The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1886-04-09
STAGE KISSES.

The stage kiss is poser. 1t has at
times an effect that is occult, inscrut-
able. and deep. No man can tell what
its impression on an audience will be,
and the shrcw,lest of theatrical Judges
turn diilidcnt when asked about it.
The last time that the beautiful AIDE
laidc Nelson played Juliet in New York,
| .,ay, tho Now York Sss,s, sho had baJo
Romeo lingering farewell and was
turning away from the balcony, when a
sudden whim seemed to seize her, and,
wheeling about swiftly, she caught his
face in both her hands, and, leaning
forward, gazed into his eyes. The house
was still as death. The audience, al
ready seriously wrought upon, and feel
ing parched, arid, and uncouth, leaned
forward nervously. Two thousand eyes
were rivcted upon the actress. There
was long wait; then she slowly pressed
| her lips to Romco's and seemed lost to
everything around her. The people sat
like stones. A programme iloatcd down
| from above and fell athwart Il woman 8
bonnet, and she did not raise her hand
to remove it. A spinster coughed.
Juliet raised her head slowly and glided
away, looking back over her shoulder
as she disappeared with an expression
that no man who saw it will ever forget.
There was long silence and then the
| play went on. But no one paid the
slightest attention to it. One by one the
people relaxed their strained and intent
! attitudes and leaned back in their chairs.
! There was no rustic or noise. The wo-
man did not notice the programme on
/ her bonnet until the curtain fell.
Miss Anderson played Juliet in New
| York when she returned from London
recently, and in the fourth act she kiss
ed Romeo. As she approached the event
I the bald-hcaded man in the orchestra
who habitually dawdlcS with the base
| viol rose from his seat and looked over
the footlights. Everybody knew the
kiss was coming, and when the actress
leaned forward, frigidly and resolutely
| placed her face in the immediate prox-
unity of Romco's the house was all at
tcntion. She leaned back again. The
deed had been done. The bald-headed
man in the orchestra sank back in his
chair, shivcrcd bit, and turned up his
collar The lights flckcrcd. An usher
snccZcd and tiptoeing softly to the door
| he put his hand across the crack TO see
| if he could find out where the chilling
draught came from. Then bowling
swell rose from his seat, blew upon his
! fingers, pulled on Il fur overcoat, went
out into Thirteenth street, and wished
audibly that inc was dead.
The vagarics of actors in dealing with
the stage kiss are infinite. Henry Irving
usually kisses the actresses of his COM
pany on the forehead i'm q cold. drOop.
| ing, duck-likc fashion. In his most
hcart-rcnding moments with his wife,
when he plays Charles l., he does little
more than look ut Miss Terry pitcously,
reach for her impotently, and OCCASION
ally press a correct, severe, proper En-
glish kiss upon her classic brow. Mr..
Irving also distinguished himself by the
manner in which he threw kiss, or
rather didn't throw it. Ii was his GUS
tom to raise his hand slowly and Imply
| To his lips and plant small, rigidly-
disciplined, and chastcncd kiss upon his
finger tips and look soulfully ut the
actress toward whom the kiss was sup
posed to travel Having done this, he
would fccbly drop the hand. as though
it were Il strange and useless thing, and
stamp twice upon the stage very loudly
with his off foot, whereat the actress
looked extremely glad.
Selma Dolaro once employed the kiss
in very effective way. The play dealt
with a quarrel between lovers, and ut
the very height of the excitement the
actress threw herself into u corner of a
sofa with her head resting on the back
and her face upturned. The lover sud.
denly stumbled across n letter on the
table which explained the difference all
away. He read it silently, pressed it to
his lips, and looked toward the flies
with an expression of devout thanks
giving. For long while he did not say
a word, but stood gazing, after the man.
ner of leading men, at the motiOnless
figure and upturncd face of the actress.
The audience, which usually scents
trouble from afar, glarcd at the stage.
Then the actor moved slowly forward,
and. leaning, over Mime. Dolaro, silent
ly pressed his lips to hers just as the
curtain fell. Not word was spoken.
There was a terrific outburst of applause
and the audience insisted upon having
the curtain raised again, evidently anx-
ious to sec whether he was still there.
He wasn't and the applause died out in
stautly.
Osnond Tearle usually kissed Miss