The times., 1898-12-25

often she will have written him a mash
note. but generally she only feasts her
eyes on the fellow until he has gone by.
No. ] do not think there is any harm in
writing or talking with a man to whom
one has never been formally introduced.
After all that idea Is merely convention
ality. y woman isn't morally ruined by
speaking with a man in broad daylight
just because no one happens to have said
Miss Blank, let me make you acquainted
with Mr. Blankeyblank.' Then. too the
usual female occupant of front row seat
doesn't really care for the actor himself
but rather for the part he has played
Anyhow, no great injury can result from
little lapse of propriety.
"All sorts of things go toward making
us women take special interests in per-
formers. First, of course. there Is a ha-
10 OF romance about the theater. and then
there is the satisfaction of knowing peo-
pie of whom everyone talks. matinee
girls idol must always be good-looking,
well formed. should have become identi-
fled with long line of heroic roles and
be able to make love properly. With all
this, he must have good presence. a soft
voice, fine eyes and-other things. The
player who wears a uniform or pow
dered wig and carries a sword is most
likely to find his way to the hearts of
weapon gallantly in defense of the hero
ine As l have said, we are more fond
of the part than of its pbrtrayer, when
it comes to the point. Generally, one
] might think that marriage would spoil
an afternoon actor, but this is not al
ways the case. Many of my greatest Ia
yorites are family men and have been for
| years.
"E. II. .Sothern is, of course, the prime idol
| of the matinee girl hardly know how
to account for his hold excepting through
the role he assumes. L have twelve pict-
| ures of Sothern and two autographs, to-
| gether with a scrap book filled with ma
gaZine articles about him. He did not
| lose many friends by his marriage, but
| James X. Hackett will never regain the
| ground lost when he and Mary Mannering
| became one. j never did think Hackett
| was so much, but / know girl who
! hasn't missed piece in which he has ap-
| peared for ten years. Everyone seems to
think that John Drew is a matinee girls
| idol, but he certainly is not. There isn't
| person in our set who likes him. John
| Drew is awfully homely, and he can't act
| a little bit. Otis Skinner and Henry Mil
| Ter are both just too sweet for anything,
| while most of us have been keeping SOU
venirs of E. S. Morgan since he came
| here. with Viola Allen in The Christian
| l.
| Sol Smith Russell-Russell has a hand
some leading man now-or E. S. Willard,
| but everyone thinks lot of William Fa-
| versham, and did of Nat Goodwin until
| he married Maxine Elliot. Most of us
| liked Goodwin because he was supposed
! to be fast, and his settling down has lost
| him a whole raft of admirers. My chum
| says that his Nathan Hale will win them
| all back again, though. My chum thinks
| William Morris is show all by himself
| but he makes too much noise for me-
| Thomas E. Shea is new man who is
! coming into prominence with the girls,
largely through his work as Jack Con-
! way, and there are several others who
are winning attention.
1.-The local stock companies have given
us pile of favorites and most of them
| have cultivated the girls personally. Joe
! Sheehan spent half his time two sum-
mers ago with lot of swell people from
| uptown, and Will Stewart had a good
many friends here, too. OF course, VIII
Ingersoll was nearest to the real thing,
! having taken the place of young Mackay,
| who was in the city the year before.
Fred Bond and Joe Wheelock both had
no end of admirers. though not nearly so
! many as the others. I could tell you
some funny stories on all of them If you
had time to listen.
Most matinee girls are as fond of the
women as they are Of the men. Della
Fox has always been very popular with
US and so has Blanche Walsh. Edith
Crane, Alice Nielsen, Jessie Bartlett Da-
Wis and a lot of their imitators. Weshave
photographs of all these people and have
talked to many of them, though of
course, each Of US has her special favor