The record-union., 1898-01-23
The GAIETY GIRLS.
AS YOU FIND THEM IN REAL
LIFE, NOT IN FICTION.
Their Daily Round Not the Gay
and Airy Butterfly Existence
So Many Think.

stage who are as much talked ABOUT
and whose comings and goings excite,
somehow so much interest as the Lon
don Gaiety girls. Every one goes to
the theater when they come over on
their annual American tours, ana every
one is discussing just at present the
handsome young women now appearing
here In Town"
AS you sat in your orchestra cnalr
at the Knickerbccker Theater last week,
watched the nimble feet of the dancers,
or listened to the songs, or looked upon
the multitudinous charms of stage
that was crowded by graceful girls the
question no doubt came to you, What
sort of girls are they off the stage and
what is their daily life?"
And that is the story l am going to
try and tell you. l want TO show as
near as possible that the usual play
or musical comedy to be more correct
which comes to US from the Gaiety The
ter in London is in measure reflex
of the lives of the girls who appear in it.
In Town." as you, of course, know
by this time, deals with the adventures
of a rather gay old Duke and his family
who are visiting London, and whO--at
least the men of the family-are more
or less mixed up with a lot of Gaiety
girls. Well, there isn't so very much
difference between those girls as you
see them when the stage is set to rep
resent the greenroom and the girls who
leave the theater close on to midnight
tired out and quite ready to go to bed
after a bite of supper.
But ] think L hear you say, that
is only a little bit of their lives. They
are here to be wined and dined and
feted and have bit of deviltry in their
composition. They are going to turn
this old city completely upside down
before they leave it, and have come here
TO win fortunes
You may think so If you choose, in
common with thousands of your kind.
But they are going to do nothing of the
sort.
WHY SHOULDN'T THEY LIVE
WELL?
They live well-and why shouldn't
they, for most of them are rich? You,
with your smattering of knowledge of
the world, have probably acquired an
insight to certain matters pertaining to
the stage. You will tell me that the
average Gaiety girl works for small
salary, very small salary.
I grant you that. / even grant you
that the average Gaiety girl does not
get over 500 a week for her services,
some of them less. But that does not
alter the fact that most of them are
wealthy They do not have to come
here to win fortunes" In England
they have influential friends. They are
showered with presents-costly pres
ents; presents, some of them worth
small fortune.
You may be surprised to learn that
one of the girls now appearing in In
Town owns jewels alone to the value
of 100000 And she isn't Ialfy one
Of the principals, either, but just one Of
the Gaiety girls. Why, then, you ask,
do not these girls retire from the stage?
Why. if they can afford to live in lux
ury do they still appear on the stage
and put up with all its attendant hard
ships?
You must ask me something easier.
confess l don't know. If you asked one
of the Gaiety girls herself, | doubt If
she could answer. to either her own sat
isfaction or yours.
But at any rate the Gaiety Girl. no
matter where she finds herself, always
manages to live we'll She is fond of
ease and comfort, and exists in an at
mosphere of positive ease and luxury,
even when away from home. / fancy
YOU would be rather surprised could
you get a peep at some Of their New
York apartments
Their first thought upon landing in
New York was where they could live
most comfortably Some preferred no.
tells and others the seclusion of private
apartrnents Some went to the Marl-
borough. some to the Ashland House
and others secured quarters in apart
ment houses where entire suites could
be placedNat their disposal. Anticipat-
ing a long stay in New York. they de-
termined to crafty penchant for
handsome surroundings. which seems
second nature to the Gaiety girl.
You see, a Gaiety girl can't afford TO
take any desperate chances. or, at any
rate, whether she can afford TO or not,
she doesn't. Her work at the theater
is always uppermost in her mind. That
is why the bloom of health is on her
cheek That accounts for the sparkle
in her eye. Particularly if she is a
dancer she has got TO take the very
best care of herself
The Gaiety girls mamma doesn't
travel with her. as do the mammas
of some Of our American actresses, 10
see that she gets home safely from the
theater. The Gaiety girl is quite ca
pable of taking care of herself in her
own sweet way.
You must not get the idea that these
maids are the kind you see on ths
stage who look pretty in pink pima
fores end make up" You know the
kind | mean-the ones who always
wear little French caps and carry
feather busters and are made love to
by the butler when there is nothing else
to occupy the stage. No, indeed. these
maids are not the kind who figure in
the drawing room drama. who drop lit
tie curtseys when the handsome juve-
nile makes his entrance and says, My
good girl, Is Lord Frouzletop at home?''
And then when the handsome juvenile
chucks her under the chin and tells her
she is a "doocedly pretty girl, don't
you know" she replies, Yes. my Lord.
that's what Jimes, the butler. says"
You mustn't think that's the kind of a
maid who attends to the wants of the
Gaiety girl.
Ter maid has no foolishness about
her. She is a very practical sort Of
person, indeed. She attends TO all the
wants Of her mistress without any
frills or furbelows. She assists with
her toilet. She accompanies her on her
walks or her shopping tours. She goes
to the theater at o'clock, and sees TO
1t chat the Gaiety girls wants are
properly supplied Then. after the cur
tain comes down on the last act the
lights in the front of the house are