The Birmingham age-herald., 1908-06-12


 which sounds very sweet and fragrant, doesn't it? The sound, how ever, is a whooping lie. The Varieties Flora is big, long place on the Amstel- straat and when you once get inside the very first thought that enters your mind and wedges itself into. the crevices Of your being is that it will be very love- ly when it is time to get out. The place packed with valiant Hollanders and Hollanderines. It was darl-according to our notions; it was squalid, and 1t was 5 terrible combination of vaudeville and victuals.
 No sooner had you been taken by your seat than frowsy gen. approached and asked, in pure Dutch, for your "order." Everybody ordered. The audience had come to the Flora very thirsty. The re- treatments were not at all violent. The people seemed anxious to nourish and stimulate themselves. q love the idea of going to vaudeville show to be rourishedD They ordered tea and coffee. and most remarkable Dutch cordial en- titled 'advocate,' which looks like eggs beaten up in brandy, and which tastes lilke-as I was saying, they craved nour- lshment.
 It is awfully pleasant sitting neatly in your seat at a show, and having cups and saucers and glasses passed all over to your neighbors The possibility of a 6eluge of tea over. your head, or nice inundation of hot coffee over your trous- sers Is soothing. It tends to make you enjoy yourself The element of surprise if not lacking. You sample it when the cups of tea and coffee reach their destina- ton without having molested your in tegrity
 F When I reached Flora the dreadful per son I heard in Rotterdam, Mile. Amalie de L'Enclos, was exuding song. Amster- cam was inclined to guy Amalie. There was a terrible racket while she dalled with that beautiful song that your grand ma and Patti used to sing, "The Last Rose of Summer" ct is a last rose of which you never get the lastness.) Anna l.e ended with very high shriek, emitted with head thrown back, mouth open, and teeth displayed. and the shriek caught the audience. They roared and pound- ed and yelled. There was pandemonium in which you heard shouts; smeled tea. coffee, beer and booze; saw cigar smoke and got rumpus with every sense that you used.
 One turn" was rather catchy. It was the first soubrette of the Netherlands" and she was rather a cute little lady, dressed in French ''vawderville style After she had killed time and songs, by singing she gave up the gist of her act This was series of pictures of we'll Fnown types. Instead of dressing herself up she had a wonderfully docile and well drilled dog It was the animal who trade the pictures. First he was this, then he was that. She piled him with clothes of all knds-hats, wigs, access sories. He never budged. This was "kinder'' new to me, though admit that I am not a vawderville expert-also that I should hate to be one!
 The other features at Flora were very cepressing z
 The Circus Carre of Amsterdam is more fashionable than Flora. It is nearer the big hotels, and tourists patronize t. l don't know why. but they do. Th9 Cir GUS Carre is cheap, and very filling at me pr1Ce. IL IS HI cuoiihouS PAesSS ~ circus building used as g music hall-and you sit, on it's uncarpetAd floor, on dining room chairs. It is lighter and less dingy than the Flora, and you feel less like iongshoreman-not that 1 mean to cast any aspersions upon longshoremen, who are very worthy. q dare say long shoreman would hate to feel like a dra- matic critic).
 The best act saw at the Circus Carre was the Arthur-Saxon trio of Shadows. These three doughty vawdervillists did some remarkable things and invited any body in the audience to inspect their gem uiness One of the gents carried eleven men on a board placed across his feet. It was all extremely good and very well done and had never seen it before. If l were Keith & Proctor, fishing for fetching acts, that Is the sort of act l should select. A few turns like that and we should be able to avoid Sketches, which have done so much to unvaude- yillize vaudeville.
 A series of electrical experiments was