The Leon reporter. (Leon, Iowa) 1887-1930, 1906-10-18
AN OLD GENIUS
In A YOUNG BODY
[Original.]


he was drawing near the end of his
career. People were beginning to re-
gard him as bit old fashioned He
had retired from the stage several i
times and had lately returned, posi-
lively for the last time" and was play
ing an engagement at the Standard |
His friends were vainly trying to keep
up his audiences for q few nights |
longer when the old man would go on i
for the last night of his engagement.
| But when that last night came Mac
! Micken did not come with It, He own
ed handsome country place twenty
miles from the city and used to come
in on an express train that was due
at 6 o'clock. On the night of his last
performance he did not show up as
usual on the arrival of the train
There was local train that arrived
ut 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 umderstudy,
to be ready for the part in case any.
thing had happened. He further sug
gested that since Mac and l 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
NIicken assembled to give the old man
fine sendoff. The manager had tele
graphed to 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 to the de-
pot much earlier than usual.
At o'clock the orchestra started in,
and at a quarter after 8 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. A few minutes before I
was to go on l passed the manager,
who hailed me with delight, thinking
me to be the star. This indicated that
l was well made up to represent Mac
A1icken. l was received with q warm
demonstration. l bowed-indeed, kept
bowling for a long time-though l no.
|
by few of Macs old friends. But
had no sooner got into my part than
discovered that had secured unusual
attention. l seemed buoyed by some
inspiration by which felt that could
not only take Macs place, but take it
in the days when he was as young as
1. All the delicate shades of meaning
to 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 was told that the
audience was wondering at Macs re-
juvcnation, 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,
3 and ] was called before it again and
again till consented to speak. Where
the words l said came from 1 did not
know. l had entered so far into Macs
identity that 1 seemed to speak for
him and as he would have spoken.
my friends,' I said, 81 am deeply
touched by this kind reception. To
night, an old man, l have entered 9
youthful body, that l might make yor
really feel pleasure you would have
feigned from sympathy. I thank you
2 and goodby."
you mean a young man in an ole
= BODY cried voice.
l went off amid storm Of applause
to be met by the manager, who came
2 at me angrily:
3 "What did you want to give it ava!
= for by talking about an old man in ;
q young body for?"
81 don't know" l replied, confused
"somehow l thought I was Mac"
3 Anxious to get away and be by my
self, 1 went directly to my dressin:
q room and shut the door. | was dis
q robing when it opened, and who SHOULD
g come in but MacMicken himself.
3 81 suppose you think you've done
q remarkable thing" he said, droppin
9 into chair.
g "Why didn't you come and do
yourself?'
Because l wanted to try an exper
ment. know that I'm not what wa
thirty years ago. Now, l believe i
9 many things that the world SCOTS a
Do you remember how you felt tonigh
when you spoke the lines:
There are more things in heaven an
= earth, Horatio, than are dreamt of !
= your philosophy"
- 81 felt that there were"
. Il made up my mind to let you,
young man, take my part on my las
r night and try to inspire you with m
| own fervor when l was your age.
came in town by an early train an
have been sitting in the gallery with
mask on my face. l concentrated a
my will power to throw my Hamlet
my Hamlet of years agone-into YOU
m have succeeded beyond my wildes
Il expectations"
Ill., "And shown me how to play Han
I|I let"