The Wichita daily eagle., 1894-02-27

Still, some parts OF Hamlet are epoch
Ter than others. Do you not think 80,
Hiram? l have always thought that
Hamlet's death was due to injuries re-
ceived during the last act of the play and
Ophelia's to the fact that she went out OF
nights in cheesecloth dress and fooled
around the river too much when there
was good deal of malaria going on in
the neighborhood.
Still, blind fate may have had some
thing to do with it. You must remem-
Der, Hiram. that I'm giving all these
opinions without my library.
have always differed from Mr.. James
Owen O'Connor and the Count Johannes
regarding the cause of the terrible NOR
tality in the last act of Hamlet" and
do not want at this date to get into a
long wordy war with, Euripides or his
folks, who might be sensitive.
In conclusion, Mr.. Gurley, let me say
that am ready at any time to write out
thesis or an exhaustive treatise on al
most anything for those who do not feel
like it. All ask is that you will make
allowances for the fact that my opinions
when 1900 miles from my library are
purely off hand and may err at times.
You are right in attributing the
Queens death to weakness. Weakness
and lack of strength together carry off
many of our best queens, think.
Regarding the madness of Hamlet, I
agree with Mr.. O'Connor that it was
only temporary, and in Mr.. O'Connor's
own conception of the part 1 think it
was caused especially in Peoria by the
fact that 81 great coarse boys brought in
a pair Of frozen rabbits apiece and threw
them with unerring skill at soliloquy
which Hamlet was trying to free himself
of. If that would not make Hamlet
mad, don't know what would. Still, as
l say, without my library am not sure
of anything.
Speaking of being entertained while
travelling and lecturing over the coun-
try" remarked Bret Harte to me few
weeks ago, 81 do not murmur or repine
because this matter is not always man
aged successfully, but / remember some
cases when ! look over my glorious past
where / should have known better than
to accept from strangers the hospitali-
ties which really gave me pang.
"Once received letter from a man
who had been a constant reader and
who wanted me to make his house my
home, and all that sort of thing-no airs,
no scallops, but just a glad contrast to
hotel life. | was to be at his town in a
few days, and so in an unguarded mo-
ment | accepted. I used to accept ev-
erything in those days-everything that
was not tied down too hard.
'Well, the man met me at the depot,
and we walked through a keen frosty air
to his house in Muggins' addition. l
was tired and wanted to lie down and be
at rest, for l had sat up all day in hot
coach, and every nerve in me tingled, |
but people began to drop in to greet me
and dine at the house, so could not do
so. My room was very neat, but the |
shams hurt my ears, SO that l could not |
get to sleep till it was time to go down
to dinner.
''The first course was to be stewed |
oysters, SO | was told by one of the chill |
dren when [ first came. 1t turned out to !
be true. The host dished them out with |
teacup into deep quart bowls, and trying
to keep up run of persifage while serv-
ing the thing he ran out of stew before
he had gone half way round. So he at
tackled his wife for more stew, but there
was no more.
"'All right he said, lust give me
back your bowls, and We'll have a new
deal Those were his very words. We
gave him back our cooling stew, and he
poured the whole thing back again. Then
we had a new deal.
Il never saw such a cheerful ass as
that man in my life. His carving was
just as bright and unconventional. oh,