Harrisburg telegraph. [volume] (Harrisburg, Pa.) 1879-1948, 1915-06-01

Merwin could see a light of interest
in his eyes.
DE Reszki Jean himself,
coached"
Make up-qufckly," the director
decided sharply. He turned away,
lifting his hand to the assistant stage
manager and slowly the curtain rose.
AS he darted to the dressing room be-
hind the stage manager, Merwin
caught the creak OF that curtain and
knew that he would never get the
sound from out his ears.
He heard nothing of the stage-man-
ayers instructions, was numbly con-
scious of getting into the costume of
the pantaloon, heard nothing of the
directors instructions as, in a cold per-
Bpiration, he waited for the baritone
ito finish with the prologue.
Fear was upon him, cold, dank
fear. Could he have run from the
place, could he have put a finish to
every ambition he had pressed so
closely to his very soul, could he have
thrust it all aside at that moment,
he would have done so rather than
suffer the fiery heat alternating with
icy cold that seized his body, be tor
tured by the prickling fingers at his
spine, the harsh grip at his heart.
- don't mind the whispering
and talking while you sing. They do
It with everyone but Cabosso -
He heard no more but those words
scared themselves in letters OF fire
upon his brain. His teeth clicked
shut with an audible sound. Suddenly
all the stage fright disappeared be-,
fore an anticipatory rage. TheV
SHOULD NOT whisper and talk while
he sang; they SHOULD treat his voice
with the same respect they treated
that of Cabosso. His voice was the
equal of the great tenor's.
Unconscious of his audience, OF the
stir Of curiosity at his appearance in
stead of the familiar Cabosso, regard
less OF everything save overweeniug
desire to win, Henry Merwin hardly
realized he was upon the stage before
the curtain stared him in the face, the
curtain which formed a barrier
against the tumultuous applause Of
the audience at his performance, and
shut him into the other world behind
the scenes, the world of fellow-singers
who made him realize the tremendous
impression he had created.
He suddenly felt himself very weak.
! felt his impotence. He needed help,
sympathy-he needed-Ann-
Swiftly he discarded his costume,
but lily wiping the grease paint from
his countenance. But in his eyes
glowed something of happiness. grow
ing from more than fame as, half an
hour later, he re-read the message he
has just written before passing It to
the agent.
Ann Merwin, Los Angeles, CAL:
Come to New York at once. No
more poverty. HENRY.
He waited in the library listening
TO the sounds of delight from AIMS
room.
In the week he had tasted the fruit
of success and laughed at the fear he
had entertained Of 1t. To be sought
out by the great director and placed
under contract at a figure he had
only vaguely dreamed of ever earning;
to be the toast of town and press, to
be invited into the very heart of
society's most sanctified circle; to
know that It was all deserved-surely
they were fools who had told him
the price to be paid for fame was
heavy.
/ And now Ann was h ere, was so close
to him he had but to tap upon the
adjoining door to see her, so close to
him he could hear her delighted ex-
clamations over the gown he had
bought for her to wear at Mrs. Van
! Rolphe's reception that very night; So
close he could hear her protests as
the maid coiffed her hair! so close he
could hear the prattle of his baby's
voice, could still feel the rosebud lips
pressed against his own, the baby he
had never seen but that was his. Could
anything add to his happiness
Slowly a frown creased his forehead, I,
a perplexed and anxious frown. Ann
would Ann be able to live up to the
position he had created for her;
would she fit into the niche; would
she be accepted as suitable wife for
the great tenor? 1t had taken time
and years abroad to make Of him the
Henry Merwin of today, while she re-
mained where he had left her-the
country girl who married a milkman.
I Pretty, fresh, wholesome-yet she
was obviously uncomfortable in her
hnery. There was something of the
out-of-doors about her that did not
seem to fit into the new life. He felt
himself guiltily contrasting her with
the dark, exotic beauty of Olga Drake.
the woman who had made so much of
him at a reception of the day before:
the woman who had seemed so de-
siroua of being with him alone. de-
spite the gallants besieging her. And
olga Drake, mistress of wealth and
beauty, was not less famous as a social
dictator than he was as a singer.
CnNTTNTTEn TOAEnDDA"