Life — March 21, 1895 — page 13: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

7 * LIFE: serious view of the art of acting. But he found only the same old thing—handsome gowns, costly jewels, awkwardness, bad clocution, and an entire absence of art. Mrs. Langtry may be a drawing card but she is certainly not an actress. Mr. James W. Pigott is also cast for an American part. Any one who has ever seen Mr. Pigott act or heard him speak a line will appreciate the funniness of this assignment. Some other members of the company evidently took their cues as Americans from Mrs. Langtry and Mr. Pigott, with the result that no more remarkable aggregation of Americans was ever seen or heard. Free from this reproach are Mrs. Louise Eldridge and Mr. C. J. Richman, who, in their respective parts, failed to bring America within three thousand miles of the sound of Bow Bells. Mr. Richman is a clever, serious and promising young actor who only needs to work honestly and carefully to become valuable in these times of scarcity. The criticism has often been visited on American women that their voices are high-pitched and penetrating; that they do not know how to talk in well-bred tones. We would suggest to ladies suffering from this stricture on their methods of speech that they should go and listen to Mrs. Langtry. She has been found charming in high English circles, and LiFe would advise his American sisters that Mrs, Langtry's method of enunciation is an excellent example of just what not to follow. “Gossip” is a good play to exhibit gowns and jewels. As an exponent of what is good in playwriting or acting it is a distinct ww failure. Metcalfe. bi aL OBBY SKYFLATS: papa, I heard to-day in the Mrs. Lity LANGTRY’S chemistry class that there’s an English professor who freezes FIRST APPEARANCE ON THE STAGE. hydrogen, and he can make a temperature of three hundred degrees below zero easy ‘nough. AB PARAS HESHADTGOT: you think iRat marriage is a failure, Mr. Askin?" said Miss Elder, to a young man ——. whom she knew to be engaged. = i “T haven't got that far yet,” was the frank reply, a ; “but I'm pretty well convinced that courtship is bankruptcy.”” MR. SKYFLATS: Well, I don't think he could give any ¢¢ re) pointers to the janitor of this flat. D OF NO PRACTICAL VALUE. ‘61 F th-theah is anything that makes m-me tired,” said Faddles, “it's a m-maxim. A m-maxim is a generalization supposed to fit all c-cases, and it d-doesn’t f-fill the b-b-bill.” me maxims are pretty good.” “S-some are, b-but some are d-delusions. ‘T-take that one ‘ Th-think before you speak.'” “Well, what is the matter with it?” “ J-just I-listen tome. H-how the d-deuce could I h-help myself?” $60 HAVE learned the whole of the 119th Psalm by heart,” said Benny Bloobumper to his father's visitor. We RETRICUTIVE. “What is that for, Benny? So that people will "Go, ANASTASIA BELAIR! Go! AFORE I HAD MER CARRIDGE YER.’ f pee DIDN'T RECKERNIZE ME—IN FACK YER INGORED ME. Now THINGs 1s Took — iV€ You a quarter to hear you recite it? A CHANGE YER WOULD PLAY THE SICKERFUNT. Go, ANasTasia! Go! “No. So that people will give me fifty cents YER AIN'T IN IT WID MEI" not to,”