Lancaster daily intelligencer. [volume] (Lancaster, Pa.) 1864-1928, 1889-03-02
nIt's a shame 10 disturb you.r


10 talk to you about want your advice
badly"
''Oh, come In. by all means. Here's some
cold tea. Win you have some, or will you
stay and dincl must dine early tonight
for my work. I'll ring and tell Mason"
"No, don't; can't stay. I must DO in Ken
sington at g." He threw himself into Ken.
dal's deep reading chair, and looked up at his
friend, standing silent and cxpectant on the
hearth rug. "Do you remember that play Of
mine showed you In the springr
Kendall took time to think.
Perfectly. You mean that play by that
young italian fellow which you altered and
translatedi remember IL quito well. l
have meant to ask you about IL once or twice
lately"
"You thought well of It, know. Well,
my sister has got mo into the most uncom.
Portable hobble about It You know hadn't
taken it to any manager. I've bean keeping
Il by me, working 1t up here and there. am
In no want Of money just now, and had set
my heart on the things being really fgood-
well written and well acted. Well, Agnes,
in q rash moment two or three days ago, and
without consulting me, told Miss Bretherton
the whole story Of the play, and said that she
supposed should soon want somebody
to bring il out for me. Miss Brctherton was
enormously struck with the plot, as Agnes
told II to her, and the next time saw her
sho insisted that should read some scenes
from 1t to hern---
"Good heavcnsi and now she has offered to
produce 1t and play tho principal part in II
herself, interrupted Kendall.
Wallace nodded. "Just so; you see, my
relations with her are SO friendly that II
s.v~v> HN- 49, n,,k 4
was In a greater Ok. She was enthusiastic
She walked up and down the room after I'd
done reading, repeating some Of the passages,
going through some Of the situations, and
wound up by saying, Give it mo, Mr.. Wal
lacel 1t shall be tho first thing bring out
In my October season-if you will let me
have it, Well, Of course. l suppose most
people would jump at such an offer. Her
popularity just now Is something extraordi-
nary. and ! see no signs of its lessening.
Any piece she plays In Is bound to be a sue
cess, and suppose l should make a good
deal Of money out OF Il; but then, you see,
l don't want the money, andn-
"Yes, yes, see," said Kendall, thought.
fully; ''you don't want the money. and you
feel that she viii ruin the play. It's great
bore certainly"
"Well, you know, how could she help ruin
ing iti She couldn't play tho part Of Elvira
you remember tho plotf-even decently
It's an extremely difficult part 1t would bo
superb think so, at least-4n tho hands Of
an actress who really understood her bust
ness, but Miss Bretherton will make IL ono
long STACEY scream, without any modula-
ton, any shades, any delicacy. 1t drives
ono wild to think Of it. And yet how, in the
name OF fortune, am to get out of itF'
GVo,, hoA II
member. Of Mrs. Pearson for tho heroine"
"Yes; should have tried her. She is not
first rate, but at least she is intelligent; sho
understands something Of what yon want in
part like that But for poor Isabel Brother
ton, and those about her, the great points In
the play will be that sbe will have long
speeches and be able to wear medieval
dressesi l don't suppose she ever heard Of
Aragon In her life. Just imagine her play
ing high born Spanish woman OF the Fif-
teentb century, Can't you see herr
swell, after all, said Kendall, with little
laugh, II should sec what tho public goes for
mostly-that is 70 say, Isabel Bretherton In
effective costume. No, 1t would be great
failure-not a failure, Of course, in the ordi-
nary sense. Her beauty, in tho medieval
get up. and the romantic plot Of the piece
would carry 1t through, and, as you say, you
would probably make a great deal by 1t. But,
artistically, it would be ghastly failure.
And Hawesl Hawes, suppose, would play
Maciasi Good heavensr'
"Yes," said Wallace, leaning his head on
his hands and looking gloomily out Of the
window at the spire OF st. Brides church.
pleasant, isn't itl But what on earth am
to dol never was In greater hole. I'm not
the least in love with that girl, Kendall, but
thor, ISN'T aDythipn chad acE ma To- do. fnr
her that wouldn't do If I could. She's the
warrnest hearted creature-one of tho kind
est, frankest, siucerest women that ever
stepped. feel at times that I'd rather cut
my hand of than hurt her feelings by throw
ing her offer In her face, and yet that play
has been the apple Of my eye to me for
months; the thought Of seeing it spoiled by
clumsy handling Is intolerable TO me.n
II suppose ii would hurt her feelings,n
said Kendall, meditatively, 'if you refusedn
"Yes," said Wallace, emphatically, II be-
lieve it would wound her extremely. You
see, in spite Of all her success, she is begin
ming TO bo conscious that there are two
publics in London. There is the small,
fastidious public Of people who ,ake the
theatre seriously, and there is the large,
easy going public who get the only sensation
they want out OF her beauty and her per-
sonal prestige. Tho enthusiasts have no
difficulty, as yet, in holding their own
against the scoffers, and for long time Miss
Bretherton knew and cared nothing for
what the critical people said, but Of late
have noticed at times that she knows moro
and cares more than she did. II seems TO
me that there Is little growing soreness in
her mind, and Just now II refuse to let her
have that play 1t win destroy her confidence
in her friends, as 1t were. She won't re-
proach me, she won't quarrel with me, but
it viii 60 to her heart. Do, for heavens
sake, Kendall, help me TO some plausible flc-
tion or otherln
Il wish could" said Kendall. pacing up
and down, bis gray hair falling forward