Newspapers / The Charlotte Observer (Charlotte, … / Oct. 14, 1907, edition 1 / Page 9
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Copyright, 1907, ly Thomas E. McKee. , . ( 'HE assistant stage-manager was -already on 1 tig rounds firing the "fifteen minutes' ".call' at the dressing-rooms. . . . "Oh, LIU, called a. feminine voice across to the next room, "lend me your spoon?" r , .thought, yoa had become an aristocrat and bought yourself a real, gilt-edged, thirty-five cent stewpan to boil your greasepaint ini , V ' ' !'So I 33 yesterday," admitted Vic meekly, "But the' little woaaa borrowed it to heat the baby's milk in last night and. I've not had time to get it back." , i "What little woman T" grumbled LB, tying on, her s4inf on inemT. "That little mother-woman thing," answered Tic. "Her name is Norrls," called out another of , the girls. "wlto of Jack Norrls, who manages the lights. Tou know the one with the baby. . . Ml cava un the tin spoon, grudgingly. . She was ! i , i. 1 V - 1 ' ' having a hard time with her Ups;they would smudge, itt... fitti it ttipfa'aii ."'Wia warned. inis " beastly cold weather makes it such a Job to get any, - . makeup pu at all There goes GussJe;s xi;n eyeiabu. . 'fti. 4i.t t vnAw thatmuel will be grouchy -as .blazes to-night! You'd better look; out 'for him, Regina. You've hardly made up at all." - V "You know how much I care what he thinks of ' my makeup, don't your' remarked Regina, ominously. Her eyes were particularly leoalhe.'' She was' one of those rare women who show emotion about six times in their lives, but set the tlver oa ure ana sur up everybody when they do it' 1 "Steer" clear of the Empress of China," said L1L "She's "got a grouch." Regina adjusted a halr-pln with superb indifference to all derision. She not ttnly did not object to being '9 .. . .. Ji n.l. V.it JM nnf nht(lA It V T ' called tne impress vi vuiu, uv u w r She was a tall, pale blonde, with smoldering eyes and a tragic gift of reticence.', She was married to Sandy Calrna, a' good-looking Scotchman, who had rather a large - part in the present piece. Kegina, " however, fas" merel pne ; of the extras, "excepf"tor act-' Shft and ' Sandy were understood to be t oa speaking terms only. . ' - ' v , Overture, plesase!" called the assistant Btage-man-ager, Just outside. '"Is everyone here V t "Everyone," called Vic , - -' ' "No." added JJ1, Impertinently. "Regina Cairns, the Empress of China, Is Beveral miles away, and Miss . Lilian Leeds has not been heard from at all. We .' are afraid she has been kidnapped!" . , "Allttle less noise, Miss Leeds," said the assistant , stage-manager, tolerantly, and passed on. Lil was . . . , . ' a'favorlte of his. Twice he had told the stage-man ager that she was in the. theater when she was really, : out of town at a house party.( I 1 "Awful rot of that little mother-woman thing to ' keep the baby in the theater' resumed HI, when the landing. "Bad atmosphere for, a kid to be brought up mi , . . ' ' "She's not old enough ta be hurt by the atmos- .pbere," remarked Vic, "considering that she's only six months of age! And she hasn't money enough for a! nurse to take care of the kid at home." , ' "Who isn't old enough to be hurt by the atmosphere the little mother-woman?" demanded Lll. i "You think-you're -smart, don't you 7", said our tough girl, Bird Laffln. -'Anyway, the kid's a sweet ' , " kid, bless her heart!" yi hate children!" said Regina, with venom. .They were all silent for a tnoment. There, are certain locked and removed holies In the souls even Of extra- ladles. Not another of the five girls in the room would have said such a thing, . A sort .of chill manifested itself in Uielr attitude toward Regina,' by ' . - - t , . . - '.yong, whispering, gossiping members. of the om tta!e:.".w:.. J..as aha took the Little Mother-Woman's baby Into ben... .... . . ( , , . fat the best bred and best educated of them all. , L "Hurry up, girls!? exclaimed Vic . 'The overture's on. Get dowa on the floor in a hurry!" And she ' e$d out of the room,' and went down the little hallway 'to ward. the 'stairs, sofUy, humming to herself Hha 'air the orchestra was playing. , '.- "I'm aW," announced Lil, with open pride. "Man- ' aged it la seven minutes this time. Whoopee!"- x.She plunged out of the room and was goi. - Bf fore r the door had had time to swing to a smai's breathless figure dashed in. , , 8 , " ' ''Howard you, Mrs. Norrls?" said Bird Lafiln.'"Hol- loa! You've brought, the kid! How's your health, youngster?' ; . . i Mrs. Norrls wts very Utile and slight ' and"-", and looked like a child heisdf. -In her a 'sho carried a watting baby, wrapped in a soft embroidered, blanket,' ' m, please" she gasped looking from Bird to- Regina, and" then to silent Gus James In the corner. . "Baby's sick 'again Jo-night and-and I have to go -JL 'll'll Lli. m- T.'mi w mfl ',, UU 4Ji bUIO CfrV V lM UlfaUV ,vw - wanted'me to take Kate Carpenter's part, for the two nights she'B away; 1 I'm little, like h'etandJ - don't dare refuse. Are all three of you on In this act? If riot, couldcould one of you bean angel, and take babyi Just till the first curtain? I I don't be- :i Here fihe'll be much trouble; fihe'll get quiet in a mo ment; she's crying now, because I haven't been ' able ". to hold her while i was making up " - ', .Bird and Gussle looked at each other) andi 'then" at thoir slippers. Neither of them. was, to go oa in ' that 'act. but one bad a dite down on the floor with, , one of the extra men, and the other was 'In love . leadIng maIU ; Therefore neither was anx- loua to spend the next twenty minutes la taking care fMir,,toii' nn witi. 'vrr . w -m . flusi hef makeun, , . . ; v ' . . ,Tm sorry, she qpld, with a sharp note of resent- ment la her voice. "I shouldn't have asked" s TReglna turned in a casual way from the particular cracked mirror which she clained as her own. "I'll take her," she said, quietly. ;The others stared. Regina, the baby-hater, the cold,' the irt-tcmpereij! Moreover, she had her sotg to sing In this very scene! "Reglnal", exclaimed Bird Laffln. "You're crazy! Don't you remember you have your song?" "It's sung in the ' wings' returned Regina, im- perlurbably. "And I never hav sung much wlth I . id L ft my arms. , , . The two other girls left the dressing-room In silence 'arms, There was a certain 'odd hungry element In' her manner of grasping the tiny gtrl that' struck the Little Mother-Woman's maternally acute perceptions." , ."Tou you have, a baby of your own?" she ventured 8iyJ t ' , . " , ReJjna fin0Ok. her head fiercely. Then she looked 'at' the 0t WOman wlth a dumb betrayal. ' U died." the said harshly. ) , xhe Mother-Womaa put but her hand to. touch . y. Ja voluntary greedy finger the white dress tt ner wc Hit; than with . safe tact she turned her eyes frca Ilfgina11 f. ' "I'm golcj.. U ' trrT one of M5 Lrs' Jong, ' llack'pins," sta saM; And her ladlSereat way of nr ing It madf Rcgma pawlonalely grateful to her. "Ste's purh a good wA that I'm sure she won't mind!"- ha turned toward the door ' Quickly. "Thank you so mucfl. Mrs. Cairns," she added, in a matter-of-fart - T.ay. . - - As she stood for a moment In the doorway, Regina,' rocking the baby In her arms, could not help exclaim- In, hardlr raisins what she said. "How' little, how www.- m ,, - v , . , - ... . ; awfully little, you are!", . ; IThe.Llttle Mother-Woman'a. forehead grew slightly, pink. . -' ' ' '." ' " '' " " " "Isn't it slllyy she said; theffshe added, with a sort of soft shamefacedness, "Jack caltens his two babies! .... Sue laughed a little sntf hurried away. Regina took the now quiet baby and walked to the head of the stairs, where she could hear what waa going on down on the stage below. After a few mo- ments she desceadod, with' leisurely step, still hush- ing the baby la the hollow of her left arm.Her right hand, with that soft, accustomed touch of mother- hood, caressed the little flannel-shrouded form. rtn thA nin'tra ahn mt imim Ttrnddnn. She was lead- - , ( . ring wa and a great friend of Eleanore Bridge, AC. m III HER HUSBAND WAS ON THE STAGE, MAKING LOVE. the star. 'Her rouge was badly put on, and made unbecoming high lights upon her hard, sharp cheek-' bones. ; "Really!" she exclaimed, "a baby in the theater! ' This is too absurd! I shall certainly speak to Mr. Lemuel, b it yours?" ..." , Regina did not even look at her, but walked on down the stairs, looking, with her grave face, tall figure and pale, clear coloring, not unlike a painted and ow flefed Madonna. The dress she wore, her costumjj for Nl the 1 third act, was a ridiculously bizarre one, but r cneapeft soft new fecllng of her fa.f! and manfipr. Rh nftiwpd hptween three or tctStt . ' pany, who were improving the dusky ' moments' of a dark change by flagrant flirtation, and did not even hear their murmured comments of astonishment When she reached her usual place ia the wings her husband was on the stage. He was making love ' a hls'usual outrageous fashion to the sonbretto who played opposite him; for once, Regina gazed oa the sbens unmoved. ' The nightly torture which she habitually went through was for the nonce lifted and removed. She' clasped the baby closer to her and waited, tall and motionless, for her cue, - . -.Th situation' on the stage required! a tender, welt ing little BioUsdy, which was supposed to Uarm the J we-ywini heart tt the flirting cavalier into a musical and sentimental channel. ; The xsomposer of the Inci- ' dental music had written a cheap waltz song, which Regina had sung each night during the run with a scornful heart and a frigid intonation, . To-night ev-' erythlng seemed different She felt suddenly that she ' could not sing that trivial, meretricious air; instead, another, long and determinedly unsung, if not forgot- ten. drifted insistently across her brain. She had ., . . - : . .. . j, , . , not sung it since the first gold-threaded days of her. mother-life, when Sandy, was still her lover, and hor baby lay on her breast Now, when her cue came, ana ner trained brala responded, she found herself j5ingjng the old,' dear, foolish little song which on one black- summer morning she had vowed aever to sing again:, , , " ' , '. v. "Look where the little stars play And call to the flying Sun; . . ! ; 'Come back, Sun, from your love, the Day, For your work ls: now all done! Come and dance In the moon-lit sky, For the night Is sweet and true; : Come, old Sua, and we dare you try To dance like us In the pleasant blus-- In our ball-room cool and bluo' " It was only when it was all over, and the silenced and bewildered orchestra had taken up the bars of an entrance chorus supposed to follow the little song that Regina realized what she had done. . She heard the stage-manager say sharply, "Great Caesar, Mrs, Calms, what on earth do you mean?" But she could not wait for another word. Speech less, she fled through the crowded wings, biding her -ikadrBgalnst the sleeping baby. She felt that she must go some place where she could be alone; for her newiy.awakeMd M,f ehrank from un.ympathctic ennim-i. Rh "turtiArt br hnrrlAif fni to the Stair- . way that led down to the big room in the cellar where the good wig-maker and his wife, the,ward'robe mis tress, reigned supreme. She met Mrs, Hansel on tbe steep stairs. "Act," It Fran Norrls's baby 1st, nlcht?" she said. "Thepretty Engelein! I haf not you seen lately, Frau Rfglna; It iss all veil mlt your husband, aicht wahr?" "May I take the baby down to the room?" asked Regina, breathlessly. "She is asleep, aad I am afraid the noise la fhe dressing-room" - . "Ach, warum nlcht? Take her down, surely, yess! Ther'e Iss a pile of silk sashes flch ve g!f out to de girls for next Montag, and dey vill make a gut. hubsch resting-place for the lleber " und ruh. nicht?' , kinda place for achlaf 'Is'anyone down there?" asked Recta. "Aber, dere Iss Fritz. Put yoa do not h!m clsi, nlcht? He the kinder loves! I go to Mi&s Erattea. Ach, she is one old maid!" " Regina ran down the stairs, and, slipping past the excellent Fritz, who was sitting curling wigs In the front room, installed herself and the baby In the tiny silk-filled back room where Mrs. Hansel kept all her surplus, as well as her new supplies. . V There, by the light of a dingy gas-burner, Regina ' made the softest of coaches for her small charge. . Sashes, kerchiefs, scarves, and even laces, she used " to make a bed such as a wee fairy princess might have enjoyed, ; Tjpoa this rainbow couch she laid the baby, and then, secure from interruption, she hung -kungrily over the wee little form, and poured oat ta It some of the pent-up mother-love which her own ' ' caby was too many long eternities away to hear. -f . Anff tit tlttlM AHA Alt. tragedies of her restrained life since the baby's death came to the fore with sharp distinctness. 1 . "He never seemed to care!" she murmured, vacll- ' latlng between tears and hardness. "I could have , borne lt-oh.-I think I could have borne it if h had only seemed to care!" Upstairs she could hear the tramp of feet Soon the 4 Tiffin r.-m TIT.-... ..1JI m. .. ' .... Miwa uuwirnuuiui vruuiu vuiua iw mo ner. lam spurious, makfi-bslieva mothnr-wnmnn nf hnr f tmb! ' ' uro. , She got on her knees and clasped the sleeping 1 baby to her breast. The child stirred and whimpered -. coftly, opsc'ag and shutting an aimless hand; its mouth v.-aa hp.lf-opca, moist, and as pjnk as a moss- -rosebud. Its scsnt fair hair, as soft as the fur of a very young klttfn, was damp. Still sleepily crying; she cuidlatf c'.owr Into tbo Boft nest ofReglna's boscm, a::'J, In a menent, had drowsed off again. "U61r Waters tio littlo stars play' sang Reglaa, brokenly, controlling her wild long. to press Icq plecpy baby closor to hsr heart "Asd call to the flying Sun: ; , Coaio taci, Sun, from your love, the Day There waa a flrmnd cxtrcraely hurried step out Bide, an1 a toar.c w!fo apcoUlns a quick word to Fritx, But TazIxa C11 cot notice. She laid tha baby gently down, slngtag, beneath hor breath: "For your work is now all done Sudd'caly there raa a shadow at her side: she wa caucht, .clasped, and heid hard, hard against a very ' etormlly pounding heart "ReKlna!" Cie looked tip, trembling, into the earnestness in ; Ccntly's face, and, crushing down her agitation at what oho saw there, whispored: "Hush! Touli wake tor!" . " The little phrase brought back to them both, with :- a poignancy that was knifollke, the many times la the past that ens had used it to the other, tlptoelnz with hushed laughter about thoir tiny flat, when the -. baby was asleep and they were helping eacbTother get dinner. iE:na, I saw you with that baby -V he sail again, with very unsteady voice. "I did not know I did not realize " "You forgot!" eald Regina, with reproof that was the sharper for its gentleness. . -' He shook his head, dumbly, yet humbly; for he . knew better than she how near he had been ta forgetting. Then with manly determination he said, vehemently and contritely. . 1 , , , "I will never forget again, Regina." 'H'ish, hush, you'll wake the baby!" whispered Re m.- Sandy icte4 the rest silenUy. . "Oh. Mrs. Cairns gasped the anxious volc of tha v Little Mother-Woman at the door, where la Then she caught sight of the heap of silks and what ' lay upon them, and darted forward, with an ejacula tion of relief. 1 ,,t,,, f ,, V' , "I I hunted for you everywhere," she explained, as she gathered her email daughter into her arms, and looked apologetically from Regina to Sandy. Then she seemed to feel some subtle something that was ' new and electric in the air. "I I hope that she has not been any trouble," she said little awkwardly, but with sympathy in ber childlike gaze. The two women looked at each other, a lon: un- demanding look. ' ' ? , ' ." , " ' "Noi eald Regina, a little breathlessly, and with strangely shining eyes. "No, She has not been any-trouble t"
The Charlotte Observer (Charlotte, N.C.)
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Oct. 14, 1907, edition 1
9
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