M-^. ^6^ \N-1V: ' ./ //'•^/- Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2007 with funding from IVIicrosoft Corporation http://www.archive.org/details/adarehanstudyOOwintrich ADA REHAN 'iHT tag? BYAlMt DUPDNT ADA REHAN A STUDY BY WILLIAM WINTER 'Thou foolel' said Love, ' know'st thou not this— In everything that's sweet she isl In yond carnation goe and seek, There shalt thou find her lip and cheek; In that enamel'd pansie by, There thou shalt have her curious eye; In bloom of peach and ro8e''s bud, There waves the streamer of her blood.* • 'Tis true,' said I, and thereupon I went to pluck them, one by one." —Herrick. N^ EDITION REVISED AND ENLARGED PRIVATELY PRINTED FOR AUGUSTIN DALY 1891— 1898 London Niw York Copyright, 1898, by Auoustin Dal7. TO AUGUSTIN DALY WHOSE DISCERNMENT EARLY RECOQNIZED (N ADA REHAN THE PROMISE OF A GREAT CAREER AND WHOSE JUDGMENT AND SKILL AS A THEATRICAL MANAGER WERE WISELY AND GENEROUSLY EXERTED TO GUIDE HER PROGRESS AND TO PROMOTE HER FORTUNES 1 DEDICATE THIS COMMEMORATIVE RECORD OF HER PROFESSIONAL LIFE By friendship prompted, gentle and sincere. Kindness inspires tlie Tribute written here. Detraction might some trivial fault disclose. Exultant o'er a blemish in the rose ; Mine be the joy her beauties to proclaim. And give to distant years her noble fame ; And since so long thy zeal has serv'd her cause, And arm'd her will to win the world's applause, Be it my proud prerogative to twine, Old friend and true, her honor'd name with thin*. William Winter. 239913 PREFACE. This hooh contains a reprint, revised and augmented, of my study of ADA REHAN and her acting, printed in 1891, and circulated under the title of A Daughter of Comedy, In its first form that worTc is out of print, hut the demand for it continues to exist, and therefore an edi- tion comprising all that is essential of the original narra- tive, and bringing the story of Miss Rehan^s achievements and successes down to the present hour, may, perhaps, le received with favor. Within the years since 1891 this ver- satile, brilliant, and sympathetic actress has added to her extensive repertory the Shakespearean characters of Viola, Beatrice, Julia, The Princess of France, and Miranda, with other important characters in old English comedy and in diversified plays of modern origin ; and, while continu- ing earlier triumphs, she has enhanced the authority of her professional position and increased the lustre of her fame. No dramatic artist of our time is more popular, and few performers of any period have served the dramatic art with such resolute zeal and such self-sacrificing devo- Preface, Hon, This record of Ada Rehan^s life and labors, how- ever inadequate it prove as an intellectual appreciation, may yet be deemed sufficiently comprehensive and minute as a theatrical chronicle. As such it is offered, arid also as a tribute to a rare actress, and as the commemoration of a beautiful and beneficent career, in which nothing has been done for vanity, but all for truth. I wish to acknowledge, with thanks, the courtesy of my publishers, the Macmillan Company, in permitting me to use, in the course of this book, some of my writings of which they hold the copyright. W. W. March U, 1898. " Nature is made better by no mean But nature makes that mean : so over that art Which, you say, adds to nature, Is an art That nature makes, . . . This is an art Which does mend nature, — changes it rather,— but The art itself is nature." —Shakespeare. ' The grace of action, the adopted mien. Faithful as Nature to the varied scene'; Th' expressive glance, whose subtle comment draws Entranc'd attention and a mute applause ; Gesture that marks, with force and feeling fraught, A sonse in silence and a will in thought ; Harmonious speecTi, whose pure and liquid tone Gives verse a music scarce confess'd its own- As light from gems assumes a brighter ray And, clothed with orient hues, transcends the day." —Sheridan. " Pity It is that the Momentary beauties flowing from an harmonious elocution cannot, like those of poetry, be their own record ; that the animated graces of the player can live no longer than the instant breath and motion that presents them, or at best can but faintly glimmer through the memory of a few surviving spectators." — CoLLEY Gibber. "As we are men that stand In the broad eye of the world, so should our manners, gestures, and behaviors savor of such government and modesty to deserve the good thoughts and reports of all men. and to abide the sharpest censures even of them that are the greatest opposite to the quality." — Heywood : "Apology for Actors." [1612.] Whoe'er would follow thee, or come but nigh To.thy perfection, must not dance, but fly." — Flecknoe. Imagine something purer far. More free from stain of clay, Than Friendship, Love, or Passion are. Yet human still as they ; And if thy lip. for love like this. No mortal word can frame, Go, ask of Angels what it is. And call it by that name." -^MOORB. Nam tu, que tenuit dives Achaemenes. Aut pinguis Phtygia Mygdonlas opes Permutare veils crine Licymniae, Plenas aut Arabum domos?— Dum flagrantia detorquet ad oscula Cervlcem, aut facili saevitia negat. Quae poscente magis gaudeat eripl, Interdum rapere occupet" — 410KACB. 10 CONTENTS. CHAP. PA8K I. Ada Rehan^s Stags Life, - - - • • . is IL Ada Rehan^s Acting, • - - • • . .23 in. Ada Rkhan as Kathbrine, ... . . . . 53 IV. Ada Rehan as Rosalind, • - • • . . .(MS V. Ada Rbhan as Viola, .••••..79 VI. Ada Rehan as Beatrice, - - • . - « .86 VII. Ada Rehan m Several Shaeespearslan Charactess, • • 90 Vni. Ada Rehan in Old English Comedy, - • . . -lis IX. Ada Rehan as Ladt Teazle, ---•«•• 128 X. Ada Rehan as Julla in " The HtrNOHBACK," - - - - lar ZI. Ada Rehan in Miscellaneous Characters, • - - 182 XII. A Character of Ada Rehan, • • « . • ifig MEMORIALS. I. Chronology of the Life of Ada Rehak, • • • .ISO n. Ada Rehan's Repertory, ...... iot in. The Voice of the Foreign Press, - • • - - 176 rv. Ada Rehan and Tennyson, ----.. 194 V. Ada Rehan in " The Squirb," • - • - « - 19T VI. Ada Rehan and Daly's London Theatwb, - - - - S05 VIL To Ada Beban, --WO ILLUSTRATIONS. PAGE Ada Rehan in 1898. ..----- Frontispiece. Ada Rehan in 1884 (First English Photo), ... - - 17 Sargeant's Portrait of Ada Rehan (1894). - -. - - - 23 Ada Rehan in " The Country Girl," _..--- 31 Ada Rehan in " The Wonder," .._..- 35 Ada Rehan as " Lady Gay Spanker," ------ 42 Ada Rehan as " Jenny O. Jones," ------ 49 Ada Rehan as " Katherine," -------53 Ada Rehan as " Rosalind," ------- 66 Ada Rehan as "Viola," --------79 Ada Rehan as " Beatrice," --_..-- 85 Huntley's Bust of Ada Rehan as " Katherine," ----- 99 Ada Rehan as " Miss Hoyden," .-__-_ uj Van Beer's Portrait of Ada Rehan as " Lady Teazle," - - - - 123 Ada Rehan as "Julia," - - - - - - - 127 Ada Rehan as " Countess Gucki," ------ 132 Ada Rehan as " Pierrot," ------- 147 Ada Rehan with her Bulldog " Phisto," ------ 152 Her Bungak)w at Muncaster, - - - - - - - 156 Ada Rehan in "The Last Word," --__.- 163 Ada Rehan as " Psyche " (1870), - - - - - - 173 Ada Rehan as " Lady Teazle," ------- 192 At Newstead Abbey beside Byron's Monument to his Dog, - - - 1^4 Ada Rehan with her Bulldog " Fun," ------ 1^7 Mr. Punch's Compliment, --.__.- j©^ ADA REHAN. I. ADA EEHAN'S STAGE LIFE. In musing over the fragrant evergreen pages of Gib- ber's delightful book about the stage, and especially in reflecting upon the beautiful and brilliant women who, drawn by his magic pencil, dwell there, perpetual, in life, color and charm, the reflective reader may perhaps be prompted to remember that the royal line of stage beauties is not extinct, and that stage heroines exist in the present day who are quite as well worthy of com- memoration as any that graced the period of Charles II. or of good Queen Anne. Our age, indeed, has no Gibber to describe their loveliness and celebrate their achievements ; but surely if he were living at this hour that courtly, characteristic, sensuous writer, who saw so clearly and could portray so well the peculiarities of the feminine nature, would not deem the period of Ellen Terry, and Ada Rehan,and Sarah Bernhardt unworthy of his pen. As often as fancy ranges over those bright names and others that are kindred with them — a glittering sis- terhood of charms and talents — the regret must arise that 13 Ada Rehm no literary artist with precisely the gallant spirit, the chivalry, the exquisite appreciation, the fine insight, and the pictorial touch of Cibber is extant to perpetuate their glory. The hand that in a few brief lines sketched Eliza- beth Barry, so as to make her live forever, the hand that drew the fascinating portrait of Susanna Mountfort C'DoWn goes her dainty diving body to the ground, as if she were sinking under the conscious load of her own attractions") — what might it not have done, to preserve for the knowledge of future generations the queens of the theatre who are crowned and regnant to-day ! Cibber could have caught and reflected the elusive charm of Ada Eehan. No touch less adroit and felicitous than his can more than suggest her peculiar allurement, her original- ity, and her fascinating because sympathetic and piquant mental and physical characteristics. Ada Kehan, born at Limerick, Ireland, on April 22, 1860, was taken to America when five years old. Her home was in Brooklyn. No one of her progenitors was ever upon the stage, nor does it appear that she was pre- disposed to that vocation by early reading or training. Her elder sisters had adopted the theatre, and perhaps she was impelled toward it by the force of example and domestic association affecting her innate latent faculty for the dramatic art. Her first appearance on the stage was made at Newark, New Jersey, in 1873, in a play en- titled *' Across the Continent," in which she acted a small 14 Early Experience part, named Clara, to fill the place of a performer who had been suddenly disabled by illness. Her readiness and her positive talent were revealed in that effort, and it was thereupon determined, in a family council, that she should embark upon the life of an actress. Her first ap- pearance on the New York stage was made a little later, 1873, at Wood's Museum (it became Daly's Theatre in 1879) when she played a small part in a piece called "Thoroughbred. " During the seasons of 1873-74-75 she was associated with the Arch Street Theatre, Philadelphia, that being her first regular professional engagement. John Drew, with whom, professionally, Ada Kehan was afterward long associated, made his first appearance in the same season and at the same house. She then went to Macaulay's Theatre, Louisville, where she acted for one season. From Louisville she went to Albany, as a mem- ber of Mr. John W. Albaugh's company, and with that manager she remained two seasons, acting sometimes in Albany and sometimes in Baltimore. After that she was for a few months with Miss Fanny Davenport. Early Experience, The earlier part of her career involved professional en- deavors in company with the wandering stars, and she acted in many plays, with Edwin Booth, Adelaide Neil- son, John McCullough, Mrs. Bowers, Lawrence Barrett, John Brougham, Edwin Adams, Mrs. Lander, and John T. Kaymond. From the first she was devotedly fond of 15 JLda Rthan Shakespeare, and all the Shakesperian characters allotted to her were studied and acted by her with eager interest and sympathy. "While employed in the provincial stock she played Ophelia, Cordelia, Desdemona, Celia, Olivia, and Lady Anne, and in each of those parts she was con- spicuously good. The attention of Augustin Daly was first attracted to her in December, 1877, when she was acting in Albany, the play being *'Katherine and Petruchio" (Gar- rick's version of the ''Taming of the Shrew"), and Ada Eehan appearing as Bianca ; and subsequently Mr. Daly again observed her, as an actress of auspicious distinc- tion and marked promise, at the Grand Opera House, New York, in April, 1879. Miss Fanny Davenport was then acting in that theatre, in Mr. Daly's strong Ameri- can play of ''Pique" — one of the few dramas of Ameri- can origin that aptly reflect the character of American domestic life — and Ada Eehan appeared in the part of Mary Standish. She was immediately engaged under Mr. Daly's management, and in May, 1879, she came forth at the Olympic Theatre, New York, as Big Clem- ence, in that author's version of "L'Assommoir. " On September 17, 1879, Daly's Theatre, was opened, upon its present site, the southwest corner of Thirtieth Street and Broadway, and Ada Eehan made her first appearance there, enacting the part of Nelly Beers, in a play called "Love's Young Dream." The opening bill comprised that piece, together with a comedy by Olive Logan, en- 16 • • * cc c e HER FIRST ENGLISH PICTURE (1884) In Amerimi and Europe titled ** Newport. " On September 30 a revival of ''Divorce/' one of Mr. Daly's most fortunate plays, was effected, and Ada Eehan impersonated Miss Lu Ten Eyck — a part originally acted (1873) by Fanny Davenport. In America and Europe. From tbat time to this (1898) Ada Eehan has remained the leading lady at Daly's Theatre; and there she has become one of the most admired figures upon the con- temporary stage. In professional visits to Europe, act- ing in London, Paris, Edinburgh, Dublin, Berlin, and other cities, she has pleased judicious audiences, and has augmented her renown. Mr. Daly took his company of comedians to London, for the first time, in 1884, when they filled an engagement of six weeks at Toole's Theatre, beginning July 19. Their second visit to London was made two seasons later, when they acted for nine weeks at the Strand Theatre, beginning May 27, 1886. At that time they also played in the English provinces, and they visited Germany — acting at Hamburg and at Berlin, where they were much admired and commended. They likewise made a trip to Paris. Their third season abroad began at the Lyceum Theatre, London, May 3, 1888, and it included another expedition to the French capital, which was well rewarded. Ada Rehan at that time im- personated Shakespeare's Shrew. In that season she appeared at Stratford-upon-Avon, where Mr. Daly gave 17 Ada Behan a performance, August 3, 1888, in the Shakespeare Memorial Theatre, for the benefit of that institution. The fourth season of Daly's comedians in London began on June 10, 1890, at the Lyceum Theatre, and lasted ten weeks; and this was signalized by Ada Eehan's imper- sonation of Eosalind. The fifth London season extended from September 9 to November 13, 1891, and was played at the Lyceum. In 1893 Miss Kehan gave the opening performance at Daly's London Theatre, the cornerstone of which she had laid, October 30, 1891, and acted for seven weeks to crowded houses. In September of the same year she again appeared at the same theatre, and she con- tinued to act there until May, 1894, giving one hundred and three performances of Viola, in ''Twelfth Night," and sixty -four of Lady Teazle in "The School for Scan- dal." In 1895, at Daly's Theatre, she brought forward the neglected comedy of **The Two Gentlemen of Verona," and gave marked distinction to the character of Julia, and also she gained great success in the more modern and well-known Julia of Knowles' fine play of **The Hunchback." In 1896 she filled a short engage- ment at the Comedy Theatre, London, presenting the unique comedy from the German, called ''The Coun- tess Gucki," written expressly for her by Von Schon- than. On August 26, 1897, she acted Rosalind in an out-of-door representation of "As You Like It," at Strat- ford-upon-Avon. The performance began in the garden 18 Characteristic Attributes of the Memorial Theatre, but, being interrupted by rain, it was finished upon the stage. It was given for the benefit of the Memorial, and, as the gift of Miss Eehan exceeded one hundred pounds, she was made one of the life governors of that institution. She subsequently acted at Newcastle, Nottingham, Birmingham, Edinburgh, Glas- gow, Islington (London), Liverpool, and Manchester, giv- ing, in each place, "'The Taming of the Shrew," "'The School for Scandal," ''As You Like It," ''The Last Word, ' ' and ' ' Twelfth Night. ' * The capacity to represent equally well such varied characters as Katherine, Lady Teazle, Rosalind, Vera Bouraneff and Viola denotes a deep heart and extraordinary sincerity of mind and of artistic resource ; but the reader who would adequately estimate Ada Eehan 's versatility has only to consider the list of parts which have been played by her, comprised in a later chapter of this volume. Those parts range from Rosalind to Tilburina, from Viola to Lady Gay Spanker, from Oriana to Miss Hoyden, from Katherine to Nisbe, from Meg Merrilies to Miranda, and they implicate almost every possible contrast, alike of personality and of dra- matic style. Characteristic Attributes, This is a brief outline of her professional story; but how little of the actual life of an actor can be imparted in a record of the surface facts of a public career I There 19 Ada Behcm is deep feeling beneath the luminous and sparkling sur- face of Ada Rehan's art; but it is chiefly with mirth that she has touched the public heart and affected the pub- lic experience. In a civilization and at a period wherein persons are customarily accepted for what they pretend to be, instead of being seen and understood for what they are, she has been content to take an unpretentious course, to be original and simple, and thus to allow her faculties to ripen and her character to develop in a natural manner. She has not vaunted herself, but when a thoughtful observer's attention is called to her unique personality and superlative worth, he instantly perceives how large a place Ada Rehan fills in the public mind, how conspicuous a figure she is upon the contemporary stage, and how difficult it is to explain and classify her, whether as an artist or a woman. That blending of complexity with transparency always imparts to individual life a tinge of piquant interest, because it is one denotement of the temperament of genius. The poets of the world pour themselves through all subjects by the use of their words. In what manner they are affected by the forces of nature, its influences of gen- tleness and peace or its vast pageants of beauty and terror, those words denote ; and also those words indicate the action, upon their responsive spirits, of the passions that agitate the human heart. The actors, on the other hand, assuming to be the interpreters of the poets, must 20 CJiaracteristic Attributes pour themselves through all subjects by the use of their personality. They are to be estimated, accordingly, by whatever the competent observer is able to perceive of the nature and the faculties they reveal under the stress of emotion, tragic or comic. Perhaps it is not possible, mind being limited in its function, for any person to make a full, true, and definite summary of another. To view a dramatic performance with a consciousness of the necessity of forming a judicial opinion of it is often to see one's own thought about it rather than the thing itself. Yet, when all allowance is made for difficulty of theme and for infirmity of judgment, the observer of Ada Rehan may surely conclude that she has a rich, tender and sparkling nature, in which the dreamlike quality of sentiment and the discursive faculty of imagination, in- timately blended with deep, broad and accurate percep- tions of the actual, and with a fund of keen and saga- cious sense, are reinforced with strong individuality and with affluent and extraordinary vital force. Ada Rehan has followed no traditions. She went to the stage not because of vanity but because of spontaneous impulse ; and for the expression of every part that she has played she has gone to nature, and not to precept and precedent. The stamp of her personality is upon everything that she has done ; yet the thinker who looks back upon her num- erous and various impersonations is astonished at their diversity. The impetuous passion of Katherine, the 21 Ada Behan brilliant raillery of Hippolyta, the enchanting woman- hood of Eosalind — how clear-cut, how distinct, how ab- solutely dramatic was each one of those personifications! and yet how completely characteristic each one was of this individual actress! Our works of art may be subject to the application of our knowledge and skill, but we ourselves are under the dominance of laws which operate out of the inaccessible and indefinable depths of the spirit. Ada Eehan is a prodigy of original force. Her influence, accordingly, has been felt more than it has been understood, and being elusive and strange, has prompted wide differences of opinion. The sense that she diffuses of a simple, unselfish, patient nature, and of impulsive tenderness of heart, however, cannot have been missed by anybody with eyes to see. And she crowns all by speak- ing the English language with a beauty that has seldom been equaled. « o „« .«« SARGEAXTS PORTRAIT OF ADA REHAN (1S95) n. ADA KEHAN'S ACTING. Comparative Futility of Words. In the records that remain of the famous women of the stage there is but little that interprets, and there is nothing that perpetuates, their charm. The biographies, for example, that commemorate Mrs. Porter, Mrs. Pritch- ard, Mrs. Bracegirdle, Mrs. Oldfield, Mrs. Dancer, Mrs. Gibber, Mrs. Woffington, Mrs. Yates, and Mrs. Siddons, while they are profuse and sometimes enthusiastic in specification of the exploits and the particular triumphs of those illustrious actors, may be said to designate the secret of their power rather than to display it. When all has been told that words can tell of those delicious combinations of genius and beauty, there is still some- thing which remains untold. The enchanting allurement of eyes and voice, the fascination of individuality, the charm of temperament, the puissant sympathetic force, the spell of inspiration — those attributes cannot be crystallized into the written word. The biographer can only declare that they existed ; their magical loveliness 23 Ada Rehan and their triumpliant sway must be imagined by the reader. Whenever those attributes are present in a per- son who can be seen and heard they are hailed with acclamation ; but they perish even with the plaudits they excite. The past exulted in many dramatic idols; the present has inherited only their names. So it has ever been, and so it will be forever. Admirable dramatic leaders of the present will doubtless be known to the future, but they will be known as shadows. Their fame may fly onward : the reason for it will remain behind. What words can transmit to posterity the smile of Ellen Terry or the voice of Ada Rehan ? Versatility and Range. The pictorial art has done much for actors — more than could be done for them by the art of writing. The best understood and most admired actor of the past is David Garrick ; and that is mainly because many portraits were made of him, which still survive — most of them good, and many of them superbly illuminative of what must indeed have been an enchanting face. To the pictorial art, accordingly, judgment, taste, and friendship will resort when they are wishful to commemorate an actor. Portraits of Ada Rehan would tell more about her than can be told in words, for they would take a wide range, and therein they would denote the versatility which is one of her prominent characteristics. They would show 24 Versatility and Range her Iq heroines of Shakespeare; in the women of old English comedy; in characters of modern comedy — a theatrical fabric much tinged with farce — and in char- acters that are almost tragical. She has assumed more than two hundred and fifty characters since she went upon the stage. She has been eminently successful, and the field of thought in which, obviously, she must have deeply studied, is extensive, diversified and important ; so that her success is an eloquent denotement of her elemen- tal power and her various ability. In the experience of Ada Rehan, however, as in that of other actors, it has been found that the dramatic faculty becomes, in time, defined and restricted, as to its natural and therefore its best expression, by peculiarities and limitations of tem- perament, which assign it to special types of human nature and to various modifications of them. Miss Rehan did not begin at the top, but humbly, in a minor character and at a provincial theatre ; and from that lowly station she has risen to the rank of leading woman in the leading theatre of America, and one of the leading thea- tres of Europe — a high position and one that rests upon a foundation of more solid achievement than many of the stars of this period have found essential to their fame. In that progress she has developed an original and bril- liant personality, and by her natural aptitude for the mood of buoyant raillery which plays over a depth of ten- 25 Ada Eehan der feeling she has proved herself born for the province of the comedian. Growth of the American Stage. The American stage, as a national institution, has only of late years become an independent power. It was built by British actors. The moment you begin to inquire into the origin of the dramatic luminaries of the first century of the American theatre you are surprised to find how many of them were wanderers from the British Isles ; and even within the last fifty years the record shows a steady and continuous influx of the dramatic spirit of the motherland. Among those actors who have exer- cised special influence upon the American stage since 1750 scarcely more than a score could be named who were born in America. "With the advent of Edwin For- rest and Charlotte Cushman the tide began to turn, and since then the theatre in America has expanded and arisen under the influence of such native-born Americans as Edwin L. Davenport, Edwin Booth, William Warren, Joseph Jefferson, Lawrence Barrett, Lester Wallack, John Gilbert, Edwin Adams, Genevieve Ward, Mary Anderson and Fanny Davenport. One of the most dis- tinctive products of the American stage in our generation is Miss Clara Morris, but Miss Morris was born in Canada. The Irish Temperament. Ada Rehan, a still more distinctively American prod- 26 An Impressive PersonaUty uct, is a native of Ireland. She was, however, brought to America when a child, and in America she has had her experience and gained her place. Like many other spar- ^ Ming persons born in the land of Goldsmith and Woffing- ton, Miss Eehan has that temperament of tremulous sensi- bility which oscillates between smiles and tears ; but, un- like many of her tumultuous compatriots, she has a finely balanced mind and that complete mental control of her faculties and her artistic resources which is the main con- ] stituent of formative character. Her performances, therefore, have not only captured the heart of her time but have convinced its judgment. They are veritable impersonations, and they are much diversified, but they a"e strongly marked — as they ought to be — with the individualism of the actor, and this gives to them their chief value. An Impressive PersonaUty. Many actors, like many writers, leave their works, as they pass through the world, much as a carpenter might leave af abric of his craft that had been purchased from him. Such actors put nothing of themselves into their art. The product of their effort may be useful, but it is colorless and cold, and no one regards it or remembers it. Ada Kehan has been exceptional for intense earnestness and self-devotion. Each part that she has undertaken has been permeated with something of herself, m^ hm been / »7 k' Ada Behan played as well as she could possibly play it. Her soul is given to her profession, and the nature of the woman herself is discerned in that of the character that she represents. Exigent observers of acting have been known to object to that sincerity in an actor, maintain- ing that the only true actor is he who utterly sinks his identity and comes on so well disguised that he cannot be recognized. That might be a valuable accomplish- ment in a detective policeman, but it is a trivial accom- plishment in a dramatic artist. The faculty of taking on many shapes is one of the primitive faculties, and it makes a good mimic ; but expertness in the assumption of disguises is not skill in the personification of char- acter. The interpreter of human nature must go deeper than that. Neither is it ever desirable that an actor should so far be obscured in what he represents that his spiritual identity, his personal quality, shall disappear. The woman who plays Juliet must represent Juliet's love, not her own ; yet it is with her own voice, her own eyes, her own demeanor and waj'^s, that she must represent this, and the passion of her own heart, the glow of her own spirit, the charm of her own personality, must enter into the emotion and into the personality that she assumes to portray. Murillo painted many contrasted subjects, but every painting by Murillo bears the unmistakable stamp of his individualism, and would be worthless without it. A true actor will show you many different 28 Shakespeare's Shrew persons, but in one respect they will be the same — and ought to be the same — in the pervasive and dominant attribute of his own genius. The quality that makes a performance specifically and distinctively that of Ellen Terry, or Sarah Bernhardt, or Ada Kehan must be present, or the performance may as well be that of somebody else — a wooden image, for example, that is worked with strings. Shakespeare's Shrew. Ada Rehan possesses not only the art to personify but the power to impress herself upon her embodiments; and, therefore, whoever remembers the matchless figure of Shakespeare's Katherine that she has set upon the stage will also remember the imperial presence, the impas- sioned face, the gray eyes flashing with pride and scorn or melting with tenderness, the fine freedom of graceful demeanor, the supple beauty of movement, and the ex- quisite loveliness of voice which combine in the investi- ture that the actress gave to the part, and which are the close denotements of her own personality. Originality and Charm. The characters that have been represented by Ada ^Rehan since 1874 would make a long list, and that list .would indicate, as nothing else can do, the versatility of Ithe actress, and the drift, variety, and scope of her study and experience. Resolute but not presumptuous cour- 29 Ada Behan C age is one of the characteristic virtues of this artist, [ and she has not hesitated to attempt new characters or to 1 assume old ones, however difficult or however renowned. Her mental attitude is that of a mind that thinks for itself. The veteran actors, indeed, with whom she has been from time to time associated — Edwin Booth, Law- rence Barrett, John McCullough, John T. Kaymond, Charles Fisher, Adelaide Neilson and Mrs. G. H. Gilbert — have imparted to her the traditional "business" of many plays. It is in that way that the traditions are pre- served. Her manager, Augustin Daly, a close observer and a diligent and practical student of the theatre during many years of active relationship with its affairs, has also aided in her professional education. Many actors re- ceive benefits of tluit kind, in their upward progress, which some of them are slow to appreciate and quick to forget. Miss Eehan understands them and has been heard to express her deep sense of their value. Such help has doubtless facilitated her advancement, but in the main her conquest has been due to personal charm, originality of mind, acute and winning sensibility, abundant animal spirits, a gleeful disposition, affluent personal beauty, and the spontaneous custom of looking at character with her own eyes and acting each part in a '■ natural manner. Natural Method. { A great merit of the acting of Miss Rehan is its free- 30 IN "THE COUNTRY GIRL' Natural Method dom from affectation. Her old comedy performances have afforded conspicuous illustration of that merit, and of her custom of going directly to the author's text for > fr his meaning and directly Jto nature for the inspiration of ' her art. ■ To be simple and natural upon the stage of to- j ' day, in compositions so local and particular as those of Vanbrugh, Wycherly, Cibber, and Farquhar, is not "a property of easiness, ' ' yet Miss Rehan has embodied Miss Hoyden, Peggy Thrift, Hippolyta, Sylvia, and Oriana, and she has made those parts appreciable to contemporary intelligence and sympathetic with modern taste. No . actress has a happier faculty or a more flexible method of infusing her personal vitality into the old forms. "The Country Wife," that Wycherly 's silken skill em- broidered upon the satire of Moliere, had to be greatly modified before she could be shown to the fastidious audience of a later day. Garrick converted her into ''The Country Girl," and Augustin Daly refined the tex- ture of the Garrick fabric before introducing her upon the American stage. The result was a pure and deli- ciously comical image of demurely mischievous girlhood, [ and that was personified by Miss Rehan in a mood of 1 bewitching ingenuousness and rippling frolic. The ideal '\ is that of an apparently simple girl, who, in practice of j the harmless wiles of love and courtship, comically de- velops a sudden and astonishing dexterity. The mixture of candor and quaintness in Miss Rehan 's manner, giving 31 Ada Behan zest to exuberant personal charms, invested that perform- ance with a singular fascination. Old English Comedy. In producing those old English comedies the manager found it essential to alter each one of them in some par- ticulars. Adverting to the lax times when they were written, the spectator is not surprised at that precau- tionary exercise of prudence and taste. '*The Country Wife" dates back to 1675; ''The Inconstant," to 1702; "She Would and She Wouldn't," to 1703; "The Kecruit- ing Officer," to 1705, and "The Critic," to 1781. In his arrangement of "The Critic" Mr. Daly used many additions that originated with Charles Mathews, whose incisive, trenchant, sapient impersonation of Mr. Puff will not be forgotten by any one who had the privilege of seeing it; but while "The Critic," as Sheridan con- structed it, on the basis, to some extent, of Bucking- ham's "Eehearsal," is an ample three-act piece, Mr. Daly's version is condensed into one act. It was pre- sented at Daly's Theatre on December 26, 1888, as an afterpiece, and it met with much favor. Changes in that work are made merely on the ground of expediency, and not as a matter of either morality or taste. It has long been the custom to introduce local "gags" into "The Critic," and to vary its nomenclature, according to the company that might happen to be representing it. In that way the apposite significance of the farce is pre- 32 From Burlesque to Drama served for each succeeding generation. When the Duke of Buckingham produced ''The Rehearsal" (it was begun in 1663 but was not brought out till 1671), he directed its chief shaft of satire against Dryden, who was imaged in the character of Bayes. When Sheridan produced '*The Critic," he ridiculed his contemporary, Richard Cumberland, who is indicated in Sir Fretful Plagiary. But no drift of that sort animates the play for later times ; and in order that it may be made significant and piquant to a contemporary audience its satirical mirth is poured upon false methods in acting as well as upon false taste in composition. The vanity of actors and the absurd side of stage tradition are made ridiculous in it, nor is it devoid of an implication of satire upon the caprice and the dullness possible to an audience. From Burlesque to Drama. Miss Rehan, as Tilburina, proved herself possessed of the true instinct and faculty of burlesque, for in the act- ing of that part she maintained an air of intense earnest- ness amounting to positive solemnitj^ ; she was seemingly both passionate and pathetic ; and she uttered the bom- bastic nonsense of Tilburina 's inflated speeches with profound and fervid sincerity. Her quick lapses from the tragic manner to that of petulant impatience and common- place colloquy had an irresistible effect, equally of truth and of involuntary humor. The faculty that especially 33 Ada Rehan appertains to an actor, that of assuming character and emotion at will, was conspicuously illustrated in that fine performance; for in Tilburina's mad scene, as also in that of Farquhar's Oriana, Miss Rehan displayed a degree of feeling and put forth a quality of power that would be appropriate, and not inadequate, even to the delicate, beautiful, exacting part of Ophelia. That is the true way, as Frederick Robson proved, to play burlesque. It is an old story that the best comedian is an actor of deep heart and serious disposition. When Miss Rehan embodied M'lle Rose, the priest's sister, in M. Coppee's striking drama of "The Prayer," (February 25, 1890) no one acquainted with her nature was surprised at the ele- mental passion, the pathos, and the almost tragic force with which she expressed a devoted woman's experience of affliction, misery, delirious resentment, self-conquest, self-abnegation, forgiveness, and fortitude. Miss Rehan is not a tragic actress, but she has more power, because deeper feeling, than many serious players of the day, who probably would designate her as gentle and weak. Quin 's remark about Mrs. Cibber, when Garrick expressed to him a doubt that she could play Shakespeare's Constance, might well be applied to Miss Rehan: "That woman," he cried, "has a heart, and can do anything where passion is required." Sensibility and Tenderness. Yet it is not distinctively in characters of passion that 34 Sensibility and Tenderness Miss Kehan has gained her fame. Helena and Kather- ine, indeed, are passionate persons, but not in the sense in which Constance is passionate, or Juliet, or Queen Margaret, or Otway's Belvidera, or Congreve's Zara. In Helena, who is not less noble than affectionate, the violent infatuation of love for Demetrius, struggling against self-esteem and prevailing over reticence of char- acter and maidenly reserve, creates a state of grieved passion, not less afflicting to its victim than touching to her sympathetic observers. Miss Eehan struck that note with perfect precision, and it is seldom that the stage presents such a form of gentle, forlorn, and winning sweetness and beauty as the Helena of that actress was, when seeking to break away from the wrangle of the lovers in the forest, dejected and submissive, asking only that she might be allowed to go, and saying, in the soft accents of hopeless sorrow, '*You see how simple and how fond I am. ' ' In Katherine the passion is confused ; it mingles many ingredients ; but chiefly it is that of a tumultuous and explosive temper. A strong woman every way, Katherine at first revolts against every sort of curb or control, and especially against the sweet, lov- ing, ardent impulses inherent in her own nature. There is tremendous vehemence in Katherine, but also there is incipient tenderness, and, therefore, there is self-con- flict; and it was a special and signal beauty of Miss Rehan's impersonation of Katherine, that she indicated 35 Ada Behan this, by subtle denotements, and was not merely a -whirl- wind of combative rage. All the passion that is war- ranted, or that could be desired, was expressed ; but the crown of the assumption was a woman-like charm — an admixture of tremulous sensibility and kind, caressing, cherishing ardor and goodness; the something that makes a woman's love the best blessing that there is in human life. Not Tragedy Queen but Woman. That attribute, more than the attribute of passion, is the predominant and distinctive characteristic of Miss Kehan's dramatic art. No one would expect her to pros- per in the sanguinary queens of the ancient classic stage, or in the empurpled criminals of modern melodrama. For such a nature the Medeas and Phsedras, the Theodoras and Toscas, are out of the question. It is woman in her lovelier aspects that is portrayed by Miss Eehan ; woman at her best that is suggested by her; and her success is the more honorable to herself, and the more beneficent to the public, for that reason. One of the most woman- like of all the women that have been drawn in old comedy is Farquhar's Oriana, and Miss Kehan's performance of that part was in her best manner. Oriana is skillful in coquetry, and she makes a dexterous use of many wiles, in order to subdue and capture the restless, capricious, vagrant spirit of the exigent, adventurous, roving Mira- 36 Boy Characters bel ; but she dearly loves him, she would die for him, and she becomes heroic and splendid in his service — saving his life by her indomitable nerve and discreet and expeditious energy. Boy Characters. In male attire, which she assumes in Oriana, Sylvia, Hippolyta, Peggy Thrift, Viola, and Kosalind, Miss Rehan is particularly captivating; and, indeed, the spec- tator is surprised at the number and variety of male peculiarities that she is able to imitate. Her assumption of the swaggering gallant, when Sylvia puts on man's apparel, would bewitch the sternest judgment. No one, since the halcyon days of Mrs. Barrow and Mrs. Wood, has approximated to her brilliancy of expression of the gay audacity and elegant insolence of Hippolyta, when masquerading as Don Philip, and denouncing him as an impostor, in the home of Don Manuel. Yet, after all, even in male attire, and when meeting the exigencies of the scene by pretending to be a man, it is the intrinsic charm of her womanhood that illumines her art and in- vests it with the authentic attribute of enchantment. That charm is of rare opulence and variety; not readily designated; not to be put into words; and Miss Rehan's rapid conquest and secure retention of public favor, in the capitals of the new world and of the old, is explained by it. 37 Ada Behan Hosalind, When she assumed Rosalind, that potentiality of per- sonal fascination made her immediately successful in that character — of all Shakespeare's women the one that ought to be the most readily understood, and yet is the most frequently in controversy. Her way of acting that part was to be a gleeful yet loving woman, and not a poetical conceit or a metaphysical abstraction. Rosa- lind is not ''of the earth, earthy," but neither is she made of mist and moonbeams. The blood dances merrily in her veins, and the fires of ardent desire equally with the glad lights of happy mirth sparkle in her eyes. She is a lover and not ashamed of her love — which, indeed, like everything else about her, is natural, simple, spon- taneous and pure. It is the vain effort to rear upon the basis of Shakespeare's text, in "As You Like It," a super- structure of vague, ethereal, elusive, strained, complex character and recondite meaning that has perplexed the stage ideal of Rosalind and made it seem almost inac- cessible. But the cloudy refinements that theory has cast about the part are nowhere to be found in the play. Miss Rehan's simple method of treating it was therefore a great refreshment. She was naturally noble and free. She made no declaration of superiority and had no need to announce that her intentions were virtuous. Her demeanor showed not the slightest trace of that self-con- 38 Rosalind sciousness which creates indelicacy in parts of this order. She was the image of youth, beauty, happiness, merri- ment, and of an absorbing and triumphant love. When she dashed through the trees of Arden, snatching the verses of Orlando from their boughs, and cast herself at the foot of a great elm, to read those fond messages that Rosalind's heart instantly and instinctively ascribes to their right source, her gray eyes were brilliant with ten- der joy; her cheeks were flushed ; her whole person, in its graceful abandonment of posture, seemed to express an ecstasy of happy vitality and of victorious delight; her hands that held the written scrolls trembled with eager, tumultuous, grateful joy; the voice with which she read her lover's words made soft cadences of them and seemed to caress every syllable; and as the last rhyme, ** Let no face be kept in mind. But the fair of Rosalind," ^ fell from her lips, like a drop of liquid silver, the exqui- site music of her speech seemed to die away in one soft sigh of pleasure. "While, however, she thus denoted the passionate heart of Rosalind and her ample bliss of sensa- tion and exultant yet tender pride of conquest, she never once relaxed the tension of her glee. In an ordinary representation of *'As You Like It," the interest com- monly declines after the third act, if not earlier, from 39 Ada Eehan lack of exuberant physical vitality and of the propulsive force of sympathetic mirth in Eosalind. When Ada Eehan played the part the performance only grew richer and merrier as it proceeded — developing the exuberant nature and glad experience of a loving and enchanting woman who sees the whole world suffused with golden light, irradiated from her own happy heart, her healthful and brilliant mind, her buoyant spirit and inexhaustible goodness and joy. Glamour of Beauty and Genius. There are many actors of whom the playgoer thinks with interest and mild approbation, but it is only of the few that he thinks with enthusiasm. Ada Eehan is one of the few, and always the mention of her name awakens a thrill of sympathy. Beauty, genius, a kind heart, and rare technical skill — things seldom united in one person — are united in her, and those attributes, in their union, constitute a power such as must always play a serious part in human affairs. Practical minds may despise and contemn the idea of sentiment as to an actress ; but each succeeding generation of youth has its heroines of the stage, who exert upon it, at the most sensitive and sus- ceptible period of life — coloring its ideals, affecting its ambitions, and aiding to form its character — an influence both profound and permanent. Anne Bracegirdle pos- sessed a prodigious power of that kind, in her day, and 40 A Potent Influence for Good so, at a later time, did Peg Woffington and Sarah Sid- dons and Dora Jordan and Ellen Tree and Adelaide Neil- son. There is scarcely a memoir of a distinguished man within the last hundred years that does not show him, at an early, and sometimes at a late period of his career, in subservience to the spell of genius and art diffused from the stage by a beautiful woman. Even so greatly intel- lectual a man as Matthew Arnold has recorded that he followed from city to city, in order to see Kachel. A Potent Influence for Good. How essential it is that this artistic influence should be noble every thinker will at once feel and concede, for its consequences are momentous and endless. The time is blessed beyond its knowledge of its own welfare that is favored with such an actress as Ada Eehan. If thirty years had passed away and she had become a memory instead of being what she now is, a lovely and beneficent presence, there would be no reluctance in the general admission of the truth. The word that then would be said with pensive regret may now, accordingly, be said with grateful admiration. For the people of her own generation this actress is a representative image and an authentic voice. Her experience becomes to some extent their experience, and her testimony as to each ele- mental impulse and feeling of human nature, transmitted through the potencies of acting, largely contributes to 41 Ada Behan shape their views and establish their convictions. For many a day the standard of dramatic art that she has erected in Shakespeare's Eosalind and in Farquhar's Oriana, in Lady Teazle and Letitia Hardy, will maintain itself with inexorable authority upon the stage, while the ideals of passionate and tender womanhood that she has embodied in such characters as Katherine, Helena, and Viola, Sister Kose, Kate Verity, and Knowles' Julia will crystallize in the popular imagination and enkindle and charm the popular heart. Shakespeare's Mrs. Ford. Another Shakespearian character in which Miss Rehan proved proficient and charming is Mrs. Ford, in "The Merry Wives of Windsor." That piece, among Shakespeare's comedies, is perhaps the most modern and contemporaneous. In that play a couple of sprightly women undertake and accomplish the discom- fiture of a vicious, presumptuous, ridiculous suitor. Such a frolic might be possible at any time and in any place. The two wives, Mrs. Ford and Mrs. Page, are virtuous women, but they are not fastidious. Mrs, Ford is a ripe, buxom, captivating woman, overflowing with animal spirits and fond of innocent mischief — in the ex- pedients of which she is fertile and dexterous. She looks upon the amorous Falstaff with an amused tolerance which scarcely amounts to contempt. She will thor- 42 AS "LADY GAY SPANKER" c c c t c c Animal Spirits in Comedy oughly fool and rebuke him/and will throw him aside with precisely the sort of punishment that will plunge him into absurdity and humiliation. But she is not mali- cious, neither does she harbor resentment. The right personification of Mrs. Ford involves innate purity and spontaneous, unequivocal moral worth, combined with a buoyant spirit of frolicsome mischief, and an arch, de- mure, piquant manner. Miss Eehan entered fully into the spirit of the part and flashed through the piece like a sunbeam. The reality of that embodiment was espe- cially vital. In Mrs. Ford, as in Sylvia, Miss Kehan pre- sented a woman in whom an exuberant and sportive animal life transcends all other attributes. Animal Spirits in Comedy. And, indeed, one way or another, subject to various modifications, that element enters into all of her comedy assumptions, particularly the blooming damsels and spirited widows of the comedy of to-day. Doris, in ''An International Match,'* and Nisbe, in ''A Night Off,** are good types of the eager, sprightly, happy girl whom she portrays with infectious buoyancy and in the sponta- neous, flexible, limpid drift of nature. Valentine Osprey, in "The Eailroad of Love," embodies that personality in even a more substantial form, and interfuses it with pas- sionate emotion. In Nisbe there is latent mischief com- mingled with an artful assumption of girlish coyness. 43 Ada Behan In Yalentine a deep heart is veiled beneath an almost reckless gayety of t»anner, and much tenderness of feel- ing becomes visible through an outward guise of raillery and gleeful indifference. Miss Eehan's expression of the resentment of offended pride and wounded love, in the scene of the misunderstanding in that piece, is remem- bered for its splendid sincerity, its fine fervor, and its absolute simplicity of art. "The Railroad of Love.'' The play treats of an impending breach between two sincere lovers and of the happy chance by which that catastrophe was averted. An impulsive woman, momen- tarily persuaded that her suitor is a mercenary adven- turer, has sent a harsh letter of dismissal to him, and then has ascertained that her doubt was unfounded and unworthy; whereupon she perceives the imperative necessity that her letter, which by chance has not reached him, should be recovered. Her plan is to detain him during her quest for that dreaded epistle, which she will obtain and destroy, so that he may never know how unjust and how cruel her thoughts have been. The struc- ture of the situation rests on unwarranted panic — since Valentine might take for granted her lover's pardon — but the situation itself is fraught with formidable signifi- cance and suffused with passionate excitement. Miss Rehan made it important and impressive. Her denote- 44 Always a Winning Woman rnent of the conflict of passion when writing the letter lifted Valentine quite to the high level of Julia in a kin- dred passage in '*The Hunchback," while her subse- quent contrition and dismay, her effort to subdue a feverish apprehension, and to conceal her anxiety under a playful manner, together with her grieved yet gay trepidation while imposing upon her lover the frivolous task of doing a bit of embroidery, were all made conflu- ent in a current of singular sweetness and were swathed in the tremulous April atmosphere of smiles and tears. Altogether that assumption of character, not inaptly representative of contemporary young women in the sentimental aspect of their lives, was remarkable equally for the variety and sparkle of its constituent parts and for the mingled force and piquancy of its art ; for it was an image of airy banter, satirical raillery, piquant arch- ness, demure mischief, pungent sarcasm, irrational, tan- talizing, delicious feminine caprice, nobility of mind, and passionate ardor of heart. Always a Winning Woman. In the centuries that have passed since the drama be- gan to bear witness to human nature and social life, woman has been the same creature of infinite variety, and often inexplicable complexity, herself creative and there- fore unconsciously participant in the insoluble myster3' of creation ; but in each succeeding period woman has 4$ Ada Rehan existed as a social type with distinguishing traits and characteristics. In the present period she conspicuously shows the attributes that are crystallized in Miss Rehan 's embodiment of maids like Doris and dames like Valen- tine. The heroines of modern comedy are seen to act from the same motives and to pursue the same objects that impel and attract the heroines of Cibber, Farquhar, Mrs. Centlivre, Mrs. Inchbald, and Sheridan; yet they are essentially of a different order of thought and man- ner. The heroine of to-day does not pique her roving swain by getting into male attire and facing him down as an impostor; neither does she pretend to be a piteous lunatic in order to lure him out of his intrenchments ; but she loves as dearly, she is just as expert, whether in hiding her love or in showing it, she is just as wishful to captivate, and she is just as fitful and capricious as any Hippolyta, or Oriana, or Sylvia, or Mrs. Sullen, or Vio- lante, or Lydia Languish, that ever sparkled on the re- mote British stage. The successful stage representative of woman proves true to the specific character of her time as well as to the elemental and permanent character of her sex. She does not live in the study but in the world. Her works are personifications and not historical antiquities. Miss Rehan might not succeed in reproducing such fantastic women as often were drawn by Jonson and Dryden, but any woman of the old comedy who is really a 46 Power and Skill of Impersonation woman would become as vital and sympathetic in her] embodiment as if she were living in the actual world of} to-day. It is for the lecturer to expound; it is for the] actor to interpret. Miss Kehan, like her great and re- nowned sister in dramatic art, Ellen Terry — the most dis- tinctively poetic actress of this century, in any language, or in any land — possesses the power to personify and can give the touch of reality. The young women of to- ^ day see themselves in Ada Kehan 's portrayals of them. J The young men of to-day recognize in those portrayals the fulfillment of that ideal of sensuous sentiment, piquant freedom, and impetuous ardor, combined with rich beauty of person and negligent elegance of manner, which they account the perfection of womanhood, and upon which their fancy dwells with supreme content. That this lovely actress can move easily in the realm of the imagination is proved by her fluent and sparkling performances of Eosalind and Viola ; but it is more sig- nificant for the great body of contemporary playgoers that she can speak in the voice, and look through the eyes, and interpret the spirit of the passing hour. Power and Skill of Impersonation. Among the incidental yet notable performances that have been given by Miss Behan there are two which strongly suggested her exceptional versatility. One of them is Xantippe, in "The Wife of Socrates;" the other 47 Ada Behan ^f is Jenny O'Jones, in "Red Letter Nights." The first of ' those pieces is a bit of blank-verse dialogue, written by Mr. Justin H. McCarthy, upon the basis of a French piece, by M. Theodore de Banville. It was produced at Daly's Theatre, New York, on October 30, 1888. Miss Rehan wore a robe of golden silk, and her noble, alert head was crowned with an aureole of red hair. Xantippe, resentful of the perfect composure of Socrates, scolds and storms till, in the tempest of her passion, she is suddenly thrown into a syncope, w^hereupon she is thought to be dead. But while she is recovering from that swoon she hears the sorrowful, affectionate protes- tations of love that are uttered by her husband, and per- ceiving his sincerity, devotion, and sweetness, and her own unwomanlike violence and acrimony of temper, she changes from a shrew to a meek and loving woman. ' Miss Eehan acted that part in a strain of passionate im- j- petuosity, and, at times, with fine sarcasm. Her elocu- I L tion was uncommonly sweet. Her action was marked by incessant and piquant variety. She flashed from one mood to another, and placed many phases of the feminine nature in vivid contrast. The embodiment was one of sumptuous personal beauty, and after the storm of shrew- ish rage and turbulent jealousy had spent its force, the portrayal closed with the suggestion of a lovely ideal of nobility and gentleness. When there is a close corre- spondence between the temperament of the actor and the 48 .'' ! ! < ? c.« , . : ; AS "JENNY O'JONES" Power and Skill of Impersonation temperament of the part that is represented, a greater freedom of expression is naturally reached. That corre- spondence existed in the culminating passage of that play, between Miss Rehan and the conquered Xantippe ; and her success was triumphant. In dealing with the shrewish aspect of the part she obeyed the same subtle impulse that she had wisely followed in her treatment of Shakespeare's Katherine : the dress was made to harmo- nize with the spirit of its wearer. Her shrew was red- haired, high-colored, and like a scorching flame. Set against that brilliant embodiment Jenny O 'Jones, which is a farcical episode, inspired a sentiment of wonder that the same woman should be able to invest with a suitable body two such utterly divergent and contrasted souls. The character was made by Mr. Daly, and written by him into his version of a German play, which he named "Red Letter Nights. ' ' In that scene Miss Rehan, representing an amiable though wild and mischievous girl, was con- strained to adopt the same expedient that Letitia Hardy chooses, in "The Belle's Stratagem," though with a different purpose. Being sought in marriage by a dis- agreeable old man, the heroine pretends to be a slatternly hoyden, and her singing of a song about Jenny O 'Jones, which she declares to contain more than a hundred verses, all of which are alike, discomfits the obnoxious applicant and puts him to flight. It was a violent expedient of humor — much as if 49 Ada Rehan Kosalind should pretend to be Audrey — but it was exceed- ingly droll, and seeing that the actress whose art can touch such extremes of character and of poetry as Katherine and Rosalind, Ophelia and Peggy Thrift, Julia and Marian Lea, can also create and sustain an illusion in the domain of downright broad farce, the observer is naturally impressed by that rare and fine capacity which distinctively marks an actor — the capacity of impersona- tion. It is that faculty, authenticated and made irresist- ible by personal charm, that has made Ada Rehan a leader in her profession, and has prompted this tribute to the grace, humor, tenderness and beauty of her acting, and to the auspicious worth of her artistic powers. Acting and Elocution. It is a common opinion, and sometimes it finds ex- pression, that any person who is self-possessed, and is able to deliver language in an effective manner is, therefore, able to act. There could not be a greater delusion. Self-possession in the presence of an audience, which obviously is essential, comes by experience; but elocution will not make an actor. It is a useful and a charming accomplishment, but in the art of acting it is of secondary importance. The first qualification for an actor must always be the faculty of getting inside of a character, giving to it a body, and presenting it as a truth. Miss Rehan is excellent, even 50 Acting and Elocution among the best, as a speaker of English, whether verse ( or prose ; yet, though her elocution were defective, her , distinguishing dramatic faculty would remain unim- paired. Just as, in a dramatic composition, the quality that makes it a play and not a narrative is a quality nei- ther literary nor philosophical, neither analytical nor poetic, so in a dramatic performer the quality that makes the actor is neither scholarship, nor logic, nor eloquence, nor ingenuity, but a certain power of being something and doing something, which converts words into actions, and constructs before the eyes of the spectator a moving picture of human life, with its background of materialism and its atmosphere of spiritual mystery. That power of being and doing is the soul of the stage. Those persons who possess it, and those alone, touch the heart, arouse the imagination, and justify and dignify and advance the profession of the actor. In that large body of writing which is called dramatic criticism, and which has been created and copiously augmented by the futile literary industry of more than two hundred years, it is astonishing to observe how little thought the reader is able to discover that goes to the question of what the actor does and of how he does lit. For one page about what Garrick actually did, in any one of Shakespeare's characters, you may find a hun- dred about what Shakespeare possibly meant. For one writer like Gibber or Tom Davies, who tells you much, 61 Ada Behan you may find fifty like Tom Brown and Anthony Pasquin, who tell you nothing. Yet were it not for what the actor contributes — investing with a body that soul which the author has conceived — the part of wisdom would be to stay at home and read the play in peace, at a comfortable fireside. It is that which makes certain men and women great in what were else an idle mimicry of serious and substantial things, and it is be- cause they are great in the possession and exercise of that power that the study of their witchcraft is worthy of intellectual attention while it is at hand, and worthy to be seized and commemorated, if possible, before it drifts away. In the presence of such women as Ada Rehan, the great intellects — Tyndall, with all his learn- ing, Gladstone, with all his eloquence, Tennyson, with all his poetic genius — subside to a second place in im- mediate popular interest. That may be strange, but it is true ; and it would cease to be strange if the character, methods, and purpose of the dramatic faculty, together with the enchantment which invests a beautiful woman to whom nature has given it, were more intelligently studied and better understood. 52 AS "KATHERINE in. ADA REHAN AS KATHERINE. In the early part of her professional career, after she joined Mr. Daly's company of comedians, Ada Rehan presented many and various types of the young women of the present day, and in those assumptions of character she gained immediate and unbounded fav^or, not only by the fidelity with which she copied life, but by the charm with which she ennobled the copy ; but it was her im- personation of Katherine, in *'TheTamingof the Shrew,'* that decisively established her rank as a great actress of comedy. She subsequently surpassed that embodiment in the more complex, more poetic, more intellectual, and more difficult character of Rosalind, in ''As You Like It;" but her expression of Katherine was resplendent and readily appreciable, and, because of its force, vehemence, glitter, and dazzling beauty, that performance would generally be deemed her best. She has no rival in it, and probably she never had an equal. The image of her Katherine will live in memory, and in stage-history, as that of an imperial blonde, tall, lithe, supple, with queenly demeanor, flashing eyes, a proud, scornful coun- tenance, spontaneous posture of command, an impetuosity 53 Ada Behan that seemed invincible, and a voice that now could cut like a knife, with its accents of sarcasm, and now could ring out like a clarion, in rage and defiance. But into her ideal of Katherine, Miss Kehan, by something in her voice, and by something in her manner, conveyed the suggestion of a loving and lovable woman, latent beneath the shrew — and that was the true charm of the embodi- ment; for the spectator felt that this glorious crea- ture, with all her violence of temper, could love, and that her love would far excel that of all her silken sisterhood. Even as early as the scene of the wedding-feast her voice, when saying, *'Now, if you love me, stay" — in the entreaty to Petruchio — seemed to disclose the capability of tenderness. It was only a flash, but it illumined the heart of the character ; and, taken in association with other and kindred denotements, it revealed the nature which ren- ders Katherine 's subsequent conversion or rather develop- ment the inevitable consequence of her temperament. As soon as her heart was touched she saw her faults with contrition and humility, and her rude will was tamed. In Miss Kehan 's acting the gradations of Katherine 's submission began with mingled feelings of perplexity, physical weariness, wonder, and fear, in presence of Petruchio's mad antics, and thereafter her mood became one of demure, almost humorous docility, which was immensely diverting; and at the last she spoke Kath- erine *s beautiful climax speech, on woman's duties in the 54 History of the Shrew state of marriage, with a simple tenderness, a bewitching grace, a sweet gravity, and a melody of correct yet seemingly artless elocution, beyond all praise. In New York Ada Kehan acted Katherine one hundred and forty- three times, and later she acted it with boundless success in London, in Paris, and in many other cities of Europe. History of the Shrew. A play entitled ''The Taming of a Shrew** was pub- lished in London in 1594. It had been for some time extant and had been ''sundry times" acted by the play- ers who were in the service of the Earl of Pembroke. The authorship of it is unknown; but Charles Knight ascribes it to Eobert Greene (1561-1692) — that dissolute genius, who is now chiefly remembered as the detractor of Shakespeare and as the first English poet that ever wrote for bread. The German commentator Tieck sup- poses it to be a juvenile production by Shakespeare him- self; but this is a dubious theory. It is certain, how- ever, that Shakespeare was acquainted with that piece, and it is believed that in writing "The Taming of the Shrew" he either co-labored with another dramatist to make a new version of the older play, or else that he augmented and embellished a new version of it which had already been made by another hand. In 1594 he was thirty years old, and he had been about eight years in London theatrical life. 55 • Ada Behan Edward Dowden thinks that Shakespeare's portion of the task was performed in 1597. **The Taming of the Shrew" was acted, by his associates, at the Blackfriars theatre, at the theatre at Newington Butts — which the Shakespeare players occupied while the Globe theatre was being built — and finally at the Globe itself. He never claimed it, however, as one of his works, and it was not published until after his death. It first appeared in the Folio of 1623. Keightley describes ''The Taming of the Shrew" as ''a rifacimento of an anonymous play," and expresses the opinion that its style ''proves it to belong to Shakes- peare's early period. " Collier maintains that "Shakes- peare had little to do with any of the scenes in which Katherine and Petruchio are not engaged. ' ' Dr. John- son, comparing the Shakespearean play with its predeces- sor, remarks that "the quarrel in the choice of dresses is precisely the same; many of the ideas are preserved without alteration; the faults found with the cap, the gown, the compassed cape, the trunk sleeves, and the balderdash about taking up the gown have been copied, as well as the scene in which Petruchio makes Katherine call the sun the moon. The joke of addressing an elderly gentleman as a 'young, budding virgin, fair and fresh and sweet,' belongs also to the old drama; but in this instance it is remarkable that, while the leading idea is adopted, the mode of expressing it is quite different." 66 Source of the Plot Eichard Grant White says: **The plot, the personages, and the scheme of the Induction are taken from the old play, which, however, is as dull as this is in most points spirited and interesting. In this play three hands at least are traceable ; that of the author of the old play, that of Shakespeare himself, and that of a co-laborer. The first appears in the structure of the plot and in the incidents and the dialogue of most of the minor scenes ; to the last must be assigned the greater part of the love business between Bianca and her two suitors ; while to Shakespeare himself belong the strong, clear characteriza- tion, the delicious humor, and the rich verbal coloring of the recast Induction, and rJl the scenes in which Katherine, Petruchio, and Grumio are prominent figures, together with the general effect produced hy scattering lines and words and phrases here and there, and remov- ing others elsewhere, throughout the play.'* Source of the Plot. It is evident from these testimonies that, whether Shakespeare recast and rewrote his own work — as Tieck supposes, and as he seems to have done in the case of Hamlet — or whether he furbished up the work of some- body else, the comedy of ''The Taming of the Shrew" that stands in his name is largely indebted, for structure, to its predecessor on the same subject. Both plays owe their plot to an ancient source. The scheme of the 57 Ada Behan Induction — a feature common to both — is found as an old historic fact in "The Arabian Nights," in the tale of *'The Sleeper Awakened." Shakespeare did not know that work ; but this tale of imposture — said to have been practiced upon Abu-el-Hassan, *'the wag," by the Kha- leefeh Er-Kasheed — originating in remote oriental litera- ture, and repeated in various forms, may have been current long before his time. In that narrative Abu-el- Hassan is deluded into the idea that he is the Prince of the Faithful, and, as that potentate, he commands that much gold shall be sent to Hassan's mother, and that punishment shall be inflicted upon certain persons by whom Hassan has been persecuted. A variation of this theme occurs in Goulart's ''Admira- ble and Memorable Histories," translated into English by E. Grimestone, in 1607. In this it is related that Philip, Duke of Burgundy, called the Good, found a drunken man asleep in the street, at Brussels, caused him to be conveyed to the palace, bathed and dressed, entertained by the performance of ''a pleasant comedy," and at last once more stupefied with wine, arrayed in ragged garments, and deposited where he had been dis- covered, there to awake, and to believe himself the sport of a dream. Malone, by whom the narrative was quoted from Goulart, thinks that it had appeared in English prior to the old play of **The Taming of a Shrew," and consequently was known to Shakespeare. 58 Characters of the Comedy Another source of his material is Ariosto. In 1587 were published the collected works of George Gascoigne. Among them is a prose comedy called ''The Supposes*' — a translation of Ariosto's ''I Suppositi," in which occur the names of Petrucio and Licio, and from which, doubt- less, Shakespeare borrowed the amusing incident of the Pedant personating Vincentio. Gascoigne, it will be remembered, is the old poet to whom Sir Walter Scott was indebted, when he wrote his magnificent novel of ''Kenilworth" — so superb in pageantry, so strong and various in character, so deep and rich in passion, and so fluent in style and narrative power — for description of the revels with which Leicester entertained Queen Eliza- beth, in 1575. Characters of the Comedy, In versification the acknowledged Shakespearean comedy is much superior to the older piece. The Induction con- tains passages of felicitous fluency, phrases of delightful aptness, that crystalline lucidity of style which is char- acteristic of Shakespeare, and a rich vein of humor. Those speeches uttered by the Lord have the unmistaka- ble Shakespearean ring. The character of Christopher Sly likewise is conceived and drawn in precisely the vein of Shakespeare's usual English peasants. Hazlitt justly likens him to Sancho Panza. The Warwickshire allusions are also significant — though Greene as well as Shakes- 69 Ada Rehan peare was a Warwickshire man ; but some of the refer- ences are peculiar to the second comedy, and they inevitably suggest the same hand that wrote '*The Merry Wives of Windsor.'* *' Burton Heath" may be Barton- on-the-Heath, a village situated about two miles from Long Compton. Knight, citing Dugdale, points out that in Doomsday-Book the name of this village is written "Bertone." Shakespeare's own beautiful native shire — as his works abundantly show — ^was constantly in his mind when he wrote. It is from the region round about Stratford-upon-Avon that he habitually derives his climate, his foliage, his flowers, his sylvan atmosphere, and his romantic and always effective correspondence between nature's environment and the characters and deeds of humanity. Only Sir Walter Scott, Wilkie Col- lins, and Thomas Hardy, since his time, have conspicu- ously rivaled him in this latter felicity ; and only George Eliot and Thomas Hardy have drawn such English peas- ants as his. **Ask Marion Hacket, the fat ale-wife of Wincot, ' ' is another of the Warwickshire allusions. Win- cot may mean Wilmcote —which Malone says was called Wyncote — where lived Mary Arden, the mother of Shakespeare, in that venerable, weather-beaten structure, in the parish of Aston Cantlow, about four miles north- west of Stratford. And there is a Wincot near the village of Clifford, a few miles to the south. 60 Mr. Daly's Version Old Versions. The version of *'The Taming of the Shrew," which for many years has been used on the stage, in one form or another, is the version, in three acts, that was made by Garrick, produced at Drury Lane, and published in 1756, under the name of *'Katherine and Petruchio. '* That version omits several scenes and transposes other parts of the original. An alteration of Garrick 's piece, made and long used by Edwin Booth, was published in 1878, with a preface and notes by the present writer. Booth's version is in two acts, and it has been adopted by several other actors. Neither the Garrick nor the Booth book includes the Induction or the under-plot relative to the love of Hortensio and Bianca. Mr. Daly's Version. From the beginning of American stage history until the time of Augustin Daly's revival of it, January 18, 1887, with Ada Kehan in her superb and matchless em- bodiment of Katherine, "The Taming of the Shrew" had not been presented as Shakespeare wrote it. That ex- quisite actress, Marie Seebach, when she visited America in 1870, produced it, in the German language, under the name of **Die Widerspenstige, " in a four-act version, cut and changed; but that did not include the Induction. Mr. Daly did not attempt to give the entire play or the 61 Ada Eehan literal text, but his version includes more than any other that has been at any time tried, and, while presenting the essential portions of the original, makes only such changes as accelerate the movement and sharpen the effect. The Theme of the Shrew. On the English stage this comedy has been the parent of several popular plays. Aside from its rattling fun the subject itself seems to possess a particular interest for those Britons whose chief article of faith is the subordi- nation of woman to man. Long ago it became a settled principle of the common law of England that a man may beat his wife with a stick not thicker than his thumb. The ducking stool — a chair affixed to the end of a beam, which rested on a pivot, and so arranged that the culprit, bound into it, could be repeatedly soused in a pond or river — was used in England, to punish a scolding woman, as late as 1809. John Taylor, the water-poet, counted sixty whipping-posts within one mile of London, prior to 1630, and it was not till 1791 that the whipping of female vagrants was forbidden by statute. The brank, a pecul- iar and cruel kind of gag, formerly in common use, has been employed to punish a certain sort of women, within the memory of persons still alive. Thackeray's caustic ballad of "Damages Two Hundred Pounds" affords an instructive glimpse of the view that has been taken, by 62 Various Plays » . AS "COUNTESS "GUCKl MochworM Rehan has given, the delightful woman quality was con- spicuously present. She can readily impersonate a boy. No actress since Adelaide Neilson has done that so well. But the crowning excellence of her art was its expression of essential womanhood. Her acting was never trivial and it never obtruded the tedious element of dry intellect. It refreshed — and the spectator was happier for having seen her. Many pleasant thoughts were scattered in many minds by her performance of Maid Marian, and no one who saw it will part with the remembrance of it. Mockworld. Miss Rehan has several times acted Mockworld, in a fanciful romantic play, by Miss Clo Graves, called ''The Knave. ' * The character is a picturesque vagabond. The scene is a town in Germany. The vagabond has saved a lovely girl from a mediaeval tyrannical nobleman, and has subjected that potentate to humiliation and disgrace ; and, thereupon, the tyrant has issued a proclamation, dooming him to death. It is near the end of a summer day when that chivalric outlaw drifts into the market- place of the town, where the written mandate of his doom has just been displayed. He is asked to read it, since no one else then present can read ; and he does read it, with slight variations, and, though suspected, he temporarily eludes detection. He is entertained by the magistrate, and he recounts some of his adventures, not only to that 133 Ada Behan functionary, but in the hearing of the girl whom his courage and skill have saved. The girl's fancy is taken by him, and it is evident that her liking might soon ripen into love. The two speak together, and the knave surprises the secret of the girl's heart. It is a crisp and pretty colloquy. The heart of the knave is touched, and he knows that he might find the happiness and peace of love. But this homeless wanderer is of the loftier type of man, and he will sacrifice himself rather than disgrace what he loves. Loss is sometimes better than gain. Failure may be greater and finer than suc- cess. He sees that this innocent girl is beloved by a youth of her own station ; and, with delicate artifice, he will contrive their betrothal, and will pass gayly into the shadow of death. The play was a touching exposition, done with a free hand, of romantic self-sacrifice. The acting of Ada Kehan has not been more flexible at any time than it was in that character. She wore the mascu- line garb with ease ; and as the temperament of such a lover as Mockworld would be feminine, sweet and ten- der, she readily assumed his nature. The embodiment was a lovely image of wild-wood freedom, elastic in demeanor, beautiful in visage and in speech, suffused with kindly cynicism, and showing the face of a sublime sorrow, radiant with the smile of that tender submission which is perfect triumph. 134 Various Plays and Movements Various Plays and Movements. The season of 1895-96 at Daly's Theatre which began on November 26, 1895 and ended on April 30, 1896, was devoted to *'The School for Scandal," '^The Transit of Leo," ''Twelfth Night," ''The Two Escutcheons" and "The Countess Gucki. " In the latter play Mr. Charles Kichman made his first appearance at Daly's Theatre, January 28, 1896. Mr. Daly then took his company on a provincial tour, visiting Pittsburg, Toledo, Columbus, Louisville, Nashville, Memphis, New Orleans, Mobile, Atlanta, Richmond, Norfolk, Washington, Philadelphia, Boston, St. Louis, Kansas City, Omaha, San Francisco, San Jose, Oakland, and Chicago, and closing his season at the latter city on June 10, 1896. The plays presented were "The Taming of the Shrew," "Twelfth Night," "The School for Scandal," "The Belle's Stratagem," "The Honeymoon, ""The Last Word," "The Two Es- cutcheons," and "The Countess Gucki," in all of which the principal parts were acted by Miss Rehan. Ada Rehan sailed for England July 1, 1896, and on July 11 she appeared at the Comedy Theatre, London, as Countess Gucki. Mr. Daly was the first of American managers to carry the banner of American dramatic art across the Atlantic, and Daly's Theatre in London is as much an established institution as Daly's Theatre in New York. Much of the success of Mr. Daly's London enter- prise was due to Miss Rehan, who early pleased the Brit- 135 Ada Behan ish public and steadily won her way in its esteem, gaining an equal rank with its chief favorites in popular admira- tion. That conquest was not easy, and it could not have been effected without the manifestation of fine abilities and fascinating charm. An actress capable of imper- sonating Katherine, Eosalind, and Viola could not fail, in that intelligent community, long and thoroughly trained to discriminate as to matters of - theatrical art, to be recognized as exceptionally versatile and brilliant. Rep- utation once gained in London is not readily lost, and upon each of her visits Miss Eehan was welcomed with affectionate good-will. During her stay at the London Comedy Theatre, in the summer of 1896, she acted in **The Countess Gucki" and **Love on Crutches. " At the close of that engagement she passed some time in her seaside cottage near Eavenglas, Cumberland, and then om September 26 she sailed for New York. The Daly season of 1896-97 began with a brief tour of eastern American cities, but on November 23 Ada Behan appeared at Daly's Theatre, New York, as Eosalind, and on November 30, for the first time in that city, she acted Lady Gay Spanker, in **London Assurance," — her artless glee, healthful goodness, honesty of purpose, and delicacy of manner lifting the character to unusual distinction. No woman of refinement could act as Lady Gay Spanker is made to act, and the only method by which an actress can deduce pleasing effect from the situations in which 136 Leo that character is placed is the method of transfiguration — investing the part with a sweetness which it does not pos- sess. That method was adopted by Miss Kehan, and her ample vitality, joyous spirit, and inherent charm of win- ing womanhood, together with her flexible command of her powers and of the scene, were the more conspicuous because of the intrinsically trying conditions under which they were exerted. Mr. Daly's production of "London Assurance" was made in a sumptuous manner. The third act was ended with the old dance of Sir Koger de Cover- ley, and in that Mrs. G. H. Gilbert participated, at seventy-four, dancing with all the grace and dexterity of her youth, when she was a professional dancer. On December 23, 1896, Mr. Daly produced "Much Ado About Nothing, ' ' and Ada Rehan for the first time acted Beatrice. The Shakespeare comedy ran till February, 1897, when Mr. Pinero's comedy of "The Magistrate," was given and Miss Rehan played Agatha Poskett — giv- ing a vivacious performance full of arch mischief and amply productive of innocent sport. On March 12, 1897, Mr. Daly produced a new version of "Guy Mannering," called "The Witch of Ellangowan," and Miss Eehan for the first time impersonated Meg Merrilies. On March 23 she appeared as Donna Violante, in "The Wonder," and on April 19 she acted Miranda, in "The Tempest." Leo. A comedy called "The Transit of Leo," adapted by 137 Ada Behan Augustin Daly, from the German of Koehler and Blu- menthal, was produced at Daly's Theatre on December 10, 1895. It seldom happens that a merry piece is freighted with really valuable meaning, but in this case, while the spirit is gay, the thought that underlies it is admonitory and important. No action of human life, considering its consequences, is so momentous as mar- riage, yet, as a rule, no action is so heedlessly performed. The trend of this play is toward a kindly warning on that subject. While the acted story is passing it causes laughter, but the remembrance of it is serious. Mr. Daly, being thoroughly a dramatist, is not didactic, and in his adaptation of the German piece he has taken care that the moral lesson should not be obtruded. The story is fluently told; the characters are clearly drawn; the incidents are made to result from the characters ; and the play, which is well constructed and more than common- ly valuable, is made to insinuate a salutary meaning in a subtly artistic manner. Ada Eehan was Leo, and as she came forward, exultant in her splendor, the whole wide array of lovely women that she has presented seemed to fill the scene. Those women have been of many kinds, but among them all one type has been especially conspicuous — the free, joyous, proud young beauty, who dazzles by her glee and enchants by her involuntary allurement; who is honest, pure, and sweet ; whose faults are all upon the surface ; 138 Mary Foster in * * The Two Escutcheons * ' who uses no guile, causes no pain, and leaves no bitter memory. The roots of such a personality strike deep into the character of the actress. The charm that is in the acting of Ada Rehan is that of a noble mind and a good heart — the spirit of a gracious womanhood that shines through every look and speaks in every word. The embodiment had variety, impetuosity, and emotion, and it had a clear purpose steadily pursued and exactly ac- complished ; but above all, it had the innate refinement and gracious distinction of a beautiful nature. The char- acter of Leo alternates between archness, piquant play- fulness, and a rueful self-censure. Miss Rehan 's man- agement of the quarrel, and subsequently her subtle denotement of Leo's gradual change from resentment to affection, were especially ingenious, and there was an exhilarating touch of feeling in her gladness at the moment of reconciliation. The sets for **The Transit of Leo" were exceptionally rich. The opening scene, a room paneled in cherry wood, decorated with old-gold ornament and a frieze of wild flowers, and having a polished oak floor and appropriate furniture, was worthy of a palace. Mary Foster in ''The Two Escutcheons.'* A farcical play, adapted from the German and called '*The Two Escutcheons," was presented at Daly's Thea- tre, New York, on January 7, 1896. The scheme of the 139 Ada Behan piece is old, but it is exceedingly comic, and the play flashed upon the stage like a sunbeam. The characters are humorously exaggerated, the sentiment is deftly sub- ordinated to the mirth, and a light of good-natured satire is cast equally upon artificial pride of birth and the vulgar pretension of riches. In the fable the daughter of Foster, of Chicago, a wealthy pork merchant, is suc- cessfully wooed by the son of Wettingen, of Berlin, a pompous nobleman. Hog and Ancestry are thus con- trasted. Ada Kehan presented Mary Foster, the daugh- ter of the Chicago tradesman, and with her handsome face, lithe figure, sweet voice, buoyant demeanor, and splendid apparel, she made that arch and gay part a piquant image of vivacity and mischief. "The Countess Gucki.'* The charm of Ada Eehan*s personality — which com- bines deep feeling, tender sentiment, and romantic grace with piquant playfulness — has seldom been more conspic- uously shown than it was in her performance of Her- mance, in '*The Countess Gucki," by Herr Schonthan — produced January 28, 1896, at Daly's New York Theatre. There are times in acting, when everything depends upon the sincerity, ardor, vivacity, sweetness, glee, and sus- tained power of one performer, and this was one of them. The dramatist has, in '*The Countess Gucki," sketched a remarkably pleasing type of woman, and he has provided 140 *^Tlie Countess Gucki^^ a gossamer investiture of gay incidents for its setting, while lie has not told an absorbing story nor devised situations intrinsically important. The comedy consists of slender characters and light incidents, and it may be described as a fabric of comic complexities and playful colloquy, irradiated with the warmth of youthful feeling and touched with sentiment. Without a brilliant actress in the central character the piece would be pictorial rather than dramatic. Miss Rehan, acting with great vigor, and putting forth her exceptional bewitching power and skill of raillery, vitalized it with movement, sparkle, and interest, and carried it to decisive success. The victory was essentially personal, and this fine actress proved again not only her superlative excellence in comedy, but the triumphal potency of individual distinction in exerting the forces of dramatic art. The scene of ''The Countess Gucki" is laid at Carlsbad, in 1819, and a picturesque environment is thus insured of characteristic furniture and dresses. The place is the home of the Counsellor Von Mettersteig, wherein are resi- dent that amiable, fussy officer, his imperative, wordly wife, Clementina, his blooming niece, Lili, his servants, Wenzel and Eosa, and his brilliant sister-in-law, Marni Trachau, the Countess Hermance. To that house comes his nephew, Leopold, wishful to win the love of Lili, and speedily prosperous in his wish. To that house also — a stranger, desirous to make the acquaintance of the hand- 141 Ada Rehan some ladies who dwell there — comes Bruno von Neuhoff, and much in the manner of the pert and audacious young beau of old English comedy, endeavors to thrust himself upon their attention. He is acquainted with Leopold, but Leopold distrusts his overwhelming assurance and will not introduce him, and therefore he must make his way by his dexterity. With that qualification he is thor- oughly equipped, and notwithstanding his mischievous effrontery, he is a gallant, honest, kindly person. He first presents himself to Lili, pretending to have found her handkerchief, but as she has been warned against him by Leopold, his scheme fails. He next presents himself to the Countess Hermance, making use of the same expedi- ent, but the alert countess perceives his drift and merrily repulses him, exposing the pretext of the handkerchief, and covering him with comic confusion. He incidentally learns, however, that Hermance intends to make a jour- ney in a public express carriage which contains only two seats, and he speeds forth to engage a seat in that vehicle. He has also learned that rooms are to be let in the house of the Counsellor Von Mettersteig, and he makes haste to accost that functionary, to cajole him by flattery, and to hire the lodging ; but before this agree- ment can be ratified the Countess Hermance again dis- comfits him by reminding the counsellor that the formi- dable Clementina has stipulated for an elderly tenant. And not only does the sprightly countess defeat him as 142 ''The C(ninte§8 Gkicki*' an invading lodger ; she has divined his purpose as to the carriage, and she exchanges places with her elderly aunt, Clementina, so that he is obliged to travel with that dame, and to take care of her luggage. His next pro- ceeding, though, is more effective. During the absence of Hermance and Clementina he brings his rheumatic old uncle. General Suvatscheff, to the house of the counsellor, and hires the lodging in the name of that commander ; so that when the ladies return they find the general ensconced in their dwelling, and dutifully attended by his loving nephew. But Hermance is not yet conquered. She rec- ognizes in General Suvatscheff a former suitor, and as even ten years of absence have not cooled that military chieftain's ardor, she proceeds to tease the nephew by manifesting kindness toward the uncle. The general again proposes marriage and is again declined, where- upon he insists upon removing himself to a neighboring hotel and installing the gay Bruno in his place. That adventurous and persistent youth has now become en- amoured of Hermance, while she, unconsciously, is begin- ning to requite his affection. A sudden accession of pique and jealousy, caused by Lili's artless exposure of the handkerchief incident, serves to make her acquainted with her actual feelings ; but when she learns that Bruno has really befriended Lili and Leopold, in their love affairs, she ceases to mystify him about the general and becomes propitious to his suit. Her candor, earnestness, 143 Ada Behan and impetuous spirit fire the timid counsellor to disperse Clementina's scheme to wed Lili to a rich nobleman, and at the last, Lili is betrothed to Leopold, Hermance is plighted to Bruno, and the end is the orange blossom of prospective happiness. The play is the image of a wooing done in a well- ordered German household and under the formal condi- tions of old-fashioned German society. It was a good device to show resolute self-dependence and breezy, ex- peditious, generous, forceful character against a back- ground of petty artifice and convention. A true and tender woman, who has had experience of life without being saddened by it, is sought under humorous condi- tions, by a pertinacious youth, fertile in resources, comic in coolness, sincere in feeling, and gay in demeanor, and the purpose of the dramatist is to show the woman's various moods, as they gradually change from merry indifference to amused interest, and finally to affection. That change is wrought by the inexplicable operation of temperament — a force which in actual life underlies love, and indeed controls all the sympathies and antipathies of mankind. Miss Kehan, as shown by her acting in many characters, has fully and justly apprehended this prin- ciple, and her embodiment of the Countess Hermance was not only a pleasure, because of its fine feeling and buoyant beauty, but an illuminative study of woman's nature. The actress was the play, and she car- 144 Meg Merrilies ried it with opulent strength and charm. The word **Gucki," it is explained in the text, ''does not mean to stare, nor to peck, nor to pry, but all of them together. * ' It is a nickname for a brave, fearless, combative, ques- tioning character, the essential attributes of which are sincerity, goodness, and humorous piquancy. Those are the attributes of Miss Kehan's performance. The play was dressed in rich raiment and mounted with correct and quaint scenery. A novel effect of wind blowing through a room and disturbing the curtains and pictures in it was most ingeniously produced. Meg Merrilies. On March 12, 1897, Mr. Daly produced at his New York theatre a play on the subject of **Guy Mannering," entitled "The Witch of Ellangowan, " and Ada Kehan, for the first time, assumed the character of the gypsy queen, Meg Merrilies. The part is one that deeply stirs the imagination, arousing a strange, wild, passionate, poetic frenzy. The play was planned by Mr. Daly and fashioned under his supervision. It is based partly on the novel, and partly on the old drama, by Daniel Terry, which was presented on the English stage in Scott's time and with his sanction, and long ago made familiar in the American theatre by companies that included in the part of Meg Merrilies the proficient Mrs. Aldis, the versatile Ann Waring (who is remembered both as Mrs. W. Sef- 145 Ada Rehan ton, and Mrs. J. W. Wallack, Jr.), the incomparable Charlotte Cushman, Mrs. Emma Waller, and Fanny Janauschek. The novelty of the new version was the presentment of Meg Merrilies, at the beginning of the story, as a woman of comparatively youthful years, and thereupon, the portrayal of the loss of Harry Bertram when a child, and the warning and farewell to the Lord of EUangowan, uttered by the gypsy queen, after the expulsion of her tribe from that nobleman's woods. Meg Merrilies may be a woman of about forty at the opening of the story, and of about sixty at the close. The inno- vation led to a good dramatic contrast, but the piece was diffuse and cumbersome, and it did not meet with a sympathetic public response. No play can do full justice to Scott's novel, because the strongest of its scenes — the gypsy's nocturnal rescue of young Bertram from the murderers, in the death chamber, and that of Hatteriack's murder of Glossin, in the prison — cannot be reproduced. Miss Rehan's revelation of power, in portions of her picturesque and touching embodiment of Meg Merrilies, did not surprise those observers of her acting who had considered the indications of her earlier achievement, and thoughtfully noticed the trend of her mental growth. She suggested scarcely more than a theoretical acquaint- ance with the bleak loneliness of age and misery. There is a ravaged, desolate dignity in such a nature as that of 146 AS "PIERROT Pierrot Meg Merrilies which the hopeful heart of youth can with difficulty comprehend. The tenderness and the long endurance of that isolated, afflicted, suffering woman are among her highest attributes, and they are unspeakably pathetic. To the romantic side of the character, how- ever. Miss Kehan gave a perfect presentment, her acting in the scene of the recognition of Bertram, and again in the death scene, having both pathos and grandeur. The embodiment was marked, all along its course, with a wild physical beauty, not before imparted to it upon the stage, and it consistently preserved the subtle tone of incipient insanity. The actress made a poetic and strik- ing use of that peculiar taste for a foreign dress which is named, by the novelist, as one of the gypsy's traits. The needs of the performance were greater vocal power, a more rapt and concentrated demeanor, and a weightier and more formidable repose ; but the acting gave pleas- ure, and it was auspicious of success in a new field. Pierrot, In her embodiment of Pierrot the Prodigal, Miss Rehan discarded the glamour of feminine enchantment and addressed herself directly to intellectual perception of the dramatic art. In this respect her performance was one of peculiar interest and value — because, while in itself various, subtle, and delightful, it directed attention to the principles which are at the foundation of the art of 147 Ada Behan acting. Her embodiment of Pierrot was an example of pantomime — and pantomime is the basis upon which act- ing rests. A play is, first of all, for the eye ; afterward for the ear ; and so — through those senses — for the soul. A fine play will move without [words. Every great play stands that test. The main thing is action, and although words are necessary they must always be tributary to movement. The dramatic faculty is the faculty of telling a story in action, and a good actor can illumine your mind and touch your heart without opening his lips. To forego the use of voice was, on the part of Miss Eehan, to make a great sacrifice ; for her voice is one of extraor- dinary sweetness and power. She not only made that sacrifice, but appeared also in the plain white person and face of the traditional clown. Pierrot and six associate actors have to tell a story of human experience, without the utterance of a word. The story is elemental and rep- resentative. Pierrot, a pure and amiable youth, declines to wed the virtuous playmate of his childhood, who is tenderly attached to him and whom his parents have chosen to be his wife, but he bestows his affection upon a selfish, dazzling coquette; he robs his father and mother in order that he may buy the society of this siren ; he deserts his home and lives in sinful profligacy with this depraved woman, till at last he is plundered and betrayed by her; and finally he comes back, poor and wretched, to the parental fireside, where he is 148 Pierrot received with pardon and love, and where he is encour- aged to begin life anew, and upon a wiser and better plan. No portrayal of experience could be more simple or more truthful. Ada Eehan, assuming to be a boy, seemed to have ceased to be a woman. There was no trace of the feminine manner. The abandonment to masculine identity never indeed became indelicate, but it was absolute. The play is divided into three acts. In the first Pierrot has to express the unrest of the vacant, unsatisfied heart, and then the sudden fever of irrational passion, followed by the wooing of the coquette, and, after a time of painful hesitation between the loss of his unhallowed love and the robbery of his parents, the boy's moral collapse and the surrender to temptation. In the second act he has to learn what it is to be dis- carded and despised, because he has no more money, and he has to feel the bitterness of anguish and self-contempt that comes of knowing that his idol was never worthy, never sincere, never even able to understand his love or appreciate his sincerity. In the last act he must be the image of abject destitution and remorseful penitence, tottering back to his father's threshold and falling at his mother's feet. Ada Eehan bore the strain of this imper- sonation with a power that never faltered and a fidelity that never erred. Pierrot has to carry the weight of the piece; and, as there is incessant movement and much change, the exaction of feeling is severe. She was deli- 149 Ada Behan ciously impetuous and comic in the writing of the boy's first love letter ; feverish almost to delirium in the mo- ment of the robbery; touching in the discovery of the coquette's turpitude; and simply pathetic in the forlorn destitution and misery of the prodigal's return. No one could play this part without being possessed of innate refinement, humor, and tenderness ; and no woman could play it without possessing, in addition to those attri- butes, the grace of consummate professional skill. Miss Rehan's success in Pierrot may well be recorded as a tri- umphant evidence of her brilliant powers and her thor- ough professional equipment. In the sympathy, the freedom, and the poetic charm of that performance she suggested the sincere, picturesque, subtle and flexible art of Jefferson. The Princess of France. The Princess of France, in "Love's Labor's Lost," is not the best, although the chief, of the female characters in that juvenile yet remarkable Shakespearean comedy, but it is one that requires a royal distinction of manner combined with the enchantment of woman's beauty; and with those essential attributes it was invested by Ada Rehan. The sprightlier and more pungent character of Rosaline, the part that prefigures Beatrice in ''Much Ado About Nothing, ' ' is the more showy more brilliant and more effective character ; yet, since it would require, in 150 The Princess of France the representation, all the brilliancy of spirit and all the affluence of womanhood that are in Beatrice, without pro- viding a commensurate medium of expressing them with ample dramatic effect, the actress capable of impersonat- ing Beatrice may well refrain from expending her humor and her raillery upon the more slender and sketchy part of Rosaline. Ada Eehan dressed the Princess in a garb of appropriate opulence ; bore the state of royalty with gentle dignity; spoke the playful lines with a winning piquancy of manner ; and, in particular, suffused the part with a certain glamour of enticement which made it prominent among its fellows, and readily explained and justified the sudden capitulation of the young King of Navarre. Not many pictures have been shown upon the stage that were comparable with the picture made by Ada Eehan 's Princess and her ladies, sitting upon the lake shore and listening to the music, **If love make me foresworn/' 151 XII. A CHAKACTEK OF ADA REHAN. If I were to write, in the mood of a chimney-corner reminiscence, a Character of Ada Rehan, as I remember and think of her — having known her for many years, both as a woman and an actress — I should say this : Ada Rehan was a creature of simplicity and truth, and likewise of piquancy and fascination. She had not been trained under the severe methods of a college, but the fine discipline of mind that she possessed — in which there was an element of great and gentle patience — was mainly such as she had acquired in practical experience. Her reading, while it included numberless plays and other books, such as naturally come within the scope of the dramatic profession, covered a wide field of biography and of imaginative literature. She was a reader of Thackeray — an author seldom liked by women, perhaps because he understood them too well — and she especially admired the works of Balzac. She had carefully read the novels of those great writers, and had profited by them. Her knowledge of human nature — gained partly by keen intuition and partly by close observance — was ample, va- 15^ #■■• 1^ ~ .-« ^= m - B^'-JIK. 4 ^i - «S~^ ^" it^^M'' ■ # - .-■--:.:=:i|ffl*-=-',,, WITH HER BULLDOG "PHISTO" Character of Ada Behan rious and sound. Her thoughts and often her talk dwelt upon traits of character, fabrics of art, and beauties of nature, and she loved rather to speak of these than of the commonplaces and practical affairs of the passing day. Her grasp of character was intuitive ; she judged rightly, and she was seldom or never mistaken in her estimate of individuals. Her perception was exceedingly acute, and she noted, instantly and correctly, every essen- tial trait, howsoever slight, of each person who approached her presence. She was intrinsically sincere, modest, and humble — neither setting a great value upon herself nor esteeming her powers and achievements to be unusual : she has been known to be in tears at what she deemed a professional failure, while a brilliant throng of friends was waiting to congratulate her upon an unequivocal success. Ada Rehan was a passionate lover of beauty, and she could discern, and cordially admire, the beauty of other women — a happiness somewhat unusual with her sex. She could be conventional, having learned how to be so, but the conventional was not her natural way — for her temperament had in it something of the romantic quality of the ideal gypsy. Her physical beauty was of the kind that appears in portraits of women by Romney and Gainsborough — ample, opulent, and be- witching — and it was enriched by the enchantment of superb animal spirits. She had gray-blue eyes and 153 Ada Rehan brown hair, and she had the tremulous sensibility of the Celtic nature : a careless strain of music or the lilt of an old ballad would often bring the tears into her eyes. She lived in feeling more than in thought. She was essen- tially feminine — moved by fancies and caprices, subject to doubts and fears, and impressed by the strong will that achieves practical results instead of proclaiming ideal pur- poses. Her disposition was affectionate rather than pas- sionate, and such as does not yield unduly either to love or grief. She was generous and grateful, and she never forgot a kindness. Her mind was free from envy. She saw with pleasure the merited success of others, and re- joiced in it, and she never spoke an ill word of anybody. Her spirit was mercurial, ranging easily from smiles to tears, but essentially she was joyous, and her image, in memory, will always be associated with mirth. Ada Rehan was profoundly ambitious to excel in her art, and to that art she gave her life. The predominant characteristic of her acting was buoyant glee, which rip- pled over a depth of warm, rich, sensuous feeling, and animated an affluent and incessant variety of spirited, flexible, cumulative movement. It possessed many other attributes — for the actress could be stately, forcible, satirical, violent, arch, flippant, and demure; but its special allurement was a blending of sweetness and joy. She always aroused the eager interest of her audience, and imparted to it a sense of comfort and pleasure ; but 154 Character of Ada Rehan the amplest and most direct revelations of her mind and temperament were made in such characters as Rosalind, Lady Teazle, and Peggy Thrift. Her delivery of Rosa- lind's speech about woman's caprice, her wheedling talk to Sir Peter Teazle, her quarrel with him, and her de- meanor of bland, demure innocence, and of sweet sim- plicity playing over latent roguery, in Peggy Thrift's love scene and letter scene, were perfect and irresistible. Each of her achievements had a clear design and a sym- metrical form, and her acting, if closely scrutinized, was seen to have been studied; yet it always seemed spontaneous: her handsome, ingenuous, winning coun- tenance informed it with sympathy, while her voice — copious, tender, and wonderfully musical — filled it with emotion, speaking always from the heart. She was intrinsically a guileless and noble person, and the struc- ture of her acting — with all its drolleries of careless frolic, sportive coquetry and tantalizing caprice — was reared upon the basis of a strong, self-contained, woman- like and lovely nature. The most completely finished and authoritative of her graver impersonations was Knowles' Julia, and her favorite woman in Shakespeare was Portia. Ada Rehan 's domestic life was tranquil and happy — diversified with study, and with the sportive company of her animal pets. Chief among those pets were a mon- key named Chip, and a bulldog, named Fun, the former 155 Ada Behan a remarkably interesting creature of its kind ; the latter a faithful animal, who inspired regard rather by his many virtues than his propitiatory aspect : to both she was deeply attached. I have seen her wandering with her dog on the broad and solitary waste of the breezy beach that stretches away for many a sunlit mile in front of her sequestered cottage upon the Cumberland shore of the Irish sea. She was never so contented, never so radi- ant, never so much herself, as in that beautiful retreat. The nearest house is a mile distant. Far in the east rise the peaks of Coniston and Skiddaw. More near, like an eagle on its crag, is perched the ancient castle of the lords of Muncaster. Southward lies Furness, with its venerable ruined abbey. To the north the land trends away, past Mary Stuart's fatal haven and Wordsworth's earliest home, to the dim and cloudy capes of Scotland, while remote in the west, if the air be very clear, a fe,int outline is visible of the romantic Isle of Man. There, encompassed with associations of natural beauty and of historic and poetic renown, and surrounded with her books, her pictures, her relics, her music, and her pets, I love to think of her ; and there I leave her, in this tribute of honor and affection — her lithe figure, clad in rustic garments, standing alone upon the windy beach, her gentle face serene in reverie, and her sweet eyes look- ing dreamily across the sea. 156 > '3' ) MEMORIALS. MEMORIALS. I. CHEONOLOGY OF THE LIFE OF ADA REHAN. 1860 April 22 Birth of Ada Rehan, at Limerick, Lreland. 1865 Brought to America by her parents, who settled in Brooklyn, New York. 1873 Made her first appearance on the stage, at Newark, New Jersey, as Clara, in ''Across the Continent/* Made her first appearance on the New York stage, at Wood's Muse- um, in "Thoroughbred.** 1873-4 Was a member of the stock com- pany at the Arch Street Theatre, Philadelphia. 1876 Joined the stock company at Bar- ney Macauley*s Theatre, in Louis- ville, Ky. 1877 Was employed at Albaugh*s Thea- tre, in Albany, N. Y. 1879 Acted at the Grand Opera House, 159 Ada Eehan 1879 May 1880 1881 1882 New York, as Mary Standish, in Augustin Daly's play of *' Pique." Acted at the Olympic Theatre, New York, as Big Clemence, and later as Virginie in Augustin Daly's version of Zola's "L'Assommoir. " September 17 Daly's Theatre was opened, at the southwest corner of Broadway and Thirtieth Street, New York, and Ada Eehan made her first appear- ance there, playing Nelly Beers, in ''Love's Young Dream." Acted in "Wives," "An Arabian Night," and "Divorce." Acted in "Needles and Pins," "Cinderella at School," etc. Acted in "Quits," "Eoyal Youth," and "The Passing Regiment." Acted Odette. Gave first performance of Kate Verity, in "The Squire." Gave first performance of Donna Hippolyta, in "She Would and She Would Not." "Seven- Twenty-Eight" was pro- duced : Ada Eehan acted Floss. This year she made her first ap- pearance in San Francisco. 160 February 6 October 10 1883 January 15 February 24 Chronology 1884 February 16 March 12 July 19 1885 February 7 March 4 October 7 1886 January 14 February 24 May 27 Acted Peggy Thrift, in "The Coun- try Girl." Acted in ''Red Letter Nights," and sang ballad of Jenny O 'Jones. Made her first appearance on the London stage, at Toole's Theatre, the engagement lasting six weeks. This was the beginning of Mr. Daly's theatrical management in London. Acted Sylvia, in *'The Recruiting Officer. ' ' Acted Nisbe, in ''A Night Off." Acted Agatha Posket, in ''The Magistrate," first time. Acted Mrs. Ford, in "The Merry Wives of "Windsor. ' * Charles Fisher appeared as Fal- staff. Acted Nancy Brasher, in "Nancy and Co." Appeared in London, at the Strand Theatre, and acted there for nine weeks. Acted at Paris, Hamburg, and Berlin also at Edinburgh, Glas- gow, Liverpool and Dublin. 161 Ada Behan 1887 January 18 " November 1 1888 January 31 May 3 June August 3 " September 1889 January 8 " December 17 Mr. Daly produced ''The Taming of the Shrew." First time in America with the Induction. Ada Kehan gave her first performance of Katharine. A Great Success. Production of ''The Eailroad of Love. ' ' Her first performance of Valentine. Her first performance of Helena, in "A Midsummer Night's Dream. " Appeared in London, at the Gaiety Theatre. First appearance in London as Katherine, at Gaiety Theatre. Made her first appearance at Strat- ford-upon-Avon, acting at the Shakespeare Memorial Theatre, and for its benefit, as Katherine, in "The Taming of the Shrew." Second season in Paris. Also acted this year in Edinburgh and Glas- gow. First performance of Oriana, in "The Inconstant, " Daly's Theatre, New York. At Daly's Theatre, New York, gave her first performance of Rosa- lind, in "As You Like It." 163 IN THE "LAST WORD Chronology 1890 February 12 June 10 October 28 1891 January 20 March 3 March 28 ** September September 23 Acted Rose, in "The Prayer/' by Coppee. Appeared in London, at the Ly- ceum Theatre, the season lasting ten weeks. *'As You Like It" was produced, with Ada Rehan as Rosa- lind. At Daly's Theatre, New York, gave her first performance of Baroness Vera, in "The Last Word." Added to her repertory Lady Tea- zle, in "The School for Scandal." Acted Pierrot the Prodigal, in the play without words called "The Prodigal Son." Gave her first performance of the Princess of France, in "Love's Labor's Lost." Third season in Paris, acting at the Vaudeville Theatre, as Lady Teazle, Katherine, and Rosalind. Acted in London, at the Lyceum Theater, the season lasting ten weeks. Ada Rehan and Augustin Daly vis- ited the poet Tennyson, at Aid- worth, and heard his reading of his play of "The Foresters." 163 Ada Rehan 1891 October 30 1892 March 17 November 29 1893 January 3 February 23 June 27 1895 1896 January 28 July Ada Kehan officiated at the laying of the cornerstone of Daly's Thea- tre, Leicester Square, London. At Daly's Theatre, New York, Tennyson's play of ''The Forest- ers'* was acted for the first time, and Ada Kehan played Marian Lea. Acted Julia, in* 'The Hunchback." Acted Letitia Hardy, in "The Belle's Stratagem." Gave her first performance of Viola, in ''The Twelfth Night." Daly's Theatre, in London, was opened. Ada Rehan acted there from June 27, 1893 to May 7, 1894. "Twelfth Night" was repre- sented one hundred and eleven times, and "The School for Scan- dal," with Ada Rehan as Lady Teazle, for over fifty times. Acted Julia in "The Two Gentle- men of Verona." First performance of "The Count- ess Gucki." March 1 to June 20, American tour, extending to San Francisco. Acted in London, appearing at the 164 Chronology 1896 November 24 December 23 1897 March 12 March 23 April 6 August 26 November 29 Comedy Theatre, in "The Countess Gucki, " and '*Love on Crutches.'* Sailed for New York, September 26. Reappeared at Daly's Theatre, as Rosalind. Mr. Daly produced "Much Ado About Nothing," and Ada Rehan acted Beatrice, for the first time. Gave her first performance of Meg Merrilies, in "The Witch of Ellan- gowan." Acted Violante in "The Wonder." Mr. Daly produced ' ' The Tempest, ' ' but Ada Rehan did not act in it till April 20, when she played Miranda, for the first time. Appeared at the Shakespeare Me- morial Theatre, in Stratford-upon- Avon, acting for the benefit of that house, as Rosalind, in "As You Like It. ' * Became one of the life governors of the Memorial Theatre. Acted in Newcastle, Nottingham, Birmingham, Edinburgh, Glasgow, and Islington, London. Reappeared at Daly's Theatre, New York, as Katherine. 165 1898 January 11 " January 25 " February 1 March 15 Ada Behan Acted Mrs. Ford, in *'Tlie Merry "Wives of Windsor." George Clarke as Falstaff. Acted Viola. Acted Peggy Thrift, in *'The Country Girl,'* and also Mrs. Year- ance, in ''Subtleties of Jeal- ousy.** Acted Lady Teazle. Rested from March 19 until April 11. The season closed, after a tour of sev- eral American cities, May 28, 1898. 166 n. ADA EEHAN'S EEPEETORT.* From 1874 to 1898. A. Adelaide Clyton Bonds . ''Our Oddities.*' Agatha Posket "The Magistrate." Agnes Constant . "Across the Continent.*' Alicia Audley "Lady Audley 's Secret." Anne Leigh "Enoch Arden." Annis Austin . "Love on Crutches." Aouda "Around the World in Eighty Days." Aphra "A Wooden Spoon." Armine "Victor of Rhe." Artina « "Hero." B. Barbara Benson . "Poor and Proud." Barbara Hare . "East Lynne." Barbee "Our English Friend." *■ Not complete. 167 Ada BeJuin Beatrice . . Bianca Big Clemence Blanche de Nervers Bunker Hill . "Much Ado About Nothing." "The Taming of the Shrew.'* "L'Assommoir/* "The Duke's Motto/' "TheDanites." C. Celia .... "As You Like It." Cherry Monogram . "The Way We Live." Clara (her first character on any stage) "Across the Con- tinent. ' * Clara Wakefield . . "Luke the Laborer. " Cora Darlington . "The False Light. " Cordelia . . . "King Lear." Countess . . "The Stranger.'* Cousin Val . . " The Railroad of Love. ' * Desdemona Diana Diana Jovita Castro Diana De Lascour Diana Faudelle . Donna Antonina Donna Violante . Doris D. "Othello." "A Wet Blanket." "Two Men of Sandy Bar." "The Sea of Ice." "A Priceless Paragon." "The Royal Middy." "The Wonder." "An International Match." 168 Repertory Doris Druda Elizabeth . Eloise Woodruff Elvira Honiton Emma Torrens Esther Eccles Ethel Grainger Etna . Eva Manhattan Eve Hillington Fanny Elkton Fidele la Crosse Florida Vaughan Flos Georgette . Georgiana Tidman Georgina . Gertrude Grace Harkaway Grace Roseberry "After Business Hours.** ''The Ice Witch.** . E. "The Golden Farmer.** "Becky Mix." "New Lamps for Old.** "Serious Family." "Caste.** "Married in Haste.'* "The Great Unknown,** "Qui- First Families.'* "The Lone Man of the Ocean.** F. "Zip.** "A Heroine in Rags.*' . "Bonnie Kate." \ "Seven-Twenty-Eight. *• G. "Fernande.** "Dandy Dick.** "Jane Eyre.** "BenMcCullough.** "London Assurance.*' "The New Magdalen.*' 169 Ada Behan H. Harriet ''The Jealous Wife." Hebe ''Pinafore.** Hermance . "Countess Gucki.'* Hetty Fetherstone . "The Orient Express." Helena "Midsummer Night's Dream. ** Hippolyta "She Would and She Wouldn't* Isabelle I. "Wives.** Issopel . "Tiote.** Jeanne de Cernay J. "Serge Panine.'* Jenny Kibble . "Girls and Boys.** Jo ... . "The Lottery of Love.'* Julia "The Two Gentlemen of Ve- rona.'* Julia .... "The Hunchback. " Julia Latimer . "The Flying Scud.** Juliana "The Honeymoon.** Kate Verity K. "The Squire." Katherine "The Taming of the Shrew." Kitty "An Arabian Night.** 170 Repertory Lady Anne Lady Gay Spanker Lady Jane . Lady Mary Lady Nell . Lady Sarah Lady Teazle Lady Valeria . Laura de Beaurepaire Laura Cortlandt Laura Hawkins . Laura Livingston Letitia Hardy Little Em'ly . Louise Louise Louise Louise Goodwin Lurline LuTenEyck . "Richard the Third.*' "London Assurance." "A Crown of Thorns." "Rosedale." "Lords and Commons." "Queen Elizabeth." "School for Scandal." "All that Glitters is not Gold.'" "White Lies." "Under the Gaslight." "The Gilded Age." "Escaped from Sing Sing." "The Belle's Stratagem." "Little Em'ly." "Cartouche." "Under the Snow." "Erou-Frou." "Across the Continent." "Naiad Queen." "Divorce." Madelon Madelon . Marguerite la Roque M. "The Carpenter of Rouen." "Fanchon." "Romance of a PoorYoungMan" 171 Ada Behan Marie Marie Comines . Marie de Mancini Mary Clark Mary Foster . Mary Netley Mary Standish Mary "Watson Mathilde de Latour Maud Meg Merrilies Miranda Miss Hoyden . Miss Million Mockworld Morgiana . Mrs. Castlemaine Mrs. Ford . Muttra . Nancy Brasher . Naomi Tighe . Nell Yerance . Nelly Beers Nichette Nisbe Nora Drew "The Marble Heart.** "Louis XL" "The Eoyal Youth.** "The Charter Oak.'* "The Two Escutcheons.** "Ours.** "Pique.** "Dick Turpin and Tom King.*' "MissMulton.** "Musette.*' "Guy Mannering.** "The Tempest." "Miss Hoyden's Husband." "Little Miss Million." "The Knave." "The Forty Thieves.** "The Golden Calf.** "The Merry Wives of Windsor" "Zanina.'* N. "Nancy ife Co.*' "School.** "Sublities of Jealousy." * ' Love ' s Young Dream. * ' "Camille." "A Night Off." "The Kerry Gow." in AS "PSYCHE' Eepertory. Odette Olivia Ophelia Oriana O. *' Odette." **The Twelfth Night." "Hamlet." '*The Inconstant." Pauline Pauline de Beausejour Pearl Cortlandt . Peggy Thrift . Philina Phronie . Pierrot Prince of Wales Princess Ida Princess of France . Psyche P. *'Lady of Lyons." * 'Americans Abroad." ''Under the Gaslight." "The Country Girl." "Mignon." "Dollars and Sense." "The Prodigal Son" (Panto- mine). "Eichard the Third." "Lorle." "Love's Labor's Lost." "Cinderella at School." Queen Elizabeth . Queen Elizabeth . Queen of France Q. "Eichard m." "Mary Stuart." "Henry the Fifth." 173 Ada Belmi R. Kosalind . ''As You Like it.'* Eose ''Little Barefoot." Kose . . "The Prayer." Kose Fallon . "A Flash of Lightning." Ruth Tredgett . . "Charity." Selina s. . "Needles and Pins." Stella . "The Enchantress." Stella . "The Little Detective. ' ' Sybil Hawker . "Brass." Sylvia . "The Recruiting Officer. " Telka Essoff T. . "The Passing Regiment. " Thisbe Mestic . "Quits." Tika . . "Heart of Ruby" (Japanese). Tilburina "The Critic." Tony . . "Red-Letter Nights." Triphenia Magillicuddy "The Golden Widow." Una Urquhart Ursula U. "Love in Harness." "Much Ado About Nothing." 174 Pierrot Vera Bouraneff Viola Virginia Virginie . V. 'The Last Word.*' 'Twelfth Night." 'Virginius/' X*Assomoir.*' Winifred Wood Wilson . W. ''Jack Sheppard/' "EastLynne." Xantippe 'The Wife of Socrates." 176 m. THE VOICE OF THE FOEEIGN PKESS. England. Ada Rehan acted in London in 1884, 1886, 1888, 1890, 1891, 1893, 1894, 1895, 1896, and 1897. She made tours of the English provinces, with Mr. Daly*s company of come- dians, in 1886, 1888, and 1897. She acted in Germany (in Hamburg and in Berlin) in 1886, and in Paris, always at the Vaudeville Theatre, in 1888, 1890, and 1891. From the prominent newspaper criticisms of those j^ears and places the following records have been selected of the impression made by Ada Rehan 's acting. The gen- erally enthusiastic comments upon her lighter creations are not quoted, the extracts being restricted to her Shakespearean performances. ADA BEHAN AS KATHERINE. The Pall Mall Gazette , London: There are certain theatrical performances, like certain faces, which once seen are never forgotten, and such a one is Miss Ada Rehan 's rendering of the part of Kath- erine in "The Taming of the Shrew." As we journeyed 176 The Voice of the Foreign Press k) Islington we tried unsuccessfully, and perhaps some- what ungallantly, to recall how many years had elapsed since first we saw the great American actress in the character of Shakespeare's most turbulent heroine. Once the curtain rose, our difficulty was solved. It must have been yesterday, or last week, or last month at fur- thest, for there, in her pristine passion, vigor, and grace, moved the figure exactly as we first remembered it. To some people the impersonation of Baptista's willful daughter appears the easiest in the whole gallery of female portraits that our great poet collected. Only be virulent and violent enough at first and sufficiently meek and mild thereafter, and the thing is done ; but more acute observers will see that this is not so; that the shrew is not necessarily a scold or a termagant, but a woman with a naturally willful and headstrong disposi- tion which, unrestrained by any controlling influence, leads its possessor into excesses bringing disquiet and unrest to all around. Shakespeare eloquently shows that a woman may be a shrew and yet be a loving and lovable creature, waiting only for a still stronger nature than her own to which to yield and give obedience. With what art Miss Eehan presents all this, it seems almost super- fluous, in these days, to describe. The gradations by which the metamorphosis is effected are so gradual that we fail to notice them at all ; and when at the end we see the tame but still spirited woman the loving and sub- missive wife, there is nothing shocking or strange in the recollection of what a demon she was at the commence- ment of the play. Miss Rehan indulges in no undue vio- lence of voice or gesture to produce her effects. For her the heroine's passion is only the more dangerous, because 177 Ada Behan she never quite allows it to explode itself. It is always simmering and smoldering — never quite ablaze. The London Oraphic: The house literally rose at Miss Ada Rehan when she **took the stage," as the old phrase has it, in a character- istically'- tempestuous fashion, which none who saw will soon forget. It would be difficult to overpraise the ex- cellence of MissRehan's presentment of the proud, capri- cious Katharine — at once a human tigress and a gentle woman, whose refinement was evident even in the most furious outbursts of her outrageous temper, and the sub- tlety and variety which her soft, rich voice succeeded in imparting to her impassioned utterances. Her distinct enunciation and perfect delivery of the lines, too, sug- gested a reflection how rarely these qualities are encoun- tered on our stage. The London Daily Telegraph : If ever there was presented an embodiment of nervous force, nervous exhilaration, nervous tension, nervous abandonment, and nervous depression, it is contained in the Katherine of Ada Rehan. She does not act only with her voice, or her hands, or her face, but with her whole nature. We seem to see everything that is passing through the woman's mind, her keen struggle for supremacy, her lovely abandonment to the inevitable, her womanly expression of love and tenderness. Other Kath- erines that we have seen seem to think it necessary to for- get their breeding in the emphasis of their rage. Not so Miss Rehan. There is dignity in her furious passion, there is infinite grace in her humiliation. Her scream of 178 The Voice of the Foreign Press baffled rage is terrible ; her cry for pardon is piteous. Miss Rehan's Katherine is no mere actress; she is a ver- itable woman. She does not frighten us; she arouses our pity. It may be cruel and insolent to tame a high-spirited woman so ; it may be considered degrading to see her bow the knee to her lord and master. In these days of lady senior wranglers and senior classics the pic- ture of Katherine will appear more horrible than before. But, granted the scheme of Shakespeare, it could not be translated with more force or consummate art. The Edinburgh Scotsmam For the first time Miss Ada Rehan, an actress whose praises have been sung on two continents, visits Edin- burgh, and submits, along with Mr. Augustin Daly's com- pany, an entertainment which disarms criticism on account of its excellence and variety. Since 1890 she has been in London as a bright particular ''star" in the theat- rical heavens, and now she has gone out to conquer the provinces, which, judging by her last night's per- formance, are likely to be in accord with the two great cities on different sides of the Atlantic in which her reputation has chiefly been made. Miss Behan has all the qualities necessary for a theatrical '*star" — an artis- tic temperament, a statelj' presence, a beautiful voice, and a training which has put face, gesture, and voice thoroughly under command. Of the role of Katherine she has unquestionably a thorough grip. Her mood was as tempestuous as the winds which proverbially usher in the month of March. She blustered and stormed for awhile until the tempest was gradually quelled, as if by a magician's wand, and died away in soft, spring-like whis- 179 Ada Behan pers. This marvelous transition in tlie character of the shrew Miss Kehan depicted with many charming touches of art ; and it would be difficult to say in which aspect of the part the audience most enjoyed her acting. She was equally good in both. The audience was exceedingly enthusiastic. The Birmingham Daily Gazette: Many don the mantle of Shakespeare, but to few is it given to wear it with dignity. It dwarfs impostors to their natural proportions. It shows forth presumption in all its contemptible littleness. The man or woman who can wear it with grace must have something of the death- less fire of genius. Such a woman is Ada Rehan, an actress whose strong personality, passionate sympathy, and fire of soul declare her one of the long line of those who have worthily interpreted the ideals of the master poet of English speech. There are characteristics in Miss Rehan *s acting which force the thinking observer to this conclusion. ADA REHAN AS ROSALIND. The London Times: It is a merry, arch, playful Rosalind she shows us, unmarked by the smallest dash of the prose of everyday life. Rosalind's laugh is as pretty as the sound of a silver bell ; her bounty to the world at large is as bound- less as her love for Orlando. No suggestion of cynicism or strong-mindedness mars her gentle pleasantries. Without any other claim to public regard, and it has many, Mr. Daly's production of ''As You Like It'* 180 The Voice of the Foreign Press would still be memorable for Miss Eehan's delightful embodiment of Eosalind, the best of the century. The London Saturday Review: The present generation and the growing generation have seen more than one Kosalind in London, and of them all, only one — and she, alas 1 has been taken from us — that could be named in the same breath with Miss Rehan. The first requisite for, perhaps, the most charm- ing part in Shakespeare's comedies is that most indefina- ble thing, charm. This Miss Eehan has proved herself to possess, over and over again, in parts of lighter calibre, and, with a very distinct touch of genius, in the part of Katherine in '*The Taming of the Shrew," a part capable, in the hands of a very capable actress, of being well played and yet wanting charm. Those of us who hoped most from Miss Eehan's Eosalind may have been surprised at the extent to which their utmost hope has been realized. Dignity ; girlhood growing into womanhood ; the inception and completion of a love per- fect in innocence; resentment of injustice; playfulness and tenderness, in the boy's disguise ; a shy boldness be- forehand with Orlando ; after the wrestling scene a com- plete but difficult courage, failing only in the scene of *' counterfeiting," and then still attempted; return to the absolute womanliness which has never been lost — all these things make up the sum of Eosalind, a character as try- ing as it is entrancing. All these things Miss Eehan understands and expresses. Mr. Daly's presentment of the play is almost a revelation. The London Daily Telegraph: The early scenes of "As You Like It" are considered 181 Ada Rehan by the amateur quite unnecessary and immaterial. Ada Rehan does not think so. Here she has to show her womanly nature, her pride and her independence. Directly she opens her mouth we know how her heart overflows with tenderness. If it were not so, how could she love and adore the gentle Celia. But she has pride also, a pride that cannot be crushed by any love or senti- ment. Then, best of all, Rosalind shows this to perfec- tion after her scene with the Duke, when, the sentence having been pronounced, she proposes the girlish esca- pade, not so much as a revenge, but as a relief for her baffled and crushed pride. Her denunciation of the Duke is superb in its majesty and force — no stage ranting, but the overflow, the natural overflow of a proud woman's heart. But the reaction to a burst of humor and fantas- tic devilry is equally admirable. Rosalind wants a relief to her pent-up pride and vexation, and she finds it in the madcap journey with Celia and Touchstone. The woman, remember, is all nerves. She has seen the only man she can love, she has been insulted by one who should have protected her, and she rushes into the comedy of the situation like the wildest and most impet- uous woman in the world. Nothing finer has been seen in the way of brilliant contrast than Rosalind's proud, fiery, and impetuous outburst when the Duke insults her, find- ing its relief not in tears exactly, but in the comfort- ing love of her kinswoman. This superb effort was crowned with overwhelming applause. But the audi- ence little knew, though the Shakespearean students did, that this was the keynote, as it was, of Ada Rehan 's Rosalind. She is a woman in the first act, and she never ceases to be a woman in every scene in the play. 183 The Voice of the Foreign Press She may masquerade, she may gasconade, she may chaff, she may be the spirit of humor and comedy, but, con- cealed by the doublet and hose, and illustrated by the aggressive spear, there is still the woman Kosalind ever with us, never for one second losing her womanly charm. But, of course, one might write volumes on the deeper significance of Ada Kehan's Kosalind. Our pur- pose now is to state how the artist plays upon her audi- ence with her rare art of comedy. She is not slow or lethargic, as most English players are. She has mag- netic influence ; she travels over the footlights ; she has the audience, or such parts of it as possess intelligence and intellect, in the palm of her hand. And what is the result? This exquisite old comedy goes with the spirit denied, alas! to Shakespeare, but reserved for modern musical farce. The St. James* Gazette , London: Miss Ada Kehan is an actress who can only be com- pared with herself. So strongly imbued with her per- sonality is each character she sustains that, in order to arrive at a just estimate of any, one is constrained to consider it by the light of her other assumptions.** The London Globe: How girlish were many of the movements, the light runs across the stage, into the arms of her cousin, the recoil from the advances of Orlando, the tremu- lous and caressing ardor that showed how deeply the arrow of Cupid had entered ! How musical was the voice in its every utterance, how graphic were the gestures! . . . The conquest achieved by Miss Behan over the 183 Ada Eehan audience was complete, and the enthusiasm was untiring and unbounded. Truth, London: A more harmonious rendering of Shakespeare's *'As You Like It, " a rendering more distinguished for its even- ness of tone, for its thoroughness of conception, and for its general grace of elocution, has not been seen in our time. A Kosalind more ideal, more versatile, more womanly, or more humorous than Miss Eehan has, I venture to say, never trod the English stage since the age of the giants. Land and Water, London: Miss Ada Kehan steps from triumph to triumph ; she has established it as an axiom of the stage that she can do nothing in which she is not delicious. Her Katherine was magnificent! Her Eosalind was an ideal realization of the ideal woman of the most ex- quisite love comedy that was ever written. Ada Kehan 's acting, Shakespearean though it may be, in every well pronounced and musical syllable, was but a procession of old, dearly-treasured memories, whether she was coy or bold, petulant or entreating, caressing, indifferent, ten- der, timid, or lost in dreamy reverie of sweet love mus- ings. Nimble of wit, fleet of foot, rapid in gesture, as the deer of the forest themselves, flitting perpetually round the flower of love like a humming-bird moth, yet only tasting it with delicate fore-feeler, and darting back as rapidly when approached, her beautiful voice, like a splendid searchlight, wandered through the musical cadences of the lovely lines, making each well-known concert stand out in charming relief, and ever and anon 184 The Voice of the Foreign Press lighting on some hitherto unsuspected beauty and reveal- ing it for the first time in all its delicacy. In short, this most comely creature, graceful as the dryads, play- ful as the squirrels, with the audible woman's heart throbbing in every gesture, accent, and look, seemed the verj^ spirit of woman now incarnate and visible before us ; the exhaustive embodiment of all that is wayward, loving, adorable, and delightful. The Sketch, London: The depth, the sincerity and the warmth of her Eosa- lind pervade the air. She has a true appreciation of the love which fills Kosalind's heart and soul and makes life joyous for her, and with an extremely delicate touch, with sprightly grace and admirable art, Miss Rehan conveys to her audience, alluringly, convincingly, this side of Rosalind's character. Her Rosalind is radi- ant in its expression of happiness. It is beautiful in its brilliancy. But it is infinitely tender. Miss Rehan 's Rosalind is an example of acting in its highest form. Well thought and balanced, perfect in its light and shade, its dominant feature is its womanliness, its truth to nature. The Birmingham Daily Gazette: It asks the pen of an enthusiast to bring before the mind's eye the gracious being whom Miss Ada Rehan revealed to us in the guise of Rosalind. It was an edu- cation in the virtues of womanhood to see her. And yet with what simplicity, with what unapparent art, she por- trayed this exquisite character — perhaps the most fasci- nating of all Shakespeare's heroines. It is Dante, is it 185 Ada Rehan not, "who speaks of the transfiguring effect of love on woman? Miss Rehan's performance was a sort of natural commentary, nay, an exemplification, a proof of this idea. Yet there was no excess of sentiment, no nursing of a passion to the point of morbidness. A more sun- shiny love was never seen. And merry withal, with the joy of a heart that loves and knows itself loved in return. Deep also, with the intensity of entire self-surrender. It was a lesson in the language of the emotions to watch the play of thought on Miss Rehan 's expressive features. Delight sparkled in her eyes as she listened to the pro- testations of the rapt Orlando. There was roguishness, too, and coyness, and all her movements were eloquent of a love almost painful in its sweetness. Here, we felt — and the whole house felt — was the ideal Rosalind. " The Nottingham Guardian: The acme of perfection in regard to Shakespearean act- ing is reached by Miss Ada Rehan, in her impersonation of Rosalind. No other actress is there at the present time who is able to invest the masquerading heroine of *'As You Like It'* with such truly remarkable charm. Not even the most hardened of playgoers could resist the fas- cination of this Rosalind, as, full of winsome wiles and pretty blandishments, she lures Orlando to woo her under the shadow of the forest trees. And when Rosa- lind, her ill-attempted manly swagger deserting her, listens with gathering alarm to the story of her lover's encounter with the lioness, Miss Rehan played magnifi- cently. It is a creation which remains in the memory, a pleasurable recollection, long after the tableau cur- tains have hidden from view for the last time the dainty 186 The Voice of the Foreign Press figure, clad in russet-brown doublet and hose, whose words and actions have enthralled the attention during three hours — a time which has seemed all too brief. ADA REHAN AS VIOLA. The Pall Mall Gazette^ London. To see the "Twelfth Night" last evening was to recall Heine's dream of starry night, and the wide, wide sea, and the apparition of the Goddess of Caprice, that strange Muse who was present at the birth of Rosalind, Beatrice, Titania, Viola, and all the rest of the charming chil- dren of Shakespeare's comedy. Of all that Muse's god- children no one is more delightful than Viola, and no one more invincibly attracts — and, at the same time, more gravely dismays — an actress. For in Viola, even more than in Rosalind, the desired success is difficult to seize. It is therefore, perhaps. Miss Rehan's greatest triumph. Her Viola stands by the side of her finest creations — beside her Katherine, her Rosalind ; she has enriched our memory with one more ideal picture of a heroine of Shakespeare's comedy. Miss Rehan's Viola must certainly be declared equal to the finest work she has done ; it is possible that it may even be found better than anything she has yet done. The simplicity, the passion, the melancholy, the humor, all the varying qualities that are united to make Viola one of the most enchanting women that a great poet ever called to life, had their proportioned part in Miss Rehan's performance. It may be easy to make the masquerading girl's passion for the moody Duke seem unreal, or even unpleasant, a midsummer's madness, or an unbridled appetite. Miss 187 Ada Rehan Rehan made it seem at once natural and noble, tender and exalted, human and yet fanciful, earnest and yet always womanly. The scene in which she sits by the Duke's side and watches his face while he listens to the love song is one of the most perfect pieces of acting it has ever been our good fortune to witness. Her Viola stood almost motionless, with folded arms, but in the least turn of the head, in the slightest shade of shifting emo- tions on the expressive face, every feeling that stirred the girl's heart, every passionate thought that vexed her mind, was revealed. No less admirable were the scenes of playful mockery with Olivia, the scene of panic with the boors. The charming cowardice of Viola was represented without exaggeration. The firm command of her powers which was characteristic of the whole performance was not for a moment lost, in a situation where the temptation to overplay might very well seem inviting. The London Times: The performance of "Twelfth Night," by Miss Ada Rehan and the other members of Mr. Daly's company enables Miss Rehan to return to the highest plane of her art, where she remains unrivaled. To her Kath- erine and her Rosalind, her Viola forms a charming companion picture — an ideal of womanly self-sacrifice and grace. Of the three Shakespearian impersonations which Miss Rehan has given us, it may be questioned, indeed, whether her Viola is not destined to leave the most pleasurable associations in the memory. A haunting pic- ture is that which she presents of the love-lorn maid who "never told her love," and it is all the more enchanting from the tender and winning accents with which the 188 The Voice of the Foreign Press actress is able to express the poetry of the conception. Important as it may be, in all parts, the voix d'or with which such actresses as Madame Sarah Bernhardt and Miss Ada Eehan are gifted is never heard to greater advantage than in such chaste, sublimated and sweetly feminine creations as Viola. Miss Eehan 's voice counts for much in the effect produced by this performance; but no less touching is the purity and delicacy of her untold love which is less a passion than a poem. This performance, confirms the impression that Miss Kehan's true line is Shakespearean comedy. There, at present, she stands alone. The London Saturday Review: Eomance is indeed the essence of MissEehan's reading of "Viola. And it would be difficult to better the fine touches which Miss Eehan gives to the double intention — on the one hand devotion to Orsino, on the other a finely repressed jealousy of Olivia. It is not more in Miss Eehan's face than in her voice that the spectator reads the conflicting emotions which lead at last to so fair an end. The "voice of gold" has somewhat to say to this. But the voice of gold, without inspiring genius, could not be supreme. And Miss Eehan has that voice and that genius. The London Telegraph: Miss Ada Eehan has given us three great and essen- tially womanly Shakespearean performances since she has been one of us — her Katherine, her Eosalind, her Yiola ! Who shall attempt to say which is the best ? For our- selves, charmed as we have been, we refuse to be the 189 Ada Eehan arbiter. The last given is the best remembered, and Miss Ada Eehan 's Yiola will be a memory that time will with great difficulty efface. These fine old plays fade and fade away from the stage. They depart and are seen no more. They are derided by such as have not the taste to appre- ciate them, or the grace to give them reverence, but they will live on and on, while poetry has a hearing on the English stage, and while managers so devoted to poetic art are found as Mr. Augustin Daly, with Miss Ada Rehan at his right hand. The London Daily Chronicle: Miss Eehan is to be applauded for upholding the poetry and wealth of imagination contained in "Twelfth Night ' instead of dragging the story down to common- place realism. She is neither amused nor surprised at Olivia's declaration of affection — her sympathy is kindled for one who is in somewhat similar straits to herself, and therefore in her rejection of the Countess there is nothing that is contemptuous, or wantonly cruel. As much a slave to the god of love as is the high-born lady to whom she has been sent, Viola regards her with pity and sis- terb^ regard. This view of the character — the correct one — Miss Eehan brings out with grace, ease and consum- mate tact. The St. James' Gazette, London: Exquisitely tender, graceful and beautiful, she flits through the play like a bird across a summer sky. In ever J' glance, in every movement, her love for the Duke finds an outlet. "With what exquisite expression were the lines "She never told her love," etc., spoken by Miss 190 The Voice of the Foreign Press Rehan it is perhaps unnecessary to say, or with what perfect pathos the entire scene was played. Beautiful also was the action when, on receivinpj from the duke the chain intended for the countess, Viola raised it to her lips and reverently kissed it . . . But the real basis of Miss Rehan's performance is tender and subdued womanliness. The whole picture is wonderfully vivid, and by its rare beauty appeals directly to the feelings of the audience. It is in such appropriate and exquisite touches that Mr. Daly's management excels. The Birmingham Daily Gazette: The hopes awakened by Miss Rehan 's Rosalind were more than borne out by her Yiola. It is the Yiola formulated by the rumination and thought of gen- erations, with the addition of something that is of the very essence and fibre of Miss Rehan 's nature. The love- lorn ambassadress of love, the romantic youth feeding her flame with fond imagination, the timorous woman terrified at the sight of a sword : all these Miss Rehan was — and more. Anything more lyrically beautiful, more delicately suggestive of the longing of a fine nature enamored, than her speaking of the lines : " She never told her love, But let concealment, like a worm 1' the bud, Feed on her damask cheek," could not be imagined. Nor is Miss Rehan's impersonation of Viola simply an interpretation of the surface meaning of Shakespeare's lines. She reads deeper, and gives us fine shades of sensibility that, lie between the periods. Viola's love for Orsino — half -suppressed but unsuppressa- 191 Adxjb Behan ble — insinuated itself in byplay of such rare delicacy that it seemed the language of natural passion rather than the effect of art ; an impulse rather than a simulation. France. Dela Pommeroye: That which strikes above all, especially in Miss Kehan, is the very visible preoccupation ; the American artists give to the spectator absolutely the illusion of reality. In this respect the comedians of Mr. Daly go very much further than our French artists, although this tendency to realism has been marked by us for several years. If all American comedians play like those we have seen, they have a right to say the American theatre is the natural one : their propensity to realism is affirmed in a thousand de- tails. The ease of entering, making exits, taking their chairs seating themselves, etc., is the image of an every- day, life. In our theatres there is always a little conven- tionalism in the manoeuvres of the personages. If I may judge from what I have seen of these Americans the do- main of realism is theirs exclusively. Le Figaro: To find anything among us comparable to this model company we must go to the Comedie-Francaise. The star of the troupe is Miss Ada Rehan ... A Reichemberg combined with a Samary. ''Paris:" Miss Ada Rehan asserts herself by voice, look and ges- ture ; even those who do not understand what she says feel that she is a personage. She does not charm but 192 AS "LADY TEAZLE' The Voice of the Foreign Presi commands, she forces herself upon the attention and the mind. Tho American artists . . . go much further than the French even, in lending an illusion of reality to the performance. Le Siecle: The success of the evening was won by Miss Ada Kehan. She seems to us to combine the charm of Mile. Keichemberg with the piquancy of Mile. Eejane. Germany. The Berlin Staatshurgher Zeitung: *'The Country Girl" . . . gave the public a fine opportunity to admire the art of the American players, who by their intellectual acting and ready grasp of all comic situations made a happy impression on the audience. Chiefly was the exquisite '^natural art" of Miss Kehan in the part of Peggy admired and enthusiastically embraced. The Berlin Boersen Zeitung: The sample of original American comic acting was received enthusiastically by the audience. Among the participants Miss Ada Rehan, whose versatility is aston- ishing, distinguished herself by an uncommonly original and delightful performance. The Berlin Charivari: We have already remarked upon the brilliant ensemble of the Daly Company. It has among its members, also, artists who, in their individual acting, are of the first rank. Miss Ada Eehan . . . showed herself to be an artist, who throws her whole soul into the performance, and she has won our German hearts by her naturalness, her sincerity, and her wonderful versatility. 193 IV. ADA EEHAN AND TENNYSON. Tennyson's play of ''The Foresters" was produced, for the first time on any stage, at Daly's Theatre, New York, on March 17, 1892, Ada Rehan representing Maid Marian. The comedy ran until April 23, and it was revived, for a brief run, in January, 1893. The following passages, relative to this subject, are reprinted from the Memoir of Tennyson, by his son : 1891. — "Mr. Daly and Miss Eehan came to arrange about *Robin Hood.' Mr. Daly said that such a thor- oughly English woodland play was sure to be popular in America. My father recommended him to look at Whymper's pictures of Sherwood Forest, which he straightway bought, in order that they might be copied for the scenes. Sir Arthur Sullivan undertook to set the songs. ''My father said to Mr. Daly: 'I don't care for "The Foresters," as I do for "Becket" and "Harold." Irv- ing suggested the fairies in my "Eobin Hood," else I should not have dreamed of trenching on Shake- speare's ground in that way. Then Irving wrote to me that the play was not "sensational" enough for an English public. It is a woodland play — a pastoral without shep- herds. The great stage drama is wholly unlike most of the drama of modern times. I do not like the idea of ©very scene being obliged to end with a bang. About 194 , J 3 - 3 JB [ i^t "i^ v ^^^ — - • *. ; 1 iln \ ^^ jl ^, i^^l i ■■■'■ ^^^^H 1 and Tennyson "There Is No Land Like England/* he added, 'I wrote that song when I was nineteen. It has a beastly chorus against the French, and I must alter that if you will have it.* ** Before Christmas he had written a new scene and a new song for Miss Rehan — *Love Flew In At the Win- dow. * . **It gave him great pleasure to hear that American people were 'appreciative of the fancy, and of the beauty, and especially of the songs and of the wise sayings about life in which the woodland play abounds. ' The houses were packed, and the play had a long and most successful run. ''Before the production, my father wrote to Augustin Daly: " 'I wish you all success with my "Eobin Hood" and Maid Marian. From what I know of Miss Ada Rehan I am sure that she will play her part to perfection, and I am certain that, under your management, with the music by one so popular as Sir Arthur Sullivan, with the cos- tumes fashioned after the old designs in the British Museum, with the woodland scenes taken from Mr. Whymper's beautiful pictures of the Sherwood of to-day, my play will be produced to advantage both in America and in England. . . With all cordial greetings to my American friends, I remain, " 'Faithfully yours, Tennyson.' "And he received the following from Miss Rehan : " *Let me add my congratulations to the many on the success of "The Foresters." I cannot tell how delighted 195 Ada Behan I was when I felt and saw, from the first, the joy it was giving to our lirge audience. Its charm is felt by all. Let me thank you for myself for the honor of play- ing your Maid Marian which I have learned to love, for while I am playing the part I feel all its beauty and sim- plicity and sweetness, which make me feel for the time a happier and a better woman. I am indeed proud of its great success, for your sake as well as my own.' *' 196 WITH HER BLLLIMX; ''FUN V. ADA EEHAN IN ''THE SQUIRE." Lippincott's Magazine, Fhiladelphia, October, 1883: First Impressions. Three or four years ago, in purposeless wandering about the streets of New York of a winter's evening with an English friend, the editor of the principal dramatic journal of London, we found ourselves standing in front of the Fifth Avenue Theatre, attracted by the title of the play, "An Arabian Night. " It suited our vagabondish humor, and we entered the house, for the first time, to see it. As we took our seats there were two women upon the stage : one was about making her exit by the middle upper entrance, speaking her line as she went off. It was, "1 shall be back in five minutes." Having heard it spoken, our friend exclaimed, *'Why, she's a first- rater!" The young girl who had thus extorted the ad- miration of the most dreaded if not the most brilliant of British dramatic critics was Ada Eehan. No line could apparently be more tame or less effective, — "I shall be back in five minutes." But as spoken it teemed with expression, giving the command of the stage to the speaker, and winning for her a general burst of spontaneous applause. She was running, not walking, off the stage : as she reached the curtained exit, 197 Ada Mehan she drew its heavy drapery about her, framing herself -within it, delivering the words somewhat after the follow- ing fashion :"1 shall be back" — fact absolute, emphatically stated — "in" — doubt, pause for reflection, consideration — **five m-i-n-u-t-e-s. " To that bare and barren line the actress had imparted a volume of thought, and had so shown the resources of her art as to compel the most gen- erous praise of a most judicious critic. What else she had done in doing that was to broadly express her own personality, making it apparent to every intelligent aud- itor that she was a girl — for she was still but a girl — of strong character, whose acts were inspired by thought. A Natural Comedian. Miss Kehan is essentially a comedian, and by her own personality and her art goes far toward making real to us the stage personality and the art of *'that child of nature," the beautiful Mrs. Jordan. Mrs. Jordan's ele- gance of manner, refinement of expression, but particu- larly her unstudied grace of bearing, pose, and gesture, her exuberance of spirit, her keen, sweet self-enjoy- ment, her insouciant abandon, her natural charm and winsomeness, are all in a measure recalled, if not revived and restored to the stage, by her younger sister of the theatre. In carefully searching for the source of the wondrous charm of Miss Kehan 's art, which is to-day incomparable upon the English-speaking stage, as one of the first of British dramatic critics has declared, a clue seems to be found in a bit of talk which Barrington had with Mrs. Jordan, and which he has reproduced in his ** Memoirs. " "When that garrulous Irishman asked how she contrived 198 A Natural Comedian '*to be so buoyant — nay, so childish — on the stage, while you lose half your spirits and degenerate into gravity the moment you are off it,'* she replied, "Old habits, old habits. Had I formally studied my profession, weighed my words, and measured my gestures, I should have been artificial, and they might have hissed me : so, when I had got the words well by heart, I told nature I was then at her service, to do whatever she thought proper with my feet, legs, hands, arms, and features; to her I left the whole matter; in fact, I was merely her puppet, and never interfered further myself in the business. I heard the audience laugh at me, and I laughed at myself ; they laughed again, so did I; and they gave me credit for matters I knew very little about, and for which Dame Nature, not I, should have received their approbation. ' ' But Mrs. Jordan, with all her assumed reliance upon nature, knew as well as her great compeer Mrs. Siddons the springs and levers of her art. She had rules to gov- ern her ; and here is one which we commend to all actors : "The best rule," she said, "is to forget, if possible, that any audience is listening. We perform best of all in our closets, and next best to crowded houses ; but I scarcely ever saw a good performer who was always eyeing the audience. If half the gesticulation, half the wit, droll- ery, and anecdote which I have heard among you all at Curran's Priory, at Grattan's cottage, and at your own house," she said to Barrington, "had been displayed before an audience without you knowing that anybody was listening to you, the performance would have been cheered as one of the finest pieces of comic acting pos- sible, though, in fact, your only plot was to get tipsy as agreeably as you could. ' ' 199 Ada Behan In Serious Drama. In all the serious work Miss Rehan does there are con- vincing evidences of profound thought and laborious study which in her autumnal years will bear fruit. While essen- tially a comedian, Miss Rehan has put off the cap and bells and appeared with dagger and bowl with only less accept- ancy. The two plays in which she has achieved the most signal triumphs and in which she can be most judiciously weighed and judged are Pinero's play, "The Squire," and "Casting the Boomerang, " renewed for the American stage by Mr. Daly, from the German of Schonthan. In "The Squire" there is no comedy. It is all most sad and serious business — the struggle of a young girl, friendless, guideless, through a most perilous sea of doubt, misery, and despair, until at the end there come smooth, calm waters and happy, smiling shores. It just escapes being the direst tragedy — the wreck of a life good, simple, pure, loving, beautiful. "With all the deepest and strongest eomtions the actress has to do, and with them she does as one born to love, suffer, endure, and as one who has long loved, suffered, and endured. From the rise of the curtain to its fall Miss Rehan is, in pre- senting strong, passionate, or tender phases of character, almost faultless. And it is the best evidence that could be offered to the perpetuity of her success that she has intelligence and feeling sufficient to enable her to portray as admirably as she does a character so at variance with the natural sources of her art. It proves that thought informs and labor shapes it. Ada Rehan and Charles Fisher. But there are two notable scenes in "The Squire" in 200 A Scene of Pathos which the audience are forced to the recognition of the presence of two great and noble artists, whom the tradi- tions of no triumphs won by others can justly shame. The one is Ada Kehan, the other the veteran Charles Fisher, the most finished artist of this good company of comedians, an actor of the noblest school of comedy. Charles Fisher was born in London in 1816, and made his first appearance on the stage in 1834, at the Prin- cess Theatre. Shortly afterward he came to America, appearing at Burton's Theater in "The Gardener's Wife. ' ' Subsequently he became one of the strong props of the elder Wallack's theatre, and later of the younger Wallack's. For a season at least he was a member of the old Walnut Street company, and will be especially remembered by the old playgoers for his brilliant and manly presentation of the part of Dandy Dinmont, shar- ing with Miss Charlotte Cushman the honors of the performance. In his younger days Mr. Fisher was a man of remarkable physical beauty of a very manly and noble type. A Scene of Pathos. The character presented by Mr. Fisher in ''The Squire" is that of the Mad Parson, mad only in the gos- sip of the parish or in the veiled mystery of his life, in his studied avoidance of women, in his settled gloom of manner, and in his great, deep, wide tenderness of feel- ing and act. On business of charity he visits the Squire, Kate Verity, for the first time. Following the ordinarily ceremonious greeting between strangers, the Squire, obey- ing the spirit of impulse, from which she always acts, walks straight up to her taciturn guest, who sits at a table, 201 Ada Behan impatiently waiting for the aid he has come to find. She says, in the brave, open, strong manner of a man speak- ing to an equal, "Parson, you have never come here since my father died. I am your neighbor, and the nearest thing to a squire you have in your parish. To slight the first was impolite, the second impolitic." He replies, **I did not like your father." To which, in cool, sweet tone, and manner grave as his own, she answers, "My father did not like you." And then, as if gauging the metes and bounds, the heights and depths, of the old man's loneliness and sorrow, she again obeys the gracious, beneficent womanly impulse which controls her, puts out her open hand to him in a hearty, manly fashion, with a smile upon her face, shin- ing winsomely, beseechingly in her beautiful eyes, play- ing about her fine, nervous mouth, so radiant and full of the sunshine of good-fellowship as to have tempted St. Simon to his fall. The parson looks at the outstretched hand, then up to the refulgent face and tender eyes, seeing in them the reflection of a pure soul, but it is the hand of a woman. He hesitates, and is lost, for his hand goes out to hers, and the two great-hearted people are friends. But the touch of that woman's hand, the first for so many long, pained years, recalls another woman to mind, and he sits wrapt in this sacred memory of his till the Squire, stealing quietly behind him, softly touches him upon the shoulder. He starts as if about to resent the intrusion, then recognizes the hand that he had taken in fellowship the moment before. "Do you know what they say about you in Market Sinfield?" 202 A Scene of Pathos **No," is his gruff, indifferent answer. ''They say," she goes on, ''that you hate women, and will have only men-servants about your house. ' * ''Do they?" he replies. "Well, they are honest men." There is a long pause ; the hand of the Squire steals almost caressingly to the old man's bent shoulder, and the girl's face grows grave and pitiful. The question this time falls in low, tender tones: "Was she pretty, parson?" "Yes," slowly, hesitatingly spoken, in a voice smoth- ered and pained, the word dragged out of him. "Was she— good?" He is sitting with his hands clasped upon the head of his stout stick, his eyes are fixed upon vacancy, and when that question is asked him, the reverend gray head sinks slowly upon his breast, and from his parched, nervously- working lips comes the answer, an almost inaudible "No," more like a sob than a word. "I am sorry," she says. And her hands fall upon — as if to bless if they could — this battered old wreck of a stormy love. The simplicity with which this scene was clothed bj' the two actors gave it such dignity and force as to raise it to the highest plane of dramatic excellence and to seem to divest it of all theatrical trickery. In a subsequent scene, in which the parson comes in the storm and gloom of the night to warn her against the man who is already her husband and to tell her that his wife is lying ill at the village — a wife thought to be long before dead by both the husband and his later spouse, the acting of Miss Rehan and Mr. Fisher was incompar- ably beautiful, unmarred by a single defect, and char- 203 Ada BeJum acterized by the highest intelligence and profoundest feeling for their art. Casting the Boomerang. Miss Rehan, as the heroine of "Casting the Boome- rang," everywhere proclaims the genius that inspires her ; it does not seem like art at all, but like nature — nature buoyant, exuberant, sometimes running riot, but never losing a certain winsome charm and dazzling grace. Her voice is full, rich, strong, clear, sweet, and sugges- tive of a nature soft and refined. In form she is tall, elegant, and graceful, her walk being especially notable for its fine freedom of action and decision of purpose. Her features are delicate and regular, the eyes being of great beauty and brilliant with varying expression. Her smile is warm and bright like sunshine, and her laugh low, sweet, and joyous — an echo of her most radiant moods. S04 POSITIVE AND COMPAllATIVE. Sir, — Permit me to offer yoii a '''Mem. for a Ball/ Diary. ' '—Twelfth Nig'iit. I'o assist one in producing- a Shak- spearian play, and for finding- an actress capable of doing- justice to its heroine, it would be difficult, than Ada Rehan, to iind an Aider and a better. After this I may bo indignantly asked ' ' how dare I thus reck- lessly pun upon the name of so excellent an actress?" Whereunto I am bound to reply with just one more, and say, according to the French proverb, '' Rehan n'est ^da as '' Viola." sacre pour un sapeur. Le sapeur ? C^est moil And sorry shall I be when the Dalies leave us, and the word goes forth, ^' Rehan ne va plus ! " Yours, Le Sapetjk. FROM LONDON PUNCH FEB.24T'^ 1894 MR. PUNCH'S COMPLIMENT VI. ADA KEHAN AND DALY'S LONDON THEATRE. The St. James Gazette^ October 30, 1891: In the presence of a large assembly of ladies and gen- tlemen distinguished in literature, art, and the drama, Miss Ada Eehan this afternoon laid the foundation stone of Mr. Augustin Daly's new theatre, off Leicester Square. Among those) present were Sir Frederick Leighton, P.R.A., Sir Augustus Harris, Mr. and Mrs. Bancroft, Mr. Edward Terry, etc. A large portion of the site had been covered by a marquee, which was more than filled by the assembly. The new theatre, which will present a very elegant and tasteful fa9ade to Cranbourne Street, stands only a few feet away from Leicester TJquare, and, owing to the improvements in Ryder's Court, is practically a corner site. The principal entrance is in Cranbourne Street, which leads to the stalls and dress circle ; another entrance leads to the upper circle, while the entrance to the pit is in Ryder's Court, and to the gallery from a pas- sageway at the back. All these entrances to the upper circle, pit, and gallery are duplicated. The audience to the dress circle enter practically level with the street, and those to the stalls go down wide staircases right and left of the entrance vestibule. There is a spacious foyer and smoking-room on the first floor facing into the main street, and each division of the audience has refreshment JJ05 Ada Rehan and cloakroom accommodation. There are three tiers above the pit level — dress circle, upper circle and gallery — and on either side of the proscenium of five private boxes. In the decorations of the auditorium, the foyer, and the vestibule marble and polished woods will form a special feature. The architects are Mr. Spencer Chad- wick and Mr. C. J. Phipps, F.S.A. Miss Rehan, who wore a black velvet costume, the skirt edged with fur, and the mantle ornamented with silver passementerie, was received, upon her arrival with Mr. Daly, with applause. A box containing newspapers of the day and a series of coins of the realm having been placed in a cavity beneath the foundation-stone, Miss Rehan proceeded to spread the mortar in a vigorous and workmanlike fashion. The stone was then lowered into its place, and Miss Rehan pronounced it to be well and truly laid. Coming then to the front, she recited the following : SONG OF DEDICATION: ON THE OCCASION OF LAYING THE FOUNDATION STONE OP DALY*S THEATEE, LONDON, OCTOBER 30, 1891. Spoken by Miss Ada Rehan. Brothers and sisters from over the sea! Send us your blessing before we depart! Here in this Empire of Cities are we Building for time a Cathedral of Art! Art of no country ! and art of no home ! Wanderer free! o'er the face of the world! Warrior Art ! when unwilling to roam, Here is your tent! with your banner unfurled. 206 and Daly^s London Theatre England! America! Sisters in soul! Let us clasp hands o'er the stone at our feet. Love will endure while the centuries roll. Making a harmony goodly to greet. Deep in the ground let us bury to-day All the destroying distrust of the past ! Then from the chill of the grave, and its clay. Surely will rise a Love's Temple at last. When the Life springs from the stone we have laid, "When from the ground is uplifted the tree, "What shall we welcome then? Be not afraid. Partners in comedy! merry we'll be. Life is so sorrowful! Why should we weep? Toil is so terrible! Why should we moan? Goddess of Laughter ! thy tryst we will keep — Here on this spot we will raise thee a throne I Brothers and sisters! in kinship and name Bid us Godspeed to the work ere we part! Ours be the prayer ; be to others the fame ! Theirs be the triumph; let ours be the heart! Blest be the work that we christen to-day. Sweet be the flow*r from this blossoming sod; Not for renown but for beauty we pray, Purest in art — is the dearest to God ! At the beginning of the second verse Miss Rehan and Mrs. Bancroft joined hands, an action which was received with applause. The verses were followed by the playing of the National Anthem and ''Yankee Doo- dle. ' ' Mrs. Bancroft then made a graceful speech in 207 Ada Eehan which she wished a welcome to Mr. Daly and his com- pany, and trusted that he and it would meet with the success which always attends good work. She then christened the building "Daly's Theatre" by breaking (with a force grievous to many dresses and hats) a bottle of champagne upon the foundation-stone, and after con- gratulations all round, the pleasant ceremony ended. Pall Mall Gazette^ October SI, 1891: The conerstone of the new theatre was laid by Miss Ada Rehan. The ceremony began with the presentation by Mr. George Edwardes to Miss Ada Rehan of a handsome silver trowel, bearing the follow- ing inscription: *' Presented by Mr. George Edwardes to Miss Ada Rehan, upon the occasion of her laying the foundation of his new theatre for Mr. Augustin Daly, Friday, October 30, 1891." Mr. Edwardes said he trusted that as Miss Rehan lightly spread the mortar that would cement the two stones together, her action might typify the cementing together of the English and American stages. (Applause.) The stone was, after the usual formalities, then declared to be '*well and truly laid." Miss Rehan then recited the ''Song of Dedica- tion," written for the occasion. Mrs. Bancroft then spoke as follows: ''Mr. Daly, my poor words will sound very, very humble indeed, after the eloquence of Miss Ada Rehan ; but perhaps a few simple words from the heart are always eloquent. I dare say — in fact I know — that an immense number of titles have been suggested for your new theatre ; but in my opinion not one is more appropriate, or indeed, so appropriate as 'Daly's Theatre.* (Hear, hear.) For it is a name fami- 208 and Daly's London Theatre liar among us — one that has almost become a household word. Everybody here — and I am sure, the London world besides — will join with me "in wishing you that prosperity which will ever attend good work. Your clever comedy company, headed by the incomparable and delightful Ada Eehan — (loud cheers) — will be welcomed here in our big city again and again. I do not know what more to say, except that in the names of my hus- band and myself, who, I hope, have done some good work for dramatic art — in our names and in the names, I am sure, of the entire London stage — every actor and every manager — we bid you a hearty welcome. (Bravo!) I shall insist upon calling it Daly's Theatre — at all events provisionally — because I cannot break the bottle over nothing at all — (laughter) — so I shall accompany the ceremony of christening your theatre with simple words that are never out of fashion. Mr. Daly, I will christen your theatre Daly's Theatre, and good luck toii'V 209 TO ADA KEHAN. How can I praise you ? Were I asked to sing An empire's fall, the conquests of a king, I might, undaunted, entertain the Muse, Might hope to win, nor greatly fear to lose. Might through the past with Alexander pace. Or tell anew the tale of Troy's disgrace: But here, ah, here a happier task invites The heart that worships and the hand that writes ; For here Ambition sets my heart ablaze To be the laurelled singer of your praise. So great a deed Ambition should not ask Of luckless rhymer. I renounce the task. Tear up my paper, fling aside my pen. And, most dejected of the sons of men. Go sighing hence. Yet, stay! Hope's flattering tale Bids me reflect that though foredoomed to fail. My failure's but a question of degree. For greatest bards must come to grief like me ; Must, like me, halt, adventure, and despair For lack of words to "praise that passing fair." ^10 To Ada Behan Oh, happy generation that can see The dearest daughter of Melpomene Play all those queens of gracious carnival. From passionate Nancy to enchanting Val ; That can behold the wild Miss Hoyden curl Her laughing lip, or love the Country Girl ; Or, in the shade of Attic olive trees. Pay homage to the Wife of Socrates, And with Petruchio kiss the silken shoe Of Katherine, the divine Italian shrew; Or tread the ways of Arden wood to find. How blest! in you the *' Heavenly Eosalind." Enough ! Farewell ! And when another age Delights to count the glories of our stage. The highest altar in the shrine of Fame Shall number with the noblest Rehan's name. Justin Huntly McCarthy. London, November, 1890. 211 Published by F. 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