I must admit, I am rather excited. I thought I had lost my interest in the theatre. But perhaps not.
August 19, 1865
I told Jane Ellen today that I could not understand the poetry in Jed's Shakespeare book and was worried that I would not be able to enjoy
King Lear.
She says we can use
King Lear
for our first reading lesson.
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I have been trying to read
King Lear.
Jane Ellen is helping me understand the story. It is all about a king who gives his kingdom to his daughters and then goes insane when they turn against him.
August 25, 1865
Jed invited a friend from the newspaper to join us for supper tonight. During the meal, there was a lot of talk about President Johnson.
When he was Vice President, Mr. Johnson spoke very harshly about the South. But now he believes the South should be treated with leniency. He says the government should help the South recover from the war.
Many Northern congressmen, though, are
30
still very angry. They think the South should be punished.
I truly do not know what I think. When I think of Becky Lee and her family, and the wounded soldiers, and the assassination of President Lincoln, I, too, feel angry. But when I remember Captain Heath, the Confederate officer who saved me in Gettysburg, and his family in North Carolina, I do not want him to be punished. And when I remember that my mother's brothers may have been Confederate soldiers, I do not want them punished, either.
How is it possible to feel such different things at the same time?
August 30, 1865
Good news! Pa has received his first inquiry for music lessons! A letter arrived from a
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woman who said she very much wishes for her son to learn the violin. She says she is seeking a patient and talented instructor.
Pa replied immediately. He said he was eager to assist her and was certain he could teach her son to play. He said he would charge three dollars a month, and that she should bring her son for a lesson every week.
Pa seemed very happy that someone finally noticed his advertisement. I hope, I hope, I hope the woman accepts his terms.
September 4, 1865
I am still reading
King Lear.
The plot has gotten very complicated. Many people have been killed or banished.
[Image: Two American flags.]
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Jed wrote an article for his paper this week about President Johnson and his enemies in Congress. Some congressmen are now saying that Jefferson Davis, the President of the Confederacy, should be hanged, like the conspirators who helped John Wilkes Booth murder President Lincoln. They say the Confederacy tried to murder the nation.
In his article, Jed said what most threatens to murder the nation now is the hatred that rages in some of its leaders. He reminded people of President Lincoln's words: "With malice toward none, with charity for all..."
September 11, 1865
Hooray! Pa received word from the woman whose son wants to learn the violin. She found
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Pa's terms "perfectly acceptable" and will bring her son for his first lesson next week. Hooray!
September 12, 1865
Tonight we see
King Lear.
I have not been able to finish reading the play, so I do not know how it turns out. But I must confess that, so far, I cannot understand why Jed thinks William Shakespeare is such a great writer.
September 13, 1865
I have an announcement to make:
King Lear
is a wonderful play! It made a great deal more sense when I saw it acted out onstage last night. I had no idea how truly sad it was! One of the king's daughters, Cordelia, has trouble saying how much she loves him, and he turns against her. The other daughters take
34
over the kingdom and throw King Lear out of his castle.
In the end, when King Lear loses his mind, Cordelia is the only one who comforts him. But then she is killed, and he is all alone. When King Lear loses Cordelia, it is one of the saddest things I have ever seen.
When we came home, Pa was still awake, planning a first lesson for his new student. I rushed to him and threw my arms around him. He seemed startled, but he put down his fiddle and held me for a long time.
September 14, 1865
I told Jed I would like to see more plays by Shakespeare. Again, he said he would "keep his eye out" for something I might enjoy.
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Pa had the first lesson with his new music student today. He is a boy about eight years old. He came with his mother, who introduced herself as Mrs. Charles Edmonds and her son as Master Charles Edmonds Jr.
Mrs. Edmonds said that Charles's violin had belonged to her husband, who had been killed in the war. Pa said he was terribly sorry and that he would be honored to help Charles learn to play.
Jane Ellen and I took Baby Abe to Pa's room. When he was settled, I peeked through the door and watched Pa teach Charles Edmonds Jr. how to play the violin.
First, he helped Charles hold the violin properly under his chin. Then he showed him how to grasp the bow and draw it across the strings.
36
At first, Charles could make no sound at all, but Pa was very patient. He put his arms around Charles and made little adjustments to the way the boy was moving the bow.
Eventually Charles began to make sounds. At first they were scratching sounds. Then they were screeching sounds. Still, Pa was patient.
Finally, Charles took a deep breath. With Pa guiding his hand, he drew the bow slowly and steadily across the strings. The sound was low and rich and sweet. It hung in the air for a moment, then died away slowly.
Pa looked happier than I have seen him in months. "Yes! Yes!" he shouted. "Good boy! Excellent!"
Charles was so excited he almost dropped the violin. When I looked at Mrs. Edmonds, there were tears on her cheeks.
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At breakfast, I asked Jed if his eye was still out for more plays we could see. He laughed and said he would find something soon.
Meanwhile, Jane Ellen is helping me read
Romeo and Juliet.
September 26, 1865
Charles Edmonds had his second violin lesson with Pa today. After the lesson, Mrs. Edmonds told Pa how pleased she was with his teaching. She said it meant the world to her to hear the sound of her husband's violin again.
Pa just smiled and nodded. He actually seemed a bit shy.
[Image: Two American flags.]
38
I am finding
Romeo and Juliet
a bit easier to understand than
King Lear.
The story is very sweet. And Juliet is so young! Jane Ellen says she is only a few years older than I.
September 28, 1865
Today I went with Pa on his rounds of the theatres. None of them need more musicians, but people tell him to keep checking.
I thought Pa would be discouraged, but he did not seem so at all. On the way home, he talked a great deal about Charles Edmonds and his mother, and how happy he was to have such a good student.
[Image: Two American flags.]
39
Jane Ellen got another letter from Becky Lee in Gettysburg. Becky Lee says times there are very hard, for whites and Negroes alike. Many freed slaves have moved north. There is not enough work. Jed says times are hard all over the country.
October 3, 1865
I have finished
Romeo and Juliet.
It ends terribly sadly, just like
King Lear I
Romeo and Juliet both die! Did Mr. Shakespeare write no plays in which everything turns out all right?
October 6, 1865
I am still worried that we will become poor. Pa had two more inquiries about music lessons
40
this week, but that is all. I
know Jed does not earn very much money from his newspaper writing. Jane Ellen cannot tutor children because of Baby Abe and her fragile health.
If Pa does not find more work soon, I worry that we will not be able to pay our rent.
October 9, 1865
I have started reading another play by Shakespeare. It is called A
Midsummer Night's Dream.
Jane Ellen has assured me that this one ends happily.
October 11, 1865
I have a job! A wonderful job at the Olympic Theatre!
Here is how it happened. Today Pa again took me with him on his rounds. We went first
41
to Niblo's Garden Theatre, then to Wallack's Theatre. At both these theatres, the doormen were very rude and said their theatres still did not need any musicians. Then we went to the Olympic, where Mrs. John Wood is starring in
Pocahontas.
The matinee show had just finished and people were streaming out of the theatre. We waited until the crowd cleared, then Pa asked to speak with the stage manager.
The stage manager was very polite, but said they did not need any musicians. He said the only job they had available was for a girl to help dress Mrs. Wood in her costumes for the next play, which opens tomorrow.
I spoke up immediately. I said I was very interested in the theatre and would love a job dressing Mrs. Wood. Before Pa could say anything, the stage manager asked me how old I was -- and I did a dreadful thing. I lied
42
about my age! Instead of telling him I was eleven, I said I was thirteen! Pa looked at me but still didn't speak. I think he was too shocked.
The stage manager asked if I had had any experience in the theatre. I told him I was currently studying all the plays of Shakespeare. I said I liked
Romeo and Juliet,
but
King Lear
was my favorite. I said I thought Shakespeare was an excellent writer.
The stage manager laughed and told Pa to bring me back at six o'clock to meet Mrs. Wood.
All the way home, I begged Pa to let me take the job. At first he said absolutely not, that the theatre was no place for a young girl. I reminded him that he had met my mother when she attended a theatre in Richmond and saw him play his violin onstage.
I told him working in the theatre was much
43
better than working in the factories, where hundreds and hundreds of young girls work.
I told him it was a perfect job for me because most days I could still stay home and help Jane Ellen with Baby Abe.
I told him it was even more perfect because I really
am
interested in the theatre.
Before I could tell him anything else, he said I could accept the job.
Later
I have met Mrs. Wood. She is plump, proud, and very outgoing. She is not only the leading actress in the company -- she is the manager of the whole theatre!
I will work backstage, helping Mrs. Wood and the other actresses get dressed for their roles in a play called
The Streets of New York.
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She says I will not see much of the play, as all my work will be "behind the scenes." But I do not care! I will be working in the theatre! And I will earn five dollars a week!
October 12, 1865
I have had my first night as a dresser. The work is a bit more difficult than I had imagined. There are many costume changes, and little time to make them between scenes in the play.
It was also a bit of a chore fitting Mrs. Wood into her costumes. She kept whispering, "Hurry! Hurry!" as I struggled to fasten the tiny silver buttons on her dresses.
October 14, 1865
Late. Home. Can't write. Too tired.
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October 15, 1865
There are no performances of
The Streets of New York
today because it is Sunday. Thank goodness! I am afraid I have fallen a little behind in my lessons with Jane Ellen. I will try to use today to catch up.
October 17, 1865
My work at the theatre is still difficult but getting smoother. All the actresses are now arriving onstage in time for their scenes, with nearly all their costume pieces in place. I fear I am still behind in my schoolwork, however.
As I write this, I can hear Pa teaching Charles Edmonds in the front room. Mrs. Edmonds is watching the lesson, as she always does. Charles seems to be getting better.
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Pa once tried to teach me to play the violin, but was not successful. He was patient, but I am afraid I was not.
October 20, 1865
As Pa walked me home from the theatre last night, he talked about what a good student Charles Edmonds is. Pa knows I am a little behind in my lessons with Jane Ellen.
He told me that Charles is applying himself. "And that," Pa said, "is the secret of learning."
For goodness sakes, Pa! I intend to apply myself! I am just too busy and tired these days.
October 21, 1865
It is late at night. I have just finished another week at the Olympic Theatre. My
47
fingers are red and sore from hundreds of buttonings and unbuttonings. My back aches from carrying dresses, coats, corsets, hats, shoes, boots, and scarves to and from the costume shop. I am very, very, very, very tired. But I am also very, very, very, very happy.
Mrs. Wood says I am doing "a fine job." She is not one to give compliments, so her words make me very proud. And I
love
working "behind the scenes." I can hear the whole play, and see some of it when I am not hurrying to get the actresses ready to go onstage.
I am beginning to think I might like a career in the theatre.
October 22, 1865
A beautiful autumn Sunday. Our whole family went on an outing this afternoon, even Jane Ellen and Baby Abe! They both seem
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much healthier now that the weather has grown cooler.
Jed took us to Central Park. The park is filled with lakes, lawns, bridges, and roads -- and so many people! Men walked about in their war uniforms. Women wore shawls and hats or kerchiefs. There were many small children being pushed about in strollers.
The leaves were changing, and the park was filled with beautiful reds, oranges, and yellows. It was like a piece of open country in the middle of the city.
I must confess that when we got home, I was a little bit homesick. We did not have to go to a park to see leaves change in Gettysburg.
October 24, 1865
Tuesdays have become busy, noisy days in our home. Pa now has four students. The
49
sounds in the parlor are sometimes truly terrible! But Pa seems very happy teaching. He says Charles Edmonds has the most natural ability of the four.
Natural ability. I wonder what my natural ability is?
October 28, 1865
Last night as I was helping Mrs. Wood get dressed, I asked how she had come to be the manager of her own theatre. She said she had simply gotten tired of always waiting for someone else to hire her to perform. Now she hires herself!
November 6, 1865
This is the last week
The Streets of New York
will play at the theatre. A new play called
The
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Sleeping Beauty in the Wood
opens this Saturday. No one has said anything to me about staying on as a dresser for that play. I am worried that I will be without a job again soon.
November 8, 1865
Tonight when I was squeezing Mrs. Wood into her corset, I built up my courage and asked her what would happen when
The Sleeping Beauty in the Wood
came into the theatre. At first, she didn't seem to understand what I meant. When I told her I was worried about my job, she seemed quite surprised.
She said that I was a wonderful dresser, and of course she wants me to stay on and help the actresses in the new play! Whe
n Pa arrived to walk me home, I was floating on air.
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November 11, 1865
The Sleeping Beauty in the Wood
opened tonight. Things did not go smoothly.
There are many, many costume changes, and I am embarrassed to admit that not everyone arrived onstage fully dressed. Several actors forgot what they were supposed to say. Mr. Ponisi, the prompter, had to call out their lines in a loud whisper from offstage.
Still, the audience seemed to enjoy the show. I suspect most had no idea what was going on behind the scenes.
November 15, 1865
This morning, Jed and I had a discussion about plays. I said I thought
The Sleeping Beauty in the Wood
was silly and scant -- probably because it is meant mostly for children -- and
52
that
The Streets of New York
was a bit overdone: The good people were too good, and the bad people were too bad. I told him that in my opinion, nothing I had seen at the Olympic Theatre came close to the writing of Mr. Shakespeare.
Jed laughed and said perhaps I should write his articles for the newspaper.
I know he was teasing, but I think I might actually enjoy that job.
November 20, 1865
Mrs. Edmonds stayed for tea after Charles's lesson this afternoon. Pa sent me to the market on the corner to fetch some cream and asked that I takes Charles with me.
On the way to the store, I asked Charles about his father. Charles said he was a
53
lieutenant with a New York cavalry regiment. He was shot in the Battle of Williamsburg and died of blood poisoning in a field hospital.
Charles has a slight stammer. But he speaks very earnestly and seems to remember his father with much love. "It was a terrible, terrible tragedy," he said. I wanted to hug his skinny little body and comfort him.
When we got home, Pa and Mrs. Edmonds were sitting together on the settee in the parlor. I could tell that Mrs. Edmonds had been crying. I cannot say for sure, but I suspect she had been talking about Charles's father, too.
November 22, 1865
The Sleeping Beauty in the Wood
has been playing for over a week now, and several of the actors still do not know their lines!
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Mr. Ponisi has gotten quite cross about the situation. Tonight he was nearly shouting the lines to the actors from offstage!
November 28, 1865
Our lives are much more orderly these days. Pa now has seven students. I am doing much better with my lessons with Jane Ellen. We finished A
A Time to Dance-My America 3 Page 2
