The Brattleboro reformer. (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1907-1912, 1907-12-13
THEATRICAL SANTA
JEFFERSON DE ANGELS

10y HLIT isNHVN DE ANGEIlS,
The week before Christmas in New
Yors once upon a time, not so very
bng .so" showed Broadway full of
agc. shoppers, making tracks through a
& heavy fall of snow which the street
Xxx recItrs had not yet cleared away. I'm
<I and wn the magic street and its com.
H panon arteries in the retail district n
Eel pdus crowd, pushing, fighting its way.
sought 10 catch glimpses of the many
&; measures temptingly displayed in the
4. shop windows. Great extremes of life
M bum elbows. The girl from the east
NV side coming down from the slums to
e view The good things-things forbidden
MI to her Observation-Disclosures her thread.
Ea bare skirts against the fur lined gown
M Of tae daughter of the rich. The nj
"A, monl eyed Celestial from the Chinese
1N istup. mingled the opium scent of his
W blouse with the delicate violet OF the
By well dressed crowd, Children from Fifth
avenue IN their smart clothes edged away
~ hom slualidly dressed urchns with un.
4 washed faces and uncombed hair.
"a There was happy contentment reflected
X on the faces of thousands, in contrast to
the pinehed, hungry, hopeless, feverish
eyed faces of the other thousands so
| strangely mingled on the worlds great
4 Ell tnoroughfarc.
a AT the Rialto theater great prepare.
4 tons were in progress for the production
II Of q new comic opera. Rehearsals had
+. been going on from early morning until
"A midnight, day in and day out. The back
VA Of the big stage was a veritabe chaos
n Unfinished scenery and mysterious look
" ing props" We're being skilfully fashioned
4 into counterfeit presentations of camels,
n for there was to be grand march of the
4 king caravan across the desert. There
n was an elephant, too, as big as life, and
OstrChes and weird objects, all piled in
Il Confusion with artificial plants and floral
N deylceS ghtterlng armour and all the
thousands of odd things that were being
prepared for the most dazzling comic
opera of the year, The Minstrel of the
Sahara.
The scenic artists had been working
day and night for weeks, and, with the |
opening now only few days off, the
managers were nervously dreading that |
the beautiful effects would not be finish |
ed in time. To add to this fear, Henry |
Granger the artist on whom the projec-
tors OF the great spectacle had mainly de-
pended, had succumbed to the strain of
working for days and nights without
sleep and scarcely stopping for anything
to eat. He lay at his little east side
home tossing and raving in the delirium
Of typhoid fever. He had been absent
from the painters bridge" for nearly
fortnight, and, although his loss was
considered serious at first, some one else
had filed his place, and now he was for
gotten, Scenic artists, like actors, are
mpr0vident creatures, and if any of the
warm-hearted stage folk had had time to
think of aught except the duties that
weighed SO heavily on each and every
one they might have thought that the
sick man, out of work and helplessly ill,
might be suffering for want of money.
Granger was a favorte generally, and
many time had he gone down into his
sCant savings to help swell a contribution
to some needy professional in distress.
Ii anything ever reminded the company
Of Changers absence it might have been
that his little girl, an only one of seven,
came no more with the artists meals, as
she used to when he painted away up
there on the bridge" She was sweet
y coy little thing, her great blue eyes set
in a thoughtful and pale face, surround
ed by golden curls.
And now it was Christmas eve, at
o'clock in the afternoon. Old Pete, the
stage door tender, was startled from his
reyeries back in the shadow of his cage
by the sweet voice of a child. She had
"a note from mamma to Mr.. Hardcraft,.
the manager" No, the manager was not
around just then, but she could wait. He
might be back any moment. Tenderly
the rough old fellow led the bonny one
to a prosenium box and, lifting her into
a big upholstered chair, which she far
from filled, babe her wait. A busy re-
hearsal was in progress, which the child
watched with no special curiosity, for
The sight was a familiar one to her, I'M
ii after succession of mods she fell
isleep.
Every one on the stage was too busy
o notice the mite as she rested there,
me foot curlsd under, her pretty face
nugly pressed into the corner of the
oftly padded chair. Her red tam had
Tipped off, and her hair was loosely
nassed in ringlets about her face and
eek. In a few minutes the stage man
ger abruptly stopped the evolutions and
inging to announce that an hour would
re given for something to eat. So there
ollowed hurrying to nearby cafes and
mch places, and the big theater was
previous had resounded the
oices of chorus, the shutting and patter
# feet and the shouts of the excited dl-
cctor. After a while, one by one and
n pairs and more, the company began
0 assemble again. There was still
God half hour, and the boys and girls
i the chorus accepted the opportunity
0 chat and gossip as they sat on boxes,
undles of carpet or even squatted on
he floor of the stage, their talk causing
hum to resound throughout the big
And still the child slept on.
Suddenly there was an ominous hush
s Manager Hardcraft strobe upon the
.age, shaking snow from his fur-lined
vat and shining silk hat. His keen eyes
ierced the darkness toward the boxes,
robably in an effort to detect any OF
he company who might be stealing some
omfort in the box seats, a privilege
richly forbidden. He roughly demanded
. know who the 'lid' was asleep In
ne of his forty dollar chairs. Calling
Id Pete from his post at the back, he
anted to know who let her in, anyway.
Ding to the little sleeper, Pete deity
BOX the envelope from the little hand
hich still clasped it, however loosely.
he great man impatiently tore open the
ote, gave it swift glance, crunched 1t
al, throwing it among the footllghts,
I'VE a pull at his cigar and strobe hur-
eddy into the street. The company
owded forward to view the little IN
uder Tony Thompson, the comedian
the organization, picked up the note,
frightened out its creases and read
oud: =
i'm Hardcraft, Esq, Manager the -,
Itialto Opera Company: III,
Dear Sir-I beg indulgence for thus IN w q
uding upon your time and patience. 1t c.
Il Il 10 To oSE