Springfield globe-republic. (Springfield, Ohio) 1884-1887, 1885-12-06

she was then called, WIS years old. Her
father was an actor attached I" company
in Leeds His name Mrs Bant always re
fused to divulge hut she i authority for the
Statement that no was SIauIari. and that
the personal beauty of her daughter was al
Inheritance from him.
This b-'autiful child, destined To he 80
bright IA star in the dramatic armament wa
50 poor that She had not even name until
she made one for herself. Mrs Bland lee
came the mother of twelve children. In
order TO help provide the ue.r'Ssarirs Of life
for this extraordinary family she went out
by the day A. "A seaInStrrSN, in addition 10
looking after house rinrhins poverty Wa,
theirs. and this, Of course, her eldest daush
ter shared Though the mother but dimly
understood the nature of this wonderful
child, her love and pride prompted her To
foster her love of dramatic study and to
clothe her III daintier raIment than her
neightOrS thought proper. She defended her
self against the charge Of extravaganza with
the assertion that she bought the clothing
with her own earning and made it with her
own hands.
Mrs Holloway says. "Guiseley people long
ago put off the habits Of their forefa thers.
and since it has grown to he "a uauufactur
ins town they have taken on the ways Of
other places Hardly would they or their
village be recognized by one who knew them
thirty wears ago. But even modernized a. it
is by its increase of wealth and population.
Iis,,rIanf SrtrTpunlip COULD ba
tren found, apparently. for the development
of a nature such ~ Adelaide Neilson pos
s..Sss-i: on the other hand. perhaps. no better
condition for the fuh display Of pre- natal in
fluences could have been devised At least
il is true, that in tae case of no one have
such influences bees more potent and self
evident than i'll hers
The child had a passion for learning When
she could go to school she was entirely ab-
sorbed in her studies. Among her mothers
possessions were a number Of well thumbsi
PLAYS, some of them Shakespeare's When
Adelaide was eight years old she could re
peat long extracts from those plags and in
telligentlv act them :ihe read them every
SPAR moment. night AMI day. When she
was l. wears rid she know every play that
she hai ever rrai. even the Tragedies Of
Shakespeare Her doll, CuStumed well
as her limited resources. would r.rmit. were
never ncr. babies. but iiu. lslif, and gen
tlsmsn who composed her sudien eS
The dramatic instinct Was in her and deS
tinei to blossom in perfection, in spite If the
hard conditions of her life The divine fire
of genius cannot be eNtinSulshed. Poverty,
privation obstacles of every kind vanish
before the sll-conquering force within II
The little Yorkshire clrl went about her rude
tasks patiently. carrying within her soul an
unquenchable longing to rise Intellectually.
She helped in the work Of III" household, she
assisted her stepfather in his business OF
paper hanging and at last Wa forced ont OF
school and into a factory, a change more
her could possibly realize.
There was none TO stretch forth hand and
make her rough path smooth She Was
Obliged to carve out her own fortune from
most unpromising environments. That Sic
did it 80 nobly is a matter for wonder. In
stead Of blaming her for her mistakes, gen
erous minds can only pay homage - her
achievements, which were we'll nigh phe-
nomenal
When twelve years old she discovered by
accident that she was not Mr.. BlsniS daugh-
ter Brooding ON this secret, she grew rest
less, and cared no longer 10 remain at home.
She went out as a nurse girl by the day. sleep
ing at home at night. In that capacity she
performed her duties well. The family that
employed her still speak of her in the highest
terms Often she said to the lady who en-
pioyai her that she intended 10 ''be some
thing" that she would not live in Guiselev
all her life The day came at last when her
courage was high enough "a enable her 10
carry out this intention She received her
wages, and at nightfall. in tears, went GU!
into the great world where she was 10 be SC
dazzling a figure in the years to come For
six wears from that time no soul who had
ever known her either saw her or heard from
her
She made her wav to Leeds and spent the
night with an aunt, and the next day went
on TO London, reaching it late in the day,
friendlees and penniless. Exhausted, at
ter much aimless walking, she sat down in
Hyde park and fell asleep, waking not till the
morning dawnei. Strange are the contrast,
of life The woman, who, few years later
set all London crazy over her Interpretation
of Amy Rohsart and Pauline al Drury Lane
and who commanded salary of 5000 q
week, spent her first night III London shell
tered only by the trees
In the morning she asked help of police
man. who took her To his own home, whert
she was kindly received by his wife Sh,
remained with the~.' honest people until sh,
found situation as IA sam>treSs- One day
she made her way TO a theatrical manager
and asked him for employment Her Swen
face and sweeter manners impressed him IL
her favor. and she obtained a place a bale
girl. from which sh. was soon advanced 4
something better.
/ she was offered" SAYS Mrs. Holloway
the opportunity to educate herself by thi
manager, who was not only impressed tina
she had high histrionic abilities, but was ais,
personally fascinated hv her To his genuin
interest She owed her start in the career sh
made for herself He helped her at tn
turning point oF her life, and made it POS
sible for her t" !, ach the dramatic rank sh
subsequently attained"
/ He furnished her with means to study fo
two years. Her first appearance was II
1857 As Juliet, at Margate theatre where sh
attracted attention at once At the begin
ring Of her theatrical career she took tn
name Of Lillian Adelaide Lessont. which sh
afterward changed I" Nelson
Six wears after she had left her home, he
mother r. al that an actress of great beaut,
and talent WIS coming To Leeds to play
Secretly srsIecting that the beautiful stran
ger was her daughter, she travelled t
Leeds to see her, and was warmly received
few months later Miss Nelson visited he