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TRAINING FOR THE STAGE
any other that is transmitted through the
blood. Mr. Warren was the son of an
English player and of an American lady
of an acting family, and counted among his
near relatives a father, an aunt, four sis-
ters, and many nieces, nephews, and cou-
sins, who attained good positions upon the
stage; Joseph Jefferson being one of the
cousins in the second degree. His pro-
fessional training, from sources exterior to
himself, was obtained wholly within the
only " Conservatory " of his youthful pe-
riod, to wit, the regular old-fashioned stock
company. Here he was brought into con-
tact with the best acting of his day; here
he had the opportunity to study at close
quarters the speech, gesture, bearing, and
general method of the dramatic leaders, in
a vast variety of characters, changing from
night to night; and here, as a beginner, he
was subjected to the caustic criticism of
the stage manager. From an occasional
specialist he might take lessons in fencing
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