The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1877-1885, 1879-12-11
Pooies' portfolio.
MARY ANDERSON.
Great Actress-Scme Of Her
Striking l ecul1arities.

For two evenings of this week the people
of Milwaukee were favored with first class
acting by Mary Anderson. who has become
a great ~favorite within two years. The Sun
blonde was on hand pretty regular those
two nights, as he always IS when a beautl
full woman is being pursued by villains on
the stage. The frs, evening the play OF
the "~Hunchback" was given, and even a
deaf and dumb and bind person could not
help but be impressed with talent and beau
ty of Mary Anderson. She is a marvel: and
can take on more emotions and dresses IN a
single evening than any of them. She IS
about six feet in height, When In repose, but
when her frame is charged with emotion,
and she gets mad or excited, she seems to
to raise right out of the state and telescope
UP until she is eighteen or nineteen feet
high, and Others on the stage look like
dwarfs. How she does it the Lord only
knows. She is the most versatile actress We
ever ever sat In front of. At times she
would put on a sweet, lovely look, and you
would have to be held by two persons to
keep you from rushing on the stage and tell
ing her that you loved her like a steam en-
CINE, and then she would put on a dying
lock, and a wild, scared, desperate express
sion so you would want to lush out after a
doctor. At times we would give a million
dollars lin notes. to be in the place of Cliff
ford, who don't seem to know that she wan
ted him to hug her and then again, when
she got sassy at him, and began to roll her
eyes, ar her bereast began to heave, and
as though she was dying for a drink, We
wouldn't have been within reach of her
for eight hunred dollars. 1t was a
singular study when her breast got to heav-
ing. She must have suit Of lungs like a
b~iacksmith's bellows, and when, in her ex-
element, she would exhaust them, she
would look so thin that you could trace her
wishbone with the naked eye, but when, in
her passion, her lungs became inflated, her
bust rounded out, and her dress fitted her
like the paper on the wall, and then all she
lacked was her own natural Mary Anderson
smile to make the average man give a Pacific
Railroad If she was his sister. o, she beats
them all. Mary Anderson does not rant.
Some actress chew soap to make them foam
at the mouth, and they tear round the stage
as If they had bees in their clothes. Mary
does not do so. If she has anything to say
very loud, and it is necessary TO become Elk
cited, she does not rant. but just talks it
right of IS though she meant it, and you
can tell by the expression on her face that
she means business, just as well as If soap
suds were flying out OF her mouth, and she
was kicking over chairs. Another thing, in
the matter OF falling upon the strge, in tab
leauX, and lii f~ainting, she dces it SO soft and
gentle that you do not shudder for fear she
has broken some bones.
Now, there was Modjeska. When she was
here she had to faint aWay and fall into an
armchair. Not being entirely familiar with
the English language, she sat down hard on
one of the arms, and to roll off into the chair.
Everybody knew by the expression of pain
on her face that she had broken a bone, and
they were not surprised to hear that she
had also broken an engagement to play
somewhere else. \ great many actresses
who are compelled to fall upon the stage
son, to sort of break the fall. BY practice
they know before going upon the stage about
what portion OF the human frame will be
the most vulnerable when they fall, and by
%strapping a liver-pad on to the proper VI
entity they can fall with impunity. Occa-
~slonally, however, the pad used by an ac-
tess whose weight Is over 200 is liable to be
b.r ted in the fracas, and then there is trou-
BILE again. Miss Anderson does not find it
necessary TO use any pads. The natural
buoyancy OF youth and strict attention to
business has made her perfect in the art of
falling without any of the adjuncts of the
costumcr. Again, in the matter of weeping,
Miss Anderson holds over all of them. MAJ
actresses III those emotional plays are COM
PEELED to wear an onion, in their bosoms in
order to bring even a semblance of tears 20
those unaccustomed to weeping. The onion
scheme has its advantage, but it is mighty
tough on the stage lover, who is given
a benefit oftener than his contract calls fo,.
And then another disadvantage is the con-
slant liability of the onion to roll out upon
the stage when the actress falls prone upon
the floor, which would embarrass any but a
most il1rInra| 1rtvnsc onI M IL,
dience too look for Il peck of potatoes or a
mess Of turnips to follow. But Miss Ander-
son does not need any onion to assist her to
weep. b. a simple turn of the wrist she
can cause natural tears to flow from her
beautiful eyes, most copiously, and sufficient
iQr amy ordinary emergency. 1t is said that
Mary has never been In love, and knows
nothing of that holy passion except what
she has been told. If such is the case she
has had the best teacher in the world, for
her love-making is the most perfect ever
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