St. Tammany farmer. [volume] (Covington, La.) 1874-current, 1893-11-11

;or. GOWN
his hands with . gesture Of deprecia-
tion.
''What Darzineourt 1t his age wished
70 reappear?'
And he noticed the comedian stopped
feebly since he had lived In idle exile
and had accumulated fresh crop OF
whiskerA Still tie prospect of fruit
full evening, on the strength Of the
actors reputation, tempted him, and he
had already formed q plan announcing
the temperance of the celebrated
Darzincourk "a, t 81
''Well, Why shouldn't you return 70
the stager' he said.
Radiant with the idea Of again filing
this dingy hall with his sonorous
speeches, the old actor began to dis
cuss the piece. He didn't need any 70
hearsals, of course; ne had played the
part SO often! With the Joy of . child
he sought the costume ro0m, tried on
again tho clothes he had worn more
than . hundred times, requested that .
few changes be made, and passed the
day In consultatioa with tho hair
dresser and costumer Of the theater.
Not wig pleased him; he ordered .
new one. A nervous gayety possessed
him; he could have turned somersaultA
The advertisement produced it, effect
When the time came the hall was
crowded to witness his reappearsnce,
but the feverish enthusiasm he had
counted on was lacking. He appeared.
= little applause saluted him. but it
was not continued. The audience be-
came apathetic. What! was this the
rarzincourt that had charmed them In
other days? Why. the poor fellow was
grotesque! He felt disconnected, but
not alarmed. Since his departure they
had missed the fire of the old school Of
acting; he would show them what il
was!
The old patrons Of the theater whom
he knew uttered little exclamations Of
surprise. The newcomers began openly
to ridicule. The rest Of the company
sullscd and gave Darzincourt his cues
reluctantly, until he began to lose his
assurance little by little. He stumbled
in pathetic speech-turneda . sentence
into ridicule-thc parterre howled
From that moment every word. every
gesture provoked . tempest
Darzincourt felt . cold perspiatioo
gather on his forehead. Around him
in the boxes people were going out.
and he murmured. pale with anger:
''Ingrates! Ingrates!" .....
At that point In the play where he
was to fall-in afaint after reading the
letter-he could not get mp until . ma
chinist WAS sent to help him. Then the
hisses rose like storm Such IN OPP
portunity to have fun was infrequent
in this quiet town, and the crowd set
up an awful racket But DarziDcourt
persisted, though his eyes were filed
with tears. At last. crushed BY his
emotions, he forgot his liueA He
stood with mouth wide open, hearing
no more than the dcrisive shrieks Of
the orchestra or the cat-csils from TIL
gallerieA The failure was decisi
the play could 60 no further. En&
ing his dressing-roOm the OLD comedian
tore his hair, reeling like drunken
man. -H -r1
"You've put % in . nice box"
grOwled tho director, who nevertheless
had Just pocketed the receipts.
Darxincourt regained~ his home n .
condition. A whole life Of
glory to end in this fatal defeati Stiu
dressed he lay down on the bed and 70
viewed tho horrible evening. No: he
woald not allow himself to be beaten.
He would fight again Could he leave
the theater forever Even with it,
chagrins and notifications he had
need Of II. ....
The handsome Darxincourt Of the
past now supplicated and implored the
director; he did not wish 10 be paid
he only asked to have . small role
given him-a little. very little role.
From motives Of economy they &C
ceded to his request; he was given the
part of . servant and he set out TO
study it with al the arllor Of q de-
butante. .
When he came in, letter In hand, the
audience, without reason, except that
IF cruel Joy. began 70 sing. "Dar-xin-
court-Dar-zin-court" to popular air.
From balcony to orchestra rang the
1erisive sound. M tsoI
"You see, my poor old man, " said the
manager, you are no longer wanted"
And he, haggsrd, sinking-having
lasted again the intoxication of the
heater, asked himself In desperation
what was to become Of him from the
foOtlighta
After that he asked only permission
% be . asupernumerary-ussn Of thep
,le. archer Of the palace. noble without
but they recognized him
n the midst Of the Others, and the pub
ic, accustomed to hsving amusement
Il his expense, filed the hall with
,oisc and laughter. IL was impossible
% allow him 10 appear now even - .
,supe." The little house at the gates
4 the town still smiled beneath its bur.
len Of clematis and fresh green vines.
,ut he came there NO more.
All his life was Bound up in the
heater. He was . martyr Of the stagei
ac passed his days in . corner Of the
wings. having no more the right 70
how himself In the evening. however
He wasted away. WORN BY
'adness and LONGING. wandering about
through the dressing-rooms Of tie
lrtists like IN old dog whose hunting \
lays are over. but whom no one will
urn away. Ono night the manager ap-
,roached him with . eT0el smile.
Look here" he said, I'VE are going to
nut on q new piece. In the third oct
he barking of . dog 10 heard in ~
vinRA You Be the doR, VIII your