Year: 1870

Ihose Who hhoW HhcT


Lydia Thompson sends the following
as communication to the New York
Star:


1.-THE comments Of the press on one of
my recent performances in Chicago-the
horse-whipping Of the editor Of the no
torious Chicago Times-have been so
general and so pronounced, that it would
seem | may, without presumption, set my
case before public, by large majority
of which have always been treated gen
erously, and where. am glad to believe,
/ have many friends. If any of those
friends have been for the first time more
grieyed than amused by performance of
mine, they may be sure that, although
| believe / did no more than was right,
and treated that disgrace TO his profes-
sion no other than he deserved, their re-
gret for the necessity of the occurrence
can be no greater than mine. 1t was my
first appearance in such role, and /
sincerely hope it may be my last, even
under such terrible provocation; and
what say for myself, l say also for all
the other members of my company. The





anything could be; but it seemed to us
to be our last, our only resort. If we
erred, our error was one of judgment and
not of feeling, and we acted, not only on
our impulse as outraged women, but on
the best and soberest counsel that we
could obtain 1WWg3 FN #1s


| and the ladies of my company claim
no immunity from criticism because of
our sex or the nature of our profession.
We offer our public performances to pub
lie commendation and public criticism;
but not our personal relations or our
private characters. Yet we do not shell
ter our personal conduct behind this
screen from any proper inquiry on the
part of any person who has the right to
make it; and are quite willing to leave
our personal regulations in the hands of
those who really know us; as willing as
we are unwilling that they should be
made the sport of those who neither
know us nor anything about us of their
own knowledge We claim what has al
ready been claimed for all women in our
profession by one of its most eminent
and least lenient critics, not only that
nothing shall be said of us which is un-
true, but that no man shall say that of
us which he does not know to be true.
Briefly, in becoming actresses we do not
cease to be women, or, indeed, human
beings.


But we were also assailed by the Chi
cago Times with an outpOsring of abuse
so scurrilous, so personal, and of such
peculiar nature, that every woman will
know why | refuse to quote il, or even to
characterize it in my own language.


Insulted and wounded by such attacks,
addressed letter of remonstrance to
the editor of the notorious journal The
only result was a repetition of the otfense
in an aggravated form. We then huDiil-
lated ourselves so far as to send our
agent to see the editor in person, who
received him with volley of abuse, and,
producing pistol, threatened to shoot
him or any of the company who at
tempted interference In our perplexity
we sought council, and took legal advice,
the highest that could be obtained in
Chicago, and we were told that these ar
ticles, although as unmistakable in mean
ing as language could make them, were
yet so ingeniously worded that to punish
or restrain their author as the libeller Of
any individual personally would be an
exceedingly tedious and difficult task, If
not impossible. We were also told that,
although we were thus practically with !
out redress or power to protect ourselves
from daily personal insult of the grossest
nature, and although if any gentlemen
of our party were to fog our slanderer it
would be merely a fight, yet, If the
women whom he had insulted were to
ohastise him publicly, although We should
subject ourselves to arrest and fine for a |
technical breach of the peace, we should !
put upon this man a brand that he de-
served, and have with ps the sympathy Of
all the better part of the community. |
On this suggestion, feeling that some
thing should be done, ! acted, and with 1
me one of the ladies of my company. |
The gentlemen accompanied us merely |
that they might protect us against the
pistol with which we had been threat
ened. We may have been badly cOun-
seled, and now that the excitement of
the affair IS over, i feel that we were
goaded into an unwomanly action. |
cannG; say more Ny statement of my
case is nay defssse, certainly did not
act as should ike 10 aei, or as thus far
all my life / have acted. But
there are some provocations under which
a Eoman who has not sunk into the
slough Of Indifference, can be neither
proud nor cantious. And saying this,
commit myself to the sympathy OF my
own eek, and the gallantry OF the other,
in a public whose favor ] shall always
remember with gratiiude