Feliciana sentinel. [volume] (St. Francisville, La.) 1877-1892, 1885-11-07
BLACK FOR A WEEK.
Tho Prank Played by Two Old
Time Waggish Actors.

What has become of Howitt?" in
quircd /. as | released a hand that 1
had not before clasped since the winter
of 1864.
Dead. Poor Jack; dead these fif-
teen years. While transforming with
company among the mountains of
Tennessee he took n severe cold; was
unable to 60 on with the company; was
left upon the cold charity of strangers.
and died of qnick consumption. did
not hca- of his death for long time;
have never seen his resting place. but If
l ever visit that portion Of Tennessee
ne shall have suitable tombstone. A
mad wag was jack
Kruger was right-Howitt was a mad
wag. and in 4 company that made the
Ohio, Michigan and Indiana circuit in
the fall and winter Of 1864. he
had peer. and that other msi
wag was Kruger himself. They were
the life of the company, and
about all there was in it, for poor
houses were the rule and salary days
were long ways apart But while
these two were the iun-makers of the
company. they were also its terrors, for
/ their jokes often took practical turn,
/ and no one knew when one'1f their
/ pranks would make him ridiculous in
7 the eyes Of the spectators. One Of
these will bear recital hsre, and it i.
I quite pSssihle that up ~ the Grand
River Valley there may be one or more
/ q dignitcd heads of families who. when
( he reads this article. will drop his Free
, Press upon his knees, remove his spec
I tacles from his nose and quietly smile,
for even practical Jokes are forgiven
/ after twenty years.
/ But | must dlgress for moment.
/ Hoyt was his name. and his father was
Il prominent clergy man in the Western
/ part of the STATE. Jack went TO the
war a n member of LOOMS Battery.
but in his first engagement a Confcdcr-
ate sabcr laid open hS abdomen from
. sid. TO side, or. as Jack used to speak
OF it: .Onc OF these scientific surgeons
[ wanted 10 observe the digestive process
when applied To haritack. so he opened
~, n hole in my stomach big enough tC
, put in Il pare Of glass.
Discharged from the service because
OF his wound. Hoyt came home. wrote
somc excellent articles upon camp life,
aud secured position upon the loca
star of the Free Press. Detailed Il
write theatrical notices, he became
stagc-struck, threw down his faber II
disgust. purchased very mcagcr ward
robe, joined a travelling company ther
PLAYING in Toledo, and became genu
inc stage Bohemian. Kruger was ther
the heavy man of that company
though he drifted into comedy not lon9
afterwards.
When Hoyt became an actor h
changed his name to Hewitt, because,
said he, they sound So near alike tha
there - no danger OF my missing Al
invitation 70 drink. while they don
look any more alike than a New I ori
Alderman eating terrapin and a soldIe
nibling hardtack behind a stump, an'
that old father of mine wouldn'
recognize the name even If he used ;
play bill rs = marker in his Bible.
In the winter of lS6i-j the cOmpan,
found itself in Grand Rapids and prac
icaIly stranded there. In VAIN was tn
"Tickct-of-Lcavc Man" then a reign
ing sensation, produced. The fcV
: spectators laughed ut Bob Briarly's,
woes and refused to give ''Hawkshaw
hand. The manager tired EN- witt
the French Spy. "Octoroon,
"Othcllo.' Lady of Lyons, Fan
chon''-cverything from tragedy t
farce: but il seemed impossible t
catch on TO a Grand Rapids audi
ancc. At last the Hidden Hand wa
thrust odt and that created quite
ripple
. EN- Uncle Toms Cabin, with me q
Uncle Tom, and you've got EN-
!. Porter was prominent busines
man. a whole-soulcd princely fellow
whom every body was happy to know
,hc father OF two lovely daughters, tn
> youngest of whom made the most in
telllgent Eva" | have ever seen-fo
portcr's suggestion was carried ont
Hewitt was the Rory Marks kruge
Ihe Deacon Perry and the write
went on for "St. Clair The play wa
} brought out with considerable elabora
ton for those days. In preparing tn
details Porter ins stcd upon plants
ton Break down" and upon havin
the stage covered with darkeys in tn
auction scene.
But where can we get the moaks?
asked the manager. doubtingly.
"Tll attend to that. replied Porte
4 This town is full of young fellow
Who know how 10 dance a sts.p or two