The times., 1899-10-22

have had a couple OF weeks in the small
towns before taking tha stage at the La
fsyette My company was not i'm good
condition. ] was not In good condition 1
have been rghearsiuE very hard / was
quite exhausted often during the last
fortnight ] have been AT The theatre from
. in tle morning until late ia the evening
one pf the members of my support was
suddenly taken iil. My manager was
obliged 20 so on in the parl wi ithouJ proper
notice. W were very unfortunate. We
expected TO De treated badly by the critics.
For some reason. they were exceedingly
kind. 7 do not think that we meriJcd all
their kindness.
This has always been my fortune when
I arrived I'M Washington. My season in
What Dreams May Come began here.
That play was failure. Its name was
had Who knew the meaning of What
Dreams May Come" The piece should
Eave been called The Power of Mind. or
The Countess Dimitri' The work itself
@as sombre. But il was quite artistic
quite. No one ever left the house viii e il
WAS being performed. The story was i'm
Tressive IT would have been injured by
comedy interruptions. But there should
nave been some comedy Another author
should have written the comedy. Mr.. Kes-
Ter can only be serious. He is arranging
something for me now. Its light scenes
vill not be his. Both of US expect great
deal OF the product
How long have you been iu America
Thirty years. 1 have been acting al
most from childhood. ] was born in Prag.
i had been starring twelve or fifteen years
when ! came 20 this country. I had played
ID Germany and Austria and Russia. ]
had made my reputation. I was brought
over as celebrity. The country plaasea
me, and / stayed. II does not please me
nov. People have ceased to care for art
! DO not say this because they do not rush
10 see me. I say II because they do not
care for what is good. They like The Girl
From MaXim's, and 'Papa's Wife, and
Mile Fiji. Things were different once
] used TO crowd the New York Academy Of
Music with Rachel's powerful repertoire.
They applauded. They enjoyed the grand
Old masterpieces. For nearly fifteen sea
sons ! WAS heard in standard roles. Then
the old version OF Meg Merrilies' enthused.
j tried Bleak House Mary Stuart. Mac
beth. Mother and SON The Woman in
Red HenryNII-I cannot remember
them all. None OF those dramas make
money now. Times have changed"
Why do you not return 10 Austria %
was asked.
Madame Janauschek closed her eyes.
-Ah, she said, you do not understand
] l-ft Europe in my prime. No one was too
famous or TOO rich 10 come 10 see me. Now
/ am old. ! have not even good health
caught the grip in Washington a few years
ago. I have not been well since. / must
not return 70 my home this way Besides
th=re is no use. ] am growing older /
shall not be on the sage much longer.
Says George Marion: It is all very
we'll TO praise an actor for his versatility
but after all, versatility is not a good
thing for an actor to display You may
have noticed that almost the only critics
known out Of the profession are those
whose signatures appear at the head of
their matter. Unless they are permitted
10 use their names their admirers credit
their work 10 the paper which prints it.
50 with a player. unless he features him
self, he is forgotten in the product The
atregOers leave the house and remark, The
man who had such-and-suCh a part was
excellent II he does not repeat that cred
liable effort the following season be is for
gotten. No one remembers that he has
ever done anything clever. If he does re-
peat ii he is only commended for the
One-the present creation Not so with his
less talented brother-the colleague with
out versatility. No sooner has this indi-
yidual spoken than hundred auditors pro-
claim. Oh that's John Smith. I saw him
last May in Peter. the Pumpkin Eater
The personality of a Thespian is his trade
mark. He cannot afford TO relinquish it
any more than the manufacturer can give
mp the sign that distinguishes his wares
His manager has no right to insist that
he surrender his personality. for by 1t he
earns his bread. incidentally, by it he
helps 10 earn the managers bread. Do
you understand me?"
a Times man called up one of the Engs-
trCm Sisters over a telephone that he
might make an appointment for an inter
view 4 can tell you the complete story
81 my life in three minutes" returned the
serio-c0mic, and I know nothing else
that VIII interest you in the slightest Ella
and were born in Sweden. When we came
over here. four years ago. we could speak
only a very little English We had never
had the faintest idea Of gcing on the
stage. We received an offer from the man
ayers OF the Rentz-Santley Company. and
accepted Since then we have made no
change. That's all. And ! haven't used
the three minutes-quite."
When The Three Dragons was being
done at the Lafayette Square Opera House
q reporter from this paper was introduced
10 Harry B. Smith, the librettist, and talk
ol with him concerning his work In view
oi the critical comment on "CyranO de
remarks made then may have especial in
terest now.
People seem to think" said Mr.. Smith.
that / must be Joiling constantly be-
cause ] turn out two or three librettos a
year. And yet I am a great idler. l gen
orally complete what have on hand in the
early morning and devote the afternoon
and evening TO wholly personal matters
nave never been under the mental strain
in this line that ! suffered while in the
newspaper business Indeed, / can think
OF no field so trying-non in which the
drudgeTy is so absolute and the renumera-
ZION 50 comparatively small as in the pro-
fessiCn Of journalism. If the necessity
arose I could double the quantity Of my
operas without their losing any quality"
But this was not exempliied in "Cy-
TsEo."
In the register Of the Regent on last
Wednesday a Times man saw the name Of
Frances Wilson and asked II the comedian
was al that hotel. In reply the clerk point
eI 10 the 'e In the first Of the two words
and the visitor, bethiuking himself that
Others might have made his mistake, called
on De young woman, who said;
No I ana not a comic opera star I
merely have q thinking part in 'Papa's
Wife and the similarity between my cog
uumeu and that OF Mr. wilson is a coiuci-
dgnce. Though few persons viii believe it.
neither the Frances nor the Wilson were
assumed. ] was chrl-t5ued that way. When
apUIlai fCr mg first role al the office Of