The sun. (Wilmington, Del.) 1897-19??, 1897-10-25
FORC[PS AND FOO1u|GH1S.
DR.. Honeywell Forsakes the Lat
ter For the Former.
As Ed. Carle He Fills q Place i'm Harry
Seman's Big Minstrels. His Sing
ing and Acting Created
FurOre,

The ancient minstrel who figured i
Scott's novels and who sang his lay ever
time he wanted meal or Jug of NAL,
inc, is not in it with DR.. Honeywell,
modern minstrel who has done Dclawar
and is now "laying for" New Jersey an
Pennsylvania. The latter-day minstrel
an erstwhile dentist, to whom the CLAM
our Of the footlights, the rat-a-tat Of tn
bones, and the delicate tints of the burn
cork proved irresistible; For years tn
name Of DR.. Honeywell was one to stop
tooth-ache- mauy's the molar has yield
ed to his dexterous jerks, but the forcep
which once knew him shall know him n,
more - for the present - for the worth
doctor is soothing the savage breast ant
acting as end-man in Harry w. semon'
Big City Minstrels, which has just return
ed from down the state.
For years the doctor had known h,
was humorist, for fun fairly bubblet
over in him between meals, and hi
jokes, his witticisms and his rendering
Of the famous plantation songs, whel
accompanied by laughing gas convulset
every one who heard them. He tool
part in the New-Ccntury Minstrcl Is
''did a turn in the Alumni burlesquc
and finally yielding to Destiny
and the persuasions OF those who
knew he had money, he be-
came the "Argel' of the Big City Min.
strels aforesaid, whereof Harry W.
Semons Manager OF the Bijou Theatre is
the ostensiblc head and front. Mr..
Semons is big,-he weighs 80 pounds -
and the MINISTRIES were organized in a
city-to be exact in the city Of Whining
ton, Delaware, whence the name ''Bie
City," (Which the unthinking might
suppose referred to New Castle.)
The Big City Minstrels gave three per-
formanccs at the Bijou before going down
the state and crowds of DR.. Honeywell y
former patients attended every night.
Indeed the house was packed, Ito Use Il
new phase) from cellar to dome.
The audience listened impatiently to
the other members Of the troupe, and
even George Willard who is local ia
vorite, failed to enthuse them. Those
who got in the front row, and who inn
agined there was ballet hidden on the
premises, thanked Heaven they were
bald and stuck it out chccrfully. Pre-
sently DR.. Honeywell, otherwise Mr..
Carrie, made his appearance. There were
thundcrs Of applause. The galleries
fairly shricked as he came +, the CENTRE
warbling in mellow tones
"Hot stuff
"Scotch snuff,
ooh, its tuff
''For to be Il struggling minstrel man.
As the tones of his voic> sank slowly
and faded away in the distance, mon,
women and children screamed them
selves hoarse. For seventeen minutes
by the watch the Doctor waited for the
storm to subsidc, but it wouldn't sub
and when, at length, silence was partly
restored, the handsome doctor began
again:
"HOt stuff
"lt's all CUFF,
"Puf-puff,
"For it's great to be q leading singing
man."
"Ongcore! ongcore!" yelled the audi
ence. ''Do it again! Amt he great"
through the hall. The doctor
or would cave blushed if the
coating Of burnt cork on his face had
permitted him that luxury, but il
wouldn't, so the best he could do was to
DOW and cough few small coughs.
By this time the enthusiasm was ut its
height. Men who had never lost tooth
oined frantically in the universal ex-
'itement. Women with spare sets Of s.
eeth (the best are the cheapest) waved
heir handkerchiefs and threw bou.
luets on the stage. Chrysan-
hemums flew through the air
nd fusilade like the discharge
+ a package of fire.crackers filled the
all, caused by the almost simultaneous
I,pping Of $40 corset strings and 29s
sst buttons. Nothing had ever been
zen or heard like it. Expert musicians,
ld.timers, newcomers, dramatic critics,
ewspaper reporters, stage.hands, babies ,
nd old men becauue delirious. D
Talk about Primrose and West-non- {
,nse. They weren't in it, in their palm
st days. Women who had large families
home swore to elope if they ever got !
chance, bent upon following that min 4
rel show to Delmar or anywhere else,
t the consequences be what they may.
len with pockets full Of unpaid bills
Used great packages OF bank notes aloft /
I'd demanded to be let in OH the \
'ound floor OF the minstrel enterprise {
lreatening that if they were kept out, +
,e consequences would be awful to con. =,
mplate. 9
To attempt to describe the show in de- ]