Memphis daily appeal. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1847-1886, 1876-12-10
ADJUSTMENTS.
Mary AndersOn's First Engagement in
Memphis.

! Mary Anderson tEc girl tragehenne, has
achieved a triumph I'm Memphis rHseh IS hot the
least OF these that have waited upon her since her
de5us. She has captured the multitude from when
our theatrical audiences are recruited; she has COM
PEELED the Sdn plaudlts Of the critics and earned
the generous unqualified appreciation Of the press.
Floral tributes at the Theater and kindly neighbory
calls and attentions at her hotel from bellies and
beauS allie attest the nsarness with which she has
made her way 10 the hearts Of those who received her
almost cOldly and with dotiir Ne first appearance
here ever proved so great, 50 comp!ets success
True, she came heralded by the praises OF other
cities soma in the far north, where criticism IS cold
and forma. and, sentiment almost paralyzed; she
came to US too, introduced as fair and the most
promising daughter Of Kentucky the
hope and expectancy Of Louisville, hay-
ing upon us such claims Of kinship and good
will as sOutheTners are always ready ana ~lllS 20
recognize But she came, claiming so mucn, echl.
mandng so heavily, That the sources and Influences Oi
her introduction her birth and breeding, were put
away things worthy Of but little weight In SO great
4 matter, when judgment was called upon 10
decide upon her title as princess that = ad lueS,
that shall be on stage so lately vacated DJ yer Hlo
left It after long lifetime of successes and gOls
reign. CapricOUS the public Is, II Is slow 10 IL
throne Its mOnarchs to uncrOWn its queens, or dis
place its Idols for those OF fTeSher mold. The stable
and enduring merits which enabled Mrs. Siddons
and Charlotte Cushman to maintain hold upon me
popular heart and cultured intellect alike are l9ga
cies that all must prize, nov hdrd theiT
young lives were cut OF now much OI
not always pure surroundings and uncOlge-
NAL atmosphere did they not struggle to the emf
nence they deserved. SlddOnS greatest OF all the
strolling player branded yagabOnd by law, the 50
cla outcaSt, wrestling With poverty ana against the
pTeiudces of London that still can see nothing good
great in provincial towns; failure AT O!dDldIy'
at last she beyond the hold her genius had upon
her, makes Il the Ohedient servant OF her will and
In one supreme moment gfa3Ps and thereafter holds
forever the royalty OF the British stage. CushmanS
long life was no less sad and stormy, and not unit
many years Of patient working, watching and walt
ing did the opportunity come, pr0hting by Whch she
took the place so long vacated by her greater sSter
Both Of these queens OF tragedy began life inside OF
the mark for which destiny designed them. They
played through all the range Of characters IN play
and comedy and farce before attempting that for
which nature had fitted and experience was prompt
ing them. Whatever their ambltiOns-and to such
gifted souls what dreams may cOme-they
sSe of faef dpe 70 the details aRprg@hSh df Whch
would be like arctic hardshps to the reophyte OF to
day How much OF this was unnecessary 10 thelf
after life, we will never know. Judging by the strides
now made by ambitious youngsters, would seem as
| II II were all usele s. time wasted, opportunity
thrown away But their gifted natures could not al
ways be haTnessed to that of common place souls,
would they have been so long had they lived ana
/ abored in this ambitious age, when kindly critics
live, and impFeSsOnable, intelligent and friendly
audiences have been multiplied By thousands Com
paired with theirs how easy even seems the triumph
of Mary Anderson They were forced tc wade through
! the mud and mire Of unfTieEdineSS, OF perry,
splenetic venOmOus and ylndictve Jealousy, caTped
at and found fault with at every step, while she,
| with the comforting stimulus of mothers ambi
ton the care and the potency of the ample fortune OF
parents anxious only for her success, leaps with
singe bound into fame only less than theirs as 1t Is
t6e "a facts Of Single her Sheltered ie life
| and their thOrny path considered Is quite as we'll
| deserved, for, while there is much to be said and
! claimed for experience there is also much to be
| claimed and said for lneXperlence. A year and a
half of schooling for such trying profession Is not
| much This is all that Mary Anderson had And
uuni nt tha m
life 1t must be remembered that she is, year alter
her schooling still In the formative condition; that
neither voice. figure face have yet reached near
maturity that she is still an artless gill, one OF
thousand, differing In nothing from those We meet
with every day save that on the stage She becomes
| transformed, and gives the highest evidence OF in
comparable gifts of the possession OF an 1ncOmpfe-
hensible faculty for graSplng the tOtalty OF human
character In Its strongest most intense and tragic
| mood and nortraying If with dpIicacy precision
and much the detail by which, In the world, women
| mark their motives, and definitely determine and
order their lives. In society, and to all the affairs OF
life around her, Miss Anderson Is girlOn the stage
| she Is a woman, bOdytng forth the life OF women
who are examples of tragic fate and purpose; with
the mind to conceive and grasp all the threads OF
| such fate leading with ever such intT1c;lcy
through tangled web to wOeful, sad and sorroWfal
end. 1t Is her possession OF, and complete SuTfeL-
der to this faculty which we call genius that enSts
our cOmmendatOn for the young tragedlenne. COin-
bnng all the fires and forces Of Intuition, with keen
sensibility, memory, order WILL power OF deIlnea-
tOn love of art for arts sake, and earnestness to do
and obey her artistic prOmptngs- the possession OF
these gifts can alone account 10r the amazing IdS-
formation which the fair young girl undergOes IN
! making for us so many memorable pOCtrdltS her
| "Evadne," Juliet" Blanca, and "PaTthenla,.
all near to the compass OF her lire, ana 10 Ine
motive that turks In every WOmans heart, but meg
MerieS Is far from he purpose OF her years, for
eign to every experience of her time and country,
and as distant from her as SeOtand-the people and
the time which made such q creature possible. And
yet this Is her best character II Is the one too by
| Judged and By which her ambition may
| be measured. Her nature J; spontaneously
responsive to , tragedyi i., ann passions pass iG
pIct. Like the diver she goes dCs, 3!a Profound
est deep that she may gather pearl .&taSt price.
The moods Of great souls are TO her Cta- alphabet
by which she has learned the lesson OF he life she
mcOnsciOuSly becomes their Interpreter. The ieel-
Ing and sentiment that lies hidden, only TO come
! forth as an exceptional occasion summons It, and
which has inspired 50 many, but lies dormant In SO
many more for want OF opportunity, the
to burst forth In all the grandeur with
which Shakespeare invests It, is that which
/ best informs her and which she represents with
most loving fidelity. Sidd0nS and Cushman are the
models she is most ambitious Of following. The
! characters In which they stand so large upon the
! dramatic picture-larger than amy others known to
lOus of success In. In her remarkable portrayal OF
! Meg Merilles' she affords us an earnest of what
/ she can do, and will in the future do, when time
shall have more closely Knit her to ner
profession, and mellOwed the fresh young
! life, the yigOr and restlesneSS so natural
! to her years into wOmanhOOd so round and lull
prompted largely by the majestic conceptions which
She was born to be the Interpreter of. Her range OF
character Will then be wide as the dramatic art can
| bestow It Will embrace not only the persona
! tlOns on which SddOnS and Cushman rest an en-
| during fame, but many of those by which RSt0ri-
and most illustrlOus of them allRache have linked
themselves to Immortality through dramatic art. We
hope she cannot be spoiled We trust to her native
good sense and her love of the art to which she Is
cOnsecrated, to save her from the rust of fiaery.
The little training she has received and her small
experience can only have made plain to her the pos
SbitieS within her reach and taught her how little
she knows technically, and how much she has yet to
| learn Nature has done everything for
| her, art SO far, almost nothing. Study,
/ faithful conscientious study, directed
intelliyently, and always with purpose to win the
laureS Of the greatest that have preceded her. VIII
bring those laurels, for In the whole range OF dT
matte history, woman with her genius, or half OF
It. working to win, and willing to work. has failed 10
take By public consent her place among the mon
archs Of the stage. Miss Anderson goes to New Or
leans to-day, where she Will remain and play for
week, we hope, to crowded houses If the wishes Of
! the people of Memphis can make them, she VIII
have them.