, 1881-11-06
An English Reader. and His Esti-
,11ate Of American In
te|]jgence.
Romantic Incidents Connected with
Robert Heller's Early Life.
and Lore.
The Sweetheart OF His Childhood De-
vc1ops into The Notorious
Cora Pearl.
Mrs. Bnrnettt's New Play Of " Esmeralda,"
and the Commonplace Story
It Tells.
Resi- Considered Rather Too Corpaleat 10 Flay
Romeo" or The Melancholy
kn American Girl Whose Costumes Are Ray
ishIng, and Her Diamonds
Priceless

Priceless.
SptetaG Cos7rs pondenee Of The Ch;cr1o TfiL1tr..
New YORK, Nov :s-some weeks ago Mir
Leslie Mau came among us as render ant
singer and London favorlt- He tt,ck t,hic:crinz
Hall for two nights, and did his little show to the
tranquil benches aud patient wallis. Then D-e:!-
land, the popular vcnder Of literary wares. tool
him in hand, gayc two more performances il
Chickcring 1Iall last week. and did very we'll
Mr.. Main suffered eone accident In early life
which bus somewhat dcforn,eti him; he has the
head and arms Of l. very large man, but his legs
ure those Of l:-year-old hoy, and without any
outgrowth on the back. he has the hunchhack@s $
I'rotubcrance Of breast
The gentleman is Of Jewish extraction. hay
Ing those marked characteristics OF tho race-a
lailid complexion, jet black hair, and large
features. He is very dcsirous Of pleasing: de-
1iyers very good recitation, and sings very
charluingly, because he has fresh. strons,
voice: but his freshness doesn't stop here; it is
,nost apparent in his conduct toward Us poer,
betighted Yankees
He has evidently come over thinking an
uiiEformcd race, and his efforts 1T cuiiEhtcn-
1ncrt are most amusing. Almost ctery sclce-
1ion he rccited WIS prcfaccd by tri.o comments
sud explanations sr1c-sIlitting to listen to-;
it he bad given US these things intending thom
10 be humorous, they would have been r:t1i,or
funny; but Imagine Il man explaining who
Tcnryson is, and giving tho complete story OF
EAoch ~irIen 10 Il New York audience
~ vii! give tou u selection from Lord Macau-
lay, said he, "'acelebratcd - English historian and
poet who, i'll Que OF his descriptive ballads, tells
uf the holding Of Il bridge BY one lioE,tIus, an
act Of great during, and worthy tho heroic
verse st,ull now rcctte. | will now recitc from
Lord Thomas Macaulay the description Of Hora-
Inns noble dccd.''
That was very droll. but when he came to tell
ns how three young people dwels beside the
sca-Enoch .i,tlen, Philip Ray, and -l,inis Lee
and fcclinely described the life they led, aid
The marriage, and the going to sea, and the ship
wreck, all to make us understand the selection
he intended giving: where EHHcI i }1cil comes
buck ind iu,ks III tho kitchen window. it WIS
1os' much entirely. And whei, he finished his
introductory Teuiurks by saying. q l. wlu EDE;
rtcite from E''1ca -i7lch." small hn:-
>-ll~uu TIE inlnt.iiate nt@htHathuuI by itno-
gently asking: - What's he ;-ulng TO rccite now.
1E:l:"
Mr.. Main sincs very char,ningly Gsld plays the
plane wcii. ana near :he c1ose of thu entertain,
1,....st struck the popular fancy i'll Il neiodsot1s
.., silly little d,t c.,dcarcti to us ID; tic loved
Tan l:ryaut. v.,o used to sing II over Oh Twe:-
1,-'hird street i'll tho carly days Of his little
Tue well-7cuenlbereI Nc!se SEYMOUR. and i;s,s-
worth, una dear old Tan were brought to 1uIuu,
the mouse broke ont III rounds Of api'l;u=". ani
Mr.. Mnn wrote O;nr before lit slept uf rEe
nre;rliti .Amertc,ts1 public who Tccnailtjcd the
''CuhAppy afiiicr's Daughter" when his club
crate rS >tunltiOn Of EllpcH .1ftlcn Was received
III stupid silence.
In =,nalng 1tussclrs {hc Of the Man1ac'' and
. :faS Queen = 1nclnoryl Mr.. Main gave an
1sunwlcdgcd his Ignorance ct'Hcerul1,g him 1T
present, but lctned to the belief that he WAS
.r ,s s1saker n rh9 % Ns sen. up
brighton, England, fat and july, and as great
smoker rs GruuL
HELLER AND CROUCH.
s1r. Main related ia connection With the sous
OF Kathleen Marourneen," which he was about
10 sing. an anecdote Of tra,nn In HIth and
rags going to hear Mmc- Tictjeus VIXEN she sang
That ballad ut concert, aud telling her that he
was Cruuct+ the poor, miserable author and conl-
poser Of it. This touching recital is aIso sus-
s,epubie Of explosion. Crouch, the author OF
- Kathleen o1avourncen and many other
popular songs, is now i cabinc,maker
in Baltimore, and has been there
1or years Robert Hctlcrs father was tile organ
ist Of Canterbury Cathedral, and in the little
7ovn Of thar uamo Henry Palmer {l.obeyt Heller
went 10 school in co1npuny with neighbor's l1-
Tie daughter, and as hoy and girl they crc little
Eweethcarts. This early lovc Of tho great ma
+ icIan vas named Fanny Crouch, and her father
w:as musical genius who became quite cclct,-
,ity among his townsfoik by his songs, attaiu-
ing much fnme in after time By his .'Eaihlcen
Heller had been before tho pub
lie long while When he drifted to Paris. There
he behcid the iash.n- equipnCe and gorgeous
costumes OF Cora Pearl, the notorious. daily
a','on the street. Being struck With something !
familiar in her face, he followed her I
into shop ono day to obtain nearer view of !!
The celebrity. Suddenly she turned. met bis !!
gaze, and Instantly came forward Wit, cit |
stretched hands, It was Fanny Crouch, bis lit |
lie sctuol1uute.
In this country Heller came across the ,,nhap-
ny father and composer He WIS working ut |
ths s. ca9!net.naking !l'.l business ia Raltnne
was not u tramp nor IN poverty; he preferred
he oblivion Of a workshop in America 10 his old
tit,me . ~ nnd ir:cnds.no doubt through shame for
ln poor Mr.. crouchs case the knowl-
nl that stitf Cathedral town WIS 4
!bins TO conceal ana be ashamed of. |
,,as,e famous as 4 magnificent pianist and the
foremost lnagician of his time; thut made TO
iit1 1erencs: his family were Mortified nt his |!
roantry Squire md settled at Seven Oaks, and
..hen Robert died was wild with fear lest the
d pasa tts e. ec9 M s1e, goqH n h I'd
ueutcd all over America, was one and the same
with Henry Palmer. son of the Canterbury Or
-1tl$t.
1t seemed very strange to me- With the euioeies
and praises Of the American papers vet in 1nr
mind, the famous entertainers greatness fresh |
e:orc me- to hear little bit OF an insignificant
Md woman, whose husband rescnblcd SnVu !
s;}nglc cn.rcat that no mention uf the dead |
'r.l hers identity with Robert Heller should be |
made, that tho ''lreadful secret" should 10
kept
MRS. nrRSETT'S PLAY. !
II tho Madison Square on Saturday night Mrs.
Iiarnet.'s story Of Esneralda," !" cooked up into
9 play by her brother, Dir. Gillette, was pro-
!uccd- Tho newspapers unanimously damn it
Nth faiut praise, but am certain it will be |
'aying to good houses when all the newspaper
men are ycar older. 1t is much better than
j. The Professor" which has completed suc-
,essfui run of several hundred nights.
In the telling Of 'Esmeraida." simple story
i;h hardly an incident, there arc several can
tai artists engaged, notably Agnes Booth. the |
cs' ali-round actress in anr stoek CON.
F2''E ever constructed. There is a ycrr
f''1uE girl. Esmcralia, and a high-spirt-
=, ambitious. domineerinc mother, and