Evening star., 1902-03-15
SHE WANTED ROOM

"Ah. IL Fwere only on that train." mused
Gertrude, sadly. as the lightning express,
bound for New York, flashed by without
even hcsitating. "on that train, speeding
to the great, distant city where I could per-
haps find the realization Of my ambitions
where, after all OF this dullness. this rust
Ing away I could find the means OF ex-
preston that seek! All. me!' and Ger
trude sighed heavily and felt Of her side
combs to see IL they were still in their
place. III .
1t Is not meet that the reader should be
bothered with superfiuous detail. but a
word of explanation with reference to Ger
trude must necessarily be written at this
point Gertrude, a ravishingly beautiful
young creature, was living in her native
tral Pennsylvania. and she hungered to get
out into the great. wide world. The squalid,
Honiton-1ace-work existence of comforta-
Bile home, the Indulgence of fond parents,
the watchful and protecting eyes of broth
ers-these did not suffice for Gertrude. In
very truth there was void in her bosom
vague. uncomfortable yearning which she
only half understood, but which often
knew that her folks had done the very best
they could for her-that they had given her
high-priced seminary education-that she
was so cherished at home that they
turn she didn't watt ITO do-Gertrude was
well aware OF all of these things.
She felt at times just a tTfne unGrateIui
in that she could not manifest more inter-
est in the kindly Offices that were con-
stantly being performed for her by all OF
those around her-and yet. there was that
irrepressible hankering which she could no
more crowd back than she could stem the
tide of the sea.
Gertrude ached with her whole being to
be an actress. The very thought OF play
ing Juliet to the Romeo OF Faversham or
BelleW aroused within her such an ecstat1c
storm Of joy that she could scarcely eat her
meals. Gertrude had been reciting Cur
few Shall Not Ring and such other pieces,
that so supremely test the aDllities OF the
actress. at the church strawberry Festivals
and everybody had told her that it was only
a matter Of time before she should cause
Maude Adams and Julia Marlowe to creep
into the underbrush and live on wild Der
ries for the remainder OF their lives.
And so Gertrude hankered with the whole
strength Of her being to go to New York
and get an engagement to play Lady Mac
beth with Mansfield or somebody or other
like that. She had often brOached the sub
ject to her parents, but they had not been
able to see it at all. so to speak, and thus
at the time our story opens there was a
shadow on our heroines life that often
kids.
On this day the sight of the speeding
train was particularly hurtful iron in her
soul, and once more she pleaded with her
parents to permit her to go to New York
and there adopt the stage as profession.
Miracle Of miracles! At last tired Of her i'm
portunities they consented. The next week
was one of hurried preparation, and exactly
one week from the day this story opens
Gertrude was on the train toward which
she had cast such longing eyes such a short
time before.
"She'll be back soon. mother" said Ger
trude'S father to the WOe-begOne mother,
the train pulled out of the station.
He was an experienced, shrewd man. and
he had In his minds eye the whole picture
of the disappontments and cruel trials
ter.
He felt for her in advance. but he could
not help the situation; he had done the
best he could to restrain her. and SO had
her mother and brothers.: but she was re-
solved to be an actress. and he wanted the
child to find out for herself the fmpoSs-
bility of that dream ever being realized.
He saw her. In his mental vision, going
from one managers s office to the other in
the great city,: meeting rebuff after re-
buff and even being furtively smiled at
by the sardonie theatrical men when she
suggested playing ''Cleopatra' the first rat
tie out OF the box. Then he pictured her,
after months and months Of Intellectual eff
fort to gain a hearing in her favorite roles.
finally meeting up with fatherly. kindly
natured manager. who would take her
she urgently needed to know-that the road
to success on the stage Is a craggy one,
that the great actress Is born, not made;
that even the mediocre actress must de-
vote years of study to her profession be-
fore aspiring to even fairly good parts and
that she had better return to the shelter
of the protecting home and take up some
other line of life work. Then Gertrude's
father pictured her as giving way to a
flood Of tears when she rea cted her room
after this talk, and as deciding. after q
long. sleepless night, that. after all. the
quiet. peaceful life of home was better
suited to her temperament than the tenn
pestuous struggle for recognition In the
great city-and then the good old father
portrayed her as coming home, little
pale, perhaps, from the shock of he. dis
appointment, but with her head high and
a resolve to devote herself to the nursing
of the sick of the village and such kindly
works.
This is the way the old man had it all
Goped out in his mind.
But Gertrude's father was just about
fourteen thousand nautical miles from
hammering the spike on the head
Gertrude got job Just one hour and
forty-two minutes after she struck the
great, distant, smoke-hdden city. Ger
trude hiked straight for the office of the
manager of :Snoronora." and she told him
that billet as one OF the sylphs in the
octet was about her measurement. The
manager just gave Gertrude one look and
said "an right" for Gertrude was con-
structed from the ground up and she looked
the part of the octet girl to the T. She
wired home to her pa that very night
Eve caught on with the double eight"
and thus were the fond visions of her el-
derly prophetic parent knocked into
cooked hat.
Gertrude knew what she wanted all the
time.