The Providence news. (Providence [R.I.]) 1891-1906, 1899-12-06
A GIFTED CHILD.
Baby lurd, Now at Keith's New
Theatre, Remarkably Endowed.
Miss Mildred Irving Pays a Visit 10 the
Charming ferltrmeT.

|
les" There rs such a thing as being
too smart. and IN youngsters IL ) more
annoying 10 me thanfin their elders.
| Inc iattrf You can always take down
/ peg or Two N YOU are 50 disposed, es-
! peciaiiy IL you Deiong To the sex that
| possesses a woman tongue but IN
| tne case Ct chliu, about All you can
! do is 10 turn IL over ana spank II.
Ana thats precisely the almost ire
sistlble temptation~ that ! confront
whenever l see one OF these abnormally
bright kiss, and | steer clear of
them rather tnan torture myself by re-
sistnS that tomptation
III makes me sad ana excitcs my sim
cerest PITY, too, when 4 see some ordin-
arily lnteiieent child forced into pre-
eocity Oy training IL TO things that do
not belong To its tender years and rem
der II, instead OF sweet and winsome
ana artless, Simply freak.
so, when | went 10 keiths Monday
evening, l rather dreaded TO see BaDy
Lund appeas Her tiny little figure had
scarce emerged from the prose enium
utapefles, h"w CT, when 1 realized
that there was something absolutely
new IN the line OF ''infant prodigies."
Suc1 artiess grace 9nd rcpose could
not be tie result u any training OF Al
mere tct cf stNV en- years. Training can
SMOOTH on many - ugh corners and
All a crttain dlnarnt Of polish, but
thcrc was 10 a,'' ,ah,ne the fact ,Aat
there was the 'rcai thing" for foun-
cation for not one delicate. tint In the
beautiful picture OF childish simplicity
ane Sweetness was lacking or was OBJ
scured by the imperfect touch OF art.
Here was nature whose charms no art
could possibly hope to enhance.
l realized IN an instant that Baby
Lund is simply wonderfully gifted
Ia a 4 .kH
spank her, | oui. gladly have taken her
IN my arms and kissed her.
Nature In this case seems to have
outdone itself, for II has produced a
wonderful combination OF fmature intelli
Sence and winsome grace with childish
Innocence and sweetness--the child and
woman maryelously blended without
loss OF any of the refinement of nature
that wears inevitably duh
Simply as a lovely stage picture Baby
Lund is the most artisucally beautiful
attraction unat / have seenin vaudeville
or elsewhere. for her mother seems to
have aisplay taste in dressing her
quite in Keeping witn hcr own childish
beauty, and If there is an actress in
vaudeville who by personal charms or
resort To all the trickeries OF the stage
and dressing Dom toilet, or by grace
and chic and ginger" can more quick
~ bewitch and hold an audience in the
spell OF the fascination OF her art than
does this little to. without recourse TO
artificlality of any kind, have never
seen her, and Mr.. Keith would find his
palatial playhouse too small to hold its
patrons z he could secure her.
Just to see Baby Lund on the stage
wasn't enough for mes tAls- morning
/ hunted her up at the Albee. even then
more than halt expecting 10 be TO some
extent shocked by the difference in the
tl.A d. 4
little midget seated i'm her own little
| rocking chair, singing dolly 10 sleep,
/ and If | had thought the stage pie
| ture lovely here WAS something lovelier
yet by far
Her mother intro luced me as a
newspaper lady" and that seemed to
| be the open-sesame 10 the little ones
| heart.
''oh, | am so glad you came.' she
said. putting OUT her tiny nand. with
which she gave mine hearty grasp
and shake. Everybody ON the news
papers is always So good TO me. Don
you know, it's very nice 10 have people
clap their hands when you try 20 do the
best you can 70 entertain and please
Them and then it's so nice when the
newspapers say nice things about you.
/ have a little scrap book, and / cut
out the articles from the papers and
paste them in it, and then Sometimes L
read them to dolly Sometimes they
do use awfuily big words, ,nough, don t
they? Say. do you use those great Dig
words here in providence?'
OF couise ] assured her that news
paper English in Providence was quite
10 her likAng, and then she Informed me
that several times the newspapers had
printed things about ner dolly, ana
that she got her mamma 30 buy her a
scrap book for dolly. in which she
pasted dollys notices which she dis
Dlayed To me with much evident pride.
"Oh. no." she replied. in answer TO
my question, II never studied Tor the
stage, as YOU call 1T. only J vent 10
dancing school once for little while.
I lust kind of go on the stage ana do
IL lust as | would for mamma AT nome,
and | guess perhaps that's what they
like me for. don't you thlnk sc! l
do like IL SO much, too, ana everybody
10 so GOOD 10 me. The managers al
yvavs LEI me 60 on early so | can get
20 he'd and | DON'T get tired little
bit You see, that's the way | like to
nIay part Of the time, a1d the rest OF
the time | play With Galiy lsnI she
sweet? And you must see her clothes.
I made this hat all myself only MAN.
ma fixed The big feather for me
And she prattled on Just like any
thor child. finally jumping up into my
Ian to emphasize one OF her cute little
sneeches. and 1 realized that Baby
Ip,d Ip,,d me actress, and Baby Lund. The
nhiid are one and the same. I realiz-
I'd That she is no freak, no ''precocious
cbud., ne we know them generally. but
t,,,,',, one of natures marvels won
darf,,ilv gifted and always just her own
49,, natural self. whether before the
sootItuhts or grooming to sleepy dolly.
,nd though once ] was 9 child my
II, realized as never before that
tbere is nothing on earth so sweet as
the artless simplicity OF innocent child
~ you never loved children before
80, will when you see Baby Lund or
SS,sc Won are not half 50 tender-hcarted
MILDRED IRVING.
Msthusslah's rremaiure reath