The Cook County herald. [volume] (Grand Marais, Minn.) 1893-1909, 1902-07-12
BEHIND TILL SCENES
j. copyrsht' 1902 BY Daily story publishing compan,
). : r2 ~ - i n ,3,.t.t s. III.
BY HARD Id DE a N

{ Fannie had dreamed of goine on the
D. stage as long; as she could remember
since the frs time she was taken to
me theater and sat prim and proper
/ between: her parents. The lights, the
music the wonderful panorama back
Of the footlights,. the applause, the
contagious enthusiasm-all appealed
TO her feryent imagination and left an
tnaellDle mark. She had sought every
opportunity to 60 and had reveled in
areams or one day emerging from
these mysterious wings and bowling
before an applauding multitude.
AZ nTst she kept her ambition secret;
out as she grew into young woman
mood 1t slipped out little by little Her
mother frowned, her father laug hed,
and her brother leased her. But it
made no difference, excepting to
strengthen her desire. +
ana now she actually was going to
invade that wondrous realm yclept the
green room. Oh, bliss! Oh, joy! OF
course papa and mamma and brother
NED would be furiously angry if they
knew 1t, but they need not know until
she mad made her start and then they
would be so proud of her that it would
be all right. And then there was Tom.
She trembled little as she thought
OF the effect on Tom. He had given
her such emphatic advice to *cut it
OUT at the mere mention of a stage
career, and bad pointed out the dan
gers and hardships of the life so
strongly that she scarcely dared to
think of what he might say or do if
be knew. And Tom loved her SO dear
ty-and she really was very fond of
Tom. But one cannot sacrifice a ca
reer to girlish sentiment If he really
loved her he would be proud to see
her great actress and she could mar
ry him anyway and he could travel
with her-might even be her manager.
Yes, on the whole, that would be the
very thing.
She was very nervous about it all,
though. She rather shuddered at the
memory of that nightmare of standing
in line in the dirty alley together with
score or more of bedraggled young
women who had appeared in answer to
an advertisement in the newspaper for
'extras.' The atmosphere Of stale
beer and cigarettes still chung to her
and had cost her great extravagances
in the matter of perfumes and much
persistence in the matter of baths.
But she had been taken, greatly to the
disgust of the showing, sneering crowd.
''There's fresh one, better try her."
the stage manager had said to his as
sistant. "She'll be fine in that ball
room scene. Have We got any good
clothes?''
To be sure she had and so the bar
gain was closed. 1t was for weeks
run and she had been stumped at first
as to ways and means to get away
from home for seven consecutive
nights until SO late an hour. But am
bition conquers all things, and she had
arranged it with her dearest friend,
who lived in distant suburb, to spend
the entire week with her. She had to
tell Ethel all about it. but Ethel was
to be trusted. 1t was trifle risky,
she admitted, but what wouldn't she
risk~to get on the stage. Then she had
taken an apartment in an obscure ho-
tel under an assumed name and was
prepared for her debut. OF course it
was not what would be deemed proper
by the censors of good society, but
there was nothing really wrong about
it, Still she trembled little at the
thought of what Tom might say or
do if he heard of it. But the theater
was not one of the more prominent,
but rather cheap stock affair, and
there was little chance of Toms going
there. And when she got regular
engagement She would fight it out
with him. Then she would tell him he
must take her with her art or leave
her to pursue it alone.
She was trifle disappointed at the
first impression of behind the scenes"
1t was all so confused and dirty and
unfinished. It seemed more like an
old lumber room than fairyland, The
dressing room to which she was as
signed, together with two other tex
tras," was so little that only one could
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