The New York herald. [volume] (New York, N.Y.) 1920-1924, 1920-11-14

II am an actress. YES, l write,
too, but the theatre Is my home l always
hurry in something about acting II pays
to advertise; but more than that it excuses
my difficulties with the subjunctive.)
1 was taking out my teeth as my maid
opened the dressing room door. Il have no
maid. I just put that in-no maid. rut all
my teeth) Taking out my teeth" means,
in the parlance OF the theatre, removing the
black grease paint which had been covering
a few of my molars during the performance.
This to an audience looks like gaps. and ages
the face. l have youngish face, If oldish.
L was not embarrassed over being dis
covered at such an unlovely moment by
Hugh, although l didn't know who this
fresh-cheeked individual was. Hold on to
this-it's point; whenever a player meets
one Of her own kind. whatever beautiful art
may be his, she Is not disconnected if she
has cold cream on her nose is braiding
her switch with one end of it in her mouth
IEstinctively she is sympathetic with him.
and he, although he may never have seen
u dressing room. is just much at home
as though he were before his easels or
easing out words from his pen. It's sweet
isn't it. the way we understand our people?
Do bankers feel that relaxed way with each
other, or fish dealers, or osteopaths" l don't
know. This is an open question. Now If
my visitor had been what the actors call
IAN outsider" merely one of those rich per-
sons who support the theatre and never get
in on passes, / should have regretted in
stantly that my teeth were not all shined
up, and that the be-rouged table cover was
not fresh, or at least turned over-once
more.
The fresh checked one was flanked by two
blithe spirits whose own satisfactory royal
ties enforce upon them a certain nobleSSe
obHOe when foreign authors come over here
for a general cleanup. Observation-Disclosures
did we get the word from?) They made the
introduction quite casually as though it was
nothing TO lecture in a strange country and
that any moment both of them might go
to England for the same purpose
What Should an Author Look Like?
Just the same 1t was a bombshell to me
not because he was HUGH WALPOLE, but
because HE was Hugh Walpole Line up
lot of young Britishers carrying sticks, with
this young author and ask me to pick out
a tennis player, Liberal. jazz dancer and
English naval officer thinking of going
into business and / could suitably have Sc
lected Walpole for any of these roles. but
for the creator of that devilish old Duchess
of Wrexe of that dear ragged Golden Scare
crow, of The Captives, raging within their
little human cells No-ahi no-he was not
built according to convention
Yet, to step aside again, do authors look
like authors anyway? Actors look like &C.
tors and painters like painters but is there
in this day any definite type for the writing
man? Poets of other times yee; Tennyson
looked like a poet and did Shelley, and
Byron looked like eight poets; but Charles
Hanson Towne does not look like poet. and
would not though he wore a Tennysonian
whisker, Sheeyan hair and a Byronic
CfI ~ 4 fe r.Iata
poet. Alas! fear that the hard bowler over
there and the derby over here have done
much to change the facade of the literati.
The visiting Englishman continued bomb
ing me. He said he was happy to meet me
again" I was restoring bicuspid at the
instant, and so astonished that L
allowed the dsfiguring grease paint TO re-
main on until half way home in the sub
way--thereby innocently delghting a num-
Der OF tired business men. But I gave no
other sign. / did not say "Yes?" with that
rising infection of Indifferent uncertainty
that has often reduced me to dust in
England. After those crumbling occasions
when ! have endeavored to explain myself
to some Londoner / would not be mean
enough to say "Yes?" to my landlord.
did not need to--the guest modestly
thought IL was just possible / didn't re-
member you know" he reminded, "in
the green room at the Haymarket."
Not Horace Walpolel
II was time for me to do something then.
I wanted to cry out: Hugh Walpole If
ever had met you would never have for
gotten IT," and bawled on his shoulder. But
you can't do that TO authors with belts to
their coats and severe collars sticking up
at correct angles So l said something
quite different Never having met the man
before and knowing we'll 1 had never met
him l was ready to compromise Was
that your" I said. II thought II was
Horace" Not that anybody paid any at
tention to the f1ippancy.
So there was no emotional outburst from
me. and Mr. Wapoe will never know. UNI
less the clipping bureau does its duty land
II only clips tile roasts) that / wouldn't
have had him any different had I, on fe-
Election, taken bit Of clay and modelled
him myself For in some way that / don't
believe am going 20 be able to define this
Young man OF stalwart build and business
like mien was by being so. fully expressive
of his tremendous subteties. IL doesn't
make the least bit Of difference what Hugh
Walpole is like outside. Everything that he
gives to us is from within. Not just on the
other side of the Uranium, but from some
place that he hasn't very much 70 do with
that twists and shapes him. yes, and shakes
him. and leaves the outside OF him TO sweat
over properly setting down into fine para
graphs by beautiful arrangement OF words
these little creatures OF his inner brain.
wonder could we wrench the truth from
him IL he would not admit that IL surprised
him a little to have foretod the dissolution
OF the power Of the arstocracy as in the
Duchess OF wrexe" and of the mean, false