Life — August 27, 1885 — page 10: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

THE MIKADO. HE more thoughtful admirers of Messrs. Gilbert & Sul- livan will not experience a heavy disappointment in the “ Mikado.” The composers have a reputation which is an exceedingly difficult one to live up to; and such operas as “Pin- afore,” “The Pirates of Penzance,” “Patience,” and “Iolanthe” are, in all human probability, the high-water mark of this particular school. The “ Mikado "is cleverly written and full of witty speeches. The music is, of course, delightful. One recognizes the old familiar touch throughout, and also many familiar combinations. ‘The play itself is ingeniously con- structed, has a good plot, and is skilfully carried through. Of the actors in this company of Mr. D'Oyly Carte’s we will refrain from saying unfriendly things. Mr. Thorne, as Ko-Ko, Lord High Executioner of Titipu, does more than all the rest of the company combined toward the success of the piece. He is a thorough artist, and gives a delightfully humorous and animated rendering of the character he assumes. He brings down the house in the “ Tit Willow” song. Mr. Frederici makes an excellent Mikado; and with this exception, most of the life of the play is centred in Mr, Thorne. The elegant costumes compensate somewhat for the shortcomings of the actors. LITERARY ITEMS, OHN ROACH is writing a book to be called “Ship Ahoy!" which will be followed by a sequel entitled Starboard and Larboard.” He is preparing a magazine article on “ Hot Cranks.” The main object of the sketch will be to show that Mr. Whitney is the hottest crank in the country. SENATOR LOGAN is engaged on an elaborate treatise on the “ Greek Particle.” Ir is rumored that the Shoshone Indians have offered Walt Whitman the position of Medicine Man of their tribe. ONE of the cattle kings proposes to demolish the Presi- dent in the North American Review just as soon as he can hustle those cattle out of the Indian Territory and find a good place to tie his mustang. MR. KEILEY is composing a rhythmical lullaby called “Sailed Back.” MR. BLAINE is gathering protoplasm for a book to be entitled “Why We Don’t Laugh.” F. A. Macon. SUMMER SAUNTERINGS. Iv. ASBURY PARK. HE SAUNTERER, in response to the invitation extended to him by the Deacons of Asbury Park, spent a day amid the delirious gayety of that popular resort. He was made perfectly at home at the house of an Elder who desires to be nameless, and whose desire will probably be gratified beyond his expectations. The day was superb, although the country was very dry, owing to the existence of a drought in this neighborhood ever since the present management came in charge. There has been plenty of rain, as the continued praying of such a highly-reformed community would seem to guarantee, so great is this influence upon the Directors of the Universe. It is an interesting fact that if a man is solid with the Asbury Parkers and has any particular ambition in life, he is pretty sure to attain that ambition, provided only that he shall have taken a hand in the improvement of the town to such an extent that his beneficiaries remember him in their prayers. It is not, therefore, so much the crops’suf- fer as the inhabitants in this vicinity, as it is a penal offence to “smile” within certain limits, which may, in a measure, account for the love of the truly pious for walking on the outskirts of the town. As atribute to the excellence of the SAUNTERER’S charac- ter he was met at the dépot by three committees drawn by lot from the congregations of the Fifteenth Baptist Church, the Order of Puritans and Zion Methodist Association, each with a brass band playing a concerted arrangement of “ Onward, Christian Soldiers,” “Hold the Fort,” and “ Once More Be- neath the Wavelet Blue.” The effect of the ensemble was much the same as that of a Camp Meeting Symphony, where each howling section of the various denominations are trying their level best to get ahead of the others in the favor of the Lord. That they are not all struck by thunder bolts of wrath is but another evidence of divine forgiveness and the superi- ority of heavenly forbearance over the earthly article. The round of pleasure commenced with the opening of a case of lemonade by the Methodists; and although two of the inhabitants were overcome by imbibing thereof too freely, the reception was most pleasant and successful. Elder Smith delighted the guests by his recitation of a sermon by Dr. Newman, and the imitation of Henry Ward Beecher by a young theological student brought tears to the eyes of the whole assembly. The SAUNTERER was given his choice of entertainment in the afternoon, which a reference to the amusement column of the town paper showed might consist of a prayer-mecting on the beach, a ducking of a gross of would-be Christians at the Baptist Bathing-Houses, or a dress rehearsal of a rasp- berry festival in the basement of the Methodist church. The SAUNTERER naturally chose the Baptist ducking, and having placed a shining trade dollar in the custody of an ex-body servant of General Washington. a colored man and influential member of the church, was permitted to join in the band of incipient Baptists. There were about four comicbooks.com