The Mason County journal. [volume] (Shelton, W.T.) 1886-1927, 1894-03-16
STAGE KISSES.
They Are Sometimes of a Very Realistic
Character.

They Are Sometimes of Very Realistic
Character.
Love making on the stage is generally
supposed by the unsophisticated public
to be more or less of a perfunctory
business, q make, believe affair as dry
and tasteless to the performers as the
property food and drink which they
affect to swallow at their banouets
Romantic and sentimental people will
be glad to know that the tender pas
sion, as represented on the boards, is
not all pretense, and that occasionally.
at least, Cupid gets in his work without
shame or compunction right before the
footlights A case in point is said to
have occurred recently in a popular
comic opera troupe in which the prima
donna and the baritone were the vic
tins of the sly little god. How or
where the mutual attraction first began
is not stated, but that it had not only
begun but was we'll advanced was
made manifest to the audience soon
after the baritone joined the company.
1t was part of the baritones duty to
kiss the prima donna, and it was SUD-
posed that he would do it after the or
binary stage fashion, as man eats who
is not hungry or drinks who is not
thirsty. But what was the surprise of
the spectators and of the other mem
bers of the company to see that he per-
formed the duty as if he liked it. and
heIlked it very much, indeed. In fact.
he kissed the prima donna with so much
ardor and enthusiasm, and she ap-
parently reciprocated with so much
earnestness and vigor, that the labial
scene soon became the most prominen,
IN the opera. A witness in describing
1t said the baritone's zeal reminded
him of the realistic manner in
which Rignold, the English actor,
olscharged similar duty in 'sHenry
"" Reynolds kiss was linked sweet
ness so long drawn out or drawn in
ti'at when he began the sporting gen.
tlemen In the front rows of the theater
would regularly time him to see if he
would break his previous records. The
oarltone's kisses were of the same sort.
and when he admins tered them in Phil
adelphla he created such a sens alton
mat the gallery howled and the or
chestra chairs tainted" The manager
rushed behind the scenes and asked
the baritone what he meant by such
performance. Instead of modifying the
KISS however, he intensified it, until
the comp oser and the author were en-
tlrely forgotten in the wild, delirious
expectancy with which the audience
waited for that kiss The manager in
despair discharged the baritone. who
SAID ne would rather surrender his sal
airy than his right to kiss the priIna
donna, and to kiss her conscientiously
and with all the laboration that the
scene demanded. The prima donna de-
clared that the interests of art demand
ed that she support the position take,
oy the baritone, and she promptly re-
signed an engagement worth twenty.
Ihree thousand dollars rather than ne.
oe Kissed IN q soulful and resoundin..
sCyle. The manager stood firm for I.
Re" days, but without the fervent ks
cne opera lost much of its magnet:
power, and he was, it is said, forced t. !,
capituiate and summon the prima donn:.
and the baritone back TO his service. Il
KISS 1or which man is willing to fore
go ambition and employment and a
woman twenty-three thousand dol
lars, during such a financial crisis as
the present, must be sweet indeed
Who would not be a baritone or prima
donna with such delightful perquisities
as this? Baltimore Sun.