go, but
are not sufficiently complex in their intrigue, or subtle in their
analysis of emotion, to suit the somewhat cloyed palates of the present
generation of playgoers. Yet, through two or three among the long list of
plays of this type, there runs like a vein of gold amid the dross, a noble
and true idea that preserves them from the common fate, and one of these
few pieces is 'Ingomar.' Its blank verse may be stilted, its action often
forced and unreal; but the pictures it presents of a daughter's devotion,
a maiden's purity, a brave man's love and supreme self-sacrifice, are
drawn with a breadth and a simplicity of outline that make them at once
appreciable, and they are pictures upon which few people can help looking
with pleasure and sympathy. We do not say that Miss Anderson could not
possibly have chosen a better character in which to introduce herself to
an Edinburgh audience; but certainly it would be difficult to conceive a
more charming interpretation of Parthenia than she gave last night. To
personal attractions of the highest order she adds a rich and musical
voice, capable of a wide range of accent and inflection, a command of
gesture which is abundantly varied, but always graceful and--what is,
perhaps, of more moment to the artist than all else--an unmistakable
capacity for grasping the essential significance of a character, and
identifying herself thoroughly with it. Her delineation is not only
exquisitely picturesque; it leaves behind the impression of a thoughtful
conception wrought out with consistency, and developed with real dramatic
power. The lighter phases of Parthenia's nature were, as they should be,
kept generally prominent, but when the demand came for stronger and tenser
emotions the actress was always able to respond to it--as for instance in
Parthenia's defiance of Ingomar, when his love finds its first uncouth
utterance, in her bitter anguish when she thinks he has left her forever,
and in her final avowal of love and devotion. These are the crucial points
in the rendering of the part; and they were so played last night by Miss
Anderson as to prove that she is equal to much more exacting _roles_. She
was excellently supported by Mr. Barnes as Ingomar, and fairly well by the
representatives of the numerous minor personages who contribute to the
development of the story, without having individual interest of their own.
Miss Anderson won an enthusiastic reception at the hands of a large and