Savannah morning news., 1885-12-27
AN AMATEUR ACTRESS.
MRS. JAMES POTTER BROWNS
FOOTLIGHT FAME.


socfety's Meshes-How Call on Van
oerhilt Proved the Making of a Young
Doctor.
NEW YORK, Dec. 2l.-While nearly
everybody has heard of Mrs. James
Brown Potter, of this city, as a leading
social queen and an unusually successful
amateur actress, there are not many
people, even below Mason and Dixon's
line, who know that the lady is a South
erner by birth. Mrs. Potter was formerly
MISS Cora Urquhart, of New Orleans,
ana a great belle in that city before she
came to New York to hold similar posi-
ton as Mrs. James Brown Potter She Is
very beautiful woman and one OF the
most effective and brilliant conversation
allsts in the city. Mrs. Potter numbers
among her personal and intimate friends
ladies' OF such distinguished social pr0mi-
nence as Mrs. William AstOr, her daugh-
ter, Mrs. j. Coleman Dray ton, Mrs. Ogden
Golet, Mrs. Cornelius Vanderbilt, and
mrs. Paran Stevens. She is a frequent
guest az their houses, is invited every
night to the opera, attends all the fash
lonable entertainments of the winter, and
IN fact Is to be seen everywhere. Mrs.
fotter has been acting since
1851 Her name on the pro-
gramme of amateur performances
Is sufficient card to draw large
audiences. She never appears in public
except in aid of some worthy charity,
ana last winter she appeared for the bene-
hi OF the Bartholdi statue, which netted
q large sum. Mrs. Potter speaks French
nuently and with an almostnatiVe accent,
and consequently is very successful in
the latter kind of plays. She is very
conscientious actress, studies her parts
well, and, above all, has a strong
dramatic instinct. On recent occasion
David BelascO, the well-knOwn playwright
and stage manager, wrote to her after one
OF her performances as follows:
"MY DEAR MRS. PoTTER--You did so grandly
the other evening l should have been proud
To nave been your bell boy.
Sincerely, Dawn BELAsco."
Madame Modjeska on the same occasion
sent the following:
You have deserved high commentator,
true applause aud lOVe.-As You Like 10.
II would applaud thee to the very ech),
that should applaud again Adc6sSb.
Mrs. Potter is the leading amateur
actress of this city, and her acting has
professional standing. She has received
many offers from local managers to ap-
pear upon the professional stage, but has
declined them all. She will be seen at
the Madison Square Theatre on Dec. %
and 30 in play called ''The Russian
Honeymoon" in which she will appear
in her original part of "Poleska." The
performance will be given for the benefit
of the Boys Club of st. Georges Church.
She will also appear during the winter as
''Pauline" in "rhe Lady OF Lyons" 1t
is quite needless to say that Mrs. Potter
will make an effective and graceful
"Pauline."
THE ARTHURs IN SOCIETY.
Ex-President Arthur and his son are
recognized as occupying high position
in the social favor Of the metropolis.
They are Just now doing a regular round
OF balls, dinners and other gayeties char
acteristic OF holiday week In GOtham's
social circles. There is really no good
reason why both Of the gentlemen should
not be popular Both are handsome and
cOngenial, and while the son has been
inclined to be just a trifie last, ne
is not halt as bad as many
writers have pictured him. With ineFeas-
ing maturity he gives evidence of the pos
session of some very cOmmendable traits
Of character. Atthe resplendent VIM
throp ball, which has been the social
event OF the week, the talk was that Allan
Arthur figured conspicu0usly as an ac-
cepted attendant upon Miss Winthrop,
the debutante, in whose honor the enter
tainment was given. The assemblage was
of the highest pretentiOusness, and all the
leaders of extreme wealth and fashion
we're there headed by the Astors. The
ex-President was a courteG guest. and it
was easily seen that the Astor set had
taken him into family countenance per-
manently. 1t was maliciOusly said, at
the time of the great AstOr dinner to him,
folfntutnar hfo NJ nf Wiiliu m
| Waldorf AstOr to the Italian mission, that
t3e honor was perfunctOry and conclusive,
| but at the Winthrop ball he and his son
We're solidly established in exalted favor.
| That both father and son could marry that
wealth which they do not now possess Is
certain, but the gossip as to the betrothal
| OF either has no more than a guess for a
foundation.
PRAISES FOR VANDERBILT.
II a man wants 10 hear del
uge of good things said about HIM
self at the hands Of the public,
| he must make arrangements to be
resurrected. 1t is pretty certain that they
Will never be spoken nor printed until he
has been regularly inferred after the fash
| ion conventional with modern undertak-
ers. Many OF the very men who contrib
uted not little in making William IL.
! Vanderbilt acquainted with the unthink-
ing portion Of the public are now giving
wide publicity to stories eulogistic to the
many admirable traits IN the dead mill
liOnaire's character. Like many other
men of prominence, Vanderbilt leaves a
small army Of people indebted to him for
favors they never can reDay, and from
which he expectednO return. 1t is almost
impossible to realize in how many differ
ent WAYS the prominence and success Of
one man aids others on their journey
along life's uncertain highway. A single
call on Vanderbilt was the foundation
stone on which is founded the fame and
fortune Of man VINO is now fast becom-
ing one OF the most distinguished physi-
clans in the country. Not great many
months ago he was having uphill work
10 make his income yield sufficient reYe-
nue TO balance the debit side OF his ledger
He had made a somewhat Insignificant
reputation rs an attendant on a city hos
pital, but nevertheless did not see much
money pouring into his Golfers. One day
when his resources were at an unusually
low ebb he was surprised by visit from
the railroad magnate. In the course OF
a conversation at the Grand Central depot
MIR. Vanderbilt heard the young mans
praises. and acting upon sudden i'm
pulse he went directly from his Office 10
that OF the d0ctor's. He had been suffer-
ING for some time from 4 trouble that
many physicians OF high repute had