"Little Chrysanthemum."

Timaru Herald, Volume LXXXI, Issue 12583, 21 January 1905, Page 1 (Supplement)

"Little Chrysanthemum."

".I'i-Tljeie were three of them in the troupe—twtf'Bthe, slim brothers in black tights and broad, Hue sashes, and {hi renowned Chrysanthemum/ 1 who sat deitfrimlj- on a mat at the back- of- the stage; osd' fanned herself with energy during the tWltttSny. ■ ■ ■ ' "* m the. brothers . had. finished doing J ternbie things with brocd-bladed knives ! •ad lighted lamps, which they fiong from 1 ■ one *tl> another in the most careless way, thea'it was that "Little Chrysanthemum 'got in her work-. lJoSfing her krmono of , -i* vatif. Wne sSEfc, with" black storks on it, *-etifr'Wpeaied m ashort' tunic and tights ! Iffie her brothers. The band struck op a: ! rattling; Sbasa march, and the great exhibition of jra-JitsTi, or Japanese w:estlmg, bigaSft ■The audience on the Tier Pavilion at Whitesand-on-Sea had all of tbem heard of, justJ a good many of them seen, JapaneseBofc a -female exponent of jrojitsv "was a novelty. _ .■/* Tn my country woman wrestle jnst like a,jpaß,'* airily explained the elder brother to. any townsman or visitor he might encounter during Ms fees intervals between the s&tw*. "Your women ride bicycle, play hockey, tennis, cricket—not? This iiu-JltsTi, it's all the same like that." .Think he would smite expansively, roll another cigarette in his slim .brown fingsrs; while his hearer, especially i£ young and impressionable, wonld reverently order fcim another ginger-beer, with a slice of lemon, and wish in heart f•* it those rotters "*t the-office coafci see him in intimate the young men visitors to Whitemsda, who had the privilege of paying for-the Jap's refreshments, and occasionally: finding him some of the King's silver '"tilt Saturday," was Percy Briggs. Night alter night found Percy in one of th-f chairs ''at the Pavilion,'but was deaf - and Kind to all but the piquant brown face and lisping, broken English of Little Chrysaßtiemam- . Jt was an easy matter to strike op an acquaintance with' the head of the troupe, -affabSity itself;, and, Percys heart beat- quickly, he.'found an opportmiiiy ot hinting at an introduction to the r«L- Bat, with true-Oriental impert turbability, the juggler ign'ored tle suggestion. emile was as btand as ever; his manner even more geniaEjhis TTqu' healt !' as he sipped his drink, even more cordial; hut the broadest hints were parried with a dexterity worthy of a Japanese and a jugE?cr». Percy was nearly in despair. His fortnwhtVteiye'was .ife'iiatora" ' end, "and he was no nearer his object than when'he had 'firsfe. landed at Mrs: Rogers's «rfect ""hoarding esfabSaltment- The thought of r refiirning to the metropolis without xpeoking to Little Chrysanthemum was jgaiaauf. "1 never was so glad to see anybody in

my life 1" gasped the lovelorn young man, as he grasped the hand of Harry Barnett, when he met that astute youth one morning on the front. "What d'yer want? inquired the other, who was a music-hall agent, 'live only just got in. Just looking about for talent. You can sometimes pick up something at these places. What have you got at the Pier Pavilion!" In a few words Percy explained the desperate situation. Barnett, whose idiosyncracy it was to know everybody, stared, nodded, rr.d laughed. "Introduce you to Little .Chrysanthemum? Sure!" remarked the agent, who sometimes affected the American habits of speech. "No time like the present. Here they come—all three of 'em!" He pointed a fat, jewelled fingeer in the direction of a landau which was approaching at a trot. "Where is Little Chrysanthemum?" gasped Percy, staring into the carriage with all his eyes. "Why, that's him on the back seat, in a pink shirt, smoking a pipe!" explained Barnett, with a peculiar smile. "Wonderful how he makes up, ain't it?"