The Minneapolis journal. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn.) 1888-1939, 1903-03-11
Woman sWorld|
An ACTRESS STORY
A Philadelphia Young Woman Went
on the Stage to Rescue
-. Her Father. vi r. Y. ..sN;
DR.. Mangasarian Was Released from
Turkish Prison Through
Her Efforts.


Flora Zabele member of Philadel-
phias smart set and one of the most at
tractive young women Of the town. hand
some In face and form and intellectually
superior to her class, has gone upon the
stage for the purpose of earning money
enough to remove her father from a Turk
,ish prison. Her father is DR.. Mangasar-
ian, Isabelle being the stage name the
young woman has chosen.
DR.. Mangasarian with his wife and
daughter migrated from Stamboul Tur-
key. some fifteen years ago to take up
his residence in the quaker city. where he
later became pastor of the Presbyterian
church. His intelligent readings. ora
lions and services were sufficiently i'm
pressive to place him on high scale
of excellence, and the name Of Mangasar-
ian soon became known in the exclusive
society of Philadelphia. During one Of
his lectures he was thoroughly carried
away by his own emotions in defense OF
the Armenians who were being massacred
and his denuncia lions of Turkeys sultan
We're Of a strenuous nature.
The sultan in some way informed of
DR.. Mangasarians public denunciation.
and expressed in loud terms his displeas
ure against the man who had formerly
lived under his flag.
About three years ago DR.. Manga sarian
was commissioned to execute a secret mis-"
sion in Constantinople. Considerable
care was observed to conceal his identity.
as he travelled incognito and even shaved
his beard and mustache. Through some
mysterious channel known principally to
orientals, news Of the pastors visit was
carried to the sultan and when DR.. Man.
gasarian landed at Constantinople he was
Immediately arrested and thrown into
prison. All efforts at the time on the
part of the American consul were ap
parently futile. His. family was left in an
| almost destitute condition and they we're
unable to communicate with him.
Through the kind offices of DR.. Felix
Adler the wife and daughter. Zabelle.
were brought to New York. The girl was
pretty and had often afforded much en-
tertainment at home by her clever anna
teur work What little money they man
aged to realize en- the effects which they
were compelled to dispose Of soon
dwindled to nothing. and with great re-
luctance Ia bellies mother finally agreed to
allow her daughter to adopt a career on
the stage. which might eventually pro-
vide the requisite funds to assist In free
ing DR.. Mangasarian.
Inexperienced. unsophisticated. and with
much temerity, Miss Isabelle made an am
bilious tour of the various thea trical ageh-
| cies in New York, and every application
was met with the same cold reply-to the
| effect that an inexperienced girl was prac-
| tically useless.
| At about this time Henry ". Savage
was organizing an opera company to pre-
sent opera in English and the young WON
an approached the manager. Mr.. Savage
! tried her voice, and. finding it satisfactory,
gave her an engagement in the chorus.
Her refined ways, quiet department and
ambitious application to her work was OBJ
Nious to her associates, and while it was
impossible to give her work Of sufficient
Importance in grand: opera which might
command a more renunerative stipend
than chorus work provided, Mr.. Savage
did not fail to recognize that Miss Ia
belle was above the average chorus girl
It was not long before her story became
known to the members of the company
and little by little she gained that knowl
| edge of stagecraft which is almost impos
sible to gain outside the chorus to qualify
her for something better
| During this period of her stage saree
DR.. Mangasarian was unconscious of hi
daughters advent into the theatrical pro
fession, and while she was supporting he
mother and herself, she managed to pu
away each week enough to eventually con
tribute to an attempt to release her fathe
from the terrible clutches of the Sultal
of Turkey.
No summer vacation was to be though
of. An engagement with a musical organ
ization which played Atlantic City wa
the next step, and then a winter engage
ment in The Messenger Boy" with jaime
T. Powers, brought her into metropolita
favor.
The young woman made pronounce
hit with her fascinating eyes, culture
voice and pleasing stage presence. A
about this period she had earned sufhcien
money to engage a reputable attorney {
international connection, who set to Worl
I armed with retainer of no small pro
portions. His efforts were crowned wit
: success and Oh the last night of KIN
Dodo's' Chicago run DR.. Mangassarian al
. rived to see his daughter for the first tim
on the stage.