In and About Drury Lane, and Other Papers Vol. 1 (of 2): Reprinted from the pages of the 'Temple Bar' MagazineDoran, Dr. (John)
General
In and About Drury Lane, and Other Papers Vol. 1 (of 2): Reprinted from the pages of the 'Temple Bar' Magazine
Doran, Dr. (John)
London (England) -- Social life and customs -- 19th century; Theater -- England -- London -- Anecdotes
To return to more general statistics, it may be stated that, in busy
times, four dozen persons are engaged in perfecting the wardrobes
of the ladies and gentlemen. Only to attire these and the children,
forty-five dressers are required; and the various _coiffures_ you
behold have busily employed half a dozen hairdressers. If it should
occur to you that you are sitting over or near a gasometer, you may
find confidence in knowing that it is being watched by seventeen
gasmen; and that even the young ladies who glitter and look so happy as
they float in the air in transformation scenes, could not be roasted
alive, provided they are released in time from the iron rods to which
they are bound. These ineffably exquisite nymphs, however, suffer more
or less from the trials they have to undergo for our amusement. Seldom
a night passes without one or two of them fainting; and I remember, on
once assisting several of them to alight, as they neared the ground,
and they were screened from the public gaze, that their hands were
cold and clammy, like clay. The blood had left the surface and rushed
to the heart, and the spangled nymphs who seemed to rule destiny and
the elements, were under a nervous tremor; but, almost as soon as they
had touched the ground, they shook their spangles, laughed their light
laugh, and tripped away in the direction of the stately housekeeper of
Drury, Mrs. Lush, with dignity enough not to care to claim kinship
with her namesake, the judge; for she was once of the household of
Queen Adelaide, and now has the keeping of ‘the national theatre,’ with
nine servants to obey her behests.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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