The Birmingham age-herald., 1914-02-24
SOCIETY AND HOME TOPICS FOR WOME
Ihe Song OF Shakespeare Gives Life Says Mr. Francis
Robert Benson, Star of Straord- Upon-Avon Players
81 DOLLY DALRYBrPLE

Such an "Englishness" as there is
round at the Jefferson you've never
seen.
From Mr.. Francis Robert Benson. the
Star" of the Stratford- Upon Avon
players to the big, six-foot- -four mill
tary looking attache, Mr. Murray of
the company, who stands "out 'front.'
in regimentals and dfinery-everything'
as English as can be.
If you are at all initiative and you've
CHANGED to talk to any of the players.
as l did yesterday, you find yourself
talking with an accent that would con-
vulse you If you heard yourself using
1t in your everyday conversation. but
at the time you don't think anything
about it--for "everybody's doing it,
there.
And speaking of that sort of thing
reminds me of clever LITTLE story Mr..
Benson told me when remarked upon
the quality of his voice-its softness,
its euphony its beauty.
A man stood in the wings in a GER
tain playhouse where the Stratford-
Upon-Avon players were engaged re-
Gently; he belonged to the personnel
of the theatre. and naturally was great
ly interested; turning to another, stand
ing near by, he said
"Where'd you say these people came
from?"
England" was the answer
How long have they been in this
country" came the next query.
Five months" was the reply.
They don't speak English so bad for
that length of time. do they?"
Mr.. Benson-the leading man" OF
the Stratford-U Upon Avon players--is
one of the best known ara most popn-
lar of all the great English actors of
today
The particular branch of the num-
erous Benson family to which Mr.. Fran
els Robert Benson belongs has given
an unusually large number of notable
men to the public life of Great Britain.
They are descended from Yorkshire
dalesmen and in the 7Os Edward White
Benson, the noted Anglican churchman,
sprang into prominence and in 1883 was
made archbishop of Canterbury, a post
which he held until 1896, when he
dropped dead in Hawarden chapel, aft
er visit to Mr.. Gladstone. His grace
was an uncle of f. r. Benson, whose
father was a noted physician. The arch
bishop left three sons, all of whom
nave risen to fame that has gone be-
yond the boundaries of Egypt One
son is Arthur Christopher Benson, mas
ter of Elton college, Cambridge. and one
of the finest of living essayists and
literary critics He has written mono
graphs on Rosetti, Tennyson and Ed
ward Fitzgerald, in addition to many
volumes of short studies of famous
writer's. He was selected to edit the
correspondence of the late Queen Vic
toria.
a near relative is the novelist, e. r.
Benson, author of "Dodo," "The Vint-
age and other successful books and
he is also an archeologist of distinc~
tion and has served in that capacity in
Greece and Egypt.
still another OF Mr.. F. r. Benson's
cousins is Monsignor Hugh Benson, also
a writer of high distinction, who be-
came a Roman Catholic and holds a
very high position in the English
branch of that great church.
Now, them
Isn't that enough pedigree for any
one man?
Mr. Benson is very interesting as
most great scholars and actors are.
He looks strikingly like Sir john
ston Forbes Robertson. and not unlike
Sir Henry Irving, both of whom he
has numbered among his intimate
friends.
He very modestly declares that he
has not had mission to perform as
an actor-indeed, has performed none.