Vilas County news. [volume] (Eagle River, Vilas County, Wis.) 1896-1927, 1899-11-27

Tinkle-tinkle, tinkle-t inkle, tinkle-
tinkIe.
The leading man, engaged in an at
tempt to remove black spot from his
dress cravat by means of an applica
ton of white grease paint, paused and
listened.
"Its a mandolin, he said That's
a new wrinkle. We've had all kinds
Of fiends in this company since we
started out, everything from cigarettes
to bicycles Who's the musician,
wonder? Oh, 1 say, jerks! jerks!
Who's the band wagon?"
There was a step in the narrow pas
sageway that led to the dressing
rooms, and jerks, the property man,
appeared in the doorway. "Sh!" he
said, mot so loud The old man'll
hear you"
The leading man started. "The old
man. did you say-not Merriam?"
Eyes, Merriam in a whisper.
me leading man sat on his trunk.
That beats me-" he said. "The Ancient
Mariner tinkling a mandolin. Now I'm
~ CDcdl Gu " 0CC Il 0IAC1 PAoJ
ing sentimental ditties on a jeweled
harp"
jerks did not laugh, a fact which
helped to sober the other man. "It's
no surprise to me-" said the property
man, gravely. II says to Mrs. jerks
just before I left the hotel, says L,
Mrs. jerks, you know what night
This ie1t ETbo IycoivinoS che coxc
Why, right says I, and it'll be hard
night for Merriam
Poor old man. says Mrs. jerks, a.
wipin' of tear Poor old man, sup
pose he'll be playing of his mandolin
again. That he will says I.
"He hasn't missed it, as near as I
can judge, for 80 years. AS sure as
Thanksgiving night comes, just so sure
he gets out that old mandolin of his
and tinkles away. And it's always
the same tune. God! But it does make
my mind go back. I'll never forget
the first time he played it. You see,
me and Merriam have been together,
off and on, so long that I know his
story most as well as he does himself.
Not that he ever talks about it. To-
night, after the show, that instru-
ment III go back to the bottom of his
trunk, and it won't come out again
till this time next year."
The leading man was all ears.
Thirty years ago I was stage door
keeper at the old California theater.
Now, the stage doorman amt so un-
important as some folks think There's
mighty little goes on that he doesn't
know something about He gets the
flowers first, and he usually sees the
cards. He's a good friend to the
actor when the actors a friend to
him, and he can do favor now and
then that's worth the while.
Merriam was just beginning to climb
up the ladder in those days He had
come into the stock three years before
as utility but he was handsome
chap, with brains and ambition to
back his good looks, and it wasn't long
before he got to playing leads. Say,
when Merriam went on as Romeo at
the matinees you couldn't see three
rows in front OF you for the bonnets.
Mrs. jerks used to live in a regular
garden in those days, for Merriam
wouldn't have none of the flowers the
silly girls used to send him. When I'd
offer to bring them home to him he'd
laugh and tell me he reckoned my wife
cared more for flowers than he did.
But / often noticed that he came
into the theater with a big bunch Of
violets or roses that he'd bought him
self to give to the little woman who
played opposite parts to him. I asked
him once why he didn't give her the
flowers the girls sent him instead of
spending money that way. I took a
kind of fathcrly interest in Merriam in
those days. Lord bless you, to look at
him now you'd think he was my grand
father He looks that old.
"Well, I seen how things was going
with him and Nellie Moore, and every
body else seen it, too. When she was
on the stage he stood in the wings, and
his eyes followed every move she
made I remember one of the women
saying that it was worth while to have
a man care for you like that, and GER
tainly Nellie seemed to like it. She
came to me one afternoon-that
Thanksgiving I'm telling you about
and said that she was too tired to go
home after the matinee. She asked me
if I'd run across the way and order
dinner for her. Then she whispered in
my ear that she wanted it served for
two, and asked if I couldn't fix bunch
light on the stage, so she and Mer-
Ram could have cozy Thanksgiving
dinner all alone.
"Of course, I done it for her, and
while they was eatin' went over to
my boardin' house. There was to be
a change of bill that night, so I came
back early to get my props in shape,
as I had them to attend to as well as
looking after the door. When came
I. III