Santa Fe new Mexican. [volume] (Santa Fe, N.M.) 1898-1951, 1900-11-16
MARY ANN MADE HER EXIT,
How q Perfect Picture, on the Stage
Was Spoiled by an UntfmeIy
Interruption.

1t was before / came to New York
that l one night saw a really fine per-
Torrance almost ruined by a single
interruption. 1t was IA domestic trag-
edy of English rural life, and one act
began with a tableau copied exactly
from a popular painting called Wait
ing for the verdict" which was also
the title of the play, writes Clara
Morris, in the Critic.
The scene gave an exterior view of
the building within which the hus-
band and father was being tried for
his life on a charge of murder. The
trembling old grandsire leaned heav-
lily on his staff, the devoted wife sat
YEARLY by the closed iron gate, with
a babe on her breast, tired. but vigil
liant. a faithful dog stretched him
self at her feet, while his shaggy
shoulders pillowed the head of the
sleeping child, who was the accused
mans darling.
The curtain rose on this picture,
which was always heartily greeted,
and often, so well it told it's pathetic
story, a second and third round of APP
plause greeted it before the dialogue
began. The managers little daugh-
ter, who did the sleeping child, con
tracted a cold, and was advised not
to venture out of the house for a fort
night, SO a substitute had to be found
and a fine lot of trouble the stage
manager had. He declared half the
children of Columbus had been
through his sieve-and there was the
trouble, they all went through
there was no one left to act as substi-
tute. But at last he found two prom
Using little girls-sisters they were,
and very poor-but the mother vowed
her children must be in bed at nine
theater OF no theater; yes, she would
like to have the money, but she'd do
without 1T rather than have a child
out of bed at all hours. At first she
held out for nine o'clock, but at last
yielded the additional half hour; and
to the great disappointment of the
younger child, the elder one was ac-
cepted, for the odd reason that's She
looked SO much younger than her sis
ter.
The company came down from
Cleveland, and there were the usual
slight delays attendant on a first
night, but the house" was good, the
'star" (Mr. Buchanan) was making a
fine impression, and the play was evil
IDENTIFY a go" The big picture was
looked forward to eagerly, and when
it was arranged we had to admit that
the pale, pinched little face of the
strange child war more effective, as
it rested on the dogs shoulder than
had been the plump, smiling face Of
the managers little one. The curtain
went up, the applause followed-those
behind the scenes crowded to the
wings" to look on-no INT noted that
the hands of~the clock stood at 9:40,
no one heard through the second
burst of applause the slam of the
stage door behind the very, very
small person who entered, and silent
ly peering this way and that, found
her stern, avenging way to the stage,
and that t%oo-favored sister basking in
the sunlight Of public approval.
The g~randsire had just lifted his
head and was about to deliver his
beautiful speech of trust and hope,
when he was stricken helpless by the
entrance upon the stage of a boldly
advancing small person of most amaz-
ing appearance. Her thin little legs
emerged from the shortest of skirts,
while her small body vas well pinned
up in a great blanket shawl, the point
of which trailed fully a quarter of a
yard on the floor behind her. She
wore a woman's hood on her head,
and from it's cavernous depth, where
there cleaned a pale, malignant face,
a voice issued-the high, fa%r-reaching
voice of a child that triumphantly
commanded:
"You, Mary Ann, yure ter get up
out of that an come home straight
away-an' yure ter 60 ter bed, too
mother says SOL" and the small Meme
sis turned on her heel and trailed off
the stage, followed by laughter that
seemed fairly to shake the building.
Nor was that all. No sooner had
Mary Ann grasped the full meaning
Of this dread message than she turned
over on her face, and, scrambling up
by all tours, she eluded the restrain
ing hands of the actress mother and
made a hasty exit to perfect shrieks
of laughter and storms of applause,
while the climax was only reached
when the dog, trained to lie still .
long as the pressure of the child's head
was upon his shoulder, finding him
self free, rose, shook himself Violent
ly, and trotted off, waving his tail
pleasantly as he went.
That finished it. The curtain had
to fall, a short overture was played,
and the curtain ros again without
the complete tableau, and the action
of the play vas resumed, but several
times the laughter was renewed. 1t
was only necessary for some n per-
son to litter over the ludicrous recol-
lection, and instantly the house was
laughing with that person. The next
night the managers child, swathed in
flannel, with a mouth full of cough
drops, held the well-trained dog in
his place until the proper moment for
him to rise, and the play went on its
way rejoicing.
.-- or--u