Wyandot County Republican. [volume] (Upper Sandusky, Ohio) 1869-1903, 1872-01-11
VOL. XXVII.
/ and to mind what he was about, as the

leader was d - ~
Soon after the friends left the Albion
and proceeded on their several ways; his
friend and companion already more thar
half repenting his rashness in embarkine
in the undertaking.
The sombre shades of twilight wers
enwrapping, as with a shroud, the streets
of London, when, carrying Mr. O'Leary's
trombone in his hand, Mr.. Whiffles might
have been observed wofully picking his
way through the purlieus of Drury Lane
of the Royal Dash Theatre Two or three
sallowfaced gentlemen were smoking
short pipes in front of the entrance, and
occasionally a lady or gentleman passed
| hurriedly in, evidently under the impress
1 sion that they We're behind their time; but
a glance at the clock in the hall appeared
to reaSsure them, as they made their way
more leisurely towards their respective
dressing-rooms. Upon reference TO his
watch, Mr. Whiffles found that the doors
had only just been opened, and he there
fore had some leisure to look about him.
He loitered at the door for some time,
wondering, as the various members of the
/ company made their appearance, who
tis was, and who that could possibly be,
until small, but uncommonly sharp, boy
plucl<ed him by the sleeve and said
You'd better make haste; they're a
| goin' to ring in"
/ Mr.. Whiffles then became aware that
| he was almost alone. Without having
the faintest idea of the meaning of ring
ing in," he mechanically followed
the small boy down gloomy
passage, tumbled down few steps, picked
himself up and found himself upon the
stage He had hardly time to cast hur-
ried glance upon the novel, not to say
dreary, objects by which he was sur
rounded, when an elderly individual in a
white beard, and whose shirt-front SEEM
ed to be plentifully besprinkled with
snuff beckoned the boy.
"Tom," said he, ego into the music
room and ask Mr.. Lovejoy for my copy
of Old King Cole"
The boy at once complied. Rightly
conjecturing that the music-room was the
place wherein the musicians assembled
previous to making their appearance in
the orchestra, Mr.. Whiffles followed the
boy down score or so of ricketty stairs,
to the great detriment of his shins, into
scantily furnished apartment, situated
mediately beneath the stage, wherein
he found several gentlemen composedly
tuning their instruments. Upon hearing
Mr.. Loveioy, the leader, addressed by
name, Mr.. Whites nervously introduced
himself as Mr. O'Leary's substitute.
every good" said Mr.. Lovejoy; ''he's
told you everything, l suppose?"
Mr.. Whiffies bowed assentingly, and
darted a piercing glance into every corner
of the apartment in search of the other
trombone Horror! He aedsn't Merei The
man upon whom he solely depended, alb
sent! What was to be done? Retreat was
out of the question; as, while he was
contemplating fight, a small bell sound
ed, and the musicians proceeded to take
their places in the orchestra. Mr.. Whit
fes, still bearing the fatal trombone, des
pairingly followed, and, ere long, found
himself in the presence of the British
public The novelty of his situation so
confused him that he for moment seated
himself in the chair belonging to Mr..
Lovejoy, and was received with a pro-
digious outburst of enthusiasm, the audi
ence supposing him to be the talented
leader himself This mistake was soon
rectified by the appearance of the verita-
bic leader, who muttered something
under his breath by no means compli-
mentary to our hero, and mOtiOned him
angrily to the seat occupied by Mr..
O'Leary The audience, perceiving the
mistake, expressed their opinion of Mr..
Whiffles in candid and unmistakable
terms, as he ruefully made his way to the
spot indicated by the irate conductor.
After trying to reduce to something like
order the sheets of music upon the
stand before him, Mr. Whites
regained sufficient courage to look
around him. The house was packed
from floor to ceiling; everybody
was on the tiptoe of expectation, and
sundry anxious voices appertaining to
impatient goods" implored the musicians
to strike up at once and appease heir anx-
iety.
Again the small bell tinkled. Mr.. Love
Joy tapped his desk-raised his baton
looked on each side of him, and-stopped.
He whispered the First Fiddle, then left
his seat and the orchestra. Mr.. Whiffies
asked his next neighbor what uas might
portend; and was Informed, in reply, that
Puffier. the other trombone, hadn't as yet
put in an appearance.
Couldn't they do without him?" asked
Mr.. Enthusiastically hoping in his
heart of hearts they couldn't.
C Certainly not" was the reply.
Wouldn't the big drum do as well?"
inquired Mr.. Whiffies.
His neighbor regarded him with some
surprise, smiled and continued:
"Do without him! how can they? Don't
you know that you and he begin, the mo-
ment the curtain rises, to bring on old
Russell, the heavy man? He couldn't come
on without his music, you know; as he
appears at the back at first, then crosses
the mountains from left to right, then
from right to left, and finally comes down
left upon the stage, where he expresses a
variety of emotions in pantomime, and
all to y0ur music"
At these words Mr. Whiffles resigned
all hope, and was mentally calculating
the dangers to which he would be exposed
if he leaped into the stalls, from thence
into the pit, and fought his way out of
the theatre, when the leader returned, an
ominous frown upon his brow, followed
by short, fat, pale-faced gentleman, ap-
parently of foreign extraction, who car
ried trombone under his left arm. JOY !!
Mr.. Whiff1es felt man again. This,
then, was Puffier Mr.. Whiffles remem-
bered his instructions, and watched the
new conner attentively who, upon his
part, appeared to regard him with the ut
termost concern. Mr.. Whiffles had occa-
sion to shift his trombone; Puffler did
likewise. Mr.. Whiffles felt for his hand
kerchief Mr. Puffier followed his exam
pie. All this seemed very mysterious,
and Mr. Whiff1es was lost in wonderment
when the overture commenced. Luckily,
the trombones were not wanted until the
| commencement of the drama. The over
ture ceased.
''Now, look out" observed MI Whit
f1es' neighbor; ''it's you now''
Mr.. Whiffles mechanically raised the
instrument to his lips, keeping steadfast
gaze the while upon the proceedings of
Mr. Putfler, who did his best to stare Mr
| Whiffies out of countenance. MI Love
Joy looked round, and seeing the from
| bones perfectly ready, awaited the rising
of the curtain 1t was an agonizing mo-
ment. The silence was positively pain
| full One might have heard a pin drop.
The small bell was heard again. Mr..
Lovejoy tapped his desk, and the curtain
slowly rose-ip solemn silence! Mr.. Love
joy began beating time slowly, and had
even accomplished a few strokes before
+. he realized the fact. Turning round to
ascertain the meaning of this extraordi-
/ -; nd ho