Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1922-11-03

Bancroft strolled about, examining
some Of the canvases which hung from
the walls Of unadorned brick. It did
not seem possible to him that ten days
ago he had been living q drab existence
In q drab village. Il was oil luck, Of
course; II Nancy Bowman had not
rung the doorbell he. would not be here
this night, among these friendly bohe.
Si :"Tiiose bugs" Jenny had explained
,-meanins ths regular ,bohemians-
ARE always yodeling about tn decline
IN art;. an thcy couldn't cut Q piece
o. macaroni without messin' It. Keep
away from. that bunch, jeremiah. II
you have a good idea, they sponge It
out O. you an dump you. They toddlc
hack an forth. shoutln' Failure, an
cxpectin' G sell It. Long. g.haired ard
bobbed. ,writin' ladder poetry 'cause
they can't rhyme, an sex novels that d
make poor ol' Anthony Comstock bald.
headed tryin' e tell what It's all about.
when you sec success. anywhere, Jere-
miah, toddle along behind" 49,
helm, Craig, some Of the chorus and
newspaper paragrapher, three success.
ful illustrators, q magazine editor and
a dramatist Of note.
The chatter Of the guests rose. There
were frequent bursts Of laughter. Some
one begnn to play syncopated music On
the piano-ar unusually fine instrument.
bancroft was informed that Foster
played frequently during the sittings,
az physical relaxation, to take the
cramp out of his palette arm.
Eats )! cried Jenny. Everybody
And everybody did; and there was
more chatter and laughter, and one Of
the pretty chorus girls began to make
eyes at Bancroft and nudge him about
possesslvcly. until Jenny warned her TO
LAY of, y as Jerosiah was particularly
hers.
After the hunger was satisfied there
was demand for amusement. Jenny,
Dcing hostess. was first on the list, and
she gave a capital imitation of tho
madame. in the model shop, the wife and
me husband; and the dramatist boldly
iottcd it down for future use. Then
Mannheim, who had been elected as
master OF ceremonies, called upon
Nancy to sing the hit from the operetta.
but who'll play it?" she asked.
y! will" said Craig, seating himself
ct the piano, and he struck the opening
UuTSs
A. perverse mischief took possession
OF Nancy. She sang the pitter. patter.
but the expression on her face and her
doll. badly put together When she
had done there was n shout Of an.
proval.
Mannheim rushed to her, seized her
:houlders and shook her. "You in. q.
fernal mink That's the encore here .
after. Wen rehearse the orchestra
ut ten tomorrow"
mo butts at all. My orders. The
unexpectedncss will knock the audience
of their chairs" Then Mannheim nut
MS arm through hers and led her ia
an obscure corner of the studio.
AFTER the rehearsal. hc said, "yom II
come into my Office and we'll make that
CONTRACT right. I'm an honest man.
Miss bowman. and you're worth goo'l
deal more than seventy. five week.
I'm going to make it two fifty. and next
season you'll be worth double that !"
There you 20 again! Didn't tell
you there weren't any buts?"
but I'm afraid!'
Good Lord! And Of what?"
In Bohemia
She realized. all at once, that she
could not tell this man--whom she re /.
cognized as being as human as she her.
self was. and honest where dishonesty
had rather easy going-what her fears
were: That. once she thought Of her.
self as n light opera comedienne, she
would be conscious Of her actions, of
her limitations, Of her queer distaste
for the life; that she was able to romp
through the part because It had been
the means to an end. But now that this
dream was crumbling. that there might
not be any end =! She was fool
she could recognize that easily enough.
On, take the cash and let the credit
go!' the old tentmakcr had said. Here,
under her hand, were competence and q
certain passing fame; but could she
hold them, now that she doubted her.
sell! For some one to tell her the
truth, some one who would be utterly
disinterested! Yes. yes; Jenny was
disintcrested; but what did Jenny know
ABOUT voices? Some maestro, some real
authority, to tell her the truth; and
with her present resources she would not
De able to get beyond the outer door.
10 dissipate the chaos which was grad.
rally disintegrating her mind! No;
ehe could not tell Mannheim these
things; he wouldn't understand, he
would only laugh at her. Hadn't she
played the part successfully for nearly
two months2 "All right" she said,
IN do the best can. - Hush ~
.",Liebestraum. Tenderly and wistfully
the music rose above the chatter, which
began to drop and shortly to cease al.
together. Nancy was not conscious
that she had dseizedlAIannheim by the arm
and was holding tightly. Her dark
eyes were shining, her face was eaeer
her lips slightly parted. Throughout
ed from the tenderer inspirs tions OF
Chopin. MacDowell and Grieg-Nancy
did not move; she scarcely breathed.
Queer chap" thought Mannheim.
Hes talking to this girl here. saying
an man9er Of foolish and beautiful
things to her, and she only hears the
sounds, not the message"
why 80" that was wonderful!
didn't KNOW she said, az CraiR
abruptly left the piano and sought the
refreshment table. pouring out q cup of
coffee. which he drank without sugar or
cream.
Craig is n great musician, Miss
bowman" said Mannheim, 'but he's
very hard to get to the piano, Quite
g compliment to Jenny" he lied, cheer.
Cant you do something, Jere.
miah!" asked Jenny, who was sitting
beside him.
"Yes; l can sit still. Nobody then