The news and herald. (Winnsboro, S.C.) 1877-1900, 1877-03-17
[FOL. I. NO. 20.

?
Of the surcs. But there are those vino
wish to commence at nothing short
Of "Horatio" or "Cassio' at least,
and these gentlemen, generally we'll
attirol, with pcnsivc air, flowing
locks and rolling collar, arc received
with great courtcsy-for another
purpose, however. They aro
brought o.: tho stage and told to
give test Of their quality, and
probably get rs far as
''Hcr father loved mo, oft invited ne"
When huge "prop" ham, dropped
from the flies, puts IN end to the
breath and speech of tho spoutinr
Roscius. He is soon soothcd and
pacliicd, when missiles in the shape
of wooden bricks, canvas fish, and
other material of the kind used in
/ pantomimcs, are showcrcu upon
him. If he can be placed in trap,
he must be Of good constitution to
survive his 1cscont-ho might woll
term it into 'Inforno.'
1t may take the fancy Of The tor
mentors to- "pOcahontas" the victim.
He is suspended by !, pulley and limo
some ten feet above the stage, and
let remain There ut the pic ,slrc Of
his prosecutors. At last some ono
who is bossing the mlttcr, assuming
to be the stage manager or prompt
cr, calls nll hands up anyrily and dis
charges them for their bad treats
mcnt Of the applicant. They in
turn accuse him Of bong the cause
Of their losing their situations and
incontincntly watt him into the outer
world, pretty well cured of his pre-
dilections for the stage.
Sometimes this will not work
nicely. A muscular subject on ono
or two occasions in this city rcndcr-
cd it very warm for the boys and
had matters his own way. Again IL
we'll directed kick on Il iokcrs
frontispiocc-hc hrving placed him,
self on his hands and knees in u
dark aisle for q "lcbutantc" to fall
over him-displaceu several useful
nolarS, not to mention somo other
very unsightiy and unpleasant
| bruises.
A moro popular method Of apply
ing "the cure" is tho "grip-sack' plan
which is as follows: An applicant is
asked if he is willing to make him.
self useful around the theatre, and
replies yes, vcry readily. He is
given a note to tho property man,
instructing him to give tho bearer
the "grip-sack, which is stout
canvas receptacle filled with stone
and scraps of iron, SO rs to weigh
not less than fifty or sixty pounds
he is told to carry it to Mr.---at
Dc Bars or the Olympic, as the case
may be, and as that gentleman has
either just stepped out OF is at
Looncy's, or the Novelty, or tho
Comiquc, be generally ends by
giving it up as bad job. A lnugha-
ble affair occurred at one of the
theatres a short time since, when q
jGunty aspirant was sent on his
mission with the grip sack, return
cd fresh as a flower in May, follow
ed by a hand~cart man, and replied
thathc was unable to find the gentle
man. The trip cost him scvcnty-fvo
CtIlUS, bllU IlC SCClIlCtt W DC "cll-UOS
do, and he at loast saved his
strength and had rather laugh at
the others expense. ..
1t is a little singular that Of all
those couples who affect tho ''song
and dance" line there are but few
who agree. Many Of them, indoed,,
are bitter hostile enemies, never.
speaking to each other save whom on
the stage where they chaff, kick and
throw each other about without any
apparent ill-will, merely working in
harness for the purpose Of mutual
interest and business, for onco
broken it is an indefinite time when
n new partner can be found and tho
difficult business of working in con-
cert. acquired.
There is n great deal Of talont on
the variety stage which would be Of
great value if trained for legitimate
drama. But many of these people
receive fabulous salarias, and are
well enough ploasod with their easy
finances and popularity with tho
lower class Of theatre gocrs not to
'lot well enough alone"
Volumes could be written on this
subject, and it is an interesting ono.
There is much that cannot be press
'nl {l,;e, ,o1