Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1893-02-16
In W0MAN'S BEHALF.
SOME FIRST SUCCESSES.
Five weIl-KnOwn Women Tell How They
Achieved Fame.

dLluCS AOE Is a
series of stories, told by themselves, of
the first successes of several women
prominent in different lines. Miss Char
lotte NJ. Yonge, on whose excellent
tales so many youthful minds have been
fed; Nine. Albani Mrs. Lynn Linton,
of ''Wild Woman" fame, and Miss Rosa
lind Ellicott, who is notable as a com
poser, are among the ladies who tell
how they first won success in their diff
ferent fields.
Miss Yonge had delighted her family
and a small circle of friends with stor-
les before she attained any great public
note. But when The Heir of Red
clyffe" was published her popularity
was assured. She had written little
schoolroom tales which had been criti-
cised in her home and over which she
had spent much labor. She was writ
ing with the desire of doing good.
1t occurred to a friend that with SO
worthy an ambition and such literary
style as her early ventures had given
her she should be able to tell a really
moving story. This friend had desire
TO see the contrast between ''the con-
trite spirit and self-righteous one"
shown in selfish form-with cheerful
ness and peace falling to the lot of the
former and distress and failure to the
latter. She suggested this theme to
Miss Yonge, who went to work with
enthusiasm on the not remarkably new
idea. The story was written in sort
of fever of composition. Each days
work was read and discussed with in
terest in the family circle and when
the tale was finished ii was read and
corrected by friends. The manuscript
found publisher, the story pleased the
public and Miss Yonges first success
was a great one.
Nine. Albinis first success was in
Bellinfs ''Sonnambula' at Messina
From the time she was four years old
until she was seventeen she had studied
music, the last nine months under a
famous teacher, Sig. Lamperti. At his
school she was heard by the manager of
the opera at Messina, and accepted an
offer to go there. Her first success was
at the first orchestra rehearsal, where
forty or fifty people were present. At
the close of Mime. Albini's first air the
applause became SO great that the re-
hearsal could not proceed, and the audi.
ence jumped upon the stage and bore
the singer to her hotel with shouts
of "Brava, Bravissama-" At the pub
lie performance of the opera the popu-
lace went mad in its enthusiasm for
the new singer, and from that time she
has besn almost overwhelmed with sue
cess
Mrs. Linton's very first success was
poem which she evidently does not now
regard with great admiration, called
National Convention of the Gods" 1t
was written when she was about TWEEN
ty-one and sold to Bentley's Miscellany
for the magnificent sum of two guineas.
She had a great deal of curiously
assorted knowledge picked up by her
self Her energy was all self-directed,
and even in the days of her youth she
inclined somewhat to the heroic themes
of ancient history Accordingly she
decided to write a novel on old Egypt
which should be a masterpiece. Her
sources of information were an old En-
cyclopedia Londinensis" and Moore's
"Epicurean," but her zeal was bound
less. Fortunately the family solicitor
became interested in her and her family
were persuaded TO allow her to board in
London near the British museum. Here
her sources of information were more
extensive. and "Azeth, the Egyptian"
met with favorable reception. But
although her first literary successes
were in poetry and fiction, it has been
as contributor to periodicals that she
became best known.
Miss Rosalind Ellicott began her ca
reer as a composer when, as little girl,
she used to make up tunes" on the pi-
ano. Later when she had completed
her general education and begun to de-
vote herself entirely to music she ex-
pected to compose only as an amuse-
ment considering that she had not suf-
ficient talent to make it her profession.
But she showed some of her compost
tons to a great London musician, who
persuaded her that she had 'the most
distinguished talent" She then began
to devote herself to composition in earn
est She composed an overture for a
full orchestra and was invited to have
it played in a concert at the Gloucester
Musical festival in 1883 Her teacher
thought she could improve upon the one
she had composed and accordingly she
wrote a new one, the Dramatic Over
ture." which was given at the festival
and which was her FIRST success"
A first success in another field is de-
scribed by Miss Winifred Emery, an
eminent English actress Miss Emery
had met with all sorts of rebuffs and
disappointments Managers had read
her little letters of introduction and
politely said that they had nothing to
offer The only one who even gave her
the slender satisfaction of talking to
her was Mr.. John Hollingshead, Of the
Gaiety, theater given over to bur
lesque, for which Miss Emery was, as
she realized, in every way unified
Finally she managed to secure an en-
gagement with Mr.. Wilson Barrett,
presenting herself to him on the
strength of having once been at party
in his house. small, one-act piece,
"a Clerical Error" afforded her her