SOTHERN'S PRACTICAL JOKE.

Kumara Times, Issue 1164, 22 June 1880, Page 3

SOTHERN'S PRACTICAL JOKE.

The Spirit of the Times gives the following as the latest of Sothern's practical jokes. (It must be added to make the story comprehensible that Bardwell Slote and Mrs Gilflory are parts played by Mr and Mrs Florence in a drama called " The Mighty Dollar ") :—" Last week Sothern and Florence were playing at St. Louis, the former at the Olympic and the latter at Pope's, and they seem to have run a little carnival of their own at these establishments, One evening Sothern, as Dnndreary, was skipping through the dairy scene with Georgiana, when Florence, as Bardwell Slote, came tumbling on the stage, inspecting the dairy and testing the patent churn. Sothern was so dumbfounded at this apparition that Florence* had bowed politely to the astonished audience and made tracks for his own playhouse before Duudreary could any a word. An hour passed, and Bardwell Slote and Mrs Gilflory were in the midst of their love scene at Pope's when Dundreary hopped hastily across the stage, as if he had something of tremendous importance to communicate, and commenced telling the audience his story of the dogs and i-abbits. Mr and Mrs Florence were paralysed, and the audience, somewhat amused at first by the introduction of a new character into 'The Mighty Dollar,' finally roased with laughter over Dundreary's story and the palpable discomfiture of Bardwell Slote. The fun was kept up until the manager led Dundreary off the scene, and then Mr and Mrs Florence gathered themselves together and finished the act as well as possible under the circumstances. Mrs Florence is now suffering the tortures of remorse, for Mr Florence firmly believes that Sothern is insane and had mistaken his theatre, and Mr Florence does not dare to confess that he began to joke by intruding upon the Olympic stage, and that he got the worst" of it by Sothern's return visit."