A Grand and Artistic Success
28 DEC 1886. Austin Daily Statesman.
THE CONFEDERATE HOME CONCERT. Immense Gathering at Millett’s Last Night. Numbers Turned Away and Dissatisfaction Thereat—Speculation in Reserved Seats.
The opening concert for the benefit of the Confederate Home announced to take place in Millett’s opera house last night, attracted a large number of visitors from surrounding places to the city yesterday. Several large parties passed the whole of the day sight seeing, visiting the Driskill, the temporary and new capitols and other places of public interest. The centers of attraction for all, was of course the Confederate Home headquarters and the box sheets for the sale of reserved seats at the opera house. Early in the day it was announced that the sale of reserved seats would be discontinued except to visitors from a distance, and forthwith the speculators began to operate. The plan was to get some one from a distance to buy tickets for a party, a matter easily accomplished, and then hand them over to the speculator, who would immediately sell them out to persons in the city at a dollar a seat, thus pocketing a very neat profit upon the transaction. One shrewd operator is said to have carried on a thriving business in this way during the day. Even, however, with this high tax on reserved seats, the whole house, upstairs and down, was filled to its fullest capacity long before the hour for the opening of the concert, and if its capacity had been twice what it is, it would not have nearly accommodated the crowd. There was in fact a crush at and around the door for an hour and a half, the crowd rustling and jostling and tramping unceremoniously upon each other. Fortunately there were no injuries of consequence although one lady was slightly hurt by being pressed against the door facing at the entrance. Another lady’s dress was torn and it is said that a child was bruised in the general crush, but this could not be substantiated. Marshal Lucy was on hand with a force of men and finally succeeded in getting the crowd somewhat straightened out. Numbers of persons and many of their visitors from a distance left, being wholly unable to obtain even standing room. The result is that there was a good deal of complaint throughout the city against the managers of the concert. Just how they could have prevented the rush, however, it is difficult to see. If they had charged a dollar for reserved seats they would have been accused of extortion, and if they had made no charge for reserved seats the crowd would have been as great and the scramble greater than it was.
The members of the Austin Musical Union have won for themselves the praise and commendation of all good people for the manner in which they entertained the holders of the tickets to the Confederate Home drawing last evening. The concert and tableaux were a grand and artistic success. The programme opened with an overture “Reception” by Professor Herzog’s orchestra, following which the soldler’s chorus, from Gounod’s Faust, was rendered in fine operatic style by the Musical Union on masse; a vocal solo by Mr. Legler, rendered in his finest artistic manual; a life-like representation of “The Maniac,” by Mr. J. G. Booth, a duet in which the voices of Miss Pfaefam and Mr. Legler richly and sweetly blended, and the pot pouri, solos and choruses from the “Bohemian Girl” finished an interesting Par 1.
The second half of the programme opened with the overture from “Fra Diavola.” Then a beautiful tableaux of the “Confederate States,” impersonated by as pretty a pyramid of young ladies as ever graced a stage. All of the “States” were dressed in colors except one (located on the map in the neighborhood of Virginia) and she, poor thing, was mouthfully arrayed in a mournful “suit of solemn black” with mannuod wrists and a countenance of woe. The presentation of this tableaux was accompanied by a solo, “The Bonnie Blue Frag,” with chorus, by Miss Anna Boardman, whose sweet, sympathetic voice would charm any ear, no matter how untrained to music. Then followed a series of tableaux by the boys who wore and wear the grey. “Off for the War,” “Camp Life,” and “In the Trenches,” were presented with a realistic appearance that could not but arouse feelings of profoundest sympathy for the gallant boys who fought so bravely. The tattered raiments of the boys in the camp scenes, and the eagerness with which the wee bit of salt pork and bread distributed to them was seized and devoured by men who, on the stage were but re-presenting what they had known and tell on the battle fields of a real and tearful war, was sad, indeed, to think of.
“The Drummer Boy of Shiloh,” a recitation by Miss Louisa Shelly, illustrated by a tableaux, was beautiful, as was also the recitation by Mr. Charles T. Hicks. “The Conquered Banner.” The flag which was unfurled on the stage during Mr. Hicks’ recitation was the same one that once waved over the brave boys of the Fourth Texas. The old flag is torn and battle scared. Nearly one hundred bullets have passed through it, and now it is necessary to have it fined to keep it from falling to pieces. The Fourth Texas carried this old loved banner through the hot fights of Gaine’s Farm, Malvern Hill, Eitham’s Landing, Seven Pines, Freeman’s Ford, Manassas Plains, Crampton’s Gap and Sharpsburg, and streamers flying from it, bear the names of the battle fields and the days of the fight. The old Fourth Texas flag is a valuable relic and is tenderly guarded by its present owner.
The last tableau “Returned from the War” was in three scenes, first, “Clasp of the Blue and the Gray,” second, Submission and third, Reconciliation, and was like the rest a beautiful success. The entertainment closed with a medley by the Manning rifle band, and its members outdid themselves as the martial airs and old war tunes filled the house with music and the hearts or the listeners with war like fire.
As stated before the concert was a great success. But one thing there was to mar the enjoyment of it by the lower house, and that was the hoodlumism displayed by some of the occupants of the gallery. There are some people, it seems, who never know how to conduct themselves no matter where they may be. Some of these were present last evening, and although their conduct was not sufficiently uproarious to cause their ejection from the theater, it was sufficiently rude and unmannered as to be highly obnoxious to the performers and the better part of the audience. Simply, because the entertainment was comparatively free, it was no reason to suppose that one can do as he pleases in the audience, and the sooner these objectionable parties are taught this lesson by prompt ejection from the premises the better will it be for all parties.
