The Arkansaw traveler., 1884-11-01
D00Iu,B AuvxMrURE.
fAdlnlnriel

ny cDal frs, vAicA sas cheerfully SIazine up and giooaily sahsidiag again, h the vay that vesfezn coal fires in western coal eEaae vera then vezy mnch in the hshif of doing. l vas . young and in- 'expesienced minister. had come so the vest, hesh fom Nes England divinity school, wifh magnificent ideas of the vass work which was b be done, and rather a vsgue noeion of the way tn which l vas 0 do l.
 Twas sitting in my some~hat lonely position, watching my coal fire, and think ing of the fFieads had lelk on the other side of the mountainA A hnocx came at the door. On opening It, . negro boy presented himself, holding . nose. The noee vas as follows:
 UxIrsp STATES HoTEI, January i, ,sa.
 Sir: hope you will excuse the liberty of . stranger addressing you on a subject he feels great interest in. It k require d place of infermeae for has friend sI ia the church yard. and also the expense affendan, on the purchase ofsceh place of temporary .epose.
 Your communication oa this matter will greatly oblige, sir, your respectful and obedi- ent servant IB. BOOTH.
 It vin be ooserved that aiser the word friend" an ! follows in brackess. In the original the word vas followed by small mark that might or might not give it the plural ioem- It could be read either friend Tor friends n; but as we do not usually find ouuelves called upon to bury more than one friend at a time. the haSty reader would not notice the mark, but vould read it friend.n So did |; and only affervard, in consequence Of the denouement, did l notice that it might be read in the other way.
 Taking my hat l stepped into the ssfeet and sought the mayor.
 Finding no one at home, and 90 not being able to learn about the price of lot. in the church-yard, walked on to the hotel and asked to see Mir. ]. B Booth. was sAevu into private parlor, where he and another gentleman were sitting by a table. On the table were candles, a decanfer of wine and glasses, a plate of bread, cigars and . book. Mir. Booth arose when l announced myself and at once recognized the distinE sished actor. l had met him once before, and travelled with him for part of day. He was a shoTt man, but one of those who seem tall when they choose to do %. He had clear blue eye and fair complexion. h repose there was nothing to attract atten- ton to him but when excited his en- pression vas 90 animated, his eye vas 90 brilliant and his figure SO full of life, that he became another man.
 Having told him that had not been successful in procuring the information desired, but would bring it on the follow ing morning, he thanked me and asked me to sit down. It passed through my mind that, as he had loss a friend and was a stranger in the place, might be Of use to him. Perhaps he needed conso- lasion, and it was my office ts sympathire with the bereaved- So sat down. But 1t did not appear that he was dis posed to seek such comfort, or engage in such discourse. Once or twice l en- deavored, but without success, to turn the conversation to his presumed loss. asked him if the death of his friend vas sudden.
 "veiy." he replied.
 Was he a relative!'
 Distant" said he, and changed the subject.
 It is many years since these events! took place, and dc not pretend to give the conversation very accurately, but what occurred was vey much like this It was a dialogue between Booth and myself, the third party saying not word during the evening. Mir. Booth first asked me to take [ glass of wine, or a cigar, both of which declined.
 Well" said he, les me try to enter tain you in another way. When you came in was reading aloud to my friend. Perhaps you would like to hear me read.r
 certainty should" said |.
 What shall reAd1"
 "Whatever you like best. What you Ike to read should like to hcA.'
 Then suppose attempt Coleridge's Ancient Mariner? Have you time for it? It is long,"
 Yes, should like 1t much"
 So he read aloud the whole of this magnificent poem. have listened to Macready, to Edmund Kean, to Rachel, to Jenny Lind, to Fanny Kemble; to Wehsser, Clay, Ward Beecher, Wendell Phillips, Father Taylor, Ralph Waldo Emerson to Coquerel, Lacordair; bu, none ofthem affected me as vas affected by this reading. forgot the place where was, the motive of my coming, the reader himself knew the poem almost by hears, yet 1 seemed never to have heard it before. l vas by the side of the doomed mariner. 1 was the wedding guest listening to history, held by his glittezing eye vas with him in the storm among the ice, beneAsh the hot and copper sky. Booth bedAme % ab- sorhed ie his reading. 70 identified with the uoem thai hix tone and unannew we<> saturated with seeling Of reality. He 1 am pezsuaded-while he sas reading. As the poem proceeded and ve plunged deeper and deeper into iss mystic houors, the actual world receded into dim, in- de6nable distance The magnetism of this marvellous interpreter had caught up himself and me with him, into dreamland, from which ve gently descended at the end of Part VI, and the spell vas snap