The gold leaf. [volume] (Henderson, N.C.) 1881-1911, 1895-12-26
AN EPISODE.
CHRISTMAS OF THE JOILIrY THEATRR STOCK
COMPANY,
Copyright, 1894, by James L. Ford. ]

Copyright, 1894, by James L. Ford.l
Three weeks before the holidays, and
the outlook for merry Christmas was
a gloomy one, at least so far as the
members Of the stock company of the
Jollity theater were concerned. Salary
day had come and gone, and as yet the
ghost had shown no disposition to walk.
and it was because Of the enonappearance
Of that most welcome specter of stage
land that the rumor had started and was
rapidly gaining ground that Messrs.
Hustle and Hardup, proprietors and man.
ayers Of the Jollity theater, were "in a
hole again.
The piece which occupied the boards
had proved a fat failure, and receipts
at the box office had fallen in conse-
Quence to plane never before reached
in the history Of the house. Moreover,
no new play had as yet been put III re-
hearsal, and an atmosphere of un,nis-
taxable gloom and apprehension per-
vaded the region behind the footlights
and weighed heavily on tie spitits Of
every one there, from Pearl Livings one,
the talented emotional actress who play
ed the leading femal le parts, down to lit
tie Kitty Sullivan, who was only years
old and was i'll the depths of despair be-
cause for fully three weeks she had been
out Of the bill In short. every member
of the company was in a condition of
mingled uncertainty and curiosity in re-
gard to tho future Of the playhouse and
the projects Of its managers, who rs yet
had given no sign Of their intentions
and had, in fact, been invisible to the
members Of their artistic staff ever since
the last day on which salaries became
due
On this particular night, which hap
pened to be one of storm and rain, two
or three of the principal actors had
gathered together for serious talk
about the situation, when Tom. the
programme boy, appeared suddenly be-
fore them in an almost breathless con-
dition and exclaimed: "Mr. Freelance
is back from Chicago. He's in the Office
with Mr.. Hustle. They've got both
doors locked
"Mr. Freelance!' cried Miss Living
stone, her face lighting up with joy.
precisely as it does in her scene in the
second act where her lover comes back
from 1ndia, Or rather as it did light up
in that scene before the business became
SO bad. "Are you sure it was Mr.. Free.
lance, Tommy"
"Sure y rejoined Tom, with emphasis.
Il seen him mesek when he come in. ="
"Then, Tom, you be sure and see
him when he comes out and tell him
that am particularly anxious to see
| goes down On the second act. Here's q
| quarter for you, Tom, and you d better
keep it us q curiosity, for it's getting to
be a very rare sort of bird in the Jol
ity theater preserves.
| "Tbank you, num-" said Tom as he
| pocketed the coin. with grin.
| II fancy see gleam Of light on the
distant horizon, remarked the vener
able Mr.. Borders in q tone similar te
melodrama called "The Ocean Blue, >
in the scene in which he is discovered
sitting on raft in midocean on tht
lookout for u passing sail. "In tht
meantime" be added, II think we hat
better wait and hear what Billy has t.
say before we take any further actor
in the matter
Up to that moment they had takeI
no action whatever. but the phrase
sounded we'll, and so Mr. Borders en-
ployed it.
Now, Mr.. William Freelance, callet
by his intimates Billy, was and is today
one Of the best known figures in tht
theatrical affairs Of the town. and, a!
every member OF the stock company
knew. he had on more than one previoul
occasion come to the rescue Of his ole
friends, Messrs Hustle and Hardup
and that, too, when they were in ever
more deplorable financial straits thar
they were at the present moment
It was his reputation as mascot fully
as much as his remarkable talents which
caused the whole avant scene to brighter
up at the news Of his presence in tn.
theater, for playfolk are notoriously su
perstitiops and have an unbounded and
childnke faith In the efficacy of a masco
as we'll as in the destructive qualities O
a"jonah."
Just as the curtain fell on the second
act Mr.. Freelance appeared behind th,
scenes and received the rapturous greet
ings Of the company. Then Miss Liv
ingstone took him by the arm, detached
him from the little group which sur
rounded him, led him gently but firml,
into her dressing room, placed him o.
her zinc trunk. and standing before hin