Omaha daily bee., 1889-10-04
ACTOR KYRLE BELJEw.
why Mrs. Potter Cancelled Her
American EnRn ment.
Copyright 1899 by Jdmss Gordon Bennett. i

lutely glad TO meet the Herald correspond
ent, and looked so as well as said so. He
was willing TO talk also
~ am more glad than | can tell you, " he
SAID, lot have this opportunity of setting
Mrs, Potter and myself right with the
English and American public in a matter re.
garding which we both have been greatly
misrepresented. Certain journals in America
have spread rumor to the effect that our
tour has been abandoned, not, rs alleged be-
cause of Mrs. Potter's serious illness, but
merely from caprice, and that /, not wishing
to stay In America, had persuaded her to
leave the country also and intend taking the
London theater for her and myself. Let me
answer that charge before proceeding fur
thur In the first place. anybody who knows
Mrs. Potter at all must know that she is as
little capricious as any woman in the world,
and must know, too, that she is not to be per-
suaded by any living creature to relinquish
such chances Of artistic success and moue-
tary profit as an American tour has offered
her. On our last tour together, which
lasted about thirty weeks, wa played
TO an average of l2l0 pounds per week.
Anybody wno knows anything about the
theatrical business in America and England
knows that America is an actors Tom lid
made here as can be picked up on the other
side by successful star. Mrs. Potter is not
the woman nor am the man to throw away
thousands of pounds for a whim. Then as
to my not wanting to return TO America,
why shouldn't [. My standing both with the
press and public is perfectly good / have
many personal friends there. / like the
American people. l make bigger money in
America than in England. What possible
reason can exist Tor my not desiring to re-
turn or for persuaiiny Mrs. Potter not to
returni | have played in America for four
years and nothing would give me greater
pleasure than to play there for another four.
l confess that the appearance of these
rumors in American papers has greatly
grieved me, If ever woman deserved
praise aud tianHs, instead of blame and
calumny, it is Mrs. Potter. During the final
weeks of our last tour her conduct was
heroic. Why, do you know that ours was
almost the only company which did no: come
off the road in consequence of illness among
the stars. Booth ami Barrett Mary Ander-
son, Clara Morris, Mrs. Langtry, Keene
Miss Marlowe, in fact nearly all the COM
panlcs dried up before their tours
were finished on account of illness.
We'll, if any among them suffered as Mrs.
Potter suffered they are to be pitied. The
doctors urged her not TO play. They threat
ened her with a total collapse; warned her
that it might be fatal; that the excitement.
physical exertion and fatigue of
those Interminable American rail
way journeys might even kill her if
she continued Nothing would stop her.
Her vitality is SO enormous and her love of
her WORK so great that it is almost impossl-
BILE to keep her from playing. If those peo-
pie who talk about her caprice could have
seen her as l have, almost fight
ing with actual physical agony be-
tween acts, they could not have
the heart TO speak so. Mrs. Potter
acted in both senses like heroine. 1t was
hoped tNat a spell of rest after the tour
might restore her. 1t has certainly done her
some good and we were looking forward to
starting our next tour at Toronto on the 2lst
Of this month. The tour has been booked up
| for thirty-two weeks. She still requires
| constant attention, and when she came to
| Elrops on June DR.. Hunter, her medical
| attendant insisted on her being attended by
| a trained nurse. We came here together
| with her father on the Gascogne. Three
! weeks later DR.. Hunters assistant DIR. Nc
| Guinness, followed her to Europe ana re-
| manned in constant attendance on her for
| seven weeks. He left her better, but i'm =
| mediatelv after his departure she had a ter
rible relapse and Colonel Urquhart, DIR.
| McGuinness and myself consulted together
| and determined TO telegraph to America to
| stop the tour ! shall never forget the effect
| of that resolution on Mrs. Potter To I'M
| agine it you must know, as her friends know,
her intense love of the stage. 1t amounts to
| positive passion. | have seen good deal
of trouble in my time. Most men have had
| to break baG news to people more than once,
| but rather than go through such scene as
| that agaIn-well think I'd rather ne shot.
| 1t seems to me that there is bad faith some
| where in this master. Our manager, Mr.
| Shredder, came over to France and was as
| well aware Of Mrs Potter's condition as my
| self. So far as / know, he has
made no effort TO contradict these
| rumors, or, If he has, his representations
| have been suppressed by the press. The
| Herald will do good work in putting the
| plain facts before the public. 1t is hard for
me and for the poor ladys other friends to
stand by ard see so much courage and so
much suffering so cruelty spoken of. You
may guess Mrs Potter's actual condition at
this moment when tell you that on Oct ober
a consultation was held by her doctors in
| Paris as to the possibility of her coming to
| LONDON to consult Drs. Bancock and Guam.
If she can not come they will go to her. Her
| present position is that she is positively for
bidden TO play before next January.
| \ Letter From Mrs. Potter.