. Dancer-she
was afterward famous as Mrs. Spranger Barry
and as Mrs. Crawford-was so short sighted
that Hugh Kelly in his satirical poem of "Thel-
pls," rudely spoke of her as "moon-eyed idi-
ot." And once when, by accident she dropped
her dagger as she was about to commit self
slaughter upon the stage in the old tragic way
she playing Calista in the "Fair Penitent''-
her imperfect vision hindered her from per-
ceiving where her weapon had fallen, and she
could not recover il. "The attendant endeav-
ored to push it to ward her with her foot; this
failing, she was obliged to pick it up and very
civilly handed it to her mistress to put an end
to herself with-an awkward effect, as it took
from the probability of the scene," simply
The late Herr Staudigl who usually wore
spectacles when he was not engaged upon the
stage, found his weakness of sight a special
disadvantage when he personated Bertram in
"Robert le Diable." He could not find the
trap-door through which Bertram should de-
scend in the final scene of the opera, although
pains had been taken to mark broadly with
chalk the exact position of the opening The
famous bass was usually conducted carefully to
the spot and held over it that he might not
miss it by the Robert and Alice of the night.
From the first, indeed, the trap-door in "Roo-
ert" had been a source of inconvenience On
the night of the production of the opera, Nour-
rit, who played Robert, an impassioned artist,
"entrdtn6 par la sitatation Sc p7ccipitd etourdi-
naent dams la trGppe a Ia suite du dieu des en-
ters." The audience, much alarmed, exclaimed
"Noatrfit est tue" Mile. Dorus, the represen-
tative of Alice, shed tears No harm had been
done, however. Robert was not hurt. He
had fallen upon the mattresses arranged for
Bertram. "Que diable .faiteS-oous ici?'' said
Bertram's interpreter. Levasseur, to Nourrit
as they met beneath the stage: "Est-ce qu'on
q change deooaB,eRt?"