The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1901-02-05
The Tragedy Queen.

na0 come 10 be regarded among her
feilow-students as inadeauately starred.
The young histrionIc votary, however,
ioathed a comedy, Siddons and Bern
hardt were the historic and the contem-
perary apples of her eve. And in spite
I Of the fact that she was always assign
! ed comedy parts, and in face of Mr..
/ Beaude her instructors repeated dis
/ coursgements to her ambitions. shesre-
NAMED with undated ardor for TRACE y.
Beaude finally, 10 humor her desires
and to show her the error Of her
( dreams, let her study the lines for Fee
dora. one afternoon giving It q rough
staging
At the end Myrtle lay across the plat
form III an amusing little heap CT
+ clothes and hair. which Beaude rose up
I on his long, graceful legs in languid per
/ turDation dismally 10 inspect
/ DO you know. Miss Myrle, my dear -
+ he observed, with an aesthetic softness
+ TO his tones, you took your portion as
T if it We're Lady Teazle exasperatfng Sir
Peter, and all your lines were ranting
/ Tut, tut, serious parts are not in YOU
The unblessed tragedienne picked her
self up in melancholy resurrection, her
( eve aglow with sparkles Of humiliation
/ and her face more gloomy than through
/ ali the disasters of the play as she pass
4 ed dejectedly into her seat.
! Myrtle made no disguise of her dis
! comdture, but on her way to her board
ing place. where Beaude himself had
rooms, showed herself spasmodically PEN
/ sive or chagrined to her companions
I At the drug store, where they paused
/ for their daily soda. she abruptly Started
50 while slipping her foaming hot drink
/ that the clerk sprang excitedly forward
I 10 avert q catastrophe, looking the while
with an inquiring interest into her face
4 was just thinking of something
she smiled in response to his glance, tn n
added TO the others as they set down
their glasses, Just do go on, my dears;
1 shall have another soda You know
I missed part of this. I'll catch up.
| Never mind"
Myrtle. however, did not catch UP. She
was not visible until the dinner hour,
when the others as they were walking
downstairs to the dining-room met her
on her way to her room. Her absence
from table they interpreted as a natu-
raj sequence to Fedora's fate. But after
dinner they found her in ecstasies over
a letter from home, apparently oblivious
to her late misery.
THE loveliest news, girlsI' cried she
1T simply wasn't worth while eating
with It to think about Bears, you know
an old, old, once~upon-a-time beau of
mine has called upon mother just TO ask
about me- Imagine! and she thinks he'll
write me- 0, you know, I thought every
thing was dead and buried. but hearing
this brings 1t all back again. Betty, I'm
quite wild" and Myrtle continued in
gushing transport.
Sure enough, a letter appeared on the
morrow, weighty with much stationery.
AIyrle colored profusely and laughed for
pleasure as she ran upstairs to peruse
1t In solitude. In consequence she came
late to the breakfast table. where the
older, more iesurely eaters of the house
greeted hr with faces all speaking Of
romances.
The house became aware, too, as the
days chased by, that that sensa tional
epistle was followed by a multitude of
successors; while with its own legion
eyes 1t noted for itself an enhanced
brilliance in DTyrle's manner, a sparkle
over her face cheerier than ever, a soft
satisfaction resting in her joyous eyes
"O!" cried she feelingly to a certain
twilight coterie of her intimates, he
has become so much to me just in this
little whllei How did I live before.
wonder? If anything should happen to
him I should want to die. But, girls
after q moment of stiffness while all
her companions marveled at the gentle,
strenuous fervor. the pathos in rogue
Myrle's tones, 20, my dear dears have
such an agonizing dread that something
viii happen, a presentiment that [ shall
not see him again.
You think you'll lose him Just because
you care so much for him." cheerily
they responded, although with their
warm. immature girl natures immediate
~ entering into her fears.
Tt was pitiful for them and for sundry
-f5a ,4,fsa ~
to note the gradual gathering vigor Of
these apDrehensions which ever and anon
Haunted like shadows across her face.
20, If the day were Overt" she whis-
pered to Bettina. Il know something
dreadful is going to happen" And Bet
tina quaked with forebodings.
It was the last OF the week Mr.
Beaude according to his Saturday after
noon habit, had elegantly laid himself
out IN the reception room to con the
Dramatic Mirror. There were few calls
al that secluded dwelling. but this af-
ternoon. while the girls were in an in
oreasing ferment upstairs Beaude heard
the bell and informally went 10 the door.
It was a messenger boy with q dis
patch for Miss Diggs. Fourth floor
front" said Beaude. letting him In.
All a-tingle Afyrle answered the knock
on her door. and the moment the tele-
gram came into view she went quite
mad. SEEKING the yellow envelope with
only a glance within she cried: %.
Betty I knew IT." and made for the
hall Bettina could not stop her: she
was slipping down the steps Bettina
giving close chase with the other girls
after in a white fright.
Curious over the scuff1e the landladv
also every feminine l0dger about the
house and a stray early home-coTner OF
Two among the men, conspicuoUslv
Beaude with the Mirror iuttered instant
" into the halls.
Near the foot OF the last fight Nvrle
drew a BIT Of q white packet from her
breast and before any one could inter-
vene had dropped its POWDER contents
into her trembling, drawn mouth and had
gssned metsIlca1ly and rad fallen in
broken mass upon the steps The bal
'ustrafes WE'RE fringe5 with dismayed
spectators. From below came cook and
maids
After minutes awestrack silence TIE
landladv was coming 20 the fore with
THE frst nerves when q surprising, raw
voung bov voics uined I'D.
'fFln-hurraht shes whonper,"
Scarcely snv8ns was enough himself -
recognize thu speaker az the telegraph
messenger who had delivered the Ga
7stoh OF 20 ha offended ~ his Laughing
delighted a5riring features.
she IS q corkert' gaviy Re contained.
'Ssi5 she was going 70 Go that y0u
know Core ar toIe tl1e clerk a. the
drug store 7 ra0ort n 81 about t. Hes
Il the rare Haa - w-ite her letts-s
lot ~ empty pspsr n envelopes
mean Tor saw HIN raru1ing s. &
ans af that trick
'ssais hs- teacher ~ the theatsr school
raea q e7fv ~ he- hefcve the wh0's
class ar' tola her ehe cou'du't ~ tae