The evening telegraph. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1864-1918, 1867-08-07

| which the dancers love and embody to the best
| Of their ability, and without any more idea Of
| impurity because of the Dress which is both
the conventional and the only practicable one
than sculptOrs or painters have when they use
| the female figure as a medium TO convey theH
| ideas of poetry to the outside world.
But there is one set OF exponents OF tne
"naked drama" on whom am willing TO JOIN
| with the general public in launcning every
| possible invective of censure and reproach'
! mean those women who are "neither fish, flesh,
| nor fowl " of the theatrical creation, who are
neither actresses, dancers, pantomimlsts, nor
ballet girls but who enjoy celebrity more
widely spread than any of these-all legit-
| mate artists in their way-could hope to
attain. 1t is unpleasant to mention names;
it is disagreeable and even dangerous to do
so; but when such women as Cora Pearl
Vestvai, Menken, Kate Fisher, and their
like, are insolent enough to invade the stage,
and involve in the obloquy which falls on
them hundreds of pure and good women,
it is time for even the most tolerant critic
to express disapprobation. Whatever the
private character of these women may be-
however good, however bad-we are justified
from their public exhibitions in denouncing
them as shameless and unworthy. 1t is true
they make more money than any other class
OF performers" more money than the
poetic Edwin Booth; infinitely more than the
intellectual e. i. Davenport. Stihe consci-
"
moking is easy work. These women are not
devotees of any art. With the exception of
Nestvali-a failure on every lyric stage, both
IN Europe and Amerca-they do not act
dance, sing, or mime but they habit them
selves in a way which is attractive to an in
delicate taste, and their ineficiency in other
regards is overlooked. With the public lies
the power to correct this evil.
And yet some of these women, even those of
the class have just mentioned, have aspira-
tions for higher things. The last play which
prepared for the stage had for its heroine a
woman of tender feelings, holy passions, such
as every author loves to paint. After its pro-
duction had many applicants for the pur-
chase of copies, as it was not known that the
actress who originally played the piece had
obtained the exclusive right to its production.
Among the applicants was a person whose
name is thoroughly associated with the Ma
zeppd, Dtct IWpin, Jack Sheppard school, and
none other. Twas astonished that such woman
should care for such part. What sympathy
had the French Spy with heroine fearful,
suffering, and selfdenying2 What was the
Christening influence. of anguish and re-
pentance to Jack Sheppard and his Jolly pals
who ''take away" so obstreperously in the
burden of the chorus and the pockets of the
unwary! | could not help expressing my
astonishment at this seeming inconsistency to
a person who was acquainted with my appli-
cant, Tor was not. 'Well, you see," replied
he, referring to her familiarly by her petit nom,
''Leo hates the leg business as much as any
body, but, bless you, nothing else pays nova
days; so what can she dol'
The "leg business is a business which re-
quires legs. That these should be naturally
symmetrical is desirable, but not indispen-
sable, for the art of padding has reached such
perfection that nature has almost been dis
tanced, and stands, blushing at her own in
fNlN1af -, 4ln
can boast some artistic ''padders, - and if you
are curious to know where they live, what
| their prices are, etc., you can go to any
| green-room and find their business cards
| stuck about in the frames of the looking
| glasses, in the joints of the gas burners, and
sometimes lying on the top of the sacred
cast-case itself. Strange to say, however,
that Holy of Holes, the city of Philadelphia
bears Off the palm in the pad-making
art. Thus the New Jersey railways are fire.
quently enriched by the precious freight of
penitential Mazeppas, going on pilgrim
ages to the padding Mecca. 1t is generally
supposed that padding is only employed in
the enlarging and beautifying of the calf of
the leg, but this is a mistake. Such little
! inaccuracies as knock-knees and bow-legs,
| tTihing errata in natures original edition,
remarkable for their frequency in the human
family, especially in those misguided members
of it who have rashly chosen the stage as
| vocation, are nlmbly rectlhed by the pad
| professor. / saw a letter from one of these
the other day, which may be worth producing
here for the sake of its righteousness. That
it is genuine document, pledge my word.
! 1t ran thus -
PHILADELPHIA.
| MAM:-Them tites is finished your nees will
| be all o X when you get them on Bad figgers
is all plaid out now they will caust dollers.
1t would seem that the nine dollars capital,
a couple of yards of white muslin, and the
outer 'tites' are all that is required of the
followers of the Mazeppa school. Of personal
beauty they have often little; of intellectu
ality, of comprehension, of grace, genius
poetry, less and of talent, none, When the
part they portray calls for the speaking o
words, we lift our hands in blank astOnish
ment that any creature with audacity enough
to assume such position, can have so little
ability to ill it.
The money the Mazeppas make is some
thing quite astonishing. Ten thousand dollars
'share" for months engagement was paid
but short time ago, to one of the most at
tractive of the "French Spies" In less thai
two months after, she was obliged to borrow
money to pay her hotel bill "Easy come
easy go,' is a proverb which must have beel
made for these women. 1t is not strange, per
haps that they should have implicit faith il
the potency of King Greenback, and offer hin
with little delicacy to gain that always-desiret
end-fattering comments in the newspapers
l have an editorial friend, of an extremel,
conscientious turn of mind, who was COOL,
asked by a Mazeppa if he would not take III
the cudgels of criticism for her, as agains
another local paper at the same time drawing
/, otti iV1u roll Of IN,