Springfield globe-republic. (Springfield, Ohio) 1884-1887, 1886-07-04
CLE0PATRA'S ASP.

the English provinces can have little no
ton OF what II is TO be on the road" IN
the western states Of America Ii is not
only that the country and the people are
less civilized, but both are So different.
Side by side with the strongest marks OF
primitive hahItation you find INSTANCES of
the latest in"eutions. The Pullman car
stsrtles the antelope and the prairie dog
in its pasSa. e, advertisements OF Mustang
liniment ar daubed upon immrmorlal
cliffs; and every little township OF wooden
houses has its church, its newspaper aud
It's lyceum.
II was in the latter buildings which, for
the benefit Of the uniuitiated / may eX-
plain, serve much the same purposes as
an English town hall that the travelling
company that had arranged to join at
Kansas City IN the spring OF is, usu-
ally gave its performances. The company
l was about TO Join was one OF those strug-
Cling combinations Of which there
are so many travelling the states.
Upon the basis Of a su all amount
Of capital and large stock Of
histrioniC enthusiasm, the leading man
of the company. who was also the mana
ger had organized" the troupe for the
exposition To the benIghted deulzens Of
the far west Of the beauties Of the legitl-
mate drama in general, and of his own
acting in particular. His wife Was little
woman from Florida, ami the darkness of
her complexion and a certain blueness Of
the tingc her finger nails spoke pretty
decidedly Of All admiNturr Of negro blood
in herself or in her ancestors. found,
soon after joined the company. that she
had been tried in SnakespearIan leading
parts but had 50 greEIOuS!y ialledIn them
that even to the partial eyes of her spouse
the fact was evident that subs stItute for
her in these roles must oe found. The re-
suit was an advertisement in a New York
theatrical paper, and my acceptance
thereof, decided partly by the fact that
/ had been resting for "A tedIously
long period but more by the
opportunity which seemed to be offered To
the Of gaining experience IN the higher
walks of the drama
found the manager, who rejoiced in the
Transstlantically aristocratIc name OF
Calhoun, extremely polite, indeed, per
haps rather too much 80, considering that
his wife was a member Of the company.
/ must say. however, that this Rmlablllty
on Mr.. CaIhouu's part arose much more
from histriunIC selfishness than from any
thing approaching EallanJry. Like most
enthusIastics he would have sacrificed
anything TO improve the effect Of hls per
furmances. and the fact that III me he
found d leading lady WHO, whilst COmpe-
tent 10 sustain the characters allotted /"
her to the satisfaction "t his audiences,
was yet sufficiently modest TO adopt his
views of the proper treatment Of
dramatic situation, had, ! am SURE, more
Ia do with his cOTd!alIty than any per
sonal admiration Tor myself. | need
hardly say that the views alluded to
generally dictated giving prominence in
has own performances and retiring re-
serve in mine which was not IN every case
warranted 10y the authors text
As for Mrs Calhoun lPepIta, as her
husband called neF-an example We may
rs well, for the sake Ot UreNIty, follow.
sine showed her dislike Tor me the moment
We met. II was, PERHAPS, too much 10 eN-
pect An actress wnO had made "A taIlure III
leading business and who had been
rslegated 10 the ChaTmiauS and EmlIls>
OF SkakespeTIAn representations, I"
welcome with cOriiahUy the individual
who came to take her place. AT
the same time. think PepIta
might have been nttIe less demonsIra
tive Of her antipathy. Wnen we met in
the passages OF tine various theatres which
We visited she swept past after the slight
est Of mods, turning TO me with marked
dIsdain her rounded, though somewhat
sxarthy shoulder. and whist | WAS upon
the stage often caught a glimpse Of her
standing in the wings, -larIng at me with
ewes that shOne with the IurId glare OF
bitter detestatlon.
| soon discovered that. in addition 70 her
hatred of me as dramatic rival, Pepita
cherished feeling of Jealousy Of anotneT
kind knowing how deeply artistic egOtism
drowned every other voice in Mr.. Cal
boun's breast, | was much amused at this
ridiculous fancy on her pE;; and am
ashamed to say that, 10 annoy PepiJa, j
often elaborated the ~Ousiness" between
Mr. Calhoun and myself, especially in
scenes Of an amOrUus nature. had, how
ever to be careful how | did this; for the
Iragedian, whose mind was entirely occu-
pied ith himself and the effect he was
producing upon the audience, was inclined
To be uneasy at my thus putting myself
forward; and | saw Clearly that the day
on which l cast him distinctly into the
shade would De the day on which l should
receive a firm but courteous notice"
/ will pass over several weeks
OF experience of this sort, during
which had firmly established myself in
=
Of the company, with the exception al
w"ys Of the hostile Pepita), and come to
II" time of our visit 10 the little city OF
Selma, in the state OF --. l generally
made point, in the places in which We
played, of making the acquaintance of a
lew Of the more Respectable Oh the inhsbl-
Iants- Manners are muca franker and
InOre simple IN this particular tnan with
YOU In England, and d well-cOnduCted
young woman i'll q travelling company Is
4eceIved with hospitality by the unconven-
LOnal people Of the western townships.
During our stay at Selma had made the
acquaintance Of the family Of Deacon
Gay, which consisted OF one strapplng
ElT4 and three sialw4Tt sons, all about (or
over slx feet in LeIsAt. The eldest and
IaUst stalwArt OF these three was named
Saul, ami il was he VINO in the torenoons
curing the first three days OF our stay al
Selma showed me the lions Of the place,
lhe waterfall, the saw-mill, and the
'Aaiden's Leap"-fOr Selma ike other
PAGES, Lad It's romantic traditions. On
the fourth, as l, like Oliver, asked for
more, he proposed 10 take ne On a visit
10 Old LeaILers" | consented, and on
our way To this curious personage's abode
lie gave Me some Information about him |
O.o LeRihers, appears, was d harmless !
luagtlc, who lived on old JOS and the
cnGrlty Of the neigh boring farmers. His
larIic Ular weakness WAS a friendship for |
Lakes in general, and ratsIesnakes in |
particular. To avoid the danger OF being !
DIIIsD by these reptiles, he invariably |
wU:e 4 suit OF soft leather, boots, jerkin, !
il au-heuce his cognOmen.
We started from the town in one OF |
those boxes upon wheels. which are dIgni |