The age-herald., 1900-11-28
SKETCHES FROM
 EVERYDAY LIFE


 | been able to walk we'll since the election. One of my legs was paralyzed from stand ing on 1t too much, and the other was pulled so hard that it has always been a trihe lcnger than the other. Exactly how much that election cost me I have never cared to figure out
 "A politician has queer experiences; some of them are gruesome at the time, though they have a humorous aspect as you look back on them. No matter at what hour you arrive at your headquarters you will find a row of thirsty, dusty supporters, who complain that they are so dry they can blow dust out of their mouths. They never do politician any good, though they can do him a great deal of harm, and, of course, he has to go down in his pocket for some change. The crowd tanks up at his ex. pense and then makes a rush for the op- posite headquarters, where the same per- formance is gone through. You can't walk the street during a campaign without meet ing men with an eye buging out or a mashed hat on their head. Both, they ex- plain to you, were received in your de- fense. Somebody in their presence began to abuse you and of course they took up for you and had a fight, etc. The former you have to give drink>to soothe his pain, and the latter drink to make him forget about his hat
 During my last campaign I was informed by one of my workers that there were seven men in his boarding house whose votes I could get if l made friends with the land- lady. At his suggestion called to see her. l arrived at the boarding house, or hotel, as it called itself, and went up stairs The landlord was asleep in the hall with the register under his head as a pillow. I did not think it worth while to wake him, so 1 made my way back to the kitchen. Here I found the landlady, who weighed about 300 pounds, and who had her sleeves rolled up above her elbows She was busy clean ing the cooking utensils. There was no chair in the kitchen, so I sat down on the stove, which was cooling off. Then I be- gan to talk to her about the quiet influence of-women in politics; that they were prop erty holders and ought to take an interest in 1t. I must have made an impression, for she interrupted me, saying: 'Ye haven't seen my children, hev ye?' With that she brought in about six. They had just fin- ished dinner, which they had eaten without using knife, fork or fingers. They had simply put their chins down in the grease and eaten I knew it would never do sim ply to give them handshake; so I kissed them all round, and hurried home to wash off the grease. My worker saw me the next day and exclaimed: Well, you got em allP How do you know?' I asked. Well, you see, they all owe rent and the old woman told them they had to vot for you
 And I believe they did,, he added in an absent-mnded tone
 Something happened at the play the other night" said lover of the drama, "that I have been constantly watching for, but which I have never seen happen be- fore. The first act had started off well, and was nearly over, when the time came for one of the actors to come on the stage. The play was Rupert of Hentsau. It was inr tensely dramatic, as all who have seen it know and as all who have read the book can imagine. The king, rather Rudolph who was playing king, had consented to see messenger who had ridden far and impatiently waited for audience about a matter of vital importance. Let him come in said the king. The door was thrown open, but no one entered. The mes- senger had evidently been a telegraph mes- senger when a boy, for he failed to ap- pear on time. After what appeared long time, but was in reality only few seconds. the king left the stage, and the curtain was rung down.
 After the curtain had fallen the star stepped out In front and -apoligized to the audience. He was very sorry, but the gen- tleman who was to take that part had sud- denly become III. He would be all right in few moments, when the whole act would be given over. He again apologized, and stepped behind the scenes, and the audience applauded.
 ''It is a remarkable thing that this does not happen oftener when you consider the number of plays going on all the time and the many contra temps that might happen to prevent an actor coming on the stage at the right moment. I have seen hundreds of performances, but never before did I see this happen in a professional performance. suppose 1t does happen occasionally just as railroad accidents do. We read about them in the papers, but how few of us have ever been in one. II is equally remarkable that newspapers are published regularly every morning when you consider the thou sand and one things that are liable to hap- pen to prevent. In fact, it is remarkable the regularity with which the sun rises every day.
 True to the actors promise, the curtain rose again in a few moments and the act commenced from the beginning. Nothing could illustrate better the charm of novelty than seeing the same act twice in immediate succession. What had appeared graceful and almost natural the first time, was sim- ply acting and mechanism the second time. It was like d peep behind the scenes You could see how it was all done. The first time when the king walked across the stage and threw himself wearily into a chair it really seemed that he was tired, and that 1t was mere chance that he happened to se- lect that particular chair. But when he did the same thing the second time you could see that it was all acting, and the chair had been placed in that exact spot for that particular purpose. Everything was me-