The Lakeland evening telegram. (Lakeland, Fla.) 1911-1922, 1916-12-19
A MODERN
PYGMALION
By BARBARA PHIPPS

birmingham got into the work of
writing for the screen by becoming In
fatuated with moving pictures Of Miss
Jeanette Meadowcroft. the heroine of
various plays. He followed her-or.
rather, her photographs-about, attend
ing every production, all the while
sinking deeper and deeper into love
enthrallment.
Pygmalion fell in love with a statue
which he himself created and which
the goddess Venus endowed with life.
birmingham fell In love with pic
lures Of living being.
Jeanette Meadowcroft's speciality
was witchery. She could personate
. child Of nature to perfection. En-
dowed with the gift Of poetry of mo
ton, her smile marvelously winning,
her face a mirror Of her emotions, she
seemed elfish rather than heroic.
birmingham had written fiction,
but had never created character that
had been to him real being. 1t &C.
Cured to him that If he were to write
a picture play for Jeanette Meadow
croft he would be inspired. He fan
cied that he possessed just the facul-
ties calculated to depict her PERSONAL.
ty and her gifts He determined to I'M
dertake the work.
He had no acquaintance with the
real Jeanette. He had never seen
her. Before sitting down to construct
his play he considered whether he had
better come in contact with her or
leave his impressions as they were
drawn from her pictures. After much
thought he decided to defer meeting
her until after his play had been I'm
ished.
He chose plan with very little plot
to 1t, fearing that plot would cir
cumscribe him in inventing situations
that would best illustrate her peculiar
capabilities. He decided to have her
personate a girl in that sphere Of life
from which he chose her associates.
She was born coquette. but perfect
ly innocent. A number of young men
were in love with her, but she loved
none of them. Nevertheless through
pity she tried to love one man and con-
scented to become engaged to him. The
effort lasted week, at the end Of
which she found she could get up no
feeling for him that should be called
love, and since such a union was re-
pulsive to her she broke the engage
ment. Since it was so brief and with.
out love on her part and she preferred
to be able to tell the man she eventual
ly married that she had never loved
before she asked her discarded lover
to keep their trial engagement Sc
cret. To this he consented.
Then comes a man Jeanette really
loves. Trimmingham tries hard to
form in his minds eye picture Of an.
other man than himself, but finds it
impossible. Once engaged to Jean
nette, his leading man, Throckmorton,
tells her that he has never loved any
other woman. To this she replies In
a half hearted way that she has never
loved any other man than Throckmor-
ILL., ldlCI uCuIS VI LICK
former engagement. He accuses her
Of having deceived him. Such inno-
cence as hers Is highly sensitive, and
she Is crushed at the accusation. She
tries to explain, but he will not listen.
Going away from her, he leaves her
a prey to conscience that burns hot
within her, while her lover pays
marked attention to very wicked wo-
man in order to cause 1t to burn hot
ter, though she bears this brutal treat.
ment in silence. Mistaking this silence
for Indifference, he acts more brutally
than ever. Tho girl becomes a trained
nurse. Her lover IL injured while hunt
ing and IL taken to q hospital, where
she nurses him 20 tenderly that he ~
Tents. listens to her explanation a. to
her previous affair, and all ends hap
PLY.
Trimmingham succeeded In getting
his play accepted by Q aim company,
with Jeanette Meadowcroft in the
title role. She played her part to per
fectlon, with the result that he was
more in love with her than ever. The
women Of the audience wept at the pa.
thetic parts, and Trimmingham want
ed to punch the head of the male char
acter he had himself created. At the
makeup between the lovers he felt
duly repentant and supremely happy.
Trimmingham now asked for an in.
PRODUCTION to the heroine Of his play.
He was told that no introduction was
necessary; that she was usually Olsen.
gagged in the evening and all he had
to do was to call upon her in her
apartments.
He found her In these apartments
poorly furnished fat-but failed to
recognize her. On the stage she some.
times made up as child and never
for older than eighteen. She now an.
peared woman Of thirty. was poorly
dressed, and her old mother, with
whom she lived. evidently belonged to
the lower class. Miss Meadowcroft.
whose real name was something quite
different, greeted him thus:
I'm glad to see a man who has
written play for me. Sit down and
make yourself at home. Let me take
your hat Have a cigaretter
IN