The Indianapolis leader. (Indianapolis, Ind.) 1879-1890, 1881-12-03
ACTRESSES' HUSBANDS.
The Welded Attachments of Theatrical
Ladies.
Marriages I'm and Out of the Profession =
The Advantages of a Husband
in n business Way.
New York Dispatch.

something of curious revelation.
The lady In question is exceedingly at
tractive III her stage makeup; at home.
much of the beauty seen under the fierce
glare of the calcium and in the changing
light and amid the descriptive adornments
of the mimic scene has vanished. Yet there
are the brilliant eyes, there the charm
ing grace of movement. the pleas mt smile
and the gen,l mess of voice and amiability
of manner which make her as welcome in
society as she is beloved in her domestic
circle.
She has husband, and thereby hangs the
reve alton.
Why she ever married him is one of those
enigmas which, to use Dundreary's phrase
mo fellah can find out" She is yiyaciouS
witty, educated, talented, and with the pub
lie, in her professional capacity, popular
He is dull. fellow with knowledge of no
particular business whereby he might at
least earn his bread and stole clothes. AS
matter OF surmise, il is questionable
whether, since his marriage he has even
earned enough to pay for his whisky.
Well, the visitor finds the lazy i'm a COSY
sitting room. the windows of which overlook
the house yard.
Glanc.ng out of one of the windows. the
visitor saw the revelation. That husband
was saving wood Absolutely workingl
1t was a liar i-wcod stick, toD-a knotty-
knee held to the buck, while his arms slow
ly rasped the saw through the sliyers.
The visitor looked at the lady, She
smiled at his expression of astonishment
You think il strange? That Is his pun
lshment Do you comprehend?'
The visitor did not. The idea Of her hus-
band saving wood, voluntarily, as penance
for some dire transgression of the rules and
regulations of his own household, was an
additional revelation.
'Oh. you do not know what good fellow
he'll be for the next three months. 1t s the
first time since last April that he has given
me trouble. He came home as drunk as a
lord last night. This morning / gave him a
bit of my mind and his punishment which
was to saw four times through each of
twenty sticks of that cOrd-wOOd. And
he had to do it, or accept the other alterna-
live"
What was that?"
Not TO have cent of spending money
from me for the next three months Once
about six months ago, while | was PLAYING
an engagement in Boston, he drew my sal
ary--or rather the Treasurer handed it to
him TO give to me. When | saw him Il gain
he had spent more than half of it, and he
was terribly used up. What'd do? When
he came back home made him shovel two
tons of coal in the cellar, take up the din
lng-rOOm carpet, whitewash the kitchen
and the yard fence, and do without pocket
money for month after. But he's a good
fellow, and sometimes-yes," she added
NEUTRALITY-SUSPICIOUS. [ fancy | love
him dearly"
There are instances-and these are the ex-
ceptions which make more no able the rule
-of men who, having nothing In common
OF knowledge of or interest in the stage,
have been and are excellent husbands.
For instance, there is, of these few" an
example in MIR. Paddock. the husband of
Maggie Mitchell, and rather aueerly alluded
to in certain biogra phical work as "a
young man of Cleveland" This gentleman
was married to the little lady October Is, 1868.
Their courtship was somewhat heightened
Lasting as it did nearly fourteen years
Since their marriage no cloud of disagree
ment, no breath of scandal. has risen to cast
shade upon their domestic life; he has
proved to her mat she made no error of
Judgment in her selection of mate; proved
1t by mis- Integrity OF character. his devotion
to her interests, his respect for her position,
and his loyalty to the home in which she
presdes over b. welfare of the younger
Mitchells.
AS contrast. her sister, Mary Mitchell.
married in the profession, Mr.. James w.
Collier being her first husband. From him
she was divorced in 1850, and in July, 1866,
she became the wife of Mr. James w. AL
baugh, the actor and manager.
We all know the history of the marriage
of Bonfanti the danseuse, to a young gem
tleman OF society" - of their European
troubes-of his lamentabe death. And We
know, too, of the dire result, so far as do
mestic happiness is concerned, of the i'll
starred marriage of one of the greatest
American actresses now living-a marriage
which isembittered by that incompatibility
of temperament, and by the utter want of
the husbands sympathy with her art, re-
garding 1t as he does as mere vehicle of
pecunlary emolument, and herself as the
advertisement of that art. No doubt he has
an affection for her-all men love that
which brings them profit---and he may, too
possess that sort of respect for her as a
woman, which she possibly accepts in lieu
of love
Wisely they veil from the world as much |
as possible their troubles and continue to- |
gether. enjoying their misery as best they |
may"
There is another example of this marriage |
out OF the profession. There was playixg in |
this city, upon very recent date. one of |
the popular women-a representative wo-
man she Is, toO-of the comic opera STAGE.
She is handsome, plays with a vivacious |
grace of action, dances the can-can with a
reckless abandon that sets her audience i'm |
feverish craze, and by her method has
since her first appearance in the city made !
herself the recipient of salary she never
IN her earlier time dreamed would be hers
She married stranger to the stage No
doubt 1t was marriage of mutual affection
IL is possible there was in that affection a
small leaven of that sensational but ex-
.remely rare article known as love. Children
we're born to them. The husbands idea of
perhaps faded from his mind
Is her professional reputation grew brighter
ina more valuable. And now. as q husband. |
lie closely approaches the condition of
mere dependent-and an exceedingly hilari-
'us and expensive one too.
He is shrewd There is nothing of the
DOL in his composition. He isn't the sort OF
ubmissive fellow who would take i'm as
'enance wood-sawing or carpet-shaking
is a rebelious, obstinate dependent. and
an always be relied on as the most unre-
liable husband any woman need desire TO
Import as a luxury which has grown out of
necessity
He is shrewd aud sharp in getting the best
t managers in making contracts for his
'ifes engagements. He makes them paw
early for bubble or a flaw in it, and he
'ell knows that the more she gets the larger |
nil be his spread of pocket m rney. AND
that he does not know about having sup
ly of that useful article about him may be
ccepted as worthless. He is going to have
, ana by nook or crook he gets il. His
ice is familiar in all the saloons in the vi
nifty of the Theater and there or upon the l
rand professional parade ground i'm Union
quare he delights in displaying his 1
weaith"-at such times as be may have
surfeitof doodle" Ofcourse {
lie greater bulk of it he dares not use: it is
he property OF the hard working little }
OMAN and she has taught him that much
economy-but-he doesn't suffer
Imagine little "scena''-that's what the n
allan organ crank twister called the rue. v
on between himself and policeman in =
rosby street. in which the organ got the
orst of it, and the policeman the last of it C
at the station-house. A little ''scena" be- 7
,een the husband of an actress and the | y