St. Paul daily globe., 1889-05-15
Midnight Revels Between the
Acts in a Green
room.
A Rare and Pitiful Type Of
the Reformed Unfortu-
nate.
An Unusual Episode and the
Boisterous Gay
ETY..
New York World.

species of emotion, surely, for such a
place as this.
A room about twenty feet long and
ten wide. Polished tables on all sides.
Electric lights hanging in champagne
bottles from the walls. The ceiling
decorated with innumerable cham
payne corks in fantastic figures. The
noise Of band, followed by applause,
coming in from beyond the partition.
About fifteen young women, in every
variety of garb. sitting at the tables
with men in conventional costume, and
Fritz, the waiter, scuffling about to
keep the glasses filed.
The girl drinking my wine was de-
cidedly beautiful, in spite of the black
paint around her eyes, the powder OIL
her delicate nose and the rouge OH her
cheeks. Her flimsy white dress was
somewhat sOiled. At one end il stopped
at the knees, at the other just above
the shoulder points. Her arms and
neck were busted with powder.
looked like bits Of blood
red candy. You never heard purer
English than this girl spoke. It was
like the velvety speech of a perfectly
bred Englishwoman. She was from
Salt Lake City, Utah, and was the
daughter Of MOrmOns. must say that
when she got to shedding tears was
Just triffe disconnected, but declared
that they were stage tears. She said
they were.
Now. when girl in the wine room of
a concert hall acts like a saint and calls
herself hyp0crite she is interesting, to
say the least. 1t is the exact reverse of
the regular order of things. Genuine,
beautiful tears, quivering mouth. a
desire expressed in soft, lovely words
to get away from that life! l tell you
this is all startling. and is enough to
make the worst cynic in the world stop
and consider the matter.
The padrOne of the place-a f1ashily
dressed man. with oily black hair,
waxed mustache and very red nose
was peering out of his brutal eyes at us
from a neighboring table. I called the
attention OF my companion to this fact.
She raised her face quickly and laughed
aloud, then lifted her glass to her lips
and drank.
81 shall lose my place next Saturday
if don't take better care" she said,
and she sighed as honestly as any
woman I ever heard.
A bell rang. There was wild scam
per by all the girls for the door. 1t was
a stage call. My companion threw her
bunch of roses on the table in front OF
me, and asked me to stay till she re-
turned. She followed the rest of the girls
slowly-a tall, slender, thoroughbred
woman. The poise of her head was un-
mistakable and the expression of her
face was exquisite. Only men were left
in tho room, Tho noIrOnQ aomn fO
table and sat down.
''How do you like my seraglio?" he
inquired.
'sIt is very complete" I" Ireplied. "The
young woman who was sitting here
with me is quite charming
ssAh, yes! That is Media. She has
been here only three weeks. A very
foolish girl is Media. She doesn't know
enough to make the best of her chances.
But the rest of the girls guy her so that
she is beginning to catch on in better
style now. l was surprised to see her
sit SO long with you tO-hight. She
usually shakes man in about five min
ntes. You must have interested her."
well, it is a mean little den." he
said, Il am very careful about admit
that are known to us can come in. l
flatter myself l have got the prettiest
lot of women here that can be seen in
any theater in New York, and the gen.
uine sports have found it out. 1t is
good thing for me and good thing for
the girls. They are given chances they
could never get anywhere else"
This was a very pretty subject. In
the center of this city was little bit of
room, with capacity for holding
about fifteen girls. the same number of
men. ard as many wine bottles as you
may choose to order. The girls were on
sale. The padrOne saw to it that they
looked out for his interests before they
went away with their game. Out in
front was a great floor and galleries
fill ed with people who had paid to see
stage performance. Here were the in
of buying wine and kisses. Beautiful
New York!
The girls anne trooping back after
while. The one l have mentioned,
called Media, came directly to my table.
Her eyes were sparkling, and the radi
ance of happiness was in her face.
''You look happy now," l said.
II am happy, because / am back
here"
The girl never failed, had noticed.
at point like this. Every remark she
made was the delightful one. looked
about at all the vulgar faces and then
back at hers. The difference was amaz-
ing. The yearning Expression of her
eyes was alone enough to make you
sympathize with her.
'Then really valuable girl can get
into place like this" l said.
'.Not until she stands absolutely un-
provided for, and it is this or the work
house,"
THAT was your ch0ice?"
81 had one other ch0ice?"
''And that was"
'YOu must know without being told"
tBut this-this is-this is the same
thing.''
Her dark eyes diIated as she turned
them upon me and said in an intense
voice:
81 am here to exhibit myself on 1.-The
stage. l am paid for doing that and
nothing else. They cannot demand
more of me-" And tears of anger and
misery came into that girls eyes again."
Remember that am stating facts, not
making romance. The situation and
the words as they are here related are
precisely translated by my from that
little wine room at the rear of the con-
cert hall. A boy with tray of flowers
men bought bouquets for the various
women. The latter, in many eases. or
dered the boy to throw the flowers to
them from box when they did their
little speciafties on the stage later.
At midnight the stage performance
was finished, and the girls went to
their dressing rooms to get into their
street clothes. Most of them looked un-
interesting enough when they returned
with clean faces. But the men were
in that condition of liquid delight when
they could not stop to be fastid- |
ious, so everything was as joyous as
before. Fritz served clam broth to all |