The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1907-12-15

Mime. Mcdisska. This lie tho first night
in her life she sysr played AdrishHe Lee
cOEryeur In EngIish. There will bs a. much
az $40 in the hOuse-ir va arO lucky. It
will amusa Madame to NEST a New York
I~roy-espccially whot. l tell her that you
uosd 70 hook yonr way into the gallery ut
NiblO's every opening night
He misnamsd my offence, was a friend
OF the son of the gallery dOorkeeper.
Wen. I was glad enough TO go where there
was light and people. I met the charming
lady as she came to the theatre.
The tour she was making was onlya plan
Of her manager TO break in her English
before ne showed her here, and she took it
~ a lark. She was a lovely woman. She
laughed 20 warm my heart when Maeder
told her 1 was a well known first nighter,
and she said she would do her hest for me-.
and 1 was to tell her how she would do in
New York.
You know the play. She has q part OF a
famous actress who gets a chance at a pri-
waite entertainment to tell a grand lady what
she thinks Of her through some play Ian
guage she has TO speak.
1t is a poor play. but it gave her a good
death scene. There was a time when all
actresses had to have a death scene in their
bunch Of tricks. AdrisNns is poisoned.
Il was before she went on for the Last
act that Maeder made me tell her the story
of the prison break. I would not have told
her for all I owned in tho world II | know
how Il was going to affect her.
She had n look that near frightened me
az I went on with my silly yarn; but when
l tried to shift the deal to get away from the
horror of that corridor where the dead men
were and where the live men had no word.
she clutched me and whispered. Go oal Go
on! IL il reaIl Tell me ally"
When she stood in he wings with the
lover and the old man, waiting for the cue
to 20 on for her death scene, she turned TO
me and said: W will give you a good
death scene for the good n you have
given me, Master New York
She kept her word. When the curtain
fell, after the poisoned bouquet had killed
Adr,enne, the men comphmeuted her.
But she said no word. She was as still
as those men in the prison.
Her maid ran onto the stage and suddenly
set ND a scream: Madame is dead"
She was in a faint H. took us many
minutes 10 bring her out Of. and miserable
hs I felt, for knew that my story had some
thing to do with H.. l was not all sorry at
that. I'd seen the hest bit of acting Nine.
Modieska ever did; the best bit Of acting
| ever saw.
II was the last chance l had to see n
theatre until Joe and I came back to this
blessed little old New York 10 stay. And
sometimes ! ask myself IL the good ladies
who play on Broadway and seldom play
away from il are giving me m much for
the price Of my box a that young Polish
lady gave me in return for a story.
Maybe the art il better now; maybe
because 1 nave tn look backward TO see my
fitch birthday I can't see the merits Of
the play folks as ! could then. Maybe that
first night in the sagebrush fell into my
life just TO let me see what real acting is.
was telling the whole story to Betty,
NV ward, one day. She listened. polite as
you please, to the end. and then she says:
Rosebud. what did Nine, Modjeska
Wear?"