Evening star., 1897-04-16

doesn't like to do at all? Let me tell you
about my own experience. 1 made my
first appearance in London, nearly ten years
ago, at the Adelphi Theater. Ruth Med
way in The Union Jack a very very
sympathetic part. The pubic liked me in
1t and the critics were kind enough to speak
the Adelphi was The Silver Fails n
which there were two prominent female
roles, and, strange ii may appear the
managers decided that 1 would be best cast
as the bad woman-a Spanish type of ad-
venturess. The authors of the piece
Messrs. Fettitt and Sims. didn't agree with
the managers. They had seen me only
as sweet. girlish Ruth Midway, and they
couldn't even imagine me the dark
black-eyed. bold. Spanish villainess. /. of
course, knew nothing of this dispute 1
was very young. and did what 1 was
told to do the best 1 could and didn't ask
many questions. Well the upshot of 1t
was / was tried in the role at rehearsal
MY performance satisfied the authors that
the managers were right about the mat
ter. end l was regularly assigned to the
part.
After 1 made my lit in The Silver
Fails Mr. JOHN Hare got Mr.. Pinero's
The Prof1igate' for the Garrick and 1
was at once engaged for the adventures
The critics praised me in that part too
but l myself did not like it Then Mr..
Hare put on La Tosca.' with Mrs Ber-
nard Beere, and as there was no adven-
turess for me to impersonate i was left
out of the cast, until one night Mrs. Beere
fell i'll and l was sent for to take her
place After that, as found that L must
wait for another adventures to come
along. decided to go to Australia and see
for myself if l was only fitted to play
the viilainess. 1 spent nearly a year in
Australia and played all kinds of parts
1t proved TO myself at least that L wasn't
a ene-oart actress
Mr. Hare met me almost at the dock on
my return to England with an offer of an
engagement to play the part OF Beatrice
Selwyn, the poisoner. in The Fools Para
disc This is the play, you know. that
oning her husband. The testimony In the
case showed that the piece, then called
Inc Mouse Trap. was done first at a
special matinee by Miss Kate Rorke. and
mat Mrs. Maybrick. who chanced to be i'm
London at the time. witnessed the per
| formance. Her husbands death occurred
a short time afterward. While 1 was play
ing IN the piece afterward at the Garrick
Mrs. Maybricks counsel, now Lord Russell
of killowen, came 10 see it quite freauent-
ly, and he once told me it was like going
over the papers in that famous case to
him.
well, was fortunate enough. or uufor
tunate enough scarcely know which way
to put ito make great success as Bea-
trice. whom 1 impersonated as a sweet
loveable woman, with nothing at all of the
bold. bad, stage yillainess about her.
but, to go on with my experience. Nv
hit in The FOOLS Paradise brought down
an avalanche of offers from managers and
playwnghts to create new .adventuressess
adVenturesseS, adventuresses nothing but
adventuresSes. l was fairly sick of il all
and L saw clearly that 1 must do some
thing or settle down as a one-part actress
for the rest of my days. But what could 7
do? Just about this time Mr.. Isaac Hem
derson was preparing to produce his paIy
Agatha, with a special cast, including
Charles Wyndham. Mary Moore, Winifred
Emery, Herbert Waring, Lewis Waller and
Minnie Terry, and, OF course he wanted me
TO be the villainess. Mercede. BY the advice
of my brother / declined at first to play
Mereede. offering, however. to play the
good woman OF the piece. That couldn't be
arranged, and finally. at Mr.. Hender-
sons own earnest solicitation, [ created the
adventures After that Mr.. Hare cast me
for Zieka-another adventuress-in 'Dplo-
macy, and when he and 1 came to talk
over,a renewal of my contract for the next
season found that he had me down only
for the villainesses."
You see. Miss Nethersole.' ne said we
can't imagine you in any character that
hasn't a little spice of the devil in it, 1
was determined though, to show them that
4 could play other parts. SO l took the Court
gressor in which 1 had strong sympa-
thetic role. The public and the critics liked
1t. but the managers were still unconvinced.
and offers to create new villainesses con-
tinued to pour in.r So I came ue, America.
Here my fame as an adventures was
practically unknown. and could do
what 1 pleased. 1 was determined not
to get into "A rut. and that is what 1
would have been forced to do in London.
Here have played Juliet and Camille and
Denise and Frou Frou and The Wife of
Scarli. as well as Carmen.
Il have. been enabled during my three
seasons in America to broaden my art to
prove to the public well myself that
l am not one-part actress and when 1 go
back home l know that my reputation will
have preceded me there: and while / may
still be asked to create new adventuresses
the playwrights may not be afraid to in
trust me with their good women, too."