Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1883-06-08
Ways OrAmbItiOus Women.

Mrs. Burton Harrison is a social leader in
New York Mrs. CORTLAND Palmer is an.
other. There is uu interesting rivalry be-
tween them. Both have taken to literary
ways. Each is cndcavoring to be the centre
OF bigger aud brighter circle of brainy pco-
pie than the other. Mrs. IIarrison's first cl-
fort put her away ahead She gave series
OF readings. OF course, she did not read her
self. 1t is with other folks talents that she
and Mrs Palmer make their display The
elocutlonists whom she attracted to her par
lors were Mrs. Frances Hodgson Burnett
| Henry James, Allan Thorndikc Rice, Edgar
fawcett, Julian Hawthorne, and others
VINO could read from their own success
full books. These performances natural
and Mrs. Harrison was very proud.
have no doubt that Mrs. Palmer was cor-
rcspondingly depressed. But she rose buoy
| antly to the occasion. With the help of her
husband, who is, religiously, a free thinker of
note, she organized the Nineteenth Century
Club, for the purpose of philosophisng on
live subjects. The first meeting carried her
far to the front of Mrs. Harrison. The COM
pany then assembled was not composed, as
10 men, of lot of chronic cranks such as
usually do the talking in reformatory caucus
es, but were mostly heavy weights in liter
ature and,science. Prof. Sumner came from
Yale College to make the principal address,
and we women posed as prettily as we
| could in attitudes of intense interest, though
| we didn't know what it was all about,
nor how vastly important it was. until
we saw whole columns of it in print next
| morning. Well, it was Mrs. Harrison's
turn to sink into the depths of despair and to
bounce up to great achievement. She
translated one of Scribc's plays from the
French Cher detractors say that she hired it
done, formed company of amateurs to ap-
pear in it, had them drilled by an actor, and
produced the piece one afternoon at til,
Mrdson Square Theatre The costumes
OF the actresses were exquisite, the audi
cnce was of the choicest possible sort, and
altogether the affair was great social event
In spite of that, however, Mrs Palmer was
not permanently left behind She kept right
on with her meetings of the Nineteenth Cen
tury Club, in her mansion on Gramercy Park
and succession of notables did such good
talking that she secured space in the daily
journals every time. Then Mrs. Harrison
made a move in the same direction. She got
contributions from dozen well known jour
nallsts and put them in paper which She
called the Ephemeron. This sheet was read
to gathering at her house by professional
clocutionst, and then beautifully printed
copies were given to the guests. This was
hit as far as It went, but did not reach the
general public. Just then stroke of luck
came 10 Mrs. Harrison. The manage
mcnt OF the Madison Square Thea
tire accepted her play, which ha
been named "a Russian Honey
moon" for regular production. This
house, be it known, is the ultra-fashionable
theatre of New York Last Monday night
hdr crowning triumph was achieved there.
II doesn't matter that the play was artistic
ally dead failure, or that the newspaper
critics damned it with faint praise next day,
and pointed out its entire unoriginality. The
evening was n glorious one for Mrs. Burton
Harrison. Her name, as the authorcss, was
printed in big letters on the gorgeously
Autographed program cards. She sat in
proscenium box, to which judges, journal
lists, mllionaires, dudes and even minister
or two, went between acts to pay her COM
pliments.