Wheeling Sunday register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1882-1934, 1900-05-06
UGLY MEN upon THE STAGE
Some of the Most Magnetic Stage
Heroes Have Been Men of HID
eOus Face.
BY RICHARD MANSFIELD.

By RICHARD MANSFIELD.
Cyrano de Bergerac is only one Of
many ugly heroes of history. Mira
beau, Richard Ill, and John Wilkes,
physically malformed, are illustrations
of the power and magnetism of men of
hideous mien.
Repellant Of face and form, these
men achieved glory in war and states
manship. Their love affairs proved the
affinity of contrasts. In the face of
rivalry they triumphed in affairs of
the heart In each instance the fairest
of women succumbed to their charms
of mind and heart. What matter then
| if pitted faces, twisted limbs or dis
! torted necks caused men to mock
| them?
"Give me half an hours start with
any woman" said John Wilkes, "and l
will win her from any man in the
kingdom" True to his proud boast,
| ugly libertine that he was, he played
havoc with women's hearts. So great
| was the charm of Wilkes wit and elo-
| quence that he made every woman for
get the ugliness of his face.
Mirabeau, pitted with smallpox, his
| features swollen and disfgured, found
such favor with the fair sex that his
! affairs of the heart are historical
| Scarron, the ugly poet. won the brill
| liant Nine de Maintenon from a score
OF admirers.
Richard H.. when scarce the blood
was well washed from MS hands, used
| his nimble tongue to win by sweetest
fl&ttery the hand of Lady Anne.
! The Cyrano of real life has deep
and tender love story entwined about
the name of Madeleine Rabin.
Woman's caprice best answers the
question as to their peculiar and dis
| tinot powers of fascination.
Women say that Cyrano's great aud
beautiful unselishness is the trait
which finally places him before Roxane
| as a hero among men. Critics differ.
! Aside from physical appearance and
the bitterness born of their 1efornities.
MI~abeau, Richard HI, Wilkes, Scarron
and Cyrano are not similar.
Cyrano is complex and contradictory.
A braggart in the world of letters, in
war a hero, philosopher over his ap-
| palling Disagreement, in love he is
most tender and unselfish. Only the
dedication of his entire life sufficed to
show Roxane that a beautiful soul was
| shrouded by malformed face.
Mirabeau was selfish li5ertiHe. At
| birth he had "a head so large that il
was a dire deformity, with one foot
sadly twisted, and with tongue that
was tied-in brief, in infant ogre born
with teeth
His face became pitted by smallpox.
| His lips and nose grew abuormaliy
thick and great moles formed upon his
| face.
His mental strength was gigantic.
and with it grew his vanity. lie had
no sense of loyalty, and having salts
| fed his ambition in winning a wo-ran
he dropped her like broken toy.
| His wooings became victories from
the "impetuosity of mis- honeyed
words" He fairly took the coveted
prize by storm.
Flattery, sweet and servile, sped
| Gloster on his wooing Anne, who first
| derided him as thou lump Of foul de-
formity, finally is forced into the con
fession, MY woman's heart grossly
grew captive to his honeyed words"
| Paul Scarron was not only ugly OF
visage. but hopelessly paraiyzed. He
was profane, malicious and given TO
| gross excuses. Yet he was gifted with
the power Of sugar-coating his spleen
with sweet words of flattery.
| In this way he managed not only to
keep a coterie of friends about him, but
| married FRANCHISE d'Aubigne. a beau
tiful girl of seventeen, who subsequent
ly became the mistress of Louis XIV.
and is celebrated in history as Nine.
de Maintenon. II is related that when
| Scarron espoused this famous woman
the notary inquired what dowery the
widow possessed, when the future hus-
band replied. Two large eyes, beau
! tiful figure. a pair Of lovely hands and