Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1885-06-13
THE INVISIBLE PRINCESS.
BY MAMIE LANCASTER.

| BY MAMIE LANCASTER.
She wasn't much of a princess to look at, 50
| perhaps it was just well all around that her
| subjects only knew her by her voice-and when
| they wanted to hear 1t they had to go to
| Grimms'
| Grimms' wasn't much to look at either in the
| way of plumb-lines and right angles, but there
| was something more substantial than beauty to
| be had for your money once you were inside
the DOORS For Grimms was a museum-the
''wild, original and unique"-only nobody ever
thought of calling 1t anything but Grimms'.
| There it flared outside in the wintry darkness
in red and green tulips of gIass-Grimms'!
| There 1t twinkled again so high up the yellow
| wall that it made your neck crick to read its
rainbow legend-GrimmsI Arched over the
box-Otfice in white CULVER of electric light
| everywhere nothing but Grimms', Grimms',
Grimms!
When Grimms-the blood and bones Grimms,
who was red instead of yellow, and was other
wise an expansive creation, all flash clothes
outside and enterprise within-when Grimms,
then. first set up the brazen dome in the middle
OF his 'moral mOnstrOsities from all quarters OF
| the globe and called on his patrons to consult
| the prophetic princess hidden beneath, the
| A nickle means five pennies-five beads of
sweat from the honest brow-and as to risking
them on oracle whose fame SO far was linn
| tied to the play-bils, well-perhaps they were
not such fools as they looked!
Grimms looked on and saw it all-looked on
| his mouth. 1t was his first failure at least it
Wouid have been except for that venturesome
little woman, with her hair frizzled out like
celery tips; and when she hustled out from the
crowd and laid her lips against the little crevice
In the glittering gauze and then turned and
dropped the nickle i'm and hustled OFF as If she
knew something worth five dollars at the very
cheapest, why Grmms could have gone down
on his knees to her if he had been in the least
that sort OF a man-which he wasn't-fOr where
one woman ventured other women must follow
or die, and SO, and SO, the first thing Grimms
impregnated the entire city, let alone the
outside towns.
turned up their noses at Grimms, and squared
their shoulders at his show. but when it came
| to having among them a radiant young sorcer-
eSS, with hOneySuckie cheeks, and eyes like
dewdrops and amber clouds of hair there
wasn't doubt about her looks; didn't Grimms
have it all down in black and white on the play
bills, together with sworn statement with six
notary seals attached of how he had exchanged
four white sacred cows and bag of gold with
her father, the king, before he could tempt her
to leave the land OF the Sun? and BESIDES good
gracious, were there not people, plenty of peo-
pie, who had almost seen for themselves the
tering indistinctness of her dOme?) The world
is only human after all, and so the new crowd
surged in and mingled with the old one, till 1t
became one big, squirming jam, all elbows and
exclamatiOns, that scrambled, and rugged, and
buiged its eyes, and stood on its toes just to
catch even glimpse at the blazing realm Of
Grimms Invisible Princess.
81 tell you, my friend, it's the voice as draws
,em, don't care how spry the words be, bless
herr and the little crumb of a man, for whom
the crowd had gaped long enough to let him
hObble out of it, looked up at the big man trav-
cling beside him, and smiled.
The big man CHANGED to be GrimmS, and
Grimms CHANGED to be gracious.
Eyes" he assented, with a wave of his big
hand that was all pink fat and diamonds, sit
looks like it paid to reduce the unknown future
to five cents a head-been investing?"
the Ioicetbe t Voice of
patient creature in pain-I know, poor thing,
poor thingr' and then he ambled off to watch
the curious yellow gentleman eat penknives,
while Grimms put his pink hands behind him
and stared.
There was plenty to stare at, goodness knows.
only man isn't apt to let his hair stand on end
over mOnstrOsities he has to pay every Satur-
day night regular, or Off they co. and besides,
GrimmS had his eye-hiS minds eye-at that
particular moment on no less parsonage than
his Invisible Princess and this is what he saw:
yards space of floor, with girl cramped
under cage of rusty wire-netting. In her lap,
battered heap of wizard books: beside her, u
pair of strong, shabby crutches; at her feet q
small square of trap-doOr, deep, black and Dam
teish-only Grimms didn't trouble the classics
To give the pit name.
at amt no paradise and that's the cold factr'
ne muttered, still. if the public go in for them
kind of voices, why
And by the time he had got that far o big gong
set up prolonged stammering noise as if it
wanted everybody to know the melOdrama was
commencing belOw-stairS, only it couldn't say
the words, and that brought the orchestra in
from the balcony, where it had been playing a
good half hour under rows of Chinese lanterns
and no end OF Illuminated red and blue glass
stars, and that set the crowd to scampering after
enterprise, went down and plastered hiInselfin
the wings to watch the gOngs of his tlue
do something, to moonlight and slow music,
when light, swift touch was laid upon his
arm. and Grimms looked down upon his In
Receipts, eh?" he said, taking the tin box
from the small twisted creature, and smiling in
his free. kindly fashion straight down into her
eyes ''how much tonight, my dear:''
IL didn't keep count tonight, answered the
princess, lowering her own eyes to the floor:
you Think" And then She lifted them again.
this time anxiously, to his face.
Grmms eyed the box, and shifted it till sat
lsfactory chuckle came up through the slit in its
top; then he smiled again, and down again
went the eyes of the princess.
That's right. my girl, it can't weigh too
heavy for business, not If 1T was millstOnes: but
you mustn't get peeky, you know, and lose in
terest Your line wants all the cuteness you
matter eh?"
"Oniy the old trouble" she answered: with a
friendly little nod at her crutches and with
something that came near being a dimple and
was beyond all doubt blush flashing into her
cheeks at such extravasant praise from the
great GrimmS, who aspired to not hing but scOld.
"but that's nothing when you get used to it,
II sometimes think it's the wind that comes
up the trap.
- u.
TO the little crumb OF a man who had spoken to
him an hour ago than to the small, twisted
creature at his side.
I'm all very gorgeous on the outside,
though said the girl laughingly. 81 often
wonder what the people woa,d say il the stage
door was to be left open some Very very windy
night, and my roof should blow over and they
could see me bumped up like an ugly chicken
in COOP"
"But it isn't going to blow over.r interrupted
Grimms, who did not like the idea at all, and
meant to post fine for leaving the door open
the first thing in the morning. "And you look
sharp, my girl, and keep on drawing em the
way you are a-drawing 'em now and there
won't be no need tor me to look out a spryer
hand-dO you hear,'
She knew that he had only consented to give
her q trial after searching in vain throughout
the length and breadth of the museum en-
told her so when he brought her the neWs-bless
him for the best landlord that ever liyed.-but
there was nothing in the grateful smile she gave
him 10 indicate her knowledge.
''Thank you, sir. / don't think am going
back or the profits; am trying harder all the
time, i am indeed" And when she had said that
she said goodnight with it, and turning around
on her crutches hobbled deity away. Through
at the green-roOm she swung herself along, hip-
hop through the black passage, and hop-hip
down some time eaten stairs until there was the
gusty stage-dOOr, and against it. with his boots
Sprawled out and his face in a quicker, leaned
Tom.
"Ain't 0-goin0f' he called out, and his voice
had pucker In 1t, too; Thought you were going
TO strike Grmms fur passes, dang it,
''Im not very well tonight, TOm," said the
girl, with look of mOtherly pride at the lob
sterred boy, whose breath was steaminp like a
kettle on the boil; 81 don't tail you often and
besides its really reTy poor, there isn't drop of
blood 10 be squeezed out OF the whole play
and you know you have such a taste for blood,