Evening star., 1925-03-01

Mansion-the Nellie Custis-Lewis
home, near Mount Vernon-restored
| 1t, lived there and sold it to the
! Misses Sharpe of Princeton, N j.
| think the brothers then bought a ia
| nous house in England and lived
! there,
Coming back to Virginia, Paul
| bought Gunston Hall, made it his
home, and sold il to Louis Hertle
Next, Paul bought an old place of his
| toric association near and west of
| Alexandria. The next time ! met Paul
| was at the opening Of his play, The
Great Lady Dedlock." and he told me
he was living in the Writ home of
| Wirtland.
| Paul seems to have talent for
| old houses in the country. De gusti
| bus non est disputandum chacun a
| son gout, and all that, and some time
| Paul may take a new house in the
city, fitted with electric waffle irons.
| automatic ice-cream freezer. etc. You
| all know Paul. Yes you do But you
| should know him. The Rambler
| takes what follows from Who's Who
| in America, 1924-1925": Paul Kester,
| dramatist, author. Born at Delaware,
Ohio, November .. 1870. Author His
| Own Country" Tales of the Real
| )
| The Countess Roudine'' with Minnie
Maddern Fiske), produced by Nine.
| Modjeska; "Zamar." produced by AL
1 eXander Salvini; What Dreams May
| Come" produced by Nine. Janau-
schek; Guy Mannering" (new YER
| sion), produced by Nine. Janauschek; f;
The Cousin of the King with
Vaughan kester); Eugene Aram."
produced by Walker Whiteside /.
1 IN
in England by Julia Nelson and Fred
Terry, in America by Mile. Rhea and
Ada Rehan. in Australia by Nellie
Stewart, in the Orient by Matheson
| Lang; When Knighthood Was in
Flower. produced in America by
| julia Marlowe and in England by
Julia Marlowe and E. H. Sothern.
There is a long list of other plays and
their producers and the Rambler
picks these: 'Mademoiselle Mars"
Mrs. Langtry; The Cavalier" (with
George Middleton), Julia Marlowe; !;
| Queen Fiametta (with Mildred Aid
rich), Julia Marlowe: Dorothy Yer
non," Bertha Galland, revived as
Love of King; The Bill Toppers," :"
Marie Tempest; The Lady in the
Case" Annie RUSSELL: The Woman
| in the Case "Beverley's Balance"
The Woman in Bronze" and The
Great Lady Dedlock," produced by
| Margaret Angln.
| The Rambler believes, dear reader.
that you are wiser than that reader
who picks out other stories than
his. He feels that unlike many
other readers, you have heard of
| Charles Dickens. He believes that
you are member of the Dickens Eel
| lowship and that the name Lady Ded-
lock recalls to you Sir Leicester. the
Ghost walk at Chesnew Wold, Mr.
lTulkinghorn, Conversation Kenge and
Mr. Guppy, John Jarndyce and his
growlery at Bleak House. Richard
Carstone, Ada Glare, Krooks and his
Rag and Bottle Warehouse" Mrs
Jellyby, uplifter of the natives of
Borrioboola Cha; Caddy JeIIyby, old
| Mr. Turveydrop, master of deport-
ment; Mr. and Mrs. Snagsby of Cooks
Court, Cursitor street, the Rev. Chad
band, who could talk as much and
say as little as any man today; Miss
| Elite, Mrs. Pardiggle. the charity coll
lector; poor 10, who lived in Tom
All-Alone's"; the Smallweed family
Jobbling. Mrs. Sergeant Bagnet, with
her gray cloak and umbrella; Allan
| Woodcourt, Inspector Buckett, Capt.
| Hawdon. Mile. Hortense, Harold
! Skimpole, Lawrence Boythorn and
| dear Esther Summerson.
| The Rambler tells you with pride
and not with bushes that Esther was
a sweetheart of his youth and whom
he loves in age. OF course, Agnes
| Wickfield, Florence Dombey, Lizzie
| Hexam, CATER Hexams daughter;
Ruth, the sister of my dear friend
Tom Pinch, who was clerk to the
great architect Pecksniff, and Miss
| Bella Wilfer, the daughter of Rumpty
| Wilfer, who clerked for Chicksey,
Stobbles s: Veneering, were also girls
he loved and loves.
| Well, Paul wrote THE Great Lady
| Dedlock" and Margaret Anglin, tai
ented and comely, played Lady Ded-
! lock. 1t was a fine play, telling an
immortal story in Dickensian phrase,
but my recollection is that it was
| not a box office success. / could check
| up on that recollection by calling
| to Bill Landvoigt, in the next room,
| but Bill is busy and we will let the
recollection stand My belief is that
Lady Dedlock had short life, be-
cause Paul neglected to give 1t the
charm of depravity Really, the play
was SO lacking in indecency that the
public seemed not much Interested
What ] am coming to is this: Paul
wrote Lady Dedlock," a dramatiza-
tion of BLEAK House." while he was
/ living at Wfrtland, and the Rambler
wonders if Paul got the idea while
visiting our old friend, Dan Writ, at
his home, Bleak Hall.
4 X X X
THIS has been a depression. You
| may have noticed it, and we will
| step back to the house of Laurel
Grove and make fresh start. Before
starting let me tell you that Miss
Fannie Washington, daughter of Rob-
ert J. Washington, whom the Ram
| bier met there on his first trip to
| that. part of the country,> is now
Mrs. Spillman. / think she lives on
the Washington farm of Campbell
| ton, but if not on 1t she lives close
| by, and as soon as you get down
in King George County and long be-
fore you reach the Westmore1and line
u Aa..A L. Iyixrrirfo,, Il