The weekly north Iowa times. [volume] (McGregor, Iowa) 1857-1867, 1866-04-18
WHOLE NO. 1876.
Lansing.

Armstrong Of the Lansing Journal, is
little rougher occasionally than our deli
cate ways Of thinking can justify, but he
has waggish soul, and much as it may as
tonish elders, deacons and priests, we have
faint hope that John may yet be saved.
Here is portion of his description of the
late Good Templars Theatrical Fair. 1t is
wrong to ridicule good thing, but it is
worth something to know how to do it well.
To aid the wicked fellow in his aspirations
to notoriety we let JOHN tell the first part
of his story in the TINES. The music race
is particularly refreshing:
THEATRE.-Lansing has had a sensation
in the way of grand dramatic show. 1t
was gotten up by the Templars, and drew
a crowded house and the postmaster. There
were orchestral chairs'' which cost those
sitting thereon 25 cents more than less pre-
tentious seats. In all other respects thev
were like ordinary house chairs. Every
thing pertaining to q first-class theatre and
some more, could be discovered with the
naked eye, or to speak less vulgarly, the
auditorium and rostrum had all the con-
comitants Of dramatic temple, distinctly
visible to an uncovered ogle. The dress
circle was oblong in shape, extending the
entire length of the hall, and the same dis
tance back the other way. Adjoining this
circle on either side was the pit, distin-
guishablc from the parquette chiefly by
not being carpeted, and the seats being a
harder sort of pine, here and there made
unique by knot-hole. Private boxes were
magnificently erected on the east side of the
pit. They were elaborately constructed of
common kitchen chairs placed on benches,
further ornamented and rendered peculiar
ly recherche by an opera glass which served
the six stylish gentlemen who thus display
ed their wealth and size. In the rear was
the ''colored gallery" though not occupied
by a "colored gall or any other gal. but
simply devoted to the use of $40 and
another ''feller.'' In front at the north
west corner of the stage was the orchestra.
This talented corps OF "musicianers'' dur
ing the evening ever and anon spelled away
at different times. They seemed to be al
flicted with regular Canada Fenian scare,
as they rushed through every piece in a
speed to which 2:4O wouldn't be circum-
stance! They also manifested considera-
BILE independence, each member seeming to
be anxious to go it alone in race-horse
style, now one ahead and another sadly be-
hind, sometimes all abreast snip and tuck
and then one would stumble and get dis
tanced in few seconds, yet they all even
tually got in, the horn about a neck ahead,
closely pursued by fiddle No. |. while bass
viol was putting and blowing half way
round the track, head and tail up. The
2dviolin we believe, bolted and was brought
in on gallop very warm and unmanaga-
bic. The piano behaved herself beautiful
ly, religiously sticking to business; though
outrun by her more nettlesome competi-
tors, she was calm and evidently good for
new trial
The stage was decorated expensively,
and withal quite gaily spruced up. The
drop curtain was splendidly ornamented
with painting dark and glossy, intend
ed to represent calm at sea of black
night. The scenery was very dazzling, but
the drop-curtain being thin enabled the au-
dience to look through without seriously
endangering their optic nerves. The
scenery was thus toned down-as it were.
Another advantage of this curtain was
that it enabled the audience to witness all
that was going on behind the scenes, which
was very satisfactory, and gave them the
benefit of t,co shows at once. The tedi-
BUSINESS of staring at blank curtain be-
tween acts is thus entirely obviatcd: and
to witness the operations of dressing and
undressing by the actors, is at once very
interesting and gratifying. We should be
glad to see this feature introduced in the
theatres of Chicago, New York and
other settlements. -r .-