Fort Worth gazette. [volume] (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1891-1898, 1892-02-25
~N-H OAsHNf Il OD- ~, 1870
From our Regular Correspondent.

|
| and tired actors and actresses have 10
pretend to be jolly, and don't dare to refuse
| to appear at them, because they'll be
written up as hard-hearted if they do OF
| course, there are benefits given for good
| causes, but, on my honor, fail to see how.
when men have squandered the good things
| of this life; when. having danced, the pay
ing time comes. it should be expected that
| the theatrical profession should Immediately
step forward and contribute their work
| their hard work-to help the one, perhaps,
who never helped them, and who doesn't
deserve it. II is good in them, it is kind in
| them, but it mas been done TO the ground.
Everybody who has ever had anything to
| do with theatricalS seems to think, when
he gets a little down in the word, that it is
all right for him to have benefit.
BEGGING ACTORS.
The actors clubs do not hesitate to take
charity in that form, and think it is no
more than they ought to have. When the
| business man fails, all the people who deal
| in stockings and linen don't have a special
sale for his benefit. If l were 10 grow
| lazy and take to drink tomorrow the news
| papers wouldn't sell special edition to
keep me in good brandy in my old age, and
| if you were to fail in the milk business. or
| if your racehorses declined to be first at the
post, neither the milkmen nor the book
| makers would have special days dedicated
| to you. There is too much of this benefit
| business entirely The actor, while he is
in his prime, makes money; if he doesn't
save any. that's his lOokout; If he chooses
TO squander it on clothes, beautiful belong
ings and general Publications, he has no
right to hope that when he is old and
broken to bits, his brothers in art are going
to earn it for him. The actor, more than
any other worker. is when he amounts to
anything, very well paid, and more than
any other he ought to be able to save money.
When he doesn't, have very little sympa-
thy for him.
1t is rather funny that you don't hear of
benefits being given to the women on the
stage. Is it because they are naturally more
economical, or because they look into the
future and realize that the day may come
when they will no longer be beautiful and
attractive, and yet when bread and butter
must be theirs? l picked up Boston pa
per the other day. and read of benefit to
be given to a fat, mediocre actor, whose
chief claim on the public seems to be that
he has mixed himself up in good many
scandals. Now, why should he have
benefit He has lately married, has pretty
wife, and one who 1 think is quite able to
support him, but he is to be given benefit.
Oh, it is nonsense! If they would give
benefit for the cleaning of the streets of
New York. it would be to some purpose
For my own part, 1 am just bit disguised
LOVELY DRAMATIC RETAILERS.
Somebody wrote me letter and asked
me who would sell various things at the
Actors Fund fair. l don't know; butt
imagine that Louis Harrison will retail
chestnuts; that Agnes Booth will sell pink
lemonade; that Sadie Martinez will preside
over the roses; that Lewis will sell horns
full of candies; that John Drew will dish
out the ice cream that Marie Tempest will
rule the French dolls; that Georgia Cayvan
will vend Observation-Disclosures; that KEEL
cey will have mems furnishing store; that
Estelle Clayton will sell slippers those Of
Cinderella; they'd fit her, but they would
never fit you) that Lolita will preside over
the bloom of youth; that large contin-
gent will retail white and gold edition of
'.How to be Happy, Though Married; :"
that Dixey will sell stuffed heifers, and
give lessons in grace; that Bob billiard
will stand as tailor's dummy; that Barry
more will sell sticks of mint candy for the
dear girls; that Maggie Cline will whoop
the business up, and that Denman Thomp-
son will lecture every half hour on ''What
Know About Cards" Of course, this
may not be true, but these are things that
have been told me. 1t is also said that a
number of well-known managers will sell
taffy and that the prettiest woman on the
stage will have charge of the glove counter.
Her name is not given.
THE GREAT NAPOLEON.
Every now and then hear of some great
person who adores Napoleon Bonaparte;
who collects locks of his hair, and pieces of
his clothes and who tries to stand and look
like him. Bonaparte was never hero of
mine. but he did say one good thing in his
lifetime. 1t is this: ''No man dealing
with the pressure of business can be ex-
pected to write a legible hand; all he can do
is to set down dots and leave 1t to others to
decipher them" There is an immense
amount of truth in this; of course it is a
little hard on the people who have to de-
cipher the dots. My grandmother wrote
clear, fine Italian hand on letter-sized
paper, and thought nothing of sending eight
pages of advice and information to her
daughter at school. If she were living to-
day she would think that this generation
had never learned to write But that is
Just where the trouble comes IN;
they rhave They began all right,
but they were nipped in the bud.
At very early age, each one of US care
fully and primly, with fine pen and black
ink immortalized that truth: 'sPersever-
ance is the secret of success" Later in
the book it was announced in the same way
that Honesty is the best policy And
these great truths were in round letters
with beautiful shadings; the LIS were tall
the rs were short, the Is were properly
dotted and the Y's did not have tails like
-
especially so. A success had Just been
made when it was announced that we would
have to begin all over again; that the angu-
lar English hand was in vogue, and we had
TO sit Gown, make our Os sharp, uncross
cur Is, forget the shading, and bring out
in most vindictive fashion and the sharpest
English writing. If at first you don't sue
coed, try, try again" And the consequence
was-well, the consequence of this hybrid
teaching is the handwriting of thes Ameri-
can woman of to-day. 1t is not ineligible
and it lacks character. 1t is not a hand
writing that you can love.
DISTINGUISHED PEN TRACKS.
Funny how we do get to care for hand
writings, and how much they seem to tell
US. have one letter written in magnifi-
cent, plain, clear hand. that brings before
me one vision-a digniied man in his cardi-
nails robes, putting out his hand in bless
ing 1t is a letter from Cardinal Gibbons,
and every word in it, every letter, seems to
say, BLESSED are the pure in heart" There
is another IN the same package with it; the
writing is cramped, small, and you need 10
get clew-one word-to start you in IL
before the mystery is solved. 1t is the
writing of Henry Irving Then there is a
firm. clear, plain writing, that tells you
that large, firm hand held the pen. Tt did.
1t was Mrs. Langtry who wrote that Then
there is Ellen Terry's-it's plain enough,
but she writes on thin paper, with the
blacklist of ink, and the combination is
not a happy one. l made up my mind that
she was not my ideal Marguerite
after saw this letter There is