Butler citizen. [volume] (Butler, Pa.) 1877-1922, 1905-03-16
In an Opera
Box
By Lillian c. PaScbdg
Copyright. 1905. BY ulisn C. Paschal


Back Of the large hostelry and across
narrow alley white girlish face
banked with pillows looked out wist-
fully from the one narrow window Of
a third floor back at these evidences of
life and gayety, listening to the or
chestra.
Suddenly the music burst into a wild
tropical air from Carmen" very revel
of life and youth and lusty, red blood
ed joy. The invalid buried her tired
eyes in the soft pillows, and her thin
shoulders shook. Shaken by the tenn
pest Of sobs, crutch that had been
leaning against the bedside ratified to
the floor.
"Oh, I can bear their old ragtime
things without a shiver," she cried,
"but the opera airs-they break my
heartl And now I shall never sing
them again-I know / shan'tw
The incoherent cry went straight
through the open window like wing
ed arrow, across the alleyway in the
grand hotel, and lodged deep In the sick
heart Of a listener there Its note of
interpreter. That is a universal Ian
guage understood alike In palace and
tenement.
John Wixton had been staring mood
lily out Of the darkened shadows Of his
unlighted room into the still darker
shadows of a future that looked
gloomy indeed to his usually careless,
\. y
there was no doubt Of that-and the
girls refusal Of him had cut deep. He
had been so sure Of her-too sure, per-
haps-but he had thought he could not
be mistaken In that warm light in her
eyes that had set his heart on fire all
these weeks.
1.-The light that lies in woman's eyes
and lies II and lies - and liesv' he
sneered miserably, sitting there in the
dark. Course the whole sex, anyway,
and their deceitful wilesw And his
clinched hands thumped the window
sill fercely. He had mooned over her
like a maundering idiot, he told himself
hotly, and now she was engaged, so
her mother had told him the last time
he called, to Billy Lunders and his mil
lions-principally the latter, he thought.
Lord! There was that beastly chan
sonnette from Carmen" again-could he
never escape the thing?-the song that
breathed so horribly Of her in every
seductive note. She had worn red
rose in her hair, too, that night he first
met her with the Van Lorns. He could
smell that rose now.
Tonight Carmen was on the bill
again. He recalled duly that he had
the same box for this performance, In
tending to take her and show her he
remembered that first night so long
ago. She had said men always forgot
the dates woman remembered. He
had meant to tell ber Of his loving lit
tie surprise that evening. Was 1t only
week ago? How could he ever bear to
hear an opera again? Curse 1t. He
would get out Of this sickening old New
York and go west-to Chicago-any-
where
"These opera airs-they break my
hearth broke in the sobbing cry from
the window across the alley. John
kid" he muttered heavily. Its that
lame girl--poor little beggar! She does
have devil of time Of 1t, lying there
all day with hot water bags and things
around her. It's shamer'
II want to be back there on the
stage again." went on the voice, Sing
ing with the rest Of the chorus. l
was village maiden in Carmen you
know, Mrs. Beebe." To the conscious
pride In this already well known fact
there came an indistinct murmur of
consolation from the dark interior of
the little room.
"And maybe some day / might have
been a Sembrich or a Melba, my OVID
self-the master said so-and now my
backs hurt, and I'll never sing again.
l know 1t! If l could only go just
once and hear It all again l think
maybe | could bear It better, but to
be penned in here all the time like a
rat with the snappers of trap caught
over his back-it's too The rest was
lost In the Unfolding pillow.
The man In the darkened window
across the way suddenly stood up,
turned on the light and squared his
shoulders like a soldier ready for
marching. "I'll do it!' he said grimly.
"I'll not run away like a coward. I'll
face this thing out I've got to go
through 1t some time, and l might as
well begin now. I'll go right to that
same box and fight 1t out. And, what's
I'M 70 tuly hof
along. She'll probably look fright,
and people will stare. but hang the
people!'
He took his hat and overcoat and
hurried from the room. At the office
he stopped to give an order for an auto
cab.
Twenty minutes later he was bowling
toward Broadway with his strange lit
tie companion, still breathless over the
wondrous angel In evening clothes
whose determination had carried all
opposition before him. Even the fat
had been subdued into defer
ence and helped to dress her quickly SO
as not to keep the young gentleman
voting
Wixton glanced down at her thin lit
tie face, sharpened by suffering; at her
two crutches and her simple white
frock. To his surprise, she appeared
gowned.
She told him quite simply. with lit
tie pathetic quaver In her voice, about
her ambition to be great singer: how
The had fallen through trapdoor left
carelessly open by the stage hands one
hight after the opera was over and had
been I'm the charity ward OF hospital, |
where they had not seemed able to |
cure her; how she could walk only q |
little way without hurting.
When they reached the opera house |
he first net was nearly over.
WiXton gathered up her slight form |
md strobe up the wide stairway rs IL |
MS burden were baby. At the door of |
he box he halted. 1t was slightly (
ljar "Sold the other seats?" he ques-
Toned of the usher.
"Only one to lady," answered that |
worthy and volunteered further the
whispered information that she was |
queer one--"came with a party in the |
'ourth box farther down and came out |
II and went away. After a bit she /
,ame back with a ticket for n seat in |
his one"
When Wixton ushered his charge Into 1
he box he found, to his surprise. that
he place was unlighted The curtain
lad Just closed on the first net, and the
occupant was shrinking into