The Ottawa free trader. [volume] (Ottawa, Ill.) 1843-1916, 1885-11-07
CHAPTER TX.
AULD REEKIE.

Jameson, ana the llttie ulngy theatre WhlCt
stood Mt the foot Of th, North bridge, OF
the SITE now occupied by the general post
Office, appeared To his unsophisticatci minl
} a palatial lcmple OF the drama, Whom he
rcpcrt,i himself to the manager that gentle
man was diguiGcI and even autocratic ir
demcanor All ne vouchsafel to say at the
first interview wa:
Kindly report yourself to the stage man
aver. sir aud ne VIII lntroduc, you to tn,
preenroom. lne young man look / II little
blank at this cool reception, but wlso, TO
mpmb.ring tn, adagn "Nhrn at Rome do
IA, the Romans do,' no bowed HIM self out
and sought tlc stage manager. III, found
that wo.,ay cntreucnel at MS tabl, on tn
stage, surrounded b, the prompter the cal
boy. tl' scene painter, the carpenter the
uropcrty man, ctc. THO moment was not
uropitDus for an introduction, so Willie
bidel his tmn, waiting in the prompt en-
trace The quick eye Of the pompou,
official spotted him out, however, ~ a mo.
ment, ami without ceremony ne de'lrei one
Of his satellite, to inquire WHAT the
stranger wante l." "Ihe stranger dad noJ
want self-rc,p,c,, and he introduced HIM
self Mr. b had bael an officer i'll the
army and wa, a martinez. He rose, how
ever, bowed ,tifily AMI extending two fin
gers, snorted, "GIad to form your acquaint-
nnce. SIR This way, If you pleas. So
saving, he led the way.
As they approached, they heard the sound
of pleasant voices and rlpples Of laughter,
but when poor Willie and his Escort ent red
the greenroom $50 called because there was
nothing green in it., except occasionally
some verdant yCungster) 1t might have been
a Qudkers meeting house. There were
about twenty gentlemen, and tel or twelve
ladies', of all ages and comp exions, all
more or less stylish persons. Mr.. b
merely said: Ladies aud gentlemen, per.
nit me TO introduce gentleman who has
come to join us-Mr. Jameson, from the
Theatre Royal, Dundee" Every one bowed
coldly, none more coldly than the new
conner The Captain retired, AMI left
Jameson to make his way as best he could.
Evidently the greenroom was not dispo ed
to offer him a corlial welcome Theatres
are very conservative institutions and the
corps dramatique regarded the stranger As
an lnterloper, am Il possible trespasser on
| vested interests"
There was dead silence. AT last one in
solent young puppy, an incipient light COM
edian, who ha Leen taking stock of jamie
son through his eyeglass, supercillously re-
marked
"Dundee Ha. hem! There is such a
place some where | believe it is devoted en-
trely to the manufacture of marmalade."
Not entirely replied Willie. They
manufacture men there occasionally"
MEN, sirf echoed young hopeful
ayes and very good men, too" continued
Willie, with inperturbaole gravity; "but
! they don't venture to compete with the
| metropolis of the country in the manufac-
ture of puppiesr' And, turning on his heel,
| h. left the room. The roar of laughter
| which followed his exit told him that his
first shot had struck home.
After that the fast young men "let him
severely alone aud the other members OF
the company, finding he was as modest and
unass uming as he could be puguacious when
the occa sion warranted, began to thaw. be-
came communicative, and finally received
him with corIiality.
Every day and every night he visited the
greenroom for a week or ten days, but no
sign Of his name appeared in any OF the
casts. Al last, up went ''The Miller and
His Men," and he found himself down for
Grindotf Then Master Willie dill a very
rude thlng. Before all Israeli he smashed
the pane OF glass in the cast case, took out
the cast of THE Miller AMI His Men," tore
it in pieces, put it In the fire, and stirred 1T
mp wi h the poker.
| Imagine If you can the CONSERVATION OF
the court of st, Petersburg upon beholding
Ivan lvanoVl sch, ensign in the Imperial
Guard, walking into the awful presence of
the autocrat of all the RuSsas, and tearing
up, under his very nose, the last imperial
ukase. Then you may form some faint idea
of the Edinburgh greenroom at this act of
unparalleled audacty. At this moment the
tage manager catered to put up thu call for
he rehearsal of The Miller and His Men"
IN the following day The gallant Captain
vas aS much astonlShei as the rest when
Jameson said, very quietly You can
spare yourself the trouble OF putting up that
call, Captain; | shall no5 b. here. Make
my compliments to Nj, and say | don't
play Grlndo,rS or meodramatic ruftians of
that description. 1t was distinctly under
stood that was to open in Hamlet, and |
! open IN that part and no other. Ii | don't
hear from you before II o'clock tomorrow
morning Pm Of to London by the mail
Good evening, sir; good evening, ladies and
gentlemen The moment he left the room
the place was all alive with eagerness and
expectation.
Old M rulel hispeople with a rod of
~ VIZ iHt lIt'tilN VI communication WIN
Eng and were SO few, AM the journeys SO
expensive, that the ma jorty OF the com
pany had to grin and bear the managerial
caprice, however unjust it might be. No
one as yet had the pluck to bell the cat"
hence every body regarded Willie as the
champion of the company
The stage manager pullel his white NOUS
tache.
"H'ml Mutinyp he growlel; "but like
the lads spirit, and begad, the old beggar
shall have it hot!" So saying he made his
way To the managerial sanctum, where he
gave Willie's message to the autocrat, with
various verbal embellishments
| Old M merely scratched his ear with
bis pen, and said, Dear me! dear mel re-
markable young man! Do you think no
means itf'
Il don't think anything about it, sir Pm
quite sure of 1t.
Dear me, dear me. What time does the
mail go tomorrow
Twelve o'clock
well we'll come to me in the morning
at IL. Meanwhile, I'll sleep on it,"
Next day. at 1880, Jameson was at the
coach office with his baggage He waited
until 80, then he booked for London and