St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1889-06-09
BEHIND THE SCENES.
Pretty Chorus Girls Who
Chatter Like Magpies in
Their Rooms.
"Tights and a Smile About
All They Wear for the
New Opera.
How They Make Boys Of
Themselves to Go Upon
the Stage.
They Wear Pants and Every
Mothers Daughter Pins
Them On.

New York Sun.
''How did l happen to go on the
stage?" said pretty chorus girl. with
big. naughty black eyes, as she smoothed
OIL her scarlet stockings in her little
dressing room at the Casino preparatory
to her appearance in the first act of the
1.-THE Brigands." swell, it was like
this" giving a tug to the silken garter
and pretty kick of the handsome leg
to make sure all was taut and secure.
II went to see The Streets of London
one night, and 1 got stage struck all of
sudden. 1t was a hard hit. l saw
myself dressed out in all the handsome
gowns the leading lady wore, and
fancied that all l had to do to be all
actress was just to fiOunce off and OH
the stage in clothes like that. But oh,
the difference when did go On-the
difference!"
''What did you wear?"
well, was supposed to be dressed
in pair of slippers and smile, but the
smile somehow got away from me, was
so scared. | danced around here in the
corridor with my petticOat on over my
went down half crying. Oh, l was the
most tiresome, God-forsaken, good little
creature in those days. But | got all
over that nonsense in little while, just
as every one else does, and l feel as
much dressed in my tights as l would
in a trained dinner dress, and don't
mind if all the world comes in to see
me at the regular price of admission,
so long as the fOOtlightS are between
us; but l wouldn't loaf around
on the beach all day in wet bathing
dress that fits closer than tights, the
way some of the swell girls do, and
wouldn't sit in an opera box without
any waist on, but girdle like some of
those old danes at the German opera,
either. l suppose it's all right. but
really I thought some of the grand
mothers might give the girls show,
and not mOnOpOliZe all the opera-glass
attention by wearing dresses they
wouldn't let the girls appear in. Dec
ollete, that's what they call it. Perhaps
tights are decollete, too, but l feel more
dressed in 'em."
! There were four girls in various stages
of undress in the little room, about the
size of an opera box, and down the long
corridors into which it opened through
more of the merry laSsies chattering and
humming little fragments of the opera
as they tripped out of their long skirts
into their tights and wigs. Across one
side of the little room was broad shelf,
above which hung mirror for each
girl; beside the glass blaZed a gas jet,
and beneath it in tin box was all the
parapheanalia for the elaborate make
up. Against the wall, beneath protect
ing curtains of cotton, hung the costumes
for the four girls. and it took very
few hooks to hold them, very little space
to accommodate them. On the divided
shelves below the girls had stored away
their various belongings with a skill
born of long usage in the smallest space.
The room was cooled by an open win
dow, the long corridor was clean and
orderly, and the revelations OF the grace
and beauty of the feminine form di-
vine through the open doorways were
bewildering and startling to the unin-
itiated. They are handsome lot of
girls, so far as physical development
is concerned, most OF them young, con-
trary to all tradition, though a few
mothers are earning money to educate
their children with little mental effort
on their own part. Three of the
girls In the little room are crossing
bright ribbons back and forth over
their stockings, and muttering naughty
words at the trouble it is, for every
crossing must be fastened with pin.
Just as the last bow is tied deep
sepulchral voice sounds down through
the corridor. warning them that in tif-
teen minutes the curtain must rise.
''That's all right" says girl, who was
a brunette, when she came in, but is
blonde now "We're almost dressed
got our stockings on"
What if you are not dressed in
time?'
"Oh. we go just as we are without one
plea. thanking the Lord for what we
have got on and never daring to think
of what we lack. We wouldn't go down
without our make-up,of course. There's
so little of the rest of our costume it
of it got left behind. People would
never dream it was mistake"
Three of the girls were boys now, in
velvet knee breecheS and blue and
white striped shirt waists, and stood in
a line before the glasses. daubing black
paint on their eyelaSheS. The hand
some back-eyed girl who came in late
had tossed aside a lot of dainty lace
edged lingerie and hustled herself into
a gay little petticOat of scarlet and
white and an Italian headdreSS. touched
her cheeks with rouge, aud dashed lot
of powder over her face and was ready.
Eyes so black and brilliant as hers have
needed no shadows on the lids to bring
out their miSchievOus sparkle. She
was laying out her costume for
the next act. 1t didn't take very
Tonga little pink sacque, a pretty
white apron and some tights, last of all
pair of pink trousers with garnet vel
vet stripes running lengthwise. The
stripes were about fourteen inches long,
and were evidently a recent addition.
for the girl ran down the corridor to
display their new bonnets.
Il can't get over that gorgeouSneSs,"
she said, as she held them off at dis
lance to get the effect. "The madame
laid herself out on these stripes, but
what an awful waste of velvet. The
only things that it really pays to spend
any money on are the tights. The less
there is besides the better. Shocking,
isn't it? But it's true, just the same.'
"OvertuIe,': sounds the hOarse voice
down the corridor, and instantly the
place was full of girls. The amount of
material used in the garments habitually
worn by one woman would have dressed
the whole of them. They skipped down
the corridor, came up through the
cracks in the floor, flew out of the stair
ways, and fluttered and tripped and
danced down to the stage. They
mounted the crazy platforms leading to
the simulated rocks, perched on step
ladders and boxes to put their pretty
painted faces through openings in the
canvas foliage, swarmed in the wings
like bees about hive. laughing and
chatting with the fierce-lOOking bri-
gands, who leaned Oh their guns wait
ing for their cues. The effect was more
striking and picturesque than the most
splendid scene in the opera. The dusky