Wheeling Sunday register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1882-1934, 1885-03-01
DENNIS DUFFY'S DAUGHTER.
A story OF Humble Life BshInd the Scene
In ByEOne Days.
BY CHlLDs.

Mr.. Dennis Duffy Was q d~oorkeeper-a
stage ~dcorkeeper. / say was, because under
mundane conditions it is not quite possible
to declare, with any degree Of certainty,
what he is at present; or If there is q he
who can At present be denominatcd Dennis
Duffy; or anything or anybody with the IN
itias d. D.; albeit the earthly D. Ds. would
e~mphatically assert that the D. D. in ques-
ton exists or will again exist, in some shape
or other, so that he viii hereafter be recog-
nized as the same Dennis Duffy that he was
when he was called Dennis Duffy, or Dennis
Duffy, or "old man" or given q great
many other familiar names BY every ptotes-
sional who came to the Old Court Theater
in Albany many years ago, and But,
goodness gracious! this sentence is getting
beyond al reason in length, and is fesrfully
mixed up, simply because Dennis Duffy,
having been a dOorkeePer, is now no more
upon earth.
Let US start over again, fair aud free.
Mr.. Dennis Dufy, formerly the stage door,
keeper Of the Court Theater, Albany, was
as kindhearted and genial q fellow as ever
handed q dressing room key to q star or
took great care that each member OF a COM
pany received his or her letters as soon as
compatible with the rules of the theater. He
always had o cheerful Good ay' min for
those who were entitled to it, aud his Good
night an pleasant drames were the last
words heard by many q one Just before the
back door slammed and the change was
made from the warmth snd light Of the the
alter to the cold and darkness of the street.
Every one of the older race of actors and
actresses knew Dennis, and the younger
people soon made his scqusintance-no diff
hcult matter torsoOth, for Dennis never
stood on ceremony. He seldom stood on
ANYTHING long, for be vas mostly engaged
in sitting down in the cubbyhOle ne called
bis office" Therefore, when any one OF
the distinguished trsgedians came to play
his annual engagement at the Court, ne
would greet Dennis with a cheerful: Still
alive, Dennis, Ell? and how are you? with
a kindly shake of the hand.
well, an Place God, an yer luku' well
yerself, sor," Dennis would reply. Or to the
renowned Nine - he wonld say: "Shure
YER niyer luked finer, an l think yer q bit
thinner than yer wor.'' Sly fellowl How well
he knew thai il was the immortal madsmes
wellfounded fear thar she was growing too
stout. You can well be certain that Dennis
doueeur from the madame at the close OF
the engagement was never any the smaller
because he had expressed the opinion that
the madsmes shadow had grown q little
less. But to the outside world Dennis could
be as severe as need be. 1t wasn't q cheer
full word that Jack Severn received when he
came to the stage door, with 9 little mora
whisky and 3 little less brains than ususlln
his noddle. Jack insisted upon going in to
see Miss Mayhem, the pretty soubrette OF
one OF the companies which played at the
Court. 1t was during the performance, but
Jack was too hddled to see any reason why
then wasn't as good q time as any to call
upon the young lady whose bright eyes and
shapely ankles had captivsted his too sus-
ceptibie heart, When Jack declared that
he wasn't going to be stopped by any -
Irishman. Dennis said: Faith, then yu
be stopped by a naturalized American! and
he took Jack by the collar and landed him
quite gently outside the door. You can be-
heye that Carrie Mayhem laughed heartily
when she heard of the affair, and yet was
rather glad that the young goose. as she
called him, hadn't been hurt. a Young
woman does not care to have an sdmirer-
even if he is q saucy one-hsrmed much;
only Just a little. Neither was Jack angry
when he got sober, for he was as sensible q
fellow as his little brain would allow him to
be.
After a while there was an addendum to
the ordinary greetings to Dennis, in the form
and words: And how's the Little One?
There was q tenderness in the tone OF Den
mis- answer that would have delighted your
heart to hear. Who was this Little OneT
Who she was and something about her go to
make up my story.
In the first place l shall have to tell you
that Dennis lived in the thester; and l
haven't mentioned that Dennis had 3 wife.
She used to be seen about the stage IN the
morning, in and around the dressing rooms,
"~clanin' up" as Dennis said. Once in q
while she would come down stairs and Island
in an entrance while q play was in progress,
but mostly she preferred to remain up stairs
in the rooms which formed their home. Den
mis- "ould woman" was rather stout, and
"thim stairs paroloized her, goin' up an
down" was the explanation Of her infre-
ouent attendance q 1.-THE shrine Of the Muses..
Therefore, after work vas done, she prefer.
red the ease, quiet and comparative solitude
attainable in the Duffy suite as the boys
christened the apartments up BY the paint
frame occupied By the doorkeePer and his
wife.
twas q cold, stormy night in February,
s.. A Wild night to be out in; a night to
make one thankful for q warm hreslde, q
comfortable bed and an extra blanket.
Snow and sleet had fallen al day. The
wind had chased an imaginary enemy With
hendish bitterness into blind alleys n
strange corners for twelve hours at least.
With a Wild howl it would give Sn extra
twist 10 its fictitious foe. and then rush away
10 End another victim.
The small audience h~sdidepsrted from the
theater; the actors and actresses having
doFed their robes Of state and donned their
EVERYDAY sttire, had also gone and Dennis
having put out all the lights except the one
which. burning low, was left al night, Wa
about ascending to the realms Of bliss where
Mrs Duffy awaited him. But thinking, may
be. that a moments acquaintance with the
rsoipo storm Rcud make he warmth and
comfort of his own room al the pleasanter
by force Of contrast he stepped cut into
the aIleyway leading to The stage entrance.
The wind seemed to yen Here ne q" as
II II had found q new victim. Dennis
thouvht be heard q sound not made BY the
st,rm. A peculiar sound. II must have
heeo , very peculiar sound to be distin.
guished above al the other noise the Wind