The age-herald., 1897-09-05
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 ; MRS 1OHN DREW, ; S THE DEAD ACTRESS. S IslSc&<S>cStC>HSHc> Hc>c<%S~cG1G&G<&C>
From the Philadelphla rImes.

respects. the stage has ever known. Her whole life, from her earliest years to her latest, was practically devoted to the footlights. She was born in London, | England, January 10, 1920. The daughter of an actor named Lane, 1t is on record
 that she played in ehilds parts as early
 as her eighth year. At that time her
 mother took her on trip to this country
 and the West Indies, which occupied sev- eral years. In 1883 Miss Lane began playing in the New York theaters, and
 at Bost ton essayed Julia in the "Hunch- back" with considerable success when but IA. In 1885 she performed Lady Teazle at New Orleans, and in 1886 mar risd Henry Hunt, an English opera sing
 er. The time for the next ten years she spent in New York, engaged at the prin- cfpal theate.s, and sustaining TespOnsi- ble parts in drama. comedy and bur lesque. She separated from MT. Hunt in
 1S4S and married George Mossop, an Irish comedian, who left her a widow in 1S49, and in 1850 she became the wife of Mir John Drew, who died in this city in 1862, | immediately after her assumption of the, management of the Arch Street Theater, with which her whole subsequent career became closely Identified. Mrs Drew came prominently into Philadelphia the atrical life c1ntemporaneou wi h h r la t. est marriage. But from that date till her retirement in 1892 a period Of thirty one years, in all the coming and going of stars of all magnitudes, she ever main tained most conspicuous and brilliant | place in the dramatic horizon.
 While it is with that part of her career | which began and ended here that Phila- | delphians are most interested she was | an actress of wide reputation before | making Philadelphia her permanent residence, but 1t is on her remarkab bla fbe. Arch uFh ba4 fa 1 most depends, as in which she took most l pride
 TIe Stock System.
 During her control of that house, until | the changes brought about among the | other circumstances. by the business | spread of the city driving the residence portion away from it's locality, caused | an alteration in it's fortunes, it's stage | echoed to the tread of the leaders inl the | acting profession, while in all material | details the management kept pace with l what was most progressive in the world | of the drama.
 Scores of new plays were produced. in many of which Mrs. Drew created lead ing roles, and every performance had the benefit of her immediate supervision.
 This was particularly the case during 1 the earlier days of her incumbency, when the stock system was still in vogue, and during which period she was the means of introducing to our people numbers of actors who subsequently became stellar luminaries themselves.
 Previous to the stock company system undergoing certain modifications by n5w methods in theatrical affairs, and parti- cIlarly when the combination idea be- came the policy of the establishment, to attempt enumerating the stars who won there some of their most brilliant sue cesses were to practically recapitulate the modern history of the stage. Hardly a namo of prominenca in our annals but is associated with the Arch and it's tri-
 umphs--Clarlle, Wheatley, John Drew, the elder Jefferson; F. L. Davenport, Barney Williams end wife. the FloIences,
 Maggie Mitchell, Charles Matthews, Kate
 Bateman, Caroline Richings, Mime. Ce-
 leste, Mrs. D. r. Powers, Mrs Lander,
 James F. Murdock. John E. Owens,
 Lawrence Barrett, Edwin Booth. and
 multitude more who stand in the popu-
 lar mind for much that is great and
 memorable in American dramatic an-
 nals.
 Actresses Past and Present.
 But above and beyond all the tri-
 umphs attained by others under her
 management are. those of Mrs. Drew her
 self. Such industry, such versatility and
 such general success, stretching over so
 great a time and lines of acting, has
 probably never been known of any ac-
 tress living or dead.
 It is indeed a most interesting. study
 to compare by the case of Mrs. Drew
 what was expected of actresses in the
 old days and what is supposed to furnish
 a complete outfit for the aspirant to his
 trionic honors now. And taking any one,
 even the least busy of the years Mrs.
 Drew was on the stage, shows the time
 to have been so filled in with new pro-
 auctions and new characters that even
 apart from the cares of management 1t
 is wonderful how she managed to go
 through it, not only so well, but at all.
 Before casting a retrospect over the
 amount of work accomplished by her as
 an artiste it must be remembered that
 when she bscame manager of the Arch
 she was AZ years old-a time when the
 average woman player of today IS more
 than willing to settle down into some
 one role that repetition has made second
 nature and out of which few promptings
 of ambition are apt to carry her. And
 yet busy as had been Mrs. DreWs pre-
 vious life this was really the time when
 the greatest activity of her career may
 be said to have begun.
 Mrs. Diew's company on her entrance
 into the malna.gcment of the Arch was
 perhaps never surpassed for stock or
 ganiZation ei her before or since. Mrs
 Drew herself was thes probably then
 prominent actleSS on the American siage,
 at least as occupying o.her than a. stellar pc51 1tion and travelling with he usual con-
 ditions of a star Starting with her. then
 The company included Miss Charlotte
 Thompson, announced as from Wallacks,
 New York, and he Varieties, New Or leans. The daughter of Lysander Thomp-
 son. an English comedian of great merit, who had died seven years before, Mfss
 Thompson was regarded as the most
 promising young actress of her time. She first came into prominence at Laura Keenes theater, in New York, during the season of 1S57-5S. Then came Mrs. Hen 1, who, with her husband, Charles Henri, was a recent acquisition from Lendon Other ac- -resses in the company who had been at Laura Keene's were Miss Mary Wells, whose debut was made at the AL bany Museum in 1850, ard Miss Charlotte Adams, an actress of little prominence. Another New York actresS, well krown in Phla adslphia, was Mrs. S'onewall. who,
 as Mrs. Roberts. had been a member of
 ehe company at MitchelPs Olympic, and Emma Taylor, sister of Mary Taylor. the pet of the New York fire laddies. The company also included Mrs. Hackurt, from the Walnut, and the Misses Price, Hackurt, Miller, Summerfield. S. Aubin, ane Russell and M. A. Griffith. The men comprised John Gilbert. l.. R. Shewell, J. K Mortme w. 1T. Leak, William Seal