A few memories

126 A FEW MEMORIES
being artistically perfect. " Star " performances generally draw the public, who go out of curiosity to see several favorites together; but they are rarely, if ever, satisfactory. " Stars" are kings and queens in their own companies, forming and carrying out conceptions not only of their own but of other characters. A combination of several of these small monarchs is generally inharmonious, each getting his effects in his own way, and finding it impossible, for lack of sufficient rehearsal under one head, to sink his individual ideas even for the benefit of a perfect whole.
Our summer home was at that time at Long Branch. We had been compelled to leave Louisville years before, to be near New York, the centre of all things theatrical. In the winter we were homeless, wandering from place to place, with no hint of rest or comfort. That year, instead of enjoying the quiet of a beautiful spring by the sea, we hurried abroad.