Butler citizen. [volume] (Butler, Pa.) 1877-1922, 1890-02-21

ing in " ben they recovered themselves
ana looked around. the room was still ring
ing with the echoes OF that mocking laugh.
hnt the stranger Wa nowhere 70 be seen.
Ill
rHEATFR oF rHE PORTE IN CAGINTHiE
The nest evening when Heinrich appear
ed on the stage there sat ia the first row
Of the orchestra seats the mysterious guest
ot the Double Headed Eaplc Vt every
word The youns actor uttered the stranger
hook his head scowlcd. smaaked his
tongue against his palate and gave every
sign Of impotence and lisapproyal
Bad, bad e. lac was heard to mutter in
in an undertone, while his neiehbors, sur
prised at his behavior, applaudei wildly
and said 10 each other That gentleman
is hard to please.
At the end Of the first act the stranger
rose, as if he had taken Il sudden resoln-
ton, aud, climbing over the balustrade in
to the orchestra, passed rapidly between
the big drum aud the gong and strobe
through the doorway under the stage,
Heinrich, while waiting for the next act To
begin, was walking up and down a passage
behind the scenes, and an turning round
he saw, to bis dismay, person dressed
exactly as hc was, in red and black, but
with greenish glitter in his eyes sar-
DOME expression, and sharp, white, separ-
ated teeth. The young man could not but
recognize the unknown OF the inn, or
rather Satan himself, for it was he.
''Ah, ha, my young friend" cried the
intruder, you want to play the devil, DO
you Let me tell you that you cut such a
poor figure in the first act that cannot
allow You to continue. You would give
the good people Of Vienna a wretched
opinion of me. ! viii take your place
this evening, and as your presence would
annoy me | will send you down to the sub
cellar"
Heinrich knew he was in the power of
the Evil One, and mechanically grasping
kaly's cross, which he always wore, he
rried to scream. lie was unable 10 utter
a sound, however and the devil, pressing
his claw like hands upon the young actors
shoulders, forced hin to The floor, then
left him and went cn the stage.
His biting, venomous, and really dia-
bolical manner at first merely surprised
the audience.
Heinrich is the right vein tonight, -
was heard on all sides. What produced a
great effect was hi meering laugh, harsh
as the grating OF a saw, bitter Us the laugh
of the damned blasphemiug the joys Of
paradise Never before had such depths of
fendishness been portrayed upon that
stage the people trembled and painted with
emotion. rhosphoFescent sparks flashed
from the fingers of the terrible actor; the
light from the chandelier grew pale; the
footlights burned lurid red, and the smell
of sulphur filled the hall.
The audience was in delrium, and
thunders of applause greeted every sen
tcnce uttered by the wonderful Mephisto-
pheles, who more than once substituted
words OF his own for those of the poet.
Little Katy, to whom Heinrich had sent a
box ticket, could hardly recognize her be
loved. and she was filled with vague pre-
sentiment, foreseeing misfortune with that
power of diyination which love, the souls
second sight, beatows.
The performance ended with a tempest
Of enthusiasm, and directly the curtain fell
the people called wildly for Mephistopheles
70 come out. The latter, however, did
not appear, and after long search an at
tendant came to the manager and said
that Mr. Heinrich had been found lying
unconscious in the sub cellar, where he
must have fallen through trap. He was
taken home, aud those who undressed him
were astonished to see ON bis shoulders "A
ndnber of deep scratches like the marks of
a tigers claws
His illness was long one, and as soon
as he was convalescent the theater mana
ger made him brilliant offer, but he re
fused to act again, for he did not care to
risk his soul IL second time; moreover he
knew that his acting could never equal
that Of his dreadful substitute.
At the end Of two or three years, having
come into modest inheritance, Heinrich
! married his pretty Katy, and the two sat
together before a Saxony stove III a coy
parlor, and talked Of their ehildren's
future.
Thcatergocrs still speak with admiration
of that marvellous performance and are
astonished at Ileinrichs capriciousness in
abandoning the stage at the very moment
OF his triumph.-The Epoch