Rensselaer Republican, Volume 26, Number 38, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 17 May 1894 — A Sneezing Corpse. [ARTICLE]

A Sneezing Corpse.

When Macready was a young man, classical drama in blank verse held the stage. One of these was “Aemilius, or the Fall of Rome.” Aemilius. was played by an actor named Pope, and the exigencies of the play required him to be brought on the stage on a bier, supposedly dead, and Flavius, acted by Macready, spoke am oration over the body. Pope was an inveterate snuiftaker, and just before going on one night he borrowed a pinch from one of the stage~attendan ts. He~ was accustomed to only a mild invigorant, but the borrowed tobacco was the fiery Welch snuff. Pope was duly brought on the stage bv the usual army of “supers” and Macready began: “Thou last of the Romans, thy bleeding country calls thee in vain. Time and fortune may do their worst. Since thou - ” Here, to Macreadv’s astonishment, Pope’s face began to work, and then came a sneeze from the dead Roman that shook the flies. Macready started as if shot, aod the audience began to titter, but he went on: “Since thou hast left us we are encompassed by enemies who —” Here the corpse began to show animation, and then came a succession of sneezes. Boiling over with rage, and in a voice heard all over the house, Macready muttered: “Drat your blood, sir, why don’t you do your sneezing off the stage?” The audience shouted, and. the scene ended by the corpse stalking off to find and kill the man who gave him the snuff.