His daughter helped him with his inventions, but if she'd cut his hair once in a while 'twould have been a better way of puttin' in the time, 'cordin' to my notion. And there was a rich squire, who made his money by speculatin' in wickedness, and a mortgage, and--Idon't know what all. And those Cape Cod folks! and the houses they lived in! and the way they talked! Oh, dear! oh, dear! I got my money's wuth that afternoon.""What about the wreck? How did that happen?""Don't know. It happened 'cause it had to be in the play, Ical'late. The mortgage, or an 'invention' or somethin', was on board the bark and just naturally took a short cut for home, way Ifiggered it out. But, Jim, you ought to have seen that hero! He peeled off his ileskin-slicker--he'd kept it on all through the sunshine, but now, when 'twas rainin' and rainin' and wreckin' and thunderin', he shed it--and jumped in and saved all hands and the ship's cat. 'Twas great business! No wonder the life-savers set off fireworks! And thunder! Why, say, it never stopped thunderin'
in that storm except when somebody had to make a heroic speech;then it let up and give 'em a chance. Most considerate thunder ever I heard. And the lightnin'! and the way the dust flew from the breakers! I was glad I went. . . . There!" appearing fully dressed from behind the curtains. "I'm ready if you are. Did Italk your head off? I ask your pardon; but that 'Heart of a Sailor' touched mine, I guess. I know I was afraid I'd laugh until it stopped beatin'. And all around the people were cryin'. It was enough sight damper amongst the seats than in those cloth waves."The pair walked over to Broadway, boarded a street car, and alighted before the Metropolitan Opera House. Pearson's seats were good ones, well down in the orchestra. Captain Elisha turned and surveyed the great interior and the brilliantly garbed audience.
"Whew!" he muttered. "This is considerable of a show in itself, Jim. They could put our town hall inside here and the folks on the roof wouldn't be so high as those in that main skys'l gallery up aloft there. Can they see or hear, do you think?""Oh, yes. The accepted idea is that they are the real music lovers. THEY come for the opera itself. Some of the others come because--well, because it is the proper thing.""Yes, yes; I see. That's the real article right over our heads, Isuppose."
"Yes. That's the 'Diamond Horseshoe.'"
"All proper things there, hey?"
"Why--er--yes, I suppose so. What makes you ask?""Nothing much. I was thinking 'twas better Abbie wa'n't along on this cruise. She'd probably want to put an 'im' in front of that 'proper.' I envy those women, Jim; THEY didn't have to stop to hunt up collar buttons, did they."He was silent during the first act of the opera. When the curtain fell his companion asked how he liked it.
"Good singin'," he replied; "best I ever heard. Do you understand what they say?""No. But I'm familiar with the story of Aida, of course. It's a favorite of mine. And the words don't really matter.""I suppose not. It's the way they say it. I had an Irishman workin' round my barn once, and Tim Bailey drove down from Bayport to see me. I was out and Tim and the Irishman run afoul of each other. Tim stuttered so that he made a noise when he talked like one of these gasoline bicycles goin' by. He watched Mike sweepin'
out the horse stall and he says, 'You're a pup--pup . . . I say you're a pup--.' He didn't get any further 'cause Mike went for him with the broom. Turned out later that he was tryin' to compliment that Irishman by sayin' he was a particular sort of feller. These folks on the stage might be sayin' most anythin', and I wouldn't know it. But I sha'n't knock 'em down, for I like the way it's said. When the Almighty give us music he more than made up for makin' us subject to toothache, didn't he."Pearson bought a copy of the libretto, and the captain followed the performance of the next two acts with interest.
"Say, Jim," he whispered, with a broad grin, "it's a good thing this opera idea ain't carried into real life. If you had to sing every word you said 'twould be sort of distressin', 'specially if you was in a hurry. A fust-rate solo when you was orderin' the crew to shorten sail would be a high old brimstone anthem, I'll bet you. And think of the dinner table at our boardin' house! Mrs.
Van and C. Dickens both goin' at once, and Marm Hepton serenadin'
the waiter girl! Ho! ho! A cat fight wouldn't be a circumstance."Between the third and the fourth acts the pair went out into the foyer, where, ascending to the next floor, they made the round of the long curve behind the boxes, Pearson pointing out to his friend the names of the box lessees on the brass plates.
"There!" he observed, as, the half circle completed, they turned and strolled back again, "isn't that an imposing list, Captain?