The Singer's Triumph

"I was in one of the large villages in the central part of this stato the oiher night," s;iid tlu ccmiiuercial traveler, i " and I was f orced to stay there until i morning. I heard that there was a show in town, and I went up to the Grand Opera House - did you ever notice thatevery vil lage in the country has a Grand Opera House? - and bought a ticket. I was greatly edified. "The play looked to be a farce com edy from ita name, but when the firs act had been on for 20 minutes I found that it was one of the goriest melodramas you can imagine. It was ful of shooting and murders and throwing people over cliffs and all that sort of thing, and the company acted so atro"ciously that it was entertaining to a high degree. "Blood ran in rivers all over the stage until the last act. Then the heroine, who had had a dozen narrow escapes, and who had gone through all sorts of difficulties, but who had all this time kept up her musical studies, made her debtit at La Scala. There were two sets for that act. One represented the stage of La Scala, and the other the greenroom. There was a big, painted audience on the back drop. and the heroine came out and pretended tosing. "Then the supes, who were in front of the painted audience, applauded enthusiastically and greafc bunches oL flowers were thrown at the feet of the debutante. The set was changed, and the heroine was seen coming into the greenrooni with her arins full of flowers. The man who was playing the etage manager stepped forward, shook her hand effusively and said : " 'Madam, my dear madam, let me congratúlate you. You have taken Milau by stoi-m. You have sung like a nightingale. You are without doubt the greatest prima donna of the age. ' "And then the ' greatest prima donna of the age' dumped her flowers on a chair, tripped down to the footlights and sung that classic bailad, 'Do, Do, My Huckleberry ; Do. ' and the curtain descended arnid great applause. " -