Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1880-01-03
THE DAILY RECORD-UNI0N.
A GORGEOUS PICTURE.
AT THE THEATER AND AT CHURCH IN
CHRISTMAS TIME
Some Account of Holiday observances
In the City of the Seattle
Birth of the Butterfly"
SAN FRAsc1sco. December 30, 1879.


gions. and which is built i faint plot
and very weak dialogue. Yet it gives
opportunity for a darby, female contor-
zionist, song or two, man in a woman's
dress, performances in the air and ballet
dancing. Their imported Kiralfy dancers
are the best-looking ballet dancers | ever
saw, and one, at least, is graceful in her
movement. Usually, they have been thin,
prominent featured, no longer young
with spidery limbs, painful coiffures
and smile so set and STACEY it seemed
to have grown into the face like a
mouth or an eye. But these two are
women of pleasant expression and tasteful
costume, whose hair is neat and becoming,
and who have attained prominent position
in their profession while still young For
awhile there was one old woman here in
the ballet-why, I'm sure she was older
than some grandmothers / have known.
She was good dancer, nothing wonderful,
but very good, and / suppose the poor
woman was obliged thus to come before
the public or she never would have done
so. But it was distressing to see her, her
thin, sunken neck half-revealed in the gas
light and her old lips and cheeks Redeemed
with paint She never appears nowadays,
and l wonder about her as l see others
dancing-if she recounts the triumphs she
won in younger days, with the pride and
regret of one who can never again ex-
perience those delights, or if she is dead
and buried. How the last
WONDERFUL SCENE
Would astonish The boys and girls who have
never had an opportunity to go to the
theater 1t is called, "The Lake of Sill.
yer, or Birth of the Butterfly in the Bower
of Ferns" and doesn't that at once carry
you into enchantment? The scenes parted
and disclosed two beautiful girls clothed in
spangled white, with appraised arms point
ing toward the heart of the picture.
Around them were dropping ferns glisten-
ing like silver in the strong light, and flow
ers and thick foliage and two huge gold
butterflies waved their red veined wings
slowly to and fro. A gauzy curtain lifted
and there lay the shining lake, swans NOV
ing majestically upon it, and forest OF
ferns bending gracefully around it. A
great butterflies with wings that rose
and fell poised upon the foliage.
Still another gauzy veil was snatched
away and huge tulip closed and still was
revealed, and in another moment its petals
fell apart and there knelt little Maud
Adams with her bow and culver. When
one comes out from such dazzling scene,
every day life seems so dull and prosy, and
when the theater, or the book, or the party
has that effect it is time to put each aside
and take up the hard duty till it seems a
pleasure. Too much of that sort of holi
day doesn't pay. l have heard people say
they wouldn't read Wilkie Collins, be
cause the contrast between his plots so deer
and full of telling action, and the simple
uneventful commonplace existence was SC
great as to engender discomfort.
CHRISTMAS MORNING
There were extra services in all the Cath.
Ole and Episcopal churches. Though the
Bianchi's were at st. Patrick's and Borne
mann "a st. Mary's, went to the little
French church on Bush street.-the Church
of Our Lady of Notre Dame. Scarce any
time can you go there without finding a
crowd, and as the pews are all taken,
always feel like an intruder. The music
is very fine-and then crowd always
brings crowd. Ellen Coursen led the
choral service and sang the Kyrie Eleison,
and Miss Zoe Cobb's fine contralto came
down over the railing. Several palm-tr trees
stood near the altar; and when the con-
tribution for the poor was announced, two
ladies passed the boxes The services are
IN French, but somehow, you CLEAN that
It's the same old truth being told to you,
though in foreign tongue. often go into
the synagogue Emanuel on Suffer street
of Saturday mornings to hear the music,
and mostly the magnificent voice of Mr..
Wolf, the cantor, informing the service.
Although not familiar to any extent with
German, | yet can listen patiently and
often with interest to Rabbi Cohen till the
end of his sermon or lecture. / can never
rid myself, in whatever church l may sit
of the idea that we are
ALL woRsHIPING
The same God. l am often amused into
laughing aloud by myself as 1 read some
of the anecdotes in the RECORD UNION,
but as l read the one about the old noun.
taineer who went to the Episcopal church,
and said afterwards, 81 never knowed
much what they was a-doin', but riz and
fell with em every time," l felt the old
man had the right feeling after all. By its
own ceremonies each Church works toward
the same end, and why is it not the right
thing when a stranger follows in its foot
steps in his own humble way, though he
may not understand the significance of
each movement? Emperor Norton, sup
posed to be harmlessly crazed, have seen
in church several times, but never once
when he did not respectfully follow the
ceremony. 1t has no especial connection
here, but am reminded of little scene /
saw once in DIR. Stones church one Sun
day morning.
AN OLD WOMAN
Entered, shabby, poor, not over clean, and
as she bowed her head she made the sign
of the cross. As she looked about her she
saw none of the pomp and ceremony OF
her own church, and seeing the mistake
she had made, she rose quietly and passed
down the AISLE But even this hereto
church she would not leave without the
usual sign of humility and respect; so, as
she reached the door, her face turned
toward the pulpit and her knees dropped
reyerentially toward the hos, with that
necuIiar motion which all Catholics give
when leaving holy church. How strange
il seems to think of DIR. Stebbins and DIR.
Stone and DR.. Vidaver and DR.. Briggs and
Father That and This shaking hands and
laughing away all arguments and contra
dictions in the city where no differences
are There is one Sabbath school class
which stands apart in church work, and is
almost an organization. have spoken to
YOU of it before. 1t belongs to Calvary,
and is led by Mrs. Sarah B. Cooper. II
has ever some thought of charity, and i;
now giving its
HEARTY HELP
To a branch kindergarten established il
one of the worst parts of the city. The
kindergarten is rapidly taking root among
us, and daily other parents are taking in
terest in it. On Christmas day tree wa
prepared at the Silver-street school, and
besides receiving gifts themselves, th'
children had offerings for their parents O
the little perforated patterns, the sewing
work and the paper-folding their little fin
GERS had deity made These also sent
with kindly spirit, little decorations anc
ornaments to adorn the tree at the branch
school. whose members are new at kinder
t raccod