Public ledger. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1865-1893, 1878-06-06
ADELAIDE LENNOX.
The PitiGnl Story of an Unsuccess.
ful Actress.
An OverweeniRg Ambition TO
Achieve Impossible Fame.
New York star.l

New York star.l
Out of the darkness of the night,
fascinated by the brilliance within,
a sea-gull hurls itself against the
crystal walls of a light ship, and
falls poor, bruised, lifeless thing
into the water below.
Out Of the darkness of obscurity,
fascinated by the brilliance of a
successful stage career, a woman
hurls therself against the equally
transparent and invisible wall which
surrounds the stage, and falls back
bruised and broken.
For both we have the tenderest
pity.
The first we saw years ago in the
soft, heavy warmth of tropic mid
night on southern seas the other
we saw last week in a little plain
faced, sad-eyed woman in an up
town clearinghouse.
81 was very ambitious to get on.
I had a play which | thought a
great deal of, and in which | ex-
pected to make great success if l
could get an opening for it. It's
name is Opal and to me it has
proved as unlucky as its name
would suggest. Opal became
not only a white elephant on my
hands, but the source of all my
misfortunes.."
Poor little woman, we thought,
you were every ambitious" You
had better have had milestone
hanged about your neck and been
drowned in the sea than to have
been ambitious in that direction.
But will you listen, you shall
hear the pitiful tale as it fell from
the lips Of Adelaide Lennox, as she
sat with fearful eyes in room bar
rem and bleak; the furniture good,
but scanty, but with hardly sug-
gestion of a home-like atmosphere.
After having told of her arrival
in New York from England, alone
ana friendless, her engagement at
Daly's and her success at the
Grand Opera House in playing
leading juvenile business, she made
the remark quoted above.
In trying to get her play before
tho managers, she met an attache
lat that time) of a city newspaper,
whom she interested in her play,
and here, she claims, her troubles
began. The gentleman in question
had been at one time a dramatic
critic, and caustic writer, but he
was at that time the fangless lion.
lie had no longer the power to
sting, but the memory of the
wounds he had once inflicted cried
aloud for yer geance, and his efforts
to assist her only closed every door
against them-so she thinks.
81 can think nothing else" she
said; "indeed have been told so
more than once within the last
year. Before knew him had
plenty of offers of parts. There
was no hostility to me personally,
and there ought to be none now,
for | have never put a straw in
anybody's path. Privately, l know
as little Of professionals as if / was
not myself an actress. Oh, l think
it was cruel, cruel, this striking in
the dark at woman they did not
know"
"What became of the play Of
Opal?"
at was first offered to Mr.. DAILY,
then to Jarrett & Palmer, at Booths
and after a six or eight months'
negotiation, they finally declined
to accept it. Mr. Wallaek objected
to it as unsuited to his stage, be-
cause it had murder in it."
After the failure to produce
'Opal' what did you do?"
81 tried to get an engagement.
A Mr.. Smith opened the little thea
ter in Twenty-third street with a
play of his own, or Mr. Joseph
Howard's, ! don't know which.
1t was a very bad play, and I was
engaged to play the heroine. Such
was the wonderful disregard Of dra-
matte construction in the piece that
the heroine was only a walking
lady while the other girl had the
leading part. threw up the thing
us unworthy OF me. The play was
originally intended for a comedian
Mr John Dillon, / think-and you