Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1889-03-10
obtained as Unique a position among his
THAT ouAparLnr.

h".s hSoo Rttat talk ABOUT
quadnllc TO he danced ut the centennial
ball 10y descendants of Revolutionary he.
roes, and one would suppose that these
people were TO be sought out from by.
WAYS where fortune has stranded tbe1.
ond, crowned with the laurel.leayes OF
taeir ancestors, receive for once the
homage OF the worldly fortunate. Such.
however, has not been the idea Of Mr.
McAliister. With great ingenuity
he has spent tho last few weeks
in searching not for lineal de
scendants OF Revolutionary heroes but.
instead, for heroic Revolutionary an
ccstors for has own bai0iiiOn, members
OF whom Vt WAS intended from the start
should comprise the quadrille he has
found an embarrassment of ancestors for
them all, for what American family of
two or three generations honorable
standing but has by merriage or descent
some connection with the Revolution. and
has even lighted on one for himself,
some old Nirginian, believe, whom no
and Mrs. COnelins Vanderbilt claim III
common, and now there is trouble
IN the air, and prospects OF inter
necine strife, for all claim equal right TO
historic precedence and il | am any
prophet, when the historic quadrilie
comes to be danced there will be very
little said about ancestors. As planned,
however, it Is a DelmOnicO ball, with
enlarged boundaries, q place where the
hdoH ton can parade their ancestors, and,
though it may sOnnd butally frank to
say so, 1t is toierably certain that
descendants of Revolutionary heroes who
are living in fashionable obscurity will
not be invited to share the honors.
Mr.. McAllister's set, and no one else,
except the political guests, will dance in
the famous quadrillo. Consistent with
the programme, the boxes have all been
parcelled out among the set, and there
has not been at any time one to be had
10y II stranger
THE Fan.
The centennial moon, looking down on
the many fanciiul changes in the ball
room fashions, will note among them the
neglect OF the fan. That once important
adjunct OF feminine toilet has fallen
almost entirely into disuse, and if the
[
fashions he should begin at once on a
fan drill. The women of to-day know
nothing vt all Of "hirts and vibrations, d"
discharges, and " 6utters, and an ex-
animation Of the latest designs of that
once bewitching implement indicates
that, following the natural law, it is fall
ing into 4 documentary condition. Many
fashionable women dispense with it alto
gether, and others put it to no Legitimate
use.
Mrs. Robert Goelet, indeed, occasion
ally waves one OF transparent Rauze
which causes delicate shadows to chase
each other over face and dress, but OBJ
scures her not at all, and suggests in no
way the fan of past timo with which the
coquette played peek-aboo Mrs. VIII
liam Vanderbilt now and then raises a
closed fan to suppress yawn Mrs.
/ Cornelius toys nervously with one in
her lap, but Il ordinarily remains closed ;
I Mrs. William Sloane does not open
hers, but has a trick OF lifting
it TO her face when speaking ;
Mrs. Henry Clews sometimes uses one,
but not with the grace women had Of
OLD Mrs. Austin COrbin seldom has
one by her. but will toy whole evening
with handkerchief, lifting 1t daintily in
the fingers Of two hands, pulling it out
and dropping it, to pick it up again
The use of the fan Is q lost art Perhaps
the long gloves have something to do
with 1t reaching over the elbows they
make it more or less difficult TO manipu
late fan. At any rate it is certain that
playing conspicuously with a fan IS not
at present considered good form among
chef McAllster -Four Hundred.
STAGE OF TO-DAY.
at is a common thing" said Angus
tin DAILY, the other night, "for writers
on dramatic matters to complain that
nowadays we have no Shaksperian ac-
tors. 1t Is not by any means clear 10
me what they mean by this; and | am
exceedingly doubtful whether they know
exactly what they mean themselves, but
like many other things which they put
in their writings, 1t Las fine sound,
and. indeed, sounds as If 1t ought to
mean something. Whether it does is
questionable. The natural inference
when the sentence occurs is that the
writer means to convey the idea that the
theatre of to day compares unfavorsbly
with that of Shakspeare's time but tins
is all rubbish. 1t does not, and 1t is
really mark Of shallow scholarship 10
say so.
1.-THE writer's on dramatic matters Of
the present day are very few OF them
critics. do not mean that we have no
critics, but that nearly all of those VINO
comment on the theatre are either
incompetent to criticlse, or that they
allow their feelings, friendships, and
preludices 10 influence their writings
This is the case at times with some OF
our best critics, and is always the case
with the mere writers. 60 when they
complain that we have no Shakspearian
actors they are betraying ignorance. The
public of to-day would not tolerate for a
dav the actor of q hundred or two hun
bred wears ago, with his mounting and
rapting, and stilted, measured gestures.
If GarricK himself should come back
and do what he did in his day he would
not be fayorite, or ever successful IN
NOT IL ADVANCE.
"The actor is not, if successful, in
advance OF his audience, nor in any way
beyond or above them, excepting IN the
matter and art OF expression. OF course
be ls in that respect. ! can go on my
stage at rehearsal and tell my actors
what 10 do and direct them in the per-
torrance OF parts that | could by 10
means perform myself, but that implies
merely expression or exposition of an
authors thoughts. The public demands
that the actor shall do this with com
pIete intelligence, and the fact that it is
done is demonstration sufficient that the
actor of to-day is in advance OF the &C
tor of Shakspeare's day. He has to
Keep up with the public and the public
has advanced. -.
We have TO look to, and not that OF the
writer's. When We brought out An In,
@ba N