A VERY PRETTY TALE BY ANDERSON.
My Dear Mr. Punch,
In producing The Winter's Tale at the Lyceum, that most charming young actress, Miss Mary Anderson, deserves well, not only of her country (if she insists upon calling England "abroad," like some of her compatriots), but also of our country, which, I presume, was furthermore the country of her ancestors. If the shade of Master William Shakspeare will pardon the liberty, the play is a very good one. It has an interesting plot, with plenty of scope for good acting, good music, and last, and not least, good scenery. Why it should not have been revived before I cannot imagine, unless it be that London theatres have men and not ladies to manage them. Had it been produced in the Irving régime, Miss Ellen Terry could have played—and played well—the parts of Hermione and Perdita; but I fail to see where the name of the lessee would have come in. Leontes is not a very prominent personage, and even had it been coupled with Autolycus, still the demands upon Mr. Irving's talent would have been insufficient, not only to please himself, but also (which is of equal importance) to satisfy the audience.
