The Neihart herald. [volume] (Neihart, Mont.) 1890-1901, 1895-07-13
A MEMORY OF THE THEATER.
The Haunting Song Heard During the Civil
Xar Inv nm MA SnII;ar

Ahe haunting Song Heard During the Civil
War by an Old Soldier.
Once, III a captured city" said
an old soldier, Il vent to the thea
ter. 1t was u small city, but a big
theater, not just a hall, but a rcgu-
lar theater, with circular balcony
and boxes and emery and foot.
lights. 1t was dimly lighted, but it
had all the fascination of the theater
about it, the fascination that every
tleater has, bright or dim, filled or
empty, and this theater was doublv
fascinating to us because it was the
first II we had been in for wears.
There wasn't a turn in the gallery
nor a supporting pillar, not a curve
In h front of the boxes nor a touch
In the drapery of them that did not
fix our attention, and not Il gas lot
fickering above the line of footlights
that did not fill us with the delight
of the theater.
The house was slim, very slim.
We had seats in the balcony because
they were cheaper. From where we
were we could count, including our
own party, II. No doubt there were
some i'll the orchestra under the bal
cony that we didn't see, but a count
OF so would doubtless have covered
all in the house. The town had been
occupied about a week. 1t was pref
ty near the close of the war, and the
people must have been very poor.
That would account for the absence
OF the townspeople, and, as for the
troops, they hadn't been there long
enough to be settled, and the war
was still on, and perhaps the men
couldn't get out of camp, and there
may have been no recent pay day,
and very likely they didn't have any
money, but whatever the reason
there was scarcely anybody there.
Our little bunch of half a dozen peo.
pie made the only solid patch in the
house.
1.-The show was variety, and most
OF it was poor, but it was all deeply
interesting to us, and some of it.
too, was very good. There was one
song in particular that struck us all |
An old man with a long white beard
and carrying a spade tottered slow
~ tottered out from tho wings and
came down the stage carryingthe
spade ahead of him, as an old man
might carry a cane, and using it as
such. Coming down to the footlights,
he sang in q bass voice a sony
about a gravedigger. For all | know
the song is a famous one, but | ncy.
heard it before, and | have never
heard 1T since. The singer had a stcr-
ling voice, and he sang tho song well
indeed. l can give you a verse of il.
Perhaps this verse may be right, or
it may be that as l give it to you it
is made up of lines from various
verses, but this is it as l remember
ed it:
Near to the grave that was newly made
Leaned the sexton old on his carthworn spade.
A relc of bygone days was he,
AND ms locks We're white as the foaming sea.
ana these words came from his lips so thin,
i gather thep, in, l gather them in
How well he did sing it! And we
all sat silently to the end. And then
when he began to totter off we all
called for He came back, and
he sang it over again, three or four
times, till we could reasonably call
for no more.
Then the show went on, and we
enjoyed it all and staid to the end,
but the one thing that we remem-
and that has stuck to one of
party at least ever since was
this, heard among strange surround.
lngs and at a time when death was
very active: !.
II gather them in, l gather them in"
New York Sun.