Daily State sentinel. [volume] (Indianapolis, Ind.) 1861-1865, 1865-09-06


must appear, dressed 10 light and graceful attire.
bringing out By all the ueh knevn sFtifces Of
thestfieal costsms the most captvsing charms
OF face and figure.
Az thsy crowd upon the stage in tableaur,
which without, long and toilsone rehearsal would
become mere confused aud aimless groupingsDf
raily dressed dancers, they take their appointed
places. and with Symmetrical unity repeat the
graceful combinations OF attitude and movement
they have 80 laboriouslT acquired in private The
house Is electrified By the complicated, yet truly
beautiful display. All is fair and happy on the
outside. No step s painful, no grief shows itself.
no consciousness of wrong appears, no face but is
wreathed in smiles. The show Of perfect happi
hess is complete.
But do the crowds of rich men ~ho occupy
boz aud pit bestoT thought on The domestic
life Of these young grls7 Do their wives and
daughters, lollirg on cushioned seats, clothed in
purple and foe linen, and waited on BY host Of
obseqaious fops ever think whether the dancing
girls have a domestic life of any kind or notT
They came to she theatre TO be amnsed, not to
mediate; why should they permit their anuse-
ment 10 be cl0uded by single thought as to
whether any Others but themselves are happy
Sometimes. in the evolutions OF the dance. the
gossamer dresses of these ballet girls are caught
10 the blaze Of the fooilights. Instantly envelop-
ing them ia FIRE, and burning them 70 ascrisp,
and they are borne from the theatre 70 the grave.
Yet these girls, thus nightly exposed to so fright
full a death, are paid third to a half less than
the men employed in the same vocation. and who
by dress are exempt from such hazards
Moreover the wardrobe of the men ia furnished
by the theatrical mauager-while the girls, those
even who receive bur FIVE dollars week, are
compelled out of this slender sum to supply Seir
owa. They must change j. also at every caprice
Of fashion or OF the manager. sometimes at very
short notice, and are expected, no matter how
heavy the heart or how light the purse to come
before the public the i'm person.tion of taste and
elegance aud happiness. A single dress will at
times consume the whole salary OF a mouth and
TO obtain IL even at that cost the ballet girl must
work on it with her own hands day and night
She must submit TO these impositious or give up
her occupation. when perhaps she can find uoth-
ing better TO DO.
The star, the strutting lumnary of the thea
tire. whether native or imported-he who re
ceives the highest salary for the least work
when the performance is closed. unrObes himself
and departs, with care of oversight of the
drapery In which he charmed his audisnce He
leaves IL in the dressing room--it is the mana
gers tinsel, not hs-and the owner may see to
IL or not. Not 80 the poor ballet girl, whose
elaborate performances have been an indispensa-
BILE feature of the evening entertainment Her
her nicely ittIsg slippers are carefully packed
up-for they are her own. her capital in trade,
and must be taken care Of The well paid actor
goes 20 the most fashionable restaurant, gorges
himself with rich dishes and costly wines and
then seeks his bed 70. dream blissiully over his
fat salary aud his luxurious supper. The ballet
girl takes up her solitary walk for the humble
home Ia which. perhaps. an nhrm mother is
anxiously waiting her return, exposed TO such
thsrf -. .s..ht
young girl on the street is sure to invite. Ii is
many hours since che dned she is fatgued and
hangry, but she sups upon a crust, or the cold
remains of what at best a meagre dinner,
with possibly a cup of tea, boiled by herself at
midnight, then goes YEARLY to bed. and sleeps
as we'll as one 40 hardly worked and so poorly
paid may be able.
The gay crowds who spent their evenings at
tue theatres are permitted to see but one side of
this tableau The curtin lifts upon the group of
smiling ballet girls. bat it never unveils their
private life. The theatre is intended to amuse,
not 70 excite commiseraton for the realities OF
every day life around US. Why should anything
oisagreeable BE- allowed? If it sought to make
people unhappy il would soon become an obso-
lete institution
With all these impositions, actresses and bal
let-glrls are proverbially more tractable than
actors. less exactiDg. more accomplishing. more
untailingly prompt in their attendance and in the
discharge of their arduOns duties. Why, then
are they subjected to such grinding injustice, ex
cept because OF their wesknessl And who will
wonder that, thus kept constantly poor. they
should sometimes fall away from vrtreY Their
profession surrounds them with temptations suf-
hciently numerous and insidious; and when TO
these Is added the wing one Of promised re.
lief from hopeless peuury. that pity refuse n
tear TO the unhappy yictimsy