The Iola register. [volume] (Iola, Allen County, Kansas) 1875-1902, 1893-02-03
IN WOMAN'S BEHALF.
SOME FIRST SUCCESSES.
Five Well-Known Women Tell How They
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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 CON-
poser, are among the ladies who tell
how they first won success in their diff
ferent fields.
Miss Yonge had delighted her family
and 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 n friend that with so
worthy an ambition and such literary
style as her early ventures had given
her she should be able to tell really
moving story. This friend had desire
to see the contrast between 1.-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 Il 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 it was read and
corrected by friends. The manuscript
found a publisher, the story pleased the
public and Miss Yonge's first success
was a great one.
Mime. Al5inTs first success was in
Bellinis "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 90 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 a
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 novel on old Egypt
which should be a masterpiece. Her
sources of information were an old EN-
cyclopadia 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-
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 great London musician, who
persuaded her that she had 1.-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 concert at the Gloucester
Musical festival in 1856. Her teacher
thought she could improve upon the one
she had composed and accordingly she
wrote 4 new one, the Dramatic Over
ture," which was given at the festival
and which was her first success"
4 first success in another field is de-
scribed by Miss Winifred Emery, an
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, a theater given over to bur-
lesque. for which Miss Emery was, as
she realized, in every way untitled.
Finally she managed to secure an en-
Cagement with Mr.. Wilson Barrett,
presenting herself to him on the
strength of having once been at party
in his house. A small, one-act piece,
~ Clerical Error" afforded her her
first chance. The great success, how
ever, was made in Bronson Towards
play, THE Old Love and the New"
Miss Emery discovered, after she had
achieved her success in that play, that
the part had been offered her in an
emergency when two other actresses of
already established reputation failed
Mr.. Barrett Miss Emery's success was
great and instantaneous, and although
it happened years ago, people frequent
ly pass over her later work and tell her
''how we'll they remember her in The
Old Love and the New" So that even
a first success may have its thorn in
rendering second successes less cOnspic-
uous than their own merits would make