Butler citizen. [volume] (Butler, Pa.) 1877-1922, 1900-02-08

parapet with strained agony or face
and figure that told plainly of her in
tentions. Just as she was stealthily
mounting the parapet to throw herself
into the river the child caught sight of
her. ran forward. with a shrill cry more
animal than human. and seiZing the
woman's dress, dragged back upon it
with all her little strength Then there
came suddenly upon the scene two other
characters who had already figured in
the play, tall handsome, athletic gen
tleman dressed in the fashion, attended
by slim figured lad, who was as re-
fined in dress and appearance as the lit
tie girl clinging to her mother was
mournfully hideous in her rags and re-
pulsive poverty. These two, the gentle
man and the lad, prevented the at
tempted suicide and after a tableau on
the bridge where the audience learned
that the man and woman We're brother
and sister the scene was transferred to
the interior of one of the slum tene
ments in the east side of London Here
/ the scene painter and carpenter had
/ done their utmost to produce an exact
/ copy of famous court and alley well
/ known to the poor creatures who make
up Il part of the outcast London hu-
manity The rags, the crowding, the
vileness. the broken furniture, the hor-
rible animal existence forced upon
creatures made in Gods image, We're so
skillfully shown in this scene that more
| than one elegant woman in the theater,
seated. like Rose Sterling, in a sump-
! tuous box, surrounded with silk hang
! ings and velvet covered railing, caught
herself shrinking back little as if
contamination We're possible from the
nearness of this piece of painted canvas.
| 1t was almost too realistic, and yet it
! had horrible fascination for Felicia
as she sat there alone buried back in a
| cushioned seat absorbed in thoughts that
went far beyond the dialogue on the
| stage
From the tenement scene the play
| shifted to the interior of a nobleman 8
| palace and almost sigh of relief went
| up all over the house at the sight of the
accustomed luxury of the upper classes
| The contrast was startling 1t was
| brought about by clever piece of stag
| ing that allowed only few minutes to
| elapse between the slum and the palace
scenes. The dialogue continued, the
| actors came and went in their various
| roles, but upon Felicia the play made
but one distinct impression. In reality
the scenes ON the bridge and in the
slum were only incidents in the story
| of the play, but Felicia found herself
| living those scenes over and over. She
had never philosophical about the
! causes of human misery. She was not
old enough. She lad not the tempera-
ment that philosophers But she felt
intensely, anG this was not the first
time she had felt the contrast thrust
into her feeling between the upper and
the lower conditions of human life. 1t
had been growing upon her until it had
made her what Rose called "queer" and
the other people in her circle of wealthy
acquaintance called every unusual. "
1t was simply the human problem in
its extremes of riches and poverty, its
refinement and its vileness, which was,
in spite of her unconscious attempts to
struggle against the facts, burning into
her life the impression that would in
the end transform her into either a
woman of rare love and self sacrifice
for the world or miserable enigma to
herself and all who knew her.
"Come, Felicia Aren't you going
homer said Rose. The play was over
the curtain down, and people were go
ing noisily out, laughing and gossiping,
as if ''The Shadows of London waa
simply good diversion, as it was put on
the stage so effectively.
Felicia rose and went out with the
rest quietly and with the absorbed feel
ing that had actually left her in her
seat oblivious of the plays ending She
was never absentminded, but often
thought herself into a condition that
left her alone in the midst of crowd.
"'Well, what did you think of it?'
asked Rose when the sisters had reached
home and were in the drawing room
Rose really had considerable respect for
Felicia's judgment of play
81 thought it was pretty picture of
real life. -
81 mean the acting" said Rose, an
noyed
especially the woman's part | thought
the man overdid the sentiment a little.
Ibid you? l enjoyed that And
wasn't the scene between the two cous
ins funny when they first learned that
they We're related? But the slum scene
was horrible. think they ought not to
show such things in play They are
too painful. >
"They must be painful in real life,
too, replied Felicia.
Eyes butwe don't have to look at
the real thing It's bad enough at the
theater. where we pay for it. "
Rose went into the drawing room
and began to eat from plate of fruit
and cakes on the sideboard.
''Are you going up to see mother 2"
asked Felicia after awhile. She had re-
mained in front of the drawing room
fire.
mo, replied Rose from the other
room; Il won't trouble her tonight. If
you go in, tell her l am too tired to be
agreeable.
So Felicia turned into her mothers
room. AS she went up the great stair
case and down the upper hall the light
was burning there and the servant who
always waited on Mrs. Sterling was
beckoning Felicia to come in.
Tell Clara to go out" exclaimed
Mrs. Sterling as Felicia came up to the
bed and kneeled by it.
Felicia was surprised but she did as
her mother bade her and then inquired
how she was feeling.
"Felicia," said her mother, "can
you prayY'
The question was so unlike any her
mother had ever asked before that Fe-
licia was startled, but she answered:
why, yes, mother. What makes
you ask such a question p
"Felicia, l am frightened Your ia
ther-I have had such strange fears
about him all day. Something is wrong
with him. l want you to pray"
"Now? Here, mother?"
eyes. Pray, Felicia.
Felicia reached out her hand and took
her mothers. 1t was trembling. Mrs
Sterling had never shown much tender
ness for her younger daughter, and her
strange demand now was the first real
sign of any confidence in Felicia 5
character
The girl still kneeled, holding her
mothers trembling hand, and prayed.
1t was doubtful if she had ever prayed
aloud before She must have said III