New-York tribune., 1910-07-17

! triple partnership. the two bdncIolts
and Robertson. Mr. Bancroft. as man
ager,. was author of many reforms on
the stage and in front; including the re-
form which has made us pay ever since
s. 30 instead of 81 10 for our stalls. He
! had ingenuity and he had courage, as ne
was to prove later at the Haymarket.
| He was. in truth. manager of brill
, liant capacity. In some important dl-
rcctions he led the way. believe Irving
thought that Bancroft had not given
! full scope to his abilities as an actor
! The parts to which he had restricted
himself did not allow him to show all he
! could do. But he has permanent ana
honored place. and the influence OF
| the Bancrofts. both on the stage and on
| the profession, has been lasting, and
may be seen to-day by anybody who
looks for the causes of things. His own
memories are infinitely more interesting
than those of any outsider. any one OF
the public. can be. and he has poured
them out to us. AS YOU read him all
doors stand open. even the stage door.
We who before have had only glimpses
are now permitted to explore that region
| of mystery known behind the
| scenes" and as for memories, read TINS:
Gould it be true that Dickens and
| Lytton had so often sat there to list
to US. with hundreds and hundreds OF
the greatest in the land? Could 1t be
that actors and painters and authors,
since known to all the world. had fought
for places in the pit? Could it be that
fn
there for Gladstone. and had listened to
an ovation given within its walls TO
! Beaconsfield? Could it have been under
! that mournful looking porch that the
| constant stream of youth and age, of
| beauty. wit and wealth had flowed for
so many years.?
| Here. therefore. was one of those IN
! fuences l mentioned above which
brought the stage and society nearer to-
gether. This was an early influence.
The Bancrofts handed on the torch to
| Irving and others. and the pathways
trodden by their guests were pathways
of light. l have said in earlier chapters
what | thought of Irving's position and
of the new position he gave to the stage
| His authority and charm cannot be
overrated. but to bring closer together
two sections of society once so far apart
is the work of no one man, not even If
he be an Irving.
! Sir Charles Wyndham was another
collaboration He had at that time
rooms in Piccadilly Circus which re-
minded you of nothing so much as
| ship's cabin. These he delighted to fill,
and even to crowd, with guests. many Of
them dwellers in Mayfair and Belgravia.
| The company one night included Lady
| Dorothy Nevill and Miss Margot Ten
nant, now Mrs. Asquith- The abin was
like a cabin on one of the old Cunarders.
with long sofas against the side of the
ship, and if you had seat in the mid
die and came late you could only reach
| it by disturbing the punctual ones.
Supper had begun, and between Lady
Dorothy and Miss Tenant there was a
place still vacant Who Is coming?"
! Lord Rowton." AS his name was
uttered the door opened and enter Lord
F., Rowton. as if a stage effect had been
planned. People began to get UP to let
him pass Sit still, everybody" cried
Rowton. and with a flying leap he
cleared the table and landed neatly be-
tween the two ladies. 1t was done with
that ease and grace which belonged to
him in the doing of his varied duties as
secretary TO Lord Beaconsf1eld. He was
man who made the unexpected and
/ impossible seem natural. And he, too,
was one of the influences which made
for the uni1cation of society. OF his
gifts and services in a quite different
kind l hope to say something at another
! time But l will say this now, that no
man who knew Lord Rowton can re-
member him without affection.
1t is remarked that the number of
marriages between actresses and men
belonging to titled families has, of late.
! increased The Gaiety Theatre and per-
/ haps one or two other theatres devoted
| to musical comedy and other light en-
tertainments have become SO many
nurseries for. in the old phrase. the
British nobility and gentry. Time was
when the relations between the chorus
girls and their men friends were be-
! lieved to be sometimes irregular,
whereas now the chances of marriage
into the upper ranks are supposed to
| be good enough to induce these young
ladies TO practise a stricter rule of life.
They may still accept suppers and gifts,
but make no other return for them than
the pleasure of conversation.
The chorus and the ranks Of show
girls have become a school of virtue.
/ If there are exceptions-well. to what
rule are there not exceptions? The rule
is still a rule. And if that exception be
splendid enough. if the rank and wealth
of the suitor pour Ic BtaurGis motif be
very great. the world, whether of the
stage or society, does not take too severe
a view Indeed, severity is not the pre-
| vaiIing tone in the world of London.
There are always, however. great and
important sections Of society where all
the virtues are held in honor and some
of them practised The same is true of
the stage Why. therefore, need We
draw a distinction? q. w. 5.
ACT NEEDED TO CHANGE COMMA
| of lord D,ouar Dic-