Democratic Sentinel, Volume 4, Number 52, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 4 February 1881 — Culling It Short. [ARTICLE]

Culling It Short.

" Once, days of my early struggles in the profession,” said Edwin Booth, ‘ ‘ and while we were barn-storm-ing down in Virginia, an odd thing happened, which illustrates the shifts to which a ‘ poor player ’ was then put in order to get along. We were playing—- ‘ showing ’ they called it then—one night at a little place called Lee’s Landing, and the tobacco warehouse we had improvised into a theater was crowded by the planters for miles around. We had arranged to take the weekly steamer that we expected would touch there late, that night, and between the acts were all busy packing up. The play was the ‘ Merchant of Venice,’ and we were just going on for the court scene, where the Jew insists on his pound of flesh, when we heard a whistle blow, and the manager came running in to say that the steamer , had arrived ahead of time and would leave again in ten minutes. ‘ ‘As that was our only chance of getting down to the Chesapeake for a week, we were naturally in a terrible quandary. ‘lf we stop right here and explain,’said the manager, ‘the audience will think they are being cheated, and go in for a free fight. The only thing we can do is for you fellows to get up some sort of a natural-like, impromptu ending for the piece, and ring down the drop. Go right ahead, ladies and gentlemen, and take your cue from Ned, here,’ and he hurried away to get the luggage on board. “ If it had been in any other quarter of the country I wouldn’t have had the assurance to do as he said, but the ignorance of the ‘clay-eaters,’ or ordinary ‘Virginians of those days, was something marvelous, so when old George Ruggles, who was doing Shy lock, got to where he sharpens his knife on his shoe, I walked solemnly up to him and said: “ ‘ You’re bound to have the flesh, are you? ’ “‘You bet your life,’ said George, under the impression that he was improvising very skillfully indeed. “ ‘ Now, I’ll make you one more dicker,’ I continued. ‘ln addition to the bag of ducats, I’ll thrpw in two kegs of niggerhead terback, a shotgun and a oouple of the best coon dogs in the State. ’ “ ‘ I’m blamed if I don’t do it,’ said Shylock, much to the approbation of the audience, who were tobacco-raisers and coon hunters from the ground up. ‘ ‘ ‘And to show that there is no hard feeling,’ said Portia, tucking up her legal gown, ‘ we’ll wind up with a Virginny reel.’ “And as the prompter struck up ‘ Monnie Musk’ on his fiddle, we danced a couple of figures, and made a break for the boat as the curtain fell, amid thunders of applause. . ‘ ‘ When we got bn board, the steamer’s Captain, who had witnessed the conclusion of the play with great delight, tendered the troupe the compliment of a hot supper, and remarked, as we sat down to what was a rare treat in those ‘palmy days of the drama: ’ “‘l’d like to see the whole of that play sometime, gentlemen. I’m blamed if I thought that fellow Shakspeare had so much snap to him. ’ ”