Waterbury evening Democrat., 1894-06-14
THEY RLACkED UP.
And After the Show Was Over They Dis
covered Something.


The little village of Clyde in Wayne
county is as pretty as you will meet in
weeks travel in this state of pretty
| villages, and into tho bargain it has q
great number of beautiful young WON.
en-. Awhile ago somebody organized O
show to be given for the benefit of some
local church or charitable organiZa-
ton, and q lot of the pretty girls, led by
tho female members of tho choir of the
church which was to be benefited, got
together to discuss what part they would
take in the entertainment. Somebody
had been reading of minstrel show
given by young women i'll Brooklyn
and suggested that Clyde follow Brook
lyn's lead. The idea took. Tho girls
decided that it would be perfectly love-
ly, and the details were arranged.
To make the show realistic, the girls
thought they ought to black up. There
We're some protests against going SO far
but the backing up idea proved popular
with n majority of the proposed per
formers, and it was adopted. Tho per-
formance was given one night last week.
The hail was crowded, and things went
end mon (who were men, by the way)
worked off their gags, and the whole
affair wound up with q song i'll concert.
The Clyde orchestra was present and
did wonders with its varied assortment
of Instruments, and the village folks de-
cided unanimously that they had had
their moneys worth and woro perfectly
satisfied.
When the curtain won't down, the
girls Went back to wash the black off
their faces. The first ono to reach a
wash basin took a sponge and began
rubbing her checks. To the intense hor-
ror of the entire company the black
would not bulge. 1t WAS there to stay
The other girls seized pals, basins, any
thing that would hold water, got water
and began 70 scrub, Tho black romaiu-
ed. They might just as we'll havo been
negroes of the darkest hue for all the
impression they ma0l on the color,
There were Mysteries and all that sort
of thing, but the black never budgod.
The girls scrubbed and cried and
cried and scrubbed with the effect of
getting off some small patches OF black
ance After hours of work they man
aged to whiton their checks enough to
enable them to go ont, and then they
all skipped through back streets to their
homes. Meanwhile the men wcro hav,
ing similar experience. They couldn t
get the black off either. Tho end mon
and the principal comedian worked for
an hour and then strolled cut to the
Clyde hotel with their faces all shades
from light drab to coal black. The
leading comedian got some Cf the black
off his nose and chin. a little off his
checks, but had been able to mako no
impression on his ears, AID he WAS Il
very spectacular young m&n when he
walked into the billiard room Of the
hotel and huSkily asked for something
to drink.
There WAS theatrical IaaA il town,
and late that night he W, ; :',alCncd
by II heavy knock ut his door. Say, =
said an excited voice, ''arc you Il thea
ter man."
He said he was.
We'll, heard you were. What DC
you do to grt burnt cork off when yuu
black up for ni%gcr minstrcla:'
"Wash it of. "
"Yos, l know, but how
"Why, take n sponge, 1t ought t.
wash right OF.
There WAS long silence. Final ~,
voice said again, "Say, mister, hr,- GO
you mix hur,,i cork vixen yea use :, to
black up for nigEcr lninstrels."
Mix it with water.