The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1912-11-23

3AtIOu8 Auu mAlU9 OF kIiC QLQOuVs
banded together in a beautiful and
unusual charity. last night took the
Academy OF Music out OF the hands OF
its owners and lessees and transformed
1t from q professional show shoD'
into The Land OF Hearts Desire. both
for children and for those wise adults
who have refused to grow up entirely.
of the now lobby they made a lower
bedecked bower. Candy booths. cigar
stands. soda fountains. even a little
picture shop in the corner. all were
covered with buds and bloss pms and
all served by women who rememberea
or girls who had been told Of their old
"mammies'' or Of their mothers mann
miles," and who were thus endcavorinS
to help them Inside the house. be-
hind the railing, in the aisles and In
and out Of the boxes tripped the bud
ding maids Of younger Richmond. SELL
ing programs, flowers, candy and Gig
arettes. all OF them soubretttshly and
adorably clad in little short-skirted
dresses OF black, with foolish little
aprons and dainty, diminutive. berib-
boned caps.
Promptly At $50 o'clock the curtain
went up-not on . play. q stage. but
on the Land OF Mother Goose. with
the very House That Jack Built In
plain view. You didn't just hear about
IL on q winter afternoon when 1t was
too rainy for little boys and girls to 60
out and play: 1t wasn't told to you JUST
before bedtime by your mother or your
nanny. you saw it-there Il was be-
fore your eyes. and you remember then
exactly all that happened to the maiden
all 1orlorn. And in a minute Mother
Goose herself came In sight, ana Jack.
and old Mother Hubbard. and the Old
Woman Who Lived In q Shoe, Little DO
Peep and Little Boy Blue. and Jack
Spratt and his wife. and every other
man. woman and child who ever lived
in that land Of . child's heart All Of
them came and spoke to Mother Goose.
led up to her by . Little Red Rtdin0
Hood. who was so precious that even
a wolf wouldn't have hurt her. ana
Mother Goose knew every one OF them
by name. Each one sang little song.
or danced q little dance-sometimes II
was q stumbling little dance. and that
made II all the more . part OF that
PARKWAY Land because everybody
knows that Little Boy Blue aud Little
Miss Muf1ett were very little indeed
and were never expected to dance like
grown people. But they ali sang
beautifully. because . ehiid's voice Is
the most beautiful sound anyhow
everybody knows that. too.
Presently the whole land was nlled
with millions II children, all In diner
ent colors and different kinds Of
clothes. and then you saw that they
were not children at all. but Old kins
Coles Ffddlers Three and the Three
Blind Nice and Humpty Dumpties ana
Pages and Fairies. Dolls. Butterniss
Bsackb,rds. Red Roses. Poppses. pass-
les. violets. sweet PEGS. Blades d
Grass, AsteFs. yumping Jacks and DAY
fodiis and all tho other wonderful peo-
pie. birds and flowers that sing and
talk IN that land Too know that they
can all sing and talk. and II you dona
know 10, SIS Just becs use you've FOR
gotten Peter Pan know t. ana %
sh ,uid you.
They sang and danced 20 music
written by Jessie l. Gaynor. who knows
Il, about children-shs proved tna,
when she wrote Tho Slumber Boar
and she ala not make the tunes 90 %
h,gh or % lev that the Mother O01os
children couldn't sing she0- conss-
quensiy the songs ~ere sung even oS
every tiny Blade o: Grass. ana tns
ppopse who sat and locked ~ tins
Hucse That jack Built. but cossost 90
INSIDE, tired O. make the Usreo ena
flowers sting them ovee eGesn. ~ y
wns rsmeRberea that there Wee -
other ysnd-she Land Of NoA-eee sney
we've not allowed 90 sing ere eeoce
again. So before 1850 the Lsne o.
Wcsbcr Goose was hidden away f,s
Ne sight, as sseody can sec !" seess
wv - - - esnsuu0A r