Freeland tribune. (Freeland, Pa.) 1888-1921, 1899-12-18
THE EXCESS.


cessfu1 u Fanatic Event.
ST understand that the village dra-
matte club gave successful perform
ance at the town bail the other night?"
tentatively renal. cd the drummer
who visited the moss grown hamlet OF
ALE cash often enough to he interested
in the affairs of the community.
''Waal, replied the landlord of the
tavern, rather grimly, ''I have been
hectored by the rheumatism for so
long that L may have fallen into the
way OF takin kinder sarcastic view
of things and bein' a little too critical,
but it seems TO me that successful
amt exactly the word I'd use in de-
scribin' that ere performance-'ex-
cessful' is good deal nearer to it in
my opinion. 1t strikes me that it was
fuller of excess than any other thing
OF the kind that ever had the pleas
ure OF witnessin'; though of course
the fact that my rheumatism was
gnawin at me more energetically than
common that evenin' may have caused
my views to be somewhat on the
bias.
Il
lank, dismal-lookin' parsonage, with
baggy, over-hangin' brow, from be-
meath which his eyes glared tragically
like holes burned in blanket, and a
presence that was grand, gloomy, and
peculiar, all three at the same time
came along, and hanky- -pankied the
formerly well-intentioned young folks
OF the club into presentin' drama of
his own composition. At least he
owned up that he was the perpetrator
of it, and l guess he told the truth,
for it don't seem possible that any
body but man that looked exactly as
he did could have concocted anything
like that drama was.
1T was divided into four spasms-
acts, mean-and each one was more
severe than the one before it. The
gentleman boarded here with me, and
he tod me several times that his
theory was that nobody could act
part properly and in realistic and
movin' manner unless he felt what he
was sayin' and experienced the emo
tions he was endeavorin' to portray:
and durin' the performance he cer-
tainly proceeded like he thoroughly
believed his own theory. He not only
'peared to feel every word he uttered,
but he soon had the other players
firmly convinced that he was goin' to
carry out his threats to the very letter.
The title Of the play was The
Avenger,' and he was the feller
that was dom the avengin'; and
he went at it right from the Jump, and
continued to avenge one thing and
another clear through to the bitter
end He seemed to forget where he
was at and who lie really was. In the
first act he reproached, denounced,
and tongue-lashed the other perform
ers till he had 'em all tremblin' with
fright. In the second act he chased
'em round with daggcr impartially.
Durin' the third act he got so enthu-
siastic over his work that he killed
) EN- all off one act too soon, and they
had grown so afraid of him by that
time that as soon as one was slain the
corpse would jump right up and run
ont, for fear of bein' killed again
while he or she lay dead on the stage.
In the fourth and last act he went
behind the scenes and chased the late
lamenteds out on the stage. one after
another, and killed 'em all again.
And for a spell kinder feared he was
goin' to swarm over the foot-lights
and down into the audience and go to
us. 1t seemed like he
had forgotten everything else in the
world but the character he was play
in. He didn't get his memory back
very soon either, for about one o'clock
that night he flung his g 'ip sack out
of the window, clumb down by means
of the bed-cord, and defunct ont of
town in southwesterly direction,
recollectin' to pay me his
board bill, nor rememberin' to settle
up with the dramatic club or the
printers.
''Fake it up and down and all the
way round, rheumatism or no rheu-
I'll be swanned if | don't be-
lieve it was the most excessful dram
attic event | ever witnessed. Tom p.
Morgan in Harper's Bazar.