The Washington times., 1894-04-15
Gallery, PHI, and
Groonr0Onn.

Miss Rose Coghlan is, in ADDITION to being
an actress of strength and conscientious en-
deayor to be stronger every year, which has
| made her Mrs. Arbuthnot In "a Woman Of No
Importance the best thing she has ever done.
a most lovable woman in private life. She has
a circle OF friends, who look upon her as
something OF an ideal womanly woman. She
is tender and true-hearted, she is sparkling
and sprightly when she wishes to be, and she
is one OF the stage women who believe that
| one should and may be as pure IL one Is an
| actress as II one were in a convent.
! have a little story to tell of her tender
| hearted womanliness, which you will like.
| Most of you will like it when you have seen
the beauty and pathos OF Mrs. Arbuthnot.
| While playing this last strong play Of his
| in New York she received letter from a
gentleman she had never heard of before. It
was dated from a western city. and the writer,
| after making apology for addressing her,
| asked If she would kindly let him know where
he could purchase her picture. He said he
was willing to pay any reasonable price for
| It, as he wanted to give it to one OF her ad-
mirers.
''Some weeks ago." continued the unknown
| correspondent, 'while you were playing an
| engagement in ST. Louis, in company with
| young lad 1 witnessed your performance Of
| Lady Barter My young friend seemed so
4
| ised TO take him to New York to see your new
| play, A Woman of No Importance
| unfortunately 1t is now impossible for me
| to keep my word. Shortly after his visit with
| me to st. LOUIS the young man had a severe
| fall. and is now an invalid for life. A few
| days ago he came across long review Of
| your production, and the thought of what he
| had missed brought the tears to his eyes. To
| quiet him 1 promised to get him one of your
| pictures. This seemed to cheer him up, and
am sure if you could see how nobly he bears
| his suifer1ngs you would pity him. The lad
| is an orphan and the son of an actor. trust,
| dear madam, that in making this request
! have not offended you."
1t is almost needless to say that the story
| appealed to Miss Coghan who Immediately
| sent for one of her pictures, wrote her name
| on the back OF it. and with it incosed long
| letter to her young admirer, bidding him to
| be of good cheer and to fight his battle
| brayely.
The story Of this most successful play Of
Oscar Wilde's, "a Woman of No Importance"
centers around the characters of Lord Hing
worth. Mrs Arbuthnot, and her son, Gerald.
Mrs. Arbuthnot has been betrayed and de-
serted by Lord Illingworth under promise Of
| marriage twenty years before the first act
opens.
She has reared her son in ignorance Of his
parentage and has managed by making her
life all that it should be to gain the respect
and regard of her acquaintances. By chance
the boy attracts Lord Illingworth, and. both
being unaware of their relationship agrees to
| become his private secretary. Mrs. Arbuth.
not, when she learns of the arrangement, en-
deayors to break it off, but is prevented, be-
cause she can give no valid reason for her
objections Lord Ilingworth insults the
woman his son loves. The young fellow is
about TO strike his father, when his mother
a strong, intense situation, and one OF the
pictures that Miss Coghan makes that We
always remember. In the last act the son
insists that his father shall make his mother
the only possible reparation by marrying her.
but Mrs. Arbuthnot refuses Illingworths
offer. Stung by her contempt, the noble
lord taunts her with her history, and is
properly punished by the young man. There
is pretty ending. in which things are righted
as nearly satisfactorily as possible. Miss
Coghlan's role is different fIom any
that she has ever before attempted. 1t is in
tensely emotional, and the audiences have
cried with her.
OF the people in her company Ada Dyas
played with Henry Irving last season; pretty
Efle Shannon. whom we all like. takes the
part of an American girl; Mrs. Dion Bouci-
cault plays sparkling part; John T. Sulli-
van, the husband of Miss Coghlan, plays the
part of the heavy villain, Illingworth, and
Aubrey Boucicault, who was last with Mans
field and last Summer for short time in the
National theater stock company, is Gerald,
the son of Mrs. Arbuthnot.
I am sorry this other engagement between
the millionaire and the beautiful and talented
and entirely proper young player-woman is
broken of and hope to hear of it again.
Real romances OF this kind are 50 infrequent,
so much like angels visits in every way,
people are so prosaic Just now in these last
few greedy, hard-hearted. worldly years. It
had seemed that again ray of real soft,
bright sunny love had crept into two peoples
hearts and made them forget the narrow
angularity the unbeautiful. sordid squalor OF
wealth. the iron fetters of convention.
One has little solace ill this description
by New York Recorder reporter. He says:
1t was Howard Gould himself-he who had
been first TO admit the ehgagement-who con-
leSsed lis breaking OH lie had LETT his rooms
nj the dldorf, and was on his way out of town,
presumably see his brother George at Lake
wood, when q Recorder reporter overhauled him
on the street The millionaire eoffve-and-twenty OF
looked as natty as usual, and tried to wear his
wonted cheerfulness of demeanor, but he did
not succeed in the attempt His face pale
and drawn, and there were rings about the dark
eyes as If he had been losing sleep, or perchancs
hG9 been crying
There's realness about this that you might
not expect from a man giving up a beautiful
woman because his family wished it. But
why didn't he stick to his engagement? He
says it was in opposition to his family's
wishes. and unfortunately his fathers will
makes it necessary for him to please his fam
lily il he doesn't want to lose half his fortune.
But why hasn't he the backbone that his
brother and sisters have shown!
You have heard the late story about Miss
Tyler. She has been married before, eleven
years ago. She cannot have been more than If
teen or sixteen when it occurred. 1t was 8
young school girl romance. and it ended dis
astrousiy. In three years there was divorce
on account OF ''incompatibility of tempera-
ment'' 1t was a New York marriage and
the man is in the New York custom house
now. But now she is older. Both she and
Gould are old enough to marry for love, and
they might have done 1t for the sake Of
poetry.
might conclude these somewhat extended
remarks on the subject of marriages by re-
.cordng the pleasant news that young Mr..
Rapley is back in town, with the bloom in his
cheek.
Mr.. Barrett having produced Othello, is
distinctly a greater actor than he was before
he attempted the role of the Jealous Moor.
To most of US it will be his justification as
tragedian. 1t was hard to believe in him in
Hamlet, even if we agreed with his concep-
ton OF the character. Even supposing that
Hamlet should be stormy, passionate, mag
nicent man with a strong, fine neck and
deep. ringing voice. which is what Barrett
S opposes. the actor did not meet the require
uIents except as to physical excellence. As
/ ~ N Snan Etnr nj .l1Irtn Ia