, 1886-07-27
~CLEOPATRA'S ASP.

" 1880 80
the English provinces can have little no
ton of what it Is to be ION the road IN
the western states OF America. Itis not
only that the country n the people are
less civilized, but both are SO different.
by side with the strongest marks OF
primitive habitation you find INSTANCES of
the latest inventions. The Pullman car
~startlcs the antelope and the prairie dog
in its passage; advertisements OF Mustang
liniment are daubed upon immcnorial
cliffs; and every little township of wooden
houses has its church, its newspaper, and
its lyceum.
1t was in the latter buildings (Which, for
the benefit of the uninitiated | may eN.
plain, serve much the same purposes as
an English town halD hat tine travelling
company that had arranged to join at
Kansas City, in the spring OF 49,, usu-
ally gave its performances. The company
l was about to join was one of those strug-
Cling combinations OF which ther ,
ARE so many travelling the state }
Upon the basis of a sn all amour
of capital and a large stock o
histrionic enthusiasm, the "leuding man
OF the company, who was also the mant 2
ger, had organized" the troupe flr tn ,
exposition to the benignted denizens
the far west OF the beauties OF the legiii-
mnte drama in general, and of his o"
acting in particular. His wife was n ntilt
woman from Florida, and the darkness
her complexion and a certain blueness
the tinge of her finger-nails spoke prett
decidedly Of m admixture of negro bloc
in herself or in her ancestors. ! found
soon after | Joined the company, TINT sh'
had been tried in Shakespearian LEADING
parts, but had so egregiously failedin theri
that even to the partial eyes of herHpoua1
the fact was evident that a substitute foe
her in these roles must be found. Tic ref
suit was an advertisement in n New York
theatrical paper, and my acceptance
thereof, decided partly by the facf that
l had been resting for a ted lousy
long period, but more by the
opportunity which seemed to be offered -
me of gaining experience in the hgher
of the drama.
found TIN. manager, who rejoiced in the
Transatlantically aristocratic name OF
Calhoun, extremely polite, indeed per
haps rather too much so. considering that
his wife was II member of the company.
| must say, however, that this amiability
on Mr.. Calhoun's part arose much more
from histrionic selfishness than from any,
thing approaching gallantry. Like most
enthusiastics, he would have sacrificed
anything to improve the effect of his per
formances; and the fact that in me he
found n leading lady who. whilst compe-
tent to sustain the characters allotted TO
her to the satisfaction of his audiences,
was yet sufficiently modest to adopt his
views Of the proper treatment of y
dramatic situation, had, | am sure, more
to do with his cordially han any per-
sonal admiration for myself. u need
hardly say hat the views alluded 10
generally dictated giving IA prominepce iu.
his own performances and n retiring re-
serve In mine which was not in every case
warranted by the authors text.
As for Mrs. Calhoun (Pcpita, MS her
husband called her-an example we may
as well, for the sake of brevity, follow)y
she showed her dislike for me the moment
we met. 1t was, perhaps, too much to ex-'
pect an actress who had made II failure in
leading business" and who had been
relegated to the Charmians and Emilias
OF Sk~nkesperiun representations, to
welcome with cordiality the individual
who came to take her place. At
the same time. 1 think Pepita
might have been n little less demonstra-
tive of her %antipathy. When we met in
the passages of the various theatres which
we visited she swept past after the slight
est of mods, turning to me with marked
disdain her rounded, though somewhat
swarthy shoulders; and whilst | vas upon
the stage | often caught Il glimpse of her
standing in the wings, glaring Mt me with
eyes that shone with the lurid glare of
bitter detcstation.
| Dol discovered that, in addition to her
hatred Of me rs IL dramatic rival, Pepita
cherished n feeling of jealousy of another
l. Ind Irt.A.trtn.r .... l..- I.r d. - H. a. - .., f...
drowned every other voice in Mr.. Cal
houn's breast, l was much amused ut this
ridiculous fancy on her part; and | am
ashamed to say that, to annoy Pepita, l
often elaborated the business between
Mr.. Calhoun and myself, especially in
scene Of M amorous nature. | had, how
ever. to be careful 10Y l did this; for the
tragedian, whose mind was entirely occu-
pied with himself and the effect he was
producing upon the audience, was inclined
to be uneasy ut my thus putting myself
forward; and | saw clearly that the day
On which | cast him distinctly into the
shade would be the day On which l should
receive IA firm but courteous notice"
/ will pass over several weeks
of experience Of this sort, during
which | had firmly established myself in
the good graoes OF the various members
of the company, with the exception al
ways of the hostile Pepita), and come to
the time of our visit to the little city of
Selma, in the state of -. l generally
made a point, in the places in which we
played, of making the acquaintance of u
lew Of the more respectable of the inhabi-
tnnts. Manners are much franker aud
more simple In this particular than with
you in England, and a well-conducted
$50. a... Ia. - a.a H.. $500 4.
received with hospitality by the
tional people OF the western townships.
During our stay at Selma | had made the
acquaintance OF the family Of Deacon
Clay, which consisted OF one %strapplng
girl aud three stalwart sons, all about Tor
over six feet in height. The eldest aud
most stalwart OF these three was named
Saul. and IL was he who in the %forenoons
during the first three days of our stay at
Selma showed me the lions OF the place,
the water fall, the saw-mill, and the
"Mniden's Leap"-for Selma, like other
places, had its romantic traditions. On
the fourth, as |, like Oliver, asked for
more, he proposed to take me on a visit
TO sold I.eathers.n | consented, and on
II way to this curious personage's abode
he gave me some information about him.
Old feathers, appears, was a harmless
lunatic, who lived on odd jobs and the
charity Of the ~neighboring farmers His
particular weakness was a friendship for
snakes in general, and rattlesnakes In
particular. To avoid the danger of being
bitten by these reptiles, he invariably
wore a suit OF soft leather, boots, jerkin,
In all-hence his cognomen.
We started from the town in one OF
those boxes upon wheels, which are digni-
~ T.. -. -
and after n jolting drive of several miles
arrived at n glen between the two bluffs. -
AT the top of this Saul fastened the horses
and led me carefully down the narrow
path which wound Its way TO the bottom
of tho liIln Anllnu IL 1xna hnsfrnxn with