The Eaton Democrat. (Eaton, Ohio) 1875-1903, 1878-07-25
THE CONFESSION OF A RIVAL.
BY RICHARD FENwIcK.

In the winter of 1-5-I was the prin-
cipal dancer at the Varieties Theater in
B. At that time / was beautiful, |
was kind-hearted, was pleasant to all
about me, and above all l was happy
up to certain time. My life was reg
ular, ] had surfeit of praise and glory.
but l delighted only in the ease and
comfort which my employment enabled
me to bestow upon my aged father, who
lived with me in neat apartments two
or three blocks. away from the theater.
We lived in each other until the end
of February. What pleased me pleased
him; whatever / did met his approval /:
he thought my dancing divine and was
always in raptures at my singing. He
often came to the theater and would
never fail to throw to me an immense
bouquet, at which acts all the young
gentlemen would laugh until he told
them he was my father, whereupon they
would beg an introduction to me: but
when this was limited at the good old
gentleman would scowl and shake his
head, and laugh with me when we got
home. | learned new songs and was
constantly inyenting new ideas and
squibs and catches, SO that became the
first theatrical attraction in the CITY,
The house was crowded nightly, and the
management was in ecstasies.
On the thirteenth of February no.
ticed that the house was little thinner
than ! had right TO expect. | asked
the manager to tell me the reason.
Oh" he said, "the people have gone
to the Gayety, suppose, to see the new
actress, Marie Chabot, the French wo.
man. Everybody says she is very beau
tiful."
At the instant the words were pro
n0unced the sharp sting of jealousy en-
tered my soul. ] had often heard Of
the elegance and beauty of this woman
but had paid little attention to it, be
cause l had felt SO secure in my owl
stronghold. But now / listened witt
painful eagerness to everything that wa.
said about her. It was with bitter re
Elections that / beheId my audiences
diminish night after night, and read il
the papers the most glowing accounts
of her performances and personal an
pearance.
One day it suddenly appeared tina
there was contest between her and tn,
managers of the theater, and that sh,
was about to break her engagement.
was oVerjoyed at the trouble. foresay
the increase of my audiences again anC
the return of my worshipers.
But what was my misery at discover
ing that the managers of my theater haC
effected terms with Marie Chabot. an,
that in three days she was to come t.
our theater. / was furious. | looked
over the articles of my agreement
There was nothing to prevent. the ac
being completed. I thought Of throw
ing up my position and taking the risl
of being obliged to pay damages, bu
unfortunately my poor father fell sic
just at that moment, and his troubl
promised to be of long duration. wa
afraid to take the risk of a lawsuit
therefore was obliged to smother M
rage. The new actress came. I was in
tr0duced to her at once.
Never in my life had | beheld sue
loveliness. She was dark, with brilliau
eyes, white teeth, and with clear oliy
complexion. Her face was full of v
foOAty, anu uCI uduu6T was IdQyllk
and quiet in the extreme. I felt this
she surpassed me, that l was overshac
owed by her, that my power was gon
from that instant was furious, thoug
1 smiled and fairly kissed her.
1t took only one evening to demon
strate her superiority to me. Ever
person in the audience was ready to ia
down before her and worship her, and
was forgotten, or at best my appearan,
upon the stage was signal for but
few faint claps and cries, which 1 fe
to be mere insults rather than applaus
On the third night of her advent
was sitting down beside my father, wi
was still quite i'll. 1 was in frightf
state of dependency at my subordina
position as second favorite. 1t was aft
the theater, and eleven o'clock. Still
had visitor. He was a young gent
man who had tried to write for the stag
and who had often consulted me in
gard to affairs which he knew lit
about. He now told me that he h
just returned from another city, Al
had brought with him piece which
had written expressly for me. He KIN