, 1874-04-12

On the other aide Of the stage are making fur
OF their unfortunate manager, whose lTo II
thoroughly aroused, and who Is barely restrained
! from rushing ACROSS before tho audience aad
choking them. Tho boy-probably the author
OF the mischief-stands grinnlng. "SheiTy
your nibs, you blessed young 1ufiian, or III dc
your liver an injury!" yells Mr. Kice, with an
| astonishing knowledge Of anatomy:
| (The opening remarks OF TINS o6ser7a-
ton have no reference to f1nous liquor,
reference to the knotty question OF rapid tran
sit).
TIE APOLOGY.
It becomes evident TINT 31r. Rice can't go on
he Is Ihe fs5ee must be Played ed without out him.
Just say you're little OF color tonight, this
being the anniversary OF your marriage, or the
emitting OF your wiadom teeth, or something
else"
| MIR. Rice falls in with the idea. Tie farce
| travels along smoothly till Mr. Rice comes on.
| He apolog;ses in the language suggested, and
| makes another hit; Everybody laughs. Mr.
| Rice repeats the observation in his own Ian
guage, at which the audience laughs still moro.
/ The farce goes on and the curtain, which has
been up without once falling in three hours.
deecends, the audience, with customary Chi
cago breeding, having nriecn long before from
its aeat, aud being intent on reaching the door.
Such ia rapid sketch Of events behind the
haps there WIS 1uore fun to tho privileged per-
son who was allowed this view OF matters than to
the audience, but, such as it vas, it was highly
diycrting all round. There are many Incidents
TINT might be introduced to illustrate the free
and easy, though always proper, management aod
would grow tedious, perhaps. There is ono
which should be recorded, as it occurred only q
day or two ago. and might have ended tragicauy.
YOUNG AMERICA
Mr. Grover has, among the employees Of The
theatre, O boy to run orrands aud do odd jobs,-
a bright young fellow about IA years Of age,
with black eyes aud plenty of cheek. Young
America had seen Lo!o, in her flying trapeze
net, swing herself ACROSS tho auditorium and
throw herself into the arms Of her husband or
hung IS feet abovs tho stage. Waiter rid
iculed the feat, boasted that he could
do it, aud made q 50-cent bet
with another boy that he would do it
successfully. Ho argued the matsor with the
darkey janitor, proved By logical argument that
what . woman could do Young America could
also do, and awoke his manhood to warm CO.
operation Tho darkey, it Was arranged, should
sit on the trapeze above the stage, whlo Young
America should f1y across, land III his arms and
win fame and so cents at one blow. day .vas
appointed and an hour chosen when the theatre
WIS empty, only . few privileged people being
let into the secret
The darkoy climbed laborious1y up to the
up to the gallery. uufastened the rings, and
stood prepared, full Of hope. "Look out now,"
he cried. when all things we're ready, "I'm
coming" He gave q little jump backwards to
get . good impetus, aud few through tho mir. At
Of the swing, however, that he caromed on the
darkey with the velocity of bal, ,topplug
the ambitious Ethiopian from his precarious seat
to the stage below, and coming himself in yio-
lent collision with the bare wall of the theatre,
fbrn1rf1 an nj
degrees with great rapidity. The Colbert pondu-
lum could not have shaken the wall more thor
ougbly than did Walter in his interrupted fight.
He rebounded from the wall, and fell in sit
thud,' as they say in describing hang
ing, and tbero remained. The double
thump shook the bar md box-oi1ice,
and was the first indication that the proprictors
had OF the new performance. Messrs. Clynes, Rial,
aud others came out with run, and found the
daring boy sensoless. He was utterly stunned
By the fall, and breathcd heavily. Fraak Clyncs
Immediately prescribed brandy, aad the cordial
Was poured down his throat. It brought him
to in q moment. He roused himsolf slowly
fally. at everybody, measured at a giauco
tue distance he had travelled, and remarked
~ thonght was never going to stop" ITS
insky ,s thing for yon" said Frank, t Mtbat you
you young yagsbond. Here. swallow the bal
ance of this. and go home" Walter did not
need second bidding, but umped away, loser
in reputation and money, but gamer in e1-
perieuce. and q firm believer in the divinity Of
standing for some days, Nobody had the heart
to spank him, as he deserved. Besides,
it was unnecessary. For so cents be |
had risked his neck in a feat which faw men
would even attempt for $50, 900. Tho darkey
aighted on his head, and WAS, OF course, unhurt,
excspt in thu matter Of ps1dc. But plice. VIC
aro told on good authority, always comes before !
q fall.
a MINSTREL THEATRE. |
A less amusing, but scarcely less instructive,
eyoniug might be spent behind the scenes OF a |
minstrel thoatre. Here-we speak Of the tidy
little house on Monroe street-everything
Is 80 neat and orderly, that one is
iuvoluntarly led to remark it aloud. The writer |
was prepared to find things pretty comfortable
among the good-natured bachelor performers,
who are unseen by their audiences except in |
cork It is unnecessary to give sketch OF the |
personnel OF the gentlemen who compose this |
admirable company Of negro melodlsts, because |
knows them, aud respects their sys- |
TEN of running minstrel house, But word |
or two as to
TIE ARRANGEMENTS
behind may be interesting. Arriving behind the |
scenes when they were preparing themselves for |
tho performance, tho writer Witnessed the |
chang gos through which their countenances went |
from jolly red 70 fuuereal black in minute. !!
Indeed, but for the Kindly tutelage under which |
he went, and the hearty manners of the COM |
pany, he might have felt embarrassed at the |
black looks with which they all greeted him |
" Shake, said llr B. Cotton, extending lis ell |
bow. 'Won't you walk into my parlor 2" L
an coT7oS's PAHLoR |
is about four feet square, more OF less, hung |
round with extraordinary garments, such as that |
Yivacious gentleman delights to exhibit his form |
in to al appreclatiTe audience. They told mo |
you carpeted your room with your smaIl-clothes,"
observed the w1iter, with tinge Of disappoint- |
molt. 8Ir. Cotton repudiated such untidiness, |
and referred the speaker to the studio Of Mr.. |