Delaware gazette and state journal. (Wilmington, Del.) 1883-1902, 1897-02-04


Special corresncndence OF Gazette nnnJourual
New York, Jan. 29.-There is an I'M
doubted lack Of pride in the average
American. don't mean II lack OF
personal pride, or, TO put 1t palmer,
lack Of pride in himself, hut thcre is q
lack Of pride In that which is dis
tinctly American. When no gets rich,
the average American talks about tho
Alps, tells you tho exact height of tho
most wonderful peak, lingors over tho
dangers of climbing, and nover troubles
himself TO remember there nre, out in
Colorado, great mountains and deep
valleys in any ono of which tho entiro
Alpa could no hidden away like
Christmas gift in stocking. Ho TALKS
about the balmy air Of Italy, forgetting
Florida and California: ard then, no
ia, in addition to being unpairiotic,
too often unfaithful--l mean unfaith.
full to his public idols The whole
English nation, notwithstanding he is
out of power, and is an old man,
worships the great statesman, William
Ewart Gladstone, and recognizes his
powerful brain while claiming him as
its own.
With the average American age kills
q public fayorite. Tho fact that his
mind may not, perhaps, be at its hest
blots out the great mental deeds that
were the children of his brain, and
statesmen and writer's and painters,
and actors, are spoken OF as belonging
10 the past as soon as their years are
many. The average American is not
only iickla, but ungrateful. The actress
of yesterday did great work, but is, to-
day, beginning to show some wrinkles
ON her face, the result Of giving to an
ungrateful nublic the best of her life.
physically and mentally; and the very
public that threw roses to her yester-
hay. to-day looks through a magnify
ing glass, sees only her wrinkles, for.
gets the gool acting, shrugs its ehoul.
ders and says; "She's growing old; |
don't want TO see her act any more. "
Ton to one she is better actress than
ever before. A great theatrical critic
once said: "No woman under 40 can
play Juliet as it shoald be played;
and yet, no woman over 40 can alb
solutely look the part; which will you
have, art without beauty, or Ieauty
without art?" Mary Anderson knew
her own people. When she was at her
best, when sine was really acting well,
something she did not always do,
when she was handsomesr, and when
she was most popular, she bowed her
good bye to the tickle American public
and gracefully retired.
The English look with delight at a
dignified old lady and say THAT
is our Mrs. Dash, who was a great
beauty and great artist, and We must
always have the hand of applause for
her. - The FTunch is giving it's
recognition, it's applause, its crown Of
honor. TO great artist who is over so,
and grandmother would the Ameri-
can public do that? Certainly not.
No matter how great was the art, there
would he hundreds who would FORGET
ali about it. and simply remember the
years and tho grandchild, refusing to
thiuk even of good work that had been
offered to it. The writer of yesterday
is spoken of to-day as a man who in
bis time worked we'll, but now does
nuthing but poor work. There arc no
thanks given for that which did enter
tain, and the effort made by age to
still interest ia not appreciated. My
friend. you know that / am telling
the truth.
And what do you suppose evoked it?
The seeing a woman who is now moro
beautiful than ever she was before
who is singing better than ever she did
hofore; VINO is greeted by thousands
with applause; anu that WOMAN is.
Lillian Russell. 4 clever woman who
knows her public. Ii she were an
English woman, or n FTonch woman,
Bbe would no hold IN by the nation TO
which she belonged as the most teauti-
full woman OF tho day, and therO would
be special pride felt by zach person who
saw her in having been born in tie
same country. The French, to-day,
have few beautiful women, but they
pick out tho one or two who have
greatest claim To beauty ana elevate
them, and rals about them, and have
pictures of them broadcast; and IL you
or 1 happen 10 admire ono of them, q
French man or woman quickly assures
you of her French birth ant expresses
national pride in her. Whcn Mrs.
Langrry was at the height OF her
beauty tho bobby at the corner, the
driver on the bus, as we'll as the men
and women in all tho other classes oil
life. eagerly claimed her good looks nc
English-anCi 10 they were worry dis
tinctly. But We accept the beauty o!
Lillian Russell, in the same careless
way that wo do our peaches. on,
oranges, our grapes, our melons, oul
magnolias jessamines, or roses lt'f
all right. And yer, for a nation &c
have ana beautiful woman in u century
means great Goal. At the play the
other night, could not but ioni; al
the face of Lillian Russell. 1t is all
snlutely perfect. And, unlike mos
perfect faces, it possesses that erea
charm of showing the varying moods
The smile is dimplsd; the sympathetic
look has that droop of the eyelids tina
makes it really sympathetic; while tn,
scornflil expression has tho curl OF til,
lip that at once makos you see how
perfect the liz is, and which tells tht
story of tho emotion fell at the ime.
| like TO look at the beautiful woman
as like TO look at the beautiful pic
ture; and aiier looking at ;eautifu
woman invariably so 10 ono of thu
big libraFioe, get those rare and valu
able books in which are The picture,
Of great beauties, as VOL as thei
histories. ana | discover which his
torical beauty the beauty Of to-day il
like to.
II DIDN'T taks very long to find til,
two women whom Lillian Russell mos
resembles - Louisa la Nalliere ant
Nine. Recamier. IieT eyes-.those dee,
blue eyes that ara almost brown-ar
exactly tho shape of tho eyes of tn
..t Il l..