Los Angeles daily herald., 1885-12-20
CHAPTER VIII.


PARIlA2 OF OtEoIES AND fLADE1+
Curly's recovery now was a mere ques-
ton Of TINA One day DIR. Dixon sail to
Jameson:
81 think your frienl may leave the hos
pital in a week or so, but you must be very
careful with him. Above all things keep
hun from drink. / fear he has tendency
that way, and any outburst Of that descrip-
tion may prove fatal; certainly to his
reason, probably to his lifel Keep him
from it, for Gods sakep'
with Gods help I'll do my BEST said
Willie.
At the end of the week he t3os his poor
friend to his Lodgings AMI tended him as if,
indeed. he had been the little brother he had
lost so long ago. As for Curly, be accom-
| PANEL Willie daily to rehearsal, went with
bin al nigat to the theatre, assisted him to
dress, followed him TO the wings, trotta5
about eft r him ike a dog. 1t was quite
beautiful to note the devotion OF thess men
to each other-more beautiful and more
| touching even than the love Of woman
Warned by former experience, Jameson
was careful never again to refer to Flora.
and Curly ne yer even mentioned her name,
so hencsforth the subject was tabooei be-
tween them. As to what passed. through
that tortured brain AMI wounded heart none
knew but God and himself. Let US hope
that God helped him to tear his burlen-
DIR. Dixon was unremit;ing in his atten-
| tons, but he was stern in his discipline and
wouldn't permit his patient any stimulant
/ beyond a pint Of claret and two or three
whiffs of tobacco daily. or course Willie
had TO fall into the same regimen to set a
good example Curly had never smoked
before. and the nicotine weed soothed him
exceedingly At first he dreaded the idea
of acting again, but as he Continued to gain
health and strength desire grew upon him
to play for Wille's "benefiLn He kept the
notion to himself for some time; at last be
took courage AMI asked Dixon il he thought
he might ven tura to act. This was exactly
ths healthful stimulant that the doctor de-
sired, and hs at once gave permission
| Curly ran over the stage, a bog once more,
caught Willie by both hands and huge
him, a. be exclaimed;
Lock here, oil maa, rvs got a surpriss
for you. The doctor says ! may act foE
your benefit. Please may play some littla
part-something like Charles. his f-ienif
Charles, h.s FRIEND be hangedf re
piled Willie. NO, you shall play Charles
my brother Well 10 the 'School for Scan
dal,' eh. coctori Do you think it viii b
too much for himF
Litt ltbAlcu
From this moment Curly got better and
better.
At length the night Of the benefit arrived
Wnfes own abundant popularity. tn,
romantic interest surrounding Curly's frs
appearance, and the known attachment Of tbs
/ two young fellows for each other combines
TO make the night the event of the seas n
/ The houss was fall to overlooking, the
musicians were crowded out by the pitti5es
the overture was played on the stage
I After the first act the poor orchestra wa
I actually sent up TO the stiies" Then the
| bOx people were driven behind the scenes
and there they stood on the wings in sight
OF the audience. At length. in tbs lasi
scene, the stage itself was more than hall
| filed. as in the old Elizabethan times, with
I the elite Of thu place, and when the tar was
spoken, had It not been for the costumes il
would have been impossible 70 distinguish
the actors from the ulience. Curly never
acquitted himself better He had tskea a
new lease OF life; his career was about TO
begin afresh- Willie too. bad distinguis hed
himself adinirably-indeed, the coniei y al
together was a great success People crowsisd
round the brothers and began to cougrata-
late them.
THIS performance was destined to form an
epoch in the lives OF the young actors 1t
80 happened that that very night the man
ayers Of the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane.
and Of the Theatre Royal, Edinburgh. we're
among the auditors Next morning Curly
received an offer for toe ensuing season at
Drury Lane. and Willis was engaged as
principal traselian for tbs Theatre Royal