The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1893-10-15

Barrett. ] was playing the Duo de Con
cages to his Lagerdere in the Dukes
Motto In the last act they fight. Bar
rett's rapier was accidentally broken, and
the property man took II out to q black
smith to have it repaired. The smithy
welded il nicely, and then. observing that
the end was very blunt, as all stage
swords are, he put a nice needle point to
It, When Barrett got his sword back he
only drew it from the scabbard far enough
to notice that it had been repaired That
night, in our combat, he just pricked me
in the left groin. l did not feel the injury
at the moment. l had on silk tights, and
they helped to close up the wound. AS l
drew them OF in the dressing room the
blood from a punctured vein thus released
spurted across the dressing room. Icalled
for help, which was slow in arriving, and
l tainted from loss of blood before a sur
geOn arrived. A hairbreadth to the right
and the femoral artery would have been
severed and John w. Norton would have
made his exit.
The elder Booth was a rough swords
man, and he frequently hurt the actors,
and many of them have scars to show for
his carelessness; but if all the old actors
tell the truth who claim to have had arms
and legs broken by either him or old man
Forrest while the actors were playing
Lucullus in the bring forth the horse
scene, Booth and Forrest could never
have done much else but play Damon and
Pythias. / remember the death of win
Halpin, a handsome and promising young
actor. He was son of the Fenian leader,
Gen. Halpin. When the short craze was
on for the border drama young Halptn
joined company of Buffalo Bill, Texas
Jack and Dashing Charley. They were
playing at Pixies opera house in Cincin-
natl. Halpin had to have bowie knife
combat with one of the bad actors of the
plains, and in rolling over the stage he re-
ceived his opponents knee in the stom-
ach. He died the next day of peritonitis.
Talking about bowie knife cOmbats re-
minds me that one night, while the Bues-
ley family of French jugglers and athletes
were playing In one of the great spectacu-
lar productions put on at Jim Fisk's New
York theater, Auguste, wonderful knife
thrower, sent one quivering through the
neck of the girl who stood up before a
board and let him throw at her. 1t did
not kill her but she left the troupe.
"Jugglers and athletes are always get
ting hurt, and as to pantomimists, lucky
are they if they go through season with
out breaking a limb. Pfau, the great
Russian trapeze performer, fell three
times in this country, but got to ST. Pc
tersburg and enjoyed the felicity OF max
ing fatal leap before the car. The high
fall of Little All Right, the jap, in the
New York Academy of Music, is remem-
bered by many people to this day. They
tell story that Leona Dare, the great
American trapeze performer-a wonderful
beauty by the way-purposely dropped
her husband out of a swing in a Madrid
theater He did not live to confirm her
story of accident.
"A great spectacle was imported from
England 10 New York called the Flaming
Sword. In it was introduced a flying
dragon, under which were three men. II
fell the first night, killed one of the men
and broke both Of Barry Seymour, the
comedians legs. This accident broke up
the show, for 1t was shipped back to Eng
land without another performance.
"a well-remembered case is that OF
Stephens, the New York actor and stage
manager. He was playing Orlando in AS
You Like It. and young actor named
Thompson was cast for Charles the
Wrestler. At the first clinch Stephens
threw Thompson, who lighted on his neck
His spine was broken and he died in
stantly. Stephens went crazy over it.
That was almost as sad case as that OF
the young lady amateur who, last Janu
airy, fell by reason of a weak ankle. She
had a poinard in her hand. IL pierced
| the young man who was playing with hel
| in vital part. He managed to walk
from the stage and died three minutes
later, The young lady did not know OF
the tragedy until the next day.
George Anderson, an old-time actor
| showed great fortitude one night in New
| York The play was the Flying Dutch
! man. and George was cast for Wonder
| decken, the Mystery. He comes on the
| ship with a letter in his hand. The
| frightened sailors refuse to touch 1t. He
drops it on the deck. AS he stoops tC
pick it up the business is to shoot it with
a pistol from hole in the stage. On this
night piece of blank cartridge struck
him in the eye. He continued to play his
part, and before the curtain fell the eye
| had run out completely.
Collier, an English comedian, lost
his eye on the stage by the accidental
discharge of a gun which he was carry
ing in the part of Roaring Ralph Stack
pole.
WIN. Florence's father, old man Pray,
while acting as a prompter, was struck by
the CONFERENCE.-THE, weighing sixty-fve
pounds, of an Old-fashioned drop curtain
and instantly killed.
George Conquest, fifteen years ago,
while making flying leap in melo-
drama fell sixty feet at Wallack's, broke
leg and injured his spine so bad that he
never walked again.
Harry Ceilings, veteran, made an
unfortunate leap in 'Inchnavogue' at
the Howard Atheneum, and broke both
legs.
'.None Of the railroad actors have ever
been killed in their collisions; and the
tank drama came and went without a
death by drowning"