The county record. [volume] (Kingstree, S.C.) 1885-1975, 1902-11-06

not aware of my debt to her"
You owe her a great deal" said FL
sic. 81 wish I'd had a lunatic Of that
kind in my family. l couldn't afford to
have much teaching. or course l had
some. but when l found what my
mother was enduring in order to pay
for it-well. l took al engagement with
the first thing that came along. And it
was q transforming crew! We gave
six plays a week. and had to learn a
long part in every one Of them. The
second Monday, in the afternoon, the
leading lady came into my room and
found me huddled up on the floor IL
the corner gibber;ng-just gibbering,
that was all-wordS out Of all the
plays. as she told me afterward, all
jumbled together. and l was cross eyed
with sitting up all night studying I'M
der little Pickering gas jets. Yes, that's
the way she found me, and the room
was as cold as a barn too. / had the
bed quilt wrapped around my Shout
ders and my arm through a hole in it.
THE leading lady yelled to the ju-
venile man, and he really was Juvenile
about is, as l remember. She said,
Go get a glass of brandy. The ju-
venile man went down to the bar and
came back with a tumbler solid full.
He had to carry it carefully in order to
keep from spilling any. The leading
lady was q temperance woman She
never touched 4 drop Of wine. and, In
fact, she was a regular straitlaced
New England pilgrim, but somebody
had told her once that brandy was
good for the thing that had-'white
BRAIN we call it. The Juvenile man
didn't know how much brandy a per-
son ought to take. and well, ! didn't
know anything. So drank it all. and
then l lay down on the bed, and the
leading lady covered me with every
thing she could find. and pretty soon
the bed got up and stood on the ceiling.
and didn't are at all.
when it came time to so to the the
alter brenda, it's ~disgraceful. but l
was $3.50 drunk that l couldn't walk
straight the leading lady got me up
and told the juvenile man to walk me
around the block. and he walked me
around about fifty times in the snow
We were in a little Minnesota town.
and it had showed for a week. When
he took me to the theater, | was per-
fectly sober. and | didn't care for any
thing. | had no troubles whatever. !
walked up to the stage manager, and |
said cheerfully, We'll. what do we play
tonight He told me, and l couldn't
remember ever to have heard Of it, but
l got out my part and studied it while
/ was making up.
when / went on, l knew about half
Of my first scene. which was the Ion
gest one l had in the play. But didn't
care. I'd always been troubled with
stage fright more or less. but not this
time-not a fright. When l forgot, |
waited calmly for the prompter. who
was of left. having n fit. By and by
had to go across right and sit down by
q table. | knew | couldn't hear the
prompter there. so | walked over and
got the table and dragged it clear across
the stage, and the audience a~pplauded
because / did it so naturally.
Then | went crazy, and what hap
pened afterward scarcely know. But
when | came off after the thrilling eli
max Of the scene | fell into the lead
ing lady's arms. and she Rugged me up
tight. She said: You never played SO
we'll as that before. You were like
Julia Marlowe.' And she kissed me on
both cheeks. Julia Marlowe vas my
idol then. and / cried with heavenly
JOY on the leading lady's neck. That's
all true. just as it happened. Brenda,
and | never had stage fright after
ward"
Poor little Elsie" said Brenda. kiss
ing her. at was n bard school where
you were taught"
1T was" said Elsie. yet ! think /
wouldn't have amounted to much any
way. How could any mortal mar fail
to see the difference between you and
me-"
My child" said Brenda. mo man
! can. Why. the brass knobs m the
posts OF this bed know the difference be-
tween O and me-the vital. essential
difference. They love you in their lit
tie brass hearts. Everybody loves yon.
Or. Kendall. for n cold blooded sawyer
OF bones who could amputate my head
without Il trace OF emotion. takes your
haud with the eternal reverence Of
man for and when lie gives
YOU pain | can 50" lis own heart
| shrink. Eat ie treats me as if | We're
II gentleman whom lie had met 1T tie
club"
kisic opened her eyes so wide that
they seemed 10 light Tie room as sh"
| stared 1T Brenda. whose cheeks were
flushed by her unusual ea:nestnesS.
Il ain slaa 10 hear you speak Ike
,l,,t" sba Sr;f