Perrysburg journal. (Perrysburg, Wood Co., O. [Ohio]) 186?-1965, 1885-12-25

pale face, slightly tinted with hectic
flushed checks, and the short, dry, hol
low cough that came from her graceful
throat, denoted plainly that some fatal
illness had fixed its grip upon her.
"Do you feel better, Rose, asked the
clown, as he bent over the bed and af-
foctionately kissed his only child-his
daughter. 1--WE had you excused from
any more rchearsals, for the manage
mcnt know you are pcrfectin your lines.
I'll take you down to the theater when
the night comes in q carriage, and keep
you nicely wrapped up from the cold in
the streets and the draughts from the
stage
The child pleaded hard to 60 down to
more rohcarsals. She really liked what
she had-grcat talents for the stage,
and she kncw-young as she was-that
IL was the season of the year when her
trcblcd salary, for her enacting "Thc
Speaking Fairy" so greatly added to
her fathers income. but The clown
stoully protested against her going to
the thcatcr until the performance on the
opening night. So she submitted, lying
there on that little bed, thinking of the
spangled fancy dress she would wear,
how nice she would look, and repeating
to herself the pretty poetic lines she
would have to speak when the big "rc-
volving star" would open in the last
scene, "The Fairy's Realm of Ever
lasting Bliss" She thought of all this
as she watched the clowns anxious
face as he once more sat down to cogi
tate upon the funny characters with fun
ny dressings for the comic scenes
j. II. Halliday-exccpt during the
reign of pantomimc-was in the theater
almost noncntity; he was only until
that time Captain of the Supcrs" or
small utility actor" or "a copiest," at
the beck and call of the manager or
promptcr. People then called him
Jack. The star know him not, and the
leading man, the heavy man, the juvcn-
| lie man, the comedian nicknamcd him
| "Old Yorick;" but when Christmas
came round and the pantomime was be-
ing prepared Halliday became man of
| Importance. He was then Mr.. John
Halliday. His salary was large, for he
was ''the clown to whom all eyes are
turncd-the merry Andrew, the central
figure, the bright particular star. The
Harlequin may dance gracefully in his
varicgated dress, the Columbne trip
around the stage in fascinating way,
the lean and slippery Pantaloon amuse
by his quaint stupidity, but they all
sank into insignilicance before the
Clown with his comical antics, his paint
ed face, and fifty years ago, with his
songs of .Hot Codlings" and clipper
tewitchet."
Jack Halliday, few days before 1889,
came to this country from England.
From his very boyhood he was panto-
mimist. His wife dying soon after his
arrival in New York he was left with his
one child-Rose-to fight as best he
could the battle of life with no accom-
plishmcnt but that which is necessary
for the merry Andrew. In his line he
was famous, for he invented many
''tricks, many new stage devices, songs,
characters, leaps and mechanical chang
ing scenes, and the daughter Rose de-
veloped into prccocious but clever
child. With the elder Booth, Cook, Kean
and Forrest she was frequently 1.-THE lit
tie page, one of the children in "The
Stranger" or one of the princes in
"Richard ILL.," and other such infant
impcrsonations. She was favorite with
the publc-her beauteous face, clear de-
livery, winsome ways and graceful form
made her SO. In this pantomime at
Niblo's Garden she had very import
ant role-''the good fairy''-in the
opening, and at its close she had pretty
and important verses to speak. The bills
announced her as "Mlle. Rosa Hallide-
nj, the beautiful young prodigy" and
so the reader will understand that 'the
clown and his fairy We're of some i'm
portance during the merry season. The
poor child was very i'll, more so than
the anxious parent imagined, for the
fairy concealed much from him, show
ing as she did how intently his mind
was fixed upon his clownish duties, and
how any wrong about her would con-
fuse and upset him.
For days before its production the
clown worked hard in the theater. The
scene painter, the stage carpenter, prop
erty man, prompter and even manager
acted upon his suggestions, sought his
advice and obeycd his orders. The out
side world know little of the clowns la
bors-the constant rehcarsing over and
over again of what at the nights per-
formance causes "roars of laughter"
which on the wide, cold gaping stage
in the daytime is gone through in a
formal, mechanical manner far from
''being ''funny," leaps through windows,
changing tricks and flats, are tried
many times; enchanted cars, clouds,
flying palaces are made to rise easily
through trap doors to ascend into the
realms above or to be gracefully low
cred from the realms above and sink
into the regions below the stage. AS
we before said, Halliday was naturally
clever in his business. For this particu-
lar pantomime he had invented new
kind of revolving star, which in the last
sccne-lighted up with closed fires
showing the fairy, who, with waving
wand, would speak "the tag" or closing
lines that brings down the final curtain.
Halliday had been the whole year work
ing almost secretly upon his revolving
star. 1t was there on those days the
first of its kind; it cost him many anx-
ious thoughts day and night, and with
his limited income he made and studied
from little rough models in his humble
home in Theater Alley. No inventor of
the most complicated piece of mechan-
ism could have been more proud of his
work than he was of his pretty device.
The pantomime Is at last ready for
production. The stage is clear of its
endless mass of large and little pieces of
painted canvas, ropes, blocks, wires
everything is in its place in working
order. Crowds stand in the snowy
cold, windy-icy weather to read the
bills, with their synopsis of the piece,
the name of the clown and the amuse-
ment of his pranks, his capers and his
songs, that attracts the first attention,
and then in prominent letters they read
of "the beautiful, bewitching MI, Rosa
Hallideni, the charming young prodigy,
engaged, regardless of expense, for the
Fairy Queen" Mention is made of the
dazzling revolving star, of haunted cav
erns, magic palaces, abodes of nymphs,
the regions OF spirits, shops, and ''well-
known Streets" ending with "The