Continuing, he wrote: "More adequate expression has seldom been given to the light-heartedness of maidenhood, the perplexities and hesitations of love, and the inevitable content of gratified aspirations and ambitions. Not less successful were the scenes of badinage. Portia's address before the court was excellent, and the famous speech on mercy assumed new beauties from a correct and exquisite delivery. A very noteworthy point in the performance was the womanly interest in Shylock--the endeavour to win him, for his own sake, from the pursuit of his grim resolve. The delivery of the lines-- "'Shylock, there's thrice thy money offered thee,' and "'Have by some surgeon, Shylock, on your charge To stop his wounds, lest he do bleed to death,' were dictated by sublime compassion." In accord with this was the opinion of Dutton Cook, who wrote:-- "With all the charms of aspect and graces of manner indispensable to the impersonation of the heiress of Belmont, Miss Terry is gifted with a voice of silvery and sympathetic tone, while her elocutionary method should be prized by her fellow actors. Portia has been presented now with tragedy queen airs, and now with vivacity of the soubrette sort--as when in Garrick's time Mrs. Clive played the part, and made a point of mimicking the more famous barristers of her time; indeed, a nice combination of stateliness, animation, sentiment, archness, poetry, tenderness, and humour is required of the actress entrusted with the character. Miss Terry's Portia leaves little to be desired; she is singularly skilled in the business of the scene, and assists the action of the drama by great care and inventiveness with regard to details. There is something of passion in the anxiety with which she watches Bassanio's choice of the leaden casket; while the confession of her love which follows upon that incident is delivered with a depth of feeling such as only a mistress of her art could accomplish." And so it was with all the critics. Probably there never was an occasion on which they were so unanimous. In the presence of true genius we must all agree. How difficult it is to define the word "genius." To my mind it has never been so well done as by George William Curtis, who said-- "The secret of the rose's sweetness, of the bird's ecstasy, of the sunset's glory, that is the secret of genius." Certainly this seems to sum up the genius of Ellen Terry.