The Columbia herald. [volume] (Columbia, Tenn.) 1850-1873, 1872-05-03
NOT ALL TINsEL.

/ L
pareil, emerged from the comfortable
hostelry which served as house-of-call
for the employees of that Thespian tenn
pie. AS some excuse for the lateness OF
the hour, it will be well to inform the
scrupulous reader that the occasion was
Christmas eve; not that Joseph Blim-
Der was ever much earlier in his habits
at any period of the year; still, as we
have only to deal with that gentleman
on this particular night, the excuse
must serve for this special time and no
other.
Considering the temptations belong
ing to his profession, Joseph-or, to
speak more Familiarity, and to adopt the
name best known to himself, joe
Blimber was not at all late individual.
For instance, if he had to play in the
last piece, he seldom called at the host
elry, but make his way home as quick
ly as possible; if, on the contrary, a
farce concluded the programme, and
his services were not required after the
startling den0otnaent of the sensation
drama (they were great in sensation
pieces at the Nonpareip, it must be adj
| mitted that he did generally enter the
Crown to inquire after the health of the
hostess, and supplement that inquiry
by draught at the bar or in the par
lOr, where he was almost certain to
meet with some of his own fraternity.
| 1t is question capable of much argu-
ment whether for this excuse might
not also be found. 1t is not very pleas
| ant to have your throat parched with
the fumes of gunpOwder and red-tire;
| and as Joe Blimber, from the response
| bili;y and prominence at his position
| as "supe-master,n was always in the
| thickest of the smoke of battle, and
among the first to brave the naughty
| tyrant in his lair when he defied the
hero to "come hon. some eXtenuatiOn
| may be found for his predilection for
! the aforesaid draught on such Occa-
| siOns.
Joe had always been connected with
the stage, and at one time had high
| aspirations. Perhapshis ambition was
one of the kind that O'erleaps itself,
| and falls on t'other side; perhaps he
lacked opportunity; perhaps he was too
| meek and gentle a man to push his
| way among the crowd of competitors
| for histriOnic honors. There was a
tradition among his fellows-not a sub
ject of conversation, but whispered
rumOr-that Joe had once played Cassie
\ in one of the large provincial theatres.
BE this as it may, he never played it at
the Nonpareil, even in the dreariest of
| the many dreary periods that had Oc-
cassionally marked the annals of that
establishment. In London Joe had
| always been "super," nothing more,
| until he became ''supe-master," and
this advancement was actually owing
| to a lucky accident, certainly not as
| cribable to any Self-aSsertiOn on his
lpart.
| When he was little boy, Joe used
! to come ON in the pantOmime rallies
and "chivy" the unfortunate vendors
! who are generally so disgracefully mall
| treated in the harlequinade portion;
| then, when he got too old for this sort
of thing, they put him to play the shop
life got good speaking part-that is,
nothing more.
| There was no man in the establish
| ment more contented with his position
| than Joe Blimber. He worked hard,
and threw his whole soul into his
duties, and this is saying a good deal.
For instance, when they played Mac
beth or Richard the Third VERY sell
dom, by the way, for the Nonpareil
was too much in the fashion to give
Shakespeare frequently, Joe was always
l to be seen in the thickest of the fray in
the battle scenes. and generally obtain
ed n round of applause for the vigor
with which he tackled his opponent.
| And in truth there were many OF the
"supers" who fought shy of Joe; for
L l.. Al in sAf
swords and then meekly falling down
and dying. He did the regular one,
two, three business; and it was some
thing to hear the roar of the gallery
when they saw the sparks come from
JOe's sword rs he pressed his antagonist
close; and the roar did JOe's heart
good, for it made him feel one of the
principal actors in the piece. The best
of the matter was, that his merits We're
recognized by the manager; for that
autocrat had been known, even in the
presence of his first tragedian-the
Richard or Macbeth of the night-to
clap Joe on the back after one of bis
ariuous combats, and in a tone ofvoice
: audible to those around, acquaint him
that he was the fellow "to bring them
down."
But if Joe Blimber was a greater
man at any one period of the year than
another, that period was Christmas
for though the Nonpareips forte was
sensation drama, hot and strong, yet
they always made q feature of the pan
tomime. And then, of course, Joe had
his demons to train, to say nothing OF
bringing into good stage working order
the extra hands he was deputed to en-
gage for the "run" of the Christmas
novelty. Then indeed was Joe in his
element.
!. From the foregoing 1t may perhaps
be imagined that Joe Blimber's heart
was always i'm the theatre. Such con-
clusion would be wrong. Joe Blim-
, ber's heart was in his home, and his
daughterikept the key.
Ellen-at least it is to be presumed
that this was the name she received at
the baptismal font, though no one ever
heard Joe's daughter called anything
but Nelly-was also a professional.
Though the manager, in his spirit OF
utilitarianism, frequently made Nelly
, appear as one of group of joyful OF
! hOrror-stricken maidens in his sensa-
ton productions, yet her cline" was
Terpeichorean. Indeed, she had been
: instructed in her business by NJ. Du-
tour, admittedly one of the best harle-
auins that ever did a jilt or jumpted
! through shop-windOw. Like hel
father, Nelly also took pride i'm hei
work; and as she possessed his kind
yielding disposition, she had not many
enemies among the young ladies of hel
, department. of course she had few,
, as will not he doubted, when it is stated
that she had recently been promoted
to the front row OF the ballet, and was
: currently whispered to be studying the
part of the mute Fenella, in view OF
the managers contemplated revival o.
MasanieliO next season. She was ,s
! light-hearted, happy little creature, the
I presiding genius of Joe's home; for
alas! his wife had died when Nelly
0 was a wee thing, and though it wa:
t difficult at times to perform the opera
ton familiarly known as "makins
h both ends meetn at their small lodging
b and more especially during the sum
a mer season of the NOnpareil, when tn,
treasury was somewhat scanty, ye
Nelly was as good little housewife a.
!, though she had been brought up to til,
u work and to nothing else all her life
u To crown all, Nelly was as innOcen
and guileless as she was cheerful ant
= pretty. The compliments of the ga,
4 fiatterers of the outside world, Wh,