The San Francisco call., 1898-07-03

N all SuperSut1ouS tolkS the men
 and women of the stage take
 more cognizance of omens, good , or bad, than any other class The
 latest and most talked of in-
 stance of i'll luck following an actor touches the eminent Irving, first Of the sock and buskin to be knighted in two centuries.
 After occupying a seemingly impregna- Die position at the head of the London dramatic world for a score of years he Is now said to be succumbing to his ambi- tlous rivals. His last season has been a succession of magnificent failures On the heels of this comes word that Miss Ellen Terry, whose name has been in- separably connected with Irvings suc- cesses, is about to go over to the enemy Still, other influences are said to be at work to dim the future of the man who has done more than any other living actor, perhaps, to lift the drama to the high position it holds among the arts.
 The enemy in this case seems to be Beerbohm Tree. For years he has been the adroit manager of the London Hay market and later of Her Majesty's Thea ter. He is an actor who is master of the art of make up and character inn personation, although he has never equaled Sir Henry in the genius of the atrical production.
 Now here enters the Irving bogeyman. Irving was christened John Broadrib. On the stage he mas ever been known as Henry Irving. A few years ago he de- clded to have his name legally changed to Henry Irving. Soon the attendance at the London Lyceum, which had been the most brilliant in the English capi- tai, dW1ndled to scattered few. Then stage folks said: Well, he ought to have known that he'd hoodoo himself if ne changed his me-
 But Irving def1ed the superstition. Then in recognition of his genius Queen Vic knighthood, and made him Sir Henry IT, wing. During the two years that have elapsed since then series of misfortunes, not great when reckoned separately, but Iormldable in the aggregate, have befallen hm lie allenated the corps of English critics, whose praise had been his stand by; The press became apathetic. An ac- cident which he suffered during the re- hearsals of Peter the Great necessitated the postponement of that production for weeks
 One after the other "Cymbeline." Mime. Sans Gene" and Peter the Great" all but failed before London audiences. The hoo doc was beginning to lay it's fell spell, but more was to come. A disastrous fire to- tally ruined the elaborate scenery and properties. of the few repertoire plays which had been successful. Meanwhile Beerbohm Trees production of Julius Caesar" at Her Majesty's Theater became the reigning sensation in London. Then came the secession of names for the sake or euphony when they went on the stage but that is quite different from changing 1t afterward. Thus Maurice Kline deemed ed 1t.
 Clara Morrison dropped the two last letters of her name when she went on the stage. Jennie Griffiths became Jennie Yeamans. Joseph Arthur, who wrote
 Blue Jeans, was christened Arthur F. smith. Kate Cone became Kate Clax- ton. Laura Joyce Bell was a Miss Mas keIi. Mime. Janauschek is otherwise Mrs. Fred Pilot. Mary Alice Hogan became Alice Atherton. MT. Kendars name was originally W. H. Birthstone, and Mrs Kendall was known as Madge Robertson. Louis Aldrich was Louis Moses Marie Jansen was Mary Johnstone. Marion Ma nola was a Miss Stevens before she be- came Jack Mason's wife. Sadie Marti- nots patronymic is Egins. Minnie Mad dern was Miss Davy. Pauline Hall dropped her family name of Schmittgau Clara Poole became Mime. Polini. Lily Langtry and Lillian Leonard Solomon Perugini ct al. have had divers applica- tions.
 Perhaps the most widely known and deeply respected superstitions are those about the bad luck consequent upon rais- ing an umbrella in the theater, and on the stage actors and stage managers in- variably thwart the authors purpose if there is any such 'business' in play.
 Peacock feathers are a fierce and dead ly hoodoo. Indeed, the fire in the Fifth avenue Theater a few years ago was di- feather fans in Fanny Davenport's pro- duction of Cleopatra
 Light blue scenery, costumes, uphol-