Wichita eagle., 1889-10-20

| and Juliets temporarily out Of employment
as second old men, first old women, licenses
and Bridgets promenade daily and point out
| to each other the mistakes of Booth and the
errors of Mod ies1a; but none of these places
of amusement and none of these barn storm
ers has ever furnished an entertainment half
SO unique as that enjoyed every Monday
evening by residents of the neighborhood Of
Fourteenth street and Eighth avenue.
1t is pantomime in one act and quite a
number of scenes. The thickly populated
! front steps of a row of boarding houses and
the crowded sidewalk are the amphitheatre.
The stage is back of the large plate glass VIM
dows of the New York Savings bank across
the way. There is but one actor in the panto-
mime, and he has been called 1.-The Secre-
taryn for so long that no one knows wherefore.
He is an odder, more inexpicable character
than any ever presented on real stage, but
no one has ever thought of penetrating the
mystery that surrounds him and his acts.
They think of him only as "The Secretary"
witness his performance in astonishment, and
return again in time for the next rising of
the curtain.
This is what the audience sees through the
banks plate glass windows: The curtain rises
st Up. m. The bank is still open to accommodate
the laboring men who are depositors, and will
remain open another hour There is string
of depositors in front of the receiving teller's
window. The cashier, tellers, bookkeepers
and clerks are all intent ON their work. The
only person OF leisure i'll the place stands bolt
upright, like a statue, back of the cashiers
inclosure. He is a clean, fresh looking, gray
haired old gentleman, dressed in black clothes
and linen that is noticeably white and glis-
tening. He is evidently u person of conse-
quence.
Presently he walks with dignifed stride
into the cashiers inclosure, appears to speak
to him half condescendingly, then returns to
his former place and statue like attitude It
is obvious that he is official OF the bank,
who is remaining later than usual to assure
himself that the banks business is properly
conducted. There he stands, his white shirt
front glistening in the gas light, motionless,
for half an hour.
AS the hour Of closing approaches the old
gentleman appears to grow restless. He is no
longer & statue. His manner is still full of
dignity, but he makes frequent visits to the
desks Of cashier and tellers, and among the
spectators on the doorsteps opposite runs the
established formula for calling attention to
an interesting stage CT the performance
''S-s-st! The secretary!"
When the last depositor is gone and the
doors are closed the Old gentleman seems to
grow impatient at the length of time re-
Guired by the clerks TO finish up the business
of the day. At length ali but one have put
their books in the vault and departed. The
remaining clerk has 20 refer to number of
ledgers, which he brings from the vault one
by one.
The old gentleman looks at him with q
vexed expression. He starts toward the presi-
dents room in the rear of the general offices,
hesitates. looks back steathily at the oblivious
clerk, then tiptoes into the presidents room,
closes the folding doors behind him and turns
on a full blaze OF gas light. Then with ner-
vous haste, as though life or death waited on
his movements be takes the sloping portable
top from the presidents table. turns it bot
tom up, examines its under side intently,
runs his fingers around the corners several
times with great care, and replaces it exactly
as it was when he entered the room. Turn
ing down the gas be reopens the folding
doors, steps quietly to his place back of the
cashiers inclosure and becomes q statue once
more.
At last the pelated clerk puts on his coat
and leaves the bank 1t is now that the pam
tolnime begins to take a firm hold on the at
tention Of the spectators, and again among
them runs the excited Whisper
"S-s-st. The sc,retaryr'