The Grenada gazette. (Grenada, Miss.) 1885-18??, 1886-10-02
THE GENUS DEAD-HEAD.
IA Is Generally Well Able to
Pay.
,ueepulty and Persistence Shown In
Heating" the Theaters-The Conven-
lent Flrst-Night "Coachcrs" Who
Cheat Themselves.

Cheat Themselves.
One of the standing human curios
tiles of New York is the wealthy dead
head. 1t may not be well known. bu
tits a fact, nevertheless, that no dead
head was ever known to be impe
cunious. The poor man who wants t.
90 to a theater will take the none,
like a man and buy a ticket. You.
professional dead-head will make 81, 00(
and then write for a complimentary
For some unknown reason the profes
sional dead-head has ingrained antip
athy to paying for a seat at the thea
ter or on u railroad train. He will lie
fawn and dishonor his family to ge'
his seats for nothing, and then he viii
take his friends and spend twenty-five
dollars in wine between the acts. Goot
society is honeycombed with dead
heads. They own their coaches, dress
in Partisan inery, wear diamonds,
give late suppers after the performance
at the Brunswick, but they never pay
for their seats.
This has given rise to some very
curious customs at the New York the
aters. First of all is what are called
the "%coachers." They are swell dead
heads who own their equipages, and
are sure to come on a first night in
them if they get complimentaries.
As it is very desirable to make a
show Of carriages on the first night
Of a piece the managers pet them,
and take every means to get them
out. To facilitate the theater there has
recently been published a little book
called the "Coachers' Liste,n which
gives the names Of the swell families
that can be depended on to turn out
with their vehicles on a first night if
they receive. complimentaries before
eight o'clock. 1t is but fair to say that
this list is very accurately and honestly
edited. If a respectable family is
known to receive tickets and then
takes a horse car it is stricken from the
pages. 1t is estimated that some of
these families pay as high as three thou
sane dollars a year for horses and car
rlages in orderto get tickets that would
not in the amt time cost over seventy
live dollars. Colonel Mapleson. of de-
funct Italian opera fame, worked the
coaches on the off-nights for one or two
seasons most admirably. Irving place
would be crowded with carriages, the
pustle and air Of genteel interest was
overwhelming, and there would be no
money in the house. This business fell
into something like disrepute when the
lVery-men began to furnish coaches by
contract to the theaters. 1t was found
That they could be hired on a contract
Tor one dollar and fifty cents a night,
and 1t cost two seats, or three dollars,
10 SEND them to the dead-heads.
The ingenuity and persistence shown
oy some Of these people passes be-
hei' There is a well-known lady,
moving in good society and well-to-do,
VINO Is seen at all first night per-
iormances. But she was never
known to pay for her seats. When she
can not obtain them directly from the
manager she succeeds in getting them
III a roundabout way. There are
always railroad men, editors and others
eo whom the manager is under obliga-
'ioh 1or favors, and it is through one
vi theso channels that she will work
the tickets. On several occasions
special efforts have been made by the
managers to give a first night per-
!ormance without her. 70 her request
lor tickets The polite regrets were sent
.hat they were all sold, not \ seat in
Vie house. But she was there ali the
same in full array. The marked tickets
were traced in one case to a dramatic
eultor, in another to a prominent
banker. When asked about 1t, the dra-
matte editor displayed q letter he had
received from the lady, in which she
plteously begged him to get her two
seats as a special favor, for she had
heen unable to buy them. Here she
lad deliberately lied about the matter
'athcr than pay out three dollars,
md it is curious to know that she Is
n every other respect a most liberal,
xcmplary and self-respecting woman.
have myself known Of women who
Underwent the most extraordinary dis
omforts to cur complimentary
eats on q first night, travelling and
and importuning, while there
sere plenty Of tickets TO bc had at the
price. /,
Tbsre IL but n way Of explaining
bis mania The first nighters at .
YAuD YnvL thcstAr ara IN u sonsA "a,