Ophelia's fan [antikvár]

The Birth: Ennis, County Clare^ Ireland, 1800 C/HE WINTER BEFORE Henrietta Smithson's confinement was the worst in living memory. Ice glazed the streets and doorsteps. The poor locked themselves into cottages with stale bread crumbs, and their body heat nurtured a fever that would spread like fire through the town. In Simms Lane, the Smithsons were away from the fever. Many of their patrons, including Father Barrett and Lady Castle Coote, sent the salted meat and preserved vegetables they could spare in gratitude for last season's performances. As the ice melted, Smithson embarked on a new season of theatre. On the night his daughter Harriet was born, Smithson left for the theatre in the late afternoon. As he kissed his wife, he saw that her face was paler than usual and her cheeks felt like the warm dough of his childhood. It seemed to him that all her skin was becoming more malleable in preparation for the birth. 'Romeo and Juliet tonight,' he shouted as he left the house. 'Rest, my fair Juliet.' Although Smithson had built the theatre himself, he felt an initial resistance on entering it. The building was small; the stone walls were close together and it was as though they would swallow him up in the musty dimness. Whenever his theatre was full, he would look over the crammed house. His heart would beat madly, and he would pray that on this night the candles would not