Los Angeles herald., 1907-12-22

great light. Or perhaps she has been
shown that light by her dwindIing box
office receipts. At any rate she made
up her mind some time ago that the pub
| lie had w6aried Of Saphos,- Carmens,
| Labyrlnthes and Awakenings. and being
! a canny business woman as well as an
emotional actress, she decided to attempt
something with larger promises Of sue
cess.
For this reason Mr.. Harris was called
in He wrote the play Miss Nethersole
was charmed with it, and within al few
weeks she will essay to charm with 1t the
dear public. AS an experiment at least,
the venture cannot be other than inter-
esting.
Mr. Harris. by the way, is Califor-
| nian. His home is, or was in San Fran
cisco, though he has passed much time
in the east and abroad In Paris for
several years he lived the bohemian life
OF the Latin quarter. He confesses un-
blushingly to having been a remittance
man. during this period, and tells with
delight Of day when his allowance mis-
carried and when found himself COM
PEELED to secure employment "a a walter
| in order to make a living
III went to the proprietor OF cafe" he
says ''and explained to him that ! was
| a newspaper man, In search. OF local
color for an article on the walters of
Paris. He kindly gave me an opportunity
to acquire It, I swept out in the morn
ling and was put to about every other
mental task around the place. ! got nv
material, however; the letter Of credit
came later. and l sold the story, so 1t
wasn't so bad. after ALL
Harris is q rare story teller. He pos
sesses the knack of creating distinct
atmosphere for his yarns as he goes on.
When he talks of Paris he shows you the
little things of Partisan life, the things
that would strike the American visitor
as queer, were he set down In the midst
of the tale. He once was in newspaper
work and he must have been rattling
good reporter. i
Harris has one story which. as he tells
II, is gem. Its hero is Jimmy Wilder,
Of whom you may have heard. Wilder
is the Charlie Pike Of Paris in every
thing except procerity. Pike. of COURSE
is an ordinary enough figure of man
while Jimmy Wilder is fat, Now fat men
are traditionally good natured, So Is
wilder. Moreover IL fate hadn't made
him what he is he would have been q
comedian. fs ~-
Once, long ago, Wilder became obsessed
by an admiration for art. So far did his
admiration carry him that one evening
under the influence Of his enthusiasm
he offered himself as q canvas for the
exploita tlon of friends skill. The re
suit was a work that for grotesque In
genuity made both Its creator and It'd
owner famous the quarter over.
It was face, leering, sardonic
smiling, dolorous. joyous face. as Wilder
willed and in consonance with his OWL
mood; not painted of course, but tattooed
and tattooed upon that part OF th'
Wilder anatomy that would have mad
him eligible for election to the common
council in any city in America.
After the Job had been completet
Wilder retired for space to accuston
himself to the curious panorama tina
was to be his companion for life.
About that time Paris was enjoying
new sensation. 1t was dance, an Ori
entail dance-first exploited in this coun
try at the Columbian exposition. Wilde
had an idea he could dance that thin
as well as Fatima and he set to work t
learn.
Several weeks later, accompanied by
number of friends, Jimmy Wilder starte
out to make the rounds of the severa
American bars" Along toward nornin
the party brought up at Turkish bath
intent upon plunge and other correctiv
measures. When they emerged iron
their dressing rooms each man was at
tired in bathing trunks.
They didn't notice Jimmy Wilder a
first. When they did he was in tn
dangerous swing of that Oriental dance
Every move was a picture. Wilder
body swayed slowly. The tattooed fac
Igrinned In appreciation. Then taste
and faster he danced. Scowls and leer
succeeded the grin. Finally the per
former concluded his terpsichorean reve
In wilderness of abandon to the nervou