PLACES OF AMUSEMENT.
It would be well in _all_ places of public amusement, if there could be
an apartment appropriated to the ladies, in which they might deposit
their cloaks, hoods, &c. in charge of a responsible attendant; her care
to be rewarded by a small gratuity. Ladies would then be under no
necessity of carrying warm outer-garments into a crowded and heated
room; or of wearing their bonnets, and thereby intercepting the view of
persons seated behind them; always a grievance where the benches are not
sufficiently elevated, or where there is no difference at all in their
respective elevation, as is sometimes the case. Also, the appearance of
the female part of the company is always more elegant, when wearing
bandeaus, caps, or other light head-dresses; young persons requiring
their hair only, or the slight decoration of a flower or a ribbon. It is
very painful and fatiguing to be for several hours continually dodging
your head from side to side, and stretching your neck this way and that,
and peeping wherever you can obtain a tantalizing glimpse between the
bonnets of ladies seated immediately before you. This, in addition to
the annoyance of being squeezed on a bench that is over-full, is enough
to destroy nearly all the pleasure of the exhibition; and to make a
large portion of the audience regret that they came.
If you wish to secure a good seat, go early. It is better to sit there
an hour before the commencement of the performance, than to arrive after
it has begun. The time of waiting will soon pass away, in conversation
with the friends whom you have accompanied.
When invited to join a party to a place of amusement, begin to prepare
in ample time; so as not to keep them waiting for you. When a _large_
party is going to a place of amusement, (for instance, the theatre, or
opera,) it is better that each family should go thither from their own
home, (being provided with their own tickets,) than that they should all
rendezvous at the house of one of the company; at the risk of keeping
the whole party waiting, perhaps for the very youngest members of it.
When a box has been taken, let the tickets be sent to all the persons
who are to have seats in it, and not retained by the taker of the box
till the whole party has assembled at the door of the theatre. If the
tickets are thus distributed, the persons from each house can go when
they please, without compelling any of the party to wait for them.
Still, to make an entrance after the performance has begun, is (or ought
to be) very embarrassing to ladies. It excites the attention of all
around, diverting that attention from the performance; and there is
always, when the house is full, and the hour late, some delay and
difficulty in reaching the seats, even when the seats have been secured.
If it is a concert, where places cannot be previously engaged, there
are, of course, additional reasons for going in due time; and the most
sensible and best-behaved part of the audience always endeavour to do
so. But if you are unavoidably late, be satisfied to pay the penalty, by
quietly taking back-seats, if no others are vacant. We have seen young
ladies not arriving till after the entertainment had commenced, march
boldly up to the front benches, and stand there looking steadfastly in
the faces of gentlemen who with their parties had earned good seats by
coming soon after the doors were opened. The ladies persevering in this
determined stare, till they succeeded in dislodging these unfortunate
gentlemen, and compelling them to quit their seats, to leave the ladies
who belonged to them, and to stand for the remainder of the evening,
perhaps in a distant part of the room. American _men_ are noted,
everywhere, for their politeness to females. We wish we could say the
same of the politeness of our fair countrywomen in return. Yet
frequently they will avail themselves of these civilities from
strangers, without rewarding them with a word of thanks, or even a bow
of acknowledgment.
English tourists remark (and with truth) that there is no position in
which American ladies appear to such disadvantage as when crowding the
galleries of our legislative assemblies; ejecting gentlemen to whom it
is of importance to hear the debates; and still worse, intruding upon
the floor of the senate-chamber, and compelling the senators to
relinquish their places, and find others where they can, or else to
stand all the time. And among these ladies, there may be very few who
are really capable of enjoying or appreciating the eloquence of our
distinguished orators, or of entering understandingly into the merits of
the question. Often these damsels are whispering half the time about
some nonsense of their own; and often, as is surmised, the chief object
of the ladies whose visits to the capitol are most frequent, is the
chance of a few words of flirtation with some of the most gallant among
the members; or the possibility of being escorted home by a congressman,
who has but little to do, or at least who does but little. We think the
English parliament is right in excluding ladies from their halls, except
when the queen goes there in state, to open or prorogue the session. Let
them be satisfied with reading the debates in the newspapers.
We acknowledge that it is very interesting to see and hear the most
eminent men of our country arranging the affairs of the nation; to
become acquainted with their personal appearance, and to listen to their
eloquence. But the privilege should not be abused as it is, by those
who, after all, listen so badly, or comprehend so badly, that if
questioned an hour afterward, they could scarcely repeat the purport of
one single sentence,—nor perhaps even recollect the subject of debate.
Such instances we have known—and not a few of them either.
To laugh deridingly, or to whisper unfavourable remarks during the
performance of a concert or a play, is a rudeness of which few American
ladies are guilty. Still, we occasionally see some of that few, who,
much to the annoyance of those persons near them who really wish to
enjoy what they came for, talk audibly in ridicule of the performers;
the performers being, in all probability, near enough to hear these
vexatious remarks, and to be disconcerted by them. We heard of a highly
respectable actress who was so mortified by the unfeeling animadversions
of some young ladies in a stage-box, that she forgot her part, was
unable to utter a word, or to restrain her tears, and became so nervous
that she played badly during the remainder of the piece, and was in
consequence, severely handled next day by the newspaper critics. This
was very hard.
Parents before taking their children to the theatre, should first
ascertain whether the play is such as will amuse or interest them. Small
children are invariably restless, troublesome, and finally sleepy at a
performance that affords _them_ no entertainment, and they will be
better at home. Yet we have seen little girls brought to see the painful
tragedy of the Gamester—or still worse, the dreary comedy of the
Stranger. How is it that young ladies are frequently matronized to plays
that even their mothers cannot witness without blushes?