Public ledger. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1865-1893, 1876-04-15
Boston during The siere orIzzn.

1t was dull work for the officers and la
dies and gentlemen to stay cooped up in
the little peninsula through the dismal
winter, their eyes and ears besieged by
the forlorn condition of the inhabitants,
and enjoying small show OF that digni6ed
merry-making for which Boston has been
famous. The officers found time enough
for gallantry, and two ladies living then
in town, daughters of the famous DR..
Byles, used to tell, half a century later,
when they we're still unhinching loyalists,
Of their %promenades with Gen. Howe
and Lord Percy on Boston Common,
and of the music Of his Lordship's band,
played under their window at his Lord
ships order. A new regiment arrived
from England in December, and the
Newsletter chirped at mention Of the
excellent band it brought, with promise
of a concert for the diversion of the
town. When the new year set in, a Sc
ries of subscription balls was announced
to be held at Con err hall once a fort
night. The last ball at the Province
house was the Queens ball, given, curl
ously enough, on the 22d Of February.
The festival of st. John the Evangelist
was duly celebrated by a dinner at Free
Masons Hall, a march to Brattle street,
and an appropriate sermon, but there is
no mention of any public festivity at
Christmas. The most elaborate effort at
entertainment was in the theatrical rep
reservations given under the patronage
Of Gen. Howe. A number of officers and
ladies formed a Society for Promoting
Theatrical A nusements, a title which
somehow seems to give a certain solem.
nifty to the proceedings, and they did
this, the a1nolaC nelt frankly stated,
for their own al u; nent aud the benev-
olent purpose Of contributing to the re-
lief of distressed soldiers, their widows
and childr- 4. Faneuil Hall had been
fitted up with with a stage, and the per
Torrance began at six o cock. The en-
trance fee was not immoderate-one
dollar for the pit aud a quarter of a dol
lar for the gallery. The surplus over
expenses was to be appropriated to the
relief of poor soldiers. The most nota-
BILE piece, however, wasthe local farce Of
the Blockade Of Boston" by General
Burgoyne, whose reputation as a wit and
dramatist has kept even pace with his
military fame. On the evening of the
Sth of January it WIS TO be given for the
first time. The comedy of tie BUSY,
body" had been acted, and the curtain
was about to be drawn for the farce,
when the actors behind the scenes heard
an exaggerated report of a raid made
upon Charlestown by a small party Of
Americans. One of the actors, dressed
for his part, that of a Yankee sergeant,
came forward upon the stage, called 81.
lence and informed the audience that
the alarm guns had been fred and a bat.
tie was going on in Charlestown. The
audience, taking this for the first scene
in the farce, %applsuded obstreperously,
being determined to get all the fun there
was to be had out Of the piece, when the
order was given in dead earnest for the
officers to return TO their posts. The
audience at this was thrown into dire
confusion, the officers jumping over the
orchestra, breaking the fddles on the
way, the actors rushing about to get rid
Of their paint and DISCUSSES, the ladies
alternately fainting and screaming, and
the play brought to grief. Horace E.
Scudder, In the Atlantic.