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Show W- H. SOTHERN' was asked reft re-ft -'y recently which was the best way for an actor to pass his vacation; how best to obtain the needed rest and recuperation. He replied, after a moment's thought. "I would say that he should hunt up some quiet place In the country, and 'let himself down.' " Mr. Sothcrn made no claim to originality an to the picturesque phrase, "let himself down." "Some years ago," he said, "I met a famous criminal lawyer of Denver, Den-ver, lie told me that ho had purchased pur-chased a thousand-acre ranch In the hill?; that a trout stream ran through it; that there was plenty'of game about, and that ho had built for himself a spacious bungalow. After becoming exhausted by his legal le-gal work. It was his custom to ,hlko out to the ranch and let himself down' In this way, he kept his mind and body fresh, and we ulle, on occasion, to do an Immense amount of hard work. Before ho got thc ranch, and the 'let down who Ifl Miss Julia Marlowe to the theater-going public, agreed with her husband as to the question of European travel, and 60 the Denver lawyer's Idea appealed to her. They both enjoy the ocean trip, but dodging about from one European Euro-pean capital to another is too much like their professional travels In America. Three da;s, a week, or two weeks in a city, and then away, a gpsy life, at best, for thirty or more weeks each season. But It has taken Mr Sothcrn and Miss Marlowo raoje than a year to find a place that exactly suited their purpose; where they could "let themselves down," and get what they needed each summer, genuine, satisfying rest. As Mr. Sothcrn enjoys the ocean trip, he thought it a good Idea to find an old country house, well sequestered. se-questered. In England. So in the spring of last year, at the conclusion conclu-sion of the season, the Sothcrns started fpr Europe with this plan uppermost In their minds. Arriving I Iff jttL ' ak 1 ' i : - "GSM I h M HyPn fHace he suffered from nerves and was out of aorta moat of the time." Thla idea appealed to Mr Sothern. It has been his custom In years aback, at the end of each season, to rush off to Europe. Yet. somehow, he never got any real satisfying rest; he was never able actually to ''let himself down." Mrs. Sothern. In London, Mr. Sothern went house-hunting. house-hunting. He went to an agent and told him that it was his desire to obtain a place with some historic association. as-sociation. The English magazines are filled With advertisements of this Brt, and as Mr. 8othern was at one potted for an American, ha And then it bejfan to rain! Tt didn't rain for forty days and forty nights; not exactly that, It Aire down In Unceasing torrents; tt deulged for twenty solid weeks. During Mr. Sothern and Miss Marlowe's Mar-lowe's last summer's vacation In Warwickshire. England. the sun, by actual count, was In view but seven hours, a half hour at a time, and this during what we would call sun -showers! JuIIm Marlowe said she did dearly love the water, only she likes It In a rlei, in a lake, or in the ocean, ' -ssssssWI . i i 'S' ' POSES OF E. H. SOTHERN AND JULIA MARLOW. thought it best to go the full length of his desires. If possible, he informed in-formed the agent, he would like to obtain a house that had a moat around it. He would like al?o. if possible, to obtain a house with a few secret passages, and If practical, prac-tical, ope that had a few stray ghosts about. Tho gentlemanly house agent replied re-plied that at that moment he did not have on his books a house with a moat, secret passage, or even a ghost; but after reflection, he informed in-formed Mr. Sothern he hud "a really desirable place with a most terrible curse on It.'' As this did not seem alluring, Mr. Sothern visited another house agent. After making tho samo speech, he was offered an "old Priory" that dated back to tho tlmo of Henry VIII. it was located Mm miles from London, so on day ho and Miss Marlowe motored down to examine the establishment. It was found that this "old priory" was in the keeping of an aged woman wom-an who resided about two miles distant dis-tant from their quest. Leaving the motor, they walked along a pretty country lan' As they progressed, the aged woman Confided to Mr Sothern and Miss Marlowe that they mlsht not be fully satisfied with "the majestic old hall," that the condition of the secret passages and the old oak pnnelmg might not be up to their expectations. Arriving at the "old priory," it was discovered that It was II tt lo else than a cow shed. Mr. Sothern expressed his disappointment, disap-pointment, when the old lady took him aside and said: "I want to whisper In your ear there Is said to be hidden treasure here." Finally, In despair of obtaining a haunt-d house, o. moated castle, or anything of that sort, the Sothcrns hit on a lovely old country .house near Stratford-on-A'-on, not far from Broadway, where Mary Anderson An-derson resides. Being near Shake- speare's home, in a locly, peaceful country, seemed the Ideal thing. Hero was the place where an actor and his wife could "let themselves down," and not perpetually pelting from the heavens. England never had such a wet summer a that of last year; yet. good, long hnng-on rains are not unusual to lovely Albion. So. In the end, Mr. Sothern and Miss Marlowe Mar-lowe did not tlnd England what thoy were looking for. Instead of finding a place where they could "let thcmseh?s down," they let themselves, in for devastating wetness; a summer huddled Indoors, In-doors, without pleasant walks afield, or lovely blue skies. Their quest was a failurs. The Enpllsh arc accustomed. It appears, to an everlasting downpour; down-pour; and the sun does not often. although Shakespeare said, -flatter the mountain tops w'th sovereign eye " Mr. Sothern tld of nn Englishman English-man who had passed the summer at Newport. Finally, returning to his native land, his ship hoved Into the harbor at Southampton. The fog was to thick that H could be sliced like a cheese, and as for the sun. it looked like a faint yellow-hjze. yellow-hjze. The Englishman stood against the ships rail; he felt good; and throwing both hands towards the tli in. ycllew-haze and into th thlcker-thnn-mush fog. he exclaimed ex-claimed ! "Thank heaven I have escaped from those monotonous blue skies." t ndnuntod. Mr. Sothern and Miss Marlowo kept In mind tho Denver man's idea. They clung persevcr-Ingly persevcr-Ingly to the hope. They knew they could find the right place if they would keep up the quest. Of one thing they wero certain and that was thy hungered for those "monotonous "monoton-ous blue skies" and did not want any mora rainy isitations and fog. Good luck was theirs, for finally last spring they discovered a 1ot-ly 1ot-ly house on tho ocean at West ! Hampton Beach, Liong laiand- The Sothern summer home is but hun- f i feet from the Atlantic, a lovely m dy beach separatee the home irom the water. Back of the house, al a distam :e of a city block. Is Moriches Bay. p All summer long, when New Yorkers are weltering, the Sothern Soth-ern home Is ;is tool an the deck of an oconn liner. Vhn the ocean was stirred into riotous turbulence, the. be; ores as quiet as a mill pond. The Oi " in furnished air and bathing; bath-ing; the bay, llsh and a fine place for a sail. i At last the Sotherns discovered a place to "lot themselves down," s Isflsi' - mm m |