TRUE IRISH BLOOD.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume XXXXII, Issue 98, 18 May 1900, Page 4

TRUE IRISH BLOOD.

"Themost ludicrous mishap I ever witnessed on the stage," said an actor at a little supper party the other evening, "occurred one night years ago in a smill town in Northern lowa. 1 was new in the business then, and had joined a weird barn-storming company headed by an old actor of the name of Fitzmorris. We had a blood-and-thunder repertory a yard long, but our chief attraction was an Irish melodrama called 'lion-hearted Larry, or the Cotter's Oath.' It had the usual plot of canned Irish melodramas—the honest but financially embarrassed peasant, his beautiful daughter, the poor but gallant lover, otherwise lion-hearted Larry, and the villainous landlord, who insists on the daughter's hand or immediate eviction for the whole family. The great scene of the play was the rescue by Larry of the beautiful daughter from the castle of the villainous landlord, at the climax of which the heroic lover was fired upon by a file of British soldiers. At the report of the guns the white shirt which he wore was suddenly suffused with red. ' You are wounded!' the heroine cried. • Yes,' replied Larry, ' but 'tis true Irish blood, ever ready to be shed .for the cause of Erin!' This rather irrelevant remark, together with the gory sliirt front, never failed to bring down the house. Needless to say, the character of Lion-hearted Larry was assumed by Mr. Fitzmorris.

"The business of the blood was managed very simply," continued the story-teller. "A small rubber bulb was filled with a solution of cochineal and fastened under Larry's arm. At the right moment he gave it a squeeze and crimson torrent poured over the shirt, which had a piece of waterproof cloth at the back, the front being renewed for each performance. We were playing a week's stand at the little lowa town I have already mentioned, and the day before 4 lion-hearted Larry' was put on Fitzmorris gave the property man careful instructions in regard to preparing the material for the blood effect. Whether the ' prop' man " had conceived some grudge against' Fitz ' we never ascertained. He was a crabbed old Englishman, and perhaps he didn't like the tone of the play—anyhow he went into the scene loft, where a lot of colors were kept mixed, and filled the rubber bulb with bright green liquid paint. That night several hitches occurred, and everybody got nervous and excited. When the time came for the rescue scene Fitzmorris got into his costume as quick as he could, felt the bulb to see it was in the proper place, and a moment later was on the stage. There things went alright up to the climax. The castle was entered. The orchestra played a few bars of tremolo music, Larry emerged with the beautiful colleen on his arm, and up jumped the ambuscaded •oldiers. Bang 1 went the guns, and • Yoa are wounded I' shrieked the heroine. ' Yes 1' shoutod Larry, pressing the bulb, ' but 'tis true Irish blood ' He never got any further. His ample shirt front had suddenly turned emerald green, and the howl of laughter that went up from the audience nearly peeled the paper off the walls. Fitzmorris himself was so amazed by the phenomenon that he was unable to move, and stood there transfixed his arms outspread and his mouth wide open. On that tableau the curtain fell. Then he came to himself, grabbed a club, and began a frantic search for the ' prop' man, but ,that individual had disappeared, and we saw him no more during our stay. The episode broke up the performance and ruined our business for the balance of the engagement. I'm told that Fitzmorris was afterwards known as ' Green Blood Fitz' on the North lowa and Winconsin barnstorming circuit."—jVeio Orleans Democrat.