The Iola register. [volume] (Iola, Allen County, Kansas) 1875-1902, 1888-04-06

III -ES% idled away the af-
ia B y ternoon and danced
"a ~TK. at night for the de-
SSY4sN light of a crowded
'}SSTSNl theater; always the
possessor of smil-
ing face and pair of laughing eyes
in the presence of her friends; as care
less of her own frequently hard lot as
she was sympathetic to the sorrows of
others; as tireless in the pursuit of
pleasure as she was Indifferent to the
worlds opinion of her pastimes-in
short gay. joyous. incorrigible little
Bohemian. Such was little Flora
Tremble, second dancer of the Cosmo-
politan Opera-house-or such. rather.
such the estimate passed upon her by
her friends and associates; and. as
friends and associates can invariably
diagnose our characters better than we
can ourselves, it is possible their view
of FL IA was the correct one.
She had been whirling and swaying
and pironetting there for nearly four
months now. The play was gigantic
burlesque of the spectacular order and
had held the boards through the long
summer months without a break.
Flora had come upon them suddenly
like flash, from no one knew whittier.
She preserved a rigid silence concern
ing herself and no one knew for GER
tain whether she was paupers child
or the offspring of aristocratic parents.
She had secured an engagement in the
chorus. but her graceful dancing and
bewitching presence had advanced her
again and again until now she had at
tanned the proud position of second
dancer, with only three appearances
during the performance and a salary
of fifty-fivc dollars week. Ordinarily.
she would have been envicd and hated,
but no one but a savage could be guilty
of hating such sunny. generous little
woman, who was as ready to part with
her last dollar to aid a bankrupted
chorus-girl as she was quick to fly from
the iavishly-expressed gratitude of the
recipient
Lovers? Well, if she had one she
had three score of them. if you could
dignity them by the name. They were
of all ages and all grades of good and
bad looks. They came to the theater
regularly every night. drank in her in
dividual performance with their eyes
and departed. leaving the proofs of their
devotion in the form of carloads Of
bouquets left at the stage door-and
which, it is to be feared. descended with
great regularity into the possession Of
some impecunious chorus-girl who had
the donors fun permission to Ell them
back to the florist for what they would
bring. As for letters-why, they came
in such basketfuls that Flora never at
tempted to read them. She pitched them
regularly into the hands of the blue
eyed little woman who officiated as her
maid and who carefully sorted out the
ones she supposed her mistress cared
TO see. The others found oblivion
through various channels chiefly tina,
IF trial by fire.
The stanchest friend that Fora had
in the world was old Otto. who played
first violin in the orchestra No one
knew his surname and no one knew
why they called him ''old." as he was
surely not more than forty, and the
gray hairs in his glossy brown curls
were few and far between. Perhaps
it was because he was so studious and
loved his violin-a genuine Amati. by
the way-so passionately as to never
allow it out of his sight But ''old''
Otto it was. and he didn't seem to mind
it He smiled in his grave. quiet way
when they bantered him on his stead
fast devotion to his instrument and his
pipe. devotion SO firm and true as to
forbid. apparently, all thought of par
ticipation in the pleasures the others
seemed to find SO desirable. Flora and
he had '.taken shine" to each other.
as their friends elegantly expressed it.
when she first joined the company. She
made COMPLIANT of him; told him of
all her troubles in her childish. petu-
liant way; asked him for his advice and
laughed with glee when he refused to
give it. because. as he said. she only
sought it in order that she might tease
him by disregarding it None OF
the three score lovers who worshiped
her from before the footlights knew
any thing about Otto, or they would
have been passionately jealous. For
Flora told every one that she thought
more of Otto than any one on earth.
but that she did not love him Why?
Well because in the first place he was
too good man to care for such an
empty-headed little brat Chose were
her own words) as she; and in the next
place she never meant to mary anyone,
but Just to dance and dance and dance
until her breathing and her legs gave
out and then-wel. who cared what
happened then?
One bright afternoon in September