“It is not an easy task to write what I have to say, but it is time that it should be written and understood. If I am to do for your cousin, Miss V———, what I want to do and have hoped to do; if I am to open the way for her to a career, she must be guided by me; my influence, not yours nor that of anybody else, must predominate. The Stage is a harsh master. Real success on it does not ‘happen’: it is made—made of striving and sacrifice and self-denial and hard work.
“What you do is, of course, no concern of mine and I have no wish to meddle in anybody else’s business, having far more of my own than I can properly look after. But I have every reason to think that, if it were not for your influence, I might not have so many causes to be dissatisfied with Miss V———. At present, my wishes are not heeded by her. And so that we may all reach an understanding, I want to say to you that I resent Miss V———‘s recent conduct; that, in view of the fact that I have taken the trouble to interest myself in her future as an actress, I resent it very much, and will not any longer tolerate it.
“If I am in some ways a strict master I am always a fair and considerate one. But,—and please realize this,—in everything connected with my theatre, from the waterboys in the smoking room to the ‘star’ on the stage; from the carpets to be laid on the floors to the plays that are produced, I am the Master, and my word is the absolute and final law.
“Miss V——— is a very young girl, who has seen very little of the world. She is not only exceptionally talented but pretty, attractive, and charming. Consequently she is admired by the idlers who have time to kill in dangling after young women of the Stage—and nothing better to do. Miss V——— is much sought after by matrons who are ever on the look-out for pretty girls to attract men to their dances and their ‘week-end’ visits. Such women care nothing at all about a girl’s career or whether they ruin it or not—and they will ruin it, every time, if the girl is weak or foolish enough to be persuaded. Miss V——— likes this kind of attention, which is natural, but it won’t do—not if she is to remain with me. No big man or woman has time for frivolities; it is either one thing or the other: we work and work and rise and rise; or else we try to flutter through life on butterfly wings—and then we fall by the wayside.
“Miss V——— has, I am informed, been neglecting her duties at the theatre. True, at present she has only the minor position of an understudy; but she should at least be conscientious enough to attend to its duties. She knows very well that she should keep Mr. L——— informed of her whereabouts. She has no right, no excuse, to go anywhere, or to be in any place, where he cannot reach her at a moment’s notice, by telephone. An understudy is just a reserve soldier, subject to instant call. If Mr. Dean had been well, of course he would have attended to this matter of Miss V———‘s neglect. But as it is, Mr. L——— has too many details to look after. Her conduct is not fair to him, to say nothing of me, nor does it show any proper respect for the theatre, for Miss V——— so to ignore her obligations. Last evening, through an indisposition, Miss———, whom she understudies, was nearly obliged to remain away. If she had done so, the house would have been dismissed, and Mr. L——— would have been discharged, through her negligence. Have you any conception what it would mean to me to disappoint an audience, in my theatre?
“If Miss V——— is to remain under my guidance she must obey my wishes: not yours, or her own, or anybody else’s, but mine—at all times and in everything. If she does not see fit to follow my advice, I shall reluctantly leave her to her own resources. Inasmuch as I have made myself responsible for her artistic success, her mental and physical condition are matters of much moment to me and I will not have them jeopardized as [they are] by her present mode of life. Automobile rides, midnight suppers and dances until daylight are all very well—but they are not conducive to health. They are a sapping of the vitality which, if she wishes to succeed, should be reserved for higher things....
“Do you realize that, for months past, I have given two nights a week to Miss V———,—time and work that no money could buy and no influence induce me to waste? I realize it! I once refused a fortune, a theatre in London and an endowment for life, in return for which I was to give a popular actress what I have given Miss V——— for nothing, simply because she has great talent and I have believed in her. And I refused to direct that actress because I knew she would never sacrifice her society life and pleasures for her work. Understand, please; I have a reputation to maintain, a standard to live up to. Sickness, weariness, accident, trouble, death—the Public does not want and will not take excuses. That is not what they [it] comes into my theatre for. It comes to see the best plays I can put on, acted by the best artists I can engage and train. Miss V——— can be one of these, if she will pay the price; if, like the women who have made a success of their lives she can be strong enough to give up everything else, ‘for the love of the working.’ Miss ——— did, and little Miss ———; otherwise, they would not be where they are to-day....
If it is your intention for Miss V——— to make her début in society, with matrimony in view for her, then I suggest that you and she be frank enough to let me know, so that I may make my plans accordingly. Matrimony is a career with which nothing else can compete....
“I have been very lenient and have written at length and explained myself, because Miss V——— is very young, and because I hold you more to blame than I do her. But if I am to continue the moulding of her artistic career it must be with the distinct understanding that my wishes and my influence shall dominate, in everything.
“If Miss V——— wishes to continue under my direction,—absolute obedience, application, study, effort, and constant hard work are the conditions. On the other hand, when you have read this letter to her, she is at liberty to consider herself released from all engagements to me if she so desires.