The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1899-01-18
AN OLD GALLERY GOD
THE THEATER IN THE HAPPY DAYS
WHEN HE WAS a BOY

JOycd the Sho.>-'Thc Wcn Orcnaef
villain and the Tnttrred hut Dia-
mOnd Hinged Heroine.
prosperous looking man with 90
inch waistband stopped aud looked nt
tho long line OF hoys formed before the
gallery door of one Of the local thcutcrs
a little before half pas. o'clock tho
other evening
II used to bo No. and never worse
than No. 10 in that line myself. K" said
tho man I've never enloycd tho the.
atcr SO much since AS | aid then When
| was Il kid i'll this town. ahuut the age
Of those boys in that line. used to take
in show once IL wcck-un Saturday
night always l couldn't afford moran
quarter week for thcatricals, for 1
was only making 81. 80 week CARRYING
bundles
THE store that carried bundles for
closed up ut & O'Clock on Saturday night.
the snmo us other nights. and | rrmem-
ber how used TO scramble homo ard
bolt my supper 70 that could set down
town again to get the hest place III the
ly make it by { O'clock or a little after.
and don't remember ever getting left
OIL front seat right on tho rail
1T used 20 bo ns cold ns tho dickens
standing in that line sometimes. but
TINT didn't make any difference We'd
just stamp Our feet and crowd closer to.
gether. and the cold didu't bother us
Occasionally. too. it would rain hard
while we wero standing III the line. but
that wouldn t cut my leo either nuver
saw the rninstorm yet that could break
the gallery line up when WAS u hoy
don't know how that IL now
us boys III front Of tho limo could
hear the man inside walking toward tho
door from the inside To open 1t OIL tho
stroke of huff past {. and then wo'd
crouch and gather ourselves together
for tho rush The IMAM that opened tho
door hnd TO hustle for his lifo ins,do the
box office to keep us from running hlm
down and stamping over him ! always
had my quarter ready and pat and tight
Ill my right hand. and TO slap it down
Cn the box offico shelf. get II big paste.
board ticket and dive for tho long gal
lery stairs was about III quick work us
ever did. I'd surely kucl over from
apoplexy if tried anything like that OH
now.
1.-The winding stairs were about a
mile high. but I'd make en- about four
at 81 clip. and in no time ID! be past tho
ticket taker at the entrance 10 tho gu9ery
and falling-literallv falling-dnwn tho
steps TO get "a seat Oh tho rail Tho
gallery nd always be about ns dark as
u dungeon ut that early hour. and 1t
was case Of cropping to find tho nislcs
i'll order 10 fall down the steps to u seat
on the rnil.
''1n my left hand Ovcrc0nt pocket
generally had paper OF peanuts. and
I'd MUNICH OH en- and watch tho gal
lery fill up made it point to look
around good deal in order tn mako tho
boys i'll the back rows Jealous Of mo III
my rail seat. right nn or close to tho
middle aisle Tho boys III tho row bu-
hind tho rail row would generally re-
taliatc OH tho boys sitting in tho rail
row by wiping their muddy shoes on
the overcoats Of tho raj row boys, tho
Ovcrcoats being slung over tho backs of
tho seats and therefore tempting oppor-
tunities for that kind Of thirg
''Along toward o'clock the boys in
the gallery would begin TO stamp and
whistle. the fallacious idea being that
the stamping and whistling would br,ug
tho lights up and the orchestra out
quicker notice that tho gallery boys
don't do this any moro. But, then. the
gallery boys don't havo SO much as we
used to have. guess
"When we smelled strong odor Of
gas. we knew that the big chandelier
hanging from the ceiling was going to
suddenly light itself-that is. that tho
derfui idea them was going to light the
chandelier jets. They had to turn the
gas Oh first. hence the prsmonitory
smell. When ono Of the orchestra men
nd pop his head out Of the little door
underneath tho stage. we'd all SEQ him
at once and give him q great send off.
land how used to ENJOY n show in
those daysi How | used to hate the vii
lain with his waxed black mustnche
and his shiny plug hatI How l used to
feel for the heroine when she d appear
with her shrinking little boy III tho
snowstOrm. with torn. redhooded
cloak carelessly thrown over her shoul.
ders, and seven dazzling diamond rings
OH the fingers of both her hands! How
I did think the hero was the real thing
when he said to her. i love you better
than do my life' How used to thrill
when the heroine. in reply to the top.
coated villains ovortures, would twist
around and cay to him. 'Rngs are royal
raiment when worn tor virtues sakel
And didn't the struggle on the cliff be-
tween tho hero and villain for the pos.
session Of tho knife and tho forged will
make my spine chilli Aud all the rect
all the rest.
''If the growing boy only knew what
he's missing by growing - WasIiug-
ton Star
a'ulSe For the Piano.
piano tuner. who says that pianos