Annie Louise Cary is what the journalists term a "jolly" girl. She does not care a whit what she says or does. She will laugh and chat as if the interviewer were an old acquaintance. She greets him with a spontaneous warmth and familiarity which are pleasant to him. He may ask the most inquisitive questions and she will reply with a shrewd smile. Amiable, good-tempered and lively in disposition, she is a great favorite with newspaper men.
Minnie Hauk is impetuosity personified. Minnie usually has a grievance against her manager, and she will pour her woes into the journalist's ears with remarkable loquacity. But Minnie has a mother. After the interviewer is gone Minnie will send him a note or a messenger requesting him in Heaven's name not to publish what she said or she would be undone. Yet, the next time Minnie meets a night of the quill she reiterates her woes and wrongs with the same impetuosity. She is frank to a fault, and confides a good deal in human nature. Her frankness has involved her several times in trouble. She is very apt to become unreasonably jealous of any other prima donna in the troupe, and thus always keeps the impresario in a state of nervousness.
Emma Abbott is the gusher par excellence. At the first glance of the interviewer she rushes towards him, seizes him with both her hands, is Oh, so, so glad to see him! She talks with great rapidity and unceasingly. The scribe to her is an old familiar friend. She insists on his calling on her, dining with her, etc., etc. Her friendliness is overwhelming. She loads the journalist with favors, and almost embraces him in the ardor of her affection.
Sarah Bernhardt has all the French warmth and demonstrativeness. She is witty and vivacious in her conversation, really likes journalists, and will spend a whole day with them. She never tires, and is a study to the newspaper man. She is, however, not insensible to flattery. Her curiosity about things American is very keen. Being a delightful entertainer, she was very popular with the journalistic profession. She is fond of inviting them to breakfast.
Clara Morris is an excellent subject for an interview. Miss Morris always prepares to receive the representative of the press in some picturesque attitude or pose. She has a fine perception of artistic effect, and never loses sight of the fact that it is an interview, and hence has an eye to what will appear in print. In her discourse she aims to be epigrammatic and witty; likes to be novel and original. Her knowledge is very varied, and she converses with ease and fluency. Her face sparkles, and her reception is always extremely cordial.
Modjeska, otherwise the Countess Bozenta, is, perhaps, the best educated actress on the stage. She is a gifted linguist, well read in French, German, and English literature. She is a charming conversationalist. In manners she is a perfect lady, without any stage eccentricities. She is a delightful hostess, and dispenses hospitality most gracefully. Her bearing is courteous but thoroughly friendly, and there is the impress of la grande dame in her demeanor. She is partial to canine pets.
Adelaide Neilson captured every journalist who ever interviewed her. She seemed to bend all her energies to captivate her visitor. Her remarkable beauty was a powerful aid, and the charm of her manner was irresistible. When necessary, she was almost a man of business, and transacted her affairs with much ability. Poor Adelaide was too potent a spell for ordinary interviewers to withstand, and she always carried her point.
Mary Anderson is a great talker. Her mother and step-father, Dr. Hamilton Griffin, are usually in attendance at an interview. She is decided in her opinions, and expresses her views fearlessly, but her remarks are superficial. She is lively and a regular tom-boy, and hesitates at nothing.
Fanny Davenport, who is noted for her expensive costumes on the stage, is the reverse in private life. She is nearly always in a neglige attire and looks somewhat slovenly. Fanny is rather averse to the interviewer, but when she submits she is as charming and pleasant a hostess as can be imagined. But nevertheless she thinks it a decided bore to entertain.
Maggie Mitchell is a whole-souled, generous woman, without a spark of affectation. She is frank, pleasant, and amiable.