The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1906-06-03


polite little remarks as:
Look at Meriarr'
Don't she think she's it,
ooh, my, amt she sweet!
This, however, did not seem disturbing
to the ladies'; they fiourished under it, in
fact, and appeared to be very spirited
ladies indeed returning the compliments
in kind. They rather reminded me OF the
story of the Irish cook who advised her
mistress on an impertinent word from a
porter to spit In his face, num- an
show him the lady ye ART Thus Tor
some half hours space these ladies-ne"
colleagues of mine-were engaged in prov
ing their degrees Breathess, albeit a
trihe deafened, l at length reached the
super captain" appeared available IN MS
eve. received my ticket and reported TO
the wardrobe LADY, on the fourth hoor.
Having bespoken the role of "townslady.
no rehearsal was required and was told
to report that evening at six O'CLOCK
I was then free for a glad day. hur-
ried up to the studio OF a friend and told
her NV delicious secret. We delved into
ancient books and stuffs and she fash
toned for me a rare costume, an English
village girls, of King Henry's day, per-
fectlv charming dress, bright, sweet,
eolors. and fairly radiant with grace or
fold and line, for she was a genius, that
girl
And I was going to be Leading Lady!
I had already had. speaking eonfiden-
tally. romance with Mr.. Mansfield.
This affair had its beginning when | was
A. child. when, on day in New York city.
not pale in memory, Mrs. Minnie Madden
Fiske had taken me to the matinee to see
Prince Carl and I had been bewitched.
His gracious manner his broken English,
his Prussian sword, above all, the sweet
love he made to his lady, just such KIND
as thought I should like to be mace to
me altogether conspired sum, dizzy TO
add
"And-and-you really know him.
gasped to Mrs Fiske, you have been on
the stage with him face to race! On.
I did not then think that Mrs. Ffske IN
herself was anything at ALL I secured
mis- picture. and at Mrs. F'iske's request
his autograph Yes. ne wrote Yours
very truly, Richard Mansfield" He
wrote it,
Thereafter In the face of ten years,
that little dream survived. l Worshlped
Mr.. Richard Mansfield! My romance
danced with light step In my secret
thought At last here was ehahce "
| put fancy to the flame.
So ii was no wonder that | skipped
| down 14th street to the city room.
Then. too, I had the golden key to the
castle gate. | knew my Shakespeare,
and for Henry the Fifth every winged
word of 1t by heart. How, now, that the
| game was afoot, to show some mettle
| of nv pasture. follow my spirit, and upon
this charge cry God for Harry, England
| and st. George
So | chose a part not In Shakespeare
ken, just there nor history s. Henry
Royal father had Fair hosanlohu'
Why not he?
So he II mine to rise upon his own horl-
zon the unrecorded little English maid who
did adore hint She who should kneel at
his passing. who should stir by in pas
sions culver, his beloved mistress, ana
| silent. mystic as Goethe's Mignon, fre
into breath. a look, fever of century
worship.
What matter that French woman, kath-
crime of valois! I decreed her part COM
pared to mine, stupidity! Shakespeare
Notwithstanding.
Yes! I decided much!
How did it all turn out?
Well, At six o'clock promptly, | was
in one of the dressing rooms on the sew
enth floor in that barn of a building
! and my wonderful gown! The awkward
townslady's costume gray cambria, with
white cap and apron, given me by the
! wardrobe lady, 1 discarded.
]
big rooms assigned to the women, taking
a mental inventory of their furnishings
and atmosphere" gathering fragments
! of the ladies' biographies and "supe ex-
pressions," until l had enough building
/ material for a volume to say nothing of
stunning stuff for SUNDAY story.
NV work done, I dressed-with what
! gladness-and nothing now remained but
to make me enchanting! (Such a difficult
/ 1x, 20
me- Together we were compromising
| fruit whose name is Romance. Even
, then was 1 borne into France. following
| the king: even then standing In the
shadow of the palace walls of Troyes-old
Troyes five hundred years ago!
something as of purple and gold
caught into the beating Of my heart,
wound 1t, bound it. glorified the night.
! The voice of the super captain, summon
ing genii, rang through the cavernous
halls.
English mobiles down! English pages
down! English priests down. English
soldiers!'
| hurried forth.
ut amt your time yeti 1t amt your
time YETI squealed several of the other
townsladies; but l ran. l followed in the
footsteps of the English soldiers, under
the flying pennons, under the battle axes
SO 1dSL nODOuy saw me. ol inc SAhSc l.
knew they were in the palace of West
minister, and soon they would be at the
Bears Head tavern, and soon they would
embark from Southampton for France
and get ready for battle
All at once, before l reached even the
outskirts of London somebody saw me-
Go right back upstairs, or Mr.. Mans
field will get your sal he.
WHAT the super captain Numbered,
and I retreated / went to the platform
on the stairway where the calvacade
stormed down, the English soldiers-no
more the mob of the morning, but good
yeomen whose limbs were made In Eng
land"
Colors and costumes armor and battle
sense dream of centuries ago. ] was
taken out of myself. I forgot my part!
French mobiles down, French pages
down! French courtlades down. the
tones of the captain reverberated A fiut-
ter on the stairs, of butterflies comngi
Humming birds, 1t was the audience
room of Charles Sixth gay and laughing
France with Harry England storming at
their threshold.
English soldiers!" again that call. Now
they were before Harfleur. THEREIN
saw a siege, beheld the ordnance on
their carriages with fatal mouths gaping
on girded Harfieur. The games afoot.
Now the cry. that immortal cry:
"Once more into the breach, dear
friends, once more.
"Or close the wall up with our English
! =