Mademoiselle Leverd, who was already in possession of this department; for, in France, each actor has exclusive right to a certain line of character. Mademoiselle Mars succeeded, however, in breaking through this rule—a great triumph for her; and in the coquette she was fully as charming and successful as in personating the child of nature. She pleased foreigners as well as her own countrymen. Mr. Alison, the son of the historian, spoke of her as being "probably as perfect an actress in comedy as ever appeared on any stage. She has (he continues) united every advantage of countenance, and voice, and figure, which it is possible to conceive." Mademoiselle Mars was very beautiful, and retained her charms till a late period in life. This beauty gave, no doubt, additional power to her genius, and assisted her in establishing her sway over the theatrical world. At Lyons she was crowned publicly in the theatre with a garland of flowers, and a fete was celebrated in honour of her by the public bodies and authorities of the city. Her last performance at the theatre was at Paris, in April, 1841; and she died in that city in 1848, aged seventy years.
MARSH, ANNE,
Was born in Staffordshire. Her father, James Caldwell, Esq., was Recorder of the borough of Newcastle-under-Line, and also Deputy Lieutenant of the county of Stafford. He was not a magistrate, because, being in principle a dissenter, he refused to qualify by an oath of adherence to the Established Church of England; yet he was highly esteemed, and was a man of remarkable abilities. His fourth daughter was Anne Caldwell, now Mrs. Marsh, who, in talents and character, strikingly resembles her father, and does honour to the careful education he bestowed upon her.
The parental care and tenderness Mrs. Marsh had experienced, may have had some influence on the manner of her first appearance in authorship. She took, as is well known, the pseudonyme of "An Old Man;" but she is by no means to be confounded with those authoresses who, of late, have abdicated the feminine appellation, together with the delicacy and decorum which are its appropriate boast. Her first production, "Two Old Men's Tales," was published in 1834, and was followed in 1836, by "Tales of the Woods and Fields;" both works were simple in construction and affecting in their catastrophes, and both deeply moved the public heart to sympathize with these sad creations of genius. The power of the writer was universally acknowledged; though the influence of such works on morals was regretted by the class who believe these representations of volcanic passion are never salutary. Her next work was "The Triumphs of Time;" followed, at short intervals, by "Mount Sorel," "Emily Wyndham," "Norman Bridge," and "Angela,"—her best work, on the whole, and one of which any female writer might be proud. "Mordaunt Hall," which has been highly esteemed, succeeded; then "The Wilmingtons," and "Lettice Arnold," a sweet, simple story; also "The Second Part of the Previsions of Lady Evelyn," "Ravenscliffe," "Castle Avon," "Aubrey," and "The Heiress of Haughton." And, moreover, Mrs. Marsh has written "The History of the Protestant Reformation in France," and "Tales of the First Revolution," translated and altered from the French.
The author of the first of this series of imaginative works was,
