Reporter and farmer. [volume] (Webster, Day County, Dakota [S.D.]) 188?-1946, 1886-06-24
How Some Women Began Life
BY CELIA LOGAN.

pantomime he was getting up. Clara
applied for a place in the extra ballet
She wore an old, faded calico dress,
much too short for her long legs, q
thin shawl, and ragged wooden scar
wrapped around her head. When the
extra girls were no longer required
Clara was retained for small parts
That was the beginning of the career
OF the great emotional actress, Clara
Morris, who, by the way, is OF English
not American, birth.
The sweet poetess Lucy Aarcom was
a mill hand.
Pretty Maud Granger, with the gold
brown eyes and shapely form, first
earned her livelihood by running q sew
ing machine.
Sarah Bernhardt was q dressmak'
er'sapprentice; so was Matilda Heron
Adelaide Nelson began life as q
child's nurse, and Lady Hamilton as
a housemaid.
Miss Braddon, the well-known'novel
list, was a utility actress in the Eng
lish provinces, performing principally
in pantomime.
Christine Nilsson was a poor Swed
ish peasant, and ran barefoot in child
hood. Jenny Lind, also a Swede, was
the daughter of a principal of a young
ladies boarding school, and beyond
rather narrow circumstances had nc
especial difficulties in order to gain
celebrity.
The great French actress, Rachel
had as hard a childhood as ever tel
to the lot Of genius. Ragged, bare,
foot, and hungry, she played the tam.
BOURNE in the streets, and saEg and
begged for dole. Naturally she was
illiterate and vulgar, but overcame
both these drawbacks at the same
time that she gradually acquired re,
nown.
Charlotte Cushman was the daughter
of poor people, who, however, gave
her an excellent education in the pub
lie schools. In order to maintain her
self she aspired to become an opera
singer, but accidentally losing her
voice, became an actress instead.
Adelaide Phillips, the singer, now
dead, was a Treasury girl, and so for
time was Sara Jewett, the actress
The mother OF Clara Louise kel.
logg strained every nerve togive Clara
a musical education, and at one time
was a professional spiritual medium
Miss kellogg failed three times. Each
time she retired, not discouraged, but
to devote herself to the still further
Development of her voice. Finally
she took the public by storm. HeI
first failures were her last.
Edmonia Lewis, the sculptor, is col.
ored. Overcoming the prejudice
against her sex and color, and self
educated, Miss Lewis is now success.
fully pursuing her profession in Italy.
Only one other colored woman ever
gained distinction in the fine arts
that was the singer who called herself
",rhe Black Swan" and who flourish
ed about fifteen years ago. There has
never been an authoress or actress
of color beyond the merest tyro, but
no one can predict what the future
may hold for colored people.
Mime. Roland-who, by her impas
stoned and eloquent harangues, had
so much to do with bringing about
the French Revolution-was the
daughter of a bookseller and sold
books over the counter. She was one
of the most gifted and learned women
OF that terrible period. She became
a victim of the feud she had helped to
stir up, and persisted on the gniIlotine
She was the originator of the famous
phrase: 80, Libertyl how many
crimes are committed in thy nameH
Anna Dickinson began life as a schoo
teacher. Wearving of this, she one
day went to Mrs. John Drew, manage
ress of the Arch Street Theatre, Phila.
delphia, and entreated her to give hel
an opportunity to go upon the stage
Mrs. Drew heard her recite, told hel
she had n very bad accent, that she
did not think she would ever make an
actress, and advised her to go back to
her school teaching. The war broke
out soon afterward, giving Miss Dick
inson an opportunity to emerge from
obscurity. She still secretly cherished
histrionic aspirations, but years were
destined to elapse before she was en-
abled to test whether Mrs. Drew had
been a true prophet or not.
Mrs. Langtry is the daughter of q
country parson OF small means, but
the old proverb OF her face being hei
fortune, proved true in her case. New
ertheless, the standing Mrs. Langtry
has acquired upon the boards entities
her to rank among the self-made WON
en- of the day.
Minnie Hanks father was q German
and shoemaker in the most strait
ened circumstances. Her voice early
attracted the attention of one of New
York's richest men who had it cult
waited, and thus opened the way &c
fame for her.
Nell Gwynn sold oranges in the
streets and theaters. From the pit
while vending her wares, she took g
fancy for the stage, and let nothing
stand in the way until she had achiev
ed the object of her ambition. She
became famous as an actress, and as
the favorIte OF Charles III.
As a rule literary women have had
less severe struggles to gain distinction
than their sisters Of the stage Many
of them have had to battle with pow
erty, but few with neglected education
Mrs. Somerville, the only woman who
he Hnnz,,,n 81
was one of the exceptions to the
rule. As child she was allowed
to run wild, at the age of eleven she
did not know how to SPELL Al
she grew up she was kept help
ing in the family housework unit
marriage seemed to offer her deliver
anee. In this hope she was doomed
to most bitter disappointment. Hel
husband was q narrow-minded man
who hated clever or even educated
women. He considered them inferior
mentally to his sex, and if case &C
Cured where a woman proved hersel
of superior intellect, he was Mortified
and frowned her down as "unwoman
ly." He thought that his wife unsexeC
herself by pursuing her geological
studies, and made her keep strictly tC
her domestic duties. His death hap
PLY left this gifted woman free to fol
low the bent of her genius. Her sec
ond husband encouraged her in he
chosen pursuit until she became til,
most distinguished scientific woman
of her day. She died as recently al
1872, having nearly completed he