Washington sentinel. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1853-1855, 1854-02-16

however, were for the time declined; whereup-
on Mr.. Baker generously made acknowledge
ment of the service which Miss Heron had rem
dered him in keeping his house open against
the powerful attraction Of the Metropolitan, by
check of $500 beyond the terms OF the week.
On Monday, the I'd instant, Miss Heron re-
turned the kindness Of Mrs. Baker, BY perform
ing the part Of "Jnlet," for her benefit; and
on the following Monday, Margaret Elmore,"
for the benefit of Mrs. Judah. Three nights
| devoted to repetitions of Blanca" the "Count-
esq., and Margaret Elmore," followed; and on
| Friday last she took her farewell benefit as
Mariana" in The Wife.
! The salient points Of Miss Heron's Califor-
MIA career may, therefore, be summed mp as
| follows: A debut among strangers, without
prestige; twelve triumphant performances;
| two occasions, when the sale Of tickets was
stopped in the afternoon; and benefit at the
conclusion, when despite Of storms, of the
counter attractions of a grand oratorio at the
Musical Hall, and an imposing military dis
play at the Metropolitan, she, on the short no.
| tice of day, drew densely crowded house.
She has therefore won every description OF en-
dorsement, as well from actors as from the
public and the press and she stands fixed
dramatic identity--a dazzling STAR whose ra-
dance will always shine pre-emnent by what
ever constellation it may be surrounded.
| The extent to which we have unwittingly
been led, in describing Miss Heron march, cuts
| the US of our attention of full review Of the
| peculiar characteristic and merits of her style.
Briefly, however, on that, at the risk Of tedious
| ness we beg to say word.
/ The first impression of those who have heard
| the general encomiums on Miss Heron's acting
| WILL when they see her, be one of disappoint-
ment. " She is very tame" will be first idea
| ~ do not like that turn of expression" may be
the next, sand then her voice--oh that is weak,
/ deficient for the greater passions; and, besides,
i she is not handsome And some may per-
| haps stop at the end Of the first scene, with
the reflection: Well, well, is this the woman
| whom all this fuss has been made about?"
i By-and-by, however, as she warns with her
subject and begins to mingle with the charac-
| ter, fash will come to make the observer stir
in his seat; then another which will oblige
him to contribute in earnest to the profound
silence she has already imposed upon the rest
of her audience; and, presently, he will be start
i ing with involuntary exclamations of '.tadt's
goodr' and helping her heartily at proper inter
walls with his hands.
i The second act may make him say: " 1t is
true she is not what would be called handsome,
but then there is profound thoughtfulness
and latent grandeur in her face, which at times
make her look really beautiful. must admit,
i too, that her neck and shoulders are superb,
while her arm has all the refined perfection OF
the classic marble"
i 1t may require five acts to get accustomed
to her voice, and then it will grow like music,
and mingle with her exquisite elocution like
the soft notes of the nightingale with the liquid
fall and cadence of brook. These were the
impressions she first made on us, and we be-
i lieve they were common to all who have seen
i her. Her manner at the et5is SO quiet as
i tor ,es
the deep naturalness of her art Of those bold
artistic evidences for which we have been ac-
n customed to look. Disappointment is, there
fore, natural result, but it is result inev-
liable to all originality. 1t jars with all our
preconceved notions, and, until we have a
chance to think, we are against it.
4 The chief charm and merit Of Miss Heron's
acting is the perfect naturalness of her man
ner, and the absence of gesticuation and clap
trap to produce effects. Her tone and face do
nearly the whole work, and her features speak
as audibly as her voice. Her best acting is
done while listening to others, and no move
ment Of the play, or interest of the characters,
escapes the vigilant comment of her eye. 1t
is evident to you that she never ceases to
think, from the time she enters till she leaves;
and the stonest spectator will be drawn I'M
consciously into her woes, and be forced to feel
She is not like an actress treading the boards
with clever pomposity and laborious passion,
4 but little girl who has caught some half
dozen Of you in a room, and, while her eyes
stream and her heart breaks, is telling YOU the
pitiful story of her woes. You are very sorry
i for her; you see her heart wrung with anguish,
as if it were writhing in some devilish fingers,
and you hear her tortured soul wall for, help,
and, before you know it, you find something
swelling in your throat and perhaps become a
little ashamed at an involuntary binding of
your eyes. s4a HIiE 4als
1. These were the effects of I" Bianca,n !" Juliet
and Mrs. Halter" while the "Conntess,n and
Margaret Gilmore" though they challenged
! their share of pathos, admitted to their broader
scope the exhibition of pride, disdain, indigna-
be equally understood by this extraordinary
!. girl, and our wonder is continually challenged
! how one who was bred almost as recluse, and
4 who until within four years has scarcely been
allowed to see play, much less to stir in the
rough currents OF the world, could SO have cap
tured Nature, and laid her open in every artery
and fibre to her knowledge. This however, is
the attribute of genius. Dormant within it lie
all the qualities acknowledge, and single hint
irradiates the whole. The fall of an apple gives
up the complex notions of the planets, and one
4 burst of feeling lays bare the entire mechanism
Of the human heart. R
II The most remarkable circumstance connected
+ with Miss Heron's acting is, perhaps the inhu-
ence she exercises over her audience--nay,
even over the actors who play with her on the
stage. Disdaining rant herself, she subdues
the tone of every person who plays with her,
and throughout the house has substituted the
quiet decorum of the parlor for the noise and
vulgar hustle of the circus This attention is
requisite to her, in her lower and more concen-
trated tones but she so presses it upon the
4Ln1. IL 1r.- L. L. IL.
means of applause. Her audiences, though
the most attentive we ever saw, are not APP
pauding ones. She occupies them so entirely
that they have no time, and she never makes
tricky appeals to those who have. We shall
be understood in this, when we say that we
have seen her in twelve tragic parts and have
not yet heard her scream.
i The highest compliment in the way of ap-
plause that we have yet seen paid to her,