The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1889-10-03

AFRAID any moro anu sne answered very
promptly and confidentially.
81 bought EN- of the ragman for fl
cent, and / got this dress from the rag
man, too. Amt it daisyY'
In O very few minutes the little girls
were chatting away as if they had
known each other always. And then
Professor Hale told his daughter to go
and call her nurse. When she appeared
he said:
"Mary, you may take this little girl
upstairs and give her a bath, and dress
her in some of Miss Kitty's clothes. To-
morrow you may go out and see about
getting her some clothes of her own, and
you may fix I'D the little room next to
yours for her to sleep in. She is going
to stay with us for a while"
y Il
1t was night in the gay city of Paris,
and the grand opera house was all ablaze
with a thousand lights.
Up and down through the gilded foyer
gay couples were walking, and as they
walked they talked of the young girl who
was to sing that night.
"They say she is very beautiful" said
one, land that she sings like all the birds
in the forest"
"She's young" said another, "only 10,
the bills say. And yet she has studied
under all the masters, and they pro-
nounced her wonderful"
/ am sure you have guessed by this
time that the singer was no other than
u little girl Of the alley, Alice Flynn.
1t was a daring thing to bring her out in
the gay capital before all the critics, but
Professor Hale was a man who dared.
He proved that when he first took charge
of Alice.
At last it was timc for her to appear.
She came forward almost as timidly as
she first entered the great house on Fiji
ty-ninth street in New York.
The hundreds of people, the dazzling
lights, the sudden burst of applause and
the hush Of expectation which followed
it were all SO confusing that Alice was
bewildered.
Her first impulse was to turn and run,
but then she remembered what Professor
Hale had said to her:
81 am looking forward to the greatest
triumph of my life tonight. You must
not disappoint me-"
He was standing in the flies now,
breathlessly watching her, and Alice said
to herself, desperately, 81 must not fail.
And she did not. Her voice trembled
a little at first, and the people began to
IooI~ ~ naob @{ha,. ;wp;6oop4I-
And then But who could describe
that song? When she ceased the great
audience sat silent and in tears.
Then from a thousand lips came the
"Bravo! bravo! Call her back! Encore!
encorei'
When Alice came forward the second
time she found herself confronted by a
barricade of roses, which her enthusiasts
tic audience had piled in front of the
footlights.
She never knew what made her do it.
She hadn't thought Of the old song for
years. But it came to her now, and
without any assistance from the orches-
ira she sang:
OF all the days that's in the week,
dearly love but one day,
And that's the day that comes betwlxt
A Saturday and Monday.
The air was still quivering with the
homely pathos of her pathetic minor
key when from the pit there came a
startled cry of ''Firel The wings are on
fre!"
OF course there was a stampede. Some
one sprang from the right of the stage
and seized Alice's arm.
"Come this way. There's a solid wal
of fire on the other side. 1t started in
the green oom and crept around to the
stage"
"But Mr.. Hale is there" said Alice,
fearfully.
"Well, he'll have to stay there, then
said the man. "for nobody can get at
him now" He still attempted to drag
Alice away.
"But some one must get at him.
will not go and leave him here"
81 tell you it is madness" cried the
man. sits sure death to go near tina
side"
"Then I'll stay and die with him, sale
Alice, firmly.
Then, with a presence of mind tina
was wonderful, she ran to the dressing
room, seized a long wooden cloak, OIL
which she emptied the contents of thu
silver ice pitcher, and wrapping herself
in it, she plunged straight through thu
wall of fire.
Mr.. Hale was not where she thought
She ran about through the sitting smoke
but could not find him. The man wht
tried to hold her back stood in the center
of the stage, dazed.
Some n ran up and seized him by the
shoulders, asking in a frightened voice:
"Where is she? Where is Alice?'
1t was Professor Hale. He had escaped
from the other side.
Dumb with establishment and terror
the man pointed toward the flies, which
were now q mass of flame.
"Why did you let her go in there?'
"She thought you were there and she
went to save you," was the answer.
The professor, before the other could
prevent him, sprang i'll after her.
An instant later he dragged her out or
the stage. Streams of water began tt
play over the flames, and soon the two
men were able to make their way out tc
the street, carrying Alice between them.
In spite of the long cloak the fire had
dealt cruelty with her. For several min,
utes she showed no sign Of life. Then