The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1916-04-25
PRAISE DROPS LIKE HAIL
At BANQUET FOR SOTHERNS
Five Hundred Men and Women of Prominence Gather
at Feast in Honor of Retiring Shakespearian
Actor and His Wife, Julia Marlowe.

~ WIN 49,
Finley transformed the testimonial ban.
quet at the Hotel Astor last night In
honor Of Julia Marlowe and e. II. Sothern.
who are permanently retiring from the
stage. Into q Sh~akespearlan masque en-.
acted by players In the hopelessly
ptosaic dress Of the twentieth century.
but providing nevertheless a touch Of the
u%uaintness and the romance OF the seven-
teenth.
The very walters were serving Arieis
whisked out Of doors at the proper time.
Charming and heroic figures were ma.
terialixed from Master Wills pages
ore seemed to see them peering from the
balconies when DR.. Finley svaved his
wand Edwin Markham was Prospero
and held the stage for losg enough to
read n sonorous poem In the Bard's
honor and In honor too Of his foremost
interpreters Of our time. Winthrop
Ames was the Jacques of the piece and
employed that lean satirist's wit in ex-
p!sining the decadence Of real drama.
lr. Finley confessed himself at a loss
In casting Agnes Repplier, for neither
Portto nvr Rosaiind owned her wit.
Therefore Miss Repplier appeared as
herself. And SO II went. with Corinne
Roosevelt Robinson. Col. Roosevelt's sis
ter: Maud Ballington Booth. Augustus
Thomas, Otto II. Kahn and Talcott WILL
Jams speaking their lines Of sincere
praise for the great service don for
the art Of the theatre by Mr.. and Mrs.
Sothern.
me mts Fail Like Hail.
Perhaps DR.. Finley's skill In tricking
out the banquet with E~iixabethan velvet
ings and laces was as much artful as
artistic: for without this m~etamorphoeis
Of the usually commonplace public din
ner there would have been too much OF
cloyinG sweetness TO the compliments
hat fell like hailstones about the ears
Of the Shakespearian actors. As II was.
compliment developed to hyperbole
seemed quite in place.
At the end OF II all. when Mr.. m
Mrs. Sothern, who had been honored as
Presidents not always are and as mere
money makers may dream Of being.
had responded and had spoken Of their
dream Of retiring to a little ountry
place In warwickshire and Of watching
the sun 20 round and the hens scratch
Ing In the dust. DIR. Finley presented
them with their souvenir Of the evening.
a record book of the dinner. bound in
morocco and pages In parchment. and
containing the signatures Of President
and Mrs. Wilson. Theodore Roosevelt.
william H.. Taft and ever so many more
persons of large Importance.
Tho testimonial dinner was given
under the auspices OF the Civic Forum.
which employs Prof. Robert Erskine Ely
to sit up nights porting over lists OF
the great or near great. who are en-
titled to being told to their faces how
worthy they are. The dinner was the
hrst half Of the Forums tercentenary
celebration. Tonight. in Carnegie Hall,
II will hold a public celebration at which
Or. Nicholas Murray Butler. president
OF Columbia; Mayor Mitchell. Edith
wynne Matthison and Bishop David II.
Greer will take part.
More Than 500 Present.
Last night. what with the 900 BAN
Queters and the stage folk who came
late. there were more than 500 persons
present.
In addition to those at the table pre-
sided over by DR.. John H.. Finley-the
speakers'-there were observed Mr.. and
Mrs. +. II. Blashheld. Mr.. and Mrs.
Arnold Drummer. DR.. and Mrs. Louis L.
Seaman. Douglas Robinson. Mrs. Win
throp Amee. Mrs. Augustus Thomas. Mr..
and Mrs. Paul d. Cravath. Miss Evelyn
Scott. Brenton yelling. Emile Fuchs.
Mr.. and Mrs. Ira Leo Bamberger. Mr..
and Mrs. Robert Jennings. Mr.. and Mrs.
william F. sheehan. Mr.. and Mrs.
Austen Gray. Mr.. and Mrs. Robert
Erskine Ely, DR.. Henry Leipziger.
Edward G. Riggs. Royal +. T. Riggs.
Frank J. wilstach. Mr.. and Mrs. Jules
s. Bache. Lady Colebrooke. Judge Peter
T. Barlow, Harold Content. Mr.. and
Mrs. Isaac y. Seligman, Mrs. Theodore
Rowland. Henry +. Dawson. Mr.. and
Mrs. Herbert l.. Satterlee. Henry W.
Taft. Joseph I. c. Clarke. Mr.. and Mrs.
Elon Huntington Hooker, Mr.. and Mrs.
Adolph s. Ochs. Judge Norman s. Dixie
Cass Gilbert. David Blspham and Mr..
and Mrs. $. Stanwood Menken.
In the boxes were DR.. Lyman Alb
bolt. DIR. Felix Adler. Henry NJ. Alden.
Margaret Anglin, Gertrude Anterior.
Blanche Bates. Dr.. Nicholas Murray
Butler, Henry Clews. Walter Damrosch,
Margaret Deland. Cleveland II. Dodge.
william FaverSham. Mrs. Ffske. George
Jay Gould. the Rev. DR.. p. s. Grant.
william y. Guthrie. Norman Hapgood.
william Dean Howells. Robert Under
wood Johnson. Kathryn Kidder. DR..
George +. Kunz, George McAneny,
Dudley Field Malone. Brander Matthews.
George Haven Putnam. Annie Russell.
DR.. Albert Shaw. Mary ShaAk Oscar s.
Straus, Ida NJ. Tarbell. Kate Douglass
Wiggin and Edward j. Wheeler.
Most of these came in late from the
theatre after dinner was served.
Double Toast "a sOtherns.
It was late. as dinners 60, whenI Or.
Finley, the POSTMASTER. prologue, rather.
waved the waiting Ariels out Of the room
and produced the wand which turned the
twentieth century into S~hakespeare's
own.
Let US discourse our praise OF these
departing friends" said the prologue.
az speak no further than to disclose to
your attentive ear the dramatis persona
Of our play. But first. a double toast to
their health and happiness"
Mr.. and Mrs. Sothern bowed before
gusts OF applausc-Mr. Sothern, grayed
about the temples but giving the lie to
the menu card OF his own dinner which
$500 ~. "a ~ anl Ngra CnsI,arn