, 1890-02-12
THEIR FIRST PLAY.

When jackson jefferson Bingham took
to play acting Mrs. Bingham carried on
mos 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,
seein' 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 d~espairin'. 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 go and see him.
They hadn't m of them never been
into a theayter, and they felt they'd like
to see what it was like eff it didn't cost
nothing. The young folks was all on
that side, and GURUS enough, Granper
Whitaker he was will EN-.
I've led a pious life" grandper said,
"fur nigh about seventy-fve year. 1
guess I'm fixed all right in the other
world. and if | don't hurry l 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 n handkerchief of apples, and Han
ner she took a bottle of lemonade, for
there vas 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 l
was goin' along tut? 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, why, how dye do? Where be you
goin'. Grandper Whitaker" he ups and
hollers right out, I'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 EN-, eff not c~onsiderbul better.
Every now and then grandper would
turn his head-grandper had a real talent
u a no IGt SASdl lOulIu d. IL
looked as eff it growed backward-and
say:
Tell you, folks see we air on a spree,
and 1 reckon they wish they could go
alongl'
So we went ahead, lookin' 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 seq he:
"Eben. l reckon things is got more fixy
sence l wus a boy and went to the circus,
and got whacked for dom 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 wus goin' to get married, showed us
some seats. Grandper he sot down on
the outside one.
"Goldarned eff it don't look like meet
in'r' SEE he. But there's a band, any
way anu pISllN bOOH IL pSSdu " pldl ;
but we didn't see nothin', only u little boy
standin' on some steps jest as eff he wus
goiu' to come down but felt skeered, until
all of a sudden up he went in the airl l
wus so started | shruck right out; but
Jane she said she thought first off it wus
a 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
Ii door bell rang and in came our Jack
o Jetfersonl l never wus so surprised
in my lifel He wus all fixed up. and he
didn't a 10 more notice of us than eff
we waren't there. In a minute l saw
why; he'd come to call on a young lady,
and wus so taken up by her he hadn't
eyes fur nobody else. l 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 he didn't want no low down
poor folks comm after his daughter.
Now, there amt nothin' fires grandpel
up SO as anybody lookin' down on his
family, and he riz up from his seat like
a fash. He is six feet two is grandper
and his hair is white and grows rea
long. He kin be seen quite a distance
Everybody looked at him SO pleased they
had to laugh.
"Hullo, your saya he. "You, l mean
talking TO jackson Jefferson es ef-he WI