The Vagabond Volume 3

This historic book may have numerous typos and missing text. Purchasers can download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. Not indexed. Not illustrated. 1859 Excerpt: ... sword, and that some of us were muffled in ermine robes, and stalked majestically across the boards--only my sword would get between my legs, and my fellow nearly broke his neck by falling through a trap-door. We especially liked to change the scenes; the prompter's bell rang every two or three minutes, and the curtain rose and fell amazingly often. Finally, we got more perfect in our parts, and determined to have an overture performed; so one of us jumped into the orchestra, and found some instruments left there. The next thing I remember was an alarm that the usher was coming, " for he heard the loud bassoon," and we scampered away without regard to stage directions, or exits to the right. We stood not upon the order of our going; but went at once. My hiding-place was in a barrel, prepared for the farce that night, and when I emerged I was blacker than soot. However, the usher did not discover our retreats, so we lay quiet until dark, and then ran home. That very night I sat in front, and how strangely familiar everything looked to me, who had been initiated. I wondered no longer at the apparitions, and was particularly indifferent to the balcony scene; I recognised our ermine on the stage king, and thought of the trap-doors as he strode so bravely on. That adventure, however, was soon forgotten; I had not thought of it in a dozen yaars till I sat down to write this paper. The next time I went into the coulisses was under very different circumstances. It was at night; the play was on; I stood in the wings, among the scene-shifters and supernumeraries, the managers, and prompters, and call-boys--all huddled together in strange confusion. Some were bedizened in theatrical finery, others clad in ordinary gear; a noble in silk and satin, and paste ...