The Russellville Democrat., 1885-12-24
Friday Evenrng 1t M as0nic Kfall

Friday Evenrng 1t M Mas0nic Hal
 We think fhose who witnessed th lliftIe drama. ss'ren Nfgths in Bal Room at Masonic Hall Friday nigh as presented by tho members of thi 4 Excelsior Club, will not accuse us o i using extrayagant language when wt lsay that 1t was not only stlccese bnl
 great success, all things considered. The young gentlemen and ladies had only two weeks for preparation. The former are all actively engaged in busi.
 ness, and some of them, not only during l the day, but part of the night. The latter, that is the young ladies, we don't think lend life of leisure, hay l ing no doubt many and varied things to do daily in and between the parlor and the kitchen. Heace the time for study and practice was quite limited.
 The evening WAS pleasant one and | the hall crowded more so than we ever saw 1t on any similar occasion to hear travelling theatrical company. The cast of characters were:
 Sample SwiIchcl, a rolicking young
 man, always lively and never sober, James Robinson; Simon Slade. keeper of hotel with bar room attacllcd, Henry
 E. Erwin; Joe Morgan, besc tied hus- band, w. G. Weimer: Frank Shade, ho- tel keepers son and bar tender, VI. F.. Bell; Harvey Green. fast young man, N. D. Rogers; Willie Ham mond. another fast young man, John w. White; Mrs. Slade, ho- tel keepers wife, Miss Fife Haney Mrs. Morgan, Joe Morgan's wife, Miss D..f ts fas. year old daughter, Myra Doggett; and Mehitabie Cartfight, h0use-maid, Miss Ellen White. Mir. James Tucker, Chas. Shinn and N. D. Rogers composed the orchestra, and they furnislled better music by one hundred per cent. than they did on the last similar occa- sion.8 They are rapidly learning to adopt the music to the spirit and matter Of that part of the play which the music accompanies or follsws-that 1t should vary--
 "Ffom grave to gay from lively to severe"
 We cannot take the space to give each actor the notice they deserve. Whilst some greatly excelled orhers, they all did very we'll. Mir. Weimer, Mir. Robinson, Miss Rose Patterson and Miss Mira, did remarkably well. Mir. w. as bar room sot, and drunken hus- band at home, at the bedside of his dying daughter, made the character seem highly life-like, to all who have seen such. James Robinson got fully into the spirit of his part of the play. He seemed to rush into 1t with all the zest that starving man would rush to tempting feast. He personated the rollicking, dissipated young 1rishman in either talking. drinking or fighting. Physically, he perhaps, in two or three places little overdone his part, and at times his words were uttered too fast and not with as much distinctness as more practice will givo him. Miss Rose Patterson acted the wife and mother in a natural manner, much ad- mired, and Miss Myra, as the drunkard's 5 daughter, following him to the tavern and there stricken down by blow aimed at her father, was hard to excell. Mir. w. B. Mcdonald, looked and talk ed very much like pious, devoted temperance advocate.
 Miss Fife Hancy and Henry Erwin was much admired as husband and wife and proprietors of hotel, and Frank took to bar-keeping as if he had been at 1t before. Sample and Mehitable's courtship strikingly reminded some of the audience of what they had seen and felt and acted themselves. Much could be said iE favor of others but we have not space to say 1t.
 The large audience showed their ap- preciation by frequent and snthusias- tic applause. We feel certain that the playing had very good effect--espec- ially so on the small boy, and he was there numerously and took in tue play with all of mind and heart. In the school of intemperancc, it was to him the striking picture to the eye as well as the idea to the mind. One of scyer- al seated in front of us, got so full of the lesson taught, that he spoke right out of his heart--where boy reasons
 more than in his head and said: ''these men here in town who drink whiskey had better take warning" What he saw and heard made better and more lasting impression, than fort" dry ar guments on temperance.
 Complimentary tickets were sent, we learn, to all the preachers in town. We think only two of them were pres ent, Mir. Jones, of the NJ. E.. church, and Mir. Key, of the NJ, E. church south; (you generally find the Metho- dist preacher on hand when the fight is against whisky or the orthodox devil,) and we have heard one of them say he was very glad ne attended and
 was highly entertained.
 The closing scene of the play was im- pressivs and beautiful, and Sample Switchel with an aptness much admir- ed called down the curtain with his little speech, and the large crowd went out complimenting the Excelsior Club, and hoping the play would soon be re- ,~ontnI