Waterbury evening Democrat., 1889-01-31
MISS BRETHBRT0N|
By MRS. HUMPHREY WARD,

OF OF It seemed to me as though my feeling in her presence of the night before. as if the sudden overthrow of tho critical resistance in me, had been 0 kind of treachery to the human cause Beauty has power enough, found myself reaecting with some fierceness-let us withhold from her n sway and prerogative which are not rightly hers; let IS defend against her that store of human sympathy which is the proper reward, not of her facile and heaven born perfections, but of labor and intelligence of all that is complex and tenacious in the workings of the human spirit.
 And then, as my mood coole1 still fur ther, began to recall many an evening at the Francaise with you, and one part after another, one actor after another, recurred to me, till, as realized afresh wha. dramatic intelligence and dramatic training really are, fell into an angry contempt for our lavish English entEusiasms. Poor girl! 1t IS not her fault if she believes herself to be q great actress. Brought up under mis- leading conditions, and without any but tho most elementary education, how is she to know what the real thing meanss She finds herself the rage within a few weeks of her appearance in the greatest city in the world Naturally she pays no heed to her critics why would shes
 'And she is indeed most perple1ing min ture. Do what I wlll, cannot harmonizs all my different impressions of her. Let me begin again. Why is it that her acting is so poor! l never saw more dramatic per sonality! Everything that she says or does is said or done with a wrath, q force, a viva city that makes her smallest gesture and her lightest tone impress themselves upon you. l felt this very strongly two or three times sitter the play on Friday night-in her talk with Forbes, for instance, whom she has altogether in her tolls, and whom she plays with as though he were the gray headed Merlin and she an innocent Vivien weaving harmless spells about him. And then, from this mocking war of words and looks this gay camaraderie, in which there was not a scrap of coquetry or self consciousness, she would pass into sudden outburst of anger as to tho impertinence of English rich people, the inn pertinence of rich nillionaires who have tried once or twice to order her for their evening parties as they would order their ices; or the impertinence of the young swell about town who thinks she has nothing to do behind the scenes but receive his visits and provide him with entertainment. And, as the quick, impetuous words came rushing out, you felt that here for once was a woman speaking her real mind to you, and that with a flashing eye and curvins lip, an inborn grace and energy which made every word memorable If she would but look like that or speak like that on the stage! But there, of course, is the rub. The whole difficulty of art consists in losing your own personality, SO to speak, and finding 1t again transformed, and it is a difficulty which Miss Bretherton hns never even understood.
 After tho impression of spontaneity and natural force, think what struck mo most was the physical effect London has already exercised upon her ill six weeks. She looks superbly sound and healthy; she is tall and fully developed, and her color, for all its delicacy, is pure and glowing. But. after all, she was born in languid, tropical climate, and it is the nervous strain, the rush, the in- cessant occupation of London which seem to be telling upon her. She gave me two or three times painful impression of fatigue on Friday-fatgue and something like de- pression. After twenty minutes talk she threw herself back against the iron pillar be- hind her. her White Lady's hood framing 0 face so pale and dropping that we all got up to go, feeling that it was cruelty to keep her up a minute longer. Mrs. Stuart asked her about her Sundays, and whether she ever got out of town. 'Oh,' she said, with sigh and q look at her uncle, who was standing near, I think Sunday is tho hardest day of all. It Is our lat home" day, and such crowds come just to look at me, suppose. for cannot talk to a quarter of them Whercupon MT, Worrall said in his bland commercial way that society had its burdens we'll as it's pleasures, and that his dear niece could hardly escape her social duties after the flat tering manner ill which London had well comed her. Miss Bretherton answered, with sort of languid rebellion, that her social duties would soon be the death of her. But | evidently she is very docile at home, and they do what they like with her. It seems to me that the uncle and aunt are good deal shrewder than the London public; it is borne in upon me by various indications that they know exactly what their uiece's popularity 1 depends on, and that it very possibly may l not be long lived one Accordingly they have determined on two things: first, that she shall make as much money for the family
 as cen by any means be made. and, secondly
 that she shall find her way into London Soci
 ety and secure if possible great parti befort
 the enthusiasm for her has had time to chill
 One hears various stories of the uncle, all II
 this sense: cannot say how true they are.
 However, the upshot of the supper party
 was that next day Wallace, Forbes and me | at Mrs. Stuart's house md formed Sunday
 league for the protection of Miss Brethertol l from Qoy laulllJ III OtueE "o neoh s>
 secure that she has occasional rest and coun
 try air on Sunday-her only freo day. Mra
 Stuart has already wrung out of Mrs. Wor
 rall, by little judicious soaring, permission
 to carry her of for two Sundays-one thi
 month and ono nsxte-and Miss Bretherton'
 romantic side, which is curiously strength
 her, has been touched by the suggestion tha
 tho second Sunday shall be spent at Oxford.
 Probably for the first Sunday-a wee
 hence-we shall SO to Surrey. You remem
 Der Hugh Farnham's property near Lett
 Hnls know all the farms about there fror
 old shooting days, and there is one on tn
 edge of some great commons which would b
 perfection on @ May Sunday. will writ
 you full account of our day. The only rul
 laid down by the league is that things are
 be so managed that Miss Bretherton is t
 have no possible excuse for fatigue so long g l she is in the hands of tho society.
 My book goes on fairly well. have bee
 making a long study of De..Musset, with th
 result that the poems seem to me far fine
 than had remembered, and the 'Confessior