The evening times., 1900-06-02

of the Supreme Court caused some sur
been known for some time that Miss Fox
was in more or less serious mental con-
dition, but the commitment TO an asylum
came Unexpectedly.
The certificate upon which the court pa
pers were issued were furnished by DR..
Austin Flint. jr.. and DR.. Edward d. Fish
n. A brother of the actress. William Fox,
took the necessary steps to have Miss Fox
confined. A. II. HummeI acted as his
counsel
'Laboring under delusions due to the use
of stimuants" was the diagnosis of the ex-
amininG physicians. Miss FOx's friends ex-
press the hope that her present mental
state is only temporary. and will be i'm
proved by rest and treatment The physi-
clans who examined her at the request Of
her brother, however, believe that her
madness is permanent. The professional
opinion is that her physical condition Is
such as to make 1t probable that she Will
not live many months longer. Her incre1-
ible vitality brought her through an at
tack of peritonItis last winter, after the
! doctors had given up all hope Of saving
her life. A year before Miss Fox had re-
covered from an Illness that seemed nearly
as serious But she is now q wreck. wasted
and enfeebled. living on stimulants and SO
affected by them that nothing remained
but an asylum as a means Of temporary
relief
On Saturday night Miss Fox was at
dinner in the Casino in Central Park.
She was then under the influence OF stim-
ulants, and remarked to an acquaintance
that she had not slept at all the night
before. but spent all the time drinking
cocktails in her apartments. Her conduct
and appearance. il is said. made that
easily believable. 1t was that course Of
life which led her brother, who came on
from st. Louis to look after her. to the
decision that she was a subject only for
AN asylum. and the physicians agreed with
him after brief examination.
Miss Fox has lived with her maid for
some weeks past in the Parker, at Thirty
ninth Street and Broadway. Her last pub
lis appearance was made about a month
ago in one of the continuous vaudeville
theatres. IL was then plain that she was
no longer in a condition 10 resume her
professional duties. She believed that she
was bounded by enemies and not urged
and advised by her relatives and friends.
She thought that plans had been made
to rob her of the little money she pos
sessed, and complained bitterly OF her lot
Della Fox was the precocious child of
st. Louis photographer named Charles
Fox. She met theatrical people in his
studio. She was still a child when she be-
came snember of a juvenile "Pinafore'
company. and only a little older when
she acted through the Missouri towns
with semi-amateur company. She play
ed "Editha's Burglar" and later soubrette
roles in third-elass comic opera COM
pany that appeared in the smaller cities.
She came inconspicuously to New York
twelve years ago. but local audiences
learned to know her first when De Wolf
Hopper became star and selected her as
his associate in Castles in the Air. She
retired from his company and became a
star on her own responsibility, and began
at Z -ssino in "The Little CORPORAL
seven years ago. That was the climax OF
ner career. Since then her efforts had
been less and less successful.