Wauwatosa news. [volume] (Wauwatosa, Wis.) 1900-1948, 1905-05-27
AN ACTORS STORY.

"One of the times when | did not walk
in" said an actor of various pedestrian
experience who was contributing his
share of the hard luck stories at recent
after the show symposium, was when
our angel vanished, one bright Sunday
morning, and left the company stranded
in a little Iowa town of G009 or 1000 in
habitants.
The angel had started off with rs
from Chicago, and | am bound to admit
that he was gamer than the average
angel for a matter of three dismal weeks
of one-night stands, during which we had
played to capacity in the shape of teem
ing mutitudes that often figured up fully
$4.35 on counts of the houses.
"The angel had not said anything
about tagging the outfit, but we all felt
that he couldn't and wouldn't stand the
gati, as it were, much longer.
so we were not greatly surprised
when he turned up missing on that brill
liant, sunshiny morning | speak of, when
we gloomily piled out Of The train and
made for the hotel in this little Iowa
town of 5000 or 1000 people.
The show had been advertised there,
but none of us had the remotest idea that
We would perform there. We were, for
all of our expectation of it, too much
stunned by the disappearance of the
angel to care to speculate on what was
going to become of us, and especially as
to how we were going to get back to New
York, where most of us belonged and
had some sort of shelter.
I'VE just sat down to breakfast in the
hotel dining room, wondering over each
mouthful how the meal was going to be
paid for by an angeless organization, but
not the less glad and thankful to get it.
well, there was long, uncertain day
ahead of us, and none of us cared par
ticularly to be compelled to engage in
Sunday thinking, which is, at best, sad
sort of work i'll one-night stands. So
when one of the men suggested that the
whole outfit go to church the suggestion
was received with instant applause.
I'VE all logged out in the best that we
had left and sailed off, blithe enough on
the surface for folk whose hearts were
really heavy, for the nearest church.
Il don't know what sort of church it
was-of what denomination, mean-but
| do know that they treated us very
kindly, considering that we were
strangers and certainly not prosperous
looking, but actor folk in hard luck
The usher gave us good seats away up
in front fixed us each out with hymnal
and quite won us by the kindly attention
he bestowed upon us.
Now, one of the strong features of
our show was our quartet. 1t was com
posed of two men and two women. They
all had very sweet voices indeed, and
their tones blended beautifully. In fact,
there were often times on that trip when
felt so lonesome on general principles
that it used to break me all up to listen
to the mellow singing of that quarette.
well, when the minister gave out the
hymn the quartette members. who hap
pened to be standing right together.
looked ut each other, and then they
somewhat family Joined in the singing.
l They were bit nervous at first, for it
mad been good many years, prob
ably, since they had sung any HYMN
music, but after the first verse they GOT
together and began to sing.
The hymn was Lead. Kindly Light
When the quartette began to let them
selves out in the second verse of that
| hymn it was singular to notice how the
'''NNH vi INV NSti-A NSdliuu hCGuH 10 drop
out 1t wasn't long before that quartette
was singing all alone. And | want to
go ON record as saying that never, before
or since, have / heard hymn music so per.
fectly moving as our sweet-voiced but
poor and storm beaten quartette's music
On that quiet Sunday morning in the
little Iowa town, with the birds chr
ripping i'll the trees outside.
The quartette sang on alone. with the
unspoken but understood consent of the
congregation. The minister had instant.
lly recognized the quality of the quar-.
tette's singing and he gave out Rock of
ages My Redeemer Liveth.' safe in the
Arms of Jesus and finally Nearer Nv
tod, to Thee one after the other. He
might as well have given the HYMNS 10
the quartette alone. for the quartette
alone sang them. The congregation was
in more or less of a trance. and. when
it comes to that, l guess there wasn't a
one of us in that company of strollers
that didn't feel, about then, that we