PANICS IN THEATERS.

Observer, Volume 6, Issue 149, 21 July 1883, Page 11

PANICS IN THEATERS.

'■','. FIRE! FriK?s.!, , ,'/y'. , 'y.y;'- ! <- No, tha.nl ye, sir ; no drink. iVe. taken the pledge. Don't smile, sir-f-I'm in earnest. The. story you want to know about* all happened through drink. I was riefer give"n to take top ; much, sir ; but I swore. off valtog&therafter that, and the very sight of it turns me si<_k. . Well, eir, I'm head-carpenter now, as you know, but when 1 took niy first engagement . at l&e theatre it was only as assistant. -I. ain't much improved in looks, manners, or bookrlearning,. so you can judge for yourself, sir, that I wasn't the sort of chap for a pretty girl to fall in love with • but I loved her, sir; with all my heart. . Poor Lizzie ! To lodk at her now, you wouldn't think she was the prettiest^of our ballet ladies — as good and honest a girl .as, ever lived. * She knew I was struck,' and was friendly-like to me, but just as if I'd been her brother — . Lord, sir! what's the good of my explaining? ,Yon gentlemen as writes plays', you know how it - always turns out. She only caved, foi" a ljaan as broke' her heart. He was the box-keejDer ; quite a gentleman to a • poor assistant-carpenter like me. Tom wasn't a bad sort when he was in his senses ; but he had two devils for bis masters — drink and jealousy. When they were on him he was like mad. When I heard he was going to marry Lizzie, I warned ber. Bless you, sir, you might as well talk to a stone wall, as to a woman in love; ( the best on 'em will say hard things to you then. She looked at me quite sorrowful. " Joe, I'm surprised that you should do a mean thing !" Poor girl, she fancied , I was speaking ill of Tom, because I was left out in the cold. j Well, sir, it went on pretty ■ well for the first year. He did row Lizzie if any man spoke a j civil word to her, -but he kept off the drink pretty steadily. After little Rosie was born, poor ! Lizzie was so ill she had to give up dancing, and never could take to it again, so they lived on' Tom's salary and what little washing she could take in. They still might have got on comfortably, but Tom took to drinking again. The more he drank, the more jealous he was, and from year to year that home grew more wretched and miserable. Although Rosie was my godchild, I . nayer dared go to see them, for fear of getting Lizzie into trouble ; but whenever Rosie saw me in the\street, she would run up to be kissed, and dive in nny pockets for sweeties as I always kept for her. SShe was a perfect angel, that was, sir ; the only brtVif, happiness her mother had in the world, and the bnlv thing her drunken father cared for, and I (think he worshipped the very ground she stood on.\ When she was fiveK. years old, Tom got acquainted with a seoundi^el of the name of Slug, who seemed to live at the public round the corner. About two years before Lizzfe was married, Slug, who was property-man at our J_\ouse, got kicked out by our manager for insisting Lizzie, as having his own daughter in the leading parts, he was very strict about the ladies o\ the company being treated with proper respect. \ Well, sir, this man Slug vowed vengeance ; on Lizzie and the manager, but he got iiato trouble shortly after ancl disappeared. When 111? turned up again in the neighbourhood, he soon contrived to drink himself into Tom's friendship, and f^jen, sir, evil began brewing in earnest. Tom had.'oi late, and on several occasions, been so very much the worse for drink when on duty, that he was fined heavily. It was the rule qf the theatre, and had to be kept to, in justice to the other | officials who behaved well. • But oiMMtopager is a good mau, sir, as you must know. ; fl^Hp n 't } want the innocent to suffer for the guHJftp whatever was stopped out of Tom's salfl^^Bsent to his wife, that she and the child s hos9HP> starve, but on condition she should keep itW&yJom. her husband. I do believe, sir, that Tlie manager pretended the fines came oftener than they did, that he might help her without hurting her pride. How that blackguard, Sing, found it out I can't tell, but he did. So, on a Saturday, just before the morning performance, and after he'd primed up Tom with liquor, he told him all about it. "And now what d'you think of your precious manager ?" he said. " Why, you fool, don't you know I was kicked out of the theatre for being civil to Lizzie ? Can't you see he's after her himself, you blind idiot ?" ■ You may guess, sir, that this foul lie nearly took away what little sense drink had left Tom ; but he did not get violent, he was brooding-like, aud when someone from tiie theatre took him off to his duty, he followed him like in a dream. When the audience had all taken their seats, Tom went and sat himself in the corner of an empty box, revolving in his head how best he could ruin j the manager. Suddenly, near the end of the peiv : formance, a devilish idea flashed through his mind. " That would do for him and his theatre," he muttered, and hiding himself in one of the curtains of the box, he shouted : " Fire ! Fire !" Oh. sir, that awfid cry ; I shall never forget it. Our old theatre was very different from the present house, as anyone can get out of it quite easy. . It was a pokey little place, with narrow passages, and the crush was awfid. Sir, I say a man who causes a panic ought to be hung ! By a sort of miracle there was only one death, but many were hurt and injured. I I. saw Tom coming out of the theatre, after it was empty, with a wild lcok in his eyes, and, fearing mischief, I followed him home. The half-uttered curse stopped on his lips when he saw Lizzie alone, it was such a Very unusual thing. " Where's the child ?" he said in a hoarse voice. "Please don't be angry, Tom ; .Rosie begged so hard, I had not the heart to say No. The landlady has taken her to the morning performance." With a, "wild cry, Tom rushed out into the street. As he met a crowd of people, I ss\v him ! fall down as one struck dead. You guess?, sir, it was the body cf poor httle Rosie that they were bringing home. The only child in the audience had been the only victem, Tho curse had fallen on the one thing Tom loved. Poor little angel, killed by he* father! Our bad deeds always come s home to us, sir, but' it's seldom they come - so .quick. A .; V ''

Ay The fioor mother 'lost her' reason j •iib*apa^6fy&;y ■.. '■ hd was_an oft&retfiaa^ " way remorse was tortujibg.-hiin'.; he'bnly drank water;, but it Twas "^6'}a%-sir*— ' ; ' '■ it soon killed liim.V - : A-A ''■•'; . fi'. f- t',&vtg£i;si y • {f What's become of ;Liziie -?^-&dybii?i^^h7?y She is my wife. Surprised at my wWT^gya. '<',. woman* as has lost 'her mind? • Weii,<sirji^^By" more like my baby than my wife. , .Thi^e:' ww'ajo ; .one living but me to take- care -of "her ; , aaid -*_!. A though she wouldn't' knO jn. it, poor girl, >I wotddnt't give, the neighbours any right to take aWay.'^r y character. 'G-bod of ; h_e, sir r ?' i Bless r_yduy no. - She has just enough pens'e leftj-to knp,w mej ,ahd when she, says, " Kind Joe," I 'wouldn't haye.aisy : * other man stand in my _?hb'es'forthe.giv6rld. " ,: v ' '"• * '*' ''-'}". 'i'f'r •')-.'. .j *-a.A.; i' -