The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1890-02-08
HOW A YOUNG ACTORS
Grandparents Made Fun for the
Audience.

70 play acting MIS-. carried on
most awful. She and the minister they
believed that there warn't no chance of
play actors goin' to heaven. However,
the rest Of the family sort of felt that,
SEEM there weren't much chance be-
fore for jackson jefferson, if folks con-
duct has anything to do with it, there
wus no need of bein' too ~despairin'. Mrs.
Bingham could go on hevin' prayers put
up for him jest as she always had, and if
he should send free tickets, some of the
folks thought they'd 60 and see him.
They hadn't none of them never been
into atheayter, and they felt they'd like
to see what it was ike eff it didn't cost
nothing. The young folks wa all on
that side, and Gurus enough, Granper
Whitaker he was with 'em.
"I've led a pious life" grandper said,
'sfur nigh about seventy-five year. I
guess I'm fixed all right in the other
world, and If / don't hurry I won't never
have no fun here"
So when JEFF did send the tickets
grandper and Eben and Hammer and Jane
they all started down to town; and Jane
she took a bag of crullers, and Eben he
took a handkerchuff Of apples, and Han
ner she took a bottle of lemonade, for
there was nothin' grandper liked SO much
as hevin' a good time, and there's no
telling what you get in those New York
restaurants besides flies, and when Cousin
Phineas had dinner there once he saw a
waiter rub up the sugar basin with his
pockit ankurchuff.
Well. we felt real pleased to see
grandper SO clipper. Did tell you I
was goin' along til? I'm Belinder; and
we jest out up awful! And as we wus
a-goin' through the village to the station
grandper held up his head like he wus on
parade, and when anybody stopped to
say, "WEy, how dye do? Where be you
goin', Grandper Whitaker" he up and
hollers right out, sI'm agoin' tn take the
boys and gals up tn town tn the theayter,
fur tn see my grandson, jackson Jeffer-
son, perform"
You see, grandper was a perfesser, and
he'd walked upright all his life, and
knowed he wus jest about as good as any
Of 'em, eff not c~onsiderbul better.
Every now and her grandper would
turn his head-grandpef had d real talent
fur turnin' his head clear round SO it
looked as eff it growed backward-and
say:
Tell you, folks see we air on a spree,
and / reckon they wish they could go
alongl"
So we went ahead, lookin'f fur the tents.
Grandper said theayters always played
in tents. But we didn't see none. nor no
place fur none; but all of a sudden we
came to a great, splendid house with the
name of the theayter we wanted to see
up all over it, and great pictures at the
door, and a policeman standin' by the
lamp posts.
Grandper looks around ag'in and SEE he:
"Eben, | reckon things is got more fixy
sence I wus a boy and went to the circus,
and got whacked for doin' it when l got
home. They've got their theayter into a
house," and sure enough, the policeman
said the tickets wus fur that place, and
we went in.
A young gentleman, all fixed up like
he WIS goin' TO get married. showed US
some seats. Grandper he sot down on
the outside one.
"Goldarned eff it don't look like meet
IMP seq he. stBut there's a band, any
way and pretty soon it began to play;
but we didn't see nothin', only little boy
standin' on some steps jest as eff he wus
goin' to come down but felt skeered, until
all of a sudden up he went in the airl /
wus SO started I shruck right out; but
Jane she said she thought first off it wus
q big shade with a boy painted onto it.
And then we could see straight into
somebody's front parlor, and there wus
the help a talkin' to herself and sayin'
all sorts of things about the family. Then
the door bell rang and in came our Jack
son jefferson! never WIS SO surprised
in my life! He wus all fixed up, and he
didn't take no more notice of us than eff
we waren't there. In a minute / saw
why; he'd come to call on a young lady,
and WIS SO taken up by her he hadn't
eyes FUR nobody else. I didn't mind, but
Jane did. They sot on a sofa and talked
until in come an old gentleman and asked
jackson jefferson what he wus there fur,
and told him hedidn't want no low down
poor folks comm after his daughter.
Now, there amt nothin' fires grandper
up SO as anybody lookin' down on his
family, and he riz up from his seat Like
o flash. He is six feet two is grandper,
and his hair is white and grows real
long. He kin be seer quite a distance.
Eyerybodylooked at him SO pleased they
had to laugh.
"Hullo, your says he. "You, 1 mean,
talking to jackson Jefferson es eff he WIS
the dirt under your feet. I'll hev you
to know that the Binghams and the
Whittakers air as good families as you
kin find anywheres. jackson Jefferson
is quite good enough for thar gal of
yourn. and as fur bein' poor, I've got
considerable to leave myself; and eff |
hadn't, his pa is f~orehanded, and his ma
has a forty acre farm of her own, be-
sides stocks. jackson Jefferson can
marry Squire Maltby's darter fur the
askin', and eff I was him / wouldn't hev
a gal that would go round with the back
Of her waist split down soft amt decent,
when she could patch it with the trail of
her dress and leave plenty to spare to
trip folks up on
Grandperga always kin talk eff he wants
to, and the folks they all jest set and