The Goodland republic. [volume] (Goodland, Kan.) 1891-1907, 1900-01-26

& TURNED The ThBLES. }



~ who sat IN the front row in the or
ehestra circle, one had seen the play
earlier In the week 1t was impossible
to doubt that. 1t was equally certain
that neither Of her companions had
seen the play earlier in the week. Like
wise, the fact was manifest that the
young woman who had seen the play
earlier in the week felt entirely con
WINGED that none Of the people In the
seats to the right, OF the left, or before,
or behind her, had seen the play earlier
in the week, that she felt sorry for
them, in consequence, and that she re-
garded it as a moral obligation resting
upon her to tell them all about it.
Doubtless, it seemed to her that their
enjoyment Of all that was to follow
would be vastly enhanced by fore
knowledge Of what was going to occur
on the stage. During the mOmentary
wait between the end Of the overture
and the rise Of the curtain she deliver
ed herself of the following little intro
ductiOn TO the play, for the instruction
Of all those around her, in an insistent
whisper as pervading as the ehug of
cold vapOr In a water pipe:
sNOw, Aggie and Mag, the first act Is
jes' like a preface In a book, and it's
hardly Necessary to see it at all, honest.
Course they have to talk lot, y'nOw,
Mag. vile the folks that comes late
gets into their seats. WeU-lemme see,
how does it begin-well, the feIlah that
awards marries the girl, y'Imow, he
comes in-nO, he dOesn't-yes, he does
no, now I remember it's the villain
and he's got a mOrgidge on her pas
proputty-and so he's tryin' to hold
that over her head SOS she'll jes' have
to marry him, see? Then the good feI-
Iah, he comes In, and wen he finds the
villain there, a-tryin' to make the old
manner pa, you knOw-name the day
when he can marry his daughter-the
villain, y understand there's such
a stew, and then the good fellah-he's
got the scrumptiouest hair, jes' little
gray at the temples and sides, y'knOw,
like his LIES been sad, y'Inow, Mag
and then he
The young wOman's introduction was
just about in this lucid state when the
curtain went up. The people all around
the young woman who had seen the
play earlier in the week were gazing
with some little anxiety at her. Per
haps the fear preyed upon them that
she intended to keep her running com
mentary on the 60 until the fall of the
curtain on the final act. IF that was
their fear it soon appeared that it was
justifable. The curtain had no sooner
gone up than the young woman who
had witnessed the performance earlier
in the week leaned over to her two
companions and began a hOarse buz-
zing something like this:
Nov, Mag and Ag, jes' wait till you
see that good fellah, and you can tell
me if I wasn't right in sayin' he was the
han'sOmest thing But I don't think
the leading Iady's so purity. She looks
awfly stuck-up to me. Wait til you
see her She wears some nice dresses.
but, homes, I don't think her figger's
genU-wine-IoOks skinny to me-that
is, s if she might be skinny on the
street, y'HnOw, Mag. I think such an
han'sOmelOOkin' man as plays the
leadin' parties wait til you see him,
Ag and Mag, that's aIl-Ought to have
a real purity Ieadin' lady to play with
him, don't you, Mag. Now, you'll see
him come out in jes' a mint, and then
If you don't say he's the han'sOmest-"
Thus on, agOnizingIy, throughout the
entire act, until the curtain rolled
down with a thump. The ladies and
gentlemen sitting within a radius Of
ten feet Of the young woman who had
been to the play earlier in the week
looked sadder and sadder as the hOarse
whisper continued increasing IN vol
ume, apparently, all the time, and a
number Of the ladies to the right Of the
philanthrOpic young woman who want
ed them to know all about 1t, not evid-
emily approaching her kindly mo
tives, were sufficiently ungrateful to
"Sh-sh-shI" when the scene of the
stage was Of a quiet nature. The young
woman who had seen the performance
earlier In the week paid no attention
to these little Kisses, however, but went
right ahead with her commentary until
the close Of the act.
It happened that two quietlooking
young men, not apparently acquainted
but simply seat mates, sat directly IN
the rear Of the young woman who had
Ag and Mag for companions. They
looked much bored during the begin
ming Of the young woman's audible foot
notes to the progress Of the play, then
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