Theatrical and circus life; (1893) (14743199276)

Identifier: theatricalcircus00je (find matches)
Title: Theatrical and circus life;
Year: 1893 (1890s)
Authors: Jennings, John Joseph, 1853-1909. (from old catalog)
Subjects: Theater Circus
Publisher: Chicago, Laird & Lee
Contributing Library: The Library of Congress
Digitizing Sponsor: The Library of Congress



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s. Their influence extends only toa certain class — to the concert and variety dives — andit is unfortunate to the poor girls, outside of this class,who fall a prey to these ruthless mashers. The theatre appears to possess loadstone qualitiesfor the masher ; it is as attractive to them as the flameof the candle is for the moth or the flower for the bee.I have already in a preceding chapter said a great dealabout the mashing that is done in the audience byboth male and female exponents of the disreputableart. I shall now confine myself to the mashers inthe profession and those who try to mash the pro-fession . Some young gentlemen with more moneythan brains imagine that actresses have nothing elseto do but receive attentions from the opposite sex, andthat there is no wall of China around the virtue ofany woman on the stage. They therefore not only makebold to talk freely about actresses, but are valiant 278 MASHERS AND MASIIINO. enough to try to ensnare them by letters abounding in
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LADY MACBETH. Lady Macbeth: —Infirm of purpose!Give me the daggers; the sleeping, and the deadAre but as pictures: tis the eye of childhoodThat fears a painted devil. Macbeth, Act II., Scene 2. hyperbole and odorescent of cologne-besprent idiocy. MASHERS AND MASHING. 279 The variety actress is the ideal prize of this class, andthey are in their greatest glory when within the frolic-some precincts of the wine-room. I have seen many ayoung man whose hair was parted in the middle crowlustily over the successful capture of a ballet girl, whenhe himself had been the capture. These girls knowwhat their charms are worth and hold them at thatprice, when they see a victim well dressed and withan apparently healthy pocket-book. They, in expres-sive but slangy language, lay for him. They are notfoolish enough to invite him to their side ; they allowhim to make an apparent conquest which guaranteesthem all the greater gain. The young gentleman ofwhom I speak was lured in this way ; and as she s