Staunton vindicator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1860-1896, 1885-05-08


raj by the President. The salary is 81 600.
OBSER OF A RETIRED
VETERAN.
Taking to friend the other day who
had, not personal. but a vicarious interest |
the city, in the receipts |
the reopening of the handsome new Opera
House, he expressed surprise that they |
were only about half of what they should
have been. The expiration of Lent |
had been waited for before opening, and
full house was expected from which TO
realize handsome sum. l asked for the
play, and he said the ''Galley Slave" 1t
explained the small receipts and led me
to reflect on the classes into which our
play-going people are divided. In every
town our size the audiences to be large
must be much mixed. The most intellec-
tually rendered reading OF Hamlet cannot
have a full house, nor can that blood
thirsty drama of ''The Jihbonainosy; or
Nick of the W Gods, get respectfully large
audience We have not nough people WHO
have, or affect, refined ste to attend the
first, nor enough unaffectedly crude people
to attend the second, IN numbers sufficient
to make what is called a good house. Both
classes would exhibit sharply drawn
line at their favorite extremes, but both
have true appreciation of the drama,
though differing in kind and degree. Both
will meet on the common and clean ground
of "Young Mrs. Winthrop" or ''Hazel
Kirk If they have not seen play,
the public is greatly impressed by its
name, and the sensational Galley Slave
sounded tuo much like the boisterous
"Nick of the Woods.'' to form the COM
mon ground of meeting of which l have
spoken, though ue ope ilng OF 5ne nolse
Of Itself di draw many of both classes.
The perfection of the common groundsof
which / speak Is the operetta. Not so dig
nifed nor classical as the opera, it yet has
the charm of both music and acting. The
best houses drawn in Stauuton have beer
by music in one shape or another, and the
New York agent of the Opera House had
as we'll bear that fact in mind.
You perhaps have noticed that often
speak of the theatre. 1 have good right
to. L was once an actor, and though many
years retired from the stage, 1 still SYM
pathize with my profession. 1t is now
forty years since I was on the stage.
but l have not yet forgotten my week of
professional life. 1t was our ''crowd,"
we were not fashionable enough in those
days to call 1t 'club'', Of schoolDoys, who
decided to havea theatre. as we called it.
We rented the empty carriage house of
Doctor, and hired big. rough carpenters
apprentice to do the carpenters work in
fitting it up at night after his work hours.
He did his work we'll, and if speak of
him later on with severity, it will not be
because his work Was not we'll done, but
because he grievously wronged us all. Our
scenery was tolerably good, being the
work of a painter who took first
mortgage on all the planking used in fitting
up, payable when the season closed.
The regular company having abse-
lutely refused to put on dresses to
play the heroine and ter maid, VT
had to give the heroine's part to the
apprentices brother and leave tho maid
out. The play was 'Rinaldo Rinaldini;
or the Robber of the Rhine," and was
Rinaldo. A large tin kitchen plate as a
breast plate, long feather secretly bor-
rOwed from my mothers wardrobe, stuck
in my hat, and the servant girl 8 long stock
ings, reduced by vertical tuck to the
modest. requirements of my slender legs.
for tights, completed nv costume. A cav
airy sword several feet long, a moustache
made with backing. and brick red cheeks
gave me an indescribably ferGclous appear
ance. AS far as l car remember now, my
chief business was to appear on the stage
at various times and exclaim in shr1ll.
treble voice. "Ha-a-a !! | have thee at
last J" To which the heroine would re-
ply, "Vi|yun come not a step futher." At
this point would appear Rescuer whom
| would engage in terrific sword combat.
Nothing could have been more earnest or
destructive. Candles were knocked off
their stands, the scenery was cleft and on
the first night the heroine received a tre-
mendous whack across the small of her
oack. [ well recollect trick of my anita
gonist, of squatting low on the stage, eye
ing me with intense ferocity, and then
rushing On me, which Was loudly appla aud
ed. l attempted to initiate it, but with
such damage to my tights from the
-quatting that 1 desisted. Being pu-
pills OF "select" school, but why select
L have never to this day understood,
the pronunciation of the heroine gave US
great pain and we implored him to i'm
prove on it. He was conscientious actor
and studied hard, and the second night
gave the improved ronunciation--"VIl.E
lin, come not step furder." We were in
despair.
am afraid that though undeniably tai
ented, our talent was not of the kind the
public wanted. Our first night had slim
audience and hardly paid the rent of the
carriage house. much less the So due the
apprentice. The next night we reinforced
our dramatic talent by bucket OF lemon
ade for sale at five cents a glass. in
order to exc out our receipts. At this |
bucket. however, our relentless appren-
tice creditor insisted on sitting, like the |
cut-worm of the coupons. and intercepting
III the lemonade receipts on their way to |
the treasury. Three more nights of dis !
couraging audiences followed, in all OF |