Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1896-03-17

each two people more unsuitcd to live to-
gether as man and wife could not easily
be imagined. The husband was an igno-
rant man without any comprehension OF
the refined, brilliant and aesthetic woman
whom passion, not love, had deiuded into
marriage
Adah soon woke up to . bitter realiza.
ton of her mistake. From the hour Of
that marriage her star began TO decline.
and her sustaining hope grew dim. This
i'll matched pair lived together for only q
feW months, some say few days. and
when Aiah left him TO resume her profes.
sion Heenan tried to have IL appear that
the marriage had not been legal. In 1869
Adah obtained divorce from Heenan IN
Indiana and returned 30 New York city
By this time Adah had become an &C.
complished actress, and there was q chance
to have redeemed the errors of the past;
but. still, ruled by impulse and only using
her reason when /: was too late. she mar
,ied Il New York Robert H. Newall
With Newall, Adah went west and to
California. where she soon added to her
list of accomplishments that of a daring
rider. Her riding was not of the sidesad
die kind She could manage the widest
horse with n halter. and, standing erect,
dash him over obstacles that the most
skilled cayalryman would have thought
suicidal.
And row, as "a wild western eaues.
tr;enne" "Queen of the Prairies," Adah
went with Newall to London. where she at
| once secured a place in Astley's famous
circus.
Original in everything she did. Adah
introduced innovations into the circus ring
that startled the conservatives in such
nd ". hor s<ko IL
| Of the town" Astley's. 1t was believed.
was in its decadence, but the appearance
of the phenomenal American woman gave
| a new lease to its fortunes.
The legitimate stage and even the opera
| were deserted for the circus. Young and
old. rich and poor. peasant and noble.
| hocked to cheer the Queen OF the Pra
| tries. - and her pictures met the Londoner
| at every turn.
As Mazeppa she took London By storm
Gifts poured in on her. temptation beset
her on every hand. and she would not have
been true 10 her past had she kept cool
not been dazzled and made giddy by the
food of fortune and the Intoxicating effect
| Of adulation.
After over ayear of this prosperity Adah
this was In lS65-was divorced from
Newall and, to tho surprise of every enc
4
| she came to America.
There is enough chargeabIe to her weak.
ness and restless love Of adventure without
believing the rumor that she came to
America with the representative of no.
BILE English house whose wife and children
were disgraced by the act
In New York Adah resumed the role Of
Mazeppa. and her success in the metropolis
| and throughout the west was as great as
that at Astley's. She made O great deal
| Of money, but her lavish generosity rather
than any selfish extravaganza prevented
her keeping It.
If she had found instruction In expert.
ence she would have remained her own
mistress from this time on, but, true to
herself. in 1866 she married James Barclay
| of New York. with whom she at once sail.
| ed for England.
The i'll matched pair-indeed all her
matches were of that character-went to
| London and sought to renew the success OF
the past ut Astley's. But she soon learned
that the peoples idols stand ever OF an
| unsteady pedestal Brief as had been the
| time since the crowds fiocked to see the
| Prairie Queen. they had forgotten or were
| giving their unreliable devotion to another
idol of tho hour.
Much discouraged, Adah and her hus-
band decided to try their fortunes IN Paris
Here she made some success as a rider, but
the circus has never been popular with
| cultured Frenchmen. Her money ran low.
and in her desperation she resolved to re.
sumo the business OF dancing that first
brought her into notice.
She went back to the variety stage, and
Barclay, wearying of her beauty. which
was still great, and seeing that her earn
ing power was declining. cruelty deserted
her.
Friendless and moneyless in great city
a less buoyant and elastic nature than
| Adah' s would have been crushed, but now
for the first time in her life the latent force
| OF her remarkable character asserted
itself. She took humble lodgings in q
quiet part of the city and appeared in the
ballet during the opera season.
Her linguistic talents were remarkable
She spoke French like a Partisan, and her
Spanish would have been perfect in Mad.
rid She took pupils in those languages,
and If she had had support she would have
won reputation as a teacher. for she was
blessed with the gift Of imparting knowl-
edge.
Her love for poetry returned. and che
devoted all her spare time to the art As
q result Of this comforting labor she pub.
lished in London, or had published, for she
could not afford the expense herself. Sec
ond volume of poems under the suggestive
title "Infelicia" 1.-THE unhappy This lit
tie book, copy of which is before me. is
full of feeling and is written with a music
al sinoothress worthy of Swinburre
Early in 1868 her health began to fail
and the red death flag of consumption be-
gan to glow in her following cheeks. She
G.