Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1908-02-23

tressng My fear in wsS~sSEyNsWRsWS>
creased as the time ad- WSgJW y
vanced. l felt the utter N1ANAw II
absurdity of it all; but ~
this in no wise helped '@
me. l could scarcely ~
touch my breakfast, and when tried to partake of
dinner the food collected in my mouth was unable
to swallow it. l in very ptiable condition,
indeed. My family begged me to send word that I
i'll, that suddenly taken with hoarseness;
but these proposals l positively refused to accept.
1t had been my principle in journalism, that
death was the only excuse for not writing prom
1sed article, and this principle, added still held.
When is the program he must go, regardless
of the cost to himself he has right to stink away
But how prayed that the heavens would open and
let fall torrent, such propitious as
had once before saved me from a similar ordeal!
But no; night came on sereney. l wanted to
walk to the theater; the streets were crowded, and
every passing carriage made me fear that within
one of those before whom l would soon fall:
Ave Cesar, H1Oritnrt tie Sdthdnt
The evening divided into two sessions, and
as was second on the program had good hour
to linger in the waiting room to which Eugene Yung
had brought me- l was so PALE SO dismayed, that
he thought all encouragement would be useless, and
therefore left me to my thoughts after remarking
on the good disposition which the audience showed
My thoughts very sad A condemned criminal
going to the guillotine has, l imagine, just such
and then L experienced peculiar heavness like
tumbng in space. followed by rush of blood
which kept me. restless. pulled out my watch
every mlnuefort the love of God let it end quickly!
My suffering was unbearable.
Just as the curtain which separated me from the
audience was raised my mouth became dry, and
though kept swallowing could not find drop of
saliva. My tongue became thick and heavy, requir-
ing painful effort to move it; my voice mounted
into my head, and heard it loud and piercing as if
it the voice of some else. It's tmbre, which
strange to me, disconnected me- it seemed that
the words articulated with difficulty, divided them
selves without any will or effort on my part and
sought in vain to catch the phrases which were
Gaping me 1t was an extremely unhappy state.
l continued to speak, for there was no means of
fell from my lips without my having any part in
the matter. Indeed, they seemed to me to have no
sense in them.
Il came home feeling desperate and furious 1
whirlng through my whole body with a sort of dull
rumbling and beating impetuousy against the walls
in the morning Before my mind which now worked
with wonderful 1ucidity, the whole scene unrolled
itself time and again Vivid and appropriate
phrases to in abundance is what
should have said! Where my head? What will
the distinguished men who were attracted by the
report of my budding reputation think of me? 1
not count Come back next Thursday' l rose ex-
tremey fatgued, my eyes heavy, and my whole
body bruised as if l had been beaten with cudgel.
Rousseau's Entertainment
THOSE who have never appeared before public
will probably consider these descriptions mere
rhetorlc,-how, indeed, can so small matter pro-
duce many and such violent disturbances?-but
those who have been victims of the demon Stage
Fright will recognize the accuracy of every detail
mentioned and some perhaps will even declare the
pictures underdrawn. Rousseau, who was largely
instrumental in bringing about the American and
French Revolutions, and who of the bodest
and most original thinkers the world has ever SEEM
became embarrassed and confused when he had
to make brief reply to deputation of Swiss
who had come to thank him for some books he had
presented to their town library, that he
stopped short, and openly laughed
at because of the great distress
he was in, over SO insignf-
cant matter
1t is not ALWAYS