The Opelousas courier., 1889-07-13
THE CHINA FAIRY.
a Short Experience as Popular
Dramatist.

Tom johnson was five-and-twenty,
and a clerk in the city. He vas mar
ried to the dearest little woman in the
world, and they lived in three rooms
in q nice respectable street near Cam
den Town. Rose, Toms wife, was a
perfect little household fairy. Tom
could only give her thirty shillings a
week out of his salary, but she did
wonders with it. The little sitting
room was always bright and cozy and
clean. and there was always something
nice for Toms tea when he came home
tagged out with the work and worry
of the Office. Of course they were
obliged to be very economical, and to
deny themselves many things they
would have liked, but one treat they
always allowed themselves every week,
and that was a visit to a place of
amusement. Tom and Rose were both
very fond of the theater, and by wait
ing till a play had had a good run, and
by getting to the doors early, they
generally managed to get a good place
in the pit.
Being so fond of the theater, Tom
and Rose naturally took a good deal of
interest III the theatrical items of news
and gossip. without which nowadays
q newspaper is not Considered to be
fully adapted to the requirements of
nR / Ia HERE Z
1Uor TIGEre huse used to give a sigh
of envy sometimes when Tom read out
to her the paragraphs about the enor-
nous incomes which draitatic authors
we're making. 20 TomI she would
say, fancy making hundreds of pounds
a week like that just for writing a
play! Fancy if you had been able to do
it!'
ut would be fine, wouldn't it?" Tom
would reply, and then they would be-
gin fancying what they would have
done with the money. They would
have had a beautiful house and car
riage and q pair for Rose; and when
she went to the theater on the first
night to see her husband come on the
stage and bow amid the tremendous
applause of acrowded house, she would
have worn the loveliest dresses, and
her diamonds would have been the
envy of all the ladies.
'-Oh, how beautiful it would be,
Tom,n the young wife cried, one day,
as they conjured up visions of splendor
together; mo getting up at half-past
seven in the morning for you, dear; no
turning out in all winds and weathers;
you would be able to have your break
fast nice and comfortably with me, and
take plenty of time over it; and you
would stop at home and work in your
study, and / could bring my sewing
and sit with you, and when you'd fin
ished we should be able to have dinner
together, and go out every evening to
some place of amusement o Tom,
dear, couldn't you write a play?n
Tom shook his head. s.I'm afraid
not, Rose" he said. There's a pecul-
lar knack about it, / expect.n
II suppose it is very difficult - sighed
Rose.
"lou may be sure 1t is, my dear"
answered Tom, 'or there would be 4
great many more people doing il, and
the authors wouldn't be getting such
prices for their work as we read about
In the newspapers
One Saturday Tom and Rose went to
the morning performance of q play
that had been acted two hundred times
straight off in London, and the author
Of hich was reported already to have
realized ten Thousand pounds by it.
On their way home they passed an
old curiosity shop, and stopped to look
~ At the window. Among the odds
and ends there was a pretty little china
larry to which Rose took d great
10 Tom, dear she cried. .slook "a
Nat little china figure. Isn't ii prettyP