davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
Wichita eagle., 1889-10-20

PROFOUND CALCULATIONS.
His conclusions are evidently satisfactory,
for ''the secretary" is holding his page Of fig
ures out at arms length and is nodding and
smiling at them in way that says as plainly
as words could:
"Ah, very good; very good, indeed. Just
as I anticipated. Cash on hand, Sl4, 600 900;
investments, S15.250, 900; total deposits to
date, SOS, ,250, ,0o0; banks original capital ST.
O0O,000. Very good, indeed. We are to be
congratulated"
"Now," says the doorstep spectator, "you
will see him vibrate between the teiers' and
cashiers desk, and take up the banks busi-
ness where it left off at s o'clock
All this ''the secretary does with an earn
estness ard attention to detail that is watched
from without with breathess interest
at length when it is nearly 10 by the bank
clock he resumes the performance Of his
duties as custodian of the premises He
rattles the handle Of the front door He gets
the long pole and puts up another window,
and then drops it to inspect the bottom of
every chair in the office. He peers under the
heavy cylinder desks; picks up an old UNI
brella, opens it and examines every rib;
turns wrong side out the sleeves Of an office
coat and shakes it thoroughly; does thou
sand unnecessary and incomprehensible
things; and at last, having put the Office in
the neatest order. washes his face and hands,
resumes his clothing, turns down the gas,
and, leaving the bank by the front door
which he spends several minutes in locking
walks half the length Of the building on
Fourteenth street.
Keep your eyes on him." whispers the
az have bit1,
his legitimate capacity OF janitor, or trusted
custodian of the bank, and you have observed
him balance the banks accounts and take up
its business when the cashier and clerks left
off at O'Clock. Now you Will see him as the
lynx eyed private detective of the concern"
1t is even so. Suddenly 1.-The secretary
stops, crouches down and walks with rapid,
stealthy strides beneath the central window
of the main Office, and peers cautiously
through the glass Observing nothing OF a
suspicious nature going on in the bank. he
goes back and tries the door, and then,
strengthening up. disappears in a most digni-
fed manner around the corner.
But the curtain has not yet fallen on the
pantomime. Presently mysterious, crouch
ing figure collar turned up, hat down over
eyes. creeps back in the shadow of the build
In, ana cOnCedls EiUlSel uDIer the Iron sLAlT-
wav that leads to the bank entrance The
policeman on his beat has stopped, as he has
many times before, TO watch the final scene
Of the pantonine- For some eight or ten
minutes 1.-THE secretary" remains hidden under
the iron steps Presently he dashes out, as
though convinced that a safe blower was 20
be taken in the act, and gazss sharply through
the windows The failure Of the safe blower
1.
fer the secretaIy'sn final exit.
After rattling the handle OF tie front door
again. he's gone, and the pantomime is ended
until another Monday night shall again crowd
the street with people of the neighborhood
who think there Is no performance haR 70
entertaining as that furnished BY the sec
retary" CURTIS DuxHAx
Wichita eagle., 1889-10-20

About the walls stood open trunks and ar
ticleS of clothing innumerable. Hats, skirts,
wraps and shoes were everywhere.
What is generally considered to be neces-
sary adjunct TO life behind the scenes by the
innocent public, is q green room" 1t is not
probable that more than hall the theatres
have such an apartment, however. The
green ROOM lin those theatres that have
thsm) is place for the performers to chat
and make themselves comfortable while wait
ing for their cues. Where the name green
room" came from is lost in the dim obscurity
of stage tradition Certain it is that they
are never, by any chance. finished in green.
The popular idea Of events in the green room
has probably been largely obtained from a
farce, which some years ago was reasonably
successful. called "Green Room Fun" But
it is safe to say that Green Room Fun" had
very little foundation in fact. Actors and
actresses are not given to romping and tom
foolery before they ''go on" 1t would have
a tendency 10 disarrange their make up.
And after they ''go of" they don't linger
in the green room. They are too anxious to
60 to their rooms and get what sleep they
can. II is said that in the good old days
things were different" There is always
tendency 10 say that Almost everybody
likes occasionally to slorify the past and
villify the present and il doesn't do any par
ticular harm. 1t is likely, however, that II
the truth were told il would be seen that the
good old times" were not as good. by many
degrees, as TIE year Of our Lord eighteen hum
1red and eignty-uine.
Actors and actresse. have always had to
Tavel around TIE coupuy Uore OF less. Ana
al must admit that travelling is growing
more easy every year. The public, too, each
year seems more willing to give ur its shekels
to the people of the stage, and the more
tickets sold at the box office the higher sal
aries viii be and the less chance the perform
ets viii stand Of getting the finger
There seems, moreover, to have been more
attention paid to the comfort Of the perform
ers in the theatres which have been built dur
inS the last Year than ever before, and the
movement will probably continue. 1t has
been a long time coming, but il evidences un-
doubted evidence of staying powers now that
it has at last got here.
An interesting chapter could be written on
the way different actors and actresses behave
in their dressing rooms. Ii is said. for in
stance, that Edwin Booth used 70 dress with
almost incredible rapidity and then sit down
with a short, black pipe in his mouth to puff
away contentedly while waiting for ms cue
Henry Irving is credited with doing littls
biz of ranting in his dressing room while max
ing up. just to get his vocal organs into con.
dItion. you kno-. bsfore going on the staSA
Wichita eagle., 1889-10-20

the Idea comes to me Of Wafer Hartffehess
midnight meeting with Anne Catherick, es
capped from the asylum The Woman in
White begins again; and nobody viii ever
te half as much interested in il nov as an.
From that moment I have done with my
miserieS Fer the next six months the pen
gees on; Il Is work, hard work: bit the
harder the better, for this excellent reason:
the work Is Its own exceeding great reward
As an example Of the gradual manner in
which reach the development of character
may return for = moment TO Fosco. The
making hin, fat was an aftershought;. his
canarieS and his white mice were found rexe:
and tie ncst valuable discovery OF ali, his
admiration of Mis- Halcombe, took its rise in
Q conviction that he wo0ld not be true TO na-
ture unless there was some weak point sorae-
where in his csSrscter."
The proof that Wilkie Collins got very near
to the peoples hearts Is in the fact that his
principal works have passed through many
editions both in England aud America and
have been translated into French. italian,
German, Dutch, Danish and Rassian. he
also wrote two plavs, The Lighthouse and
The Frozen Deep, neither Of which have
attracted attention in America. They ap-
pear 70 have been written for amateurs. and
Charles Dickens acted part in one Of them,
both in a parior performance before tho
queen and in public performance for
charity Mr.. Collins has also done some lec-
turing. and made the tour OF the United
States in that line.
He was a tireless ser when he had once
got his plot arranged, and no doubt aggra-
waited his physical troubles in that way, foe
he was AT times cruelty tortured by gout snd
rheumatism. To alleviate the pain he began
TO take opium many years before his death,
snd soon the habit became firmly fixed.
j. H BEApIx
Wichita eagle., 1889-10-20


rne Comedie Franchise, Nile. Bernhardt, Mile.
Reichemberg, Nile. Bartel, the two Coque-
lins, and all the other celebrities have splendid
apartments in which they are transformed
from plain mel and women into the pam
pered darlings of the stage; gorgeous green
room, too, with half open door, affords a
glimpse Of luxury to the visitor.
But some facetious writer has said that the
American dressing rooms remind one of the
Comedies because they are 50 unlike. Of
course it seems hard to believe that the lady
killing leading man Of the play does not leis-
urely saunter to the stage from some splen-
didly appointed apartment-his spotless shirt
front, his speckless broadcloth, his daintily
curled mustache seem TO tell tale of luxuri-
Gus ease. But the appearances are deceptive.
The probability is that the place where all
those matters We're prepared was a little
coop, probably not more than ten or twelve
feet square, hot in summer, cold in winter,
dirty, badly ventilated, and perhaps damp
and i'll smelling. The litter Of wigs and
property hats and coats and false shirt
fronts is not likely TO add 10 the attractive
ness of the room either. La short, the dress
ing room is not a boudoir but workshop
OF course ii seems hard TO believe that the
heroine of the play, who is in the first act a
simple little country maiden, is not fresh
from bower Of roses and golden rod inter
twined, and that. when she comes on later,
richly dressed and a society belle, she has not
just stepped from regions upholstered with
soft plush and hung with gorgeous satins
But the chances are that she has had to climb
up dark stairway or two, pick her way
carefully through confusion of ropes and
beams, dodge four or five hurry 'grips," and
perhaps lose her temper, in finding her way
from the stuffy little dressing room to the
footIichfS
Wichita eagle., 1889-10-20

clean towel. The appearance of the room
is exactly what one would naturally expect
of Lotta
In some of the theatres in the larger cities,
too, the dressing rooms are all that the most
fastidious star could ask for. They are neat
ly carpeted, the walls and ceilings are deco
rated attractively, the furniture is comfort
able substantial and sometimes even elegant,
and running water and neat lockers make
making up" a pleasure
Perhaps nothing could give one better
idea Of the number and variety of the cos
metics used by our darlings Of the stage (nec-
essarily, be it said) than glimpse into a
dressing room Here is a characteristic list
made up from the shelf of one of the mem
bers of farce comedy company: One box of
face powder, two hare's feet, one bottle of
white powder and a sponge, one powder
puff, one can of dry powder, one can OF white
vaseline, one menthol pencil, one box of red
grease paint, one box of cherry lip" one
box of cold cream, two pin cushions, one
electric hair curler one nail polisher, two
tooth brushes, one pencil brush and box OF
pigment, one pair OF hair curling tweezers,
one complete make up box, one bottle Of
tooth wash, one pair of nail scissors, one mus
tard plaster, four or five combs and brushes,
one needle and thread box and one box Of
dry paint.
In addition to the above there were three
pairs of corsets, one pair Of stockings, an odd
slipper or two and other articles for which
there are no names in the male vocabulary.
Wichita eagle., 1889-10-20

The dressing room Is simply place to
''make UP" and throw on and throw off
clothing. Theatres are built with more re-
gard to economy of space than TO the COM
fort Of the performers, and the dressing
rooms Gro tucked away in al sorts of incon-
venient places, The dark regions under the
stage generally furnish space for one or two,
and perhaps others are located high up in the
draughty lofts No plsce, as q general rule,
is too disagreeable to hold dressing room.
Another thing that has its effect is the fact
that tho days OF stock companies have passed
away, and that the travelling organizations
Outside of two or three of the larg-
est cities seldom make more than one
week stands" One night Stands"
such circumstances no actor or actress has
time to impress his or her individuality on
any dressing room that they may chance to
inhabit for few hours or n few days. And
what if the place is dirty? The probability
is that restless slsep caught on railroad trains
and in hotel rooms. tiresome rehearsals and
perhaps an ,unappreciative audience or two,
have so wearied the performer that the first
thing thought of Is 10 get out Of the street
clothes into the stage costume and vice versa
as quickly as possible and have it over with.
Some years ago certain members of 1.-THE
profession" began a crusade against dirty
dressing rooms The managers, however,
brought forth an unanswerable argument
1t must bs remembered that the dressing
rooms are occupied by hundreds of different
people IN the course of a season aud that the
occupants, especially the males, are not al
ways anxious to Go their STARE toward
Wichita eagle., 1889-10-20

In his hand, kneels or the carpet before IN
iron safe and measures the distance across the
bottom of its massive door. There is q muir.
E1ur in the audience like that which is heard
In theatre when the climax Of q familiar
and exciting melodrama is near at hand.
Don't miss a notion" says . doorstep
spectator who has witnessed the pantomime
fifty times and found the theory which is
generally accepted as the true one. Don't
miss motion. The secretary is now play
ing the other side of his double role. he is
computing the wealth of the bank by calcu-
lating the cubic capacity of the presidentis
safe. Watch him"
There is no need of any admonition to be
attentive. The novelty Of the performance
and the originality of the single actor in ii
insures the closest attention; and as the plot
unfolds, dead to the world spectators whose
pulse has long ceased to beat or throb faster
in response to the most thinking situation on
the professional stage now watch this anna
teur in open mouthed astonishment and posi-
lively experience sensations.
With the tape measure in bis hand ''the
secretary" steps briskly to the cashiers desk,
seizes pen, glances at the figures on the
measure when it is tightly clutched between
Hls lciC lOISuuScT duU alU uldkeS u
note ON sheet Of paper Then he goes back
and measures the front Of the upper end Of
the safe and returns to the cashiers desk to
set down the result. In this way he takes the
dimensions of the presidents safe from top to
bottom and on all sides, setting down each
measurement as he makes it. His next act is
TO seat himself on high stool at the cashier
desk and make endless extensions and foot
ings of the figures on b., sheet Of paper He
does his work with great rapidity, and his
attitude and manner are in exact imitation
of the cashier.
''Wait minute" says the doorstep spec
tator, ''and you will see him perform the du-
ties Of the bookkeeper."
The prediction is presently verified. "The
secretary" goes TO the bookkeeper's desk and
does great deal of figuring there. He has
the same trick of jabbing his pen into the
ink bottle observed III the bookkeeper, and
he twists his legs around the high stool on
which he sits exactly after the manner of the
bookkeeper. When, after time he straight
ems up aud looks at his work with a satisfied
eIpression, the doorstep spectator explains:
HE has from bis measurements of thel
presidents safe, determined exactly the
amount of cash on hand. Drawing On his
imagination for the sum represented by the
concerns investments, he has struck bal
ance and finds that there is no danger Of
collapse Look at him!"
Wichita eagle., 1889-10-20
Siam pS He Didn't Have.

BE was stamp hend, young and preco-
cioUA The plain American stamp bad no
interest for him he was making q coilec-
ton Of foreign ones, and 30 when they sent
him down 10 the pos.o:.5ce for packsS. be
did not pey much attes1tion, but brought {:
bone and handed IT over, and skipped ca. to
play Tag. Next day they showed hin . new
sister who had arrived Es looked At her
with some curiosity
Say, where did sas come tronF
Oh, from heaven
Prom heaven. I know: ths: was shs
package brought from the pnstof1sce yes-er-
day, and never krored anything about il
Yes"
'-GoIlyl why didn't you save Ia tbs
ssa-spsF-San francisco Chroniols.
Wichita eagle., 1889-10-20
GEN. DANIEL h. HILL.


Decease of q Well Known Southern Writer
and Soldier.
Gen Daniel II. Hill who recently died sc
Charlotte, n. c.. was born at Hills iron
works. York district, ). c, July Il, 1S2i.
His ancestors caIne from ireland and srttied
in York, Pa, and William Hill, his grand
father, established the Hills iron works
Developing a love FOR military science early
in hfe Daniel II. entered the United States
Military academy in 1885, and graduating
four years later was assigned To the First
artillery, ranking As second heuienant,
with which he served on the Maine frontier
during the boundary troubles.
Elm ls43ihe was transferred to the Third ar
tillerv. and in 1915 was made a second usDp
Wichita eagle., 1889-10-20
OMAHA sAsysAII CLUB

OMAHA BASEBALL CLUB
Frank 6. Selee, the most popular and sue
cessful manager in the Western association,
was born IN Amherst, y. e thirty-one years
ago He was from earliest childhood inter
ested In the national game, and formerly
played in amateur clubs in and about Boston
His first experience as a manager was in
1854. when he took charge CT the Wslthau1,
Mass, club, IN the Massachusetts, state league.
In the fall Of that year th. Lawrence, Mass,
club purchased part Of The Walthan team,
and Selee went with ia. The Lawrence teen
won the championship Of tia. season In IS
he was engaged as manager of the Haverhiu.
Mass, club. member OF the New England
league. and S-cught his tealn through the
season In third place He managed the same
team during the following year, when they
secured second place in the race
No; so Bad ~ IL AiIsat BE-
Young Wife-Yes, ] an worried You sce
George has gotten into such habit WHEN we
80 to the theatre OF so.n. ou, besween tie
acts
Friero-Oh, my dear, you lock C, 4. ,h.
wrong way. You ought - be thankful ,hs,
be conass IN between tie drinsx-Texas Sit
uSx
Wichita eagle., 1889-10-20

tie n ah { in tn .
Fourth artillery.
He served as Il first
lieutenant in the
Mexican war, and
for gallant services
at Coptliras an Il
Churubusco he WAS
brevetted captain,
and major for his
services at Chapul-
tepec. He was "a
IN 9 IN b er of the
storming party at
Chapultepec, where
ha and I lent Jarnes
Wichita eagle., 1889-10-20

Clara Norris, It is said. Invariably has her
dressing room shelves Uttered with medicine
bottles from which she ever and anon doses
herself. Mary Anderson is said to be ex-
tremely stcranky" about her dressing room
ind all things pertaining thereto.
Wichita eagle., 1889-10-20
III. Late, Advertising yo-

Have yoz heard the latest pewsF
NO: what ia j.
''Yoa know Sxaita. the artis-T
Il sAeoid sAy 80. be Is uy worst rival
"Weli, ais wife has rra AWAY vita . freak
ozs Of CINE E1zseo-u
Sac lAsi That's al Ger hrsshaads do4nzA
That's one * Smiths wars O. Sezs1nS himself
a6ysS1lsed --TexAA StrE0
Wichita eagle., 1889-10-20
THE MAN OF DEEP PLOTS.
ANALYSIS OF THE WORKS or THE
LATE WlLklE COLLINS.

The Style Of Novels Changes About Once
in Forty Years-The Extravasant, the
Wildly Heroic. the Superlativeiy senti-
mental and the Excessively Domestic.
Wilkie Collins was the last of his school
to borrow q word from another art. It was
a school in which the plot was the all in all:
it was preceded by 8 school in which high
wrought portrayal Of the feelings was the
all in all, and has been followed without an
interval Of gradual change by q school Of
peculiar realism Plot, which was every
thing in the SOS, is nothing now: the evol,i-
ton Of a character may, perhaps, be called
the leading idea now, but for the most part
a novel of today is In the nature Of con-
densed history. All this must be taken with
the reserve that Stevenson and the erratic
feminine writers may indicate the beginning
of a school in which gorgeous intensity is the
all in all
Wichita eagle., 1889-10-20
w man can name an

% man can namean
odd phase of char
acter that has not
yet been discover
ed and perpetuated
In type but it is
found hidden away
behind the scenes
somewhere in New
Y ork city. On
even so popular a
thcroug h f are as
Fourteenth street,
l have stumbled on
strong evidence in
support of this as
sertion. This is q
street on W hic b
several places Of
a m US e m en-. are
located, and it is
"the Rialto, "where
would be Hamlets,
Ophelies, Romeos
Wichita eagle., 1889-10-20

l,eering them clean and otherwise in good
condition as they might be. Eor instance,
there seems TO be more or less general rsn-
deucy among male Thespisns 20 scribole
'hsir names and more Questionable words On
q walls and to consider dressing room Gus
or- icles FOR ornament OIL -.s-i.
e2afh- rneN are not APT 10 oo over careful OF
the articles Of furniture Il is not necessary
TO shy ones shoe across the room when one
hes taken 1t OFF; and when that course is fol-
loSe1 the chances are even that broken
mirror or crack in the plastering Will be the
result. But 1t almost seems as if shYing
shoes was favorite game among theatrical
performers, judging from the great number
OF broken mirrors and defaced walls.
So FAR reference has Glly Ian made TO the
Wichita eagle., 1889-10-20
THE SECRETARY.
One of the Queerest Charac-
ters in New York.
HIS SINGULAR PANTOMIME.

A Great City Has Many Warped Intel.
lects-Not Crazy, but Only Queer-He
L. Only the Janitor, but in Dumb Mo
ton BE Plays All the Bankers Parts.
Wichita eagle., 1889-10-20
DRESSING ROOMS.
Where Actors and Actresses
Get Ready for Work.
They Are seldom Attractive or Comforta-
BILE and Sometimes Even Dirty and Un-
healthful-Some Exceptions-How Well
Known Stars Act While ''Making Up"

1HE place W b e r 9
actors and actresses
prepare for their
work upon the
/ stage, one thinks,
must be a most in
teresting place to
visit. OF course
the dressing rooms
IN ust be elegant
places, properly
fitted up and ar
ranged with all
modern and ancient
conveniences.
As a general rule,
Wichita eagle., 1889-10-20
THE OMAHA BASEBALL PLAYERS.

They Arc the Pennant Winners Of the
Western Association.
Here are grouped portraits Of the players
Of the Omaha Baseball club, pennant winners
of the Western association. Omaha played
120 games. won SO, and lost 81. Here are q
few points on some of the players:
Jack" Crooks, the star second baseman Of
the Western association, is one of the new
men secured by Columbus for the season Of
1890. The price paid was s1,750 Charles
Crooks was born in st. Paul Nov. 9, 1866,
and is % years of age. He began his baseball
career by playing at Racine college. Wiscon-
sin, catching for that clIlt from 1857 until
Wichita eagle., 1889-10-20


tossed ignominious-
ly into the outer
darkness when Lotta
Is In town. Every.
thing is in its place.
The toilet set is Of
solid silver, with her
monogram on each
piece, and every arti-
Gle is covered with q