Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1931-12-05
THE LIBRARY TABLE
BY the BookIoper

WIA4CA "CAC AIbAC Atdu eACcpI Dy KlnQLy
fellow authors expecting return in kind
when he was a music critic, with a red
beard instead of the patriarchal white
affair which he now wears-he and Ellen
Terry began an intimate correspond
ence, although they had never met
each other. Ellen Terry was then Id
q famous End popular actress. in her
fourteenth season at Henry Irving
byceum Theater in LONDON. The cor
respondence then begun, over an opin-
ION OF young composer friend Of Ellen
Terry, lasted for many years, and was
OF the nature Of what one critic calls
"a IMITATION on paper" The CORE
spondence, with a preface by Bernard
Shaw and edited by Christopher St,
John, has been recently published I'M
der the title Ellen Terry and Bernard
SHAW: An Intimate Correspondence. "
In his preface Shaw says: Let those
VINO may complain that it was all on
paper remember that only on paper has
humanity yet achieved glory, beauty,
truth, knowledge, virtue and abiding
love. The correspondence, begun in
June, 1899, was particularly active be-
tween 1895 and 1898 Cthe year of Shaw's
marriagel, and was kept up at inter-
walls until May, 1922. In the volume
are 200 OF Ellen Terry's letters, fewer
OF ShaW's, but she did not keep all of
ms letters. The form of address in the
letters changes rapidly. In the earlier
ones she Is Dear Miss Terry; later she
becomes "Ellenest" MY Blessed. OAR
ing Ellen" He is at first Dear Mr..
berhaf0 Shaw" and becomes Bernie, "
You Dearest Fellow" and Blessed
Dearest" Both we're born letter writer's,
fpplc urio ab5 nax
gained from the correspondence was the
opportunity for self-expression to one
VINO would be sympathetic. Neverthe-
TESS they were probably of tangible
peneht to each other Shaw, when he
mad become dramatic critic, gave her
adVlce on her acting Of Shakespearean
parts, and she helped him in securing
producers for his plays.
X X
The subject matter of the Terry-Shav
letters is not greatly varied. The thea
Ter interested them both and was their
taVorite subject in the correspondence.
SHAW continually expresses-with con-
siderable violence--his IDEAS about the
stage, especially his antipathy toward
the old-faShioned theatrical tradition
and his disappointment in Henry Irv-
ing, who might have been an innovator
and was content to remain conventional.
He was further indignant with Irving
because he considered that he was re-
Sponsible for wasting the talents of
MISS Terry. He says in his preface
10 me, however, Irvings 80 years at
the Lyceum, though a most imposing
episode in the history Of the English
theater, were an eXasperating waste of
the talent Of the two artists who had
n
the theater out of it's old ruts and head
1t toward UNEMPLOYED regions of drama
This correspondence shows how.
because Irving would not put his pecu-
mar talent at the service of the new and
intensely interesting development of the
drama which had begun with Ibsen,
ana because he wasted not only his
own talent but Ellen Terry's destroyed
her belief in him and gave shape and
consciousness to her sense of having
her possibilities sterilized by him" The
following extract from one of the let
tiers shows how he carried on the proc
eSs Of alienation Of Miss Terry from
Irving: Your career has been sacri-
feed to the egotism of a fool He has
warmed his wretched hands callously
at the embers of nearly 20 of your price
less years, and now they will fame up,
scorch his eyes, burn eff his rum bathed
hair and finally consume him."
X X x
The preface to the Intimate Core
Spondence' is one of ShaW's clever es-
says. The opening sentence warns off
all persons who are prepared to be
shocked. In allowing everybody who
cares about Ellen Terry to read this
correspondence I must warn them not
TO judge 1t according to the code of
manners which regulate polite letter
writing in cathedral country towns. AS
correspondence between a church
warden and deaconess, its implica-
lions would make its publication i'm
possible. But the theater, behind the
scenes, has an emotional freemasonry
Of its own, certainly franker and argu-
ably wholesomer than the stiffness of
suburban society outside. The differ
ence is less than it used to be: for
actors, like the members of the other
professions, have made their way into
the general body of society and been
accepted as ladies and gentlemen of
the professional class rather than as
players. (He explains that the
actor normally expresses himself more
emOtionally and with less reserve and
consideration for conventions than the
average person, and that such some
times eXtraVagant expression means lit
tie more than mllder expressions from
oGLer people, l adored Ellen
Terry accordingly, and did not tell her
SO by halves. And it never occurred to
her to say Sir, how dare Won insult a
respectable female by such expressions?'
Honi soft qui NAL penSe." Shaw tells
OF the first and fateful meeting of Ellen
Terry with the American actor James
CareW, who had been engaged to play
IN captain BraSsbounds Conversion, !"
" Who is that?' said Ellen, locking at
MIN with quick interest. That's the
American captain 1 answered. With
cut an 1nstantS hesitation she sailed
across the room, put Mr.. Carew in her
POCKET $50 to speak,, and married him
The lucky captive naturally made no
resistance, and some of the letters in
TINS volume show how far the marriage
was successful, though I cannot believe
mat James had any choice of his own
IN the matter. l was awestruck for I
had not believed 1t possible for even the
most wonderful of women to choose her
man al single glance and bear him
on before he had time to realize who
she was. Shooting a lion at sight is
chlld's play in comparison. because if
Gees not matter which lion it happens
TO be- If you do not kill it, it may kill
you, So bang! But it matters very
much which man it is when marriage
Is IN question, and so swift a decision
by huntreSs who, far from being pro
mlscuous in her attachments, was
hlghly 1aStlo1ous, made me marvel and
say to myself, There. but for the grace
OF God, goes Bernard Shaw"
X X x
Minnie Maylow's Story is the title
OF John Masetield's latest volume of
narrative Verse. In addition to the title
poem there are other poetic tales and
scenes in the volume. The story of
Minnie has for its setting primitive
england, but the plot is borrowed from
an oriental tale CT a king who ordered
an endless story, with the hand of
as the reward and beheading
as the penalty If the story came to an
end. The reward was won by a mar
rator who told Of granary with a hole
IN It's roof, through which Iocusts car
RED away the grain, kernel by kernel,
ana the kernels lasted forever Mase-
TlelQ has made MANY o1taratio,,r IL,