New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1880-09-19
MISS NELSON.
From The LoldOn Nc,cs.

From TIE Lo,d0n Nc,cs
A CORES DOndent IN Leets writes as follows: " The
STATEMENTS which have recently appeared regarding
the late Miss Nelson's connection with THIS town
give her name correctly enough, but are IN other
respects not strictly accurate. According to the
unimpeacbaOe authOrty OF the registry OF births
for the Leeds North District, the lady known to
the world as Lillian Adelaide Nelson was born on
the Sd of March, 1913, at No. 80 st. Peter square
The entry gives her name as Elizabeth Ann Brown.
With regard to the legend OF her birth IN sara
possa of mixed parentage, am not at all sure that
Miss Nelson had any intention OF dece'Vlng your
correspondent Mr.. Pascoe Her cOuntenance had
decidedly a Southern cast, and there are people
who still remember her By the nickname OF the
Spanish Girl, when: as scholar or only twelve
or thirteen years of age, she was already noticed
for her reciutiOns. The truth Is that for reasons
To winch there need here To refer, IS Nelson
never knew her father; nor could SIZE OF course
know anything regarding her birthplace save what
she heard-probably IN the form OF vague Illusions
from others The bashet-uaker,' who we are told
occupied Il cellar IN BnBgaie as a WORKSHOP was
1T was, If / am not mistaken, in 1862. when
Elizabeth was Just fourteen, that she ran away from
home to seek her fortune, as the story books say,
in London Happy would il have been for the clever
and beautiful girl If there had existed among us
any institution like the Paris ConservatoIre, which
has SO often and with such happy results, taken IA
hand dramatic aspirants not less fororn and friend
less. As it was, her early years In London were
years of trial and temptation, always painful to her
TO recall but II should be noted TO her credit that
she still kept in view the OBJECT of her girlish anbi
ton which was TO achieve O reputation rs an
actress. and this, be 10 remembered rot IN friyo-
lous burlesques and extravaganzls, but III plays Of
Shakespeare and other poetical dramas. She was
but a girl of sixteen when she was playing
Juliet in country theatres; she played me same
part in London at seventeen, and in the
following year was already an actress Of
recognized power on the London stage. Ii was
| believe, in 1866 when she had lust obtained an
engagement ut the Princess's Theatre 90 play
the heroine Gabrielle in Mr.. Watts Phlllipss HUI
guenot Captain that news of the fugitive hrst
reached her friends in Leeds. OF her subsequent
kindness 10 her mother the newspapers here have
lately informed u.s. venture 10 think that the cir-
cumstance of her bequeathIng 81 900 To the writer
who was the first TO discern and welcome her
genius in spite of the immarurity of her style, and
of certain defects OF manner which never wholly
left her is creditable both 10 her and the gentleman
referred to. A grateful recollection of sympathy
and kindness In the past is not vulgar quality IL
cannot at least be said that her mode OF xpressing
gratitude took the shape of what the cynical have
called lively sense of future favors nor can II
even be imagined that the object OF her bequest
could have anticipated such an Acknowledgements OF
hts critical discern ment."