, 1884-09-09
ACTORS Ill 0MENS.
The sussrstitions which Infeat the
Atmosphere of the Stage.
Unfortunate .sJonahH' who Are
o-tsnci-ed by tho Profession
Il Bareback Riders Brief
Career-menlken.


Strange. though true, is the fact that all
ieri e entering the dramatic profession be-
enmo mora OF less superstitious, and II there
an b. found q few exceptions it only proves
az. ra.i. The reason is plain. for the very
al TINT surrounds them Is injected with Ill
amons, aud unconsciously the new convert
find himself making the sign Of the cross at
the approach of a o ss-eyed person. or
interpreting bad luck from the opening
Of an umbrella inside OF q build
ing. Prominent actors embrace the
general schedule OF superstitions, besides
indulging in a few individual ones OF their
own, Managers, too, regard certain actors
as "mascottes.H and recognize that even a
poor play, with the favored ono in the cast,
Is suIp to chronicle success. On the other
band, when a drama they deem invaluable
fails 20 meet public appreciation it is at once
concluded there is a Jonah in tho company,
who forever after is ostracised by the pro
~fession, and his approach regarded as a signal
Of horror.
Ono Of the first leading ladies Of the coun-
try confessed that she had never combed her
hair after dark without meeting ~disnppoint
ment, nor would she permit her room to be
swept after shutdown, as it carried away luck
a am fond said she, "of a rockingham,
but il 1 use ono, on rising
! invariably stop its motions, for should
another occupy it ere it stopped
they would surely fall ILL.," Her husband,
who is 4 popular low comedian, is f~rightfuliy
superstitious over the breaking Of a looking
glass, because his father died in an apoplectic
tit and broke n mirror in the fall
Many will refuse positively to transact
business between II and l O'Clock in tho day,
.Al f...at ba,.. at. that mould nraaapf M ag-
s.pted lover with a pair OF slipper, rs the
f.cipients arc sure to walk away with the
.ionor's affections. The loss OF u garter,
breaking Of a shoestring, or button from a
shoe, Indicates the loss OF a lover. The break
ing OF a needle while making a garment indi-
Gates that the owner viii live TO wear 1t out,
while stumbling going up stairs damages
their matrimonial prospects for = twelve
month.
The experience of one Of the finest lady
bareback riders in the circus arena is as
novel as pernicious. Beginning an engage
ment some years back, On the night OF her
first appearance the tent caught fire, where
upon she was Immediately discharged. An
other circus, knowing of her skill in her bust
ness, Immediately gave her an engagement
On her first appearance with the combina-
ton u cyclone visited the region of the show,
and swept away tents, elephants, and every
thing into the Mississippi river. The day
utter the disaster she was visited by the pro
prietor. who assured her she was Jonah, as
nothing bat good luck had been his expert
enee until her arrival. Barnum secured her
last for the season, but learning just before
her appearance with his combination Of her
unfortunate career, sent for her, and paid
her her iuli seasons salary, but positively re-
fused 10 have her make an appearance. This
closed her circus career, although connois-
seurs never disagreed that she was one of the
finest female bareback riders in the world.
Any actor is happy to meet a humpbacked
man early in the morning, as it prognos-
ticates good luck for an entire week. Should
the actor nave the temerity to lean on the
lump, his success Is assured for the entire
season.
And not alone TO the lesser lights in the pro-
fession does superstition play an important
role. Edwin Booth will not even enter a
theatre when the ~drop-curtain has a red
border. Mccullough, should he see the
moon over his left shoulder en- route to the
theatre, will not appear without a change in
the cast. Lawrence Barrett descends from
the sublime to the ridiculous, and before
ing the robes of the cardinal or d~onning
the hump for francesca da Rimini,n in
variably cats exactly the half of a pie, when
be feels equal 20 any emergency
Forrest wonld not employ or play in the
cast with an actor who could not while talk
ing to him look him in the face. God, he In
sisted, had marked him, and he WAS thankful
for the warning. Any of the music used in
the tragedy Of Macbeth even hummed in a
dressing-room would cause him exquisite tor
ture, and the pcrpetrator run risk of his life.
This last superstition pervades all ranks OF
the stage, and I'll luck is awaited with Il GER
tainty that admits of no doubt. It is com
panion omen to that Of the yellow nageolet,
which unnerves a whole orchestra and con-
demns its owner to dire punishment.
Brignoli, either in concert or opera, takes
thoroughly in the who'll audience on first en-
trance, and should he see a man blow his nose
on a red handkerchief his music becomes dis
cordant and he awaits i'll fate with the
patience of n martyr.
Adah Isaacs Menken, in the summer OF
1868, having been ordered by her physicians
from Paris TO Bougeralni, in the south of
France, reached that point in an exhausted
condition. The furore she had aroused in
London and Paris had burst into an all de
vouring fiame at this point. On the opening
night, when "M~azeppar was cast, with Men
ken as the heroine, sickness prevented
her appearance. Her managers, Du-
maine ard La Roche, seeing ruin star
ing them in the face, sent her a
hush message and substituted Miss Sarah
Dove for tho second nights performance
it proved O diro failure. The managers
visited Meni.n's apartments the following
morning, August 10, 1865, and demanded OF
Menken's maid, Snzette Ellington, imme-
diato audience with her mistress. Ser
tainly, she said, you Will find the object OF
your search in yonder room" On opening
the door they discovered the lifeless remains
of poor Adah Isaac Menken, whose spirit
had but an hour before assembled TO the God
who gave it. -Mazeppa" was Immediately
Withdrawn from the playbills, and to this
day never has been reproduced in this theatre,
and tie mention Of 1t would be regarded as
an evil omen.
Superstition more or less pervades al
degrees OF society, and the actor Is not alone
in his dread of i'll omens or reading Of bright
futurity in talisInanic numbers
BuddhfsIn In tho Gymna.Iuna.
Rochester Post-Express
Tell mo, George whispered a Livingston
Park girl the other night, "are you n Budd-
histf'
II cannot tell a Ratchet. Ever since |
Joined the Athletic association / have been
getting up a good deal of Nerve-Anna."