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A DRAMATIC CRITIC
of mind for a single second he may lose
some highly significant look or action.
The impersonation of Mathias, in The
Bells, best illustrates this, perhaps, although
any one of his assumptions would serve
almost equally well. There are but two
prominent ideas in the part of Mathias:
remorse for the commission of a murder,
fear of detection and punishment. Through
Mr. Irving's utter self -surrender, these
thoughts are present in every moment of
his effort, each portion of which bears the
same relation to the whole that a drop
of water bears to a bucketful. Or, rather,
the spirit of the character may be said to
pervade the representation as the soul,
according to certain metaphysicians, per-
vades the body, "being all in the whole
and all in every part." So that it is not
extravagant to say that the nervous appre-
hension of an undetected criminal is to be
seen in every look, movement, and tone of
Mr. Irving's Mathias, from his entrance
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