Rock Island Argus., 1895-12-16
STAGE STORIES.
FUNNY EXPERIENCES OF FAMOUS Ac-
TORS AND ACTRESSES.
Compliments Paid to Performers Of Un.
popular Parts by Persons In the A ndi.
ence-Several Interesting Incidents Re-
lated By . London Newspaper.

ence-sever.l Interesting Incidents Re-
lated By . London Newspapers.
Playgoers Of today do not appear to
fall SO easily under the influence Of the
power of the performer or the vividness
of q striking situation as in times gone
by. They do not SO quickly lose their
own identity. SO to speak, aud become
20 absorbed in the drama as to be car
ried away with the interest of the plot
to such an extent that they feel them
selves not merely spectators, hut partici
pants in real and tangible incident.
But when plays deal more with homely
and natural stories and less with the
fantastic and woman with a past"
class ct drama, folks appear to have been
more emotional and enthusiastic They
forgot the mimic side of the picture
and only saw before them life in minia-
ture. as they understood it. They had
the human note very finely tuned and
developed.
For example, when they were play
ing the almost immortal "Green Bush
es" at the AdeIphi during one of its
Vlany revivals, Mime. Celeste. in the
character Of Miami, the Indian, had to
shoot her English husband, by whom
she had been deserted, and, after firing
the pistol, q woman started up in the
pit and exclaimed in a loud voice,
"Served him right; it's just like my
! monster!' This explosion of insulted
womanhood. produced by the "cunning
of the scene" and Mime. Celeste's pow
erful acting, was naturally followed by
| burst Of laughter from all parts Of
| the house.
1t is certain that art frequently pos
sesses more sway over our feelings than
nature herself. It was at the Olympic
theater. in the autumn of 1874, when
the 'Two Orphans" was being acted.
that young lady sitting in the stalls
hurled her opera glasses, with the ex-
| clamation, "You beastr' at Mrs. Hunt
| ley (La Frochard), who was i'll treating
| MIR. Henry Neville, the crippled Pierre,
| in the garret scene. 1t was certainly a
high compliment to that actress power.
though it was dangerous way of send
| ing testimonial.
But it was a critic who uprose, on
the first night of the late Charles
Reade's drama, "It's Never Too Late to
Mend" at tho Princess theater, in
1865, under the management of George
Vining, and vehemently protested
against the flogging business in the Jail
scene, as being inhuman and untrue to
life. However, it was true to life, and
the discussion that ensued in the papers
tended to crowd the theater nightly for
many months. But audiences did not
always take things too seriously; and
were in the habit of expressing them
selves very candidly when occasion
/ arose.
Even the great Grimaldi could not
invariably rely upon success for his old
wheezes. He was once hissed at Sadler's
Wells theater after singing his celebrat-
ed comic song (what a dull piece it was
to read, by the way y "Tippitywichet.
and he appealed to the audience. He
"had nodded" he said, crowned,
sneezed. choked, gasped, cried, grinned,
grimaced, 2iccoughed-heh had done all
that could be done by brow, chin,
checks, eyes, nose and mouth-and what
more did they want?'' "Why, we
want" yawned a languid voice from
the pit, 1--WE want q new featurev'
Sometimes it is the manager who
gives vent to his feelings when sitting
in front" as was the case with Henry
Harris, for many years manager of
Covent Garden theater in the early part
Of the century. He was watching the
performance from the stage box Of an
actor of the name Of Faulkner, who had
recently arrived from the provinces and
was making his appearance on the met
ropolitan boards as Octavia in 1.-THE
Mountaineers. Faulkner was not quite
up to the mark, and when he exclaimed
in deep. cultural tone, "Oh, where is
my honor:" Harris exclaimed, 81 wish
your honor was back at Newcastle
again, with all my hearth
Macready, of whom many stories
were told, says in his Memoirs - II
remember on one occasion acting in
Venice Preserved. A long and rather
drowsy dying speech of my poor friend,
Jaffier, was dragging its slow length
along, when some one in the gallery,
III tone of great impatience, called
out very loudly, 'Ah, now die at oncev
when voice from the other side imme-
diately replied, BE quiet, you black
guard, and then turning with patron
izing tone to the lingering Jaf1ier, Just
take your time, will you?'''
AS an example Of how easily the most
acute persons may lose themselves to
some extent in the mimic action Of the
stage, we may recall the story of an
eminent special pleader who was wit
Messing q performance of "Machefh. ~ Tn
the scene where the Thane of Cawdor,
questioning the witches in the cavern,
says, What is't you do:' the answer
is. "A deed without a name.'' This
phrase struck the ears of the pleader at
once, and he cried ont excitedly: "a
deed without a name! Why, tits void. /"
London Globe.
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