Saturday Evening Mail, Volume 27, Number 36, Terre Haute, Vigo County, 6 March 1897 — Page 3

BEHIND THE FOOTLIGHTS.

Charlotte Cushman and Her Farewell Appearance.

BE QE TYING THE OEOWI OF LAUREL.

A Remarkable Scene at Booth's Theater In 1874— Poet Bryant's Address and Miss Cnshman's Heply—The Great Actress* Friendships—Personal Characteristics.

[Special Correspondence.

NEW YORK, March 1.—Charlotte Ctashman was cot like any other woman I have ever met during a rather protracted sojourn in this vale of tears. Self reliant as a man, she was withal as tender as a child in her dealings with those whom fortune had put "beneath her. She it was to whom I was indebted for my first recognition as a stage manager of sufficient ability to haudle pretentious productions, aud the acquaintance thus began in a business way continued for over a quarter of a century off arid on. I wish to state right here that, although I have been associated with most of the great stars who have played in this country during the latter half of this fast waning century, there was not one who combined in his or her own personality so much that would win unswerving loyalty and affection from subordinates as Charlotte Cushman, the woman who lias so often been accused by irresponsible scribblers of being cold and avaricious. She was an excellent business woman, it is true, and she knew how to get the best terms from managers' who were in quest of her services, but there was not a stingy bono in lui body.

Take this first engagement of mine with her as an illustration. I had been an assistant' stago manager at Niblo's in tliis city when Miss Cuslnnan summoned me to Boston to take charge of

ESSSU

CHARLOTTE CUSHMAN'S FAREWELL.

an elaborate production of "Henry VIII" which she was about to make at the Boston theater, thou under (lie management of Thomas Barry. Naturally 1 accepted. Like all ambitious young men, I had ideas of my own as to how Shakespeare should bo mounted. There were many expensive properties that I wanted. The management sometimes demurred, but was always overruled by Miss Cnaimum, who was bearing the expense. She was particularly fond ot the character of Queen Catherine in this play, and I think it was her greatest role, although I am aware that the public preferred her us Meg Merrilies in "Guy Mannering." The engagement was a hufe artistic success, imt I do not think that the pecuniary returns were overbite. Miss Cuslninn, however, was jut i'.s amiable as though she had made a fortune.

Charlotte Cnslinnuj'a Oonerosity.

I re in em In as 11 as though it were yesterday that just before the beginning of the last performance she called me into her dressing reom and gave men fno goldpiree. the eb verse side of which was eitr.Ky engir.ved in eoimr.emoratiou of the engagement. This souvenir I valued above any other that I have owned, and I was really grieved when, many years after the occasion of its presentation it was stolen while I was traveling on one of the sound boats on my way, by i. singular coincidence, to stago a production in the same Boston theater. Th^ important of the stage employees was also remembered by Mis.* Cushman in substantial way, ami when sl left there was no one in the tlnv.n who wouid not have resented tho in'imaficn that the world contained another woman half so gentle and considerate. The experience was a new cue me at that time, but I afterward lcnrrjcd from jxrsenr.l observation that tliis was an unfailing practice with Miss Cushman at every house that she visited. So, also, it was at the hotels at which she stopped. She was a veritable Lady Bountiful in a quiet, unostentatious manner. And ostentation and its votaries she did despise with a genuine 84 carat- intensity.

It is rather amusing to hear the little poppinjayji of the present sapient ly state that the old timers did not know tire meaning of the word "expense" in connection with matters theatrical. There has never beta a regular production in this country since the year lhbO which cost half as much as either of several which I might mention as having been

54^5577 yS3%%f®

Biade daring the decade immediately preceding that period. On the Point of Breaking Down.

Of all my recollections of Charlotte Cushman the most vivid is her appearance on the occasion of the farewell testimonial to her at Booth's theater in this city in 1874. I had charge of the stage that evening. The play was "Guy Mannering," in which Miss Cushman, of course, enacted the role of Meg Merrilies. No more brilliant audience ever assembled in a theater in this country. Scarcely a literary man of national reputation was absent, and the political, military, naval and art worlds were also well represented. Miss Cushman often declared afterward that she never played Meg in her life as she did that night The audience almost shrieked its enthusiasm. But between the acts the great actress was sobbing quietly in her dressing room. She seemed to regret that the event which she herself had brought about was to be enacted, and the members of the company stood aloof, fearful lest a word might cause her to break down entirely.

At the conclusion of the performance Miss Cushman hurried to her room, and, getting off her stage clothes, donned everyday attire. The stage had meanwhile been set with a rostrum in the center. On this was a laurel wreath conspicuously displayed. Seated in a semicircle on the stage were many of the most prominent litterati of the day. Among these were William Cullen Bryant, Oliver Wendell Holmes, Edmund Clarence Stedman, William Winter and William Dean Howells. When I went to summon Miss Cushman, she was as nervous, she told me, as she was on the occasion of her first appearance on the stage. She was as white as death, I and the lack of color was heightened by the severely plain black satin gown, white collar and cuffs and small black brooch which she wore. She felt certain that she could not go through the ordeal without breaking down, and although

I affected to laugh at her fears secrctly I fully agreed with her. I led her to the "prompt" entrance and there turner her over to Mr. Winter, who escorted her to the rostrum, where he presented her to Mr. Bryant.

An Unusual Scene,

Mr. Bryant made a simple but heart

touching little address, during the delivery of which the heroine of the occasion stood with bowed head, trembling like an aspen. At the conclusion the laurel wreath was placed upon Mise Cushman's brow, and as soon as the storm of applause which followed had subsided sufficiently for her to make herself heard she replied to the address of Mr. Bryant in a few words, which I wish I had been able to preserve, they were such models of unaffected simplicity, without the whiningly insincere underrating of self which so many persons feel called upon to assume upon similar occasions. Then the curtain fell, and the audience wildly called for another look at the favorite. This, for very good reasons, was not permitted.

But if the audience was on the verge of hysterics what is to be said of the 10,000 persons who were waiting patient )v outside the theater for a glimpse of the popuiiir idol? The streets were impassable, and it was easy to be seen that Miss Cushman could never be got through that crowd. Accordingly a rust was resorted to. Another woman was dressed up as Miss Cnshmnu and escorted to the wailing carriage, which for about five minutes, even with the assistance of a large number of policemen, was unable to advance a foot. The vehicle was tipped so dangerously high in one of the mob's surges that the police were compelled to use their clubs to clear a w»»\ Finally the "dummy" was got through all right, and every one started for the Fifth Avenue hotel, the space in front of which was soon blocked.

The real Miss Cushman was then escorted to the side entrance of the hotel by Commodore Toofeer of the United States navy. The crowd remained where it had stationed itself and refesed to leave cutil Mfc* Cc?hs?nE had appeared on the balcony in response to repeated demands. No such ovation has ever been paid to any stage character in this country and none greater in any country. Hats, handkerchiefs and umbrellas were wildly thrown into the air without any thought of recovering them. In the midst of it all stood the great actress on the balcony, a suspicious moisture about her eyes, waving her hand to the thousands erf admirers below.

That was Charlotte Cushman's last appearance in public. A few years later she died, leaving avoid in the stage world which, at present, there appears to be little hope of filling.

L. JoHX

VtSCEST.

•«, A New Thing In Wall Paper.

An entirely new thing in wall paper Is the Persian design. It has oriental stripes and flamboyant figures, the impress of the far east in every line and curve. It gives a rich and restful aspect to the apartment in which it is used. It will cost a pretty penny to have your library and dining room papered in the Persian style, for the proper things to go with Persian paper are embroidered portieres as window curtains, and they are expensive. There are no borders for Persian paper, which goes from top to bottom of the walls and gives the effect of great height to the room.

What is called scenery paper is wall paper upon which there is a panoramic picture of historical scenes, landscapes, sea views and miscellaneous subjects. It is put on the wall above the wooden wainscoting, and, when properly done, presents an attractive appearance. It is one of the newest things in wall papers and has caught the fancy of New York. One of the favorite styles is a Watteau design. The shepherds ai:d shepherdesses, with their gamboling lambs, their beribboned crooks, are an attractive decoration for any room.

No shade requires more careful handling than green. But if the proper tint is found the effect is delightful. To make a success of rooms in green delicate tints must be employed A shade of green which has recently obtained much favcr is jade green, which, with a liberal use of white, makes a decoration for a room particularly delightful and agreeable, especially for summer cottages.—Decorator and Furnisher.

Mrs. Gladstone.

A woman's silent influence on the affairs of a nation is shown in the career of Mrs. Gladstone. She is not asocial or political leader, nor in anyway a diplo mat in petticoats. She is responsible, however, far more than i^|generally known, not only for her husBand's vigorous health at his ripe old age, but also for his great ability to accomplish the amount of work he has done through his publio life and since his retirement When he was in office, it was her ceaseless care that he should not be distracted by anything that she could prevent, words that meant remarkable self abnegation. The interests of a growing family of seven children, with a fond and proud mother, might easily have made considerable demand upon the father's attention, but neither this nor any social duties, nor any household perplexities, were ever permitted to touch his leisure from statecraft cares. Her watchfulness has not decreased these later years. She is still his best physician and saves his strength in innumerable ways, trifling in themselves, but important in the aggregate and possible only to one who has made such saving a life study. Blessed herself with excellent hdalth all her life, she wears her 88 years lightly, and still shows many traces of the handsome Miss Glynne who captivated the rising young M. P. over half a century ago. —Exchange. .t

A Noteworthy Suffrage League.

Millington is a small village in Franklin county, Mass. Although the village contains only about a dozen families, some of its women are very much interested in the cause of woman suffrage, and last October they decided to form a woman suffrage league, hoping they might be able thereby to help the movement a little. At present the league consists of but seven members, but they are hoping that a few others may join them later on. It is officered by a president and secretary. They do not hold regular meetings but, as the secretary writes me, "Any member can call a meeting at any time when she sees an opportunity to do any good for the cause." She also says, "We are pledged to go every year to our annual town meeting, thinking, by so doing, to convince the voters that we are interested and would gladly be voters too." They feel the necessity as well as the justice of women voting, and they wish to help the cause all they can.

They have taken the name of the Woman's Full Ballot league. They believe that the wrongs and ills which afflict mankind are due to error and injustice in some form, and that the full ballot for women will be one means for the advancement of our civilization.— Woman's Journal.

The Sachet.

The writer again has been importuned personally and by letter to say a word of protest against the excessive use in public places of the sachet Many people do not mind this stifling fragrance. Others, however, are most sensitive to the effect of these sachet powders hidden away in the muffs, hate?, wraps, collarettes, etc,, worn at public entertainments, the theater especially. One Iittledainty sachet is almost as delicately scented as one little bunch of violets, but pounds of this potent powder, scattered among hundreds of people in an overheated, often ill ventilated interior, soon render the atmosphere almost unbearable. It was well known in Paris that the late M. Worth could not endure the faintest breath of perfume and that he announced the fact very positively to his fair patrons. Delicate odors like violet, the old fashioned lavender, lemon verbena, the genuine extract of rose leaves, etc., have their charm to most people, but the dense, dull distillations from scores of different overpowerfui perfumes are both unpie:i*ant and unhealthy.—New York Post

A Woman Apothecary.

Miss Agnes P. Mabony of New York was recently appointed apothecary at the Manhattan State hospital, on Ward's island. Miss M&hony graduated some years ago from the training school for nurses on BlacJkwell uazid. Afterward she studied medicii. and was for several years in the medical ward of St. John's guild, on Staten Island.' She then entered the New York Oollege of Pharmacy and won a prise of $100 for scholarship. She was the only woman in a class of 180.

TEKBE HAUTE SATURDAY EVENING MltL, MARCH 6, 1897.

N^»

YT

4 GLIMMER OF LIGHT.

PR ECU RSI NG THE DAWN OF DRESS REFORM FOR WOMEN.

Bat It Hay Soon Fade Away—Olive Harper on Corsets—The Divided Skirt and Health Waists—Good Mews Per Suffbrli* Womankind.

[Special Correspondence.

NKW YORK, March 1.—That the dress reform movement, so called, has appealed forcibly to Buffering womankind and is widespread is shown in the fact that the best and most elegant ladies in Berlin and Vienna, to say nothing of London, have adopted it more or less openly. To wear a corset all day, and that not even tight, causes the wearer to heave a sigh of relief when night

REFORM AND RAINY DAY GOWNS,

comes and it can be removed. I will not go over till the arguments we know so well about the lasting physical injury that comes from the lacing and the dragging of the skirts upon the hips, but simply show how the leaders of fashion in those three cities have learned to emancipate themselves, and I also wish to present a few new ideas invented by the ladies over the water.

The Princess of Wales and her daughters wear gowns especially designed for walking on rainy days. Bain does not keep them indoors, nor has a rain any terror in the way of wet, draggled skirts. They all have dresses of waterproof craveuette made with the skirt reaching but to the tops of their boots and faced with light taffeta, and hemmed up over the silk without braid or stiffening. There is some sort of a close waist and a neat jacket, tailor made, with more or less stitching, but all have pockets. The moderate sized leg o' mutton sleeve is preferred to any other. When the rain is a cold one, there is a quilted satin waist to wear under the jacket

Beneath these rainy day gowns there is rarely a skirt of any kind. If one is worn, it is dark and short and light. A woman has enough to do to fight the elements without being handicapped with a load of skirts.

Instead of a stiff corset pushing her where it shculd not pulling and squeezing and pressing a row of hard bones against her, she now has a soft waist cut so as to support such portions as need it as gently as a hand might do. There are but eight bones, and all these are flexible. The sides laoe and the fronts button, and there are easy double straps to go over the shoulder and buttons at the bottom to fasten skirts or divided skirts upon, and they are out off at the waist line. These become a part of the riding and the bicycle costumes abroad. I think we have in this country two or three makes of health corset better and easier than the one mentioned above, but as that is the style worn by so many of Queen Victoria's relatives I mention it.

Abroad they have certainly improved upon our divided skirts or bloomers. They are cut about the same and are gathered at the knees with an elastic. The band is double fastened and made in form of a yoke. In front there is one strong strap fastened in the middle, and

USEFUL AND ORNAMENTAL.

this is about six to eight inches long and is made of regular suspender web. To this are fastened two thick elastic straps, which reach over the shoulders, crossing in the back and buttoning to the yoke. This gives the freest motion to the wearer and perfect comfort and protection.

The divided skirt and the health waist we as well adapted to home garments as for those for out of doors, and they certainly fill along felt want.

iiiisl

OLIVBHASPKB.

John Randolph Tucker.

"He had the gift of eloquence in rare degree,'' says the Richmond Dispatch of the late John Randolph Tucker, "and this, together with a keen sense of humor, wonderful powers of analysis, a thoroughly sympathetic nature and extensive general culture, made him one of the most resourceful, effective and brilliant speakers of his day. In his private life and in the social circle he was a charming and lovable man. John Randolph Tucker's life and services put Honor upon his state, and Virginia will honor his memory by inscribing his name upon the roll of her best beloved

j? c-

lV 1

Laying a Ghost In Siberia.

Mr. George Kennan tells a Siberian ghost story in St Nicholas. After describing the first visitation of the mysterious ghost (it afterward proved to be a half starved dog) Mr. Kennan says: For two or three days after this, Yegoi took refuge at night in the house of a neighboring friend and left me to tackle the ghost alone, but neither in the garset nor in the kitchen did I hear the faintest sound to indicate that the mys terious somebody who walked in dork ness and left no tracks was abroad. Meantime, however, the news that ghost had appeared to Yegor in the barin's kitciion, and that even the skeptical barin himself had heard the "unclean spirit" pacing the floor of tho garret ht midnight, spread to every hous in the village, and the next Sunday af' ernoon who should appear at my dou: but a Russian priest dressed in all hirobes and followed by one of the church choir boys, with a basin of water and a small bundle of long, flexible twigs.

The reverend father came in swinging a smoking censer and reciting sonorously a selection from the old Slavonic psalti He marched solemnly around the entry, the kitchen and the sitting room, fumigating every nook and corner where a ghost might lurk, and then took the basin find the brush of twigs and sprinkled the whole house with water after the manner of the Greek church. Having thus performed his official duty, he greeted me courteously, apologized fr the intrusion and said that it was his custom to conduct a ceremony of tin. kind once a year in every house in the village. I was not, of course, member of his church. But he had taken the liberty, he said, of coming to my house because there were reports in circulation that mysterious noises had been heart, in it, and tho minds of his parishioners were disturbed.

The People are Convinced

When they read the testimonials of cures by Hood's Sarsaparilla. They are written by honest men and women, and are plain, straightforward statements of fact. The people have confidence in Hood's Sarsaparilla because they know it actually and permanently cures, even when other medicines fail.

Hood's Pills are the only pills to take with Hood's Sarsaparilla. Easy and yet efficient.

Wasting Time.

Tlioy were dining off fowl in a restaurant. "You see," he explained, as he showed her the wishbone, "you take hold here and I'll take hold here. Then we must both make a wish and pull an«l when it breaks the one who has the bigger part of it will have his or her wish gratified." "But I don't know what to wish for,'' she protested. "Oh, you can think of something," he added. "No, I can't," she replied. "I can't think of anything I want very much." "Well, I'll wish for you," he exclaimed. "Will you really?" she asked. "Yes." "Well, then, there's no use fooling with the old wishbone," she interrupted with a glad smile. "You can have me.'' —Comic Cuts.

Racial Longevity.

The colored race is shorter lived than the white and has a very high infantile death rate. It is especially liable to tu berculosis and pneumonia and less liable than the wbxie race to malaria, yellow fever aud cancer.

The Irish race has a rather low death rate among its young children, but a very high' one among adults, due, to a considerable extent, to tho offects of tuberculosis a*"l pneumonia.

The Germans appear to be particularly liable to disorders of the digestive organs and to cancer.

The Jews have a low death rate and a more than average longevity. They are less affected than other races by consumption, pneumonia and alcoholism, but are especially liable to diabetes, locomotor ataxia imd certain other diseases of the nervous system. —New York Ledger.

The Mind's Eye.

It will probably be neva^ to most peopie to hear that rudimf?€tary traces of a third eye exist among all vertebrates, including man. In the human race this third eye forms part of the pineal gland —a small mass about the size of a pea in almost the very center of the brain. Possibly, therefore, there was more actual truth in the weli known expression, "the mind's eye," than its originator ever dreamed of.

The

Dessert

Don't give it than to

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