Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1907-08-17
SEASHORE "ENTERTAINERS
DISTURBERS OF THE PEACE

ic-iookins Young woman who gave read
lngs from Tennyson's Round Table .idyls In
the hotel parlors Of evenings. With her
was somewhat beefy and plebeian- looking
young man who did. on tho piano the music
for these readings.
II Is only fair TO this stodsy- looking young
man TO say that he appeared to be bored to
extinction while the young woman-made up
as the lily maid OF Astolat. only very dif-
ferent-twanged the sing song Tyre about
the Soings and comings of Launcclot and
Elaine and the remainder Of the occupants
OF airy suites in the breezy towers OF Came
iot and he even yawned sleepily at frequent
intervals and gazed at the reciting young
woman out OF the Sits OF his eyes in an ex-
ceedingly weary sort OF way.
The beefy young man did the plate pass
ing thing when IL was all over Along to-
ward midnight this bulgy looking young
man could usually b. found playing plnochle
for the beers in the back room Of one of tho
lower sea front bierstubes on which &C.
casions he looked quite comfortable
A separate species OF these summer re-
sort entertainers are the palmists phrs-
nologists clairyoyants, fortune tellers mind
readers and such like, who infest the larger
caravansaries from the beginning to the
wind-up of the season. The paln,ists and
phrenologists are a particularly numerous
and insistent lot. They are mostly Germans
or Danes. with hopelessly untidy fingernails
and pungent efuvium OF the lees OF malt
ish alcohol. They move in and out among
the guests with their expansive greasy
grins and their Palms retr' or Heads
ret! queries. and In spite of their note
sasin4 exteriors they appear to get the
money.
Not to any observable extent do the male
guests of the hotels fan for their game
But they assuredly did tumble over each
other in patronizing the palm reading game
of singuarly pretty woman, who bore a
quite remarkable resemblance to Emma
Calye diked out for the role OF Carmen
This woman. from the minute that she hrst
aDDeare1. Il
that she could attend to. and exclusively
from the men.
Inasmuch as she was astonlshingly pretty
in her spangled Spanish bolero and velvet
skirt and bulltghters turban, the women
| naturally voted her a bold and brazen bag
gage who ought not to be allowed to prac-
tlce her fakish art around hotels frequented
by nice people. don't y'know The men.
| though. entirely failed to partake of this
view. and they virtually stood In line to
have their palms read when the Spanish
diked girl made her appearance.
She carried 'em off to cozy corners OF the
hotels. in the palm rooms and sun parors
and such. so that the other folks wouldn't
overhear her reading OF each individuals
palm, don't you see; and the reprobate
males seemed to be only too willing to be
whisked off In this fashion. even under the
glaring eyes OF their wives.
A Mouth Organ Artist.
One of the hotel exchange entertainers,
whose performance was really something
tangible and worth while. and who was
getting the money in all colors was little
| ruffian Of a street urchln about a dozen
years old. who a perfect master OF the
| mouth organ and similarly of that now so
rarely heard instrument, the Jews harp.
This youngster struck the seashore resort
with the idea of making the season by
selling newspapers on the sea front, but
one night somebody heard him dverting
| himself with mouth organ and tipped him
off that he was really too strong with the
harmonica thing to have any need to ped
die papers.
After that the kid began to do the hotel
exchanges and he quickly got himself into
! such demand that the hotels were actually
booking him, whereas most of these hotel
entertainers have to scramble for bookings
and sta nd for many turndowns.
This urchin was away ahead of the aver
age vaudeville mouth organ manipulation.
and there was absolutely nothing for him
to learn in connection with that little in
| strument. the Jews harp. He played
lections from the grand operas with Won
derful correctness. to a note, on the har-
monica. and this in spite OF the fact that
in looks and dress he's just plain, every
day youngster of the streets and nothing
else. 1t was an off night for him when he
didn't pick up $50, or even more. around
the hotel parlors with his harmonica and
Jews harp
The .peripatetic silhouette cutters and
crayon makers who tour the seashore
they need, but they, too, appear to pull off
a pretty fair thing of it. They do their
work in silence, at any rate, which causes
quite a little stream of quarters and
halves to flow their way out of the graft
| tude of the donators' hearts.
Finally there were several parlor animal
shows exhibiting in the exchanges of the
hotels, and these were at least more en-
durable than the cakewalking child or the
"Parsifal'' man. They consisted of small
packs of trained dogs and cats, handled by
chaps who seemed to be quite expert at
that sort of thing. One very well-known
dog show man, who tours the polite vaude-
vile houses with his dogs during the WIN
ter months, giving a parlor animal
show with his crew of fox terriers and col
lies He was a sufficiently self-respecting
man to despise the passing -salver fea-
ture of the show. That is to say II re-
volted him, as he told me-but he did 1t.
And he added that he makes twice as much
money showing off his animals at the sea-
shore hotels as he does the vaudeville
stage. and he is a well-paid vaudeville
man, too.
Taking them by and large, though. these
seashore entertainers surely give you ample
justification for picking up your pedals.
when you see them coming, and farlng
forth into the outer ozone. But you can't .
do that when the rain Is crashing down In
torrents and the gusty wind Is singing a
wild dirge about the Verandas; and those
are the nights when there is a sinister
gloatfulness upon the countenance of the
hotel exchange entertainers for they know
that they've got you Gagged.
CLARENCE L. CULLEN.