Springfield Weekly Republican

Sothern, the Actor, and the Prince of Wales.

Among the witnesses who have been summoned to speak "nothing but good of the dead,"—as, a week ago, the prince of Wales was regarded,—was Mr. Sothern, the famous actor, with whom the prince has been in the habit of drinking "brandy and seltzer" in his dressing room at the theater, and occasionally associating in hunting excursions, also. But, after all, it is not much that the actor-friend can say for his royal associate. His testimony may serve him in sporting and theatrical circles, but this, which is the most important part of the whole, will hardly benefit him among reputable men and women; while it is especially sad, as an unconscious and unblushing revelation of the low standards prevailing in those classes of English society to which Mr. Sothern and the prince were admitted:

"It is rather a delicate question,"—said the interviewing reporter to the actor—“but may I ask of you anything concerning the rumors as to his being so fond of ladies' society?" "I have not the slightest objection in the world to your making public all that I know on that subject. He yielded to temptation no more than would have done any man in his position subjected to the constant inducements to go astray to which he was always exposed. Indeed, he must have been made of adamant to have resisted the—I may say—pressure brought to bear upon him from every side. His wife was and is very delicate, and companionship he was forced to seek elsewhere."