Morris tribune., 1901-01-19

E $50
ed every information. While the house,
was appIauding enthusiastically she
whispered to her companion, "She Isl
nice girl, and she tries, but she can't
sing that, and I don't believe she ever
will. Do you hear her trill wabble?I
She missed two notes in one of herr
runs. It should have gone like this, II
and in brilliant, pearly little tones al
most under her breath the speaker RAM
through one of the passages in which,
Marguerite vents her delight.
Soft as it was, the young man BEL
/! hind her heard the run. He looked att
I the singers face and started Hel
! glanced from the face to the gray hair
! and back again. He tried to remems
] Der all the things he had been saying,
and blushed deeply.
Presently Faust was singing his love.
/ The woman in black leaned forward,
! her lips parted, her fingers uncon-
/ sciously marking the time; then, as the
/ tenor's feryor increased and his tone
/ grew clearer and more vibrant, a flush
overspread her face. AS he ceased she
beat her gloved hands together as loud
ly as she could.
A sympathetic look stole into the
young mans eyes, and while the wom-
an in black was wholly occupied with
the stage he whispered softly to Nell
| lie: THAT woman in front of us is
Alice Titus. She is Mitchelrs wife,
and she has been blushing with pleas
ure at his singing. They sang lovers
together for years, and the company
called them the turtledoves."
Nellie aWoke from her dream. She
glanced from the woman to the tenor
and exclaimed incredulously and loud
er than she knew: "She can't be Faust,s
wife. Why, she is gray!'
The lips of the woman in black tight
ened, and the young man regretted his
indiscretion He tried to atone for it
in the church scene by praising the
dramatic way Alice Titus had played
that, but he knew that the singer I'M
derstood the situation, and the words
stuck in his throat.
Meanwhile the success Of the per-
Torrance and Of the new singer grew.
Before the end was reached the mem
bers Of the company had congratulated
Miss Evans heartily upon her triumph.
The last traces of the girls nervous
ness disappeared. She walked as on
clouds, and in the final trio she poured
forth such flood of voice as she had
never known that she possessed. The
audience was stirred quite out of the
habit of putting on wraps during the
last scene. 1t sat delighted and called
out the singers after the final curtain
had fallen. The men called "Brava"'
loudly. and the recall became an oVa-
ton. Alice Titus companion leaned
forward, waved her handkerchief, cried
'.Bravaw and did what she could to
stimulate the excitement. Somebody
cried: Evans! Evansr' and Maras-
quin led forward the trembling but
happy Marguerite.
Then the audience began to go out,
but the woman in black sat still. Her
lips were white, and when her COM
panfon rose she did not move. The
other woman ayerted her face and bus
led herself with her wrap. At last the
passage to the stage door was cleared,
and the woman in black rose heavily
and walked slowly toward it.
She found Faust, still in his stage
clothes, outside his dressing room. The
woman in black passed in without a
word. Faust dismissed his dresser,
entered and closed the door. His wife
was leaning on the back of chair,
sobbing. He raised her to his arms,
saying softly: There, darling. don't
take it so desperately. Think of all
the drudgery you escape by being out
IF the harness."
She still cried. nesting on his shoHl-
Ter. Presently she raised her face,
Kissed him and said: you're wonder
,ully good to me, Fred. but even your
tenderness cannot disguise the fact
hight by chit of a girl with pink
cheeks"
The mans face flushed with anger,
md his wife fastened to add: "She did
lot mean any harm, dear, and she did
lot think | could hear. She was sur
'rised into speaking too loudly when I
vas. pointed out to her as your wife.
The could not believe it, and / must
ay" with a rueful glance into the
arge dressing mirror, that I can't
lame herr
Nonsense, dear! OF course it was
My the make up"
ooh. know all about that, and I
now l could look 20 on the stage to-
borrow. But for all that would do
very bit of my hard work over again
Or the youth of that little chit behind
le. Time is more cruel to women
IAN eternity can ever be."-Brooklyn
agile.
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