intonation—­everything which constitutes a living individuality were in her case not so much the outcome of the feeling proper to the character, as the manifestation of diligent painstaking art which had not yet learnt to conceal itself.  The gleam of the smallest spark of genius would have been a welcome relief to the monotony of talent....  It must not be forgotten, however, that a highly artificial play like ‘Ingomar’ is by no means a favorable medium for the display of an actress’ powers, though it may fairly indicate their nature.  Before a definite rank can be assigned to her among English actresses, Miss Anderson must be seen in some of her other characters.”

Daily News, 3d September, 1883.

“It will be recollected that Mr. Irving, in his farewell speech at the Lyceum Theater, on the 28th of July, made a point of bespeaking a kindly welcome for Miss Mary Anderson on her appearance at his theater during his absence, as the actress he alluded to was a lady whose beauty and talent had made her the favorite of America, from Maine to California.  It would not perhaps be unfair to attribute to this cordial introduction something of the special interest which was evidently aroused by Miss Anderson’s debut here on Saturday night.  English playgoers recognize but vaguely the distinguishing characteristics of actors and actresses, whose fame has been won wholly by their performances on the other side of the Atlantic.  It was therefore just as well that before Miss Anderson arrived some definite claim as to her pretensions should be authoritatively put forward.  These would, it must be confessed, have been liable to misconception if they had been judged solely by her first performance on the London stage.  ‘Ingomar’ is not a play, and Parthenia is certainly not a character, calculated to call forth the higher powers of an ambitious actress.  As a matter of fact, Miss Anderson, who began her histrion career at an early age, and is even now of extremely youthful appearance, has had plenty of experience and success in roles of much more difficulty, and much wider possibilities.  Her modest enterprise on Saturday night was quite as successful as could have been anticipated.  There is not enough human reality about Parthenia to allow her representative to interest very deeply the sympathy of her hearers.  There is not enough poetry in the drama to enable the actress to mar our imagination by calling her own into play.  What Miss Anderson could achieve was this:  she was able in the first place to prove, by the aid of the Massilian maiden’s becoming, yet exacting attire, that her personal advantages have been by no means overrated.  Her features regular yet full of expression, her figure slight but not spare, the pose of her small and graceful head, all these, together with a girlish prettiness of manner, and a singularly refined bearing, are quite enough to account for at least one of the phases of Miss Anderson’s popularity.  Her