The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1901-04-07
PART VII.


stdf treated quite en- hauten b .
by the management. Mr.. and
Mrs. Ensisr had acquired the old shoe
habit. was the easy old dramatic
slipper. Which it was pleasant to slip
OH 50 easily-but doubly pleasant to be
aoie to shake or without effort
That you may thoroughly under
stand. I VIII explain that 1 was an ex-
cellent Amelia in the Robbers when
/, a rather insignificant star played the
piece, BUT when a Booth or some star
of like magnitude appeared as Charles
de Moor-then the easy slippers wers
dropped OF, and Mrs Eilsler herself
played Amelia. Any part belonging 10
me by. right could be claimed by that
lazy If she fancied it. md if she
Vearied of il, il came ba' me. When
we acted in the coun' IN the sum-
mer time, at Akron a Canton, where
there were real theatres, she played
Parthenia or Pauline in The Lady of
Lyons" or any other big part, but IL
the next town was smaller 1 played
Parthenia or Pauline or what not. Be
cause I had once been in the ballet I
had become an old pair of dramatic
slippers TO be slipped on or kicked eff
at will-rather humiiiating 10 the
spirit, but excellent training for the
growing actress, and | learned much
from those queer Now-yOu' re-in-it''
and now JDu' re- nOt-iff-it'' sort of
casts. and having much respect and
acnnatiOn for Mr.. Ellsler, 1 for
tunatelg followed in his wake. rather
than in snat of any woman. He was
one Of the most versatile Of actors.
Polonius or Dutchy (the opposite to
Chanfrau's housekeeping old-men or
broad farce-COmedy .old-men OFTEN he
doubled King Duncan and Hecate in
Macbeth singing any of the witches
when a more suitable HecaJe was on
, hand--acquainte, with the whole range
OF the Legitimate" his greatest pleas
ure was in acting some bit that he
could elaborate INTO a valuable char
acter-
remember the "switchman" in
Under the Gaslight'-it could not
have been twenty lines long. vet lie
made OF him SO CHEEKY. so Jolly so
kindly an old soul, everyone was sorry
when he left the stage. He always had
Z eood notice for the work. and a
nearly reception after the first night
IL was from him learned my indiffer-
ence TO the length of my parts The
Value of a character cannot ALWAYS be
measured by the length and number
OF its speeches but I shink the ONLY
word of instruction he ever gave me
was; Speak lSc3-sDeak distinctly
Whlch was certainly good as far as IL
went. He WAS the most genial of men
-ueVotedly fond of chiIdren-he was
never Famous Tor the size o. the sal
aries ne paid. he was so good a friend
10 rs people that he often had trouble
IN making desirable changes. end the
N2riegated and cOnvoluted fafsehoods
ne invented in order TO get rid of one
excessively bad old actor with an af
1ectionate heart. who wished to STAY
AT reduced salary, must lay heavy
on his conscience to this hour.
used TO wonder why he hal never
10 srflr -frrr~ -
not had enough seIf-assertfOn. He vas
q nLrd working man. but he seemed
70 lack resolution. He had opinions
not convictions He was always Sec
ond IN his own theatre-often lettfna,
dare not, wait upon 1 would" After
years OF acquatntanceship. not TO SAY
friendship. when my ambition had
been aroused. and turned hopeful eyes
toward New York, Mr.. Ellsler opposed
me bitterly, telling me I must be quite
mad 70 think that the metropolis would
give Tie "A hearing. He said many
pleasant and encouraging things or
wrote them, since l was in Cincinnati
then. Among them I find: ''rVhe idea
OF your acting in New York. Why.
better actresses than you are. or can
ever none To be, have been driven
broken- hearted, from its stage Do
you suppose you could tie the shoe OF
Eitza Logan, one Of the greatest ac-
tTtSses that ever lived. but yet not
[opd enough for New York? How
about Julia Dean, too? Go east and
- rejected, and then see what man
Aver viii want you in the west
-. Verify an encouraging friend. Again
] find: Undoubtedly you are the
strongest, thu most original aud the
ycungest leading lady in the PROBES
sion; but why take any risk? Why
venture into New York. where YOU NAV
feq2 At any rate. wait ten yea1s. till
you are surer of yourself"
Good heavens What webbing adj
wiser is this2 If I was original and
strong in the west. why should I wait
ten years before ventUring into the
east
Miss Kate Reynolds.
J hear many tales Of the insolence of
stars, of their overbearing manners.
and their injustice to little people,
As the term goes; but personally have
seen almost nothing Of it. OF course
the self-tOrmenting little wife of the
nOblest actor of them all was an ex-
VeptiOnal case. Her whole life was one
long impertinence to those about ser:
but ilf the old days stars were gener-
ally patient and courteous in their.
manners TO the supporting companies
only once i suffered from the Wnim of
a star She was no less a person than
Aiss Kate Reynolds (AIrs. Winslow
IN private iife) She was known To
the actors-an jrreverent lot-as the
radiant "ReignOlds,' because she was
always crying Devoted to her fam
ily. she frctted greatly when absent
from them, AID was ever anticipaS., e
some great etil. She was nearly az
ways To BE- seen sitting by the prompt
table reading letters and crying. one
day, To our establishment we heard her
tell air Ellsier that her letter an
uounced the perfect health of hes child
her husband and her sisters: but She
said, lifting her big. tear-drowned
gray eyes TO his face. heaven only
knows what may have happened to
them by this time. aid it's not nat
ural for them all 10 be well at once"
Mr.. Joseph Magic. the leading man.
thereupon remarked: IF / were YOU. i
I'd just imagine them ali dead. and be
done with 81, then you would not have
TO worry any more"
But that never would have suited the
radiant Reignolds;" she seemed TO
enjoy worrying. II il was near Christ
mas she wept bitterly because she was
- long away from her people at home.
II she had just come from home She
Wept because she had just had 20 leave
her. people at home She had mad.
believe. the sorrow Of losing a child. I
know she had a baby portrait in a
breastpin. She had a portrait of the
living child. too, but she was consist
ent il not cheerful. and she wore the
ifctdre of the dead.
She vas a charming actress. think
her high comedy Spanish women We're
the most perfectly delicious characters