THE LOVELY MRS. LANGTRY

New Zealand Herald, Volume XIX, Issue 6422, 17 June 1882, Page 7

THE LOVELY MRS. LANGTRY

correspondent writes t -T have beautiful Mrs. She .3 seen Saving Blanche m BOW P't y A b The portraits of this _celedo not convey a correct imgrated fhev represent her as over-tall, With a large mouth and a dull gjont, ?»»■' M i Lnngtry is tall, but not « x P r( fUahe is neither gaunt nor dark ; °7® r " nntTi is not large, her expression ib not She is a blonde of exquisite mould, Jail - , t- ro . v large, soft eyes, Grecian 8 2Ta month around which always s , oSe ' . winning smile and an arch expresR Uy Herbwuty is not that of a goddess !I ° n ' nneen- it is a soft, womanly beauty. or 3 is elastic, her carriage graceful. S!f would undoubtedly he considered a Sh ,Z any country, bat particularly beauty •! v„ -a considered in-England. 1 o woal<l?he American she lias that defect nearly all Englishmen —- the arms and hands, though in conformity with Grecian models, « not what Americans would regard as In this respect, however, I must S from the majority of my countrymen, rfmy mind, Mrs! Langtry is a toother a \? b™uty • I can find no fault with her France She has also a well-modulated appe&ranc broadness of promiutCt im icious use of the middle Sr whicht the despair and the envy of !!£t women. In singing tho voice is not «r should be well-poise 1, her intellect &v cultivated, her aims in life noble and vfninne lam told that:alio is as much to Knfr'ed in those respects as m others. v-j£< T from a consideration of the many Sal cb?rms of- this lady, I predict that will become, and is. fast becoming a Seat actress. . She has evidently been well I expected her to betray a conSUes's of her beauty and to exhibit signs % her admitted social superiority to the other players. She did nothing of the sort. eves never wandered to the audience except where the requirements of the play Sided it. She entered fully into the imirit of the part She did not shrink from Svof its consequences- In these respects die displayed an artistic spirit that at once wbher above the sphere, ot nine-tenths of " beautiful actresses who have appeared &e the public during tha ; past.-thirty more positive merit was disclosed ;«'her i bv-play, which was excellent. She to be a lady,'not only in outward deportment, but in feeling. Many little instances made this evident; such as her manner of expression, her attention to 4e other actors, tho delicacy and pro•nrietv of her gestures. I went to see Mrs. finery, greatly biassed by her photographs St her pretensions to beauty, and. very doubtful of her claims to merit as an ac'tr«s and confess to having been completely convinced it) her favour in some respects, qu far--more beautiful woman than either Mrs. Scott-Siddons .or Madame Modiesta,' and in my opinion will . become-a Sr actress than either. She would be and make a large fortune in America. There she would find- the sort of •itaTO support which is not to be looked.for in England. There are no actors in this country: The stageis abandoned to ballets, opera bouffe, and variety shows. Even Borneo and Juliet," now piaying afc the Lvcenin. is more of"a show piece tban a •toaedy. Polite'comedy has given place to an affectation of manner which must always he" the defect of a nation that _worships aristocracy. The --prevailing affectation, copied faithfully from the swell_ class, is .that of 1 indifference and sang-froid, characteristics: that never did and never can distinguish Englishmen. These, with a hawhaw", method. Of, speech and carelessness of. costume (other, affectations), make up theon the English stage. It satisfies the requirements of the audiences, because it is a. faithful copy of the English gentleman in novels* and is not unlike many English gentlemen in real life, but it is death to the drama. Such gentlemen cannot dies 3 characteristically, cannot take an active interest.,-in any event, cannot display emotion, cannot even move about naturally. ; •Passion; becomes extinguished with them, and with the" extinction of passion the drama; languishes and dies.' Many of these defects of acting have niada .their. way to America, and much of the ; criticism herein bestowed ; 'upon English actors is applicable to Americans. But fortunately the American stage: is not vet altogether mined by English ex:ample," and': it still retains much of- the vigour and grace that have long since be-, come extinct on the English stage this side ' of the-oCcani : With an environment of this aort Mrs. Langtry would appear to much •greater advantage than in England, and and should she decideto cross the ocean, and her managers or agents prove judicious enough to seek, for her.such surroundings as 'shoald'appropriately accompany and offset her many advantages of person, manner, aHd.dramatic talent, 'she would draw imJ mense audiences, and peril rips do something 'towards.cultivating a;healthier taste in art.