The Ottawa free trader. [volume] (Ottawa, Ill.) 1843-1916, 1882-02-25
my heart, that almost chokod utterance con.
vulsively cried

my heart. that almost chokcd u,terancc, con.
vulsively cried:
l %, my fair warrior"
i Twice, at the end of that act, ! was compel.
ed, 10y the dcaten,ng plaudits, to go before the
curtain and bow my Acknowledgements to the
, enthusiastic audience; while the delighted
manager, accompanying me to my dressing,
room, wrung my hands in his enthusiasm,
and assured me that was achieving a great
4 triumph.
h "'Ahr ] thought as | closed the door to
dress for the third act, the victory is only
half won. Unless sustain the excellence of
Il the performance In the next three arduous
acts, these cheers, now almost deaienng me
4 with their camor, may be changed to Kisses ;
4 while the golden prize of tame and fortune,
now almost in my grasp, may elude me like a
wlllo'-,he wisp, or the water OF Tantaus.
After donning my costume for the third
+ act, seated myself And hastily glanced over
my lines. While dong So ard wondering
whence would come my inspiration to proper.
Iiv interpret them, | was interrupted by u
knock at NY door. At my bidding to come
IN, the door opened; and there, to my surprise,
WAS Wilson. When | asked him the cause of
his visit, he aroused my curiosity by enigmat
icall y replying;
~ not only come 10 congratulate you on
a matter to you that, in my opinion, vitality
affects your honor and happiness
Saying this, he made deep bow ana seat
ed himself confess that was somewhat
startled by the ominous character OF the last
words; but, with display Of indifference, |
merely SAID;
well, what is 1t.
! al nope he cautiously continued, that you
will remember that IN whatever have to say
| am solely prompted IN doing so by regard
tor you
| Yes vest | Interrupted, lmpatlentiy.
| 'What cOmmuncaton do YOU desire to makeE
"Wel, them SAID he, bending forward AS
your sincere frlenu, desirious of preventing an
abuse OF your confidence feel that II ~ my
| duty to tell you that the relations Suhsistlng
! between Elliot and your prospective "ile are
not what they should be; but that, on the con.
,rary-'
"What do YOU mean, sir| | shouted, up
starting.
81 mean that your confidence Is abused.
your happiness destroyed aud your honor
| "'lntamOus slanderern | cried, Rervously
SEEING chair; you he! Leave this room!
Approach me again with any such coWardly
insinuations, and as heaven gives me strength,
IN brain you!
"Timidly saying Il would but do you ser
vice he skunk out of the room; while l. weak
with excitement and anger, fell into the chair,
when the first impulse of my rage had
subsidized the fearful thought came over me-
"What if this were sog Perhaps this fell
low is doing me service. who Is this Elliot,
with his shapely figure and handsome eyes?
Why Is Florence so reticent as to his identity?
Why did she recommend him? Why are
they so intimately Can thislbe so|
Consumed by fears and doubts, felt ILL
| sol .hn atu hnp
curtain rose With great effort | did so,
however; and when | looked at Desdemona,
in that charming prelude to the great, melting
scene, and beard the music of her voice again,
my doubts vaHished as quickly as they came,
and exclaimed, with more than the actors
att after her retiring figures
Excellent wretch! Perdition catch my soul,
But do love thee, and when lows thee not,
Chaos is come again!'
"Alas! Chaos had come again: for at that
moment all my doubts required to me by hear
ing Wilson's hated voice, as lago, say:
MY noble lord!'
Then followed the immortal, melting scene,
1 which | think, en- PEASANT, Is one OF the master
pieces of the great poet As slowly ana ma
i ievolenly rs did Iago pour the poison into
Olhello's ear, so subtly did Wilson distill the
pestilcnce into mine and when he came TO
the lines,
Look to your wife! observe her well with Cassie"
he seized my arm and pointed towards the
wings
ii quickly turned, and there
i Heavens! | saw Florence standing with
Elliot. Her hand was in his, and she was
Il looking rs lovingly into his eyes as ever she
had done into mine. They were whispering
and smiling together, and as he iaughlngly
broke away he kissed her
The footlights danced before my eyes, be-
fore which likewise swan the faces OF the au'
dience. leaned upon the handle of a chair
to support myself; and then feeling that all
was lost, | sank into a chair amid the accla-
nations of the multitude. Little did they
] know that they we're applauding real, not
mimlc and that the sTerings which they
Ihonored with their appreciation were not mere
1 " the fiction of the poet, but the heart throes
of flesh and blood
i al did not act the rest of that scene-I liC6d
it, Experiencing all OF Othello's awful an
guish, it was with deep emotion that | spoke
4 his lines:
: why did marry This honest creature doubt,
| less
Sees and knows more, much more, than he un
folds
"And again with feeling of terocity we'll
ing up IN my heart, that was new to me, |
cried
i III do prove her haggard,
Though that her jesses were my dear heart
i strings,
I'd whistle her of, and let her down the wind.
To pray at fortune
II you will remember that at this juncture
Desdemona enters to chide Othello for his neg
> lect of his Cyprian guests. With rs close 8
Il ~ .aln n Il h l,nl-