Omaha daily bee., 1895-04-14
WRITING UP MRS. slppoNs.
Frisky Criticism Written for the London
Times Seventy Years Ago.

iihheS seventy Years Ago.
1t would appear from the following little
skit, published in the London Times OF
1921. that all the sky rocket Journalism has
not been kept up in the United States. and
that this old-tlme conservative journal could
give some of our newspapers points on sem
sational stuff. The following is a moving ac-
count Of Mrs. Siddons' first appearance in
Dublin: "On Saturday Mrs. Siddons. of
whom all the world has been talking, ex-
posed her beautiful. adamantine, soft and
lovely person for the first time at Smock
Alley theater, in the bewitchng melting and
all-tearful character of Isabella. From the
repeated panegyrics In the impartial London
newspapers we are taught to expect the
sight OF heavenly angel, but how were we
supernaturally surprised into the most awful
JOY at beholding a mortal goddess
The house was crowded with hundreds
more than it could hold with thousands of
admiring spectators that went away without
a sight.
This extraordinary phenomenon of tragic
excellence! This star Of Mepomene! This
comet of the stage! This sun Of the frma-
ment Of the muses.! This moon Of blank
verse! This queen and princess Of tears!
This Donnean of the poisoned bowie! This
empress Of pistol and dagger! This chaos Of
Shakespeare! This world OF weeping clouds!
This fund Of commanding aspects! This
Terpschore Of curtains and scenes! This
Proserpine of fire and earthquake! This
KaterfeltO OF wonders! exceeded admiration,
went beyond belief and scared above all the
natural powers of description She was ma
ture itself. She was the most exquisite work
Of art. She was the very daisy, primrose
tuberose, sweetbriar, furze blossom, gli-
flower wall flower caulifower auricula and
rosemary! In short she was the bouquet of
Parnassus.
when expectation ran so high its was
thought that she would be injured by her
appearance, but it was the audience that was
injured Several tainted before the curtain
drew up! But when she came to the scene
of parting with her wedding ring, an! what
a sight was there! The very fiddlers of the
orchestra. albeit unused to the melting mood
| blubbered like hungry children crying fol
| their bread and butter; and when the bel
! rang for music between the acts the tear!
| ran from the bassoon players eyes in sucl
! plentiful showers that they choked the finger
! stops, and, making a spout of the instru
| ment poured in such torrents on the frs
| fiddler's book that, not seeing the overture
was in two sharps, the leader of the banC
| actually played in one fiat. But the sob
| and sighs of the groaning audience and tn,
| noise of the corks drawn from the smelling
| bottles prevented the mistake being dsCov
| cred One hundred and nine ladies tainted
| forty-sX went into fits and nnety-fve hat
| strong Mysteries. Fourteen children, five ole
| women, 100 tailors and six common coun
! cilmen were actually drowned in the inunda
| tion of tears that flowed from the galleries
| slips and boxes to increase the brlny ponC
| in the pit. The water three feet deel
| and the people. who were obliged to stanC
| upon the benches, were up to their ankles ii
| tears An act of Parliament against he
| playing will shortly be passed"