Buchanan County bulletin. [volume] (Independence, Iowa) 1869-1891, 1875-07-30

Lucy Burridge, that were her real
name, though she were called "Lu-
cihda Burrinda," the helegant dan
sews-she were in the corps de bal
ley at the varieties theayter IN the
Strand; daresay you know hit? \
Yes? Well, sir, I
was scene shifter in that theayter for
seven years before that at Drury
Lane. l could tell you some queer
stories! IT you want to know some
thing of life, you get up in the wings,
night after night, an watch the stage,
you'll see somethin' o. the bad ham
the good o 'uman natur'. Why, sir,
I've seen cruelty, an wickedness, an
jealousy, an revenge, an kindness,
an forgiveness, an charity, played
far more real behind the canvas
scenes / were shiftin' than 1t were on
the stage or before it. One night, I
see young girl, which her name
was Sairey Podge, from dirty little
street in the Borough; she was but q
pretty one to look at an danced like
sylrh, an she an a particler rival, a
'alf Hitalian girl as bad a little shrew
for temper as hever you saw. Well,
one night, hin the Christmas panto-
mime-'twere last Christmas, ten year
this girl, La Rosa, she broke down
and the people hissed her. Well, 1
was hup in the wings an I see it, an
she ran behind one of the scenes
where Sairey was waitin' to jump out
like a fairy, MS she was, and 1 say to
my mate, Look out for squalls there,
Lory-them two'll fight for l have
seen girls fight behind the scenes be-
fore now. Well, sir, the Hitalian al
most bounced into the others arms.
Sairey drew back minute, an looked
straight hat 'er. The other was glow
ing with passion and spite, an my
fears were that Sairey's face was 60
ing to be spoiled, when I see Sairey
'old out both 'er lands, an l 'eared 'er
distinctly like cry hout, 'Oh, Miss
Rosa, l am so sorryp an will you be-
lieve it, sir, the poor Hitalian laid 'er
'ead on the hother's shoulder an cried
like a child! In minute the stage
master called out, sharp, Miss Podge,'
an she dried her tears an went hout
an danced so beautifully, the PIT
went mad with 'er. Oh, yes, sir,
there's 'uman natur' behind as well as
before the scenes, an the great Scene
shifter above he watches it.
"Well, sir, Miss Lucy; afterward
Missis Bytheway, wer' clever dane
er, an likewise sometimes took
small part. for she were as pretty
girl as l ever seen hon the stage, an
I've seen hall the swells, you know.
They're very partikler hat the var
ieties, you know; hits only the royal
family, an two or three very spechul
parties as gets the hontree there. l
dunno 'ow that young Bytheway got
in; but p'raps lis father 'ad done the
governor a good turn sometimes
'Osomever, e were hon the stage
pretty hoften, an took a awiolent fancy
to Miss Lucy. All, sir, my art used
to bleed sometimes for those poor
girls-to see 'ow bold and brazen
some on 'em were, an 'ow gentle
others was, an how many of 'em
came to grief! No matter. Lucy,
she took to the young Bytheway, an
e tried hon a hold game with 'er, but
she were too good or too knowin' to
be deceived. l believe she really
liked the man.
"Now you want to know 'ow they
come hout to this place? l can't tell
you. All l know is, that halter
spoonin' about the girl for a precious
long time, and she playin' hof' an
hon with i'm, one day she didn't come
to rehearsal, an then hit were nlmor-
ed among the young ladies she 'ad
run away with Mr.. Bytheway. The
hold gent an the young 'un 'ad a
row, ham the young un said that
rather than kill the old fool, I'd leave
im.' Well, year after, / came
across a hemigration hagent. 'E told
me about Canada an the free grants,
an, lookin' round on all those hun
cry children, I said, well try tits
worth the venture I'd saved little
money, an when I got to Toronto l
applied for land at the government
Office, an they gave me this conces-
sion free. We got ERE about the 1st
of June, ham lived in the woods for
some weeks; I tell you the musketoes
were awful. But you'll fancy 'ow 1
started when the first thing l see on
the next lot, where that 'ouse 'ad
lately been built, was young Blythe
way in torn shirt an trousers, hoe
in round among the stumps just as if
ed been at it all is life. Then hout
come Miss Lucy-then Mrs. Blythe
way, for they'd got married before
they left England-lookin' pale like,
has I've seen Mrs. Wellbeloved look
oftencr than I cared Tor. We was
very good friends, an the young gen.
tleman who was smart as they say
ere, e put me hup to good many
things, an showed me 'ow to build
my 'ouse, an all the nabors was kind
an 'elpful enough, has all the people
are hout ere to strangers. Well,
young Bytheway was kind enough to
Lucy, an, for all l saw, she were fond
enough of i'm, but once or twice
noticed he went off to Orillia an
stayed away some days, it might be
three or four, an when he came back
again he wasn't 'imself for long
time. l knew what it was; it was
the hold enemy-drink-an' for the
time hit made i'm another man.
"By and by the autumn came, an
we got in our root crops an a little
corn am wheat, an Bytheway laid in
a decent lot. Then came the frost,
an the fallin' of the leaves, an then
the snow. Such snow! I've seen
snow ten or fifteen feet deep down in
that gulley, an the air as pure, an
the sky as bright as lever see painted
in Hitalian scene at the theayter.
Healthy? 1 should think so.
There amt no doctor nearer than
Gravenhurst, an / never 'eard of i'm
comm up here except to Josephine
Jobson's grandmother; they say