The Alleghanian. [volume] (Ebensburg, Pa.) 1859-1865, 1859-09-22


was said to be the best i'll the city, With
the aid of guide, we arrived in safety.
and each one of us presenting an English
shilling to tall specimen of the genus
| Spaniard, in the dress OF a gendarme, were
| admitted into the vestibule of building
so vast in extent that it required two con-
ductOrs and two more British shillings
apiece before we got into an eligible posi-
ton to see the play. The stage was con-
cealed from view by blue curtain, on
which was represented, in an azure field,
the historical scene of St. Michael and the
| Dragon. The other parts of the building
and decorations were equal i'll grandeur
/ to that of any theatre | ever entered
Five tiers of boxes, with fronts beautifully
embellished with designs in silver and
! gold, rose to the magnificent height Of
| fifty feet, and ended in a dome with moon
and stars so naturally painted that you
could scarcely satisfy yourself by look
| that 1t was not real.
The pit alone was capable of containing
a respectable audience for Castle Garden
or Broadway. The boxes were also well
| filled with what appeared to be the elite of
| Gibraltar. Ostrich feathers waved grace
! fully throughout the different tiers, and
although | could distinguish no bonnet on
any ladys head, the glare Of light from
| three thousand burning lamps, reflected
from an array Of sparkling jewels, made it
! seem as though each head was crowned
! with tiara
OF the play cannot speak 50 much, as
1t was Italian, and my not being acquain-
| ted with the language made it little better
! to me than a pantomime. Consequently
L soon tired, and left the boxes to make a
more particular survey Of the anterior
part of the house The main room was
surrounded with very extensive Hobbies
and long galleries, well filed with fruit
stands, and visitors who like myself, found
the inside performance scarcely as inter
esting as the outside Here sailors, ma
tives and beggars were congregated, and
carried on a trade in almost every descrip-
ton Of articles found in their markets
Soon after my entrance, the trade was
partially interrupted by difficulty that
arose between a party Of seamen, and some
/ natives who kept stall in which were re-
! tailed ardent spirits. The disputants were
not long i'll coming TO blows, and as both
| We're Joined by their friends, it soon be-
came general. Stands were upset, tables
! broken, benches oycrthrown, and scene
OF confusion ensued having every appear
! ance of ending in bloodshed This was
| fortunately prevented by strong force Of
armed police, who arrived in time to quell
| the disturbance; and with characteristic
| discrimination arrested every one who
wore a short jacket wide trowsers or
tarpaulin hat Fearing lest they should
! Of how ,4+ u, ]
articles about me, | sought an early re-
treat, believing that in this case, at least,
! "Discretion was the better part of valor."
| My good luck saved me from spending my
first night in Europe in the Calaboose-
! Thankful for my escape, and not wishing
! to see any more Of the theatre that night,
| | endeayored to find my way to the ship
! Having already mentioned the difficulty |
found IN threading my way through the
narrow and crooked streets by daylight, |
need barely mention that it was now much
increased by the darkness, the few seat
tered lamps seeming only to add to my
! troubles However, after passing through
| some half dozen streets, and turning as
many corners, l suddenly encountered two
of our men coming down dark, narrow
alley, under full sail. | was no little sur
prised to find them there, as but few
minutes before [ had seen them arrested
at the theatre. On asking how they had
made their escape, one Of them, called
| Charley, answered in true sailors style, that
''the craft that had him in tow had fallen
| little to leeward of the convoy, when he
rehoisted his colors, shivered the watch
mans topmast head, gave him a broadside
in his bread locker, and bore off with all
sail out for a safe port" The other made
his escape, as he said, by ''artful
dodge" Joining company, we all made
| good our retreat to the pier-head, where
We bribed watchman with dollar to let
boatman take us to our ship; and thus
ended my first day on shore.
! All of our crew were not so fortunate,
! for the next morning l had to go ashore
with a boat, to bring off three of our men
who had taken up quarters in the Gala
boose. They had just been liberated on
the payment of three dollars each. For
several ensuing days, all hands were con-
fined on board, breaking out the cargo,
and reftting the ship
Passing frequently to and from the
wharf, L soon become better acquainted
with the natives, and imagined that if L
was again SO fortunate as to visit the city
| | could succeed better in making my way
through it. In the meantime it began TO
be whispered about that some of US might