The Yakima herald. [volume] (North Yakima, W.T. [Wash.]) 1889-1914, 1896-11-12
MooJeskA.s ROMANTIC CAREER
She Achieved high Reputation IN Spite OF
Many Adverse circumstances.

MODJESkAS ROMANTIC CAREER
She Achieved high Reputation In spite OF
Many Adverse circumstances
Helena Modjeska's career has been
strikingly interesting one. She born
at Cracow, in Austrian Poland, about
81 years ago. Her father, Michael
Popido, musician, gave her Cheek
name on account of her small Greek
head, which pleased his artistic sonse.
He died when she was q child. a great
fire burned their house and brought
the large family to poverty. Two
brothers became successful actors and
helped her to find humble work on the
stage. For years she met with no sue
cess. She married her guardian, ii. ueh
older than herself, named Modrzejew-
ski, the real spelling of the name which
we have shortened to Mojeska (the "a
the usual feminine ending). Ii was not
until 1865 that real success began TO
be hers. Always an enthusiastic stu.
dent in her art, she made such prog
ress under the direction of the Polish
director Iasinski that her growing
reputation spread from Poland to Ger
many and France. She has always
been devoted to Poland, and it is re
lated that on one occasion, after she
had accepted a proposal to play German
tragedy in Austrian Bukowina, her pa
triotism got the better of her Hlnbi-
ton, and she gave up the idea of play
ing in Germany on hearing a band
play Polish national airs the day before
the first performance. 1T was at the
time the Polish instruction broke out.
and this music made her feel as if de-
sorting the Polish stage at such mo-
ment would be equal to betraying the
national cause"
In 1865 she married Charles Bozenta
Chlapowski, young Polish patriot and
journalist. On the day of her mar
riage she first played in Warsaw, where
"her triumph was the greatest ever
known in the annals of the theater."
She remained in Warsaw seven years.
the period of greatest advancement in
her art. In 1876, with her husband and
party of friends, she visited the cen.
tennial, then went to California, bent
ON founding a Polish community. Ii
was strange experience. "They
bought land, built house. purchased
cattle, hens and chickens and other
necessities. and then swung hammocks
under the trees, laid in stock of Gig
arettes and waited for the crops IL
grow and for the cattle to multiply
As long as the money held out the.
lived delightful life. Unfortunately
there Is limit to money. and befor
very long 1t was all gone and the littl
colony had to turn to and work. TIL
was too prosaic entirely for some o
the members, and they continued tc
swing in the hammocks and smoke
cigarettes while the others worked aud
waited upon them. One of the hardest
workers was Nine. Modjeska. She not
only cooked and scrubbed, but she
MIXED the cows and made the butter,
her husband and son doing all the hard
work Of the farm. while their coInpan-
ious looked on and chaffed and sneered
by turns Even with the strictest econ
omy they could not live, and Mime.
Modjeska determined to learn English
and act at San Francisco thcater"
This she did, after six months Of study.
Her first appearance there, as in War
saw nine years before, was as Adri-
cnne Lecouvreur. Her success was i'm
mediate and has never since been
broken. Although she has visited POI
land, her husband and son are nat
aralized American citizens, and Amer
lea will always claim her-jointly, il
need be. with Poland-as one of her
brightest stars.
The story of Russia's recent edict
against her has been widely circulated.
II was because of her frank expression
of sympathy with Poland, during the
Columbian exposition promptly re-
ported TO their government by Russian
representatives who heard herr that
Nine Modjcska was forbidden 10 enter
Russia. She had to abandon, at great
cost 10 herself. an engagement to play
in st. Petcrsburgh. but the exile. If such
il is To be called. while it emphasizes
her consistency to the cause of Poland,
makes her more than ever an American.
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