The San Francisco Call. Newspaper, March 1, 1903, Page 11

w s : e 'y w r reg 1 work, work, morning, a saving t t the Tiv Then if e, just se d become tha € 1 reality. You » t t is v . novelist, married a maid d him on ng for his abil- 5 an intensity and the athetic played Itseif N a e with both of hi Nor was his the monopaly of the th married an ged 17 ran away we r Sricie f children with- gy « ew d never would Josephine, and when \| TRUNNING THE SAUNTLET AT TRE STEGE ENTRANCES ing what “the a stage-struck girl has you, f to the unin- h&aring, as in- r dark and musty mid-reg of Wier'—a given over to weird i heart-breaking woes. who enters the first time “the tu all that the part at *“misty ion rture much and of more. try to girl has h to an inglorious fallurs, arn very after 8 t € what hidden v\l\"um lurks in lLeahy's warning that “‘there is ut % and many an ambitiou soon enter too, when next you to Ferris Hartman, or grow blithe over the sprightliness of the zons who surround him, you which of all that merry host rl and where, too, in all the nd that silent curtain But guess as you may. the secret without neither behind nor be- go eejonforfecfesfocfecenfosforfonforiont WIVES OF o led alone—very much alone. married an innkeepe: augh- ter. s a problem in inequality, with stration in the disaster which owed. He left her. She committed sui- But they ander th not hang the man. t was accustomed to beat his wives with the of his sword whenever: they “talked back” at him. This was a custom peculiar to him, as old records show that the sword/in the hand.of a gentleman was used to protect the gentler sex. “Ben” Jonson's wife went to the inn af- ter him if he stayed too long, and brought him Lome, tongue-lashing him all the way. And you all know *“Ben” Jonson. Boswell’s “Uxoriana” is a collection of his wife’s sayings to him which do no lit- tle credit 10 her as a scold. antes drew a picture of his own ) the “Mistress Housekeeper for the whom Sancho Panza (not also “Hearts ) abused so bitterly. d Wagner's first matrimonial ven- wife Devil e e S e e S ) THE SUNDAY CALL. £t nor to the right, nor It is—and now walk softly —right under your feet s you go down the main Directly beneath tlie point where you push open the swinging doors to enter the wide auditorium *‘the tunne!” begins and directly beyond that little trap door under the footlights through which the orchestra nighitly crawls into view in "l"d‘, single file it converges to right left 1d ascending a tortuous s air- case on each s itself in the wings. At any time in the evening, at fore you yet above to the which hour and not a minute later, the whole company, orchestra and all, must perforce have traveled its length or pay the penalty of tardiness in a heavy fine, is a se he tunnel” ne of constant and unequaled activity and éxcitement. It is s0 narrow ' that two amazons of mo than usual plumpness could not pass each other without an uncomfortable flattening squeeze, and so low that a girl of medium height must needs stoop almost double to keep her coiffure from becoming entangled in the maze of steam pipes and electric light wires that make up the roof of “the e NOTED MEN. ture was a pathetic sonata, the tragedy of the inharmonious. But the realization which is ever the bitter, of the inade- quateness was spared him until after the | mistake had been happily rectified in mat- ing with a congenial understanding. Togf this second wife, who impressed upon him' what he had gained in the second instead of lost in the first, he owed a debt of grat- itude which speaks to the seeing in his latter works, Robert Schumann fell in love with the daughter of his piano teacher. The inspi- ration she gave him was the world’s gain. When the irate father refused a union with the daughter “Davidsbundler,” “Kreisierana” and “Noveletten” were given to the world in tangible form, and the wife he coveted became his. So much for adversity. Robert Browning understood his wife, and his wife understood him. They both accomplished. What of the significance? ach married on $3 a year, and wrote immortal music. tunnel” throughout its full length and breadth. Its narrow confines mark the boundary of the new girl's life all the time she is not upon the stage from the moment she passes the critical and ever-watchtul keeper of the ‘‘stage entrance’” on the dark little alley that connects Eddy and Ellis streets, just above Powell,, shortly after a very early dinner until she passes the same important dignitary on her way out into the same dark little alley to a late supper close upon the midnight hour. And there fs none of the champagne gayety about these late suppers, else the new girl's life in “the tunnel” comes to an inglorfous and sudden end. She usually eats a meager and modest little meal of crackers and milk or some- thing equally simple and nourishing in the bosom of her family and retires early to bed, which. though somewhat of an anomaly, is nevertheless a truism, for at the stage end of “the tunnel” at the Tivoli there is a formidable-looking little blackboard, on which are nightly chalked in large round figures the words, *“Call 10 a. m.,” which means rehearsals—ofttimes all-day rehearsals—beginning promptly at 10 o'clock every morning, rain or shine, and if the new girl would continue to be numbered “among those present” in the chorus with aspirations for the center of the stage among the principals she quickly learns to follow the old “early to bed, early to rise” adage to the full realization of the spirit of every word. Hence, too, Teddy Hartman, who is the power behind the throne in the mysteri- ously alluring world of {llusion, to whom the new girl quickly learns to look for every order, great or small, is not so smiling or so jovial as he appears as the comic opera funny man on the stage though Teddy Is ever the most polite and urbane stage manager that ever rehearsed a comic opera or any other company in the city. Still, he is not to be trifled with. He never speaks above a low conversa- tional tone at these early-morning all- day rehearsals, of which the dear fun- loving public knows absolutely nothing, but which the new girl soon learns among other things is the real serious part of life in “the tunnel,” because—well, he doesn’'t have to. In he tunnel” he is king of all he surveys. That is the reason that there is always particular and peculiar interest attaching to every new girl who enters “the tunnel,” and they are many who take their me- scurity and more at this time of the year, when the comic opera company returns fro; s coast tour to claim Her first real ordeal to-be-forgotten first manager comes when she steps forth u the stage at her first rehearsal to show the critical comedian what she is capable of in the terpsichorean art numerable have gone through thi before her. Most of them are girls of the chorus, who now her and laugh unrestraine think—with good-natured amusement but, as the new girl is convince malice aforethought to her wardness. If she doesn’t get “r 1 confused she is incorporated at one of the inner circle; but if perchance she lacks presence of mind, woe be her. Her tribulations will be man d varied. With infinite patience will set about the tas stage business, step by infinite amusement the sit back and enjoy the spectacle thus it will be day after day, until either becomes profjcient or shows self hopelessly lacking in talent and adaptability, which in the convictions of “the tunnel” means one and the samée thing. Then comes the fateful first night when she is assigned for the first time to one of the numerous little square dressing rooms that mark theé line of “the tunnel” lJeft and right through its full length. Next time you stamp out your enthuslastic ap- plause over one of Teddy's side-splitting r her neve h the interview w mock AW or nce as Ferris Hartman of teaching her step, with “old” girls wili And and her- funnyisms you need not worry over the fact that it makes a thunderous noise in the ears of the girls in “the tunnel,” right under your feet. They don’t mind it—after awhile. It is nerve-racking only to the new girls, who, if they last long enough. soon become as skillful as ,the ~old” girl in detecting just what peint the actors on the stage have reached in the opera by the length and duration, the and spontaneity, of the thump- It is their cue to hasten or changes of volume ing overhead. daily over their numerous costume. Therefore the louder and longer you stamp the better the *“old” girls like it, even though the Ilittle six-foot square dressing-room reverberates to the sound like the inside of a bass drum. It is the e LU GHT g r}v‘ NP T AR 24 1 to men™ ned in “the tune w! permitted sle alone. bby I times four artment and g she will tunnel to realize whe It 1s & very wise ¥ keep sil t And then comes that first awesome peep from b while she waits for her cu Oh, the anguish, ot it. Tk unto the pros- pect of a sudden dive into ice cold water. The stage looks huge— at the auditorium seems worse can’t all se instead those people look at some ¢ of wajing there so impatiently, so expec- tantly, just to see her? And why, too, does everything seem to grow blurre and dizzy looking—monstrous and terrify- ing? If @ ever comes off the stage alive—never again—but at this point she is usually whisked out Into the center of the stage with the rest of the chorus, rushed through the scene—how she never quite fully realizes—and off again and her debut iIs over. Then if she has ta she soon ceases to teoric flight through the strange under- surest indication of the success of the be the “new girl in the tu * and for ground ‘world from exalted hopes to ob- piece and the consequent feeling of the rest it is only a matter of hard work. L A Ol SECRETS YOU MAY READ IN YOUR TEAR-CUP. Telling fortunes by tea grounds is a favorite pastime with many. Here are a few hints for the benefit of the unini- tiated: If the grcunds are bunched together it signifies thac a!l will be well with the for- tune seeker, but if they are scattered it meang much the reverse. A sthall speck near the top Is a letter. A large speck a plotograph or present of some kind, what it is depending on the shape of the speck. The sticks are people—light or dark, short or tall, according to their color and length. A small one means a child. A thick One a woman. 1f they lie crosswise they are enemles. If straight up, intimate friends, or pleas- ant acquairtances to be made. 1f.a large speck is near them, it means they are coming for a visit, bringing a valise or a trunk. If there is a bottle shape near a stick it means a physician. If a book shape, a minister or lawyer.. If many fine specks, a married man. The sticks with a bunch of grounds on their backs are bearers of bad news, or théy will “say things” about you. A long line of grounds with no opening between foretells a journey by water. 1f openings, by rail. A large ring means an offer of marriage to an unmarried woman. To a married ong it means a fortunate undertaking. To a man, success in business. A small ring is an invitation. Dustlike grounds bunched togethbr at the bottom or side are a sum of money A triangle signifies good luck, so does an anchor or a horseshoe. A half-moon or star to married people means\a paying investment. To unmar- ried, a new lover or sweetheart. A pyramid is extremely lucky. e A square or oblong, new lands. Flowers, a present, what it is depending on the shape, or the pr nt may be flow« ers. Leaves, sickness and death, Fruit of any kind, heal A hand, warning, if fingers are spread. If closed, an offer of friendship or marriage. A cross signifies trouble. Any musical instrument, a wed Bird, suit at law. Cat, deception faithful friend Horse, important S an enemy. Turtle, long I Rabbit, luck. /Horse, offer of marriage or a removal, says What to Eat. Flag, some surprise or a Journey to another country. A heart is the most propitious sign of all, as it means happiness, fidelity, long life, health and wealth.