Omaha daily bee., 1909-09-26
Venus of Broken Shutter
Dramatic Experiences of Miss o'Con-
nor, Waiter Girl in a Lunchroom.

Ever so many have told me / could
make my fortune on the stage"
Miss O'Connor put her two hands grace
Strengthened herself to her fun height and
gazed abstracty into the infinitude Of
space.
yep she continued seriously, the
stage carpenter Of the Peoples theayter
SEE I'd get over"
You certainly have the temperamental
hair ! concurred.
IT'S Titan she replied, giving a light
touch to her expansive couture, which re-
sembled a displaced aureole; same as
Sarah BARNARD and Leslie Carter"
will never speak III OF a working girl,
though Titan conveys to my mind only
a vague color characteristic, but It is a
polite way Of describing a head Of red hair.
SO l waxed enthusiastic, for she was only
a waiter girl in an obscure little lunch
room downtown.
For the general run Of patrons she may
have possessed no special points OF attrac-
ton, but she interested me almost from
the first time that I CHANGED, a careless
wayfarer. into the cafe. In the absence Of
the carte du jour or it's defilement by the
greasy finger Of a hungry hack driver she
could sketch you a bill Of fare with a stee-
plechase fIuoncy Of verbal particles that
sounded like a composite Of culinary de-
tails from a deIicatessen shop. The inner
ent grace Of her person and the Elasticity
Of her genius expressed themselves even
in the act Of serving you with the over
done ham and eggs and the cup of steam
.- ..NFr, f. .rLg.I ~ r.N. - A..
Broken Shutter was more or less notorious.
THE trouble with most girls that goes
on the stage" continued Miss O'Connor,
rs that they amt neither got the shape
nor the education. Well, thank Gawd, my
folks looked out for me about that"
IN take an oath as to the shape" I
said gravely.
Il don't mean hat. I can't help havin'
a good ~figger-that's natcheral. I mean
the Characterization" she r~etorted rather
pettishly. I'VE was we'll off before pa got
killed by a derrick and nuthin' was too
good for me. I used tn take private singin'
lessons from Miss Mulligan. Know her?"
I shook my head.
"Geralda Mulligan? Lives over on the
East Side. She took voice culture from
Markaisie in Paris for three years. The
only thing that KEEP her from goin' on
the stage at the Metropolitan Opera house
was her bein' lame"
Then you have a voice?" I exclaimed
in well simulated surprise.
"Well, Miss Mulligan used to say I had
She allus told me I'd make a rilly fine
primmer donny IL ia stick to my job. |
would a, too, but when hard luck Ger
tuck us, me for the dish pans and the hash
house. Twas hard on a girl with the
blood OF the D'Arcys and O'Connors in
her veins, but 1t had tn be. l still keep
up practicin' my scales and trills and sus-
tanned notes" she rambled on in her burst
OF confidence; but you can take 1t from
me, Mr.. Smythe, us workin' girls amt got
no chance to take many joy rides through
this here life"
There was a suggestion of unaffected
pathos I'm her tone.
IF pa hadn't been killed by a derrick. A"
she went on, 'Td taken French lessons
from ar Italian professor on Elizabeth
street. He offered to take me on for
S5 cents a lesson. But that high falutin'
scheme was knocked into broken china
by pas funeral. Then ma took sick and
died"
l have explained that she was only a
waiter girl. But on her pas side she could
with an air Of easy indifference and an
attitude that emphasized certain voluptu-
GUS attributes OF her physique soar into the
nomenclature OF Irish heroes and mobiles,
and her ma had been a Darcy she said.
The titles that had once encountered the
family had been epitomized into the brief
appellation OF Belle, short for Arabella
Bruce O'Connor, and in the vast crucible
Of civilization, yclept the United States,
she had been reduced to the mental estate
of a waitress at the Broken Shutter.
Soon after this l missed Arabella from
her accustomed place, and the proprietor
told me confidentially that he had to dis
charge her on account OF her theatrical
mania. She had almost passed out Of my
mind when l came across her as one OF a
company OF performers exhibiting them
selves on a platform in front of an open
air show of wild western life at a suburban
garden. The troup comprised a dozen
cowboys, Indians, squaws and frontier
girls, about to present a thrilling episode
entitled THE Bank Robbery"
There sure enough was Arabella. She
was dressed in the familiar toggery Of a
frontier heroine. with buckskin gauntIets
and a broad brimmed sombrero. from
beneath which her gorgeous tresses fell
like a cararact Of shimmering bronze and
copper. Her face had grown darker fom
exposure to the weather, and she looked
rugged and wholesome.
The magnetism OF my fixed gaze wrought
its infallible magic. In a few minutes her
eyes lit on my face, and I thought I saw
her start and blush. In a moment she re-
covered her composure, and she gave me
a look that plainly meant that she wished
TO meet me again.
l paid the admission price and witnessed
a sad performance. and after the show we
had a talk. Arabella was climbing the
difficult ascent TO fame. She had not
scorned the humblest means OF arriving at
her hoped for goal. II was either the hash
house or the stage for her. she said, and
here she was in the primer class OF her
artistic career,
I went away sad in my heart, Within a
week saw her again under almost the
same circumstances.
"Arabella." I began as soon as we were
alone, "how would you like 10 carry a
spear In one Of the spectacles at the Hip
podrome?'
Her face dropped. I feared she had ex-
peeted me to use my valuable influence
with Frohman.
"A spear? 20 she echoed In an abashed way.
why, Mister Smythe' A girl with the
blood OF the D'Arcys and O'Connors car
ryin' a spear, with nuthin' TO say and
nuthin' TO do but show off her figger in