“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.