The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1882-07-22

they should never more see Sprouts or their
mother or the baby.
After this the rehearsal went on quietly and
proftahly. 1t was objected to the first reading
that it singled out the dying man with unne-
cessary distinctness, and seemed to imply that
o hers OF the bystanders might have seven, or
eight, or more minutes to live, whereas he had
only five. kindred objection was raised when
Jonadab proposed to read it: she has but
fve minutes to live" To lay the emphasis on
either 'has, "but" or "to'' was but to waste
point. Mrs. Dibbins rather liked the reading:
HE has but five minutes to live" But Sprouts
from whom all these criticisms have come,
though, OF course, not stated in precisely the
words set down here,) ruled that out of the
question.
1t was finally arranged that Jonadab was to
begin in low, solemn voice, to slightly hest
tate when he came to ''tive minutes" as if he
were precisely calculating the time and to lay
what emphasis might be left on the word
'live-" This settled, the burnt cork was
washed of, the children were readmitted and
Sprouts finally, though not without difficulty,
convinced Teddy that "father was only play
ing," and had no designs on his young life
You may be sure that Mrs. Dibbins and
Sprouts were early at the theater the next
night The opening part of the play was all
dream to Sprouts. He knew that it was not
until the last act his father come on, but be-
lore Cue HrSJ acG was over ne nau lOTSOLJen
him in the excitement Of the play. He heard
sometimes hum of voices near him. He was
conscious of faint smell of oranges. He fam
cied his mother spoke to him now and then.
But it was all as in a dream. With elbows
leaning ON the edge of the gallery, and his
head supported between his hands, Sprouts
looked down on the real men and women NOV
ing about on the stage below, his mouth wide
open for the better taking in Of all that passed
\ Sprouts heart had ceased to beat when he
watched the gay well-dressed man who had
been so nasty and had killed the other man,
now himself fall back, whilst the red blood
| gushed from the wound on his left breast and
stained his white shirt. But his heart leaped
| up with great throb when he saw familiar
| figure enter and walk slowly across he stage.
| His father was splenddly dressed; fine black
hat, real black cloak, and such stately tread,
with just little drawing OF the left leg, as II
it were paralyzed. Sprouts fancied he had
| seen the same gesture somewhere before in
the play, but he could not at the moment
| identify the recollection.
| He knew it was play now, for here was his
| father on the stage, and all this great crowd
| to look at him. Were they excited! Could
| they believe that gentleman in the black cloak
and the fine hat was his fathers Mrs. Dibbns
| was dissolved in tears. SIZE began to cry the
moment Jonadab appeared. But Sprouts was
| too much accustomed to this phenomenon to
| notice it. Ee saw the great crowd behind
him ranged tier after tier, and every man and
woman with eyes fixed eadfastly on the stage
Upon the stately figure in the black cloak,
| Sprouts was certain.
Jonadab suffered himself to be led up to the
place where the wounded man lay. He knelt
on one knee, took his wrist between his
fingers, and producing a watch-a real watch
provided by the property mamie looked
straight up at the gallery, fixing his eyes upon
| Sprouts precisely as on the previous day he
had nor ha nnf Fort of
now it seemed it was his own turn to be para
lyzed. A fearful silence fell upon the stage
and pervaded the house. There knelt Jonadat
with the dying mans wrist between his fingers
The rest Of the players stood grouped round
the next man waiting for the cue which iona
dabs exclamation was to provide him with
Here was the long-looked for opportunity
and Jonadab was Dumb Sprouts noticed
with growing terror that the muscles OF hi
fathers face were working convulsively. Hi
eyes were fixed and glazed. His lips movet
as If trying to form words, but no syllable dit
he utter. Then the truth flashed upon Sprouts
His father, in the deadly excitement of thu
moment, had forgotten his speech. Tit
memory that had served him through the long
est speeches in Hamlet" now played hin
false
Tags Of innumerable speeches crowded upol
the unhnppy mans memory. He felt he mus
say something, and the words that seemed t.
articulation were Hamlets soliloquy on death
In another second he would have commenced
"To be, rnot to be- when a shrill voice com
ing from the gallery filled the house:
/" He has but five minutes to live"
It was Sprouts How he came to utter tn
words he knows no more than his father ca
explain how they froze in his recollection
However this may be, Sprouts saved his father
The spell was broken, Jonadab's tongue wa
loosed, and in solemn accents that filled tn
house and rolled through the dim recesses Q
the roof, calling forth a distinct round of az
plause, he said, as he let the dying mans han
fall:
"He has but five-minutes-to live"
| The play was an immense success, and whe
the newspapers came out the next morning
was found that the critics had felt constraine
to spare few words Of recognition of tn
strikingly original manner in which Sig. d
bini had played the comparatively small par
of the doctor.
"Signor Dibini," a morning journal wrote
sis, II we mistake not, new to the stage. Bu
we venture to predict for him distingnishe
= future. We have frequently witnessed th
performance OF this legendary drama, But W
confess that till last night we had nevt
noticed the relatively Insignificant part OF tn
z doctor. The stately manner of Signor Dibini
approach, the solemn pause that preceded n
ntterance, and the thrilling tones with whic
he announced the approaching end OF ChateaI
: Renaud were evidences slight but conclusiy
of supreme genius. A child in the CALLER
! paid simple but striking tribute to tt
, masterfulness of the representation by ech'
ing with shrill voice the brief sentence
= DEATH"
, The echo, as we know, went before Il
, speechf but that is mere detail.-Henry '
Lucy, in BeIgrauia.