The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1894-01-21

admirers wrote letter to the actress in
viting her, in the usual way, to have sup
per with him after the play Mrs. Fer
nandez was acting with Miss Forsyth at
hat time, and says that when the man
found his advances received with con-
temptuous silence, he and two of his
friends secured a lower box in full view
of the audience, and all three dropped
their heads upon their breasts and APP
parently went To sleep. Miss Forsyth
raved and stOrmed in vain. The three
men had paid for the box and they
couldn't be turned out of the theater.
Nor had anyone authority to interfere
with their going to sleep if they liked.
Finally the actress was compelled to go
on and do the best she could at the part,
but between her own anger and the
amusing spectacle of the three sleepers it
was difficult to hold the audience.
Lillian Russell tells one of her expert
ences during the run of ''Nadii' that is
doubtless pleasanter in the recital than it
was in the experience. For some time
she received ardent letters from an I'M
known admirer requesting a meeting and
designating the exact locality of the
tryst. After time, proked by her lack
Of response TO her devotion, he wrote her
to the effect that she had sighted and
spurned the advances of an honorable
man with good intentions, that he was
the scion of a noble house, and lot of
other rubbish, and the letter wound up by
stating that on a certain night he would
shoot her from a box indicated il the let
ter. Each member Of the company re-
ceived notification to the same effect
OF course, every precaution was made by
the management. Detectives were sta
toned around the box, and 1t was de-
cided to arrest any one who acted in
suspicious manner.
All through the first act the box was
empty, but the terror its shadows held for
the singer will not be forgotten. Toward
the end of the act an old gentleman, one of
Miss Russell's best friends, entered the
box and sat down quietly. Then the loud
sized smile went round the stage, for the
hand of the practical joker was recog-
nized. OF course, it was funny to every
body but Miss Russell.
An English actress tells of how her
equilibrium was disturbed in a trying
death scene by hearing the Prince of
Wales, who sat in the royal box almost
or the stage, say: well she hasn't any
corsets on or she couldn't die that way"
And an American actress tells of how a
small Skye terrier, held in his mistressis
lap in the front row, convulsed the audi
ence and disconnected the actors by vigo-
rously barking at the villain in THE
Lady of Lyons in the scene where
Claude rescues his beloved.
Perhaps the most amusing tale of the
odd happenings in the audience comes
from England, and a mischievous opera
singer, now 10 this country and somewhat
noted for idiosyncracies is responsible for
1t all. 1t seems the Johnnies in England
are slightly more obtrusiye than they
dare to be in this country, and have
trick of shouting out their preferences in
the line of the ballads in the midst of the
performance. For some time the singer
had been besieged by the demontrative
admiration of half a dozen scions of no.
bic families, and she determined to make
an example for them for the benefit Of
their kind. Accordingly she sat down
and answered tenderly each of the letters
that came in the morning post, and to
each of the admirers She wrote the re
quest that if he loved her he would wear
a bunch of scarlet carnations in his but
tonhole and rise in his place in the middle
of her song in the second act. The spec
tacle of six perfectly correct young noble
men, each wearing the conspicuous flower,
rising in the front row at the same time
and glazing at each other was too much
for the naughty stager. She forgot the
notes in a laugh, which gradually rippled
through the audience, that somehow
caught the joke before the solemn young
men could decide what had happened to
them or what they were going to do
about it.
1t was out in little western town at a
one-night stand that an odd thing hap
pened which nearly ruined the perform
ance. The theater was hall which was
used for a church as well and had rows
of seats all around the central seats and
slightly raised. In the front row of these
seats sat boy, his head motionless and
his eyes riveted on the stage but his body
going through Involuntary contortions
that distracted the attention of the lead
ing man and nearly destroyed his eqni-
librium. Now it was the arms that were
thrown wildly to one side, now the legs
jerked violently in another direction, but
all the time the head was motionless, the
eyes set. At first the wronged husband
in the play, who had nobly undergone all
manner of tribulation, lost his temper and
ordered the boy put out. But a little con-
sulJaUoln with the manager revealed the
fact that the boy was suffering from ST.
Vitus's dance, and that the people were
so accustomed to him that it did not dis
turb them in the least. Accordingly the
actor went on with his role, but il was
only by strong effort of will that he sue
ceeded in finishing the performance, for
his whole attention conferred in the antics
of the boy with the uncomfortable
usles.