The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1882-11-17
A PORTRAIT OF LANGTRY.

Now for Langtry. Is she pretty +?
Not specially. What, then? Well,
piquante. Nose does not turn up,
but is not straight. Her eyes are
languishing in their expression; she
has a jOlly good forehead and beau
tiful teeth (and, by the way, how
much that counts with a woman).
Her throat is - well, her throat
double discounts any swans throat
that ever saw, and it meanderS
down TO rounded figure, of what
appears to be perfection. The hands
and feet that Sister Langtry dis
plays doubtless commend her to the
English mind, but candor compels
me to say that they are too large for
ordinary use, and are not pretty
enough for holidays.
Temper?
Yes, | should say she had a tenn
per.
Pluck?
Her choice of a profession at an
age when most ladies are content
to settle down into matronhood
answers that. 1t has been my good
fortune to see her at rehearsal.
First, she enters, dressed neatly and
becomingly in dark habilaments,
with nicelyrftting boots and gloves,
illustrating the French proverb,
-"Well gloved, well booted, the fay7
orite wins" Not very courteous,
not very polite, but a straightfor-
ward, healthy, womanly, business
like air about her, which augurs
well for her success with. the COM
,pany, and pre6gures, / Judge, a
favorable estimate by the public.
After looking at her fo1 some lit
tie time, L said to myself, "Well,
this woman is not pretty, but she is
an undoubted Success is, there
fore, physical comeliness an essen
tial to success. on the Stage?'' Elk
perience would seem to demonstrate
the contrary n., r..fs7
Can you name an extraordinary
beautiful woman who is a success
on the histTionie boards? fcannot.
Take the leading women of the
metropolitan stage = Miss Sarah
-Jewegt, Miss Maud Harrison, Miss
Ada Rehan, Miss Mary Fielding,
Mrs. Agnes Booth, Miss May Turner,
Miss Rose. Goghlan and Miss Adele
Measer-iS any one of these notable
for her physical attributes ?
Obviously not. Each has a
bright, intelligent and comedy
face. Some are blessed with
a taking figure, others are not,
and yet they are the reignihg favor
ties, so far as New 7 o7k is con
cerned. The same is true of the
operate stage. Let us look for q
moment at the English opera. Clara
Louise Kellogg, Annie Louise Cary
Emma Abbott. Zelda Seguin- Wal,
lace, not one Of them very pretty,
not enc Of them even attractive, anG
yet every ore is aIgreat'tinanciala lC
artistic success. "Ahr"s you say
"but Adelaide Nelson" Well, my
sou, l take you up on that. AIDE.
laide Nelson had splendid eyes,
magnificent hair, wonderful mag.
netism, and the worst figure that
was eyer put unpadded on the
boards SO, you see, You don't know
what you are talking about.
But to return to Langtry. [ had
hoped to see a perfect type Of physi
cal superbity, instead Of which.
found a very nice. happy-faced
weII-built woman, who may posi-
bly, glide into our own regard with.
ont specially astonishing our pro-
fessional Judgment Mr.. Abbey
tells me that he did not bring hel
here as a, beauty, nor as an actress
l'bdt as a happy combination of fem.
inine attraction, with phenomenal
notoriety, based on what was an
unquestiOnable English success
socially and professionally. He
pays her an enormous sum of
money, in addition TO the expenses
of herself and suite, and confidently
lanticinates q satisfactOrN reSidinn