The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1885-05-10
ELLEN TERRY AND IRVING.
The Return to England ofthe Actor and
Actress After Their American Tour.
Miss Terry's Married Life and Her Dramatic
kWork-Henry Irving at HOme-Con-
Sratulations and Receptions.

Correspondence Of Il Q India napois Journal.
LONDON April 2a-The first news that greeted
Miss Ellen Terry on her arrival in London was
'the illness unto death" of her second husband.
MIR. Charles Kelly. Although they had been
separated for some years, she went straight
away to his bedside, bat only in time to be in
formed that he had passed away. His two
brothers were in attendance She left it in
their hands to arrange the funeral as they should
think best and consulted their views in other ar
rangements touching the honor and credit of
the man she had once held in sincere and af-
fectionate esteem. Ellen Terrys life has been
a career of courage, industry and misfortune
Her first marriage, when girl. with famous
painter, old enough to be her father turned out
unhappily, as such marriages generally do, and
her union with Kelly brought together two ma
lures so violently III opposition that everybody
predicted the trouble that soon ensued to sep
arate and estrange them. Mr.. Kelly left the
army to 60 upon the stage, and he had many
chances of distinguished career, but he never
had grit enough to utilize them. He had good
line to work in as may be judged from the fact
that he made his first distinct success as
Richard Arkwright, in Tom Taylors striking
play Of 'Arkwright's Wife" He reached the
height of his popularity as the hero of New Men
and Old Acres" Miss Ellen Terry was playing
the heroine, and it was during their engagements
at the Court Theater that Charles Kelly fell des-
perately in love with the leading lady, won her
and married her. 1t was quite stage ro-
nance in its way. Kelly's successful court
ship was spoken of among people who knew
both persons as the triumph of strong, per-
sistent nature over gentle and an impulsive
one-the old story of the bold and perseyering
wooer. The honeymoon, however, soon waned
the impulsive woman was disenchanted, and it
is not for ME to enter into even such details of
ineompatibility of temperament as are generally
known. 1t is only fair. perhaps. to say that Mr..
and Mrs. Charles Kelly shared their purses up
to the last, and that the benefit given year or
so ago for Mr.. Kelly was a compliment and not
necessity. Mr. Kelly (tke son OF a clergyman
of the Church of England was born az Newcas
tle-on-Tyne in 1889. He entered the army and
held her Majestys commission in the Sixty-sixth
regiment, which he resigned fifteen years ago.
I knew Kelly well, and during my acquaintance
with him he was pleasant, agreeable, gentle
man-like man. Charles Reade had great opin-
ion of him as an actor, and was delighted with
him in Dora q realistic play of which Reade
was very proud, piece of dramatic construc
ton.
'That young man, Charles Kelly Reade once
said to me, ''has great career before him in this
kind of part-the honest, manly. big-hearted
young yeoman--a son of the soil"
Oddly enough, some years later it was Charles
Reade who gave Ellen Terry her first important
appearance when she returned to the stage after
several years of retirement; and it on the
same stage as that upon which Kelly had made
his artistic mark in Dora"
ba MI bo irr Mrc
John Wood had charmed the town with her per-
Torrance of Reade's interesting heroine. She
retired from the piece and was succeeded Dy
Ellen Terry. London had missed this remark
able actress and was glad to welcome her back
again. Her reading of "Philippa' was different
from that of Mrs. John Wood; but it was full of
the sugges tiveness of those womanly, tender and
natural graces, which have developed so perfect
ly within the past dozen years.
ELLEN Terry is q genius who is not under
stood said Reads to me, land she wants ex
perience; but she is born actress"
Strange that a few years later those two ar
fists should have met in characters particularly
suitable to each other and that counting and
marrying In the play of New Men and Old
Acres" they should have carried the fictitious
romance of the footlights into the real world and
become man and wife.
Would you like to know how Irving spent the
first few days Of his return to England He
arrived at Liverpool in snow storm. The
northern port was gloomy picture as the Ari-
IONA churned her way through the yellow waters
of the Mersey. Acrowd of people went out in q
Guion line tug to meet him, nevertheless. Ellen
Terry met them in the gangway, where she
was presented with several bouquets of flowers
She was full of praise Of America and the kind
ness that had been shown to her. She and Irv-
ing and Mr.. j. B. Howard then drove to the
Grand Hotel, where another crowd awaited
them-friends, actors, journalists. They after
wards caught the MONDAY train to London;
were received at the depot there at o'clock by
another enthusiastic crowd; Irving drove Miss
Terry and her sister, Marian, home; then he pro-
ceeded to his own chambers, had chop, went to
bed, and got up again at IL to sup with his old
friend, j. L. Toole, the comedian. The repast
was given in Toole's private room at his pretty
theatre in King street. There were only half q
dozen close and intimate friends of Irving pres
emit, and the talk was mostly about America
II can say oyou honestly what I feel about
America because you will not suspect me of
what they call taffy. The most kindly, gener-
ous hospitable people, they are true friends of
England They are great now, but the future is
theirs. You cannot conceiye the boundlessness
of their kindness to me, and / can never suffi-
GENTLY express my gratitude to them-a great
hearted, intelligent, cultured people. And in
regard to acting there is this to be Remembered
they have seen all the great actors-French,
German, Italian, English, and their own. They
are i'll quite as good a position, perhaps better,
to make comparisons between the various
is enough to put any actor who goes there on
his mettle, and their Endorsement of him and
his art is all the more valuable. Moreover, they
play going people, and think their audi
ences are more in earnest than ours-that they
are more unsophistcated as to the mechanism of
the art-that they throw themselves into the
stage story with more abandon than our people
do. If there is any difference between the audi
ences on this side and the other that is the diff
ference but the human heart is very much the
same thing all the world over A frand told
me at parting that whether ever returned to
America or not, all good Americans going to
Europe would consider it a duty as well as
pleasure to come and see me at the Lyceum the
ater-true friendship that, ehl"
We agreed that it was, and when we drank
Welcome home" we did not forget the toast
"America-our kith and kin beyond the sea-"
On tine next day after his return Irving spent
the morning in answering letters, and respond
ing to telegraphic greetings, and the afternoon
in finich "A For int