Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1906-07-25
DAILY STORY
AN OLD GENIUS IN A YOUNG BODY
IOriginal.l

| times and had lately returned. posi-
/ lively for the last time and was play
| Ing an engagement at the Standard
| His friends We're vainly trying to keeI
| up his audiences for a few nights
longer when the old man would go on
! for the last night of his engagement.
But when that last night came Mac
! Micken did not come with it, He own
ed 4 handsome country place twenty
miles from the city and used to come
| i'll on an express train that was due
| at q O'Clock On the night of his last
performance he did not show up as
usual OH the arrival of the train.
| There was Il local train that arrived
at a quarter TO s. He might have TAX
| en- that. but the manager was bit
| nervous at his not coming on the ex-
press and notified me. his understudy,
| TO be ready for the part in case any
thing had happened. He further Sug-
gested that since Mae and 1 were the
| same build I'd better make up to per
senate the star as well as the charac-
ter. which was Hamlet If Mac should
come in late many might not notice
that he had not been on from the first
The hour for the play arrived. and
every one who had long admired Mac
Micken assembled to give the old man
Il fine sendoff. The manager had tele-
graphed 10 find out what was the mat
ter but there was no one at Macs
place except the servants, who replied
that he had started to walk 10 the de-
pot much earlier than usual
At = O'Clock the orchestra started in,
and at a quarter after the curtain
went up. Hamlet is not on till the
second scene. and up to the last minute
it was hoped that Mac would appear.
He did not. \ few minutes before 1
was to go on l passed the manager,
who hailed me with delight. thinking
me TO be the star. This indicated that
| was we'll made up to represent Mac
Micken. l was received with n warm
demonstration. l bowed-indeed, kept
bowling for a long time-though 1 no.
ticed that the noise was made mostly
by few of Macs old friends. But l
had no sooner got into my part than l
discovered that / had secured unusual
attention. L seemed buoyed by some
inspiration by which l felt that / could
not only take Macs place. but take it
in the days when he was as young as
|. All the delicate shades of meaning
10 be found in that remarkable part.
all the biting satire, the philosophic
thought, seemed to come from me as a
part of my nature. Before l went on
for the second act l was told that the
audience was wondering at Macs re-
juyenation. some OF the older ones de
claring he was doing work he had done
thirty years before.
With every act the enthusiasm grew
till at the close l held the audience
spellbOund. When the curtain fell
there was a perfect storm of applause,
and ] was called before it again and
again till consented to speak. Where |
the words | said came from | did not |
know. / had entered so far into Macs |
identity that l seemed to speak for |
him and as he would have spoken.
My friends l said, Il am deeply |
touched by this kind reception. To- |
night, an old man, l have entered |
body. that 1 might make you |
really feel a pleasure you would have
reigned from sympathy. l thank you,
md gOodby."
You mean a young man in an old
)ody." cried Il voice.
l went off amid a storm of applause
o be met by the manager, who came
It me angrily:
What did you want to give it away
or by talking about an old man in a
-oung body for?"
II don't know" l replied. confused,
thought 1 was Mac"
Anxious to get away and be by my
elf. I went directly to my dressing
Dom and shut the door. ! was dis
obing when it opened, and who should
ONE in but MacMIcken himself.
Il suppose you think you've done a
thing he said, dropping
nto Il chair.
"Why didn't you come and do it
Because l wanted to try an expert
lent. / know that I'm not what was
hirty years ago. Now, 1 believe in
lany things that the world SCOTS at.
10 you remember how you felt tonight
yhen you spoke the lines:
There are more things in heaven and
lrth, Horatio. than are dreamt of in
Dur philosophy
81 felt that there WERE
Il made Up my mlnu 10 let you
Dung man, take my part on my last
light and try to inspire you with my
wn fervor when l was your age. |
anne In town by an early train and
ave been sitting in the gallery with a
TASK on my face. 1 concentrated all
" will power to throw my Hamlet
" Hamlet of years agone-into YOU
have succeeded beyond my widest
Ipecta atoms"
And shown me how to play Ham
t.
You think so? Play Hamlet without
e inspiration i put into you tonight
ld see what you will do"
1 went to bed feeling uncomfortable.
1T the next morning was myself again
Id scoffed at Macs claim that he had
lpplied the ability with which 1 had