“Mr. Irving, an English newspaper, a few days ago, expressed a hope that you would be judged by your merits, independent of anything that had previously been said or written about you, and that Americans in this case would not slavishly echo English opinion.[10] Was there any trace of independence in the manner of the audience?”
“Yes, yes,—there was, certainly,” said the actor, rising and pacing the room. “It is not presumption in me to say that I am sure I was judged solely on my merits, and that the audience went away pleased with me. There were times to-night when I could feel the sympathy of my hearers,—actually feel it.”
“The audience was quiet in the first act. The interest is worked up to the climax so smoothly and gradually that there was no opportunity for applause until the end?”
“There, now, you have found one of the differences between the judgment of my audience to-night and those I have played to in London. In the first part of the play the English audiences laughed a great deal; quite boisterously, in fact, at some of the comedy scenes. But the absence of this to-night, I think, was due to the fact that the people were straining to get the exact run of the play, and were laboring under anxiety—it is not presumption if I say so—to see me.
“Was there any other feature of this kind that you noticed?”
“Yes; when Christian yields to my demand for a promise that he will never leave the village while I am alive, I say, ‘It was necessary!’ This point has generally provoked laughter in England. To-night it evoked earnest applause. On the other hand, for the first time I heard the audience laugh at ‘Now the dowry to be given to our dear son-in-law in order that our dear son-in-law may love us.’”
“Are you willing to be judged as an actor by tonight’s performance, Mr. Irving?”
“For that character, yes.”
“Is Mathias not your greatest rôle?”
“My best? Well, now, that’s hard to say. There is no ground for comparison,—Charles the First is so different; he is full of qualities that are foreign to Mathias. I cannot name a character in which I feel I am best. They afford opportunities for the display of different powers. I am fond of the part of Mathias, it is true.”