Burlington tri-weekly hawk-eye. [volume] (Burlington [Iowa]) 1852-1855, 1854-11-25
The opera-By eur .w. cri,,c.

l. NiHs NDiIons uSA you puruOn IOf neg
lecting to write to you before, but the trut
of the matter is. | have been si.k, and par
| of the time since wrote to you last hav
been fiat on my back, so that | couldn't git t,
60 to see the opery Of sSErnannyo performed
and in course couldn't tell you anything abou
1t. The way got sick was by eatin ssdox
en- fried" as cousin Fred called 'em. FREQ
IS relation of mine that happened to com,
across here in the city. and as soon as he saw
me he offered to ssshow me dround,o provi
din, he said, my puss strings could stand it
told him to 60 in, and on the night after
wrote you my first letter We were kee rousin
around town, as he called it, and he asked
me- to stop into some kind Of shop and
take ssd0Sen .fried.' We both took q
plateful when discovered that they were
oysters all the time, and tod Fred that we
better take another ssdozen fried.' He cav
ed in, and in about two hours afterwards |
was SO wonderfully griped had to 60 to
bed. lgot we'll enough though to tend the
opery on Friday to see the Comick Barber of
Sellvile performed. Fred was along. He
stuck to me like sheep tick all the time
was sick, and after | got about said he
would be my sissyrone all the time stopped
in the city. didn't exactly know what he
said it without he meant to do it. Fred said
l looked little rusty in my dress, but told
him had on my incest so he ought not to
complain. He was dressed in black breech-
es an swaller tailed coat, white waistccat
and turned down collar ssa Ian Byron,'' as
he said. My collar stood MS straight and
stiff as wheelbarry side, for had fixed it
to its place by dozen pins and told Fred
every time got sight of the cornor of it
by looking eyes right or eyes left, that |
thought it was "dw fay" Il have learned
heap of those big words since wrote you
last.
Well, we tended the opery. Fred had on
gloves, and carried in his pocket his opery
glass, the same kind of thing that called
google in my last letter.
We got in late, and the congregation had
assembled. The first thing that attracted nv
notice was, and grew nightly tickled about
1t, that my letter toyou about those pesky
lowneckers had skeered most all the women
that had 'em on up into the second story of
the House, the upper tear, or dress circle as
Fred called it, but thoughtit ought to be
called the undress circle. | didn't see but
one or two of the women below with their
long necks, and so told Fred that my letter
about the opery had kind o. raised them
Shaw! says he don't you understand; why
all the low neckers are going up stairs to get
in the little narrow boxes, so as the fellers
kin have better chance, and look right do,cn
into 'ens, without pullln' out their opery
glass. Well I'll swear, that idea kind o.
took me. pulled my hat rim, down over
my eyes, and says |, Sired less 40 up stairs
s.Now," says Fred after we had elevated our |
selves, 'syou see morn half of these females
don't care cuss about the opery or skientif-
ic music. They don't know B flat from a
a BULBS tail. Now, there's woman sittin a |
leetle tn the left, (and Fred levelled his ope-
ra glass right at the back Of her head) that's
just come here to show off her fine points of |
neck and shoulders. Here take a peep at
her," and he handed me his goggles. | put
it up to my face, but kind o wabblcd so ut
fust that couldn't see nothing at all; l
,ouldn't get it on the place. ssWhy. dam ito
says Fred, ssyou're looking to the right, to
he left, to the left" At that grabbed the
oesky thing with both hands, took rest agin
,ne. Of The posts and brought tie instrument
light down on her.
How long kept looking | don't know,
out Fred got tired waiting and give me a
nudge, asked me what was doin. sFred,o
says l, IL WIS jist looking at he,. fine points
lie took the opera glass agln, AMI We sh fled
,round to the o,her side of the house. Fred
every once in while stopping as he went
,long to squint through his google at some
friend of his, as he sal !, down in the parky.
Well, by the time the Fl oilers commenced
md the curtain rolled up, kinder felt per-
fectly easy about thu iow-neclers. The fact
s MIR Editor, the more seed into 'en, the
'eter liked 'ens, and at last told Fred in a
lind of Fourth ofJuly way, that wouldn't
,are cu~s if the dod-durned dresses fell
lean Co,on for my part.
The audience was fine. Fred, when the
music comm need went OFF into the tificks,
md talked about the notes of the diving swan
md b ight Eyed beauty, and the lamns shone
'ver fair women and brave men, and soft eyes
eoked soft to eyes, and at last wound up by
'ye gods this is the top of lfe," and ali of a
udden levelled his google at lop-necker.
The opery commenced-yes and without
living you the particulars, Mr.. Editor, it
nded.
The comic barber is the same thin legged
trapping big fellow that played in the opery
# Lucy Lammermore, but then there was
title old fellow on the stage that | hadn't
een afore; Fred said he was Singer Rocky,
'asso profundo, which meant profoundly
,ase. Well he had voice as is a voice.
Sometimes whon he stretched out his neck and
lrawed the big Adams apple in his throat he
made it thunder. Fred SAID it was like the
'mutterings Of the coming storm" 1t
ounded to me just like the time our old
Ajax, and neighbor Washburn's bull got to
lighting. Ajax was an awful animal, and
Vashburns bull was little stumped tail
gentleman, that had no more business with
Ajax, than 81 to Hercules. They run to-
,ether in the road, and Ajax got the little
elbows head and horns right down in the