Frostburg mining journal. [volume] (Frostburg, Md.) 1871-1913, 1884-12-27
CHRISTMAS PANTOMIME.

Never were father and child more alike in
every possible respect than old Ned Herring
| the famous pantomime clown, and his little
daughter Edith-even i'll personal appearance.
Ned, the father, was ugly and the daughter
beautiful, but they were both tail and slender
and solemn lookin'. Edith seldom smiled, ex-
cept upon her father, OF when engaged in the
business OF the pantomime. For, Of course,
she was brought up to his own business by her
| father, and at a very early age became a great
favorite in holiday pieces as a 'tfairy," etc.
Her popularity soon began to exceed that of
her father. But this only made him love the
| child the more. There was no possible ieal-
ousy between these two devoted souls. And
| the knowledge that she was useful and valu-
| able to her dear father only made that father
dear to little Edith and rendered her more de-
slrous to be OF service to him and to the
pantomime which made his world.
| Shortly after Ned Herring's arrival in New
York he was engaged with his daughter, as the
clown and fairy star of holiday pantomime at
| Niblos Garden. Great preparations were
made for this affair, and Herring found him
self, as usual, man of much Importance. His
name and that of his daughter was in all the
papers and posters, when suddenly his little
daughter fell sick for the first, and last, time
| in her little life.
| At first hearing this, stupefed, dazed,
he could not believe that such calamity
could by any possibility happen to him as his
daughters gettin' sick. Then, when the full
truth at last burst upon him, he was wild, not
on his own account, but on hers He thought
not Of his own blghted prospects. but only of
| his little darlins sufferin's, whom he nursed
| all day like father, mother and nurse COM
| bined, stayin' in her little room in Theatre
| Alley and never putin in an appearance at
| the Garden, where, of course, all the panto-
mime preparations We're at a s:andstin from
| his absence.
But the father was recalled to a sense of his
| pressin' professional necessities by his sick
daughter herself. Little child as she was, she
| thoroughly understood just what her sickness
| at this time and her fathers absence meant in
a business point of view. At first she fought
against her illness, tried to get up and so to
| the theatre for rehearsal anyway; but this
was physical impossibility, and she sank back
| on her bed exhausted and all the worse for her
| effort. But recoverin' herself moment, she
insisted at any rate upon her fathers goin' to
| the theatre. even if she couldn't. She could
nurse herself, she said, or she could do with
| out nursin but her father must attend to his
duties; he must devote himself as before to the
great pantomime. Finally, the afflicted father
| 80 arranged it that an Old woman in the neigh
borhood was engaged to remain with and at
tend to his child when he went to the theatre.
This was hard on poor old Ned, but little
| Edith had suggested somethin' harder yet.
With wisdom beyond her years, she had re-
| iected that as her sickness just at this time
would incapacitate her from takin' part in the
| programme, it was necessary for her fathers
interests, and the great pantomimes, that
somebody, some other little girl take her place.
&c. before her father started for the theatre, for
the first time since her sickness, she had an
earnest and full talk with him about her sue
cessor-a very bitter sort of talk to have, for
| any professional especially any woman.
They naturally haze the term successor"
But little Edith discussed the matter calmly.
And OF two little girls whom she had already
met around the theatre, little Edith particularly
recommended one to be taken in her place,
givin' her reasons for the preference in the most
| unlmpassloned and stage manager sort of
manner. Her poor father, struck with this
new evidence of his little daughters inesti-
mable worth, kissed her passionately and sadly,
and departed to the Garden.
There he found certain amount of sympa-
| thy, it Is true, but, of course, not enough of
that article TO interfere in any way with the
| business of the piece. The holidays must be
taken advantage of, no matter who suffers, and
| the pantomime mus. be produced, no matter
who be crushed. And Herring was informed
| that his daughters services were Indispensable.
| In Christmas pantomime children count, and
she was such child. The management had
| extensively advertised her and it could not af-
ford to disappoint the public.
| Besides, the successor or substitute idea
suggested by little Edith would not work.
True, the little girl she had chosen for the
part was all ready to take her place, but she had
a father, himself clown, and the father,
SEEM his chance, would not permit the services
| OF his child unless his own as clown were en-
gagged hkewise-a proposition, to which, OF
| course, Herring would not consent.
| He returned to Theatre Alley with sadder
heart than he had left it with, and told his
daughter all. ''Cheer up, father she said,
with her sweet smile, and her sweetly solemn
way, II will get well in time for the openin'
night, and We'll play together"
1t really seemed if she would keep her
word, Ior from that moment she appeared to
| grow better. Her father was buoyed up with
hopes and it looked as if Christmas and New
| Year might be Christmas and New Year after
all. Her father kept her posted about the pro-
gress of the rehearsals and gave her all the
| ''points' she needed for her own part, which
ran through the piece, windin' up with the
grand Transformation" scene, in which she,
the fairy queen, was revealed in all her glory
in the centre of a star, which openin' disclosed
her to public view and admiration. The child's
quick and trained comprehension took in al
the points, and the rehearsals progressed al
most as satisfactorily in her bed as they would
have done on the stage.
The openin' night came at last, and all day
long little Edith had been in furry of ex
pectation, while the father had been in furry
of preparation, rushin' from Theatre Alley tC
Niblos Garden every two or three hours and
back again, overseein' alike the preparations
for the production of the pantomime and the
removal of his daughter
Although he could i'll afford the expense,
woman was hired for the day to see to Edith
| and her dresses, and carriage was hired a.
night to take her, with her father, to the
! theatre pp to about four O'clock in the after