is deemed ungenteel. Let us hope
that Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree's Academy, which already is bearing
fruit, will affect this deplorable phenomenon. Those responsible may
succeed in convincing a fair number of their charming pupils that it is
wise not to aim at glittering triumphs which fall to few, but to qualify
for work necessary in most plays, and very often done indifferently.

Stage Misfits

"One of those things no fellah can understand," to quote a phrase of
Lord Dundreary, is the way in which players get chosen for their parts.
Most cases, no doubt, are not instances of square pegs in round holes;
but the number of exceptions is enormous, a fact which has lately been
made manifest by one of the short French seasons. An actress of really
great talent has appeared as a star in her husband's company, and the
obvious judgment upon her first two appearances was that the characters
chosen were quite unsuitable to her. The reference is to Madame Suzanne
Despres.

In _La Rafale_ and _Le Detour_ she had to represent a Parisian, a _chic
Parisienne_, a creature of nerves, elegance and, according to Balzac,
sound business calculation, Madame Despres suggested none of these
qualities; in physique she seems an agreeable-looking, strong-minded
countrywoman with brains; obviously she has no instinct for dress; and,
despite remarkable skill and a fine exhibition of acting, she presented
a woman quite different from the author's character, one also who would
never have behaved like M. Bernstein's heroines.

The play suffered and the player suffered, and probably only the
critical could see what an admirable actress she is and guess how
perfectly she would represent a higher type of woman. This is no
isolated case. We often see the race-horse used in pulling heavy
weights and the Suffolk punch employed for speed, and each blamed for
the unsatisfactory accomplishment of the absurd task. Many of the
disasters in the theatre are due to this.

As a rule the actor-manager or manageress demands the principal
character, however unsuitable. Going back a little, one recalls with
astonishment the experiment of Irving in representing Romeo, and many
have wondered why Ellen Terry in 1888 appeared as Lady Macbeth. Some of
the pleasantest memories of the playgoer concern superb performances by
Miss Elizabeth Robins, and yet they can recollect two or three
appearances in commonplace dramas that were flat failures. Mrs Patrick
Campbell has