New-York tribune., 1886-08-01
THE FIRST OLD WOMAN.
SOME OF THE TRAITS OF AN IMPORTANT
DRAMATIC PARSONAGE.

OF all persons in q dramatic company, the nrst o'd
woman Is usually the cranktest" and the hardest W
manage Her experience has necessarily been long anu
varied and she Is the most ardent chanter OF tno
glories of the "pamy" days of the drama Of which.
if one may Judge by the majority Of the survvors-ano
II they are Darwnian survivors of the httest -ths
generation Is most happily rid. Art6calty, bomoast
and bad dressing to have been among its most
distinguishing characteristics But to all these faus
the first old woman is blind pretends that she Is.
She is fond of telling Of the eorea OF her youtniui
triumpbs. and she has nearly always been FORESTS
leading lady. If half the reports on this head are
true that great tragedian must have had new
leading woman nearly every month OF his career. In
her opinion there has been really great acting TO
10 seen since the " old man "-as the ancient pro-
fessional invariably styles Forrest-died Modern
actors are loers and mantel-peoe loungers; while
for the chits Of girls who call themselves
actressesn she has nothing but pity and contempt
With these characteristics strongly developed, 1t
can reac lily he imagined that the old woman is not
general tavorite with the company Like all rules
this however has its exceptions, and among them
none more marked than the old ladies of Wallacks
and Days, who among the most generally liked
people in the profession But the average old woman
Is all that has been said, and, generally much more
Modern authors almost as much bugbears to her
as modern actors They don't know, she will exclam,
how to wrte good part and invariably give their
best lines to the young people. Woe is indeed the
lot of the inexperienced playwright when he falls into
her clutohes after distribution OF parts in his new
play She will lead him into some dim and remote
corner of the stage where envroned by fats" and
wings and with the only Of escape barred by
her portly form she holds him at her mercy.
"Do you call that part :" she will say. while she
scornfuly waves before his frightened face and
startled eyes, tho pages which she thinks far too
few.
Then thus tho willy and temporizing author, on
thoughts of fight intent 1t may not be as long as
could wish. my dear madam but with your inmitabe
talents you make great deal out of it,"
Unhappiy for the poor author the fattery does not
soothe. To the slang of the day " she has been
there before" She turns his words against i'm,
she hoists him 18th his own petard "If you think
have nimitable talents why don't you give
chance to display thcmf 1hs"-and again the offend
ing lines waved in closer proximity to the
dcspairing dramatists devoted head In only ht for
utility woman VIII you write it up, sir If you
want me to do anything with it, take it and write it
up"
If bv this time the stage manager who knows the
peculartes of his old woman. has not rescued the
victim. the best thing he can do is to say he will
consult with the manager and SEQ what be done.
Then he NAV be released, with something to this
effect Numbered in his See you do. Young man,
see you do have been forty years in this business
is any good unless the old woman is prominent
She is generally artist, sir and the public knows it,
and wants to sec her -
Then the author escapes, and If he Is wise, never
ain allows himself to DO beguiled into cornersat
least by the more ancient members of tho company:
The above is fancy picture but ~ almost literal
version of more than one experience the writer has
undergone.
success She wither with sniff of disdain and
annihilae with \ snort Of disgust She is prone 10
bo sarcastic. and has been known To observe, What
true artist Mr.. Soand-so is! He mixes up that last
exquisitelv than could have believed
possible" She is opposed to rich dressing and often
remarks that the "modiste" is the real star of the
performance Her own costumes often marvels
--marvcs of Dreservation. She rakes out from her
boards wonders in brocades and miracles in grass
green moires, which seem to emit a musty odor Of
buried ancestors. Her black velvet is u permanent
standby and If in the secret recesses Of her dressing
room she is forced to ink the to disguise their
decidedly rusty hue. she fondly believes that seen
from a distance the effect il rich and ravshng. That
same black velvet has in its time played many parts
ranging widely separated centuries. II has been
in " Richard Ill.," on the form of Queen
Elizabeth" or " Lady Anne: gathered up il has been
riding habits for beauties nnumerabe; trimmed with
white lace it adorns fond mothers. and with black it
expresses the sorrOws of weeping widows IL ia all
prevailing all-eDduring, and. she firmly believes. all
enchanting. In aces the old woman is rich. She is
versed in the deepest mysteries OF Honi'on, Valen
cennes and Brussels point She snuifs out the pride
of tho Of the imitation article with shvering
sniff and dismisses ak, Torchon and Spanish Blonde
with souharrowng snort. She descants on the
chcanery Of manufacturers and tradesmen and longs
vainy for the old-time silks that stood alone and
" .atins that wero like boards" Nothing is in her
opinion now made good ~ it used to be. from
play TO SILK stocking. She is the true ." laudator
temporis acti.'
story ia told Of Mrs Vernon once the fayorite
old woman of Wallack's. who was entirely opposed
to the sumptuous attire rst introduced on that stage
bv the cordially remembered Mr.. floey Mrs Vernon
was reported to keep her wardrobe in old barrel
on one occasion when Mr.. W;llack about
produce a play. of which he hal great hopes and
on the mounting of which he had spent large sum.
la, 10
Mrs Vernon to b. little extra lavish her dressing
She took the HAT kindly and promised TO make a
complete change, but on the night OF performance she
appeared arrayed in most venerable antique. Mr.
Walack gazcd III sadness not unmixed with anger
I" thought YOU promised to make complete change"
returned the lady with injured look turned the
barrel over aud began at the other end"
Another lady. now an inmate of that excellenty
intended but imperiectly devised institution. The
Forrest Home when once reproachcd bv her manager
for her inadequate costuming of Lady Macbeth"
observed in the tragic manner which natural to
her on tho stage. and which always recalled the
reports of Mrs SddOnss having stabbed the potatoes
with hor fork: Sir II my good fortune to
possess of the most magniict Mt wardrobes that
ever graced the form of and actrcss but
shpwreckod IN the Bay of Fundy my boxes were
ruthlessy broken open by the angry waters the cruel
waves disported Themselves with my regal raiment:
and when | saw my Lady Macbeth robe floating
down tho Bay Of Fundy | exclaimed 'Coufound the
Bay of Fundy'"
Tho first old woman has nearly always been great
Juliet If sho has come from England. princes
and mobiles have in vain sighed her feet and poured
out their tales of love rresponsve ears ono of the
best comedy old women of the Amnrican stage was
Mrs. wilkins. of tho Union Square Theatre. She had
been in England the wife of Sergeant wilkins. AN
able. witty and brilliant barrister The position of
Sergeant law has no cquiya ent at the American
bar and the term ia unknown to the majority of
Americans. Mrs. wilkins was always talking Of the
luxury she had enjoyed during the lifetime of the
Sergeant and the distinguished company he drew
around him. The theme became at last something of
bore. til it was nnocenty but eiectually stopped by
of the ladies OF the ballet who said to the vrncr-
able dame: - | don't see why you're always talking
about the Sergeant Nv fathers n sergeant too,-in
tho Pooe!" Mrs. Wilkins almost Fl inted. and the
offending girl in her black book ever after
Mrs. Wilkinss triumphs in London were won mainly
at the Haymarket Theatre, presided over by Mr.
Buckstone. thon an old man though he frequently
took juvenile parts. Whether from affection for his