The daily morning journal and courier. [volume] (New Haven, Conn.) 1894-1907, 1904-10-29
IN ENGLISH EYES.
An East Side Play Visited by the Man
from London Town.

i 4 A ~
An East Side Play Visited by the Man
from London Town
we cannot all have pushcarts. For
those who are cut off from this joy.
and the peace Of spirit which stir
ring day in the Williamsburg market
brings, there is still the theater in the
Bowery.
Now, day Of trafficking is blissful,
a stroll among the breezes on the
bridge at evening with the only one
is very soothing. But the theater in
the Bowery is the witchery of delight.
The memory Of toll is wiped away,
the aching back the sodden head, the
week that will not end. The Sabbath
has rested our bodies almost, and re-
stored our nerves, and we are hungry
for the feast of light and color, and
emotion, and fun, and the absorbing
contemplation of their peoples trou-l
bles, triunphs, loves, hates. No need
TO think of what's to come.
Up then and dress your very best,
and haste. haste to the Bowery to see
.sThe Road to Ruin" Our lads are
shaved and combined in the most
American manner, our girls coiffed to
the skies. And here we have paid our
is cents for the gallery, our So cents
for the balcony, and heaven knows
what lavish sum for the stalls. We
have passed through the glittering
yestibule, and entered the chamber of
magic, the threshold Of the other
world.
Program? On the floor, there;
you're standing on EN-"
What number? D 100, down there
by that big, fat woman
Book Of the music, 5 cents. You've
got a fan inside"
This is keen joy. We're style to-
night sure The girls in the stalls are
actually wearing hats, and they are to
be enviedl for it. But the balcony for
comfort, for up here we can take off
our coats and our vests and tuck our
handkerchief down our necks; we can
take up our best skirts around us and
sit in our petticoats. These are things
that any sensible persons would do.
In happy compression we sit; we can
hardly bear the strain of expectancy;
we strove to fan ourselves with billy
cock hats we rest our arms upon
each others shoulders. There will be
plenty of time for waists on.
The time draws near; why tarry the
wheels Of delight? Perhaps they are
waiting for proper encouragement;
clap; then, and stamp on the floor with
your boots; rap the railing. All! Up
goes the outer curtain, disclosing a
beautiful picture. The band strikes
UP. The lights are turned up full; we
positively smack our lips for pleasure.
And now (sensation treading on sem
sations heels) the real curtain rises and
the funny man bounds upon the scene.
We greeted him with shouts Of joy.
Our cup was very full. His initial
joke was not strong, but we were not
going to boggle at that; we were
thankful for any joke at all, and we
clapped him loudly.
This play was matchIess blend of
humor and strong incident. The plot
of it was. the attempt of the shark of
the Tenderloin to decoy the young hero
skin him Of his money, and estrange
him from his true love; their frustra-
ton in this devilish design, mainly
through the unfailing ingenuity of the
funny man. Ikey. The hero, Jack we
liked and sometimes admired; the
heroine, Bertha, we admired consist
emily for her constancy and courage,
and we wept with her in her woes But
we loved key He was our darling.
He was a very deus ex machine No
place was too tight for him to find a
way out of, and he was SO funny!
He it was who made us laugh We
laughed when he nearly got checked in
the quicksand and called for plum
Der to clean out his gullet. We roared
when he pulled UP his trousers and
showed his red socks. The humor OF
his hat with hole in the crown moved
us to shout with merrlment. He hid
under the table, he was frightened al
his own reflection in the mirror, hi
was In a panic of fear at the sight d