The semi-weekly miner. [volume] (Butte, Mont.) 1882-1886, 1885-09-02
A BUNCH of CAMELLIAS
Memories of Some Famous
Queens of the Stage.
e CANDLES
The Coarseness, Refinement, Nature
And Art Exhibited by the Var
ious Impersonators.

The Coarseness, Refinement, Natur
And Art Exhibited by the Var
ious Impersonators.
Isn't it strange how nearly all actresses
at some period of their existence, becom
infatuated with that ~threadbare, teal
inspiring, ever old, ever new and morbid
sentimental heroine OF DumasICamille
With the woman who aspires to leadin
when she shall lay hands frequently vic
lent) on the seductive Parisienne; ingenue
hope eagerly that their turn also will com
even soubrettes banker after this corrup
product of dollhouse civilization and sol,
women" tell of the time, long ago, whel
they played Camille, and how they playet
it. Between you and me l shoul mucl
prefer to hear this latter class tell how the,
did it thar to see them wrestling with tn,
charming demi-mondaine. And, believe me
wrestling is a good word with which to de
scribe some performances Of Camille hat
have witnessed. Do you notice how many
actresses achieve prominence in the role
Probably this is because most OF hose who
essay it lack the peculiar and absolutely
essential emotional qualities which will en-
able them to easily and successfully follow
the varying moods OF the unfortunate Lady
OF the Camellias, to sway with her shifting
phases, and to give the parts those subtle
tints and half tints which are requisite to a
perfect Interpretation. / know a woman,
in private life, who has never acted, but
who, possessing remarkably fine sensible
ties, is intensely emotional, and whO,I l an
certain, had she taken to the boards, would
have given an unusually worthy character
ization OF Marguerite Gautier. Then, again,
know a leading actress OF excellent repute
who has done Camille (played ather) scores
OF times, but who possesses neither fine
sensibilities nor emotion. You won't doubt
me, l am confident, when l assert that I
prefer to observe my friend in her salon,
suggesting Camille with her every and
with the tones of her voice, as she r%ecounts
a brisk French anecdote. and with her tell
ing eyes as her soul reveals itself in herface,
while she drifts with the varying passion
and pathos of a Chopin valse than to
watch my trained actress struggling vainly
with the chameleon-like Camille. (For
heavens sake don accuse me OF punning.
The best OF puns, in my eyes, are crimes.)
DoCHE AND FECHTER.
Nine. Doche, the original, and perhaps
the greatest, exponent OF Dumas heroine,
| did not see. Whether the greatest or not,
she must nave been well worth serious con-
sideration, inasmuch az she studied the
part under the personal direction OF the
author, and was, besides, an actress OF
some ability. Moreover, with a handsome
and brilliant young actor like Fechter,
then in the first flush of his genius, to aid
ones inspiration, it may readily be con-
jectured tina the French actress accom-
plished wonders. 1t is on record chat when
the author first proposed the part to her,
she promptly rejected it, saying disdain-
fully, 81 do not know how such creatures
act" Dumas knew, though, lie W. French
men DON'T and he fruitfully grated his
ideas on the impressionable Doche. The
result was that Paris rang with a triple
triumph, the play and the approximations
of the hero and heroine. From that time
Marguerite Gautier has been dear to the
heart of every actress, n sooner or later
the beloved one is led to the shambles. l
am not a critic. but l have seen Candles
who linger like a perfume in my memory;
who moved me to admiration. n I want
to tell you how they impressed me-, and
why. Remember, l don't promise to crit
icise analytically. l am simply recording
Impressions. and 30, with your permission,
l bring you face to face with my first pic
ture, inscribed
MATILDA HERON.
What ghosts rise up as l write that name.
If ever there was a woman to whom the
word comely applied, that m was
Heron. She was not strictly beautiful, nor
rarely elegant, nor remarkably handsome.
She was comely, and owned a pair of won
derful eyes. To her outward attractions
added a sympathetic nature, extreme SEN
sibilities, not over fine, and keen perception.
There was a little of the ideal in her. Her
principal fount Of inspiration was the au-
thor's novel, where he has painted a repll-
sive creature, whOm not even her Self-abne-
eating to q sentimental lover could win
deep sympathy for. She was not the pseu-
do grande dame which Doche made her, and
which must W. been the proper interpre-
~tation, as Dumas guided Doche's efforts.
Heron represented a courtesan pure and
simple. You never for an instant lost sight
OF that fact. She was always powerful,
mind you, always effective, but she had not
caught Partisan glitter, that light, mex
pressible air of bandinage, which certain por-
lions of the role demand. In her moody
passages she did not give us the pensive
melancholy which we look for now, but
rather a lowering, morbid phase of charac-
ter which was vindictive and repellant. No
woman who has since essayed the role dis
played SO effectively as did she the senti-
ment OF intense loathing which Camille en-
tertained for de Varvilie, even while living
on his bounty. 1t was constantly testified
by look and gesture, just as her love for
rmand was ever in view. This latter was
tigerish and passionate at all times-a
passion which had not been purified. She
was best in her stormy moments, and
greatest in the climax to the fourth act, the
ending of the famous ballroom scene. Here
she became intense and thrilling to a mar
velous degree. 1t was crude power, though,
and the performance lacked much of the
inesse which has come to the American
stage in the past fifteen or twenty years. A
great deal of what was accepted two decades
ago would be cavilled at to-day. Old actors
will inform you sagely that the reason for
this is, that twenty years ago artists (they
have u weakness for the word ARTIST acted,
and to-day they do not. In other words
they ranted, and we have forsaken the
school of 'scene chewing" So you see the
present is the palmy time for us; for the
old stagers the palmy days are dead.
NOT GENIUS.
Many people regard Heron as a genius,
and based their claims chiefly on her rem
dition of Camille. Many also avowed that
her most brilliant effects were an outcome
OF inspiration of the moment Lately l en-
joyed the privilege OF examining a prompt
copy of Dumas drama which had been CO.
piously annotated by the celebrated actress.
1t proved conclusively that every minutest
point had been most deliberately studied
and prearranged. AS an instance OF the
~copiousness OF the notes mentioned, it may
be remarked that before one line Gnsignif-
cant, too, this line would appear to most
readers) she had written, Pause for an
instant and look earnestly into Armand's
eyes before speaking" So much for inspi-
ration. Heron is gone. Peace to her
ashes. And now let me bring you before
second picture and introduce you las if
an introduction were necessarily TO
CLARA ORR
My first recollection of her is as Alike,
1.-THE girl with a rose at her throat" There
was something weird and wraithlike about
her which chung to one for days after, much
as the memory OF a strange and not alto
gether pleasant dream clings to me. It is
the same even now whenever l witness a
performance by this wonderfully and un-
commonly gifted woman. For a month
following l felt, at intervals, an undeinable
sense Of gloom, and this during moments
when l am serene and unruffled. l pause
for an instant to explain it, and then l
trace my uneasiness to the theater, and
once more see Clara Morris passing through
the death agonies of Miss Mutton or
Camille. (How will you account for this y
Morris is the woman who, more than any
other, brought the word emotional promi-