The Anaconda standard. [volume] (Anaconda, Mont.) 1889-1970, 1898-05-29

I which contained a speech with the fol-
lowing lines:
u witness for me. We celestial hosts:
Such mercy and such pardon as my soul
Accords To thee. and begs of heaven to
show thee.
May such befall me at my latest hour"
These words were his last. for he fell
dead at the conclusion of the speech.
Instances of actors being stricken on
the stage with the malady which ulti-
mately proved fatal are very numerous.
one of the most notable of these was
/ the well-known JON Mccullough. The
| great actor had been in poor health and
spirits for n considerable time, but, as
he was by no means in years.
no one anticipated a serious, much less
a fatal termination. He was apparently
i'm possession of mental and physical
power up to 1885. and while languid off
the stage exhibited all his old-time fire
, when before the footlights and under
the excitement of a public performance.
In that year he was playing The
Gladiator In Chicago. and suddenly
during the course of the performance
his MIND wandered, and instead of the
lines i'm his part he incoherently uttered
| words that had no significance and
which did not appear In the play. At
first the most reasonable explanation to
the audience and actors was that of in
WAN VII Jul "tE ~ III
the stage. and IL was soon apparent that
his mind was seriously affected. Indig-
nation gave way TO sympathy, his
friends did all they could for him. hut
his case seemed to be hopeless. He was
taken to an asylum. where he died Nov.
s. 1855.
1t was the fate of Moliere To fall in
the same way. for while acting one of
his own comedies. "Malade Imaginaire."
i'm which he played the part of the sick
man, he was stricken with paralysis
and never fully recovered. Rest and
quiet brought him a measure of recu-
peration, but a man of his industry
could not be induced to take a prolonged
vacation. and returning to his work too
soon he paid the penalty with his life.
Foote, according to DIR. Doran. had a
similar experience. He was acting in his
own farce. The Devil on Two Sticks"
when attacked by the paralysis which a
little later caused his death.
The amiable. but rather too gay Peg
Wellington died in the same way, and
IN his Annals of the Stage Doran
gives an interesting picture of this clever
actress. who was playing 'Rosalind,
when in the second act she became
speechless and never recovered. Paraly-
sis has been the bane of English actors,
as of Englikhmen generally, for. from
some cause, the people of Great Britain
| seem 10 De SUBJECT 10 lnlS uiSCdSt nltlt
than those of many other countries. and
IL is indeed so common as To be a matter
of Jest. one Of sydney Smiths best bits
Of witticism is found in a letter In which,
anticipating his future and speaking OF
some event which might possibly taxi
place. he says: by that time | shall
have had my second stroke of paralysis
and be expecting my third"
Fatal accidents have often occurred
7 On tho Gfaoa aG else Nhpra hl.1 death
from accident may be expected any
where. at any time. n the fact of an
accidental death during the progres of
a play is not sufficient to justify partlc-
ular mention. especially when the la
bility of actors to injury from the mul-
tiplicity of machinery. cords. ropes and
the like is considered. More than n
! Instance. however. has occurred Of an
actor coming TO his death through mis-
chance IN the use Of weapons On the
, stage. When Forrest played a military
, part in which a combat occurred, his
! adversary was sometimes In serious
danger. for So absorbed did the great
tragedian become in the character he
was playing. so completely did he enter
into the spirit OF the occasion. that his
antagonist was compelled 10 do his best.
and during the course of his career
I Forrest wounded more than one of his
stage enemies. There was serious diff
Guilty finally in finding any one who
would play against him in a stage COM
hat. for however earnest an advocate
| OF realism an actor might be. he had no
desire 10 be run through the body by
the giant tragedian, who completely
forgot himself In the part he was play
ing. Instances Of death from overeNer-
ton on the stage hay also been numer-