The Hawaiian star. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu]) 1893-1912, 1896-01-18
CHAPTER l.

CHAPTER /.
There being no plays to be acted at
the Red Bull, because Of the plague, and
the players all cast adrift for want Of
employment, certain Of MS, to wit, Jack
Dawson and his daughter Mol, Red
Herring and myself, clubbed our moneys
together to buy a store of dresses. paint
ed cloths, and the like, with cart and
horse to carry them, and thus provided
set forth to travel the country and turn
an honest penny, in those parts where
the terror Of pestilence had not yet
turned men stomachs against the pleas
ures Of life. And here, ut our setting
out, let me show what kind Of company
we were. First, then, for our master,
Jack Dawson, who on no occasion was
to be given second place. He was
hale, jolly fellow, who would eat
pound of beef for his breakfast (when
he could get it) and make nothing Of
half a gallon Of ale therewith-a very
masterful man, but kindly withal, and
pleasant to look at when not contraried.
with never line Of care in his face.
though turned of 90 He played our hu.
morous parts, but he had sweet voice
for singing of ditties and could fetch "A
tear as readily us n laugh, and he was
also exceeding nimble at a dance, which
was the strangest thing in the world,
considering his great girth. Wife he had
none, but Moll Dawson was his daugh-
ter, who was most sprightly, merry
little wench, but no miracle for beauty,
being neither child nor woman at this
time; surprisingly thin, as if her frame
had grown out of proportion with her
flesh, SO that her body looked all arms
and legs, and her head all mouth and
eyes, with great tousled mass of
chestnut hair, which toff the stage) was
as often as not half tumbled over her
shoulder But quicker little baggage
at mimicry (she wouli play any part,
from an urchin of 10 to crone of four
score), or a ivelier at dancing Of Bran
ties or the single Coranto never was,
do think, and as merry as n lark.
OF Red Herring need only here say
that he was the most tearing villain
imaginable on the stage and off it the
most civil spoken, honest seeing young
gentleman Nor need / trouble to give
a very lengthy description of myself.
What my character was will appear
hereafter, and, as for my looks, the less
I say about them the better. Being
something Of scholar and poet, |
had nearly died of starvation, when
Jack Dawson gave me q footing on the
stage, where l would play the part Of
hero in one act, a lackey in the second
and Merry Andrew in the third,
scraping tune on my fiddle to fill up
| the intermedios.
We had designed to return to London
as soon as the plague abated, unless we
were favored with extraordinary good
fortune, and so when we heard that the
sickness was certainly past and the citi.
zens recovering of their panic we, being
by this time heartily sick of our ven
ture, which at the best gave us but beg
carly recompense, set about to retrace
our steps with cheerful expectations of
better times. But, coming to Oxford,
we there learned that prodigious fire
had burned all London doYn, from the
Tower to Ludgate, so that were we
there we should find no house to play
in. This laid us fat in our hopes and
set as again to our vagabond enter
prise, and so for six months more we
secured the country in a most miserable
plight, the roads being exceedingly foul
and folks more humored of nights to
browse in their chimneys than to sit in
a draft barn and witness our perform
ances, and then about the middle of
February we in kind Of desperation got
back again to London, only to find that
we must go forth again, the town still
lying in ruins and no one disposed to
any kind of amusement except in high
places, where such actors as we were
held in contempt
So we, with oAlr hearts in our boots,
as one may say, set out again to seek
our fortunes ON the Cambridge road, and
here, with no better luck than elsewhere,
for at Tottenham Gross we had the mis-
chance to set fire to the barn wherein we
were playing, by candle falling in
some loose straw, whereby we did injury
to the extent of shilling or two, for
which the farmer would have us pay a
pound, and Jack Dawson stoutly refus-
ing to satisfy his demand he sends for
the constable, who locks us all up i'll the
cage that night, to take us before the
magistrate in the morning. And we
found to onr cost that this magistrate
had as little justice as mercy in his COM
position, for though he lent a patient
ear to the farmers case, he would not
listen to Jack Dawson IS argument, which
was good enough, being to the effect that
we had not as much Us pound among
us, and that he would rather be hanged
than pay it II he had, and when Red
Herring (seeing the kind of Puritanical
fellow he was) urged that, since the
damage was not done by any design OF
ours, it must be regarded rs visitation
of Providence, he says; VERY good. If
, it be the will of Providence that one
should be scourged, take it as the di-
vine purpose that ! should finish the
business to scourge the other. " And
: herewith he orders the constable to take
what money we have from our pockets
and clap us in the stocks till sundown
for payment Of the difference. So in the
stocks we three poor men were stuck foi
six mortal hours, which was wicked,
cruel thing indeed, with the wind blow
ing a sort of rainy snow about our ears
and there l do think we must have per
: ished Of cold and vexation but that ou
little Moll brought US sheet for
cover, and tired not in giving us kin
words Of comfort.
At o'clock the constable unlocked u
from our vile confinement, and do be
!. lieve we should have fallen upon hiI
and done him n mischief for his pain
there and then but that we We're a
frozen as stiff MS stones with sitting /
! the cold so long, and indeed it was som
time ere we could move our limbs at al
However, with much ado, we hobble
DR. on ut the tail Of our cart, all three ver
b. bitter, but especially Red Herring, WI
cursed horribly and as had never hear
him curse off the stage, saying he woul
rather have staid in London to earn
bricks for the gentry than join us agai
in this damnable adventure, etc. Al
that which incensed him the more W
the merriment of our Moll, who, seat
ON the side Of the cart, could do nothi
- better than make sport of our disco
tent. But there was no malice i'll !
laughter, which, il it sprang not frC
ts. sheer love Of mischief, arose maybe frt
overhowing joy at our release.
/ l.