COUNT BISMARCK’S FAVORITE ACTOR. LITERATURE.

Globe, Volume III, Issue 270, 23 April 1875, Page 3

COUNT BISMARCK’S FAVORITE ACTOR.

LITERATURE.

“ M. Perivier, the correspondent sent by the Figaro to Berlin to report upon the Arnim trial, relates a conversation with the favorite Prussian actor Hilmerding, in which,” says the Pall Mall Gazette, “the latter gave him an amusing account of the way in which he first became acquainted with Prince Bismarck. One day, during the famous conflict between Bismarck and the Chamber in 1864, Herr Hilmerding was present at the debates. One of the members was violently attacking the Minister, who was sitting in a small room adjoining, reserved for the members of the Cabinet. Suddenly Bismarck half opened the door, and, putting out his head, observed in a contemptuous tone, ‘ The honorable gentleman need not speak so loud; we can hear him quite well in hero.’ On the folio-wing evening Bismarck was in the theatre, and laughed heartily at some satirical verses which were sung by Herr Hilmerding apropos of the incident of the previous day. When the curtain fell the audience loudly applauded, upon which Herr Hilmerding, putting out his head, exclaimed * Don’t make such a noise, gentlemen; we can hear you quite well in here.’ This, of course, brought down the house, and Bismarck was so delighted that he sent for Herr Hilmerding to congratulate him. Since then the ‘ two most popular men in Berlin ’ have been on the best of terms. Bismarck’s favorite piece is one in which Herr Hilmerding plays the part of a doorkeeper, who invites the other doorkeepers of the neighborhood to a party during the absence of his employers. Those from the foreign embassies are made the subject of all sorts of droll political allusions, and the way in which the English doorkeeper is received seems to be peculiarly relished by the Prince. ‘ I bow low to him,” says Herr Hilmerding, ‘and make him a pleasant speech, such as, “ Dear friend, I am delighted to see you, and hope that you will pass your evenings with me as often as you can,” and while I am telling him these compliments I hit him in the ribs, kick his legs, and knock him about with my broom till he has had enough of it. One evening Bismarck laughed so heartily at this performance that he nearly fell off the chair.”

KILLING NO MURDER. A STORY OF IRELAND IN 1840. By E. G. Curtis. ( Continued.) In a rasli moment O’Shee had joined the Ribbon Society, but by his comrades he was looked upon as a weak brother ; for although bound by the awful oath to do as others did if he were selected for the work, he had always held back as much as possible, and even urged his associates to abstain from acts of violence ; he soon felt, however, that a time was at hand when it would be impossible for a weak voice such as his to sway the lawless passions which were every day gaining strength, as Lendrick’s plans became more publicly known; and, besides, one or two evictions had already actually taken place. O’Shee was one evening sitting brooding silently over the embers of his turn fire, when a member of the Ribbon lodge to which lie belonged, entered, and gave him a wellknown sign ; he did not dare to disobey the summons, for he knew that a matter of importance was to be discussed that night; his wife, who now never questioned him, saw him leave the house with a sinking heart, but the inertness of failing health was upon her, and she could but wait w r earily for the end.

The place where the Ribbon meeting was held was a large barn on the outskirts of the village ; it was lighted by two flaring tallow candles, and the atmosphere was charged with the fumes of tobacco and whiskey. When O’Shee entered, the leader of the assembly was in the act of delivering an inflammatory opening address; he was surrounded by eager men, all of whom were gazing intently at him, men whose stronglymarked features were made more strong by the excitement of the moment, and men with puny faces, which seemed to gain strength and character from their surroundings ; there were a few there with grey hairs, but the majority were in their prime, men of whose personal appearance any country might be proud, but who were at that moment prepared for any act of violence or crime. The majority of the large assembly were decently clad, and upon every face there was visible intense but suppressed excitement. How sad it is to see the naturally gifted, chivalrous, and high-spirited Celts thus giving themseh es up to the wildest delusion that ever possessed a nation or a people ! What would now be the position of England if she had spent her strength in for ever fighting and rebelling against her Norman con- ■ querors ? She would assuredly not now be an empire on which the sun never sets. The man who was speaking was singularly handsome, and the Irish have a sincere admiration for personal beauty ; he was also a stranger, a delegate from a distant lodge, so, to his physical advantages, he added the attractions of novelty ; he spoke eloquently, and with a fiery energy which entranced his hearers; every detail of the proposed changes upon the Lendrick property was known to him, and was put before the audience with a clearness and conciseness which would have surprised Lendrick himself ; indeed, had he been present, he would have felt almost convinced that lie was a hard-hearted and selfish tyrant. O’Shee’s brain grew dizzy as he heard his case brought forward as one of peculiar hardship ; perhaps until that moment he had hoped there was some mistake, and that the new road could be made without turning him out of the home in which several generations of O’Shees had lived and died; but now he could no longer doubt, and he heartily responded to the groans which followed the orator’s fierce denunciation of the landlord who had been for so many years an absentee, and who had come among them again only to make their lives more miserable; then a vivid picture of the vengeance which must follow drew cheers from the excited crowd ; and finally the question was put to the vote, and it was decided that Lendrick should be tried then and there, and, if found guilty, be dealt with according to the utmost rigour of the Ribbon law.

A court was formed, the delegate was appointed president, and the trial began; witnesses for the prosecution were but too numerous—those for the defence small in number, and feeble of speech, a few old men who could remember some acts of kindness shown to them in former years by the family of the doomed man ! But the solemn farce was quickly over, Lendrick was found guilty of absenteeism, and of] harsh tyrannical conduct and intention towards his tenantry, and condemned to die within a month; the man upon whom the task of putting him 4 out of the way,’ as it was called, was chosen by lot, and the choice fell upon O’Shee. The usual notice was to be served upon the accused, warning him of the fate in store for him if he persisted in taking a large portion of his property into his own hands, and in the formation of the new road; but many voices were raised to object to his being spared upon any terms—he had lived, it was contested, out of the country for years, and an example ought to be made of one absentee when the opportunity offered. O’Shee submitted to his fate without a word; he knew he had gone too far to retreat, and the idea of turning traitor to the Brotherhood never occurred to him, but his heart seemed to die within him as he thought of Mary and the children. When the business of the meeting was over he had no inclination to join in the carouse which followed, but when he left the barn he turned his back upon the village and wanc] ered miles away in an opposite direction to his home; it was past noon the next day before he reached the neighborhood of his cottage again, and as he came near he saw a lady and gentleman on horseback cantering towards him, they were Lendrick and his daughter. Instinctively O’Shee touched his hat to his landlord; Lendrick pulled up— 4 1 have just been to see if I could find you at home,’ he said, 4 but-your wife did not know where you were; I have had a long talk with her, and she will explain everything to you, but if there is anything you wish me to know come up to the house early. I am always at home in the morning; by the way, I am sorry to see your wife looking so ill; Mrs Lendrick will send her over some wine to-morrow.’

O’Shee touched his hat again without a word, and the father and daughter rode on. ‘ The fellow looks almost as ill as his wife, ’ said Lendrick, ‘ I suppose he has been having a drinking bout; I wish I could make n y tenants take the pledge—and keep it !'

‘The tyrant!’ muttered John, as he turned to look after the riders. ‘ I suppose he come to serve the notice himself-spake to him indeed ! Ay, will I spake once for all; ” and his hand sought in the breastpocket of his coat for the pistol which had been given to him the night before. Mary met him not in tears as he expected, but almost with a smile ; Lendrick’s kind manner, and many promises, had quite won her over. ‘ Himself had called with Miss Letty, ’ she explained to her husband, ‘ and had told her all about the new road which was to be made right through their garden ; he must have their house and land, but they were to have a better house and the same quantity of land elsewhere, and compensation for any improvement they had made.

‘ I tould his honour that same was few, an’ that we war a year behind with the rent; but he spoke fair enough, an’ said he didn’t want to be hard upon us ; an’ shure isn’t it all his own after all, what call have we to keep him out of it ? I tould Miss Letty how me heart clung to the little place; but he says the new land ’ll be a sight better than this, an’ that he’ll give us a long lase, an’ pay us for the bit of a crop we have in here. It’s hard to go, I know,’ she continued, glancing up at the gloomy and haggard face of her husband to see how he took the news, ‘ but maybe it’s all for the best, there’s no knowing; it’s a poor look out having no lase, for, as his honour said, he could turn us out after a warning, or without a warning, if he liked. ’

‘ He said that, did he ? cried O’Shee. ‘Ay did he, an’ shure isn’t it better for us to go nor have him turn agin us ? ’ ‘ Let him turn,’ O’Shee broke in savagely, ‘ not one foot will I stir out of this unless be force, an’ if he puts us out let him do it, it will be the blackest day him an’ his ever seen; don’t try to turn me, me mind’s made up. Ye war all for stayin’ yerself a month ago. To think of his boasting that he needn’t give us warning! ’ And O’Shee lashed himself up into a state of fury, and thought with savage glee that the ‘ tyrant’s’ days were numbered. During the next few days Mary tried to shake her husband’s resolution, but in . vain ; and when the agent called to make arrangements for giving the lease of the new farm, the poor woman was obliged to stand by trembling, while O’Shee doggedly announced his determination to stay where he was.

Thunderstruck at this, the first act of open rebellion, the agent hastened to his employer, and Lendrick, angry and hurt at the manner in which his really good offer and general intentions had been received, gave orders for the eviction without warning of the O’Shees.

It was a bleak morning, not cold, but raw and gusty, when the bailiffs arrived at the cottage, accompanied by three or four policemen, to turn out the family and to take possession. Just before they appeared, poor Mary had made a last effort to induce her husband to give in. ‘ Think what it’ll be, agra/ said the careworn woman, ‘to be turned out without a roof to shelter us an’ the childre, an’ little Johnnie there is as sickly as meself. If I war as strong as I used to be I could bear, but now I feel as if it would kill me. Let me spake to his honour, an’ maybe he come round an’ give us t’other place after all.’ Her husband kept his eyes steadily turned from her wan face as he told her sternly to hold her tongue. As he spoke, their little dog, till then lying asleep upon the hearth, started up and flew barking to the door; it was pushed cautiously open, and a man’s face peered in. ‘ God save all here, ’ he said.

John rose. ‘ Oh, come in, sir, an’ welcome,’ he said, ‘you’ll find no resistance, might’s right in these parts. I suppose yer come to turn us out with our bits of furniture?’

The bailiff looked uncomfortable. * Shure it’s yer own fault, ’ he began. ‘Me own fault,’ interrupted O’Shee, loudly, and throwing off the trembling hand which Mary laid upon hfs arm. ‘ How is it me own fault? I was born under the roof you’re under now, an’ my father an’ grandfather afore me; it’s good enough for me, so it is ; I didn’t ax for a change, an’ yet I, an’ every hardworking man on the estate, have got notice to quit, because Mr Lendrick wants the land to be cleared of men that he may feed beasts. He turns me out to make a new road for his own convenience ; the road his father travelled afore him is not good enough for him with his English notions. I tell you,’ O’Shee continued, raising his voice, as he saw a crowd of his neighbors beginning to collect about the door, ‘ it’s a cryin’ shame, that’s what it is. I love every stick an’ stone on the place, an’ if he gave me Mount Lendrick itself there beyant, it wouldn’t make up to me for this.’ ‘Will we bate him out iv the place, John?’ cried a score of voices outside. ‘Shure ye can’t well be worse off than ye are. ’

(To he continued.)