The times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1897-1901, 1901-01-27

are sown before entrance to Bucking-
ham Palace, and the King will turn over
new leaf of virtue and sobriety. Edward
VII has good quality. He is abundant in
heart, but still better equipped with tact,
| common sense, and dignity.
Like as not, during his long term as
Prince of Wales, he recalled the words
OF Prince Hal tc Poins: Il know you all,
and will while uphold the unyoked hui
NOR OF your idieness, yet herein will
initiate the sun, who doth permit the
base, contagious clouds to smother up
his beauty from the world, that, when he
pleases again to be himself, being wanted
he may be more wondered at by break
ing through the foul and ugly mists OF
vapors that seem to strange him. So,
when this loose behavior i throw off, by
how much better than my word l am,
and, like bright metal on a sullen ground,
my reformation. glittering DER my fault,
shall show more goodly, and attract more
eyes than that which hath no foil to set
it off,
Mrs. Langtry, Mrs Potter. Edna May.
the Baroness" Blanc, and many other
performers of grace and beauty cannot
hope TO find in the new King the amiabil
ity OF the old Prince. In putting on the
crown of England. Edward VII puts off
his lovely Falstaffs, Nyms, Poinses, Pts
tolls, and Bardolphs.
Yet the King will not forget the drama.
By his princely influence Henry Irving
and Squire Bancroft were knghted. Dur
ing the last season of Mr. Grau a Covent
Garden the Prince attended the opera no
less than fourteen times. Never had Eng
land King who loved art better, and the
royal countenances will now be more gra-
cious than before to actors of quality.
nf ic
the English drama promises to enter a
career OF prosperity which 1t has not
known for century.
After her engagement at the National
Theatre this week May Irwin will start
for the South and will present "Madge
Smith. Attorney in the principal cities
north Of Birmingham, Ala. This will be
the first time the jolly coincidence has
been in Southern territory since she be-
came star, and reports from the man
ayers of the theatres in which she will
appear are to the effect that there Is a
large amount of interest already mani
tested in the coming Of the singer of coon
songs, and that SO far as regards business
the trip should be a record breaker.
Grace Golden the soprano prima donna
of the Metropolitan English Opera Com
pany was one of the most disappointed
young women in Washington last week,
and all because Of a severe throat trouble
that prevented her from appearing in the
early operas in which she was advertised
to sing during the engagement of the Saw
age-Grau company at the National. The
trouble that caused her enforced absence
from the footlights was inaugurated in
Pittsburg two weeks ago, when she was
singing Airline in The Bohemian Girl"
During the first act her voice was in
splendid condition, but in the second ii
began to show signs Of failing, and in the
third act it absolutely went back on its
possessor and Joseph Sheehan was COM
PEELED to sing her part in addition to his
own while Miss Golden turned her back
upon the audience, and, as she expressed
it the other afternoon to Times repre-
sentative, Just cried"
She now proposes to give her voice a
rest of three or four weeks before trying
to work. Her plans for the future are
rather indefinite. Mr.. Savagesdesires to
have her go to the Castle Square company
in Chicago for the balance Of the season.
but there are climatic reasons why she
should not, and ii Is very probable that
she will confne her future efforts to ap-
pearances in concert, which she has tried
with marked success. And after that
there is very strong chance that she
will be heard in London.
Miss Golden's success in grand opera
has not resulted in turning her sensible
little head at all and she is still the
same unaffected ingenious. and delightful
young woman that local theatre patrons
knew wi5n the Castle Square company
was located in the Capital and when she
was one Of the favorite members.
Manager Chase, OF the Grand, was in
Chicago during the latter part of the
week in attendance upon the meeting of
the Association of Vaudeville Managers,
of which he is the secretary. The meet
ing was called for the purpose of effecting
a closer union of the managers of the
East with those who control the Western
vaudeville theatres. These latter have
for some time been making the claim that
all the desirable vaudeville acts-;he
greater majority, anyway-are kept In th5
East and seldom get farther west than
Chicago. The answer that has invariably
been made to this assertion is that the
performers do not care to undertake a
tour of the Western circuits, which
means the loss of an entire weeks en-
ployment on the way to the coast, al
though their car fares are always fur
nished in addition to their salaries.
The task that now confronts the ''vaH-
deviile trust" is to determine upon plan
by which the Western managers will have
a better share of the headline acts in he
future than they have thus far in the ca
reer of the association. 1t is proposed to
accomplish this by making concessions in
the matter of salary to the players who
appear on the far West circuits, and In
this way induce them to leave the East
ern field for a time. The meeting devel-
oped the fact that the association is In
first class shape. and that the small mis-
understandings that for a while threat
ened to disrupt the trust" have been sat-
isfactorily adjusted.
Apropos of vaudeville, ii is worthy of
record that the society known as the
White Rats, and organized primarily to
oppose the Vaudeville Association, is
gaining strength every day. Recently
there were a number OF prominent actors
initiated into the order, the best known
being N. C. Goodwin, who. during the love
feast that followed the ceremony spoke
at some length of that period OF his age
life when he, too, was vaudeville enter
taner.
The Rats are bent upon having their
own theatre in New York. a rather ambi-
tious undertaking, perhaps, but one that
promises to be brought to successful re-
suit 1t is the idea of the principal mem
bers of the order to have each Rat con-
tribute his free services for one
week each season, the box Office re-
ceipts to be devoted to a general fund
Gossip has even gone so far in discussing
the plan TO indicate the theatre in
which the rodents will be located, and
whenever the scheme is preached the
name of the Manhattan Theatre is men,
toned. 1t is said that Managers Brady
and Ziegfeld will not renew their lease of
the property at the end of the present