To the successful actor society, if he desire it, offers a warm and
cordial welcome. Its members do not, it is true, suggest that he
should marry with their daughters, but why should they? An actor has
a very unattractive kind of life to offer to any woman who is not
herself following his profession. What I mean is that the fact of a
man being an actor does not debar him from such gratification as he
may find in the pleasures of society. And I believe that the effect
of such raising of the actor's status as has been witnessed in the
last fifty years has been to elevate the general tone of our calling
and bring into it men and women of education and refinement.
At the same time, remember that social enjoyments should always be a
secondary consideration to the actor, something of a luxury to be
sparingly indulged in. An actor should never let himself be beguiled
into the belief that society, generally speaking, is seriously
interested in what he does, or that popularity in drawing-rooms
connotes success in the theatre. It does nothing of the kind. Always
remember that you can hope to have but few, very few friends or
admirers of any class who will pay to see you in a failure; you will
be lucky if a certain number do not ask you for free admission to see
you in a success.