Morning journal and courier., 1881-07-19
Strange Players.

!
 Charles Matthews the elder, although he | did not incur the loss of limb, was thrown 1 from his carriage and lamed for life. When 1 he was enabled to return to the stage he re- appeared leaning upon a crutch stick and personating a lame harlequin in comic ex- l travaganza, entitled, ''Hocus Focus, or liar l lequin Washed White,' designed especially l for his reintroduction to the public. Some 1 few years since Signor Donate, a one-legged 1 dancer, appeared ill the course of Convent l Garden pantomime, and surprised the audi | ence by the grace and agility he displayed, 1 his mutilated state notwithstanding. He wore the dress of Spanish bull l fighter, and to the stump of his leg a tassel affixed so that it re- l sembled somewhat old-fashioned sofa cushion. In his 'Retrospections of the Stage" MT. Bernard describes a veteran manager who, though bent with age and afflicted with gout in all his members, delighted to repre- sent the heroes of light comedy. He was un- able to walk or even to stand and through out the performance had to remain seated in his easy chair, his lower limbs swathed in hannels, and to be wheeled on and off the stage as the circumstances of the play re- quired. He endeavored to compensate for these drawbacks by taking large pinches of
 snuff very frequently, and by energetically
 waving in the air a large and dingy pocket
 handkerchief. In this way he would repre- sent such characters as Plume, the vivacious
 hero of Farquhar's Recruiting Officer, :" to audiences that wer3 certainly indulgent and tolerant if they were not enthusiastic.
 One of MT. George Vandenhoff's "Dra-
 matic "Reminiscences" relates to a one armed
 tragedian he encountered Tn 1S40 on the stage
 of the Leicester Theatre. The poor mans left arm, 1t seems, t'had been accidentally
 shot off," nevertheless he appeared as Icilius,
 as Pizarro, and as Banquo, concealing his de- ficiency now with his toga, now with his md oil
 denhoff writes: q had really not noticed
 the poor fellows mutilation, though I had
 observed that he seemed rather one-sided in
 his action, till played Othello to his Iago
 and then what was my horror, on seizing him
 in the third act, to find that had got hold
 of an armless sleeve stuffed out in mockery
 of flesh, for he did not wear a cork arm
 was almost struck dumb, it was only by
 strong effort that I recovered myself suffi-
 ciently to go on with the text. Poor fellow
 he was remarkably sensible man and good
 reader but of course he could never rise in
 his profession with only one arm. "Art might
 have helped him, however, as 1t helped the
 late M. Roger, the admired French tenor, to 8 mechanical hand when by the accidental
 bursting of his gun his own natural right
 hand was so shattered that immediate ampu-
 tation above the wrist became absolutely
 necessary. By touching certain springs with
 the left fingers the artificial right hand per-
 formed several useful functions, opened and
 closed. held pen paper, grasped, and
 even drew a sword from it's sheath. Those
 uninformed upon the subject might have
 witnessed tte original performance of the
 original John of Leyden in Meyerbeer's
 ''Prophete" and never have suspected the
 loss he had sustained.
 In Anthony Pasquins Life of Edwin the
 comedian there is an account of ''barn- door
 actor" boasting the strange name of Gemea, who having lost an eye wore glass substi- tute, and was further troubled in that he had been deprived of the use of his left arm,
 which, paralyzed and withered, hung down
 uselessly at his side. Nevertheless he con-
 trived to play Richard the Third occasional ly, when he endeavored to keep his lame limb out of the way tucked under his cloak | behind him. But as he stalked about and spoke his speeches, the pendant arm shifted its position, came into sight, swung forward
 and incommoded him greatly, to be instant | ly and unkindly slapped back into it's place | by the right hand" Throughout the per.
 formance, indeed, his right hand was found
 to be constantly engaged in keeping his Jeff
 hand in order; the spectators, meantime greeting with laughter and applause this cur
 ious conduct on the part of the stranges
 Richard that could ever have been seen upor
 the stage.