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Show "ONE NIGHT STANDS." The Experience of an Actress on the Road. A WARNING TO STAGE STRUCK GIRLS. BiddingZ Farewell to Digestion aud Oomfortable BedB. ! 1 shall never forget tuy first experience j of "one night towns." We had Iwen playing play-ing in large cities and staying a week ni a nine in each of them. I noticed a spun of discontent and rebellion in the eon i- pnny when it came near time for our "one night jumps." as they called them, but I thought the act ore unreasonable. 1 rather enjoyed the idea of only staying one day in a place, I thought it would be interesting to see the dhTerent towns, j and I would never have a chance to get j sick of a placo or a hotel. j When we left the city whero wc had j been playing there was a look of settled melancholy on our comedian's face. 1 ; asked him what was the matter. "1 have j just Baid a long farewell to my digestion," diges-tion," said he. "Yea," said the leading man, "bo have I. 1 could have wept when I left my comfortable room this morning. 1 knew 1 would not see another an-other Bpring mattress for weeks." "What cranks they are," 1 thought. "Any one would think we were going to camp out among the Pawnee Indians by the way they talk." When we reached Kmithviue it was j snowing hard, there was no 'bus to take us to the hotel, so we had to walk. The j whole youthful populace seemed to bo at j the train. i "Here they come," yelled a gawky, I overgrown boy aa we came out of the I , station, i : They followed us every step of the way to the hotel Two little girls were ahead I of us, and they kept turning around and walking backwards at the imminent risk of their necks, so as not to lose night of 1 us for an instant. At first 1 felt rather ; j flattered, thinking that IhiB was their ; way of paying tribute to genius; but 1 from tho nature of their remarks I soon learned that 1 was greatly mistaken. If there is anything iu the world that people peo-ple in country towns look down upon and despise it is '"show folks." When we arrived at the hotel we found 1 it a comfortable looking wooden building. build-ing. "This looks quite homelike and nice," 1 said. "1 wish I had your hopeful hope-ful disposition," said the comedian gloomily. We went up to the parlor and waited lo he shown to our rooms. After we had been there forBome time a shock headed boy appeared with our keys. My room was bare and comfortless, there was a sheet iron stove in the corner, but there was no fire in it. I called the boy's attention to this fact, and he said' he would build a fire "in a jiffy." Ho went away, but soon came back again, bringing bring-ing a basket of wood. He began to build the fire. Just as ho had cleared the ashes out of the stove some one called "Bell boy," and he disappeared. 1 began to think lie had forgotten all about me, i when he came back and began again, i Ab he was going to light the fire some one shouted "Porter," he got up and j went out. 1 waited for him for some ; time, then I went into the hall and called : "Bell boy" as loud as 1 could. He came running up the halL "I want my fire ; built,'' I said. "Wall, 1 can't wait on more'n forty at once, can I?" ho said, j "Why don't some of the other bell boys come up'r" "There ain't none," he said, j "I'm the only porter and bell boy and : waiter and clerk there is." At last my fire was built and I lay down to-rest. I had been traveling all night and part j into ii nice nap I wasawakened by aloud I shriek. I started up. What was it? I soon found out. A party of "young ' folks" from the neighboring farms had j come down to "see the show." They drove into town in sleighs, and as they wanted a "real good time" they came early in the afternoon so as to take supper sup-per at the hotel and go to the "apery j house" afterward. I They had assembled in the parlor, and i were "soothing their savage breasts" ! with music. They played on the wheezy old mclodeon and sung "White Wings" and "Stick to Your Mother, Tom." After they had sung all the sentimental Bongs they knew, they began on Moody and Sankey. After a while they tired of singing, and a blessed calm followed for a few blissful minutes. But it did not last long; they began playing games, ! and ran up and down the halls shriek- ing, laughing and banging doors. 1 gave up all idea of sleeping and lay there listening to their artless merriment until supper time. When the boll rang for supper a deadly silence fell. "Thank goodness, ; they have gonel" I thought. Little did ' 1 know them! When I opened my door there they stood, ranged along the wall in rows, waiting for the "show folks" to come out. They made personal remarks in loud, piercing voices as we passed j them, then they followed us into the . dining room, where they never took their ! eyes from us, but watched every mouth- i ful we ate. There was nothing fit to eat on the table. 1 drank a cup of some! strange compound, which they called i tea. It neither cheered nor inebriated me. When we got to the "opera house" we found a dirty little stage and dirty little dressing rooms. It was so cold in the dressing room that we had to break the ice in the water pitcher. We shivered shiv-ered through a performance. The people in the audience never laughed when they ought to, and they always laughed when they ought not. Anything at all approaching ap-proaching the nature of a love scene thev ' seemed to think excruciatingly funny, but they never smiled during the comedy scenes. As soon as the curtain was down we packed our trunks and hurried to the depot. The train was throo hours late, bo we sat in the station until nearly 3 o'clock in the morning. A Tier a week of such experiences the comedian said to me, "How do you likoone night stands?" "I do not like them," I replied. Co-: him bill? in Chicago Tribune. j |