underneath the stage of the carriage house. Such, I suppose, was love in the Bowery.
And such it was. Though Robert, in relating the details of that night yet again to the Harbingers’ Club, reveals himself still as somewhat of a braggart, nevertheless, he was undoubtedly in love with Roza. Ellstein and Rouncival were inseparable all during the spring of 1922, taking the new train line to Coney Island, picnicking in Central Park, and generally behaving like lovers in New York City have always done. Though she continued to live with her aunt, Ellstein could be found more and more at the Half-Shell, enjoying time with Robert before and after their mutual performances. Both were gaining fame as crowds flocked to the Bowery to see the amazing young magician and chanteuse hidden at the Silver Stage. As word of their talents spread, so too did their audiences. Scouts for other Yiddish theater troupes congregated at the front benches, while impresarios with open dates at their entertainment halls sought out Rouncival. Along with those having a professional interest in Robert and Roza, others came merely for the spectacle. Among them, in June of that year, was the jazz baby heiress Margaret Tillinghast, and her arrival at the Silver Stage would change everything. No one, not even Ellstein or Sherpa, would have as pronounced an effect on Rouncival’s career as the willowy, monied Tillinghast. Some claim she altered Rouncival’s path in ways most unbeneficial, while others insist she is due much of the credit for his legend. While we can decide ourselves upon the effect of Tillinghast’s entrance in Robert’s life, let us, just for a moment, hold the image of Rouncival and Ellstein together, honeymooners surrounded by Sherpa and Silver and Maud and the hapless Davidoff even, a family of sorts formed within, and because of, the Bowery, drinking tea in the lobby of the Half-Shell Palace, a top hat on the doorknob or perhaps a black cat from the Old World brought out for special occasions. As Rouncival himself said, “Ah, but it was a gas to witness.”
TWO
Well, citizens, we have now seen a case of so-called masshypnosis. A purely scientific experiment, proving mostconvincingly that there are no miracles in black magic.
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