New-York tribune., 1922-11-27
By Eiarriette Underhill

If dark. foreign-looking female
person, with real French accent ane
what the mid-Victorian novelists useG
to refer to as "a weil-rounded figure
but what in this day of the fiat fisppe,
would be called plain stout--if such q
person timidly rings your door bell and
laps brokeniy and modestly did
Blanche Bates telephone TO you that
was coming?" look her coldly in the
eye and say "No, madame, she didn't
and I'm sorry your husband has to
have an operation for appendicitis, but
] don't want broadcloth, charmeuse
nor crepe"
Do not handy words with her, for If
you do she will surely end by letting
you have wonderful bargain prob
ably FIVE yards of broadcloth for only
"feefty dollar when you would have
to pay at least fifteen for the same
article at one of the big shops. OF
course, she may not use Miss Bates's
name. She is versatile, this plump,
apologetic woman with the French ac-
cent, who is so embarrassed when she
hears that nobody has telephone TO ex-
Plain her visit in advance. Sometimes
she says Mary Garden, or David Be-
iasco, or Elsie Ferguson, or Marie
Doro, and you understand right away
that she just knows everybody that is
anybody in the profession. She trusts
to luck, OF course, hoping that you will
realize what an honor has been con-
4erred on you and will hesitate to deny
the acquaintance of these great ones of
the stage.
Sent to Our Friends
Ten years ago this woman nearly
ulously low price of $40 per yard. The
only reason she did not complete the
transaction was because we hadn't the
money. She wrung tears from US. how
ever, as she described the plight Of
her husband, who had to be operated
upon for appendicitis the next day,
and we sent her to several Of our
friends who had more money than we
had. Whether they fell for it or not
we never have known, but our mo-
tives were the best. We suspected
At that time we were living in a
walkup apartment and Miss Bates had
the apartment directly above ours.
Everybody.s name was on the bell
board. and after the French woman
had taken herself and her broadcloth
away we began TO think: The name by
which she had addressed US was on
our card In the letter box, but it was
not name by which any Of our friends
addressed US, nor could Blanche Bates
possibly have known US by that name.
Gradually it dawned on us that we
nearly had been taken in. and the fact
that we hadn't was not due to our per-
spicacity, but to our poverty
Betty Blythe "Fell' for H.
The years passed on as years will.
and we never encountered the worna n
again through all the time. Probahiv "
she was plying her trade and making
money at it, too, although she surely
must have met with many rebuffs.
About the time that Betty Blythe
appeared in "The Queen of Sheba" she
came on here from the coast. and was
stopping at one of the big Fifth Ave
nue. hotels. One night we dined with
her and she said: az have a present
f,or you. You needn't mind taking it,
because I bought it from poor woman
whose husband is in the hospital and
mas to be operated upon for append
cltls. It's beautiful piece of import
ea eharmeuse, and l bought some broad
eioph Tor myself. The poor woman
brought the two pieces over from Paris
Tor herself, but was forced to sell them
TO TO, pay Tor her husbands operation.
When | said had no one to make nv
cloth up for mo she gave me the ad-
dress Of marvellous tailor on Hous-
Ton street, who makes all Of Norma
Iaimadge's things, and, in fact. he
makes most of the clothes for the
screen people working here in the
East, she said. We will drive down
chere and have him make up our stufT
for u.s." ''@"
Tinsmith iu Tailor si,ou
So the next day we drove to the ad
dress given only to find that a tin
smith lived there and no one in the
vicinity ever had heard of tailor
named Belmont. SO we drove bacl
nome again and only then did we re-
late to Miss Blythe our experience Of
seven years previous. Then she con-
EM