The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1900-02-14
A LILY THAT TOLLS.

A LILY THAT TOLLS.
Whatever else may be said or thought
of the lady who is known on the stage to
the public as Mrs. Lily Langtry, there
woman of rare talent. 1t Is a long time
since she ceased to be taken seriously
as an actress, If. indeed, she has ever
been taken seriously as such by any en-
lightened patron of the drama For
many years after she had been dismissed
from all consideration by everybody as
the possessor of dramatic talent Of even
mediocre quality, she was able to draw
large audiences by her skill as cos
tuner of herself. Her recent matr1mo-
NAL exploit had apparently Invested her
of all claim upon public attention in con-
nection with the stage, and she was re-
garded as having passed into that OBJ
livion which, even in her time, had swal-
lowed up so many really gifted dramatic
artists Of both sexes. But, no; Mrs.
Langtry does not choose to be so dis
posed of. And she is accordingly again
a candidate for the dollars Of discrimi-
mating American public.
1t is the plan Of operations adopted
by Mrs Langtry in her latest campaign
which arouses the admiration of all low
ers of ability in any direction. She has
acted, in an unprofessional way of
course, In the carrying out Of this plan
as one inspired. The knowledge which
she has shown of the idiosyncrasies or
so-called American society, as well as
ability to turn them to her uses, shows
a clear trace of the possession of genius.
She came among US the newly welded
wife of sprig of nobility, who brought
his experience of connubial bliss to
summary and almost homicidal close by
rushing off to face all the horrors OF
British military life in South Africa.
No one longer thought of her as AN ac-
tress, at least on the dramatic stage.
But it was in that character, neverthe-
less, that she came, and it is in that
ASSOAAS
for American society and for the Ameri-
can public who do homage to society.
Mrs. Langtry's plan of campaign upon
the dollars of America began by her
very cream of London society. These she
presented in due time and supplemented
by holding bazaar at one Of the most
fashionable resorts in New York. Then
she sought the patronage of the leaders
of the American four hundred. The rec
ognized head of the four hundred,
matron Of familiar name, declined very
sweetly to act as one of the patrons
of Mrs. Langtry's re-entry In American
social and histrionic circles. The re-
fusal was unqualified and ought to have
been disheartening. 1t would have been
to any other woman save Mrs. Langtry,
who, while she has been generally desig-
mated 1.-The lily" does not possess ap-
parently any at all of the dropping ten
denotes of that beautiful flower.
What did Mrs. Langtry do? Among
other things she called in the aid of the
Anglo-American cable and placed herself
in communication with his royal highness
the Prince of Wales and others of the
swell set in London, you know. And
they did likewise, putting themselves in
communication with the swell set in
New York, and, as the latter depend en-
tirely for their social significance on the
former things were arranged happily,
and Mrs. Langtry is no longer denied
the name Of the Knickerbocker matron
aforesaid at the head of her list of So
ciety patrons and patronesses.
And 1t is thus that the American pub
lice is conquered and that Mrs. Langtry
is able to survive the marital sorrows
which have overhung her for some time
past. And so, too. is she made able to
rake in the American dollars which will
now pile themselves up to her honor and
emolument. And IS there a real, live
American man or woman from Maine to
Texas who begrudges her a single one
Of those dollars? Never a one! On the
contrary, each of us will do what we
can to add to her pile, asking of her in
return only that she will never here
after consent to be known as .The
Lily" For of the lilies 1t is said in the
good book that they toll not and neither
do they spin; while Mrs Langtry doth
toll and spin to Soma ADVANTAGES