o was a well-known patroness of such
entertainments, did not put in an appearance. On being asked the next
day why she was not present, she replied: "Well, to tell you the truth,
when I saw that they had given the entertainment a French name, I was
afraid it might be something not quite fit for me to hear." Dear soul!

* * * * *

_March 16._

My manager's predictions were realized last night. I had a large
audience, one of the keenest and the most responsive and appreciative I
have ever had. I was introduced by Judge Elliott Anthony, of the
Superior Court, in a short, witty, and graceful little speech. He spoke
of Lafayette and of the debt of gratitude America owes to France for the
help she received at her hands during the War of Independence. Before
taking leave of me, Judge Anthony kindly invited me to pay a visit to
the Superior Court next Wednesday.

* * * * *

_March 17._

Dined yesterday with Mr. James W. Scott, proprietor of the Chicago
_Herald_, one of the most flourishing newspapers in the United States,
and in the evening went to see Richard Mansfield in "Dr. Jekyll and Mr.
Hyde." The play is a repulsive one, but the double impersonation gives
the great actor a magnificent opportunity for the display of his
histrionic powers. The house was crowded, though it was Sunday. The pick
of Chicago society was not there, of course. Some years ago, I was told,
a Sunday audience was mainly composed of men. To-day the women go as
freely as the men. The "horrible" always has a great fascination for the
masses, and Mansfield held his popular audience in a state of breathless
suspense. There was a great deal of disappointment written on the faces
when the light was turned down on the appearance of "Mr. Hyde," with his
horribly distorted features. A woman, sitting in a box next to the one I
occupied, exclaimed, as "Hyde" came to explain his terrible secret to
the doctor, in the fourth act, "What a shame, they are turning down the
light again!"

* * * * *

[Illustration: "DEAR SOUL!"]

_March 18._

Spent yesterday in recreation intellectual--and otherwise. I like to see
everything, and I have no objection to entering a dime museum. I went to
one yesterday morning, and saw a bearded lady, a calf with two heads, a
gorilla (stuffed), a girl with no arms, and other freaks of nature. The
bearded lady had very, v