, 1892-04-23
DRIFTW0OD.
Odds and Ends Cleaned About
the City.

Camille and Her SOAP Boxes-Th,
Organization of Olynpta2s M a.
sonic Lodge 0ourtland Eta.
ridge Olympia typos.
The man at the bat stood up.
For the baseball season was ripe,
And he sighted the ball that the pitcher sent in
And he hit it a terrible swipe
And the ball went whizzing down
The held from that forceful Whack
Aha 4 bored Its way through the sh0rt-stop's
And it knocked him fiat on his back
And the crowd set up a howl,
And the players set up shout
And the pretty girl in the grand stand asked:
"Does that put the umpire out?"
q
There is no denying the fact that tie
Marine band and Madame Decca attracted
the attention of one of the largest audiences
at the Wednesday matinee that has ever
gathered in the Olympia theater, but prob
ably the most conspicuous object on the
stage was the soap-box on which John
Philip Sousa, the distinguished leader and
composer, stood while directing the ma
tion's musicians. A flag or piece Of
drapery thrown carelessly over It, would
have been great improvement, but it
brings to mind funny story told by gen
tleman in this city Of Matilda Heron, the
great actress of generation ago, wherein
several soap boxes figured. Matilda was
billed to appear at the Newark theater.
New Jersey, as Camille, her greatest char
acter. Tom Grifiths was her leading man,
placing the part of Armand Duyal. The
lounge on which Matilde had been doing
the dying act was old and rickety. and she
made the property man get a lot of boxes.
tiX them together like a couch and throw
some drapery over them. With this she
was perfectly satisfied. In the last few mo-
ments Of the play, when Camille is diving
OH the couch and Armand is taking her III
his arms, there is plenty of pathetic acting
to bring tears to the eyes of the average
audience. But in this instance a litter OF
laughter ran through the theater Camille
said to Gritfiths, sotto voce: 'sWhat,s the
matter in the audience 2" Grifiths replied:
IL don't know, | guess there is something
wrong with the scenery. Go ahead and
finish and let's get the curtain doWn.n Of
course, the audience heard none of this
Camille in her death struggle again reached
up and put her arms around Arnand's
neck, crying, Armand, oh Armand "
when there was roar of laughter and a
round of applause filled the house. The
curtain was rung down while Matilda
shrieked to her associates behind the
scenes. whats the matter with those
people in the audience? Are tbey crazy 2''
"No" replied the business manager, who
bad just come on the stage from the front
part of the house. "When you were reach
ing up and calling to Armand in that dy-
ing act, you accidently lifted some of TIE
drapery from one ofthose d-n soap boxes,
and It had on it, in big, black letters, Csc
Pyle's Soap"
Speaking of the director of the Marine
band, reminds me that the editor of THE
TRIBUNE was the school master of the bows
in this famous band during the last year of
the war, and four years thereafter in Wash
ington city. He was warmly greeted by
several of the older members. Among his
pupils were John Philip Sousa the head
of the band, and John Arth, who beat the
big bass drum at the other end. The two
Johns have been with the band ever since
they could toddle, and they both under.
stand their business The apprentices Of
the United States marine corps get four
hours schooling in the common rudiments
of an English education every day. In
addition to this the drum major instructs
them in music The band has Yerv large
fife and drum corps attachment which did
not accompany it on the tour. This corps
is composed OF the apprentices above mem
toned, and with each ships guard a drum
mer and hfer accompanies it. To see the
band in its full strength and hear the music
OF the fife and drum corps alternate with
that of the band is treat, OF all the
bands that appear in the splendid inaugur-
eation procession every four yaars, the
Marine band attracts the most attention,
Il carried forty rounds of ammunition and
a musket behind that band on the 4th Of
March, 1861, in the Inauguration procession
of Abraham Lincoln,' said a gentleman
i'm This citU ON Wednesday,
Captain H. q. W. Campbell, who will
lecture on our navy and "reminiscences of
the war, will among other illustrations,
present that of the Merrimac. A gentle-
man we'll known in Olympia has cane
made Of a piece Of the Merrimac taken
from that vessel when it was lying in
surrken condition in the Norfolk navy
yard. 1t is made of iron wood and is gen
uine because he got the piece of wood HIM
self and had it fashioned under his super
vision. The Merrimac was sunk by
United States officers of the Norfolk navy
yard along with other vessels there in April
1861, few days before the United States
sloop Of war PaWnee arrived Con the night
Of April 20th) to hold the yard. 1t was
then that change of front and abandon
ment was determined upon. The Paw
nee's crew laid trains of powder, turpen-
tine, etc., from one building to another in
the navy yard and on the old line of battle
ships, frigates and sloops belonging to the
government, set fire to everything, and at
3 o'clock on Sunday morning, April 21st,
steamed down to Hampton Roads, the tug
Yankee following with the famous Cum
berland in tow. The Cumberland an
chored in the Roads. The Merrimac was
raised after the rebels took charge of the
wrecked navy yard, and was fixed up as a
rebel iron clad, christened "The Virginia, 4
and as such sunk the Cumberland, burned
the Congress, got whipped pretty badly
and fled from the little Monitor
It was at a well known resort few even
ings since that party of gentlemen were
enjoying game of cards. They played on
in silence for an hour or more until the
game became intensely interesting, and it
was well on to midnight when the crisis
came. 1t struck one of them so forciblv
that the next morning he wrote the follow
ing:
Around table six men sat-
Three held their hands and held them pat
Three held their breath and lay down fat.
They piled up blues and painted
One held a straight and bet lot;
One held flush and called him not;
One held four aces got the pot.
They got the blues. He anted.
Down at the end of First street oyerhang
ing the water, is an old boat house, whose