Millheim Journal. [volume] (Millheim, Pa.) 1876-1984, 1883-08-09
VOL. LNII.

leu Iuo IO ldho d pdiO III any PSAAoAA"
ance, and, indeed, Of the ladies and
men forming the present company,
Ada Dart and O'Brian were the only
two who were not about to make theN
first appearance upon any stage. OF
course, these experienced members
took a prominent lead, besides being
necessarily drawn together in a con
fidential way which it was very un-
pleasant for me to witness. Jealousy
and envy so stirred my bile that | was
inclined to regret the good old days of
duelling, when | might have picked a
quarrel with my rival, and SO had n
chance of removing him frommy path.
But the way in which the odiouS
Irshman knocked over pheasantS and
rabbits, and particular snapshot
fired from the hip. which was fatal to
a woodcock, forced me to own that
there was a deep truth in the ingen-
iouS assertion SO constantly repeated
in newspaper articles, that private
combat is "cowardly practice
The fine old hall of Winton park
was to be our theater, and it was my
particular province to take the best
advantage of the many natural facili-
ties of the place; to arrange about the
scenery; to find out what were the
proper dresses for the plays we were
to perform, etc, and Ada Dart, being
the only person whose counsel was of
real service in case of a difficulty, |
was perpetually obliged to appeal to
her. Dangerously Intoxicating were
those conferences, which, l confess,
prolonged needleSsly; indeed, | used
sometimes to get up veXatiOus oppo-
sition to her wishes in order to give
our discussion a matrimonial flavor.
Heigh-hO!
The plays selected were THE Belle
of Penzance," followed by the farce
of Eyes and Nose," and the distribu-
tion of parts was a work for Job and
Solomon, most of the company at first
declaring their utter inability to take
the simplest characters, and coming
round gradually to demanding the
principal roles. At our first general
meeting it really seemed doubtful
whether it would be possible to cast
the mildest and Iightest of pieces,
but at the end of Il fortnight if
"Othello" could have been rewritten
with three Moors, four Desdemonas
and two lagos, our little company had
stomach for them ALL"
| was cast for Fortescue, which was
too prominent part for my taste; for
beside that, on principle, | very much
prefer that other people should amuse
me to reversing that proceeding; |
hated having so much to learn by
| heart.
In little time matters began to
run smoothly and we had our first re-
hearsal. By recalling to mind the diff
ferent actors / had seen in my part.
and endeavoring to initiate them, l
succeeded better than | had anticpa-
ted, and gained considerable applause.
But said O'Brian, "you must shave,
you know. The idea of Fortescue
with those whiskers is too absurd"
Now, my whiskers were black, pen
dant, silky, and had cost me an infinity
Of trouble. 1t had taken five years Of
| constant care and scientific training to
bring them to their present state of
perfection. Any one without expert
ence in the matter would scarcely
credit the amount of time and labor,
not to mention the mere money, that
| had expended upon them. Little soft
| brushes, delicate combs, bottles of a
peculiar oil, more delicate than is ever
used for the head, were appropriated
| to their service. When | visited my
| hair-cutter that artist would deliber-
ate for at least five minutes before he
could come to a definite conclusion
upon the important point whether he
should take the "hends' off. When |
took my walks abroad and the breeze
fluttered them over my shoulders,
scornful indeed was the beauty whose
eyes did not light up with admiration
as she passed. Even envious men were
unable to withhold their tribute of
praise.
"Cheevers, my boy" observed Riv-
ers, who has spent his own fortune
and is looking out for wife, "my
figure is twenty thousand, but, by gad,
if l had your face hair, I'd make it
fOrty!'
You may judge my feelings, then,
when it was seriously proposed that l
should shave. Irepudiated the notion
with a shuddering earnestness which
seemed to amuse some of the company,
and they all set to work to argue me
out of my objection to the sacrifice.
"They will grow again." said one