Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1903-10-17
nj ARIE CAHIII.,S i

r1es that she frequently tells for the delcc-
tatlon of her friends. None of these sto-
rles, which mostly deal with incidents of
her own career, is quite so great a favorite
with Miss Cahlll as the tale of Joseph JEFF
1erson and the sOng-and- dance girl.
during the early part of Miss Cahilrs
stage life. when she was yet in her teens,
she was asked to appear at a benefit in aid
OF a New York hospital and was quite
proud to learn that Joseph Jefferson was
to be an associate attraction at this per-
formance When the entertainment open
ed Mr.. Jefferson was the first to appear
With a number of other players, Miss Ca
hill stood in the wings and listened to Mr..
Jefferson's remarks. which took the nature
of discourse dramatic art
She was naturally much interested in
what the dean of the American stage had
to say about his own profession, and her
attention was shared by the stage folk
about her During Mr.. Jeferson's speech
two highly rouged girls, dressed in red
tights and tinSel, and carrying themselves
with the bearing that indelibly stamped
them as belonging to the song-and-dance
species, came down the stairs from their
dressing rooms and began to practice their
steps behind the scenes much to the an
noyance of the players who were trying to
hear what Mr.. Jefferson said.
Finally one of the song ambulance girls
walked to the wings and leaned over Miss
Cahilrs shoulder to see what was going
on. Miss Cahill gently attempted to shake
with such a performer. A moment later
the other member of the song-and- dance
team joined her partner and said:
Say. Mag; what's going on out there"'
''I dunno was the reply; some old guy
doing monologue.
"How's he going?'
..'Rotten! He's been on fifteen minutes
and amt got laugh yet.
THE MIDGET AND THE HUMANE
OFFICER.-Little Charlie Rossow, the
especially gifted member of the Rossow
midgets, which will be at Chases next
week, is a man in everything but size
Although he is conscious that his popu-
larity with theater-goers is largely the
result of his being, lilliputian, neverthe-
less he is in private extremely sensitive
upon the point, and resents any famil-
iarity based upon his size. Among
friends he is fond of telling in his pip
ing voice incidents of this kind:
Only week ago in Philadelphia Charlie
dumfounded an agent of the Humane So
ciety, charged with the execution of local
ordinances forbidding the appearance of
children on the stage. 1t happened as
Charlie and his brother Frank were APP
preaching the stage door of the theater at
which the agent was stationed The Official
stopped Charlie and said:
Hold on there, little boy, L want to
talk to you"
Just because he said little boy" Char
lie ignored the request.
Say, my little man. followed up the
official observing that no heed was paid
him, 81 told you 1 wanted to talk to
you. Have yoU got permit from your
parents?"
"A permit from my parents? eJacu-
lated Charlie in surprise, for this was
new one on him. Why permit?
fnr "a nf
your parents, you have to show permit
to that effect, approved by the authori-
ties"
"A permit, eh?" said Charlie, doubling
himself up with pigmy laughter. "A
permit. Why. young fellow, 1 have a
wife and two children to support"
TWELFTH NIGHT.':-It is just 300
years since Shakespeare's Twelfth Night"
which Viola Allen presents here week after
next was first presented, for there is oil
record a performance of the play in the
Middle Temple Hail. on February 2. 1901
1902. How far a mans works take their
color from the mood and circumstances III
which they produced has ever been a
fruitful theme of discussion among stu
dents and critics. In the case of Shakes
peare one thing is almost certain-that as
far as we are able to judge. he wrote his
happiest plays at the happiest period of his
life. 1899 and 1000 are the now generally
accepted years during which he composed
Much Ado About Nothing "As You
Like IT, and Twelfth Night and in this
trio of comedies ne bequeathed to the world
a legacy of laughter and of loving which
for sunny tenderness and serenity of ex-
preston has never been approached. Had
these plays been other than they are we
might, indeed, have wondered. At the age
of thirty-six Shakespeare found himself
with fame and fortune well assured. If he
had still with Julius Caesar" Hamlet"
"Othello," Macbeth" and King Lear to
prove himself the greatest master of trag
edy, he had in "A Midsummer Nights
Dream" and 1.-The Merchant of Venice al
ready given to the world the choicest of his
comedies. He was the most popular narra-
tive and lyrical poet of the time (unless
perhaps. Edmund Spencer may be said to
dispute this description with him); Venus
and Adonis'' and 'Lucrece" had passed
through four editions; selections and ex-
cerpts from his poems were in all the Col |
den Treasures" Of the day. He enjoyed |
the patronage and friendship of his queen |
and of the chief members of her brilliant |
court, while from his fees, salaries, and his !
proprietary rights in the Globe and Black |
friars theaters, his yearly. income could |