Wichita eagle., 1888-08-19
MY DEBUT AS A VILLAIN.

no company was DlIlcu TO pay Ivy new
tragedy, Tho Dripping Dagger, or the
Maiden Martyr of Taullvile, at Willow
town, on Tuesday night, when suddenly
our heavy villain absconded, taking with
him $3.50, the entire amount in the treas
ury of the concern! What was to be
done about it? 1t was too late to ad-
vertise for another heavy villain; and,
besides, there were very few of them in
the states at that time, because the small
pox was not raging in Montreal. We
had consultation, and decided that
something must be done. l suggested
that, as last resort, the part of the vii
lain might be left out, and the heroine
might make away with herself
at the proper time but as there
reason why she should commit sui
eide in the circumstances, we concluded
that it might detract from the impressive
ness and destroy the unity Of the play,
and that OF the whole my suggestion was
not just the thing. Finally the hero
inc asked me if l wouldn't play the part
of tho villain! l reminded her that my
contract with the company expressly pro-
vided that l should be exempt from his
trionic duties, and, furthermore, that
knew had no talent Whatever for acting,
and might become embarrassed and forget
my part or do something else equally
as unfortunate. But she persisted that
was just the man for villain-cut out
for the part, as it were, by nature; and,
as for getting stuck in my lines, she said
that she would guarantee to help me out
of that difficulty herself, as she knew
every word of the play by heart, and
could easily prompt me in tone that
would not be heard by the audience.
Well, the result was that the fair hero
ine-to whose charms was not altogether
blind-prevailed upon me. and against my
better judgment consented to take the
part Of the villain.
l devoted four days to committing the
part to memory. then rehearsed for the
! first time with the company, in costume,
and succeeded in getting as far as the
stabbing scene without losing my cue.
Here l could not remember whether the
victim shrielzed first or l, in deep bass
! tones, exclaimed: "AhaI disdainful one,
! prepare to der Tho result was that we
both gave utterance to our emotions at
the same time, creating very undrams-
| tic hubbub. The entire company broke
down and laughed for several minutes.
But we got through with the rest Of the
! tragedy all right, and the second re-
| hearsal went off better still We had time
| for just one more rehearsal before our ap-
/ pearance at Willowtown; but this re-
hearsal, strange to say, was not as good
| (as far as l was concerned) as the second
On Tuesday we took the afternoon
train for WiIlOwtown. was rather ner-
vous al the way down, but the
rest Of the company cheered me up and
assured me that the inspiration of ap-
pearing before an audience would take all
my :repidation away. Thus encouraged,
/ l made up my mind not to worry, but to
do the best could when the time came.
We arrived in Willowtown just in time
for supper, and, after refreshing our
selves, we went Immediately to the barn
where the representation was to be given,
and got our limited scenery and proper
ties in shape. By 8 o'clock we were all on
deck, in costume, and, when the stamp
ing of feet and whistling among the audi
ence warned Us that it Was time for the
curtain to Ct up. we gave the signal to
the shifter. and burst upon tho assembled
| populace in all our splendor. l should
state, however, that before our splendor
became fully revealed, there was some
levity ameng the audience, owing to the
fact that the curtain rose At first only at
one corner, revealing a large brown jug
standing by q painted haycock-which,
taken in connection with the harvest
scene, of which it formed part, was well
enough, of course. but was rather incon-
gruous, appearing, as it did, without the
necessary scenic support.
The first scene passed off very smoothly,
as neither Of the principal characters,
neither myself nor the heroine, appeared.
In the second scene / was to come upon
the stage in . sort OF dark lantern fashion,
wrapped in mystery and long black
cloak, introduce myself to the audience in
few half audible and occult remarks to
as abruptly as had come, by & well exc
though had melted mysteriously into the
gathering twilight. Ihad performed this
feat very successfully at ell the rehear-
sails, and thought was ripe for It on the
present occasion. In fact, 1t was the only
thing in tbs role which telt confident Of
performing to perfection.
AS came upon the stage, dark, satuS
nine, forbidding, with one corner of my
cloak thrown over my left shoulder, q
hush of awe fell upon the assembled audi
dience. My heart swelled with triumph,
and / felt the inspiration of which my
fellow actors had spoken thrilling to my
very finger tips. The lady to whom l was
to address my mysterious remarks started
and cripged as appeared suddenly before
her. The sepulchral sentences were
spoken. raised my hand warningly and
began to melt away IN the twilight; but,
alasl | had miscalculated the location Of
the opening through which | was 70 evap-
crate. There was . sudden crash that
resounded through every part OF the
building. and the next instant was fat
on my back, wrestling with the fore
ground of tho twilight scene, which had
laughter pealed from the delighted audi
ence. To add TO the righteousness Of the
performance, the scene shifter tried To let
the curtain down with dispatch, but only
the end opposite to me would descend.
and In doing so very unexpectedly 1t left
one OF ouY farm laborers on the outside,
near the foothehts. This seemed to IN.
crease the amusement of the audience.
By the time the shifter got my end OF
the curtain down was so exhausted with
my struggles and my emotions that l had
to be carried bodily into the dressing
room. Brandy and other seductive restor-
atives were administered. and finally
came 10 sufficiently to wipe the perspira-
tion from my brow and groan. kean-
while the uufeeNng audience was clarnor-
ing for the play to proceed All the
members Of the company gathered around
and bcscught ne tesrfully not to give up
ut this important iuncture They assured