THE SKETCHES,.

Otago Witness, Issue 1650, 7 July 1883, Page 26

THE SKETCHES,.

ACTING ANIMALS.

When a tragedian of the old school, starring in a country town, complained of playing to quarter-houses, a sympathising friend lamented that Mr Irving should happen to be there at the same time. " Irving ! " exclaimed the tragedian. " I'll s);ar against^tTO anywhere ; but who can star against twelve performing I elephants ? " Biped actors naturally have the same enmity for their four-footed rivals as painter Haydon felt for General Tom Thumb. One popular player, however, owns to having good reason for entertaining kindlier feelings for them. " One memorable night," says Mr Toole, " I was destined to take part in a performance at Astley's for the benefit of the veteran equestrian, Cooke ; and while waiting for my turn I took to wandering at the back of the stage, to pass away the time. All was darkness and gloom. I heard the distant tramp of the horses below, but I could see nothing, and eventually l«st my way. In trying to retrace my steps and to avoid a pitfall, I came acro&s a wooden partition, which I thought would guide me to a safe retreat. Presently I found' the J ground beneath me slightly moving. I seized the edge of the partition, or I must have fallen heavily — I knew not where. Suddenly there came a fla&h of light from a passing lamp — a glimmer of hope to me — and I realised my position. I was standing on the back of a performing elephant, placed under'the hayloft, into which I had wandered, [and from which, but for the gentle creature, I must have fallen some fifteen or twenty feet into the open area below, probably never to rise again." The sight-loving public have always taken so kindly to performing animals, that we may jbe sure the amunement-soekers of Queeu Anne's time fully appreciated the little marmoset, from the East Indies,' that danced the Cheshire Rounds and performed several other pretty fancies ; and very much applauded the playing horse, which, being told there was a warrant come to press him into the service ■of the French king, fell so lame he cou.d hardly set one foot before another ; and thei eupon learning he must go if alive, threw himself down, with his legs stretched out stiff, and his tongue hanging out of his mouth, lying as if he were dead, until told to rise and serve Queen Anne, when he jumped on his feet, and became " extraordinary brisk and cheerful." Animal performers, be their parts ever bo simple, are not always 'to be depended upon. An effect never contemplated by the composer of " Tannhauser " was produced one u'ght at Oovent Garden, thanks i<> a couple of auimal supers. With the tirsi. no'e of the goa h ril's &ong, the two goats tethered to the rock began to bleat most piteously, and, in her own interest, Mademoiselle Cottino hastened to set them free, One made a hasty and undignified exit ; but the other, less bashful, made'its way to the footlights, and insisted upon d.'liverinj itself of a ludicrous solo, as unmelodioua as the most ardent admirer of the mu&ic of the future could hope to hear. Determined to put the " Forty Thieves " upon the stage in as realistic a manner as .possible, an enterprising Nevada manager provided Ali Baba with a real live mule to carry off the proceeds of his raid on the lobbers' cave. Either from lack of proper instruction, or from the perversity of his nature, that animal behaved as though the sole purpose of his presence was to prove he was no " property " mule ; for no sooner was he on tho Btage than he put his fore-feet down firmly and kicked, as only a mule knows how to do — sending the prompter into the orcheatra, the callboy into the flies, and causing a general exeunt without any regard to the btagn directions. Having the stage to himself, he exercised his heels until he had kicked the cavern, the jars of oil, and an expanse of forest, far into space, and utterly wrecked the raise en scene. That mule's first appearance was his last, although the spectators were so delighted with his spirited performance that they wanted him to take a benefit, but the manager declined to give him a night. According to the Denyer Tribune, a parrot lately distinguished itself at the Opera House there, the mapager of which had borrowed it from a restaurant-keeper. During the first act of "Old Shipmates" the bird was quiet enough, but as soon as it had become accustomed to its novel surroundings, commenced to display its accomplishments, to the amusement of the audience and the dismay of the actors. " Lamb chops or breaded veal ?'' screamed Poll, bringing forth a loud "s-sh,"" s-sh," to which the bird responded with : " Shut up ! you make me t'red !" " Quit kissing tho cook ! " and a volley of oaths. An actress pushed the cago to the wings of the stage, to be seized by the manager, and carried to the property-room — the voice of the indignant parrot gradually dying away in the distance, until the slamming of the door shut it out 'altogether, bat not before the offender Poll had revenged ita removal by nipping the

captor in the leg. A little later the manager thus addressed his treasurer : " Mr Morse, let it be understood once for all that hereafter no living wild beasts will be introduced on our stage." Perfect in their behaviour on the boards of the VVallner Theatre, Berlin, were two fine rams introduced in a spectacular piece at that house. When the drama had run its course, the manager took the rams home with him, and placed them in the kitchen for the night. It was his custom to indulge in an early cup of coffee in bed, the duty of bringing it to him devolving upon his cook. Performing her usual office on the morning after the coming home of the rams, that functionary, forgetting all about them, left the kitchen door open behind her, and the curious creatures followed close upon her heels, until they passed into the drawingroom, where they elected to stay. One side of the room was adorned with a splendid mirror reaching from floor to ceiling,' and seeing themselves reflected therein, the rams lowered their horns and dashed at their fancied foes. Then came a crash, followed by another, as the startled woman dropped her tray with a shriek .which brought the manager on the scene in double-quick time, to vent useless anathemas on the heads of the unconscious offenders. \ " Romeo," a clever elephant attached to Robinson's Circus, proved a very troublesome customer when a passenger on board the Golden Crown steamer. For the first two days he was kept chained on the forecastle, and amused himself with the boxes and bales within reach of his trunk, tumbling them about without any consideration for the possible fragility of their contents ; then, being removed out of harm's way, he turned_ his attention to some heavy cedar logs, finding great amusement in raising one up and letting it fall again, shaking the boat from stem to stern. To spoil his fun Romeo was taken from the forecastle to the interior of the boat ; but he soon found mi&chief to do, jerking the bell- wires running from the pilot-house to the engine-room. The first time he worked the wire the engineer stopped the vessel. " What's the matter ? " asked the pilot, through the speaking-tube.— " Nothing," responded the engineer. " What did you stop her for, then ?" shouted the, pilot. — " Because you rang the bell." " I didn't ring." As he spoke the bell sounded again, and the bothered engineer caught Romeo in the act of jerking the wire ; but there was no way of preventing him so amusing himself, and he kept up the tintinnabulation day and night, compelling the pilot to signal the engineer through the speaking-tube for the leinamder of the trip. t , • Animals have. now and again appeared on the stage without any arrangement for their so doing. Bonnel Thornton saw a ' tragedy monarch disturbed in his last moments, jas he lay expiring on the carpet, by' a ' discerning critic of King Charles's black breed,, who, jumping out of the stage-box and fastening upon the hero's periwig, brought it off in his mouth, and deposited it safely in his mistress's lap. When Charles Kean was playing Richard 111. at Exeter, just as he was getting the worst i of the combat with his rival, his Newfoundland dog, watching the mimic fray from the wings, thinking his master in danger, rushed on the stage, and, dashing fiercely at the dismayed Richmond, put him to sudden and ignominious flight, and brought the tragedy to an unlookedfor end. In Nessler's opera, " The Ratcatcher of Hameln," the most effective scene is that wherein the rats, in obedience to the tuneful spell, make their exodus from Hameln. On the first representation of " The Ratcatcher " at the Dresden Opera House this was so well managed that the old cat of the establishment, lazily regarding the proceedings from her favourite corner at the side of the stage, was startled out of her placidity by the .sudden appearance of a host of her natural enemies upon her own terlitory. Suddenly she sprang on the stage, and went for the army of " property" rodents with a will, not to be daunted by overwhelming numbers. Her teeth, however, soon showed her what they wer6 made of, and 6 he retired majestically from the scene, but, in obedience to an uproarious recall from the delighted audience, was brought back in the arms of a super, to receive the tribute of applause her courageous conduct daserved. Manager Davidge did not scruple at supping off the pig that had helped to fill the Surrey treasury ; but M. Tanty, the proprietor of an educated pig, exceedingly popular in Moscow, had more gratitude in his composition. Three rich merchants, determined upon enjoying an unusually expensive dibh, offered M. Tanty three thousand roubles for hia " learned pig," aud after some demur he handed the animal over and pocketed the money. The poor pig was entiu'-ted to the handling of an eminent cliel, and duly devoured. Nvxt day, however, the walls of Moscow bore the familiar invitation to go and see Tanty 's " learned pig," and that worthy was waited upon for an explanation. " U-entleinen," said he, "at the last moment 1 heard tfut you wanted, the pig for dinner, I thought it very unconscionable in me to take so large a sum for a tough old porker ; so I got -the very best that money could procure, and substituted it for the bad one." However much such clever creatures may be valued by their owners, they are very liable to come to an untimely end. Barnum lost a rope-dancing, organ-turning elephant very suddenly, the sad news being conveyed to him in a letter from one of his men, running : "Mr Bavnum, one of the elefants is ded. He dyed of enformation of the brane." " Well," was the showman's commentary, "we mustn't teach elephants so much. _ Giving this animal such a stock of ' enformation ' has cost me ten thousand dollars ; but Sam must have a few lessons in orthography ; he wants ' enformation on the brane.' " An infant porker, in training for appearing as a "learned pig," happening to irritate the Jearned bear belonging to the Brooklyn Dime Museum by his continuous squealing, was torn limb from limb before anyone ■ could rescue him from Bruin's clutches. A trained donlcey was devoured by the bloodhounds of an Uncle. Tom Combination — probably the one which a Western critic -said " presented the finest bloodhounds and jackasses ever collected in . a single cast." A donkey, a pig, and a goose once achieved great success at Birmingham in a pantomime, which, mainly by their admirable performance, ran until June. The season over, the manager took his company to Wplverhampton, and when he found business slackening there Bent for his animal actors. They arrived two days before they were announced to appear, and were quartered underneath the stnge — the donkey being tethered at the foot of a staircase, and the pig and goose allowed to run loose. Next morping the goose was missing, all that his porcine comrade had left qf him being a few featheis. The following morning the donkey was found dead. From teetlimarks on hiu hoofs and hocks it was surmised that the depraved pig had tormented him uucil he could endure its attentions no longer, when he lud climbed the Rtah'B, mounted to the small landing at the top, and fallen over on the other gide. The ropo by which he wan tethered h»ldi»g firmly, the poor aii was ttvxagled. It was too late to change the piece.

The " posters " had achieved their end, and in the evening an expectant crowd assembled. The pig and the clown did their best ; but at last the donkey and goose were called for, and the manager was compelled to come forward and tell the sad Btory of their untoward demise. Unfortunately, the gods would not accept the disappointment with a good grace. They were offered their money back ; but nothing would content them but tearing up the benches and flinging them into the pit. , A free fight followed ; the pig ran squealing off the stage ; and tha curtain fell, not to rise again that night. We will conclud* theae notes with a homely rhyme which has been sent us by Mr Davis, of Dublin, relating to the exploits of a donkey who can do some acting on his own account, and teach his tricks to a companion as well : — When you call me an Ass, then you say I've no

aenHe ; But I fail to discover where lies the pretence, And can show you a Donkey, who&e deads must surprife, Giving proof he's no fool, but both cunning and wise To a farm in the Com fey Kilkenny I bring AH 'who question my statements— the placo Silverspring ; And the owner, E Rowers, my brother-in-law, Wuo will vouch all is true, and that he hinibelf saw — And not only ho, many ottiers ns well — The Donkey repeatedly ring 1 the farm-boll Far imufompnt? Nor shall 1 omit to relate With what skill ho renio ea all ihat fastens the gate, To let himself thro*. There is y t somethii.g more — With his mout-.h he was aeon to unlock the barn door. Greatest wonder of all, a><d whi«h shows him no dolt, He is teaching his tricks to his chum, a young colt, Which has proved an apt pupil, and no doubt in time Will rival hid tutor. So ends my Bhort rhyme, Which 1 forward to Chambers ; mayhap they will see There in morit to warrant publicity. — Chambers' Journal.