The Ottawa free trader. [volume] (Ottawa, Ill.) 1843-1916, 1867-03-02

|
greenroom is real drawing room. The
scene painters have their proper studios
the dressers and decorators have immense
part in the play, has dressing>room to
herself.
| "Young understands that the true work OF
reform in a playhouse mast begin behind
the scenes that you must elevate the actor
before YOU can purify the stage. To this end
he not only builds dressing>rooms and pri-
| vate box for the ladies who have to act, but
the places his daughters On the stage as an
example and encouragements to Others
Three of these young sultanas-Alce, Emily
and Zina-are on TIE stage. With Alice,
| the Youngest wife of Elder tlawson, | have
had the honor to make an acquaintance;
which might be called a friendship, and from
her bps have learned good deal as to her
fathers ideas about stage reform i am
rot myself very fond of playing. she said to
me one day as we sat at d.nner--not IN these
| words, perhaps, but to this efect-'but my
father desires that my sisters and myself
should act sometimes, as he does not think 1t
right to ask any poor mans child to do any
thing which his own children would object
TO do Her dislike to playing, as she atler>
wards told me, arose from feeling that
natr-e had given her no abilities for acting
we'll; she was fond Of going to see a good
piece, and seldom omitted being present
when she had not to play. Brigham YouEg
has to create, as well as to reform, the stage
of Salt Lake City; aud the chief trouble of
a manager who is 100 miles from the next
theatre, must always be with his artists
Talent for the work does not grow ia every
field. like sunhower and peach tree it
must be sought for in hooks and corners
now in shoe>shOp, anon in coantlns>
house; but wherever the talent may be
found, Young cannot think of ask king any
young girl to do thing which 1t Is supposed
that a daughter o! his own would sdOrn.
We saw Brigham Young for the first
time in his private box. A large head,
broad, fair face, with blue eyes. light brown
hair, good nose, and merry mouth; man,
plainly dressed, in black coat and pantalOons,
whit waistcoat aud cravat, gold studs and
sleeve>llnks, English in build and looks
but English of the middle class and of
provincial town: such was The Mermon
prophet, pope and king, as We first saw him
in the theatre among his people. A lady,
one of his wives, whom afterward came
to know as AmelIa, sat with him il. the box !;
she, too, was dressed in a qriet English
STYLE; and now and then she eyed the
audience from beyond her curtain, through
an opera class, as English ladies are apt to
do at home. She was pretty, and appeared
to US then rather pensive ana poetlcal.
The PIT was almost filed with girls; on
many benches sat dozen damsels in row ;
children of Kimball, Cannon, Smith and
Wells in some places 20 or 80 girls were
grouped together. Young, as he told me
himself, has 4s living children, some of whom
are grown up and married and, since he
sets the fashion OF attending this theatre
among his people, it is only right that he
should encourage his children 20 appear,
both before the footlights and behind them
Alice is the yonng lady married to Clawson
Zina, whom we have seen play Mrs. Nusket
in the farce of Ny Husbands Ghost, is lady
| like girl, tall, tull in figure, moon>faced (as
the orientals say not much of an artist
Emily we have also seen; Elder ClaYson Il
sa1d to be courting her. / am toid tha' the
a.. - -. ..r.u.i, aud tnat Emily is not un>
likely to be gathered home to her sister Alice
Gentle rumor-fond of toying with the do
mestIc secrets of the presidents family
says that Alice is not happy with her lord !;
but thi. is one those Gentle rumors which
can almost swear is false. One day, last
week, ! had the pleasure ei taking sister
Alice down to dinner, of talking with her for
a long evening, and of seeing and fomplng
with her four brave boys. brighter, mer>
rier woman have rarely seen and | noted
as a peculiarly in her, not common in either
eastern or western America, that she always
addressed her husband by his baptismal
name of Hiram. American ladies almost
everywhere speak to their husbands as Mr..
Jones and Mr. Smith, not as Will pm and
George The perils of double alliance with
the Mormon pope are said to be great envy
among the elders, collision with the Gentiles,
jealousy at Camp Douglas, hostility in
Washington; but elder Clawson is said to
be ready to take his chance with sister Emily,
as he has done with Alice, answering, as the
Mormons put it, Washington theories by
Deseret facts.
The first piece We saw was Charles the
Treifh Where Adam Brock warts his
daughter Eudiga against military sparks, the
whole pit of young ladies cracked of into
girlish laughter; the reference being taken
to Camp Douglas and the United States otfi>
GERS stationed there, many of whom we're in
the house and heartily enjoyed the fun. This
play happens to be full ofallusions to soldiers
and their amours, and every word Of these
| allusions was appropriated and applied by
the saints to their local politics. The inter>
soldiers with the Mormon women is very
sore point with the saints, some of their
wives having, it is said, been sedueed and
| carried off. Young spoke to me with lndig>
nation of such proceedings, though he did
| not name the offenders as connected with the
camp. They cause us tro Ible,' he sal l.
| They intrude into our affairs, and even into
| our families we cannot stand such things
and when they are guilty we make them
bite the DUST thought of all that l had
| ever heard about Porter Rockwell and his
DANTE band but l only smiled and waited
for the president to go on He quickly adj
| dsd, Il never had any trouble Of this sort in
my own family
When Charles the Twelfth referred to the
amours of his officers, it was good fun to see
the prophet rolling back in his chair convul-
sed with merriment, while the more staid
Amelia eyed the audience through her opera
glass