San Antonio daily light. [volume] (San Antonio, Tex.) 1886-1907, 1894-10-02
LIKE BROWNIES.
MRS. GEN. THOMAS THUMB AND
COMPANY.
Good Performance at the Grand.
Interview With the Midgets and
What They Said.

at matinee to a packed audience
and at night good business wa
done at the box office, though thu
crush did not get the ushers rat
tied.
The personnel of the company i:
made up of Mrs. Gen. Thumb, Mis-:
Annie Nelson, Count Magri, Baron
Magri, Capt. Geo. Liable, Manager
Mozart and AlvidO, the japanese
juggler.
There was a funny musical
sketch put on by Captain Lai'
BILE and Miss Nelson, two
| tiny people, who sang quite as
we'll as most people of much
better lung development a comedy
in which Mrs. Thumb, Miss Nelson
and the Baron andCount appeared,
and some clever character work by
Manager Mozart.
The entire performance was pre-
sented solely on it's merits and did
not appeal for favor simply on the
fact that all were midgets except
the lap and the manager. The
company left today for New Braun
fels and Austin.
A LIGHT man had the pleasure
of meeting and conversing with
Mrs. Thumb and her husband,
Count Magri, also with Miss Nell
son and the little baron. None of
the four are much over
three feet high and their
combined weight would not exceed
$50 pounds, though they are well
formed and possess all their facul-
ties. The Countess weighs fifty
five pounds, is very chubby and
plump, has coal black hair and
only a few wrinkles in her face.
She said this was her fourth visit
to San Antonio. Once she came
here on a stage coach before the
railroad had arrived. They had to
play thirty stands this season in
Texas and were then going to Cal
ifornia, through old Mexico and
from there to Cuba.
81 like the SOUTH" said she. "The
people are so much warmer toward
us and | have always been favor
lite with them, although the north
has also done very much for me. |
find so much improvement in
Texas, since my last visit and San
Antonio is wonderfully changed.
Your opera house is the
prettiest in the state. | am sorry
we do not stay longer, but we must
keep on. Possibly we will play re.
turn dates here, when it is cooler
weather. l would like to. | did
not want to play Sunday night
and always avoid it, if possible"
Miss Nelson came up and was in
PRODUCED and then fitted back on
the stage.
"She is my adopted child, as l
call her." said the countess. "She
is 80 years old, and weighs 40
pounds. She comes from Louis
vile, KY, where we engaged her
last February. Her parents are
large people, well-to-dO, her father
being a contracting builder. She
was educated in music, dancing,
singing and the languages, and is
very versatile, taking any charaC-
ter with great ease. She dances
beautifully"
Speaking of the Southern Pacific
train robbery, OF which she read in
the Geographic columns of the
LIGHT after matinee, she said she
was not afraid to travel. Their
stage had once been held up out in
California, but their manager out
witted the highwaymen and they
did not lose their valuables. "In-
dians also stopped our stage once"
said she "but they seemed to think
weswere too much for them, | sup
pose," and she laughed a clear,
musical little laugh, and clasped
her little hands, on which shone a
diamond ring and a heavy we'd
ding ring. Speaking on gen.
eral topics she spoke of her hus-
bands religion, Catholic, and Of
his early tutorship by priests,
and of her own orthodox faith !;
then branched off and said
the country is so troubled over
politics it makes the show
business dull in some towns. 81
hope we will have a Republican
president next time" said she. Phi
leave this country if we don't"
The count and the baron coming
up, were introduced. They spoke OF
their profession and how they en-
jOyed it; spoke of their home in
Italy and their early life. The
fencing which they do so cleverly
with foils and masks, in their
comedy sketch, they learned in
italy from a perfect master of the