_The Old Daly Company_
The Daly players were a revelation to me of the pitch of excellence
which American acting had reached. My first night at Daly's was a night
of enchantment. I wrote to Mr. Daly and said: "You've got a girl in your
company who is the most lovely, humorous darling I have ever seen on the
stage." It was Ada Rehan! Now, of course I didn't "discover" her or any
rubbish of that kind; the audience were already mad about her; but I did
know her for what she was, even in that brilliant "all-star" company
and before she had played in the classics and got enduring fame. The
audacious, superb, quaint Irish creature! Never have I seen such
splendid high comedy. Then the charm of her voice,--a little like Ethel
Barrymore's when Miss Ethel is speaking very nicely,--her smiles, and
dimples, and provocative, inviting _coquetterie_! Her Rosalind, her
Country Wife, her Helena, her Railroad of Love, and above all, her
Katharine in "The Taming of the Shrew!" I can only ejaculate. Directly
she came on I knew how she was going to do the part. She had such shy,
demure fun--she understood, like all great comedians, that you must not
pretend to be serious so sincerely that no one in the audience sees
through it.
[Illustration: _Photograph by Sarony_