Evening star., 1914-03-15

Talk well on racing ana yacnI1ng, QOSS
and horses, and the different recreations
and amusements of country gentleman.
The Railways had been living in a quiet
way in rather remote and questionable
section of Long Island. BY the time tea
was served we all grew quite friendly. This
function created such conmotion among
the servants that l am sure it was an in
novation. Two of the elder children were
brought in to share the tea dainties, and
we were little family party. 1t was all
simple and without any prctense, and saw
that 1 had excellent soil in which to work
ON our way back to the hotel Jones gave
me few inside facts OF the Railway
family history. And here could see
serious obstacle looming up and barring the
way to their social progress. Who was
Helen Radway9 Ihad vaguely remembered
that Frank had married little below his
caste. Owing to the fathers prominence
in Wall Street, it was all In the newspapers
at the time; but had forgotten about it.
There was skeleton; but it was not one
that could rattle bones. In fact, it was
substantial, fat and fifty. and was none
other than Helen's mother, veritable
mountain of a barrier. She outclassed even
the financial misdeeds of old Joel himself
In the palmy days of Italian opera under
the Mapleson regime at the Academy of
Music on 14th-st one of the most valued
and useful members of the company was
Signora Coheni. The name was slightly
suspicious; but the owner was the widow of
yaoYnod .phr or,d hor
youth had been a promising prima donna
at Covent Garden. In New York she was
relegated to singing the roles of the duen-
mas and confdantes of such well known
operate ladies as Lucia, Leonora, Rosina,
and Linda. But fat became fatal to her
vocal accomplishments, and Frau Cohn
drifted into the position of wardrobe wo-
man at the opera. When the Metropolitan
wiped out the Academy she had already
established neat little business of buying
and selling second hand stage garments and
and also dickering with ladies' maids in
fashionable households for cast-off finery of
their mistresses. With thrift and economy
Frau Cohn was soon able to acquire small
cottage at Weehawken
There were few women better known or
more popular in the profession than
sMother Cohn." And everyone knew her
little daughter Helen, for whom she had
great ambitions. The child was sent to
convent to be educated, and was also
taught to dance little, to sing little,
and perhaps to act little; for she was
destined for the operatic stage. But Helen's
face was her fortune. 1t was great grief to n
that she had not inherited sufficient voice, e
beauty and small talents finally landed her i
of comic opera COMPANY. The mother watt
small chick like hawk, and she was not a
to go on the road. Ma was at the stage
night to ward away the Johnnies and to fet
ing bird back to the family nest. But the
early musical comedy success to Broadway.
given few lines to say and place in tn
Society had never taken up Frank Radw;
not clubman. Old Joel was intensely
Sundays, and the family circle of friends v
to the church he attended, do not know
first met Frank. No doubt she attracted h
first caught sight of her at the theater at wi
playing. Frank had the sporting propens
American. He had inherited these from his
applied the traditions to Wall Street. He "
ha1ked by what seemed to be rnattainable