Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1906-12-16

the kind offices of this friend Cooke, who
had armed himself with college theatricals,
secured small part, not much more than
walking gentleman"
Proudly he wired his father to come to
New York to see him act" After wit
Messing the performance the father met his
boy and remarked with evident amazement:
Tom, do they really pay you wages Tor
just walking around that STAGE?
Yes, father" said the grateful youth,
somewhat surprised.
We'll, fool EN- as long as you can, Tom
my. Such snap can't last forever
ORIGIN OF WORD .'GRINGO."-In Bel
asco's new play, THE Rose of the Rancho"
Juaniata, with a deep scorn, hurls the word
''gringo'' at the head of young Mr.. Kear-
ney, the government agent. The appella-
ton corresponds to the American word
"greaser' as term of contempt, and is of
frequent occurrence in the new play of
Spanish California to mark the bitter aver
sion of the natives for the invading Yam
KEGS. An Industrious Boston critic made
search into the origin of the word gringo
and finds plausible explanation In the
legend that it was derived from Green
Grow the Rushes, o. favOrite song of the
American troops in The war with Mexico.
The MexicanS heard it so often that they
began to rail the American soldiers by the
first two words, which they pronounced
grin CO.
ANNIE RUSSELL LIKES TO FLY
When Annie Russell as Puck makes her
flying entrance to the top of tree in the
second act. of "A Midsummer Nights
Dream there are not many in the audi
ence who realize all the work that is back
of that graceful act; for her entrance in
wolves a secret that is guarded like jewel
| of rare price. 1t also involves an hours
work by dozen men; nightly rehearsal
with bag of meal; the alert handling by
! six strong men, and few other details
| that make the stage look like a govern
mental war experimental station.
| IF | were not expert horsewoman
never could make that flight said Miss
| Russell. But like flying through the air.
| 1t is a most exhilarating feeling to stand
| one instant firmly on the ground and the
| next to be switched off into space. The
| story of how it is done is most interesting.
| The apparatus used is in many of its details
| a secret-a series of wires weighted with
bags of shot, working through clock-lke
| arrangement, fitted with gear wheels,
| springs and bolts. 1t is this clock-like af-
| fair that holds the secret, and the owner
| guards 1t by removing it from the fly gal
| lery each night and taking it home under
his arm. All / know is that it can be so
accurately adjusted that the wire will sus-
tain the weight of LOCO pounds or work
just well IL the weight is only one pound
| The ticklish part of my flight is this.
The machine must be adjusted to carry me
between two fixed points. Now, this Is sim
pie enough in the case of the flying fairies
because they start from one side of the
stage and alight at fixed point on the
other side In my case, fly to tree. Now
this tree is set on the stage and 1t is q
most difficult matter to set it in exactly the
same spot each time. To be sure the stage
is marked where the tree is to CO. but a
slight variation makes all the difference In
the world. That little difference would hur
me against the set piece. and do no end OF
damage to some part of me- 1t is for this
reason that each night, an hour before my
flight is to be- made, a bag of meal of my
exact weight takes my place. Then the sia
men who work the apparatus yank thu