believe that England has her equal as an actress. Her
Hermione is wonderful, and the appeal to Apollo sublime. In Perdita
she "takes the winds of March with beauty." Where is an actress
on the English stage the superior of Julia Marlowe in genius, in
originality, in naturalness?

Is there any better Mrs. Malaprop than Mrs. Drew, and better Sir
Anthony than John Gilbert? No one denies that the English actors
and actresses are great. No one will deny that the plays of
Shakespeare are the greatest that have been produced, and no one
wishes in any way to belittle the genius of the English people.

In this country the average person speaks fairly good English, and
you will find substantially the same English spoken in most of the
country; whereas in England there is a different dialect in almost
every county, and most of the English people speak the language as
if was not their native tongue. I think it will be admitted that
the English write a good deal better than they speak, and that
their pronunciation is not altogether perfect.

These things, however, are not worth speaking of. There is no
absolute standard. They speak in the way that is natural to them,
and we in the way that is natural to us. This difference furnishes
no foundation for a claim of general superiority. The English
actors are not brought here on account of their excellence, but on
account of their cheapness. It requires no great ability to play
the minor parts, or the leading roles in some plays, for that
matter. And yet acting is a business, a profession, a means of
getting bread.

We protect our mechanics and makers of locomotives and of all other
articles. Why should we not protect, by the same means, the actor?
You may say that we can get along without actors. So we can get
along without painters, without sculptors and without poets. But
a nation that gets along without these people of genius amounts to
but little. We can do without music, without players and without
composers; but when we take art and poetry and music and the theatre
out of the world, it becomes an exceedingly dull place.

Actors are protected and cared for in proportion that people are
civilized. If the people are intelligent, educated, and have
imaginations, they enjoy the world of the stage, the creations of
poets, and they are thrilled by great music, and, as a consequence,
respect the dramatist, the actor and the musician.

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