The new North-west. [volume] (Deer Lodge, Mont.) 1869-1897, 1883-06-22
THAT BAD BOY.
His Life Behind the Scenes.
penLta SIM

paper, in reach of box Of raisins, "what's
the matter? Been sitting up with your girl
all night"
Nav | wish had. Wakcfulness with
my girl IN swGeter and more restful than
sleep. No. this Is the result of being du
tifnl son, and am tired. You see, pa and
ma have separated. That Is, not for keeps.
but pa has got frightened about burglars, and
he goes up into the attic 10 sleep. He says
tits TO get fresh air, but he knows better.
Ma has got so accustomed TO pas snoring
that she can't go TO sleep without It, and the
first night pa left she dldntsleep wink, and
yesterday was playing on an old ACCORDION
that traded dog collar for after our dog
was poisoned, and when i touched the low
notes noticed ma dozed Off TO sleep, 1t was
so much like pas shore, and last night ma
made me set up and play for her to sleep.
She rested splendid, but am all broke up,
but / sold the ACCORDION this morning to the
Waterman who watches our block. 1t is
queer what different effect music will have
O. on different people. While ma was sleeping
the sleep Of innocence under the influence of
my counterfeit of pas snore, the night watch
man was broke Of his rest by it,and he bought
it Of me to give n TO the son Of an enemy of
his. Say, have quit jerking soda"
"No, you don't tell me-" said the grocery
man, as he moved the box Of raisins out of
reach. "You never will amount to anything
"a unless you stick to one trade or profession.
A rolling hen never catches the early angle
worm"
go, but am all right now. In the soda
business there Is no chance for genius to rise
unless the soda fountain explodes. It is all
wind, and one gets tired of constant fzz. He
feels that he is fraud, aud when he puts a
little syrup in n tumbler, and fires little
sweetened wind and water in IL, until the
soap suds fill the tumbler, aud charges ten
cents for that which only costs cent, SEN
sitive soda jerker, who has reformed, feels
that II is worse than three card monte. l
couldn't stand the wear on my conscience, SO
have got permanent job as a super, aud
shall open the LIST Of September"
"Say, what's a super? It isn't one of
these free lunch places, that the mayor closes
at midnight. is ?" and the grocery man
looked sorry.
go, thunder, you want salt on you. A
super is an adjunct TO the stage. A supe is
fellow that assists the stars aud things, car
rying chairs and taking up carpets, and
sweeping the sand off the stage after dan
Ger has danced jig, and he brings beer for
the actors, and helps lace up corsets, and
anything that he can do TO add to the effect |
of the play. Privately, now, have been
acting as a supe for a long time, on the sly, |
and my folks didn't know anything about 1t, |
but since / reformed. and decided to be good,
i felt II my duty TO tell ma and pa about it. |
The news broke ma all up, at first, but pa |
said some of the best actors in this country |
were supes once, and some Of them were |
now, and he thought suping would be the
making Of me. Ma thought going on the
stage would be my ruination. She said the
theatre was the hot-bed of sin, and brought |
more ruin than the church could head of. |
But when told her that they always a supe |
two or three extra tickets for his family, she |
said the theatre had some redeeming features |
and when / said my entrance upon the stage |
would give me a splendid opportunity to get |
the recipe for face powder from the actresses |
for ma, and / could find out how the actress
es managed TO get number four feet into |
number one shoes, ma said she wished / |
would commence suping right off. Ma says
there are some things about the theatre that |
are not so alfred bad, and she wants me TO |
get seats for the first comic opera that comes |
along. Pa wants 1t understood with the !
manager that supes father has RICH: TO |
20 behind the scenes to see that no harm be-
falls his son, but know what pa wants. He |
may seem pious, and all that, but he likes to |
look at ballet girls better than any meek and |
lowly follower ever see, and some day you |
will hear music in the air. Pa thinks thea
tres are very bad, when he has to pay dol
lar for reserved seat, but when he can get |
In for nothing as relative of one of the per
fesh,' the. theatre has many redeeming quail
ties. Pa and ma think ] am going into the |
business fresh and green, but know all
about it. When played with Mccullough |
here once"
"0h, what you giving u.s." said the grocery |
man in disgust, "when you played with Nc
Culloughl What did you dos"
"What did / do? Why, you old seed Gu
9 cumber, the whole play conferred around me.
Do you remember the scene In the Roman |
forum where McCulloch addresses the pepu-
lace of Rome. / was the populace. Don't
you remember q small Teller standing in |
front of the Roman orator taking 1t in, with |
night-shirt on, with bare legs aud arms
That was me, aud everything depended on
me. Suppose had gone off the stage at the
critical moment, or laughed when should |
have looked fierce at the inspired words Of
the Roman senator, IL would have been |
dead give away on Mccullough. As the |
populace of Rome considered myself gilt
tering success; and Nc took me by the hand |
when they carried Caesars cead body out,
and he said, 'us three did ourselves proud
Such praise from Mccullough is seldom ac-
corded 10 a supe. But don't consider the |
populace OF the imperial city Of Rome my |
masterpiece. Where / excel Is In coming |
out before the curtain between the acts. and |
unlocking the carpet. Some supes 60 out |
and turn their backs to the audience, show
ing patches on their pants, and rip up the
carpet with no style about them, and the |
dust flies, and the boys yell 'supe,' and the
supe gets nervous and forgets his cue, and
goes of tumbilng over the carpet, and the |
orchestra leader Is afraid the supe will fall
on him. But go out with quiet dignity
that is Gully gained by experience, and take
hold of the carpet the way Hamlet takes up
the skull of Yorick, and the audience Is par
alyzed. kneel down on the carpet TO I'M
hook II in devotional sort Of way that
makes the audience bow their heads as
though they were In church, and before they
realize that am only supe have the car
pet unlocked and march out, the way PTS
copal ministers do when they 60 out between
the acts at church to change their shirts.