Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1875-03-04
LANCASTER WISCONSIN, THURSDAY MARCH 1876.

| oattOu VI nap hChss L 10 supper VIC"
merrily on until the bottom of th'
big batter jar was reached, and every
body seemed satisfied.
The first sip of strong tea seemed
to clear the Majors brain. He los
all sense ofintoxication, joined hearth
ly in the merry talk at the table
produced from their hiding places the
Captains store of powdered sugar
butter and pickles, which were wei
come additions to the meal, and con
Quoted himself generally to his own
satisfaction ard that of his guests
He observed that the lady who had
recognized him and brought him In
to supper was lively little brunette,
and was called Jennie by her COM
paniOns, and that the other ladies
wer5,, one of them a stout, ford
pleasant looking woman of thirty
eight or forty, and the wife of the
old gentleman; and the other state
ly, faxen~haired milk white beauty
called Clara. When the supper was
finished the gentlemen adjourned to
the sittng-room, and the ladies re-
NAMED in the kitchen to clear away
the tea things.
"'We are, as you have probably
devined'' said the old gentleman to
the Major, "a company of actors.
We hatter ourselves that we are q
pretty strong combination. We
were to have performed tonight at
Galena, but it was otherwise decreed.
| hope the audience will bear their
disappointment with becoming forth
tude.'
"Just then the stout lady came ont
and held a whispered conference
with her husband, whom che drew
into corner for the purpose. The
young gentlemen were called upon
to join in the conference, which be-
come quite animated, as appeared by
the gestures of the parties, and last
ed some time, but which was inaudi-
bic to the Major, partly because it
was conducted in whispers, and
partly because he busted himself with
the stove, which needed replenishing,
and took pains not to hear. The la.
dy returned to the kitchen, having
evidently carried her point, and the
old gentleman said to the Major:
"'My wife and the young ladies
propose, if you have no objection, to
have a full dress rehearsal of little
afterpiece which we had intended to
produce at Galena tonight, and the
young gentlemen have kindly con-
sented to assist. The peIce was pre-
pared by ourselves for this New
Years night, and will not bear rep
ettion, because this night will never
return 1t consists of single alle>
gorcal scene. If you please you can
constitute yourself the first, last and
only audience the unfortunate little
piece will ever have
+" Il shall be delighted,' said the
Major, if it will not be TOO much
trouble
"The young men had dragged the
big trunks and carried the rest of
the baggage to the back part CT the
sitting-room, and were already busy
putting Up a curtain which seemed
to have been made in sections.
"The old gentleman explained to
the Major that, having constant oc-
casion to play in places whore there
were no theatres, his company car
ried with them where ever they
went o supply of movable scenery;
and added, that one OF the young
n co, whom he called Mr.. Slower, had
wonderful skill and ingenuity 10 the
construction of scenes which could
be folded up and packed in a trunk,
and which could be managed with
out the use of pulleys and such like
machinery.
"The curtain being up, the old gen
tleman retired behind it, as he said
to dress for his part, having first ad-
vsed the Major that the little piece
about to be presented was the joint
production of himself and his wife.
''Thcn there was a sound of hustle
and business behind the curtains, the
rafting of the paper, the closing of
trunk lids, the opening and shutting
of doors, the shuffiing of feet, an oc-
casional whisper, now and then tit.
ter, and at last the tinkling of bell.
"rhen the curtain, instead of rising,
parted in the middle and opened like
a pair of folding doors. The scene
presented was that of wintry forest
with snow-covered mountains in the
background. In the dim light the IL
fusion seemed to the Major to be as
we'll produced and sustained as might
have been expected from the ordinary
resources of scene painting. A dim
blue light streamed across the stage,
as the Major suspected, from a color
ed lantern placed in each wing, out of
sight of the audience. The Major
concluded that Mr.. Stover's ingenuity
and industry were worthy of recog.
milton by an intelligent audience. So
he capped his hands vigorously.
This seemed to be the signal for the
appearance oftwo figures, who emerg-
ed slowly from the left wing
"One was that of an old man with
long white hair and beard, clad in a
loose robe of long-haired skins, which
seemed to be powdered with snow.
In his hand he carried long staff,
upon which he leaned heavily. Upon
his head he wore an iron crown upon
which there glistened with bright me-
talic lustre the figures l847. His COM
panion was also robed in skin pow.
dered with snow, and was crowned
with diadem OF ice. This charac-
ter's robes were of such ambiguous
cut and finish that it was not easy for
the Major to determine whether the
being intended to be represented was
male or female But the gender of
the actor was no secret to the Major,
for in him he recognized one of the
young men, who, being beardless and
fair, and of small stature, could be
easilv disonised for a female part: