The weekly Shasta courier., 1873-09-20
Mrs. Tretherick in Sacramento .

The following from Bret. Harte's new
story, An Episode of Fiddetown," (Scrib-
ner's for September), gives an account Of
his heroines adventures in Sacramento
Her slender stock of money was soon
exhausted. At Sacramento she found that
the composition of verse, although appeal
ing to the highest emotions of the human
heart, and compelling the editorial breast to
the noblest commendation in the edito-
nal pages, was singularly inadequate to de-
defray the expenses of herself and Carrie.
Then she tried the stage, but failed signally.
Possibly her conception of the passions was
different from that which obtained with a
Sacramento audience, but it was certain
that her charming presence. so effective at
short range, was not sufficiently pronounced
for the footlights. She had admirers enough
IN the green room, but awakened no abiding
affection among the audience. In this strait
1T occurred to her that she had voice-a
contralto OF no very great compass or cul-
tlvatlon, but singularly sweet and touching
and she finally obtained position in church
choir. She had it for three months, greatly
to her pecuniary advantage, and, it is said
much to the satisfaction of the gentlemen in
Juo DcWS, WllO IdCtu lOWdTuS uST uuIIUg
the singing of the last hymn.
I remember her quite distinctly at this
time. The light that slanted through the
orel of st. Dives chair was wont to fall very
tenderly on her beautiful head with its
stacked masses of deerskin-colored hair, on
the low black arches of her brows, and to
deepen the pretty fringes that shaded her
eyes of Genoa velvet. Very pleasant it
was to watch the opening and shutting oil
that small straight mouth, with its quick
revelation of little white teeth, and to see
the foolish blood family deepen her satin
cheek as You watched. For Mrs. Treth-
erck was very sweetly conscious of admira-
ton, and, like most pretty women, gathered
herself under your eye like a racer under
the spur
And then of course there came trouble.
| have it from the soprano-a little lady
who possessed even more than the usual un-
prejudiced judgment of her sex-that Mrs
Tretherick's conduct was simply shameful
that her conceit was unbearable that if she
considered the rest of the choir as slaves
she, the soprano, would like to know it
that her conduct on Easter Sunday with the
basso had attracted the attention of the
whole congregation, and that she herself
had noticed Doctor Cope twice look up dur
ing service; that her, the sopranos friends,
had objected to her singing in the choir with
a person who had been on the stage, but she
waived this. Yet she had it from the best
authority that Mrs. Tretherick had run away
from her husband, and that this red d-haired
child who sometimes came in the choir was
not her own. The tenor confded to me,
behind the organ, that Mrs. Tretherick had
a way of sustaining a note at the end of a
line, in order that her voice might linger
longer with the cOngregation-an act that
could be attributed only to defective moral
nature. That as man--he was a very pop
ular dry-goods clerk on week days, and sang
good deal from apparently behind his eye
brows on the Sabbath-that as man, sir
he would put up with it no longer. The
basso alone-a short German with heavy
voice, for which he seemed reluctantly
responsible, and rather grieved at its pos
session stood up for Mrs. Tretherick and
averred that they were jealous of her be-
cause she was "bretty." The climax was
at last reached in an open quarrel, wherein
Mrs. Tretherick used her tongue with such
precision Of statement and epithet that the
soprano burst into hysterical tears, and had
to be supported from the choir by her hus.
band and the tenor. This act was marked
Intentionally to the congregation by the
omission of the usual soprano solo. Mrs.
Tretherick went home flushed with triumph
but on reaching her room frantically told
Carrie that they were beggars henceforward
that she-her mother-had just taken the
very bread out of her darlings mouth, and
ended by bursting into flood of peniteni
tears. They did not come so quickly as il
her old poetical days, but when they came
they stung deeply. She was reused by q
formal visit from vestryman-one of the
Music Committee. Mrs. Tretherick dried
her long lashes, put on new neck ribbon
and went down to the parlor. She stayed
there two hours-a fact that might have oc
casioned some remark, but that the vestry
man was married and had a family of growr
daughters When Mrs Tretherick returned
to her room, she sang to herself in the gas:
and scolded Carrie. But she retained hel
place in the choir
Fine sensibilities are like woodbines. de
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