eight o'clock
At least fifteen minutes before the advertised time for the performance to begin , every one of Dickey 's board-seats were filled with a noisy , perspiring crowd of boys , who found considerable amusement in swaying back and forth on the not very secure seats , until one of them would go down with a crash . This seemed to afford the greatest amount of amusement to those who were thus thrown to the floor . Good Mrs. Green was thoroughly astonished by the amount of patronage bestowed that night ; for after she thought that the audience was complete , boys of all sizes continued to pour in , until she had quite a pile of five-cent pieces in her apron , besides the tickets , and nearly one-half of those present were obliged to stand . Although it was not eight o'clock , the audience suddenly came to the conclusion that it was time for the performance to begin , and they announced that fact by piercing whistles , furious stamping of the feet , and such gentle admonitions to the managers as , `` Hurry up , Mopsey , '' `` Give it to us now , Shiner , '' as well as other phrases betokening extreme familiarity . The managers of this theatre were not unmindful of the fact that their audience must be obeyed , even if some of the rules were broken , and Ben and Paul were ordered by the author , who had taken upon himself the position of sole manager , to raise the curtain . Then Nelly came out and sang a melody that all were familiar with , being assisted by the audience in the chorus , until Mrs. Green was obliged to cover her ears with her hands , lest the great volume of music should give her a headache . This portion of the entertainment was greeted with the wildest applause ; and when Master Dowd , after Nelly had left the stage , attempted to appear in all the gorgeousness of his costume , he was plainly told to go back and let Nelly sing again -- a command which he obeyed at once , lest some of his audience should take it into their heads to force compliance .