The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1893-01-31
AN ETCHING
Study Of a Picturesque
Figure Which Uncon-
sciously Revealed
Her Secret.
AWAKENED FROM HER DREAM.
English and American Theatres
Compared-Rose Coghlan Tells a
Few Truths About Them.

They were sitting together in Scud
der's little studio n gray Sunday
afternoon. Boeckiin had been talking
in his slow desultory fashion, while
Scudder lounged back in his old chair,
and the smoke changed from gauzy
them. Scudder was just saying, as
he strolled over t. the little north
window, where the fading light flowed
in palely. THAT reminds me of
something l came across not long
ago.; only, in this case it was a girl-a
young thing with the face of some
one I've seen somewhere" he added,
musingly. Il heard you were 10 re-
hearse tor the Christmas festival over
there he went on, with an indefinite
movement of his head toward some-
where outside the little window, so L
went over, and at the door l met
Chisholm, and he took me up to a
seat with the tenors. and, after a
while, l noticed this girl at the end of
the row OF sopranos near us. Her
shabby attempt at the picturesque IN
the things she had on-a little fine
soft something she'd wound around
her thoat, and her hat" he added
vaguely-''made her stand out fro III
the rest. and somehow | fell to study y
ing herr
He knocked the ashes out of his
pipe, and began retilling IL from a
rude little box on the sill. AT first l
thought she was merely listless and
absorbed, but [ found-she was wait
Sx.. g., e0rnatlinp ~ u Ho sfr1ak a
match on the window-casing, and as
he held it over the bowl of his pipe it
flashed his pale face out OF the gloom
and showed Boecklin %lounging back,
with his hands clasped behind his
head. Il liked it, you know, be-
cause there were none of the vulgar
marks of expectancy; her eyes were
off a little, but she wasn't looking
toward anything, and she was mercy
quiet, with just ii suggestion of tense
straining for-for what she looked
for. And after awhile he came. L
knew he had come, because she
dropped back slowly, and she made a
sort of indefinite movement of her
hand toward-nothing, and the
strained quiet gave way to a sort Of
OF mufned vibration. l was SO near
tiett it was all plain to me-"
A ter he had pulled for a few moments
iii silence he took the pipe from his
mouth, and examined the bowl casu-
ally.
He was one of the violinists.n He
paused again, and smiled slowly.
Once when she saw that he looked
her way, she turned to the woman
near her and said something-some
little thing, wishing to impress him, |
fancy, with the fact that she was not
thinking of him. But he was not
looking at her; as far as l could tell,
he never once saw her. He had the
habit all you fiddlers have, Boecklin,
of-when the 'cellos or the others take
the theme, and you rest for some
measures-of staring off over the
audience or the chorus, as though
yon were looking for some one,
and once-he smiled and bowed
to some one sitting with the altos.
It's q very trivial thing when you
think of it, butt was a blow to her.
l suppos 10 her mind he had stood
wholly alone and unrelated until
then-that's how ] make it out-and
when she saw there were-others, it
was a blow. She had been singing
along until then" He was gazing
down abstractedly at the glowing end
of Boecklin's cigar as it waxed and
waned. and he did not go on.
When Boecklin asked. with drowsy
interest, (Which of the men was it?
you know l know those fellows, -
Scudder WINGED slightly, and half
closing his eyes, made a mental note
of the dusky, half-deined figure and
the glowing spark.
1T was you" he said.-MGWde
Menefee IN Ha1per'S BdzGr.