The Cincinnati daily star. [volume] ([Cincinnati, Ohio]) 1875-1880, 1880-01-09
THE DAILY STAR
CLOWN AND COLUMBINE.

Christmas Day-an old Christmas
Day-had passed, but the genial atmos
phere Of the time was at its richest. 1t
was Boxing Night, and, as everybody
knows, the full climax Of Christmas fes-
tiyity is not consummated until some
where between ten and eleven o'clock OF
the night Of the 26th December, when
fairy in cause and spanges pronounces
from gilded car the magic rhymes by
which, from tyrants, respectable citizens,
beadles and other functionaries, are
hatched Harlequin and Columbine, Pam
taloon and Clown.
These rhymes, then, had just been spoken
at a theater, which / shall call the Nom
such, situated in q thoroughfare Of the
town,and which, on Boxing Night, was OF
course, crowded to the roof; the rolled
up shirt sleeves aud the incessant mop
ping Of foreheads giving a notion OF the
temperature in which reveled the gods.
But they were in state OF high delight,
nevertheless; shout after shout burst
forth as Harlequin made his first teeto-
tum spin; as Pantaloon first wagged his
decrepit head and still more thunder
ing roar greeted the apparition OF the
Columbine, her first appearance in the
part-a slenderly-formed young girl-too
Young perhaps, for the violent exertion,
but who courtesied with smile in which
There was blended the naivete OF the
child with the acute intelligence of ma
tured womanhood; and the whisper
buzzed round the house:
"Miss Lucy Bradley-old Bradley's daugh--
ter-old Bill Bradley's daughter-old
Clown Bradley's daughter" and an extra
.'hand" was awarded to the offspring OF
the popular favorite. The next moment
NE himself was before them the Clown
yisage grinning in their faces, the Clown
walk with the entwisting legs and the
turned-in goose-like toes, and hands hold.
ing out from either thigh the mass OF
drapery which forms the intricacies OF
the Clowns pockets. Up shaking the
crystal drops Of chandelier and making
them ring against each other tiny music,
went the hoarse roar of popular mirth
and louder and louder it pealed as the
trotesauc face began to work in those
strange convulsions into which only the
cheeks, jaws and tongues Of Clowns evel
fall. and at last the mute heavings founc
an expression in rich chuckling voice
which spoke the time-honored phrase:
"Here We are again. How are yew
All the world agreed that old Bill
Bradley had never looked more intensea.
clowniied, and had never before spokel
his entering with so inimitable rich {
chuckle. - =,
oAh, there's the Clown for you'll Moth
ing like Bill since old Joe, Ell? Wonder
full fellow for fun. No pantomime woul
be pantomime at the Nonsuch withou
Bill. Bill's the boy for stealing sausage
-ah, see Bill butter the stage. Bill
the pantomime. ~
Columbine danced gracefully an
brilliantly. Harlequin was as active an q.
light az need be; Pantaloon was deiic
.ously feeble, and took the severest kick
and cuffs with the mildest complacency
but Clown-Clown was superb. Il
picked ever SO many pockets in no tim
he bonneted policemen, and pulled tn
tails of their coats to an unknow
amount; he stole string Of sausages
long as cable, and ate them at thre
gulps; and then, with strange ia
chuckle, race and a. bound, he leape
at the dial Of an eight-day clock in th
scene and disappeared. -,
= Up rose again the shout Of applaus
mt In a moment it was checked. Hard
had the Clowns ankles vanished throug
the yielding surface, when a loud an
intense cry Of pain rang through II
theater, making itself heard over IL
boisterous merriment Of boxes, pit ar
rallery. Pantaloon, who had been tc
fering about the stage, suddenly move
off like any ordinary. being;but Colur
hine shot from near the orchestra, like
fash of white light, into the recesses b
hind the scenes. -,
The next moment the curtain fell, al
amid the confused clamor Of inqui
and surprise, gentleman in evehi1
dress and white gloves glided before it.
"Hush!" and there was hush. ~
accident" he was sorry to say, IN
BrQQloy-uOG dWHic W whds OAooh'
medical man just sent for-would au
ience wait for few minutes, with tt
kindness, generosity, ETC., which alws
characterized" etc.
Meantime what was the scene occ
ING in what is technically called /"
hindw :.
Close to the aperture VIII
the poor Clown had 70 gallan
leaped through, three or Il
half drunken carpenters (pol
larly scene-shifters, word, by the VI
unknown in a theater with strt
blanket in which the performer was
r. be caught and safely restored to mot
earth. A second before his leap, one
these worthless had suggesed that Il
had as we'll be ready, holding
blanket in his hands,
dts all right said one Of his 9 2
rades, 'there's time enough-lets h
another swig first ,,,.5n..
He was in the act Of putting the p
l.oS z,6or psf1 Prar