, 1889-10-24
AN EVENTFUL CAREER
Mrs. Scott Siddons Talks
With q Review Reporter.
HER LIFE UPON The STAGE
A Beautiful Gift From Queen Vic.
toria, Bracelet With An
Inscription.

a REVIEW reporter enjoyed the priVi-
lcge of half-Dour's chat with Mrs.
Scott. .Siddons at the Lewis house yester-
day evening. The celebrated little
woman received the scribe with queen
ly bow and a handshake which made
him ioel at once at ease In her presence.
Mrs. Scott-Siddons is dark-eyed, hand
some little English woman, and looks
to be about 33 years of age-certainly
not moro than 40.
II have nothing fresh to say to you,"
she said with a smile as she pushed
aside an unfinished letter she had been
writing. ''I have not been able to be out
of my room but little since came here,
having beon suffering from cold which
settled on my right lung, To-day l
took drive all around your beautiful
city and enjoyed it very much. This is
a coming great city, | think, and the
enterprise displayed everywhere is won,
derful. Your people all seem to be
imbued with this same energetic spirit
and really believe visitors become i'm
bued with IL too"
Mrs. Siddons then went on to describe
the scenery she had observed on the way
over from Tacoma. The scenery in the
Cascades she pronounced among the
most beautiful and awe inspiring she
had ever seen. She is u captivating con-
versation alist; speaks at an extraordi
nary speed, and so pleasant Is her voice,
so fnultless her grammar, and so bright
and expressive her face that the listener
feels lost when she stops.
II have crossed the Atlantic twenty
two or three times" she said in ans wcr
| IN an ipnt,iry nv tho rapprtor
formerly my custom to come every year
after my first trip. Then went to Aus.
tralia and returned here again after
three years. The present trip is my first
TO this country In seven years, have
been here so much that I feel home
wheu | was quite young girl, twenty
years ago.
Here is something which is a pleas
ant reminder of those times, and as
happen. to have it on you may sec II. !"
she said, extending a wrist on which was
a beautiful gold bracelet, designed to
represent crown and studded with
diamonds and pearls.
This WIS given me by Queen Victoria
America the first time. / was vas
summoned to appear before the
royal family at Osborne palace in the
Isle of Wight. was only girl and in
married, and of course I was nervous
and Hurried in the presence of royalty
for the first time. / remember that |
appeared in muslin gown, and wore
no ornaments of any kind
except locket at my throat / had
officer. When | was ushered into the
presence of the queen noticed that she
was seated on one side of the room,
and that in front OF me,
through kind Of archwag, were num-
Der ofrude benches, Upon inquiry
was told that the benches were for the
household servants and that 1 was to
read to them, the queen desiring
that should give them the
than herself. The queen ASKED me- ,"ose TO
send up repertoire of my selections,
which did. / remember that | marked
some OF them with 9 cross, and then
wrote on the bottom, These are my IA
yorites!' y have laughed about
of course ! did not then know
any better The queen very kindly So
lected my fayorites and | began. After
a little while her majesty asked to stand
piece read was The Fairy Queen,
and in the most aifectionate part the
little prince and princess began
to cry, and noticed the
queen herself tumble around for hand
kerchief and surrcptitiousiy wipe her
eyes. When ! bad finished she came
and stood beside me and talked to me
for a long time. was so furried
that kept forgetting to say your
majesty and she noticed and told me
10 never mind saying II. When spoke
about my husband having 10 give up
his position in the navy IN order
to to-, accompany na;on me, as was
forget what she said, which was this
] think he was perfectly right to give
up my service for yours. She then
asked me to accept n souvenir of the
occasion and this bracelet was sent
to me the next day. / was so afraid |
when celebrated professionals appear be.
fore royalty to give them a large sum of
bracelet bracelet herself. S "''" and p''i1"'a prize ine
IL very highly. The inscription on the
inside reads; To Mrs. Scott-Siddons,
as a souvenir of the visit to Osborne
yesterday evening and as a mark of the
qualification which her presence afforded
her majesty
My success was pronounced from the
first. l am sometimes amused at the
things / see in the papers. They figure
my age all the way from 35 to 80.
People are sometimes very i'm
ing me my age So long as one intcr-
ests the public and is not too old TO
represent the part played, l can't see
that people have any right to inquire
so much about ones age. When
| get too old to be Efficient
and of course we must all get
old will have the good taste to retire.
Sometimes / hear OF some one saying
that their mother, who Is so, has heard
her mother say that she saw me on the
stage when she was girl. How ridicu-
lous! Probably Mrs. Siddons, my grand
mother, was meant.
"Yes, frequently have young elocu-
tionists come to me to find out what |
think of their abilities and oh. l get so
tired of 1t. / always tell them
just what l think, for must
do my duty. / tell at once whether
they have any natural ability, or
whether their acting is simply mechan-
ical If they haven't natural talent no
amount of rehearsing will ever do them
any good. ! never rehearse. don't
know what II is to hear myself say lines
TO myself. begin without momcnts $
preparation and trust TO the fervor that
lies within me.
II expect TO leave here about Tuesday
or "Wednesday. There has been mis-
take about announcing my dates In
Montana, and 70 from here to Dakota.
expect to reach England again in the
spring"
Governor Foraker III.