The St. Louis Republic. [volume] (St. Louis, Mo.) 1888-1919, 1903-05-10

oa.rymore made his last public appearance.
IVen curing the run of the play he
showed signs of mental decay, and soon
after 'he tour was ended he became a
ra'ine maniac and was sent to n SANTA
nun, where he is now, past all hope of re-
covery.
Less than n year following the failure
OF The Battle of the Strong Marie Bur-
.oughs, like her leading man. lost her
ihiiu ana was taken to a sanitarium. She
Is being cared for in a private hospital near
bostoh' 1t Is now said that Miss Burroughs
has been doubly unfortunate. that she is
now blind.
"A letter written by Maude Adams. at
Sofne. under date of April 10, and received
III 81. Louis last week by Mrs. ". G.
Jones OF the Romeo and Juliette'' pro-
uuction, states that Miss Adams has fully
resained her health. is getting fieshy and
never fclt BETTER She adds that Mr..
barrie Is engaged in writing n play in
which she Will open in New York early
next season. Miss Adams says she Will
remain in Italy during the summer. re-
turning TO America during the latter part
OK august. to begin rehearsals for her new
play: The name Of the play has not been
decided upon.
In telling of Ethel Earrymore's debut. an
actor has this interesting little article in
the current number of Lesiie's Monthly:
W. had gotten into our parts thoroughly
during the protracted run of The Baubie
Shop" but nevertheless nervousness reap
peareo when Miss Barrymore'S first appear
ance was brought to mind.
she was to act instead of Miss Elsie De
Wolf. and was to use Miss De VOLTS
gowns: one. an affair In an excellent shade
OF blue with huge black butterflies scat
tered all over 1t. the drcssmaker had so
fitted that the butterflies came In exactly
the right places when the gown was orig
inally designed. OF course, Miss Barrymore.
then immature. practically a schoolgirl. did
not quite fill the dress.
AT any rate, the maid nearly had iys-
terics in an effort to induce a refractory
butterfly TO perch on the shoulder when it
persisted In alishtiug half way down the
back. Wei. the time for her cue came and
the new actress left her dressing-room
laughing: her uncle. John Drew. was al
ready on the scene. and Mr.. Frohmau was
out front
girl. who had never faced an audience be-
fore. walked on the stage with as much az |
Surance as II she wer. about to recite her
geography lesson in school.
she went through the performance so
neatly that one could hardly avoid the no. |
ton that She had been acting since she was
a baby Of 5. And when she came off she
was still laughing
sss |
Setting the earth on fire." Is an en- |
preston often heard in ridicule. but this !
can be applied to Magician Keller literally. |
for he has accomplished that feat. While |
en- route from Valparaiso to NonteviIeo. |
via the Strait Of Magellan, in February, |
1875. the steamer upon which Re was a pas
serger stopped for coal at Pun.a Arenas, |
the extreme southern point OF Patagonia, |
where a Chilean penal settlement is main
tanned.
Keller was the guest of the commandment
for the day. and. as considerable trouble
had been caused by the unruly natives. he
was asked to do something to brighten them
and to cause them to obey the commands
of the authorities. Accordingly. after din
ner. he called several score of them about
the station and amused them with simple
tricks OF magic. Just as he was abou; 20
he announced in a voice Of anger
that IL further acts OF lawlessness occurred
he would burn up the earth.
As he spoke he touched the sand at his
feet with his wand. and a living sheet OF
sprang up, which SO frightened the
that they fed in terror. The acts
of which the commandant complained were
never repeated. The trick was simply done.
A quantity of white sugar and chlorate OF
notash had been secreted in the sand by
an assistant during the forenoon. The wand
hollow and contained sulphuric acid.
The combination Of the latter with the
former caused the flame, and to the iGnor-
ant natives appeared supernatural.
-' . sGts f
Gounod. who took Goethe's beautiful
story of Faust and Marguerite and COM
posed around it his immortal opera, sur
Tered at the outset of his career the same
distressing conditions. rebufts and prlVa-
lions that have fallen to the lot OF prac-
tically all the great composers and dramat-
4 Wagner, Gounod was a poor mu-
stefan who made his scant living by ms
skill with the violin in the .orchestras OF
london and Paris. After Faust was writ
ten he went from city to city seeking an
for the production OF the work
hat his soul loved and which ne kne"
the divine spark of genius. MOST
all of those to whom he privately READ
sang Faust declared that 1T pos
,essed no merit whatever.
At length rich and Influential patrons De-
anne interested In the half-starved COM
POSER and the opera was given a measer
,resentation. 1t is strange. but true thas
n the outset it was a failure, largely De-
.ause il marked a radical departure from
hen current methods of composition ana
operate presentations. But lit
L. nv little the music grew upon the Far
and at length it dawned upon them
hat here was a work that would endure
orever.
Henry Miller has decided to rest during
une and July and will open his season in
an Francisco, first presenting The ram
NJ of Helen" and then trying out two
IL --,-- hn MILL ha o I T.