Wauwatosa news. [volume] (Wauwatosa, Wis.) 1900-1948, 1906-12-15

played the role of Mephistopheles better
than my comrade here?"
'Humph!" said the stranger, flashing
his green eyes and cracking his sharp
teeth MIR. Heinrich is a young man Of
talent, whom | esteem very highly; but
he is wanting in many things necessary
to play the role of the devil"
And suddenly drawing himself up:
Have you ever seen the devil, Mr.. Helm
rich?"
He put this question in such strange
and hooking tone that all the company
felt a shudder run down their backs.
That, however, would be necessary
for the truthfuness of your play. The
other evening | was at the theater of
the C0rinthian gate and / was not salts
fed with your laugh; it was, at the ut
most, sly laugh. Mr. dear Mr.. Helm
rich, this is the way you ought to laugh"
And thereupon, as if to give him the
example he burst into laugh so sharp,
so strident, so sardonic, that the orches-
ira and the dancers stopped at that very
instant, and the glass in the windows
| trembed.
Some days after this strange incident
Heinrich was playing his part of the
demon. On the first row of seats in the
orchestra was the stranger of the tavern,
and at every word promo need he shook
his head, winlled his eyes and showed
signs of the liveliest impatience.
bad, bad!" he murmured to himself.
At the end of the first act the stranger
rose, strobe over the big drum, the Gym
balls and trombone, and disappeared
through the little door that leads from
the orchestra to the stage. Heinrich,
waiting till the curtain rose, was walk
ing up and down in the wings, and when
he came to the end of his short prom
enade what was his terror to see, as he
turned, standing in the middle of the
narrow corridor, a mysterious parsonage
clothed exactly as he was, and looking
at him with eyes whose greenish trans
parency had a strange profundity in the
darkness; the white, sharp wide-set
teeth gave something ferocious to the
sardonic smile.
Heinrich could not fail to recognize the
stranger whom he had seen at the Two
Headed Eagle, or rather, the devil in per
son, for it was he.
All ali, my young friend! you wish
to play the devil? You were very mid
ding in the first act, and you would de-
cidedly give a very poor opinion of me to
the citizens of Vienna. You will allow
me to replace you this evening; and, as
you might interfere with me, l will send
you to the cellar, below the stage"
Heinrich recognized the Prince of
Darkness and felt himself lost. Putting
his hand mechanically to the little cross
that Katy had given him, he tried to
call for help and TO murmur his formula
of eXorcism; but terror ehoked him; he
could only utter feeble rattle. The
devil seized Heinrich with his hooked
hands by the shoulders and pushed him
by main force through the floor; then he
entered upon the scene when his cue
came. like a perfect actor.
His incisive, biting, venomous and
truly diabolical acting at first surprised
the spectators. What especially produced
a great effect was that sharp litter like
the grating of saw. that laugh of the
damned disappearing the joys of para
disc Never lad an actor attained such
power of sarcasm, such a depth of vii
lainy; the audience laughed, but they
trembed.
| All the audience was painting VITA
emotion; phosphoric sparks glinted from
the fingers of the terrible actor; trains of
sparkling flame ran from his feet; lie
light of the lusters grew pale, the foot
lights shot out reddish and greenish
flashes; sort of sulphurous smell
reigned in the theater; the spectators
We're delirious, and thunders of frantic
applause greeted each phrase of the mar
velous Mephistopheles, who often sub
stituted verses of his own invention for
the verses of the poet.
The performance ended amidst indie
seribable enthusiasm. When the curtain
fell the public called for Mephistopheles
with loud cries. He was sought for in
vain; but at last a scene shifter came and
told the manager that Heinrich had been
found in the cellar, where he had prob
ably fallen through a trap.
The hapless actor was taken up. His
clothing was burned in places, and on
his shoulders were deep scratches. They
spoke to MIN. but he did not answer.
Heinrich Falkenstein was dead-From
the French of Theophile Gautier, in the
Argonaut.
A PHILIPPINE FISH CATCHER.