DOI Heft:
February 27, 1864
DOI Seite / Zitierlink:https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.16873#0095
Fbbruary 27, 1864.] PUNCH, OR THE LONDON CHARIVARI. 87
“ SPOKEN BY A DANCER.”
My dear Mr. Punch,
I Wish to address you a few words on. a snbjict which as
come before the notice of the public a good deal lately. Our Mananger
says how it is cheefly the underclothing of ns Ladies of the ballet as
catch fire, and if we won’t make them secuer from fire, He cannot help
it. But we all say the Mananger can help it; as. If it is cheefly the
under-clothing as catch fire, and not the Dress which the Mananger
pays for himself, why dosent He give us petticoats secuer from fire ?
A Mananger says that we won’t attend to these things ourselves, He can
not help it. The public will say “ stupid Girls, it is their own fault; ”
but, my dear, they doent quite understand it. Now, I want to tell the
public, that, we Ladies of the ballet, those of them which are in the front
Line (which I must explane is neerest the orchestrar) get about 15
shillings a week, and the ladies in the back line get 12 shillings a week.
Now, my dear, what have we got to do out of this salary ? I will tell
you, and the public shall say u it is fare to expect us ladies to have to
pay any more expences about these petticoats than they do allreddy.
Out of 15 shillings a week, which I used to get when I was younger,
but I am getting on now, and am put into the back line with 12 shillings
a week, and, my dear, it is hard indeed to save out of this for the time
between the seasons when I am not wanted—there will be a time when
I shall never be wanted any more—but we will not think of that now—
as I was saying, out of 15 shillings a.week, a Lady of the ballet has in the
first to bye tights, fleshing Body and shoes. The best tights cost more
than £2 odd, and so, very few of us can get them-, but pink silk
stockings sown on to cotton tops of whitey-brown thread come to less,
and look as well from the front ; but even on the best, you can not
depend on them, as, unless you know how to mend them, and very few
of the new ones do, they are almost useless to a lady who considers
her position when they h.ove once gone in ladders.
Tou may not know what ladders is, but it is when the silk goes any-
where and then splits downwards, leaving little threads of silk like the
steps of a ladder. Those which know no better darn the ladders, but
where there’s one there may be half-a-dozen of them, and then the tights
would be darned all over, and the Mananger would complane of the look
of the thing, though he dosent find them himself, and if the lady dosent
get a new pair to please him, she may be pretty suer of not getting
engaged at his theatre again, and she couldn’t go down to another in
the westend with untidey things like that. So that is another expense.
Of course when I say that us ladies cannot get the best tights, shoes,
and fleshings, I do not mean that Miss Langham and Miss De Vere
could not, who are in the front line. But we call them the Barroness,
that is Miss L., and the Countess, that is little De Vere, and they
come to rehersal in white crape or Paisley’s shawls which cost ten or
twelve guinees a-peace,. dressed up to the nines as we say, and they can
afford tights and fleshings all silk and everything else, though they were
the greatest scrubs at one time, and only do get the same as us now, 155.
a-week; but they are exseptions, and are fetched away in broghums
with corronettes or cockades, and if they doent receive no salary at
all they would not care.
Well, the shoes comes next. Pink satin shoes is about 5s. 6d. a pare,
the second best is 45. 6d. But you ware them out very quickly, you
know, and then we recover them with white satin or jane which also
adds to expense. The tights must be washd onst a week at the leest,
and then you pinksauser them for to keep the color. All this costes
money, for pinksausers is Qd. and only does three pare, and then of
course there’s the^ soap for cleening. Well yon can not always be
covering and darning and mending shoes, which we do cheefly when
there is a long rehersal, and the call is at 10 in the morning, when we
finmsli at 11, and are wanted again at 2 o’clock to practis a insidentle
dance: and if we are to appear again at the night, there is not time ofen
tor us to go home and get a dinner, so we club together and send
out for reddishes, bread and cheese and onions, for if we were
working there all day, the Mananger dosent offer us anything ; and for
rehersals, somtimes for three weeks before we are playing at the night,
we never get paid at all, as our engagement is not begin. Of course the
Barrenness and De Yere do not mind this, and they never need to send
ter reddishes; and sometimes when I am catchd in the rane going
across Watterloo bridge to home, its beyond that a long way, and been
obliged to go without dinner, 1 have wished that I was De Yere or the
Baronness; for there is some excuse when you are very very hungry
and third to death._ I doent think that noio, my dear, but used to when
I was in the front line and poor mother was in the wardrobe, and used
to beat me.
Then there is the fleshing Body, which is about 2 shillings. You
cannot do with less than 4 petticoats anyone. These are the under-
clothing. The Uncumbustabel Tarlartan, which is secuer again catch
fire is 1.5. 6d. a yard, though as no boddy byes it, it is soled for lOfd.;
but it looks yellerish, not white: 2| yds. it takes for one petticoat
about, so that the 4 petticoats comes to 85.9d.; and these tarlatans will
not last cleene very long: and as they will not wash, you have to bye
new ones again, which the Mananger wants us to do, and complanes that
we will not spend another 85. 9d. out of our salary. That is why we do
not get that stuff, for we would rather stand the chance of burning, than
the sertenty of not being able to live, if we spend our salary on secuering
our clothes from fire. But they want us to dip our book-muslin petti-
coats in Tunget of Soder, I think is the name, when we wash them.
Is. worth of Tunget will cleene 3 petticoats; so that is D. 4d. a fort-
night extra out of salary, and then, I think it rots the muslin and the
petticoats, which as cost 2s. 8d. a peace, and so must be got new again,
which we think the Mananger might do, as it is he as puts the hre near us,
and not us as goes near the fire, though they do try to blame on us. It
costes you see about £1 135. 2d. to start any one of us ladies desently,
and I have told you what a continnuel exspense it is on us. I have not
said anything of my own averyday dress, gownd and shawl and boots,
which were very quick; and my lodging, which I cannot get less than
for 25. a week, even in clubbing with another lady. Then, my dear, one
must dine sometimes evin if it is exspense, and it dose not do to be
exstravigant, but safe a little, as when I am ill and cannot come to the
Theatre, the Mananger dose not pay me, but for,Us every night we stop
away. The doctor when I was lay up in bed was very kind for nothing ;
and my landlady made me some breath and talk to me, and I loved her;
and she paid a man that I bought a pair of shoes of for 25. 6d. when he
come everyday for the money, as I was ill and out of work, and she would
not let me pay her again exsept by 2d. a week. I can not be ofen ill.
I have been fortenate to meet with kind peeple; if you will forgive me for
my troubling you, and can get the Manangers to be more kinder to us, I
dare say there will come One Day, when you will not be sorry for having
said a good word for
Yours, Sir, respecfully,
A Lady oe the Ballet.
SERIOUS EIGHTING OR NONE.
My Christian friends, I trust it is our firm determination
Never to go to war on sentimental provocation;
But meekly to endure .all taunts, and insults, and offences,
Which break no bones, no money cost, or less than war’s expenses.
And if we are compelled to fight by some act of hostility
More grievous than a trial of our patience and humility.
Since fight we must, I do hope we shall fight determined, steadily,
Peace to restore that they who broke shall not again break readily.
Vengeance, my friends, we couldn’t think of taking, as professors,
But execution we may do, to terrify aggressors ;
Forced to wage war, oh ! let us, then, wage it as if we meant it:
Not evil to return, but make our enemies repent it.
A QUESTION OE GOOD BREEDING.
There has been a Committee formed in Dublin by the Council of the
Royal Agricultural Society of Ireland, “ to inquire into the causes of the
deterioration in the breed of Irish horses.” We hope the same Com-
mittee will devote its attention to a much more important matter—the
preservation of Irish Bulls, the breed of which is known all over the
world from the peculiar construction of its parts, as well as from the
number of its points. The strange figures these same Hibernian Bulls,
possessed as they were, with the wildest animal spirits, generally pre-
sented to the mind’s eye, are far too interesting to be lost to the
country, which owes no little of its fame to the perfection and perpetua-
tion of the invaluable species.
Sometimes we fancy that the Disk Bulls are not by any means
so numerous, or so rich, or so racy now as they were when Miss
Edgeworth wrote her celebrated Essay in their favour. _ In those days
no Irishman, apparently, could take the smallest flight without instantly
falling, to the amusement of everybody, on tfle horns of a dilemma.
The breed deserves every encouragement, for talk as we may about
horse-laughs, we are sure no laugh ever exceeded that which invariably
emanated from a good Dish Bull; and the laughter was always the
greater, if the Bull in question happened to be a regular roarer.
Furious Driving.
There is a loud outcry for some legislative interference to put down
furious driving, which has been the cause of so many deaths. The
drivers themselves laugh at all such futile attempts. _ They know well
enough that if it be possible, as the saying goes, to drive a coach-and-six
through any Act of Parliament, that there will be no more difficulty in
finding an opening through which they can with equal facility run a
Pickford’s van, or a brewer’s dray, or a Hansom cab, or any other
reckless vehicle, such as is usually the terror of women and timid pedes-
trians, that they please. Erom their lofty summit they have the whip-
liand of the Law, and accordingly defy it.
“ SPOKEN BY A DANCER.”
My dear Mr. Punch,
I Wish to address you a few words on. a snbjict which as
come before the notice of the public a good deal lately. Our Mananger
says how it is cheefly the underclothing of ns Ladies of the ballet as
catch fire, and if we won’t make them secuer from fire, He cannot help
it. But we all say the Mananger can help it; as. If it is cheefly the
under-clothing as catch fire, and not the Dress which the Mananger
pays for himself, why dosent He give us petticoats secuer from fire ?
A Mananger says that we won’t attend to these things ourselves, He can
not help it. The public will say “ stupid Girls, it is their own fault; ”
but, my dear, they doent quite understand it. Now, I want to tell the
public, that, we Ladies of the ballet, those of them which are in the front
Line (which I must explane is neerest the orchestrar) get about 15
shillings a week, and the ladies in the back line get 12 shillings a week.
Now, my dear, what have we got to do out of this salary ? I will tell
you, and the public shall say u it is fare to expect us ladies to have to
pay any more expences about these petticoats than they do allreddy.
Out of 15 shillings a week, which I used to get when I was younger,
but I am getting on now, and am put into the back line with 12 shillings
a week, and, my dear, it is hard indeed to save out of this for the time
between the seasons when I am not wanted—there will be a time when
I shall never be wanted any more—but we will not think of that now—
as I was saying, out of 15 shillings a.week, a Lady of the ballet has in the
first to bye tights, fleshing Body and shoes. The best tights cost more
than £2 odd, and so, very few of us can get them-, but pink silk
stockings sown on to cotton tops of whitey-brown thread come to less,
and look as well from the front ; but even on the best, you can not
depend on them, as, unless you know how to mend them, and very few
of the new ones do, they are almost useless to a lady who considers
her position when they h.ove once gone in ladders.
Tou may not know what ladders is, but it is when the silk goes any-
where and then splits downwards, leaving little threads of silk like the
steps of a ladder. Those which know no better darn the ladders, but
where there’s one there may be half-a-dozen of them, and then the tights
would be darned all over, and the Mananger would complane of the look
of the thing, though he dosent find them himself, and if the lady dosent
get a new pair to please him, she may be pretty suer of not getting
engaged at his theatre again, and she couldn’t go down to another in
the westend with untidey things like that. So that is another expense.
Of course when I say that us ladies cannot get the best tights, shoes,
and fleshings, I do not mean that Miss Langham and Miss De Vere
could not, who are in the front line. But we call them the Barroness,
that is Miss L., and the Countess, that is little De Vere, and they
come to rehersal in white crape or Paisley’s shawls which cost ten or
twelve guinees a-peace,. dressed up to the nines as we say, and they can
afford tights and fleshings all silk and everything else, though they were
the greatest scrubs at one time, and only do get the same as us now, 155.
a-week; but they are exseptions, and are fetched away in broghums
with corronettes or cockades, and if they doent receive no salary at
all they would not care.
Well, the shoes comes next. Pink satin shoes is about 5s. 6d. a pare,
the second best is 45. 6d. But you ware them out very quickly, you
know, and then we recover them with white satin or jane which also
adds to expense. The tights must be washd onst a week at the leest,
and then you pinksauser them for to keep the color. All this costes
money, for pinksausers is Qd. and only does three pare, and then of
course there’s the^ soap for cleening. Well yon can not always be
covering and darning and mending shoes, which we do cheefly when
there is a long rehersal, and the call is at 10 in the morning, when we
finmsli at 11, and are wanted again at 2 o’clock to practis a insidentle
dance: and if we are to appear again at the night, there is not time ofen
tor us to go home and get a dinner, so we club together and send
out for reddishes, bread and cheese and onions, for if we were
working there all day, the Mananger dosent offer us anything ; and for
rehersals, somtimes for three weeks before we are playing at the night,
we never get paid at all, as our engagement is not begin. Of course the
Barrenness and De Yere do not mind this, and they never need to send
ter reddishes; and sometimes when I am catchd in the rane going
across Watterloo bridge to home, its beyond that a long way, and been
obliged to go without dinner, 1 have wished that I was De Yere or the
Baronness; for there is some excuse when you are very very hungry
and third to death._ I doent think that noio, my dear, but used to when
I was in the front line and poor mother was in the wardrobe, and used
to beat me.
Then there is the fleshing Body, which is about 2 shillings. You
cannot do with less than 4 petticoats anyone. These are the under-
clothing. The Uncumbustabel Tarlartan, which is secuer again catch
fire is 1.5. 6d. a yard, though as no boddy byes it, it is soled for lOfd.;
but it looks yellerish, not white: 2| yds. it takes for one petticoat
about, so that the 4 petticoats comes to 85.9d.; and these tarlatans will
not last cleene very long: and as they will not wash, you have to bye
new ones again, which the Mananger wants us to do, and complanes that
we will not spend another 85. 9d. out of our salary. That is why we do
not get that stuff, for we would rather stand the chance of burning, than
the sertenty of not being able to live, if we spend our salary on secuering
our clothes from fire. But they want us to dip our book-muslin petti-
coats in Tunget of Soder, I think is the name, when we wash them.
Is. worth of Tunget will cleene 3 petticoats; so that is D. 4d. a fort-
night extra out of salary, and then, I think it rots the muslin and the
petticoats, which as cost 2s. 8d. a peace, and so must be got new again,
which we think the Mananger might do, as it is he as puts the hre near us,
and not us as goes near the fire, though they do try to blame on us. It
costes you see about £1 135. 2d. to start any one of us ladies desently,
and I have told you what a continnuel exspense it is on us. I have not
said anything of my own averyday dress, gownd and shawl and boots,
which were very quick; and my lodging, which I cannot get less than
for 25. a week, even in clubbing with another lady. Then, my dear, one
must dine sometimes evin if it is exspense, and it dose not do to be
exstravigant, but safe a little, as when I am ill and cannot come to the
Theatre, the Mananger dose not pay me, but for,Us every night we stop
away. The doctor when I was lay up in bed was very kind for nothing ;
and my landlady made me some breath and talk to me, and I loved her;
and she paid a man that I bought a pair of shoes of for 25. 6d. when he
come everyday for the money, as I was ill and out of work, and she would
not let me pay her again exsept by 2d. a week. I can not be ofen ill.
I have been fortenate to meet with kind peeple; if you will forgive me for
my troubling you, and can get the Manangers to be more kinder to us, I
dare say there will come One Day, when you will not be sorry for having
said a good word for
Yours, Sir, respecfully,
A Lady oe the Ballet.
SERIOUS EIGHTING OR NONE.
My Christian friends, I trust it is our firm determination
Never to go to war on sentimental provocation;
But meekly to endure .all taunts, and insults, and offences,
Which break no bones, no money cost, or less than war’s expenses.
And if we are compelled to fight by some act of hostility
More grievous than a trial of our patience and humility.
Since fight we must, I do hope we shall fight determined, steadily,
Peace to restore that they who broke shall not again break readily.
Vengeance, my friends, we couldn’t think of taking, as professors,
But execution we may do, to terrify aggressors ;
Forced to wage war, oh ! let us, then, wage it as if we meant it:
Not evil to return, but make our enemies repent it.
A QUESTION OE GOOD BREEDING.
There has been a Committee formed in Dublin by the Council of the
Royal Agricultural Society of Ireland, “ to inquire into the causes of the
deterioration in the breed of Irish horses.” We hope the same Com-
mittee will devote its attention to a much more important matter—the
preservation of Irish Bulls, the breed of which is known all over the
world from the peculiar construction of its parts, as well as from the
number of its points. The strange figures these same Hibernian Bulls,
possessed as they were, with the wildest animal spirits, generally pre-
sented to the mind’s eye, are far too interesting to be lost to the
country, which owes no little of its fame to the perfection and perpetua-
tion of the invaluable species.
Sometimes we fancy that the Disk Bulls are not by any means
so numerous, or so rich, or so racy now as they were when Miss
Edgeworth wrote her celebrated Essay in their favour. _ In those days
no Irishman, apparently, could take the smallest flight without instantly
falling, to the amusement of everybody, on tfle horns of a dilemma.
The breed deserves every encouragement, for talk as we may about
horse-laughs, we are sure no laugh ever exceeded that which invariably
emanated from a good Dish Bull; and the laughter was always the
greater, if the Bull in question happened to be a regular roarer.
Furious Driving.
There is a loud outcry for some legislative interference to put down
furious driving, which has been the cause of so many deaths. The
drivers themselves laugh at all such futile attempts. _ They know well
enough that if it be possible, as the saying goes, to drive a coach-and-six
through any Act of Parliament, that there will be no more difficulty in
finding an opening through which they can with equal facility run a
Pickford’s van, or a brewer’s dray, or a Hansom cab, or any other
reckless vehicle, such as is usually the terror of women and timid pedes-
trians, that they please. Erom their lofty summit they have the whip-
liand of the Law, and accordingly defy it.