The times. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1890-1903, 1894-05-20
MISS MARY ANDERSON.
HER DEBIT DESCRIBED BIZ THE
ACTOR WHOPLlYED WITH HER.
Too Thoroughly Ridiculous Ever to lie
Forgotten--foI Months She Had Sold
Tickets In the Streets.

leading male part with Mary Anderson.
This is w. NJ. Griffith. who was Romeo
the night she made her debut as juliet.
Yes" he remarked last night. Il can
| well remember the first time Mary An
! derson even recited to show professional
| pople what she could do. The scene was
| too thoroughly ridiculous ever to be Tor
gotten. / was then member of Barney
| McAuley's stock company here, and was
| the leading actor. After the perform
ance one night was going out the stage
door when Johnny Mackey. now dead,
] called me back.
Hold on. he said. you don't want 10
miss the fun. We've got a stage-struck
girl here and she's going to recite.'
Il walked back into the theatre, and
| there on the stage was a strip of an I'M
! developed girl who couldn't have weigh
! ed as much as one hundred pounds.
! There was but one thing about her TO
attract attention, and this was her eyes.
never saw eyes which seemed SO large
| and furtve In the front row sat Bar
ney McAuley and a lot OF newspaper
! men. Soon she began to recite from Ro-
| meo and juliet and when she came 10
the part where the love-lorn lass refers
| 10 her ancestors bones. she got down
on the stage and rolled all over the place
| She wore a dark dress of the cheapest
! material The stage was never scrubbed
| and not swept with any great regularity
The result was that she caused quite
Il cloud of dust, and Barney and the
newspaper men applauded uproarousiy
| laughed mm0derately, and shouted Bra
! vov with such intensity that her words
| could scarcely be heard
when she had finished the newspaper
| men insisted on having more, and she
stood in a frightened way. with her large
eyes glancing timidly from one to an
other, apparently willing 10 recite fur
: Their selections. Her dress. which had
! been dark. had become perfectly white
| with stage dust. and Barney concluded
| the gang had enjoyed enough for one
evening. and told the girl that would do
| This was Mary Anderson's first appear
ance as an aspirant for dramatic honors.
Later she came to Barney McAuley
and said she wanted to make her DEBUT
in Romeo and Juliet.
my child. said Barney. you can
have my theatre If you pay me 800 for 1t
| whenever you are ready 10 appear
But where am ! to get that much
| money she asked in despair.
Barney then suggested that she go
! around and get people pledged 10 attend
the performance. If they didn't want TO
buy tickets. he would accept the pledges
of business men in good standing. So
out she started trudging the streets
from place to place. For four weary
months she kept going daily. | would
frequently meet her on days when the
sidewalks were covered with this mis-
cradle sush you have here so much IN
winter. Plainly atured and with no pro-
lection from the rain. I have often stop
ped TO let her walk under my umbrella.
Sometimes ] would meet her coming out
Of a store with smile on her face, and
she would say, delightedly:
at sold two in there
"Once / asked II men never insuted her.
"Oh, yes; often was her response,
but ! pay no attention to them. / am
working for one object. That is 10 raise
500. and I'm going to accomplish it,
Finally she raised the amount and
| went to Barney, who had never dreamed
the girl would succeed. only Barney and
| Mrs McAuley were present when the
! delighted girl told Of her success. After
| Barney realized the girl had actually
raised the sum he had fixed h. asked
what play she had chosen for her debut.
Romeo and Juliet" was her answer
| But my dear he demonstrated, tho
| costumes will cost YOU at least SEQ
at this the poor girl tainted She felt
| she could not raise another cent When
she had revived Mrs. McAuley said the
| aspiring girl should wear her costumes.
The idea of a strip of a girl in Mrs. Nc
| Alleys costumes was absurd, but she was
too happy to think Of this. When we
/ came TO rehearse the part she was utter
" untitled for il. My greatest diihcultv
was in showing her how to act when she
came to the lines, my life, my love. my
SOUL A. the first Juliet should gently
! caress Romeo. at my love her arms
should be thrown passionately about his
neck. and when my soul is reached
/ Juliet should fairly throw herself at
! Romeo. She was afraid even to put her
arms coldly about my neck.
octave you ever been in love- I asked
ono. sir was the timid reply.
Didn't you ever put your arms around
! a mans neck?
Ono. sir
Then how the world did you happen
to select Romeo and Juliet?
| "T don't know, sir That was what
! rec!ted
Though IT was Saturday night the house
was packed. My! what a failure she was.
! never saw anything so awkward since
| | was born. She would 80 across the
stage in three steps. I have never ceased
/ wondering how she managed IT, This put
| a stop to her career for n time. Ben De-
| bar. of St Louis wrote Barney McAuley,
stating he had an open date and would
| like to have an attraction. Barney re-
sponded that there was q girl who had
packed his house, principally on the
claim that she was the daughter OF
| Confederate General. though he didn't
know whether her father had been IN the
army at all BY working on Southern
sentiment. Barney thought ST. Louis peo-
/ ME might be worked too. This was
tried with capital results.
"Iohn Norton WIS attracted by this
and undertook TO star her. with tho re-
eilt tha. he lost every copper he had.
Prior 10 this Dr. Griffin had persuaded
his brother to put up 1900 TO take Miss
Anderson and her company through small
Kentucky towns. They came 10 me ana
7 refused 20 go. saving II was pure mad
ness. The brother backed out then. Miss
Anderson has since thanked me for my
action. saving that but for my good sense
she would never have become famous.
she was not known in the little towns.
the money would have been spent. there
would have been no returns. aud she
would have come back utterly disheart-
! ened
81 have always been amused at the
people Of Louisville so fondly referring
10 Miss Anderson as our Mary When she
returned here after travelling through