Evening star., 1912-11-24

family of strolling players Of the
eighteenth century was stranded once in
little Welsh village. the name of which.
Brecou. would long since have been for
gotten save that July ). 11,sJ. in cham
ber under the matched roof OF the village
inn. The Shoulder of Mutton. was
born the girl Child destined to be known
| wherever the English drama is known as
| Mrs. Siddons. The Tragic Muse" From
THE Shoulder of Mutton to the palaces
! of Mayfair and Belgravia is an ascent
| more difficult than that of the Matter
| horn. but this girl Sarah kemble accom-
| plisned it. not. though. without attendant
| sufferings and faltering by the way.
| The folk of whom Sarah Kemble was
sprung We're strollers. OF course. barn
stormers' We would call them today. but
yet Of superior type. For that matter
| the general intellectual average OF the
stage wah higher perhaps then than now
| for Roger Kemble. her father. and his
company played the great classic trag-
edies on circuits which nowadays demand
Bellies of the Bowery' or Uncle Tom 8
| Cabin and are scarce satisfied unless
| the latter is embellished with twH
| Topsies.
Made an Early Marriage.
Growing UP in the environment OF the
| strollers-a people forced to be clannisi
| because of the good-natured contempt
with which they were treated by those
about thenl-the girl naturally became
herself an actress. Furthermore. being
| personally attra ctive, both in face and
| figure, she made an early marriage-and
after the fashion of pretty actresses. a
| foolish one Henry Siddons whom she
| married in 1773, was an actor in hef
fathers company-that is. until Roger
keInble discovered he was making love
! to Sarah. when he was incontinently
| fired and the girl exiled to Warwick
shire. where she became a ladys maid to
| a lady of quality. Poor Siddons was not
| a bad. only commonplace, actor. ano
| at this juncture must have been lad OF
| some spirit for he rescued his fair one
| from personal servitude In the country
and married her in Coventry. Thereafter
1 for some time the twain went up and
| down the provinces playing everything
| from pantomime to Shakespeare. Siddons
may be dismissed now with the statement
| that he grew not a whit by the practice
of his art and when his wife attained
| greatness settled down placidly to the
position of an actress husband, nursins
the children and speculating, always dis
| astrously, with her earnings.
First Attempt a Failure.
In the England of that day success a
Drury Lane was the sure pathway to ma
| tional success on the stage. Mrs. Siddon:
| had her opportunity In 1775 and failed
dismally. She had not attained the full
fruition of her genius nor did she, OF
| the mana ger. Garrick, understand at tha
| time that her talent lent itself to thu
| stateliness and majesty of tragedy ant
not to comedy. Sorely grieved by thi.
| reverse. she went back to the province:
and played for four seasons at an aver
| age wage of 93 (S15) week.
| Notwithstanding the pessimistic poem
| Of the late Senator ingalls,. opportunit,
does knock more than once at each man!
door. Its second call to Sarah Siddon!
| came in the shape of an offer from tn,
new manager of Drury Lane, Richard
Brinsley Sheridan. Forgetting her pas
failure. she hastened to London and il
1882 began rehearsing the part of Isa
bella in Garricks version of THE Fata
Marriage''-a play of compelling patho
now practically forgotten. Not unnat
urally the ordeal for which she was pre-
| pairing filled her with apprehension. o.
| a placid, almost phlegmatic, tempera
| ment. she became a prey to extreme
nervousness. even. as the moment for the
| first production approached. losing hel
voice for none but nervous causes.
ION the morning of the 10th" the day