Chapter I: Prologue

The theatre and the circus, both sources of unlimited amusement to the world, are also objects of the greatest interest to all who have had even a single peep at the stage or pressed their feet even once upon the sawdust precincts of the tented show. The tricks and illusions that are mystifying to nine-tenths of those to whom they are presented rarely fail to be productive of pleasure, and the performers, whether before the foot-lights or within the circus ring, generally succeed in so thoroughly winning the hearts of the public, that, though their faces, when the paint is off and the atmosphere of glory has departed, might not be recognized upon the street, their names are so fixedly identified with the pleasant moments associated with their art, that they become household words, and are spoken, with admiration and praise, by all classes, from the newsboy and bootblack up through the various strata of society even to the ruler of the nation.

In presenting this volume to the public the intention has been to bring the player and the people into closer relations, and by revealing the secrets of the stage and sawdust arena to show that what appears at first to be deep mystery and to many, who are bigoted and averse to theatrical and kindred entertainments, the blackest diabolism, is merely the result of the simplest combinations of mechanical skill and studied art, and is as innocent of the sinister character bestowed upon it as are the efforts of school children at their annual exhibitions or the exercises of a Sabbath School class before a row of drowsy and nodding church-deacons. Fault may be found with the private lives of numbers of the members of the theatrical and circus profession, but the sins and shortcomings of individuals, can be visited upon the entire class with no more justice than can the frailties of a few preachers be applied generally to the pulpit, or the dishonesty of a handful of lawyers be reflected upon all the disciples of Blackstone in existence. Neither is it just to class as theatres places of resort that do not deserve the name--the "dives" and "dens" that are frequented by disreputable men and women whose low tastes are catered to by men and women every bit as disreputable as their patrons. Such establishments receive, in this volume, only the severe treatment they fully merit.

In explaining the mysteries of stage representations, and indicating the tricks of ring performances, as well as in speaking of the private lives of performers and giving biographies of the most noted actors and actresses now before the public, an attempt has been made to be perfectly accurate in every detail. The anecdotal portion of the book has likewise received careful attention, and indeed every feature of the work has been given due consideration, in the hope that in and out of the profession, THEATRICAL AND CIRCUS LIFE may meet with a favorable reception and be regarded as worthy the subjects of which it treats. Commending it to the kindness of all into whose hands it falls; and assuring the inhabitants of the mimic and real worlds, that, whatever construction may be placed upon his sentences, naught but respect and affection is felt for the true and good men and women of the stage, the author parts from his volume regretting that it is not large enough to give everybody a place in its pages, or to say as much about each individual as each deserves.

J. J. J.

ST. LOUIS, August 1, 1882.

CONTENTS.

CHAPTER I.

A PRELIMINARY PEEP.
PAGES
Admission Fees--Cerberus at the Back Door--The Awe-Stricken
Stranger behind the Scene--Swarms of Actors and Employees--
Description of Stage Settings--The Green-Room and Dressing-Room
Explored--A Visit to the Dressing-Tent of the Circus--An
Act that Beats anything of the kind in the World--The Female
Minstrel Gang and the Break-o'-Day Girls 19-27

CHAPTER II.

A THEATRE OF SHAKESPEARE'S DAY.

Rude Carts as Primitive Stages--Followed by Stone Theatres
with Pits for Stages--Theatres of the Elizabethan Period--
Sunday Theatres in the "Golden Age"--Description of the Globe
in Shakespeare's Time--Plays in the Times of Henry VIII.--
Sign-boards as Scenes--Anecdote of Charles II.--The "Wits,"
"Clever" Men and the Vulgar Crowd--Pipes, Tankards, and
Gossip 28-36

CHAPTER III.

THE AMERICAN THEATRE.

Davy Garrick at Drury Lane, London--English Actors sail for
America--Voyage in the Charming Sally in 1752--The First
American Theatre--The First Programme--The First New York
Theatre, 1753--The First Performance in Philadelphia, April,
1754--The First Show in Boston, August, 1792--The Priest
and the Spanish Lady--Elegant Theatres of the Present
Period 37-42

CHAPTER IV.

AT THE STAGE-DOOR.

Front Door and Back Door Entrances--"Mashers" at the "Stage-Door"
--The Cerberus who Stands Guard--Perquisites Paid to Him--
Bulkhead and the Ballet Girls--The Tricks of the Scene Painter
on the Girls--The Girls' Revenge--Bold and Heartless Lovers
--Notes Pushed under the Dressing-Room Door--Alice Oates's
Mash--Watching the Manœuvres of the "Mashers"--Tale of the
Pink Symmetrical 43-54

CHAPTER V.

BEFORE THE FOOT-LIGHTS.

People who Patronize the Theatre--The Young Blood--Members of
the "Profesh"--The Giddy and Gushing Usher--The Bouncer--
The Peanut Cruncher--The People who go out "Between Acts"--
The Big Hat Nuisance--Anecdote of George and Harry 55-68

CHAPTER VI.

BEHIND THE SCENES.

An Amateur Theatre--The Author's Experience as "Imp" in a
Spectacular Scene--A Trip to the Moon 69-85

CHAPTER VII.

IN THE DRESSING-ROOM.

Goodwin's "Make-up" for Hobbies--Booth and Company Playing
"Hamlet" in Street Costume--Dressing-Rooms of Old-Time and
Present Theatres--Louis Harrison Spoils a Play at San Francisco
--How Actors "Make up" for Various Parts--The Hair-Dresser and
the Actress 86-105

CHAPTER VIII.

WITHIN THE WINGS.

The Stage Prompter and His Duties--Actors who "Stick" and some
who "Never Stick"--A Popular Actress and her Useful Husband
--The Firemen's Amours--Mary Anderson and Her Chewing-Gum--
Emmet's Indiscretions 106-121

CHAPTER IX.

STAGE CHARMS AND OMENS.

Burning of the Southern Hotel and Kate Claxton's Presence--
Superstitions of John McCullough, Raymond, Joe Jefferson,
Sothern, Florence, Booth, Chanfrau, Byron, Thorne, Neilson,
Lotta, etc., etc.--Courtaine and Ince 122-143

CHAPTER X.

NOT DOWN IN THE BILL.

Actors who Memorize whole Newspapers--Lovely Peggy--Kean Dying
as he Played--Sol. Smith's Funny Adventure--A Masher made
Serviceable--Charlotte Cushman and the Colored Bell-Boy who
brought Down the House--The Call-Boy's Revenge--The Lecturer,
Trick Candle and Trap Door--An English Performance of William
Tell 144-161

CHAPTER XI.

THE ILLUSIONS OF THE STAGE.

Mrs. Bellamy and Mr. St. Leger in Dublin--Rousseau's Description
of Paris Opera--Modern Mechanism--Producing Steam, Fire,
Thunder, Lightning, etc.--Olive Logan and her Jewels--Snow
Storm in "The Two Orphans"--Rain in "Hearts of Oak"--Rivulets
in "Danites"--Funny Inventory of "Property" in a London
Theatre 162-182

CHAPTER XII.

MORE OF THE MYSTERIES.

The Property-Man and his Duties--Sunlight--Moonlight--
Twinkling of Stars--Ocean Waves--Fire in "Phœnix" and
"Streets of New York"--Full Description of the Famous Raft
Scene 183-194

CHAPTER XIII.

THE ARMY OF ATTACHES.

Broken Down or "Crushed" Actors as Door-Keepers--The Treasurer of
the Theatre--The Usher--Orchestra and Leader--Stage Manager
--The Scenic Artist--The Stage Carpenter, Supes and Minor
Attaches, and Last but not Least the Call-Boy 195-205

CHAPTER XIV.

STAGE STRUCK.

The Young Man from Cahokia--The Box of Gags--Stage Struck Girls
of Louisville--The College Graduate from Illinois--"The
Warrior Bowed His Crested Head"--The "N. G." Curtain--Marie
Dixon's Failure--Mrs. H. M. Lewis, of Charleston, Duped by
Schwab & Rummel--Harry Russell Pseudo "Manager"--A Colored
Troop's Curious Epistle 206-226

CHAPTER XV.

THE REHEARSAL.

Old-Time and Present Rehearsals--Olive Logan's Description of a
Rehearsal--Rehearsal of the _Corps de Ballet_--Appearance of
Taglioni, Cerito, Carlotta Grisi, Lucile Grahn at Her Majesty's
Theatre, in London 227-240

CHAPTER XVI.

CANDIDATES FOR SHORT CLOTHES.

Advertising for Ballet Girls--Salaries Paid them--Who Apply--
Where the Can-Can Flourishes--The Ups and Downs of a Ballet
Girl's Life--The Nautch Dancers 241-250

CHAPTER XVII.

TRAINING BALLET DANCERS.

Interviewing Sig. J. F. Cardella--The French School Theatre La
Scala--Amount of Practice Required--The American Ballet--
Salaries of Premieres, Coryphees, etc.--The Time Required--A
Little Fond and Foolish at Times 251-263

CHAPTER XVIII.

PLAYS AND PLAYWRIGHTS.

The Trials and Tribulations of the Gawky Young Dramatist--
English, French and American Playwrights--The Desire for
Foreign Plays--Bartley Campbell's Christmas Story 264-275

CHAPTER XIX.

MASHERS AND MASHING.

Gunakophagists or Woman-Eaters--Corner Loafers--Mashers of the
Profession--Female Mashers--The Blonde Beauties of the Leg
Drama--Model Letter--Lillian Russell's Escapades--"Patti"
and the Midget "Foster"--The Old Masher Squeezed--The Girl in
Red Tights at Uhrig's Cave--Music and Mashing 276-295

CHAPTER XX.

THE MAIDEN AND THE TENOR.

Ambleleg--His Soul Full of Art and Throat Full of Music--Miss
Justaytine the Pink of Beauty and Perfection of Belleship--The
Chorus Singer Mashed on the Maiden--The Mash Mutual--The
Brother and Lover Mash the Tenor--Suit for $10,000 and the
Compromise 296-302

CHAPTER XXI.

FISHING FOR FREE PUFFS.

A First-Class Puff in a Leadville Paper--All Anxious to Appear
in Print--Various Ways of Puffing--Sending Photos--Diamond
Robberies--Falling Heir to a Fortune, etc.--Minnie Palmer's
Artless Display of Underwear--The Abbott Kiss--Catherine
Lewis Fling--Emelie Melville's Presents to Critics--The
Morning Buzzard and the Evening Crow 303-314

CHAPTER XXII.

THE ACTRESS AND THE INTERVIEWER.

All Performers must Meet the Interviewing Fiend--How the
Interviewer is Received by Patti, Nilsson, Gerster, Kellogg,
Cary, Hauk, Abbott, Bernhardt, Morris, Modjeska, Neilson,
Anderson, Davenport, Mitchell, Lotta, and Others 315-319

CHAPTER XXIII.

A FEW FOOT-LIGHT FAVORITES.

Mistress Woffington--Children as Actors and Actresses--Little
Corinne--Debut of Emma Livry--Nell Gwynne the Fish Girl--
Lola Montez, the Pretty Irish Girl--Adah Isaacs Menken as
_Mazeppa_--Mary Anderson the Tragedienne--Lotta and Maggie
Mitchell, and a Host of Others 320-342

CHAPTER XXIV.

CHINESE AND JAPANESE THEATRICALS.

Great Length of the Play--Description of a Chinese Theatre--
The Prompter--The Audience--The Actors--The Musicians--
Japanese Theatres--No "Reserved Seats"--Prices of Admission
--Side Shows 343-352

CHAPTER XXV.

OPERA AND OPERA SINGERS.

Palmo, the Father of Italian Opera in America--Interview with
Col. Mapleson--The Cost of Rigging a Company--What it Costs
Every Time the Curtain is Rung Up--Mme. Grisi's Superstition--
The Best Operas--Salaries of Singers--Neilson and the Diamond
Merchant 353-366

CHAPTER XXVI.

THE MINSTREL BOYS.

Emmet, Brower, Whitlock and Pelham among the Earliest--Pot-Pie
Herbert--Daddy Rice and Jim Crow--Zip Coon--Coal Black Rose
--My Long Tail Blue--Early Days of George Christy--Minstrel
Men Generally Improvident--Minstrel Men as Mashers--Haverly's
Mastodon Minstrels--The Boys at Rehearsal 367-381

CHAPTER XXVII.

PANTOMIME.

George L. Fox, the King--G. H. Adams, his Successor--Boxing
Night in London 382-388

CHAPTER XXVIII.

VARIETY DIVES AND CONCERT SALOONS.

First-Class Varieties--Harry Hill's Famous Resort--Interview
with Harry Hill--Ida and Johnnie--Deacons in a Dive--The
Bouncer at Work--The Cow-Boy's Call for Mary--The Can-Can--
Music by Bands--Over the Rhine 389-415

CHAPTER XXIX.

A TEAM OF IRISH COMEDIANS.

The Song and Dance Men--Harrigan & Hart--Levi McGinnis the
Alderman 416-429

CHAPTER XXX.

THE BLACK ART.

Sword Swallowers--Jugglers in America, Europe, China, and
Hindoostan--Herman Sells the Barbers--Herman Sold by the
"Boys"--Wonderful Chinese Jugglers--How Ladies are Suspended
in Mid-Air--How to Eat Fire--Walk on Red Hot Iron--Cut off
a Man's Head, etc., etc. 430-439

CHAPTER XXXI.

THE INDIAN BOX AND BASKET TRICK.

The Trick-Box--The Board--The Basket--The Magician's "Ghost
Story" 440-448

CHAPTER XXXII.

VENTRILOQUISM.

Prof. Kennedy and Val Vose--Louis Brabant _Valet de Chambre_ to
Francis I. Wins Wife and Fortune through his Wonderful Gift--M.
St. Gille and his Wonderful Exploits--Alexandre and the Load
of Hay--The Delusion Fully Explained--How to do it--The
Suffocated Victim 449-458

CHAPTER XXXIII.

ON THE ROAD.

Making Dates at the "the Square"--Copy of Contracts--Billing
the Town--The Cyclonic Advance Agent 459-465

CHAPTER XXXIV.

THE GREEN-EYED AND OTHER MONSTERS.

The Street Arabs and Lotta--The Stage at the Beginning of the
Eighteenth Century--Little "Accidents" of Bernhardt and
Indiscretions of Patti--"Sudden Johnnie" and Colombier--
Lizzie McCall's Crime--Miss Bertha Welby and Miss Cleves--The
"Old Gray" and the Skipping Rope Dancer--Husband and Wife and
Ballet Girl--Mephistopheles and Venus 466-483

CHAPTER XXXV.

JOHN WILKES BOOTH, PRESIDENT LINCOLN'S ASSASSIN.

Shooting of Abraham Lincoln--Booth's Rehearsal at Wallack's--
An Old Actor's Opinion of J. W. Booth--His _Richard the III._
a Fine Piece of Acting--Booth and Collier as _Richard_ and
_Richmond_ 484-491

CHAPTER XXXVI.

THE SUMMER VACATION.

How the Stars and Lesser Lights Disport Themselves--Actors at the
Seaside--The "Old Gray" Surprises the Actors at the Banquet--
Millions Spent upon Theatricals 492-501

CHAPTER XXXVII.

FUN AMONG THE ELKS.

Who the "Elks" are--Jughandle's Friend Wants to be an Elk--
Getting the Candidate Ready--The High Muck-a-Muck--The
Peculiar Circle--The Descent--The Path of Progress--The
Upward Flight to Glory--Down! Down!! Down!!!--On "Eincycle"
--The Merciful Net--An Elk 502-511

CHAPTER XXXVIII.

THE CIRCUS IS HERE.

The Disengaged Canvasman's Poetry--Circus Posters--The Grand
Parade--The $25,000 Beauty--Twelve Ponies and Forty Horses
on a Rampage--Henry Clay Scott and his Aged Father--Sold his
Stove to go to the Circus 512-521

CHAPTER XXXIX.

UNDER THE CANVAS.

The Small Boy and the Circus--Beating the Show--Slack Wire and
Balloon Performances--Donaldson's Ill-Fated Trip--Frightful
Accident in Mexico--Circus Green-Room and Dressing-Rooms--The
Clown--Bareback Riders and Tumblers--Merryman's Admission Fee
--The Clown's Baby 522-535

CHAPTER XL.

ACROBATICS AND EQUESTRIANISM.

Training Children--Olive Logan on the Circus--Trapeze
Performers--Tight Rope Feats--Training Riders--The Leading
Equestrienne--The Great English Rider, Miss Lily Deacon--The
Georgia Lady's Experience--Cow-Boys Raid on the Ring 536-552

CHAPTER XLI.

A ROMANCE OF THE RING.

Shadowville--Miss Nannie Florenstein, the most Wonderful Bareback
Rider in the World--Her Cruel Taskmaster--Ned Struthers to
the Rescue--"All's Well that Ends Well" 553-562

CHAPTER XLII.

LEAPING AND TUMBLING.

The Athlete of Ancient Rome--Grand and Lofty Tumbling of To-day
--Double and Triple Somersaults 563-571

CHAPTER XLIII.

AN ADVENTURE WITH GIANTS.

Capt. M. V. Bates and Wife--The Tallest Couple in the World--
The Fat Woman and the Living Skeleton--The Circassian
Girl 572-580

CHAPTER XLIV.

THE TATTOOED TWINS.

The "Ad." in the Morning Paper--Capt. Costentenus--The _Modus
Operandi_--Henneberry and the "Old Salt"--Singular Story Told
by Henry Frumell--Tattooed by South Pacific Savages 581-589