| Show the clare of ofle 1 1 60 lights BY ELMER BERNARD coper copyright ight 1902 by dally daffy story pub P b co so dull ruie eare return to your 1 gilr F for or the world la Is bright and gay and life Is too brief to entertain grief so lot joy rule night and day and with a knowing binl ic a suggestive ig estive smirk and a wicked twirl of that nimble too toe the singer pinger swung him pelf into info the wings amid a hurricane 41 pt pi applause there was no song and dance man mail on the he vaudeville stage who set the people so wild as billy pepsin and many times did it he have to come back and repeat the refrain of ills his latest song before the audience would permit the next act to be put on tile the song seemed particularly to at the singer of all ail the light li hearted barted f apostles of careless safety galety billy pepsin was easily the most single hearted and the great audience which sought the theaters where he performed fair ly reveled in his reckless memI merriment ment jund And thoi thorough ough abandon and on oil this night even more than usual he he threw himself into the very spirit of ills his part and with the now new song which was as foolish as it was Adapt adaptable ablo to dillys billys peculiar atmosphere lie he sent the audience fairly ln in to hysterics they applauded until they were tired fired from the very physical exercise and agreed to a man that there never hail had been anything so funny anny since the dawn of time and that such a stunt could come only from a man who knew no care and never had no more moie serious responsibility than to ascertain how he could get a light for llis his cigarette ali ah could that wildly cha cheering dring and laughter convulsed crowd have stepped into Gia comos place an hour after the performance closed they would have seen a very different side of the picture giacomo last name forever tore ver lost to fo history was a smart little italian possessed of indefatigable persistence si stence and a wife who could cook with that divine touch which is given iven only now and then to the daught daughters ers of eve it was a shabby little place ou off an alley never too clean and almost ampa impassable ln in wot weather almost I 1 say advisedly because it never was impassable to the stage people of the middle type who formed the principal support of giacomo this partly because the coolen cooking g and the wines were so po good and cheap for y your our actor of iny any class chass knows what is good and wants it and perforce ills his purse puree f strings forbid pherrys Sher rys or rectors au ati r 4 fv p steady diet and then the place was always open at least until the last strat straggler gler was ready to retire the lights never went out before dawn and many a morn did giacomo doze t behind the little bar and ills his fat wife in a chair in the cramped kitchen un til full time to open again for the days business of course the actors did not make up the whole of the patronage of 02 Gia comos place many of the coun tryman of the proprietor of the more prosperous class found their a way war there and reveled in the spaghetti and the puce pure wine of the land hind of their it nativity A also so during the still watches of the night did many newspaper men through with their protracted grind pick their way through the tho grimy alj ley jor tor their early morning repast and the place was waa not without a cera tain reputation to the more prosperous portion of mankind and often came parties with a keon keen desire to behold bohemia parties who looked not at the prices on the bill of fare at all i but dined and wined and went back bach into society well on the night of which we spoke in opening this sketch an hour after the performance closed at tho the lyceum any one into gia e como comoh H mient nave seen nearly ano on entire party of actors and actresses who had entertained them so hilariously eating and drinking and quarreling k t F ill lull I 1 j i billy and gossiping before the bar or at tile the unclothed tables and apart from all at aai an obscure little table in a corner sat the ono one or of all the troupe who had inspired the great reat est cst laughter and displayed the greatest abandon bi billy lly pepsin peon ills his face was wa heavy sheavy with gloom aad and th the expressive eyes which had flashed so significantly fi and so wickedly at the audience were dull and introspective ile he was eating ills his chops alone and moodily washing I 1 thorn them down irom from a mug 0 ot ale at his elbow elbo ile he paid no attention to tile the sallies of the others who now and then sought to a rouse arouse hini him from the cloud that seemed to envelop him but sat on alone puffing liis ills pipe after his simple repast was finished and so he had sat land and so acted for many months months which had now grown into years as was recalled by alphonse gibaud who did the wonderful acrobatic act and who had been associated with billy for many years off and on too bad aint it said he tossing a fin finor finger or toward the solitary figure id like to see a woman who could d do it to me he neve levei r has smiled d off 0 jt chosta the stage t e since S sally ally left him ill be bet t the drinks anyway I 1 never saw him the story inquired a stranger in dress suit stilt who was doing tile the town and had drifted into gia comos placa with his party as he ordered drinks for all at the bar alphonse feeling the importance of the situation sipped his wine thoughtfully and replied well I 1 guess theres no harm in it t everybody knows and there aar aint t much to it anyway billy pepsin pepsi n the funniest man mail in the biz got dead tuck stuck on a 11 little soubrette sally waters and married her she was a prel ty little piece and fresh from the country well sir you never saw such lolly gagging as happened for a year uvaun uri was clean aan ana arien the little girl came wo we all thought ho he Z 11 1 I 1 ka ifa T billy she said softly her voice trembling would go 0 bughouse bug house they fixed up a little flat and billy refused all otters offers to go out of town preferred erred to take half as much and be home well iseli you know the ways of women woman she tired of it and slipped dout out one day with a jew rn manager anage who had always had a roll loll at as big as your le leg and wore diamonds that put your eyes out all there is to it only that billy has never boon been known to smile since hes got the kid in an expensive school and is saving every cent lie he lays hold of so she wont boht haqq have to be an actress he says had a chance to kill the jew once but raise his hand said he reckoned sally knew best what she wanted too bad spoiling of the best fellow that ever happened my but how atwould it would surprise the guys who laugh at him every P night ight to get a Z glimpse af pf of that mug off the stage the glasses rattled and and jingled and the conversation passed to pleasanter plea santer thomes themes whilo while the jollity was at the heights the door opened and a slip of a woman sidled in she was scantily clad and shivering from the da dampness maness of the drizzling cain rain out side unnoticed she glanced about and timidly made her way across tile the room to the corner where billy sat I 1 shell find fina little game kame there carelessly remarked oneff one of t the party at the bar at his elbow she rea reached blied out a aliah shaking hig hand and touched the actor on the shoulder dilly billy she said softly her apice trembling bling i at tile the sound of the voice voce the ahe i nan man ae leaped a ped to his feet as though shocked with a battery before he could speak she resumed please billy dont hurt me I 1 am so 90 cold and weak I 1 wont bother you much 1 I dont ask for or forgiveness only I 1 just had to see you once more inora before before the end and she flung her hand in th the 0 direction of tho river and billy please please I 1 want to see little sally once more take me to her I 1 wont speak to her J just let me lookyat look at lier her in her sleep and kiss her she know 1 I 1 I am so co cold ia ano lonesome ana i ve sur but so much and im going out there into the blackness all alone and im afraid and so wicked it seems to me it would bo be easier if I 1 could see her and if you could tell me that you forgive me billy I 1 know I 1 dont deserve it but she got no further the man who had been standing as in a trance had bad gathered her in ills his arms and yaure youre coming back to us sally of your own free will it sally r arid he e held aji N breath as tie lie awaited nor answer oh billy I 1 aint fit I 1 havo have been so BO wicked but I 1 want to oh how I 1 want to dilly billy an and d J 1 will try and mako make so far as I 1 can tho the lanky figure straightened up and there was a smile on ion hiu his face such as it is seldom gln given mortals to see he 0 hold her close to him regardless of the stares stare of the onlookers well go back to the hat flat I 1 have kept it all these years just as it was 1 1 I knew come back and tomorrow we will send for the kid and by jovo jove tonight to night well have one of those ra you used to make wont wo sally and they passed through the door andt and the hd darkness outside seemed illumined lu mined well ill be d d a remarked al ph phonic phon 0 nse sc bi breaking along a long silence of the entire party and everybody laughed hysterically whereas there was no call at all to laugh and glacomo giacomo for the first and last time in the history of the place said evera boda coma up and have bave a drinka on the house and everybody did |
