The midland journal. (Rising Sun, Md.) 1885-1947, 1890-04-11
Fatal Bravery.

In the sanguinary wars of the Turks
in Hungary, Count Ludovic Lodrom, on
the eve of q battle, harangued his SOL
diers in the true martial strain. "That
is all very WELL" said German veteran,
stepping out in front of the ranks "That
is all very well for you who are mounted
on swift horse, and are already think
ing of saving yourself. But for US
Whereupon Ludovic Immediately dis
mounted, drew his sword and ham,
stringed the animal. Then he exclaimed:
To-day, then, comrades, you shall see
me as captain and soldier fighting on
foot by your side and cn the same terms"
He was so severely wounded in the fight
that the Turks, who took him prisoner,
put him to death and sent his head to
Constantinople, believing his recovery
impossible and that they could never
carry him there alive.-All the Year
Round.
Edwin Forrest.
From Joseph Jefferson's autobiogra-
ply in The Century we quote the fol-
lowing: Edwin Forrest, with all his
faults, had warm and generous impulses.
l know of one instance where poor,
old actress went to him in distress. In
former years he had known her father
and respected him. Touched by her ap-
peal for assistance, he lent her large
sum of money, with the almost certain
knowledge that he would never get it
back again. 1t was never made public;
no one knew of it but the receiver and
myself. The Forrest home has done much
good, and is likely to do more; and those
actors who either by age or by infirmi-
ties have been @ebarred the privilege of
following their profession will naturally
be grateful for this rich legacy.
Even in the days of his theatrical fame
and prosperity Forrest was an austere
man, and as he grew older he became
morbidly misanthropical, holding HIM
self aloof from all but his most intimate
friends. The latter part of his life was
embittered, too, by illness and the loss
of public favor. Until the closing years
of his career he had been blessed with
perfect health; this became suddenly
shattered, and the unexpected attack
wrecked his dramatic power. He might
have borne the stroke of illness, but to
one whose imperious nature could not
brook the faintest slight the loss of pub
lie admiration was heavy blow; one,
too, that would have shocked a wiser
and more even tempered man than Ed
win Forrest Still he toiled on, and was
unjustly censured for acting past his
powers. But what was he to do? His
physicians told him that he must act if
he would live; the wheel must be kept
in motion or it would fall. His perform
ances in the larger cities were given to
empty houses, while bright and youth
full aspirants were drawing from him all
his Old adherents.
His former friends forsooll him, and
naturally, too; they could not bear the
pain of witnessing their favorite of other
days declining night by night. No actor
can hope to hold an interest in his audi
ence merely by what he has done in
years gone by; in acting it is the present
that the public have to deal with, not
the past. To witness age and decrepi-
tude struggling to conceal their weak
ness in the mimic scene is too painful.
The greater our affection for the artist
the less can we bear to see him suffer
and go down.
In the vain hope of struggling on, the
old tragedian sought "the provinces"
Here the people flocked in crowds to see
the great actor that they had heard of
from their childhood; not with the faint
est hope that they would find the grand
eur of the past, but from the curious de-
sire to see ruined tower just before it
falls.