same time a quick eye and ready invention for detail, a resonant
voice, a distinct articulation, natural grace, presence of mind, a
sense of humor so well under control that it will never run riot; the
gift of being able to transform herself, at will, into any type of
character; pride, even conceit, in her work; patience, tenacity of
purpose, industry, good-humor, and docility. She must behave, in her
earlier years, very much as if she were a careful, self-respecting
scholar, taking lessons of people better informed than herself, with
her eyes and ears constantly open and ready to receive impressions.

"She should begin by getting, if possible, into a stock company, even
in the most inferior capacity, keeping within reach of the influence
of her home,--or by joining a reputable combination on the road.
Managers, no matter what may be said to the contrary, are always
eagerly looking for talent in the bud, and if a young girl, with
reasonable pretensions to good looks, who is modest and well-behaved,
and shows the slightest ability with a common-sense readiness to begin
at the bottom of the ladder, should offer herself for an engagement,
the chances are that she would get it with much less difficulty than
she imagined. There are, no doubt, numerous candidates, even for the
smallest positions on the stage, but those who possess even moderate
qualifications are extremely rare. Managers have, at present, to take
the best they can pick from a host of worse than interlopers.

"I do not think that novices reap any practical benefit from private
lessons. The neophyte learns not merely of her professional teacher,
but of her audience; and to be informed by the one without being
influenced by the other is to have very lopsided instruction. The
stage itself is the best, in fact, the only school for actresses.
It is a profession made up of traditions and precedents and
technicalities. Mere oral advice, or training in elocution or gesture,
counts for very little. They are, in fact, too often obstacles which
have to be eventually and with difficulty surmounted. In some
instances I have known 'instruction'--of this sort--to bring about as
prejudicial effects as if the victim had tried to learn the art of
swimming at a dancing academy, and then put the knowledge thus gained
into practice. The modulations of the voice and the language of
illustrative gesture ought to be either taught by example or
insensibly acquired by experience. To