The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1898-12-11

g az - dEtuidIl power, ana so Impressed
the audience that they interrupted the
speaker for some minutes with storms OF
applause. kean stock motioniess; a death
IKE silence at last fell upon the house. The
ACTOR looked around. only partially con-
sclous OF his position. and slowly advancing
20 lago. began, William be sure-you--
b,.ioVe-, when with groan he fell on
his sons shoulder and family cried. "Oh.
S'od! ! am dying, Speak to them. Charles
Tor me-. He was carried from the stage,
and the curtain descended on him forever
although he fingered for several weeks
passing away on the 18th of the following
May, his last words line from a favorite
play.
HARLEY'S LAST SLEEP
John Harley. an English comedian, noted
in his day for the delneation of eccentric
characters, was filling the part Of Bottom
the Weaver in Midsummer Nights
Dream at the Princess Theater, London.
enc night in 1858. AS he addressed to I'll
tania the words, II pray you, let none of
your people stir me: / have an exposition
10 steep come over me-" in the first scene of
the fourth act he fell forward and passed
into the sleep without end.
Some years after James Rogers. who had
been ailing for many months, but had
struggled heroically to master his disorder.
was acting in burlesque at the St James
Iheater, London. He had convulsed the
audience with laughter by his drolleres.
ing in his ears when he suddenly staggered
OIL the stage and dropped into an armchair.
rogers gasped for his wife who ran to
MN. lie took her hand, and looking low
lhsly INTO her face, murmured, The little
ruIfe is Ger" and was dead.
Deaths due to natural causes on the
American stage have been few. Among our
players who actually passed away in the
theater and whose death was attributed to
greenroom of the old Park Theater: James
Scott. whose Partially to sailor characters
negot him the extraordinary sobriouet OF
who died at the Lyceum Theater several
years ago. after finishing his part in Lord
Chumley," and Armand Customary, who
passed away at the metropolitan Opera
House in February, 1897.
Harry Il. Montague was stricken with his
IStal illness while playing at the California
Theater, San Francisco August 1878 Be
fore the close of the first act of False
Shame" which was then on the boards. and
in which he appeared as Lord Chiffon, Mon
tague abandoned his lines, walked to the
footlights and begged the astonished audi
ence TO permit the play to terminate. The
curtain was lowered, and the actor main
from public view. when almost Immediately
he was seized with violent hemorrhage of
the lungs. He was taken to his dressing
room; physicians were called behind the
scenes, but without avail. He died the fol-
lowing day at his hotel
Violence has more often furnished the
American stage with its real tragedies.
About fifty years ago Simpson, stage car
penter, was instantly killed at the old Tre-
mont Theater, Boston, while standing in the
wings and in sight of some of the audience,
by the counterweight of the drop curtain
falling on his head. Mr. Pray the father
of Mrs. w. J. Florence and Mrs. Barney
Williams. was killed in almost similar
manner on the stage of the Broadway The
alter. in New York. Richard Cranshaw, a
young actor died on the stage of the Metro
poltan Theater, San Francisco, of poison,
self-administered. A Fanny Behzen was
shot dead some years ago by Frank Frayne,
hn own WI summarizing a q
target on her head for the marksman to
pierce. This tragedy was enacted on the
stage of a theater in Cincinnati .. Annie Ami
Kemp, a young singer, was killed in Phil
adelphia theater by fall, While playing In
1.-The Black Crook"
DIED AS MEPHISTOPHELES.
At Melbourne, Australia, Frederick. the
basso, was to sing Mephistopheles for the
first time on the opening night of a fine
production of Faust" He was painfully
nervous and seemed haunted by a PRESENT.
ment of impending evil So wrought upon,
in fact, was he by his own forebodings that
he confided to his wife when leaving home
for the theater that he did not think he
would ever sing again. She rallied him and
the basso seemed cheered by her airy badi-
mage, but after uttering the last note as
Mephistopheles descends into Hades he
gave a great sigh and fell dead. Stranger
sui, at the Iunefd1 the venerable clergy
man who officiated after repeating the
words, I'm the midst of life we are in
DEATH fell forward senseless on the brink
of the grave and q comrade of the dead
singer read the remainder of the service.
One real tragedy directly due to mortified
pride is found in the annals Of the French
stage. Less than forty years ago at Caen
Nine. Faugeras was at a moments notice
called upon to appear in one of the parts of
Auber's opera The Crown Diamonds"
The part had originally been allotted to an
other and had not been studied by the sub
shutting singer. Nevertheless, she did we'll
in the circumstances and was rewarded by
hearty applause. But mingled with the APP
plause We're audible Kisses. They were
heard by the singer, who mad advanced to
the footlights to bow her acknowledgements
of the complimentary expressions INDUCED
in by majority of the audience and she
was seen to draw back Indignantly. Her
air of righteous resentment was soon re-
placed by one of humiliation and sorrow.
She opened her lips as If to pour forth the
burning torrent of reprOach which welled
within her. A hush fell upon the audience.
But Nine. Faugeras did not speak. She
suddenly dropped upon the boards in a
fainting fit, which terminated in death
shortly after her removal to her home.
Another singular real tragedy which hap
pened within the present decade, is still
wildly remembered by the Parsians At the
Theater des Gobelins one evening the lead
ing lady at the climax OF the play forgot
her lines, and was seen TO look intently at
the prOmpter'S box. which. in many
European theaters was in the middle of the
tention to her one of the actors went for
ward and shook him. only to discover that
he was corpse. Without dropping the cur
tain, and with the people on the stage in
their several positions as the incident found
them, the manager stepped to the front and
made an explanation. The body was dragged
down under the stage, a new prompter
climbed into place, and the play then pro-
ceeded, after an interruption of three min
utes duration.
At the Theater de TImperatrice, in Paris,
many years before a play was given, in
posed to mistrust the fidelity Of another,
into the bosom of the suspected. when, not
ing his submissive attitude, remembrances
of former services press upon him and dis
ated the mistrusted, being deficient in his
part neglected TO fall upon his knees or
draw back at the proper moment and, be-
fore the other could control his weapon, it
had inflicted deadly wound. Help was in
Stantly summoned, but the player died be-
fore he could be removed from the stage.
STABBED TO THE HEART
A similar accident occurred on the stage Of
the Novelty Theater. London, in August,
1896, in the performance of a sensational
melodrama. Temple Crozier who enacted
the villain, was stabbed to death by an inn
petuous young actor. who, as one of the
heroic figures in the play, was deputed to
meet the william in the final act and termi-