The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1900-03-17

could not resist the opportunity of send
ing my name down to posterity on the
hem of your garment"
In striking contrast to the social and
professional adulation of her maturer
years was the early life of Sarah KEN
BILE Daughter of Roger Kemble, man
ager of a company of strolling players,
she was born at the Shoulder Of Nut
ton" an inn at Brecknock, South
Wales. Notwithstanding his humble vo-
cation. Roger Kemble was well bred
and of unquestioned integrity, ingenu-
ously described by his wife as "the only
gentleman Falstaff that / have ever
seen" Mrs. Kemble, also Of play-act-
ing extraction, gave TO her daughter
Sarah her striking beauty, her supple
and majestic figure, together with edu-
cational advantages, especially IN mu-
sic, far beyond her lOwly station. As
child Sarah was forced to follow the
family vocation and strive after that
intrepid self-con4idence which she gain
ed with great difficulty in her maturity.
At II a mutual attachment sprung up
between Sarah Kemble and Mr.. Sid
| dons. an Indifferent actor in her fathers
company of itinerants. This attach
ment met with the stern disapproVal
/ of the imperious Mrs. kemble, who
! hastily exiled her daughter to the COM
/
upon the disccnsolate Siddons dropped
| off into poetry and sang to sympa-
( thetic audience a metrical account OF
the Punishment of Phyllis from the
| company of her bewaiting Colin. Mr..
and Mrs. Kemble, although greatly ex-
! asperated by these personal illusions,
! finally consented to the marriage at
| Coventry. With the exception of his
/ ill-judged poetical ebullition of bad
! taste, Mr. Siddons proved to be in
/ every way commendable-a model huS-
band. a devoted father a satisfactory
actor and an obliging cipher in the
/ household of genius.
Immediately after their marriage
young Mr. and Mrs. Siddons began act
I ing at Cheltenham and attracted the
favorable criticism of the aristocratic
| families of the neighbOrhood. In some
WAYS this patronage, friendly and en-
couraging though it was, proved OF
| doubtful advantage to the deoutante,
for it induced Garrick TO invite her to
act at Drury Lane, where her imIna-
turity caused inevitable failure and
modification. III dressed, frightened,
frequently inaudible, her Portia drew
down such unfavorable comment upon
1.-THE management that she was CURLY
and Unexpectedly dismissed.
But the hereditary tendencies of four
generations of actors were not to be
downed by this sudden blight. With
her husband and two children Mrs Sid
dons now returned to the provinces,
| where for six years she played, chiefly
at York and Bath. This period of dis
| culinary training, oftentimes necesSi-
tating disagreeable and subordinate
parts and daily exhaustive journeys,
caused her, nevertheless. constantly to
rally her forces and make every effort
tell in reaching that higher plane upon
! which she eventually stood as an IN
surpassed actress.
In 1882 Mrs. Siddons received from the
new management Of Drury Lane an Of
fer of a three years engagement For
the sake of her three Children she
agreed to reappear upon the stage from
which she had been so summary dis
missed. With many mTsslvlngs lest her
voice might not prove strong enough TO
efface the impressions of her former
failure. she dragged through men,
orable fortnight of nervous rehearsals,
and finally appeared with her beauti-
fui S-year-old boy in SOutherne's trag-
edv- of isabella" Her success was IN
Simultaneous and indisputable, only sec
ond to Garrick's Incompatible first
night. Garrick had retired from the
stage shortly after acting as ShylOck
IN Mrs. Siddons' discreditable Portia.
Runnor said that her early dismissal
had been largely due to Garrick'S irri-
tation over her unintentional blundeI
in making him act one of his fayorite
passages with his back TO the audience
a modification which it was difficul'