IN ZEPPELIN TIME

Dominion, Volume 9, Issue 2741, 8 April 1916, Page 5

IN ZEPPELIN TIME

A THEATRE SCENE , (By WilEon'M'Nair, in the "Dailjj / ' Mail.") ■ ./ ;The manager of the theatre walked out shyly among the beauty ohorus. "Ladies and gentlemen," he said ia a thrifty voice, "I am sorry to tell you that a Zeppelin is on its way to — It may be necessary at a later moment' to extinguish, the light. . . I am 'to assure you,-however . . The mana-J ger's voice, tailed away upon his assiu>. ranees. Then the lights began to go out. They; did not go out suddenly. On the con r ; tTary, you' had 'a. clear , impression that, they were goiug out against their will.' They waned, so; to, speak, .and the'theaire was 'quite dark. "It's all right." said the manager, "we're all here." - . - But you felt, all the same, that something was bound to happen. The only; question was "What?" And just then the girl with the yellow hair, who had been flirting with the'other funny 'man when t'he lights went out, had an in-! spiration. The girl- with the yellow • hair' began-, to- sing "The Courtm' .of; Bonnie Lizzie Lindsay, oh!" Ido not say that' she sang faultlessly, or' that; her voice lacked nothing in the way of strength. . . ; That isn t the point;-. The point is that she sang, 'and sang: out so that the words went right up to; the gallery, right back to the. "stand-; ing room only" part of the pit.-- The : words cracked just like a whiplash; so that in a" moment you felt as'if'you: liked it, better in the dark than before, it was dark: And the King and Queen wore glad; to know ,• • _ ■ I was courkiu' of Bonnie Lizzie Lind« say, oh! . , You rise in your seat to cheejr the girl with the yellow hair. *'■ ,' i L. ..8y... that ...time, they, .had. fetched six long candles. Each c-f the! candles had a twist in its elderly ana-: tomy, so that it looked just hke .thai neck of a swan. The manager straight-, 'ened the candles and put them in a row on the stage just behind the foot-, lights, and the girls of the chorus £at: down behind them as if they wanted to be set on fire. Voices in the house.; warned them to be careful. cf.fi'O. The girl, with the yellow hair danced 6trenu-? ousl.t. behind the candles, arid .the whole, company/including the funny man and; the hero and the heroine and the French; girl, made, a dim circle round her. You could just see the outlins of the scenery in the background. '.'Are we downhearted?'.' asked tka girl with the yellow; hair,; and got: aj good strong answer that showed: thai it was all over or nearly so. —- But it was not quite all over yet, for ; thpre was the French girl. \ . The French girl was tall and dark,; and she could sing. She sang thei'Mar-; seillaise." When she began to sing sha was just an ordinary girl m:an ordinary; theatre—when there is ' a Zeppelin; about; but when-she finished sho was : a woman of France with the soul of her: peoplo and her raco blazing in her eyes.; . . . And you understood then all that ; Francs has suffered and all that France ; will avenge. . . . It was like a flaming ; sword that singing, and it pierced you: . . . You. were thrilled to your very? bones as you looked at- the French girl ! threatening out of the shadows, behind : the smoking'candles, with tho immortal ; war song of her people upon her lipa ; and tho immortal hate ot her people; ■in her oyes. . . . And aftor that it did not matter. Tha girl with the yellow hair and the French ; girl between them had changed every- : thing. They had made soldiers and/ fighting men in the twinkling of' an ej-a,' as no recruiting sergeant could possibly have done. The Zeppelin belonged to; til em, so to speak; it was their recruit-; ing sergeant. . . That was what you were thinking , when the lights went up again and tha : girl with the yellow hair and tho French;] girl went on with their play-acting,