The San Francisco call., 1910-01-30
The San Francisco Sunday

Shaving 10 hours day over her sewing
machine. She had to keep his spirits up
by telling him he would soon be Wen
and at work again and that she hau
had a. raise in her salary after MS hau
been stopped. Every evening al tIlS
usual time. after she had sewed until
she was ready TO drop, she would Kiss
him goodby and say she was on 70 tue
theater He would tell her how he hated
to miss seeing her in ner new parts
and give her messages for dinerent
members of the company. Ihen she
would go and take off her hat ana
gloves and go back to her sewing until
1880 or II, and it was astonishing now
inventive and artistic she was with the
costumes she made. After that she
would daub on a little makeup-she
needed it, too, to cover up the hollow
eyes and tear stains-slam the front
door and dash into his room again, as
If all out of breath from walking from
the car, perch up on the foot OF his
bed and tell him a wonderful yarn about
the doings at the theater that night
just what each one had done and how
he did It, the applause and flowers she
had received, and make up a lot of in
teresting messages that had been sent
to him. Sometimes, tired as she was
she would sit hours with him when he
was resting easily and they would laugh
and carry on as they had done in the
old light hearted days.
He was always hungry TO hear about
her successes and the compliments sne
received, and she could sit up and In
vent fibs for his sake as fast as she
could tell them. For instance, once he
said. How is IL you don't seem to have
flowers any more?' She said. Why,
dearest, the parlor and dining room are
a perfect bower of them this minute,
=, Is
not good for you, they might bring on
rose cold. you know" 1t was January
at the time. but neither OF them, fortu-
nately, stopped to think of the differ
ence between January and June. Then
he took her in his arms and told her
how proud he was or her and of her
great talents. and that the company
, could never get along without her,
while she would smile back into his
eyes without tremor and agree with
every word he said.
He was not easily deceived either,
and it required all the ingenuity we
could both command to keep him in the
dark. He knew pretty much all that
was going on even though he was flat
on his back, for when he was not suf-
fering his mind was very clear. One
night when it was raining he said TO
his wife when she came into his room
to say goodnight, Did you have car
riage to take you to the theater?"
Quick as wink she said, "Oh, yes, of
course Why do you ask" I didn'
hear it drive up. and l was listening
for it. too" he said. That was our cue.
After that we had to hire a man when
ever it rained to drive UP to the house,
slam the carriage door and drive away
again, although every penny was blood
money to US now.
That slamming of the door at so
cents a slam however, was an added
incentive to Mrs. Erickson to work in
order to make up for her extravaganza.
Original ideas in costumes seemed how
ering in the air all around her and
she was soon able to raise her prices
and still have all the work she could
do. But she was never able to give
up the farce of still keeping her place
with the company Although in the
next room, during the hours she was
supposed to be at the theater she was
never able TO go near her husband.
He never forgot the time she was due
at a play or rehearsal and sometimes
when he got bad and his spells of
smothering came on she would listen
outside his door until she fell to the
floor fainting with agony, but never
once so far forgot herself as to rush
in to him. Then she would pull her
self together, take time to curl her
hair and put on some pretty, fresh
gown and run into his room smiling
and full of enthusiasm over her part,
and nobody but myself who saw both
sides, would have believed that she
was not still the stage favorite on her
way to win showers of applause
When at last the end came and the
curtain rang down forever on poor
Jack Erickson's life his little wife
went through it all as she had gone
through all her other parts, doing it