The daily morning journal and courier., 1903-09-03
lRFING'S PURITAN HIFE.
STORY OF THE GREAT AC-
 TORS
Domestic TFagedy-The Younger 1r
 wings and Their Wives.

per or the rNlnS IaHllly, SIT hVhlS wife, must have realized more than ever how great a distance there has come to be between her and her hus- band. Lady Irving-whose maiden name was O'Callaghan-and Sir Henry have been separated ever since the birth of of this same Laurence, but both he and his brother, Harry, have kept reg ularly in touch with their mother. Lau- renee Irving lived with her, in fact, un- til that morning, two weeks ago, when all unbeknown to his relatives and friends he took unto himself a wife in the person of Miss Mabel Hackney, a pretty and promising London astress.
 So Lady Irving will now live alone in the old-fashioned house in Chelsea with which Sir Henry provides her. No breath of scandal has ever touched Lady Irving, although her troubles have been oft discussed. She is a woman of deep religious conviction, being what is known in England as dissenter. It is said that her somewhat Puritanical views sowed the first seeds of discord between her and her actor-husband. He was a bank clerk when Lady Irving married him and the graceless profes- sion of the stage had then no very pow erful claim on the young man. He had acted in amateur affairs and had made some unsuccessful attempts to make money on the boards, to all of which his wife scarcely gave second thought. It developed later that she never for a moment believed her Hnry could be guilty of actually leaving his clerkship in a bank for the disreputable path of stagecraft. But he did, and is spite of his wife's conscientious protests went to acting in earnest. -. Ts
 Whereupon the troubles began. Dis cord piled up in thousand ways and eliminated in final breach after the birth of Laurence Irving. Naturally, Lady Irving, as she is now, always was against either of the boys, following their fathers profession, and for the matter of that, Sir Henry agreed with her. It seems to have been the one point on which this husband and wife thought alike. At this time Lady Irv- ing devoted her life to installing hatred for the stage into her sons hearts. And until they finished at Marlborough school both Henry and Laurence not only synpathized with their mother in her differences with their father, but earnestly assured her of their intention to shun his calling and follow in the way of non-conformity. At Marlbor- ough school, where the fathers fame could have given them the entrance to the most exclusive circles of gentry and titled youth, Harry and Laurence 1ry- ing kept apart, led almost solitary lives and rarely engaged in the school sports. At the end of the term other London boys going up town for the holidays would see the Irvings get down from the train and rush into the embrace al- ways, not of their father, but of their mother. Thus until HI. B." as Harry Irving is called, went to Oxford, and Laurence finished at Marlborough, Lady Irving had the satisfaction of having children after her own heart. ~
 Sir Henry Irving became a vital fac- tor in shaping the lives of his two sons as Lady Irving's influence waned, The boys began to understand their fathers greatness, his loneliness-and to wish to know more about him. They began to visit him frequently and to be--What they never really had been-proud of him. His profession, they had been brought up to believe, was off-color. To their minds it took on now color so vivid and admirable that the young men longed to emulate their distin- guished parent. Soon after this Harry Irving actually adopted the stage as a Livelihood and almost immediately showed a promise of which his present work in "The Admirable Crichton''-- which William Gillette is to pay in the United States next fall--is the fulfill ,nent. Laurence Irving donned the sock and buslkin soon after his brother did so, but with less happy results. His ability lies more in the direction of wri- ting plays and that of stage manage ment. He translated Dante for his father and generally supervised it's pro- duction. '- 1 The Irving bridegroom of the moment is also considerable of a bookWorm. In. l cidentalIy, years ago, he tried to com limit suicide, being of a morose and some. | what tragic turn of mind. So Sir Hen. " shipped himoff to Russia and the di' plomatic service. This calling MT. Lau renee cordially detested. He threw i up soon and it was after he did so tha
 Sir Henry let him have his fling on thu stage out of sheer desperation.
 After their parents separation the IT.
 wing boys continued to live with theil mother, as has been said, Laurence III til two weeks ago, and Harry until hi marriage with handsome Dorothes Baird, the original stage 'Trilby," distinctly clever woman, Be it sait that there is now third Henry Irving Henry Irving, 2d, has recently bought { fine old house in Russell square-th mansion occupied by Mrs. Humphre!
 Ward, the novelist, until she betool
 herself to Grosvenor Square and re
 gions frequented by the higher circles. { Both Harry and Laurence Irving hay written some things that are likely t stand the test of time. The elderl.
 brothers scholarly treatise, "Studies o French Criminals" is looked upon a standard. and Laurence Irving's Pete
 the Great" is one of the most popula
 pieces in his fathers repertoire. II B. has for his middle name that whicl
 was his fathers by birth. It is Brodri and was used by the family until, b.
 special legal procedure, Sir Henry name became in sight of the law tn inow famous one of Irving.