Memphis daily appeal. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1847-1886, 1878-07-11
A FATAL INHERITANCE.
The Case OF Mrs. ROusby, the Celebrated
English Actress-Her Suit with Band
mann, the German-English
Actor.
The Worst of it is it will Confirm Many
in the Puritanic Idea that the Stage
is the Portal OF He'll and that
Death Turks in its
Recesses.

London correspondence New York Times:
People are beginning to commlserate the lot
of Herr Bandmann, who is likely TO be pretty
we'll ruined by the action of Mrs. Rousby. So
much Indignation was felt and expressed at
his alleged assault upon this once beautiful
woman that Mr.. Chatterton, of the Adelphl
theater, felt bound to take him out OF the
mimic action of A Celebrated Case, on &C
count of his reality in cause celebre. Now
Bandmann says he is shut out of the exercise
of his profession until the case is tried. He
appealed to the superior court last week to
hurry it on, but the judges declined to sacri-
fee the interest of other litgants, and so
"Rousby against Bandmann" must wait its
turn, even at the risk of beggaring the Ger
man English actor, who is all the while being
put to heavy law costs. lt was his own work,
the removal of thescase from ordinary to a
superior tribunal, so that he has no valid rea-
son to abuse the laws delay" Justice will
not be hurried in England, however insignlf-
cant or important the parties who appeal to
her. The judges, IN reply to Bandmann
counsel, expressed contemptuous opinion OF
the case; but what may be a trif1iDg matter
to them is life and death to Bandmann."
So he says, at all events. Mrs. Rousby re-
mains quiescent. She lost her money, and
she did not rehabilitate her professional rep
utation over Bandmann' play: ! saw her
day or two ago. What a falling off was
there!" l assisted at her first appearance
in London. 1t was an interesting
and distinguished party whom l ac-
companied to the theater on that
occasion-Frith, the artist, Mark Lemon,
Shirley Brooks. Tom Taylor. | was young
and enthusiastic; they were oldish, expert
enced men. | did not rave more about that
lovely face, those pure, tender eyes, than
they. The play was 'Tfcirt Are and CroscH.
Mrs. Rousby became the reigning beauty.
She was every man S toast and every woman's
envy The men hated Rousby, the women
pitied him. Society found out, or invented
for convenience, the fact that she belonged to
an aristocratic family. Mayfair condescended
to smile upon the actress. BelgravIa opened
her virtuous arms to the beautiful lady who
had raised the theater by her patronage and
digniGed art by her complalsance. London
went mad about Mrs. Rousby. She certainly
Was lovely woman. Her photographs sold
In thousands Painters painted her; artists
confessed the inability of a,t to portray her
charms. The same wild nonsense Is talked
about Mrs. Langtry to-day, lady who halls
from that very Jersey where Tom Taylor dis
covered Mrs. Rousby. Mrs. Langtry Is not
half as handsome as the pictures lead you TO
believe. If her husband has the ordinary
sensibilities OF manhood, he must feel consid-
erably irritated at the Impairment things that
are said and printed about his Lilly OF Jer-
sew" who! is now cutting out the plcto-
rial popularity of that inane little monkey,
Miss Maude Branscombe, whose puerile smlrk
has been lmmortalized by New York pho
tographers, as well as by London dealers IN
pretty women. Did you ever see Maude
Brans ;ombe? A Short understood, lnsignlti-
cant creature with, weak, pretty, character
less face. Some people think she Is an &C
| tress. She has only appeared few times In
| the most minor OF minor parts. She was a
| page in tights at the Oh ymplc In a romantic
play 1.-THE Gascon. | think and she attracted
10 M of somehow she looks
pretty In a photograph, and it seems as If she
| spent her DAYS sitting before cameras; for the
| windows bud and bloom and blossom again
and again with her pictures. Mrs. Langtry
| is a woman-let that be said for her. A wo-
man with limbs and figure; woman with
fine, handsome face and large, expressive
mouth; her eyes look at you, they are large
and full, and compared with the fnnlkln,
| little small mounted, simpering BraIscombe,
| she is Diana to a Chimpanzee. Still this
worship of married beauty; this open, not to
say sensual, alteration OF wife and mother
surely its tendency is not moral. There are
| In society to-day several competing queens
who have entered the SOLDERING paths of we'd
lock long since. 1t is more than passing
strange" that their husbands should be con-
tent for them to accept the impertinent-to
| use no harsher or more significant phrase
| homage of swells and Adventures, and the
| thinly-veiled tributes of erotic poets. Bat to
/
the heroine of one of the most damaging
theatrical causes celebres that has afflicted
the stage for many years. Mr.. Sug zen, sit
ting at table with lord while he had adul-
ferrous intercourse with his hosts wife, has
not enhanced the reputation of the stage; for
| it has shown the upper ten that the Jeltlle
premier of the English theater may play a
gentleman without possessing the commonest
instincts even of decency. But the Rousby-
Bandmann business will confirm the utterly
false notions of certain puritanlcal class who
think that behind the scenes theater is full
of evil, cursing, swearing; that 1t Is, indeed.
one of hells portals. The quarrel has SO
much the appearance of a common occurrence
that people outside the pale of artistic society
will accept 1t as an illustration of ''hfe be-
hind the scenes" Mrs. Rousby's career is a
romance, full of light and shade;
a story that begins with comedy
scenes of happiness and ends in most tragic
gloom. She is the daughter of Plymouth
doctor. AS a girl she assisted at amateur
theatrcals in that town of military and ma
val snobs In the year 1868 Mr.. Tom Taylor
was visiting the Isle of Wight. He went to
the local theater. The pretty Plymouth CIR
had married an actor and gone upon the
stage. Husband and wife were playing al
the little house which Tom Taylor looked IN
upon. He was then-dnring Oxenford's a6-
sence in America, | think-wrltlng dramatic
criticisms for the Times. He wrote no'lce
of the Rousbys at the Isle of Wight. They
were the greatest artists he had seen fol
years. Why were they not on the metropoli-
tan boards? He brought them to London
The Queens was new theater; Tom lay
| lor gave it new play, 'Itoirt Ace and CrOl0n
with the new actress, Mrs Rousby. Success
smiled on theater, play, actress, dramatist
The Times gushed; society applauded. They
said she was a cold beauty, this lovely Ply
mouth wife, but she was queen of flowers
Society liked her GOODNESS; it was aristocratic;
it was We're de-Vereish. Besides, it was
opposed to sensuousness. Her eyes were ''sc
innocent" She received men s compliment:
with naughty smiles. Diana herself was not
more chaste. Mrs. Rousby made fortune;
| Fortunatus crowned her. 1.-The world, the
flesh and the devil were at her feet. Time
rolled on-months, years. Scandal wagged
its tongue against her. Society was indig'
nant First, it was prince. He had disap'
peared for a week; so had Mrs Rousby
Society denied it. ''Be thou pure as ice, and
chaste as snow, thou shalt not escape cal
umny" Poor, dear lady. with her innocent
face and her pure eyes. Fashion had set UP
an idol; Belgravla wonld not hear of anything
but worship. One day, however, down il
came, crash, bang, sprawlng in the mud. II
was a popular actor who did it. He is II
America now. A handsome, clever married
man. But then she was so beautiful, and
she loved him. Rousby went about and told
the story himself. He related it to Stephen
Fiske, who, in turn, related it in the Hornet
1t was all over. From that time to this the
hill has been steep. She has gone down with
run. Not only her reputation, but hel
beauty. The fair, sweet, cold face is changed
Did you see poor Amy Fawsitt, who died last
year in New York? She, too, was a pretty
woman once. Mrs. Rousby reminded me oil
that unhappy woman the last time l saw her
1t is sad story. We come to the CLOSING
scene in this brawl with Bandmann in the
presence of half a dozen men, who never In
terposed word, ON the very stage wher;
artistic London sat at her feet ten years ago
when rude word or gesture in her presence
would have been resented to the death" b.
a score of cavaliers How often it is tina