W. J. Lawrence letter to William Archer, 1903 August 27

              28, Haddington DRoad, ublin, August 27th 1903.  Dear Mr. Archer ,  I fear it is too late now to help Mr. Lucas in regard to hlS query as to Garrick's acting amidst aristG-cratic surroundings, but I venture to send on the following suggestion on the off chance. AIDout the year 1748 eg  offington took up her residence at Teddington, and having brought her siste Mary back fro a French convent, got u a performance of The Distressed Mether 1 in a barn, with the view of bringing f@rw rd the young girl as an actress. ebuts  n thi occasion were ade by Mary offington as Hermione, & by George Anne Bellay as Andromache. Garrick layed restes, and the rest of the cast wa ,If ncy, sustained by aristo-cratic amatedrs. A~cording to Mr. Fitzgerald Molloy tthe barn wa crowded by eo Ie of the first fashion quality in the neighborhood. In reading this in 'The Life and Adventures of eg offington", 1 was reminded that details of this er-for ence were first given in the A ology for the Life of George A.nne Be l l amy'", but as my copy is in London, 1 am unable to find out whether the ruck of the cast on the occasion in question was ade un of aristocrats.  Knowing your interest in National Theatres I am enclosing a cuttlng from a recent issue of the 'New Yo rk Dramatic Mirror' resenting details which may be new to you. By the way, if you are