Savannah morning news. [volume] (Savannah) 1868-1887, 1883-03-24


perpetual sensation. She was first discovered
in variety theatre down town by the son Of
a swell young banker who had heard her sing
a little ballad and was struck with her. The
singing was not as attractive as her presence.
She was then, as now, a remarkably beautiful
woman, and the bankers son. though sot
and good deal of a noodle, saw her beauty
and was so impressed by it that he sought an
introduction through the manager. He was
presented to Miss Russell and fell madly in
love with her. He believed that she could
sing in comic opera and told her so. She
jumped at the idea, and the result was she
was brought out in Tony Pastors Theatre
as the heroine in 'Billee Taylor" She
| scored an immense success. She was
found to possess a charming voice
rich, resonant and tuneful. Her acting was
vivacious and she was pronounced within a
week the most beautiful woman on the Ameri-
can stage, by all the baldheaded old men
about town, and other competent critics
who visited the theatre. For months she was
| the rage of the town and had offers from every
| manager in New York who could control a
comic opera organization. She stuck by Tony
fastor Ior three months, then suddenly dis
| appeared. She had run off to Chicago with
| the swell young banker and did not show up
| for week. This, of course, broke her con-
tract with the manager, and, though he sued
| jury decided in favor of the pretty woman
From that time forth she has been the rage in
New York, and her life has been one constant
| round OF attentions. 1t was discovered
after while that Miss Russell was
married some years ago to popular Orches-
! tral conductor in Boston, named Braham, and
| that she had one son by him, who died. This
| was surprise to most people, as it was
! thought that she was an unmarried girl. Her
marriage with Braham still holds good, how
ever, as she has never been legally divorced
| ba ilxv
| commanded four hundred dollars a week dur
| ing the season, and her services were eagerly
sought on every hand. But no sooner would
| she make contract with a manager and Gre
| ate a furOre in some new role than she would
throw it all up peevishly and declare she was
not well enough to act. MEANWHILE other
! ugly scandals cropped up about her in
! timacy with various young men, but
! she was quite discreet, and nothing
came of them. She had not appeared on the
| stage for many months until Sunday
week, when she sang in concert
at the new Cosmopolitan Theatre and
received perfect ovation. The sensation for
! some months had been the fact that Lillian
! Russell was i'll, then the sensation was that
! she was well, and just that sensation died
| out another one has started which far outds-
| tanced them all. This time a gentleman,
| whose name is associated with Iillian's is
not swell young bankers son, but a little
jew musician, whose name is SOlOmOns. This
| person came over here recently in cOmpanv
| with partner whose name is Stephens, and
| presented an opera to the New York managers
which he said was better than ANYTHING Gil
| bert and Sullivan had ever written They Dro-
| duced it. 1t was called "Bllee Taylor" and
! it ran for several months 1t had some very
| bright and catchy airs and the dialogue was
! pleasing. Then small Mr.. SOlOmOns and long
Mr.. stephens went to work and wrote
| another opera called "Claude Duval" which
| failed disastrously. They tried again and Sc
cured another great failure, and again at the
beginning OF this season produced the fourth
effort called ''Virginia," which though not an
absolute failure, was still far from a success.
| Solomons and Stephens have by this time come
! to regard themselves as the peers if not the
! superlors of Gilbert and Sullivan, and the fact
| that their operas met with little encourage
| ment or recognition does not alter their opin-
I ion in the least. The fact is Mr.. SOlomons
| had few original airs and one or two bright
| ideas in the way of orchestratiOn in his head
| when ne began to write, and he has exhausted
| them all in his first opera "Billee Taylor" He
| has never had success since. When Mr.
| SolOmons came over here he brought with him
tall and extremely handsome girl, whom
| he introduced everywhere as Mrs. Solo
! mons. Her stage name, however, was Edith
! Bland, and she was well known in London as
a comic opera singer and burlesque artistic
| When they first came to New York Mr.. Solo
mons and his wife, Edith Bland, settled down
! in fiat and invited their friends to come
around and see them. After they had been
| here few months the native instincts of Solo
| mons caused him to put Miss Bland on the
! stage, where she could make some money
instead OF living idly at home. She was quite
| successful in secondary parts, and the Dair
| were supposed to be very happy until Miss
| Russell got well. Then it was that grave
rumOrs began TO spread about with regard to
| the attentions of stumpy Mr.. SolOmons upon
beautiful Miss Russell He is a remarkably
small man, scarcely five feet in height. and of
bustllng manners. AS soon as Miss Russell got
well Mr.. SOlOmOns began paving her the
most assiduOus attentions. Between his visits
to Miss Russell he saw his wife, and as soon as
she heard Of his hGiSOn she reached down.
seized him by the ears and banged his head
against the wall till he saw all the stars in the
terrestrial armament. Solomons thereupon
objected, and his wife threw him down stairs
/ Next day she waited for him in the street and
| he lodged because he said she had pistol and
was going to kill him. Then he went around
reporting that she carried razor. Hence it
was quite natural that an opinion prevailed
among astute men that slight difficulty arose
between Mr. SOlOmOns and Miss Bland. The
Sunday following this event Mr.. SOlomons es-
corted Miss Russell to a concert at the Cosmo-
politan Theatre and sat with her afterwards
in box. When his wife heard of this she
brought the matter to an issue, and
in her departure the next morning
for England. Then Solomons came forward
and avowed that Edith Bland was not his wife.
He said she simply came over here and lived
with him as a matter of convenience, and no
body knew but they were married. This was
vigorously disputed by the friends of Miss
Bland, who said they were man and wife, no
matter what SolOmons would say. But Solo
mons insisted he right, and shocked
everybody by suddenly announcing that he and
Miss Russell were to be married as soon as a
former husband Braham, the orchestral lead
er in Boston. The most intense disappoint-
ment and even disgust was caused by Miss
Russells decision. She is running her
prospects by marrying SOlOmons, as he
has already reached the end of his
tether and would be drag on her. The
chances are that she could have made a very
brilliant marriage, and people are sorry that
she has not done better. she is a Wavward
woman, but she is warm hearted and gener-
Gus, and has taken the best care of her mother
through
Mr. SOlOmOns has now announced that
his marriage with Miss Russell will take place
very shortly and the new opera which he is
writing for her will be produced in the early
fall. The freaks of these stage people are
sometimes very odd.
Mrs. Lille Devereux Blake still keeps ND
her TRADES against DIR. Dix. The worthy di
vine delivers his lectures on Friday nights,
and after reading them Saturday morning
Mrs. Blake rushes around to Frobisher's Hall
and hires 1t for the following Sunday evening
Then she works like beaver at her lectures
until Sunday night, when she delivers them to
an audience OF SIX or seven hundred people
THESE audiences, by the way, are somewhat
peculiar, as they furnish an opportunity of
viewing at one time large assortment of hem
pecked husbands and strong minded wives.
Many short haired women are ALWAYS pres
ent, and the place has a generally radical
look when Mrs. Blake ascends the rostrum.
People here have watched the contest between
these two representative people of opposite
sexes with great deal of interest, No social
discussion OF recent years has made greater
sensation. Dr. Dix's Iectures are
thoughtful. dignifed and heavily deliv-
cred; Mrs. Blake's are illogical
and hastily put together, but presented with
sort of impetuOus elOquence that to the
hearers make them very effective. In cold
type the next morning, however, the major
part of her lectures are always more or less
absurd. DR.. Dix has claimed from the start
the wOmans place is in her home: that her
object in life should be to take care of her
babies. 1t is in answering this one assertion
of the Doctors that Miss Blake is least eff
fective. For instance she said last Sunday
night: 'Dr. Dix insists that woman shouId
stay at home. What is her home? she mas
no legal home, for after 'her husband dies She
may stay in her late husbands home accord
Ing to the law OF this State, only forty days" !
The fact that Dr. Dix SAID nothing about the
husbands death, that he was speaking about
the W0mans home while the husband
lived, is passed over by Mrs. Blake-it is an
parently beneath her consideration, Again
she says: ''Dr. Dix tells us to be |
devoted to our children. Thank him for moth.
ing Every true woman is deYoted Ia her
children. What women want 10 do now Is to
uevote Ia9lnselfes to the nation, and the ma
tlan needs them. What is the present condi
Elon OF Ameriea3 1t Is all out at the elbows !
for the want of Woman's quick wit. What is |
the CONDITION Of our city streets? Full of |
mud Mhyr Because women are not in |
power. Why is it that Mr., Vanderbilt doesn't |
put electric lights 10 his tunnels and scrub the |
dQQr on the steps which lead to his railroad
stallons ~ is because such cuties fan In the /
way OF men instead of in the way of women. |
HoW DO men clean the streets to-day? They |
sweep the dust in piles for the wind to blow
awayi then they take it away in open carts. |
where 1t is left until it blows out into the |
streets again." "AfteF this,n continues Mrs
Blake. who has apparently entirely forrotten |
lhe iact That she has definitely disposed of |