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 BENNO LOEWY LIBRARY 
 
 COLLECTED BY 
 
 BENNO LOEWY 
 
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 BEQUEATHED TO CORNELL UNIVERSITY 
 
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 »te..ffiS,!tef«ans..of the stage. 
 
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RANDOM 
 
 RECOLLECTIONS 
 
 OF THE 
 
 STAGE. 
 
 By an old playgoer. 
 
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 Printed for the Author for Private Circulation. 
 
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DIPROSE, BATEMAJT & Co., Printers, Sheffield Street, Lincoln's Inn Fields. 
 
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 N deference to the suggestion of an esteemed young 
 friend, Mr. Joseph E. R. Judd, (to whom I 
 dedicate this little work), I have jotted down a few par- 
 ticulars of what I have seen represented on the stage during 
 very many years, and it has been to me a labour of love. The 
 majority of those of whom I have written have passed away 
 from this life, but I retain a grateful recollection of the many 
 happy hours spent in witnessing their endeavours to instruct 
 and amuse. In the comments I have made I have been 
 actuated by a sincere desire to give a fair and impartial 
 opinion of the merits or demerits of what I have seen ; with 
 these few remarks, I submit my humble effort to my 
 readers, who I trust will credit me with good intentions. 
 
 P. HANLEY. 
 
 1883. 
 
 A 2 
 
§la«tr0m 5a0lkrtt0ns ai tl^t Stage. 
 
 By an old playgoer. 
 
 Y first recollection of a theatrical performance was 
 when a child of five years of age; the piece was "Rob 
 Roy " — the theatre, the Surrey. I have a distinct 
 remembrance of the singing in the last scene, " Pardon now 
 the bold outlaw," &c. I have been told that the Rob Roy 
 was Mr. Osbaldiston, an excellent actor, whom I frequently 
 saw in after years, and who subsequently became the lessee 
 of Covent Garden, The City of London, and Victoria 
 Theatres. 
 
 How delighted I was with my first pantomime, and 
 what quaint questions I put to my father as to the seeming 
 realities I had seen ! I perfectly idolised the clown, and 
 my vocal efforts to imitate that exalted personage in 
 " Tipitiwichet " and " Hot Codlins " must have been rather 
 distressing to the household. I believe the clown is a prime 
 favorite with most lads, even at the present time. I remem- 
 ber a few years ago a little boy of seven, who had been to 
 see a pantomime, saying to me (after he had been sitting 
 very thoughtfully for some time), " I should like to be a 
 
6 RANDOM RECOLLECTIONS OF THE STAGE. 
 
 clown," and I could not help thinking that the same wish 
 had occurred to me long years before. 
 
 My first visit to Astley's was a great event, the glories of 
 that master of horsemanship, the great Andrew Ducrow, 
 and the splendours of Widdicombe the renowned, who 
 looked like a field marshal as he stepped into the ring, was 
 a sight indeed to be remembered. 
 
 The promise of being taken to a theatre on my birth- 
 day, as a reward for good conduct, was suflEcient to put me 
 on my best behaviour for at least three months, and as the 
 long-looked for time drew nigh my excitement was intense, 
 and even interfered with my appetite, which is remarkable 
 in a boy. 
 
 In my school-boy days, and indeed for years' afterwards, 
 the Surrey was my favorite house, as, like the majority of 
 lads, 1 liked something stirring and exciting ; consequently 
 in those days I knew but little of the West End Theatres. 
 
 I remember a promise mad* by my father to take me on 
 my twelfth birthday to the theatre, and his wishing me to 
 go to the Adelphi, where "Rory O'More " was then being 
 played, with the great Tyrone Power as the hero, John 
 Reeve, the popular low comedian, appearing in the farce ; 
 but no, I must go to the Surrey in preference. Schoolmates 
 had spoken so glowingly of Mr. and Mrs. R. Honner, and 
 Mr. E. F. Saville, that I determined to see them, and my 
 good parent yielding somewhat reluctantly, to the Surrey 
 we went. The pieces were the nautical drama of " Wapping 
 Old Stairs," some delineations of Grecian statuary, and 
 " The Whistler; or, the Fate of the Lily of St. Leonards," 
 Saville as the nautical hero, and Mrs. Honner as his sweet- 
 heart, completely won my young affections, and they became 
 prime favorites of mine for years following. Two years 
 after this treat I had a great disappointment. It was 
 Christmas time, and the Surrey announced a grand panto- 
 mime, preceded by a drama called " Martha Willis," in 
 
RANDOM RECOLLECTIONS OF THE STAGE. 7 
 
 which Savillewas to appear as Walter Speed z. highwayman 
 Having obtained permission, I went the second evening 
 after Boxing Night, accompanied by a schoolfellow ; we 
 walked from Camden Town, having on the road invested 
 the whole of our surplus cash in oranges, buns, etc. On 
 reaching the theatre, there was an immense crowd at the 
 pit door, and after having fought our way in, we found 
 there was not even standing room, and we had to console 
 ourselves with tickets given us for another night. 
 
 Now this was a severe blow, but we managed to rally 
 from it, and presented ourselves on the following Friday, 
 but not quite so well provided with refreshments, which 
 rather damped our spirits ; however, in we went, and after a 
 struggle managed to secure tolerable seats, and when the per- 
 formance commenced and Saville came on attired in a scarlet 
 coat, and a complete highwayman's dress, we joined in the 
 cheers which greeted his entrance, and were completely 
 recompensed for our previous disappointment. About this 
 time I saw for the first and only time, the great comedian 
 Dowton, who played a starring engagement at the Surrey ; 
 he retired from the stage a few months afterwards. On the 
 occasion of my seeing him he played Dr. CantweU in the 
 " Hypocrite." 
 
 In the " Barber of Seville," and other operas I heard the 
 following vocalists ; Mr. Weiss, Mr. Donald King, Mr. H. 
 Corri, Mr. Romer, Mr. Travers, Miss Bstts, and Miss Poole. 
 
 When the Surrey was under the management of Davidge 
 the company was a strong one for melodrama, comprising 
 E. F. Saville, N. T. Hicks, Henry Hughes, John Dale, W. 
 Smith, Heslop, John Neville, Mr. and Mrs. R. Honner, Mrs. 
 W. Daly, and Miss Martin. T. P. Cooke also frequently 
 appeared there ; I have often been delighted with his life-like 
 portrayal of a British sailor ; his song and hornpipe roused 
 the audience to enthusiasm. I once saw him play Philip 
 in " Luke the Labourer," to the Luke of Mr. Samuel Emery. 
 
RANDOM RECOLLECTIONS OF THE STAGE. 
 
 It was at the Surrey I first saw Madame Vestris and 
 Charles Mathews in " Used up," and the " Loan of a 
 Lover." 
 
 E. F. Saville was exceedingly popular, he was a dashing 
 melodramatic actor, and was also very good in certain 
 Shakesperian characters, notably in "Hamlet." Mr. and 
 Mrs. Honner, Mrs. Henry Vining, Mr. John Neville, Mr. 
 W. Smith, and Miss Martin were great favourites. N. T. 
 Hicks, (whose memory the writers of the present day treat 
 with a ridicule quite undeserved) was a capital actor, possess- 
 ing a fine figure and a sonorous voice ; he was certainly not 
 so polished as Saville, but nevertheless was a great favourite, 
 and always " a draw." He occasionally soared to Shakespeare. 
 
 1 once saw him play Richard, and he went through it 
 creditably. Henry Hughes was a superior actor. On 
 leaving the Surrey he went to the Princess's and opened as 
 
 Theseus'va. "AMidsummer Night's Dream," and subsequently 
 acted Banquo to the Macbeth of Mr. Macready. He after- 
 wards went to the Adelphi as leading actor, where he played 
 Webster's part of Luke Fielding in " The Willow Copse," 
 and it was an admirable piece of acting. 
 
 I must express the great pleasure I have derived from 
 witnessing many fine performances of Mr. William Creswick 
 at the Surrey. The first character I saw him represent was 
 Alasco in " The Rose of Arragon," Mr. T. Mead acting 
 Almagro. In my early school days I and my fellow students 
 were one day rather surprised at seeing a play-bill posted up 
 in the school-room, announcing a performance at the 
 Clarence Theatre, afterwards the King's Cross ; the pieces 
 were " The Iron Chest," " The Day after the Wedding," 
 and "The Tower of Nesle," supported by professional 
 actors, except the parts of Sir Edward Mortimer, Colonel 
 Freelove, and Captain Buridan, -which, were to be sustained 
 by a young gentleman making his first appearance on the 
 stage. He was a former schoolfellow, and was then in his 
 
 m 
 
RANDOM RECOLLECTIONS OF THE STAGE. 9 
 
 sixteenth year. I went to see him, and although I was not 
 old enough to express an opinion on the merits of his act- 
 ing, I can say that he went through the three characters 
 with complete self-possession, and appeared to be perfect in 
 the words. That young gentleman was afterwards known 
 in the theatrical profession as Mr. Henry Dudley, for many 
 years a favourite leading actor at the minor theatres. 
 
 My first visit to Sadler's Wells Theatre was at the 
 Christmas of 1836, the pantomime I think being " Harle- 
 quin Little Tom Tucker." The first piece bore the startling 
 title of " The Ring of Death ; or, the Buried Bride," the 
 leading part, that of a Jew pedlar, was played by Mr. 
 Campbell, who was considered a thoroughly good actor, 
 and exceedingly popular ; the low comedian, Mr. William 
 Rogers, was the original Jacob Twig in "Black-eyed 
 Susan." T. Lee, the Irish comedian, also played in a 
 farce. 
 
 In those days theatrical entertainments began at 6.3O, 
 and ended about 12, except on benefit nights, when it was 
 frequently i before they were over. 
 
 Mr. R. Honner became the lessee of Sadler's Wells about 
 the year 1838. His company comprised at that time, 
 besides himself and his talented wife, Mr. C. Cathcart (who 
 afterwards appeared as Cassius at Drury Lane), Messrs. E. 
 Dry, John Webster, Elvin, Williams, J. W. Collier, H. 
 Hall, and Mr. Benjamin Conquest, a capital low comedian 
 and father of Mr. George Conquest the present lessee of the 
 Surrey. Miss Richardson and Mrs. R. Barnett were also 
 members of the company, and later on Mr. Henry Marston 
 and Mr. T. Lyon joined. I have seen many good pieces 
 under Honner's management, "The Dream of Fate; or, 
 Sarah the Jewess;" a nautical drama, "Paul the Pilot," 
 and a capital version of " Oliver Twist," with Mrs. Honner 
 as Oliver and Honner as Fagan. The scene of Fagan in 
 the condemned cell was thoroughly realistic, and Honner's 
 
10 RANDOM RECOLLECTIONS OF THE STAGE. 
 
 acting very powerful. I also saw an excellent version of 
 " Barnaby Rudge," with Mrs. Honner as the idiot boy. 
 Another notable performance was " King Lear," with Elton 
 as Lear and H. Marston as Edgar. I have since seen 
 "King Lear" represented, but in my opinion Elton's was 
 the best. 
 
 Mr. Phelps began his management of Sadler's Wells in 
 May, 1844, which was a grand event for all lovers of 
 Shakespeare. The young people of that time (myself 
 among the number) owe him a debt of gratitude for giving 
 us an opportunity of seeing Shakespeare's plays represented 
 as they should be. The company included at various times 
 Messrs. H. Marston, G. Bennett, A. Younge, Scharf, Charles 
 Fenton, Hermann Vezin, W. Creswick, F. Robinson, 
 Hoskins, Barrett, Belford, and the lessee himself; Mrs. 
 Warner, Miss Glyn, Miss Cooper, Mrs. Charles Young, 
 Mrs. H. Marston, and Miss Laura Addison. The plays I 
 witnessed during that glorious epoch included " Macbeth," 
 "Othello," "Richelieu," "King Lear," "Werner," "The 
 Fatal Dowry," " The Fool's Revenge," " Money," " John 
 Saville of Haysted," and " The Man of the World." I can 
 never forget the glorious trio, Phelps, Marston, and Bennett, 
 appearing with Miss Laura Addison in " John Saville of 
 Haysted." I much doubt whether we could find three 
 such tragedians at the present time. In my opinion John 
 Saville, Werner, Richelieu, Sir Pertinax Macsycophant, 
 and Bertuccio were Mr. Phelps' finest impersonations. 
 
 About this time I saw the Greek play of " Antigone " 
 at Covent Garden Theatre ; the stage represented a theatre 
 in Greece, and there was a chorus of, I think, eighty voices 
 which lined the stage on either side ; the great John 
 Vandenhoff was Creon, and his accomplished daughter 
 Antigone. Mr. Archer, a fine actor with a splendid voice, 
 played a blind Seer. The play did not draw, although Miss 
 Vandenhoff acted exquisitely and Mr. Vandenhoff and Mr. 
 
RANDOM RECOLLECTIONS OF THE STAGE. II 
 
 Archer delivered their speeches with fine elocutionary 
 power. 
 
 I once saw " Macbeth " played at the Albert Saloon, a 
 very large hall fitted up as a theatre, situated not very far 
 from the " Eagle Tavern " in the City Road (I believe it is 
 now used as a Drill Hall by Volunteers). It was well 
 rendered, the Macbeth being Mr. Charles Freer, a popular 
 East End tragedian ; Lady Macbeth, Mrs. H. Campbell ; 
 and Macduff, Mr. Edward Edwards. I have seen Macduff 
 played may times, but never saw it played better ; on a 
 subsequent occasion Edwards represented William Tell, and 
 I afterwards saw him enact Brutus at the Victoria Theatre, 
 and it was a very fine performance. Poor Edwards drifted 
 about for years from one minor theatre to another, always 
 a favourite, but never rising to the position to which his 
 abilities entitled him ; at length, worn out by disease and 
 steeped in poverty, he went over to the majority in 1851, 
 at the age of 38. 
 
 Many years ago I was staying at Gravesend, and seeing 
 an attractive bill outside the theatre I went in. The pieces 
 were " The Gamester " and " My Poll and my Partner Joe ;" 
 I was much pleased with the acting of the gentleman who 
 played Stukely, his name was J. F. Young ; about a year after- 
 wards I saw him at The Bower Saloon, as it was then called, a 
 pretty little theatre in S tangate, where he was a great favourite. 
 The manager's name was Biddies, father of Mrs. Charles 
 Calvert. One night a little incident occurred which was 
 rather amusing, Mr. Biddies, dressed in the uniform of an 
 admiral, was on the stage carrying on a dialogue with Mr. 
 Young, who played a superannuated seaman, a sort of 
 nautical valet to the admiral, when a considerable disturb- 
 ance took place in the gallery which apparently arose from 
 overcrowding. The admiral, in a conversational tone 
 addressed the " gods," requesting to know what was the 
 matter, at which several voices shouted out, but what they 
 
12 RANDOM RECOLLECTIONS OF THE STAGE. 
 
 said was unintelligible. " Now, don't all speak at once," 
 exclaimed the gallant officer, "but let me know what it is 
 you want ; " upon'which it was explained that one particular 
 individual had rendered himself obnoxious. " What, is it 
 only one," shouted the admiral, in a voice of thunder ; 
 "then why the deuce don't two or three take hold of him 
 and turn him out 7 " This gave rise to a burst of merri- 
 ment and order was restored. 
 
 Some years after this I went to the Marylebone Theatre, 
 ostensibly to see my old schoolfellow, Henry Dudley, who 
 that night commenced an engagement by playing Gaie 
 Breezeley, in the nautical drama of that name (a line of 
 character in which he excelled). The first piece was to be 
 " Richard III." On nearing the theatre the Richard (whom 
 I knew by sight) passed me, carrying under his arm the sword 
 with which he was to do battle with Richmond on the field 
 of Bosworth. It was my Gravesend favourite, Mr. J. F. 
 Young, subsequently of the Gaiety Theatre, and now the 
 leading member of the " Guv'nor '' company and a great 
 favourite in the provinces. Mr. Young made a capital 
 Richard and gave every satisfaction to his audience ; the 
 Richmond was Mr. Henry Forrester, who became a famous 
 actor and of whom I shall presently speak more fully. Mr. 
 G. Belmore, a comedian who also became famous, appeared 
 in the nautical drama before named. Belmore died in 
 America in 1875. 
 
 The first time I saw Mr. William Farren, senior, was at 
 the Haym'arket, in January 1846, as Caleb Plummer, in 
 the " Cricket on the Hearth." Buckstone was Tilly Slowboy; 
 Stuart, John Perybingle ; Tilbury, Tackleton; and I think 
 Miss Reynolds was Dot. The after-piece was " The Fair One 
 with the Golden Locks," in which Miss P. Horton, now 
 Mrs. German Reed, appeared. 
 
 Many years ago the famous Victoria Theatre, now the 
 Victoria Coffee Palace, was under the management of 
 
RANDOM RECOLLECTIONS OF THE STAGE. 1 3 
 
 Osbaldiston. It was a very large house, with a gallery 
 capableof holding 1,000 persons, and was said to be the home of 
 the dotnestic drama. Miss Vincent, the leading lady, was an 
 excellent actress, and a very pretty woman. E. F. Saville, 
 and N. T. Hicks sometimes played engagements, but a 
 Mr. J. T. Johnson was one of the greatest favorites ever 
 known there. Mr. Osbaldiston, a very superior performer, 
 would occasionally himself act. The pieces were of a 
 peculiar domestic type, with titles such as — "Susan Hopley ; 
 or, the Vicissitudes of a Servant Maid," " Jane Paul, the 
 Victim of Unmerited Persecution," Mary White; or, the 
 Murder at the Old Tabard," &c., &c. If the acting was some- 
 times a little exaggerated, it was perhaps not more so than in 
 the sensation dramas that have been played for years 
 past at some of our West End Theatres ; while the Victoria 
 pieces had the advantage of being acted by performers who 
 thoroughly understood the work they had to do. I have seen 
 Johnson, who might be called the Leigh Murray of the 
 establishment, play the hero in three dramas in one night, 
 and finish apparently as full of energy as when he began. 
 There was another actor who was a prime favourite, Mr. John 
 Bradshaw, whom the gallery irreverently called "Jack 
 Bradshaw." He invariably took the part of a villain (to see 
 him as Simon Legree, in " Uncle Tom's Cabin," was a sight 
 indeed !) and as he generally played in three pieces, the 
 amount of rascality he had to perpetrate nightly was some- 
 thing dreadful ; however Bradshaw was a good actor, and 
 did his work well. As a youth, I felt that for the shilling paid 
 for admission I had received more than an equivalent, and 
 left the theatre highly pleased with what I had seen, and 
 fully sympathising with the persecuted yane or Susan as 
 the case might be. 
 
 Mrs. Warner, the celebrated tragic actress, opened the 
 Marylebone Theatre (I believe in 1 847) with a view to make 
 it what Mr. Phelps had made Sadler's Wells, but the 
 
14 RANDOM RECOLLECTIONS OF THE STAGE. 
 
 attempt was unsuccessful. Mr. Macready appeared for a 
 short time. Mrs. Warner produced several plays, which 
 were well put upon the stage and capitally acted. The 
 leading tragedian was a Mr. J. G. Graham, who subse- 
 quently appeared at the Princess's. Graham was a tall, 
 fine-figured, handsome man, with a good voice, and was an 
 excellent elocutionist. I saw him as Hamlet and Mr. 
 Beverly in " The Gamester," and as Jaques at the Prin- 
 cess's. He died of cholera in America about 1852. 
 
 I have had many delightful evenings at the Princess's 
 when it was under the management of Mr. Maddox 
 (1844-5). I had the pleasure of hearing Madame Anna 
 Thillon, Mdlle. Nau, Miss Helen Condell, and Messrs. 
 Allen, C. Horn, jun., E. L. Hime, Walton, P. Corri and 
 LefHer in the following operas : — " The Crown Diamonds," 
 " The Syren," and " The Castle of Aymon ; or, the Four 
 Brothers." In 1845, Miss Charlotte Cushman, the great 
 American actress, was fulfilling a London engagement. I 
 saw her several times in the following characters : — Rosa- 
 lind, Beatrice, Mrs. Haller, Meg Merilies, and Romeo 
 (at the Surrey to her sister Susan's Juliet). In my opinion 
 Meg Merilies was her finest impersonation ; it was a won- 
 derful performance. 
 
 Miss Cushman was supported by a powerful company. 
 James Wallack impersonated Jaques, Benedick, and the 
 Stranger ; Walter Lacy, Orlando and Francis ; Compton, 
 Touchstone and Dogberry ; Oxberry, William and Verges, 
 and Miss Emma Stanley, Audrey. I do not believe it pos- 
 sible for any actor to excel Compton in Touchstone or Dog- 
 berry ; they were played in the true spirit of Shakesperian 
 comedy. Colman's comedy of " The Heir-at-Law " was 
 represented during the season, with Compton as Dr. 
 Pangloss (a real treat); James Vining made a capital 
 Dick. Dowlas, and Mrs. Stirling a charming Cicely. Walter 
 Lacy and Compton also appeared in several farces, and were 
 always extremely diverting. 
 
RANDOM RECOLLECTIONS OF THE STAGE. 1 5 
 
 That prince of melodramatic actors James Wallack, 
 showed to great advantage in his celebrated impersonation 
 of the Brigand. Leigh Murray, who had just made his 
 entry on the London stage, played an important part in the 
 piece, and Compton and Oxberry as Mr. and Mrs. Caudle 
 in " Caudle's Curtain Lectures " caused roars of laughter. 
 
 About the end of the year 1848 a very excellent per- 
 formance of " The Flowers of the Forest " was given at the 
 Marylebone Theatre, with the following cast: — Mrs. Fitz- 
 william, Starlight Bess ; Miss Charlotte SdMaders, Lemuel/ 
 Miss Fanny Vining, Cynthia ; James Johnstone, Iskmael; 
 Buckstone, Cheap jfack ; and John Herbert, The Kinchin. 
 John Herbert was an excellent low comedian. He first ap- 
 peared in London at Sadler's Wells in 1841 under Honner's 
 management. I saw him in the character of Brutus Hair- 
 brain in a farce called " The Middle Temple," and he was 
 intensely droll. He did not succeed in establishing a posi- 
 tion at the West End, but was a great favorite at all the 
 minor houses. He died in 1852, at the age of 38. 
 
 In December 1850, at the Princess's, under the manage- 
 ment of Messrs. Charles Kean and Keeley, I witnessed the 
 performance of " Henry IV," with a remarkably strong 
 cast : — Falstaff, Mr. Hartley (who had recently played the 
 part at Windsor Castle by command of the Queen) ; 
 Hotspur, Mr. C. Kean ; Henry IV., Mr. T. C. King ; the 
 Prince of Wales, Mr. Belton ; Poins, Mr. James Vining ; 
 Sir Richard Vernon, Mr. J. F. Cathcart; Francis, Mr. 
 Drinkwater Meadows ; the Earl of Worcester, Mr. J. 
 Ryder; Bardolph, Mr. Addison; the Two Carriers, Messrs. 
 Harley and Keeley ; Mrs. Quickly, Mrs. Keeley ; and Lady 
 Percy, Mrs. C. Kean. 
 
 I have seen " The Lady of Lyons " many times, but have 
 never seen a Claude Melnotte equal to James Anderson. I saw 
 him play the part several times at Drury Lane and, else- 
 where to the Paulines of Miss VandenhofF, Miss Helen 
 
1 6 RANDOM RECOLLECTIONS OF THE STAGE. 
 
 Faucit, and Miss Elsworthy. Anderson was a very fine 
 actor. I. have seen him as Hamlet, Azael the Prodigal Son, 
 (a play which remains vividly impressed on my memory by 
 the natural acting of John Vandenhoff as the prodigal's 
 father), Othello, Hercule, in a play called " Civilization," 
 Ingomar, Petruchio, and Charles Surface to the Lady 
 Teazle of the fascinating Mrs. Nesbitt and the J-oseph 
 Surface of John Cooper. 
 
 T once when a youth saw Mrs. Honey perform Mrs. 
 Trictrac in " The Married Rake," at the Lyceum Theatre ; 
 she was a celebrated actress and a very beautiful woman. 
 She died quite suddenly, at the early age of 28. 
 
 Many years ago I witnessed the representation of the 
 tragedy of "The Bridal" at the Standard Theatre. Mr. 
 Henry Marston was the star and played Melantius 
 splendidly ; he was indifferently supported, with the excep- 
 tion of Mrs. Honner as Aspasid. 
 
 Mr. Benjamin Webster, for many years lessee of the 
 Adelphi, was a favourite of mine. His performance 
 of Triplet in " Masks and Faces " to the Peg Woffington of 
 Mrs. Stirling was a fine piece of acting. Mr. Webster was 
 very great as Tartuffe. I once saw him play Mr. Torrens 
 in the " Serious Family ; " Keeley was Aminadab Sleek, 
 Leigh Murray, Captain Murphy Maguire, and I think Miss 
 Woolgar was Mrs. Torrens. Webster was excellent in 
 melodramatic parts, such as Carlos in "The Thirst of 
 Gold " (by the way Madame Celeste played splendidly in 
 this drama), and Richard Pride in the drama of "Jar;et 
 Pride." In all the Adelphi pieces Webster had the power- 
 ful support of Edward Wright, Paul Bedford, O. Smith, 
 Charles Selby, and Toole, Madame Celeste and Miss Woolgar 
 (Mrs. Alfred Mellon.) 
 
 There was a very powerful drama produced at the Adelphi in 
 1 854, entitled " The Marble Heart ; or, the Sculptor's Dream," 
 with Leigh Murray, Benjamin Webster, Madame Celeste, 
 
RANDOM RECOLLECTIONS OF THE STAGE. 1 7 
 
 and Miss Woolgar in the principal parts ; where all were 
 good it may seem invidious to particularise, but certainly 
 Leigh Murray was perfection. I have never seen a more 
 accomplished artiste ; his place as a stage lover has yet to be 
 filled. Before ending my experience of the Adelphi, I may 
 say that it was at that theatre I first saw the great delineator 
 of Anglo-Frenchmen, Mr. Alfred Wigan, as Monsieur 
 Tourbillon in "To Parents and Guardians," Mr. Keeley 
 was Waddilove, Mrs. Keeley Nettles, and Mrs. A. Wigan 
 Virginia; the whole performance was a treat. 
 
 I also saw Toole for the first time at the Adelphi as 
 Bob Cratchit in " The Christmas Carol," and it was a very 
 striking performance. 
 
 T went to the Strand and Olympic a great deal during 
 the lesseeship of that admirable actor Mr. William Farren, 
 senior. I had the pleasure of seeing him in the old 
 comedies and other pieces, supported by Mrs. Glover, Mrs. 
 Leigh Murray, and Mrs. Stirling, Mr. Leigh Murray, Mr. 
 Compton, Mr. George Cooke (a capital actor of old men), 
 Mr. W. Shalders, Mr. Farren's two sons Mr. Henry Farren 
 and Mr. William Farren (now stage manager at the Vaude- 
 ville). 
 
 In addition to the old comedies Mr. Farren appeared 
 as Grandfather Whitehead, Michael Perrin, (in a piece 
 called " Secret Service ") and Dr. Primrose in " The Vicar 
 of Wakefield," Mrs. Glover was Mrs. Primrose, and Mrs. 
 Stirling Olivia. Some lines were spoken by the characters 
 at the end of the piece, and Mr. Farren ended thus, " Shall 
 I go back ; or shall I keep the stage V How heartily we 
 cheered the grand old veteran, which must have shown him 
 how loth playgoers would be to lose his valuable services. 
 
 " All that Glitters is not Gold," was another triumph, 
 with Mrs. Stirling as Martha Gtbbs, Leigh Murray as 
 Stephen Plum, and Compton as Toby Twinkle. " The 
 Ladies' Battle," was brilliantly played, Leigh Murray as 
 
l8 RANDOM RECOLLECTIONS OF THE STAGE. 
 
 Gustave De Grignon, and Mrs. Stirling as the Countess, 
 were simply unsurpassable, while the younger Farrens 
 rendered good service. " King Rene's Daughter," was 
 another gem, Leigh Murray was Count Tristan, and there 
 was a charm of voice and manner in his acting that was 
 fascinating in the extreme. " His First Champagne," and 
 " John Dobbs " also afforded much enjoyment. 
 
 Leigh Murray joined the Haymarket Company in 1851, 
 where I had the pleasure of seeing him on many occasions. 
 Compton went to the Haymarket in 1 853 to take the place 
 of Keeley, who removed to the Adelphi, and a most remark- 
 able actor succeeded Compton at the Olympic, Mr. Frederick 
 Robson, who came from the Dublin theatre, but who had 
 previously played for some years at the Grecian Saloon 
 in the City Road, under the management of Mr. John 
 Rouse. He opened at the Olympic on Easter Monday, 
 1853. I saw him a few nights after as Macbeth in 
 a travesty of that play. His acting was by turns 
 intensely tragic and irresistibly comic, and altogether 
 wonderful, and he at once became the talk of the town. 
 His position in public estimation was strengthened by sub- 
 sequent performances. The burlesque of " The Merchant of 
 Venice " afforded him a further opportunity of showing hig 
 great powers as Shylock, and some time afterwards he 
 appeared in a little piece called " The Wandering Minstrel," 
 playing Jem Baggs, an itinerant musician, with the song 
 of " Villikins and his Dinah." This assumption fairly took 
 people by storm. I went several times to hear the famous 
 song, and laughed till the tears ran down my cheeks. 
 Robson subsequently became joint lessee of the Olympic 
 with Mr. Emden, but his triumphant career was a brief 
 one for he died in August r864, at the age of 44. 
 
 I have seen " Still Waters Run Deep " several times, 
 but never saw it played so well as by the original cast at the 
 Olympic, with Alfred Wigan, Emery, G. Vining and Mrs. 
 A. Wigan in the principal parts. 
 
RANDOM RECOLLECTIONS OF THE STAGE. 1 9 
 
 Mr. Gustavus Vaughan Brooke was a very fine actor. 
 He made his first appearance in London in 1848 at the 
 Ol3mipic as Othello, and greatly distinguished himself. He 
 afterwards played the round of Shakesperian parts with 
 great success, and was a popular favorite for several years. 
 The only time I had the pleasure of seeing him was at the 
 Olympic, under Mr. Farren's management. He played in 
 a piece called " Philip of France," Miss Helen Faucit also 
 appearing. Brooke was drowned in the " London " on his 
 voyage to Australia in 1866. He was only 48 years 
 of age. 
 
 There was a very excellent performer — a Mr. Charles 
 Pitt — a great star in the provinces, and who was engaged to 
 succeed James Anderson as the star at the City of London 
 Theatre, then (in 1852) under the management of Nelson 
 Lee ; he played the range of legitimate characters. I saw 
 him as Leontes in " The Winter's Tale," and as Werner and 
 also as Gissipus in the play of that name, first produced by 
 Mr. Macready some ten years before. He also appeared in 
 ■" The Corsican Brothers." Pitt was supported by an ex- 
 cellent company for a minor theatre, comprising Messrs. E. 
 F. Saville, W. Montague, H. Dudley, James Johnstone, W. 
 Searle, and Mrs. H. Vining. The pieces I have named were 
 thoroughly well played. 
 
 I have seen but little of Mr. Barry Sullivan, but what I 
 have seen I admired. I saw him in several pieces at the 
 Haymarket, and as Evelyn in " Money " at the Holborn, 
 when he was lessee of that theatre. Mrs. Hermann Vezin 
 was Clara Douglas; Mr. Charles Coghlan, Sir Frederick 
 Blount; and that excellent comedian George Honey, Graves. 
 
 Many years ago there was an American actor, a Mr. 
 
 Hudson Kirby, who was starring at the minor theatres, 
 
 principally in a piece called " The Carpenter of Rouen." 
 
 The play was of peculiar construction, but Kirby, who was 
 
 a thoroughly good actor, played the principal part very 
 
 B 2 
 
20 RANDOM RECOLLECTIONS OF THE STAGE. 
 
 well. His career was a short one, for he died somewhat 
 suddenly at the age of 29. 
 
 I had the pleasure of seeing Mr. Sothern as Lord Dun- 
 dreary, soon after that eccentric nobleman made his entry 
 on the London stage. I thought Chippendale's Abel 
 Murcott a fine piece of acting, and Buckstone in his Robin 
 Hood costume amused me much. 
 
 I saw Charles Dillon in 1856 as Belphegor and Don 
 CcEsar de Bazan. His performance of Belphegor was 
 touching in the extreme. 
 
 In June 1859 I witnessed at the Grecian Theatre a very 
 good performance of Sheridan Knowles' play of " The 
 Wife," and the nautical drama of " My Poll and my Partner 
 Joe." The cast for " The Wife," was Julian St. Pierre^ 
 Mr. T. Mead ; and Leonardo Gonzago, Mr. James Fernandez 
 (who are both at the present time leading members of the 
 Lyceum company) ; Ferrado Gonzago, Mr. Basil Potter 
 (afterwards of the Princess's) ; Antonio, Mr. Barrett, (a 
 distinguished member of Mr. Phelps' company at Sadler's 
 Wells) ; and Mariana (the wife). Miss Jane Dawson. The 
 cast for the nautical drama was Harry Halyard, Mr. H. 
 Dudley ; Joe Tiller, Mr. James Fernandez ; Mary Mayhud, 
 Miss Jane Coveney ; and Abigail Holdforth, Miss Harriet 
 Coveney. The entire performance went splendidly. 
 
 Very many years ago, in Penton Street, Pentonville, 
 stood an ancient tavern called " White Conduit House." 
 It had extensive grounds at the back, in which were alcoves 
 and boxes in which tea and other refreshments were served 
 to the visitors ; at the bottom of the grounds was a long 
 building, with a stage at one end where theatrical entertain- 
 ments were given, the audience being allowed to smoke and 
 drink, as they do in the music halls at the present day. 
 Being attracted, when a lad of sixteen, by a bill which 
 announced " Tom and Jerry ; or. Life in London," (a piece 
 which had been produced with great success at the Adelphi 
 
RANDOM RECOLLECTIONS OF THE STAGE. 21 
 
 some twenty years previously) and a drama entitled " The 
 Dumb Girl of Genoa; or, The Mountain Devil," I resolved 
 to see what it was like. Now in Tom and Jerry there is a 
 scene representing a low lodging-house or thieves' kitchen, 
 and when it was played at the Adelphi many well-known 
 London street characters were engaged to appear in this 
 particular scene. For this scene the manager of the " White 
 Conduit " announced in very large type the engagement of 
 Mr. W. Walbourn, the original " JDusty Bob" from the 
 Theatre Royal Adelphi, and that he would dance his cele- 
 brated quick step with ^^ Black Sal" or as some of the 
 characters politely called her " African Sarah." Well, the 
 piece went very satisfactorily ; the actor who impersonated 
 Tom knew what he was about, and played very effectively ; 
 but Dusty Bob, — who was thoroughly dusty from his fan- 
 tail hat to his lace-up boots — was evidently considered the 
 hero of the piece, and after dancing his celebrated jig with 
 his dark partner, (which was encored about six times), he 
 retired, having scored all the honours. But the next piece, 
 " The Dumb Girl of Genoa ; or. The Mountain Devil," had 
 also an announcement that two of the robbers, with the 
 suggestive names of Desperatta and Strapado, would be 
 played by Messrs. A. and B., the champion swordsmen, who 
 would fight their celebrated drunken combat. The piece 
 progressed ; the Dumb Girl gave us some rather unintelli- 
 gible pantomime, the Mountain Devil (played by the same 
 actor who impersonated Tom^ had changed his nature with 
 his bandit's dress, and committed murders and planned 
 assassinations without the slightest compunction. At 
 length the last scene was reached, and Desperatto and 
 Sfrapado commenced their drunken combat with basket- 
 hilted swords, to the accompaniment of sympathetic music, 
 — well, they struck sparks, reeled, staggered, chopped and 
 cut with great animation, keeping capital time to the music, 
 until one of them was obliged to knock under, and the 
 performance came to a close amid thunders of applause. 
 
22 RANDOM RECOLLECTIONS OF THE STAGE. 
 
 In former days at the minor theatres we frequently had 
 what were called " Dog Pieces," that is to say, a couple of 
 actors would train a Newfoundland dog, or sometimes more 
 than one, to perform in the following manner : — A piece 
 was written in which a murder was committed, the mur- 
 derer was played by one of the owners of the dog and the 
 victim by the other, and the murderer was brought to jus- 
 tice by the sagacity of the animal, who would track the 
 assassin, and in the last scene fly at his throat and bring 
 him to the grouhd. Messrs. Coney and Blanchard were 
 the chief exponents of this kind of drama, and " The Forest 
 of Bondy; or, the Dog of Montargis" was one of their 
 most successful pieces. 
 
 " 'Twixt Axe and Crown," by Tom Taylor, had a good 
 run some years since at the Queen's Theatre in Long Acre. 
 Poor Mrs. Rousby appeared in it, but in my opinion it was 
 chiefly remarkable for the excellent acting of Mr. Henry 
 Marston as Bishop Gardiner, Mr. John Ryder as Simon 
 Renard, Mr. George Rignold in a small part, and Miss G. 
 Pauncefort as Queen Mary. 
 
 I have passed many pleasant evenings at the Royalty when 
 it was under the management of Miss Oliver. " Milky 
 White " and " Meg's Diversion," in which the author (Mr. H. 
 T. Craven) and Miss Oliver appeared to advantage, and the 
 burlesque of " Black-eyed Susan," with Mr. F. Dewar as 
 Captain Crosstree, were great attractions. Mr. Charles 
 Wyndham was also a member of the company. By the 
 way, T once saw Miss Oliver play Susan in the original at 
 the Haymarket to the William of T. P. Cooke and the 
 Gnatbrain of Buckstone. 
 
 I saw Mr. Toole some years ago at the Surrey as 
 Michael Garner in " Dearer than Life," and I liked him 
 very much indeed. Mr. Vollaire played Uncle Ben splen- 
 didly, and Mr. Henry Irving was very good as Bob Gassit. 
 The same night Mr. Toole appeared as' Simmons in "Th3 
 
RANDOM RECOLLECTIONS OF THE STAGE. 23 
 
 Spitalfields Weaver," and was intensely comic. He was 
 well supported by Mr. Henry Irving as Brown. On another 
 occasion at the Gaiety I saw Toole as Dick Dalland in 
 " Uncle Dick's Darling," which he acted capitally. The 
 lamented Miss Neilson was the heroine, and Mr. Henry 
 Irving played a character part, Mr. Chivenix (a sort of 
 Mr. Dombey), very artistically. 
 
 I remember seeing Mr. Boucicault, for the first and only 
 time, act at 'the Princess's Theatre (about 1852-53) in a 
 piece of peculiar construction. The action extended over 
 three centuries, and the principal part, that of a vampire, 
 played by Mr. Boucicault, went through the entire piece ; I 
 thought he acted very well indeed. Mr. John Chester and 
 the celebrated comedian Mr. Harley appeared in the piece 
 and played their parts very successfully. 
 
 " The Courier of Lyons " was produced at the Princess's, 
 I believe in 1854 (a version of this drama has since been 
 brought out at the Lyceum under the title of " The Lyon's 
 Mail "). Mr. Charles Kean played the dual parts of Dubosc 
 and Joseph Lesurques. I thought Kean very much out of 
 place in such a piece ; to my thinking, the best played part 
 was a character called Chopard, performed by Mr. Addison. 
 
 At the St. James' Theatre I witnessed a very good 
 representation of " Lady Audley's Secret." Miss Herbert, a 
 very fine actress, was Lady Audley ; Mr. Belton, Robert 
 Audley ; and Mr. Frank Matthews, Luke Marks. 
 
 I remember seeing " The Merchant of Venice " very 
 many years ago at the Victoria Theatre. Shylock was played 
 by Mr. Denvil. Denvil was the original representative of 
 Manfred when Lord Byron's poem was produced at Covent 
 Garden, he was very successful in that character but was 
 somewhat unfortunate afterwards. 
 
 The last time I saw Buckstone was in the comedy of 
 "Married Life." He acted Mr. Henry Dove, who had 
 been a footman, but had married the widow of his late 
 
24 RANDOM RECOLLECTIONS OF THE STAGE. 
 
 master ; now although Dove was promoted to the drawing- 
 room, he could not forget his antecedents, and it was very 
 ludicrous to see Buckstone start up at every ring of the 
 street bell and run to open the door. Mrs. Frank Matthews 
 played Mrs. Dove excellently.- Buckstone's voice was in- 
 tensely funny ; it had only to be heard to produce shouts of 
 laughter; his Bob Acres was the drollest I have seen. 
 
 The late Mr. John Neville, father of Mr. Henry Neville, 
 was a great favourite of mine; I particularly remember 
 seeing him as Friar Laurence to the Romeo and Juliet of 
 the sisters Cushman. 
 
 Some years ago I had the great pleasure of seeing 
 the Brothers Webb as the Two Dromios in the " Comedy of 
 Errors. The likeness between them was extraordinary, — 
 so much so that it was impossible to tell one from the 
 other. 
 
 I once, when a boy of thirteen, saw for the first and 
 only time, Mr. James Prescott Warde, the tragedian of Drury 
 Lane and Covent Garden Theatres. He was at that time ful- 
 filling a starring engagement at the Surrey ; he played the 
 leading part in a new drama. In those days the Surrey 
 frequently had star actors from the leading theatres. Mr. 
 Macready fulfilled a starring engagement in September 
 1 846, bringing with him John Cooper, Leigh Murray, Mrs. 
 Ternan, and Mrs. Charles Gill. Phelps and Elton would 
 sometimes play engagements there and alternate such parts 
 as Othello and lago. Elton was an immense favourite ; he 
 was drowned in the " Pegasus," whilst crossing the Channel ; 
 he was only forty-nine years of age. 
 
 A laughable circumstance occurred one night at the City 
 of London Theatre, during the performance of " Pizzaro," 
 at which I was present. Pizzaro, after Alonzo is taken 
 prisoner, interrogates him, and has to utter the following 
 line. " Art thou not the father of a lovely babe ?" But 
 instead of saying these words, he put the question thus : — 
 
RANDOM RECOLLECTIONS OF THE STAGE. 25 
 
 " Art thou not the mother of a lovely babe ?" at which 
 there were shouts of laughter. Now the actor who played 
 Pizzaro was a very good performer and a great favourite, 
 and he seemed much surprised at such boisterous merriment 
 audit was not until z4/o«a'owhisperingly told him of his 
 mistake that he recovered from his astonishment and joined 
 in the laugh against himself; he had uttered the word quite 
 unconsciously. The piece went splendidly after this, and 
 Pizzaro got peal after peal of applause, and apparently 
 soon forgot the curious mistake he had made. 
 
 I regret very much that I never had the pleasure of 
 seeing the eminent actor Mr. Macready. I remember pass- 
 ing Drury Lane Theatre on the night he took his farewell 
 of the stage February, 1851. The line of carriages extended 
 up Bow Street and half-way down Long Acre ; ladies in 
 evening dress had to leave their carriages and walk a con- 
 siderable distance to the theatre, while the crowds at the pit 
 and gallery entrances seemed overwhelming. The play 
 " Macbeth," had the advantage of Mr. Phelps' ability as 
 Macduff, and that sterling actor Mr. H. Howe, (now of the 
 Lyceum) was ^^ Banquo" 
 
 Some thirty-seven years ago I paid occasional visits to 
 the Britannia Theatre, then called the Britannia Saloon. 
 The manager was Mr. Samuel Lane. It was a much smaller 
 house than it is now, but very neatly got up and very well 
 conducted. At the period I name the management had 
 just entered into an engagement with Mr. N. T. Hicks to 
 act and fulfil the duties of stage manager for twelve months. 
 As Hicks was a great Surrey favourite and a good melo- 
 dramatic actor, it wag considered rather a great engage- 
 ment. Hicks opened as Rolla on December 36th, 1845, 
 and shortly afterwards appeared in a drama entitled " The 
 Wizard of the Wave ; or, the Ship of the Avenger." He 
 played the dual characters of a pirate captain and the com- 
 mander of an English frigate, characters which he had re- 
 
26 RANDOM RECOLLECTIONS OF THE STAGE. 
 
 presented most successfully at other theatres. Then came 
 several new pieces from the pen of the veteran author and 
 actor Mr. Dibdin Pitt. The leading actor at the time 
 Hicks appeared was Mr. H. Dudley, who was exceedingly 
 popular, so that there was a strong professional rivalry 
 between the two actors, and as the author generally wrote 
 two good parts in each piece their chances were pretty 
 equal. The audience seemed divided into what may be 
 termed the Hicksites and the Dudleyites : if Hicks was 
 called before the curtain the audience would not be satisfied 
 unless Dudley came also, so that neither of the actors could 
 complain of the coldness of his admirers, for they were both 
 vociferously cheered nightly. The Britannia bills during 
 Hicks's regime were a study. Dudley's engagement ex- 
 piring some time before Hicks's he removed to other 
 quarters, and Hicks was left to do battle with his successor 
 who did not prove so formidable a stage rival. I have seen 
 Dudley play Sir Edward Mortimer, The Stranger, Isaac of 
 York, and William in " Black-eyed Susan " in a style that 
 would have done credit to any theatre in the metropolis. 
 He was an excellent actor of character parts. I saw him 
 represent Napoleon Bonaparte at Astley's, and his make-up 
 and acting were perfect. Could he have had his opportu- 
 nity at a theatre like the Adelphi, I am certain he would 
 have been very successful in the line of business played by 
 Mr. Samuel Emery. I remember " Black-eyed Susan " 
 being performed at the City of London Theatre in 1852, 
 Saville, Hicks, and Dudley, playing William on alternate 
 nights. Hicks and Dudley died in 1873, within a few 
 months of each other. 
 
 I saw " The School of Reform " at the Britannia in 
 1849, the part of Robert Tyke being sustained by a Mr. 
 Lysander Thomson, a provincial star in Yorkshire characters, 
 and he played the part uncommonly well. Mr. C. J. Bird, 
 an excellent actor, was also very successful as Mr. Ferment. 
 Thomson died a young man. 
 
RANDOM RECOLLECTIONS OF THE STAGE. 27 
 
 I have not visited the Britannia for twenty-eight years, 
 but I read of it as being a highly successful establishment, 
 and I notice that Mr. Joseph Reynolds, who was leading 
 man thirty years ago, still holds his position. 
 
 Many years ago I witnessed the following amusing scene 
 at a theatrical performance : — The stage 'manager, a very 
 indiiFerent actor not popular with the gallery visitors, and 
 who always cast himself for an important part, was on 
 this particular night representing a very great personage, 
 who, being overcome by remorse for his past misdeeds, was 
 recounting a long story of his life to a lady who represented 
 his niece, and who was listening intently with a countenance 
 expressive of grief and pain. Suddenly someone in the 
 gallery gave a derisive whistle ; the actor paused for a 
 moment, frowned, cast an indignant glance at the noisy 
 gods, and then proceeded with his story, but every few 
 seconds the whistling was renewed, and generally at some 
 important part of the narrative ; still the actor went steadily 
 on in spite of the discordant sounds. At length, at a par- 
 ticular point in the story the lady, shrinking from her 
 crime-stained uncle, shuddered, and in touching tones 
 uttered the words " Oh, terrible ! terrible ! " ; her insulted 
 relative thought he saw his opportunity, and after casting 
 an upward glance at his tormentors, replied as follows : — 
 " Oh, 'its indeed terrible ! those whistling fiends are terrible, 
 but still I tell thee," etc. This cutting remark seemed to 
 add fuel to the fire, and the whistling was redoubled ; at 
 last the exasperated actor came to the foot-lights, and in a. 
 commanding .tone addressed the officer of the establishment 
 who was supposed to keep order in the celestial regions, 
 with : — " Mr. Blank, if those blackguards, whoever they 
 are, are not removed I shall not proceed." This speech was 
 answered by a perfect chorus of whistling, the excited gods 
 were evidently indignant at being called " blackguards," 
 and were not to be quieted until the officer with the help 
 
28 RANDOM RECOLLECTIONS OF THE STAGE. 
 
 of a colleague or two and after a little skirmishing ejected 
 . some of the noisiest of the offenders, after which the irritated 
 stage manager finished his story. 
 
 Just previous to Mr. Phelps becoming manager of 
 Sadler's Wells, I saw a very good version of " Faust " per- 
 formed there ; Mr. T. Lyon appearing as Faust, and Mr. 
 Henry Marston as Mephistopheles, which I need scarcely 
 say were first rate embodiments. During '_Miss Marriott's 
 management of the above theatre Colman's comedy of 
 " The Jealous Wife " was played in capital style ; Miss 
 Marriott representing Mrs. Oakley, Mr. Edmund Phelps 
 Lord Trinket, and Mr. Henry Marston Mr. Oakley. Some 
 thirty-six years ago there was produced at several of the minor 
 theatres a very excellent drama (an adaptation from the 
 French) entitled " The Black Doctor ; or, the Fated Lovers 
 of Bourbon." At the end of the first act there was an in- 
 undation scene, which was considered a great sensation in 
 those days, and in the third act the stage was divided 
 and represented four rooms in which the action was 
 going on simultaneously. I saw the piece twice at the 
 Victoria Theatre, where the immense size of the stage 
 enabled proper effect to be given to the above scenes. Mr. 
 N. T. Hicks represented Fabian the black doctor on one 
 occasion, and Edward Edwards took that part on the other. 
 Hicks looked magnificent and played the part well, but 
 Edwards' acting was in my opinion very much better, inas- 
 much as he played with more feeling. 
 
 There was a piece called " Jonathan Bradford," in which 
 there was also a representation of four rooms with the action 
 going on in each at the same time ; I have an old bill by me 
 which shows that the piece was produced at the Surrey in 
 1829, and had a long and very successful career; it was said 
 to be founded on fact. In the original cast Mr. Osbaldiston 
 sustained the character of Jonathan Bradford, and Mr. 
 Dibdin Pitt that of Dan Macraisay, an Irishman, (this 
 
RANDOM RECOLLECTIONS OF THE STAGE. 29 
 
 character was really the part oi the piece), I saw it performed 
 some twenty-eight years ago and Mr. H. Dudley played the 
 part of Dan Macraisay with great effect. 
 
 About the year 1847, George Cruikshank issued the plates 
 of " The Bottle," illustrating the fatal effects of excessive 
 drinking, and dramas founded upon them were produced at 
 most of the minor theatres under the title of " The Bottle, 
 or a Drunkard's Career." I saw the piece soon after its 
 production and again in 1855, the principal part that of 
 Mr. John Milford, a dram-drinker, was vividly portrayed 
 by Mr. H. Dudley, particularly in the last scene, where the 
 drunkard is the inmate of a mad-house ; his acting was very 
 excellent and perfectly free from rant and exaggeration. 
 
 I remember witnessing the performance of the opera of 
 " The Maid and the Magpie " in 1839, at the Lyceum ; the 
 cast included the following distinguished vocalists : — Miss 
 Poole, Mr. Allen, Mr. Duruset, Signer Giubelei and Mr. 
 Stretton. 
 
 "Mazeppa" is perhaps the most successful equestrian 
 drama ever produced at Astley's. I have seen it several 
 times. It has been the fashion of late years for the chief 
 character to be enacted by a female. Adah Isaacs Menken, 
 who was introduced to the London stage, I believe in 1 866, 
 by Mr. E. T. Smith, then manager of Astley's, was the first 
 female representative. It is a great mistake, for no woman 
 can play the part of Mazeppa as it should be played. The 
 most successful revival in my time was during Mr. Batty's 
 management at the beginning of the year 1850, when Mr. 
 N. T. Hicks represented Mazeppa about 500 consecutive 
 nights. It ran right through 1850, and up to the autumn 
 of 1851. I should think no other actor could have gone 
 through such an ordeal, the amount of physical endurance 
 required for such a task being immense. 
 
 Many years ago an American actor — a Mr. T. D. Rice — 
 appeared at the Adelphi as a delineator of negro character, 
 
30 RANDOM RECOLLECTIONS OF THE STAGE. 
 
 and played in a sketch called " Jim Crow," in which he sang 
 several songs and was immensely successful, more particu- 
 larly in one describing the doings of Jim Crow. This song 
 took the town by storm. The words were ridiculous, but 
 were sung to a very lively and taking tune. Rice is said to 
 ha,ve made a fortune by his performance of this peculiar 
 character, and was known by the name of " Jim Crow Rice." 
 I believe he died in America. An English actor, a Mr. 
 John Dunn, who was called the " English Jim Crow," also 
 played the character very successfully. Dunn went to 
 Australia in 1846. • 
 
 I remember when a lad being present at what appeared 
 to be a very dangerous performance. A Mr. Carter, called 
 the " Lion King," was playing in a piece in which a leopard 
 - was introduced on the open stage. The scene represented 
 a forest ; at the back on some high ground was a kind of 
 platform with a slope descending to the stage. At the top 
 of this platform the " Lion King " was reclining asleep. 
 Immediately above him was the entrance to a cave ; pre- 
 sently a leopard was observed crouching, and with a 
 smothered growl the beast stealthily crept to the mouth 
 of the cave, evidently preparing for a spring. After 
 looking cautiously round he seemed to observe the pros- 
 trate man, and with one bound sprang upon him and 
 apparently seized him by the throat, and they both rolled 
 over and over down the slope and on to the stage, the leo- 
 pard appearing not to relax his hold. But Carter, who was 
 a very powerful man, shook him off, and rising to his feet 
 after what seemed to be a desperate struggle, overpowered - 
 the beast, threw him over his shoulder, and quitted the 
 stage in triumph. He afterwards entered a cage in which 
 were a lion and lioness, a very large Bengal tiger, and 
 ■several other animals, and went through a variety of 
 performances. Sitting in the pit about three yards 
 from the stage, I could not help speculating on my 
 
RANDOM RECOLLECTIONS OF THE STAGE. 3 1 
 
 chance of escape had the leopard thought proper to 
 spring into the pit instead of at the throat of the lion king. 
 Now that I am on the subject of animals, I will just mention 
 a little piece called the " Dumb Savoyard and his Monkey," 
 in which Flexmore the celebrated pantomimist and his 
 wife known as Madlle. Auriol appeared. Flexmore gave so 
 very perfect imitation of a monkey that he might have 
 been taken for the animal itself ; his wife was exceedingly 
 clever as a dancer. Flexmore was considered by most people 
 a very good clown but I cannot say that I cared much for 
 him in that character, he was a capital tumbler and dancer 
 but for quiet genuine humour and quaint drollery Paul 
 Herring and Tom Matthews were far in advance of him and 
 were two of the best I have seen. The only drawback to 
 Paul Herring was that he could not sing, whereas Matthews 
 was an excellent singer ; I have laughed till my sides ached 
 at his singing of many huttiorous ditties, and I think I 
 could laugh as heartily even now if I heard them sung with 
 the quaintness and drollery which was thrown into them by 
 Tom Matthews. In former days the clown was the king of 
 the pantomime, but in the present day what is called a 
 pantomime is at most houses simply a series of splendid 
 scenes with several excellent ballets, scarcely an extravaganza 
 and hardly a burlesque. The pantomime proper consists of 
 perhaps a couple of scenes, so that the children's friend the 
 once all-powerful clown has scarce an opportunity of raising 
 a laugh. In fact I am sorry to have to write it, but to 
 quote Shakespeare slightly altered : — " The clown's occupa- 
 tion's gone," 
 
 In the summer of 1 845, I went several times to Covent 
 Garden Theatre during the engagement of a celebrated 
 opera company from Brussels. I witnessed the performance 
 of the grand opera of " The Favourite " which was 
 capitally staged, and also several comic operas. The whole 
 of the orchestra with the conductor (a celebrated musician 
 
32 RANDOM RECOLLECTIONS OF THE STAGE. 
 
 whose name I forget) accompanied the troupe. I do not 
 think I have ever heard singing to equal the principal 
 members of that company : — the names included Mons. 
 and Madame Laborde, Mons. Zelger, and Mons. Couderc. 
 Mons. and Madame Laborde in "The Favourite" were 
 splendid, and there was another member of the company 
 with a fine baritone voice whose singing and acting were 
 grand in the extreme. Couderc was the principal tenor in 
 comic opera, and his acting was excellent. Mons. Zelger 
 had a fine bass voice and was afterwards a member for many 
 seasons of the Italian Opera Company. 
 
 Very many years ago at a private theatre in Catherine 
 Street, Strand, I saw a very good representation of " John 
 Bull ; or, an Englishman's Fireside," and the musical piece 
 of "The Poor Soldier"; the whole of the characters in 
 " John Bull " were well played by amateurs, and the prin- 
 cipal parts in "The Poor Soldier" were represented by 
 chorus singers from the opera, so that the music was well 
 rendered. 
 
 Some years back a capital nautical drama called " The 
 Mariners' Compass," with very great mechanical and scenic 
 effects, was produced at Astley's Theatre. The cast was a 
 very good one comprising Mr. Basil Potter, Mr. James 
 Fernandez, Mr. Atkins, Mr. Friend, Mr. Templeton, and Miss 
 Josephine Fiddes. Mr. Atkins was exceptionally good as 
 Trafalgar Joe, a superannuated old seaman, whom he repre- 
 sented with great fidelity to nature. 
 
 We have had Promenade Concerts for many years, but 
 I have never been to any that I liked so well as those under 
 the direction of Mr. Alfred Mellon some eighteen or twenty 
 years back ; I have heard Carlotta Patti and other eminent 
 vocalists at his concerts. 
 
 Many years ago there was a very excellent light comedian 
 at Covent Garden Theatre, Mr. J. S. Balls, whom I had the 
 pleasure of seeing on several occasions. Balls died com- 
 paratively a young man. 
 
RANDOM RECOLLECTIOKS OF THE STAGE. 33 
 
 At the present day we rarely see represented the amusing 
 farce of " High Life Below Stairs." I have seen it on two 
 occasions, once at Sadler's Wells, during the Phelps' 
 management, with Belford (a capital light comedian) as My 
 Lord Duke and Lewis Ball as Sir Harry, and the second 
 time at the Lyceum, in 1879, with Teesdale and Johnson in 
 the above characters ; Johnson is a good low comedian, I 
 was very much struck by his excellent performance of 
 Lancelot Gobbo. 
 
 "Raising the Wind," is another farce too rarely played; 
 I have seen it four times : Jeremy Diddler the chief 
 character, is a very good part. I first saw it represented 
 many years back by a Mr. Harry Chester, and again by Mr. 
 W. H. Vernon, and twice saw the piece played by an amateur 
 club called " The Camden Comedy Club," which numbered 
 amongst its members Miss Eastlake, Mr. Richard Dalton, 
 and Mr. Stephen Caffrey, who are now members of the 
 theatrical profession. Mr. William Baker, one of the 
 principal members and a capital actor, was Jeremy Diddler, 
 and his performance would I am sure be very favourably 
 received by a general audience. 
 
 When a lad I was cruelly disappointed one night at 
 Sadler's Wells. It was Mrs. Honner's benefit, and a very 
 strong bill was issued comprising some celebrated names, 
 and I looked forward to a perfect banquet of acting. The 
 crowd was immense, and sufficient to fill the pit at the first 
 rush. Not being possessed of too much pocket money, I 
 and a casual acquaintance whom I met outside the theatre, 
 availed ourselves of an opportunity which presented itself 
 of purchasing a ticket to admit two at something under the 
 regulation price ; my companion held the ticket and we 
 plunged into the crowd, but before long he was carried 
 some distance ahead and was literally forced into the 
 theatre, while I remained still struggling with the crowd. 
 At length I reached the check-taker, but of course having 
 
^^ RANDOM RECOLLECTIONS OF THE STAGE. 
 
 no ticket I was not allowed to pass; this official was inex- 
 orable ; in vain I protested, and told my story ; my 
 companion was nowhere to be seen ;, and the result was,. I 
 had to return home, not having sufficient cash a.t comijiar|d 
 to pay the full admission, — and even if I had it vroul^,,haye 
 been useless for the pit was full. , In addition, to- my. dis- 
 appiointment (which was really' ypry, great), I received, a 
 severe lecture from my father for my' folly in purchasing a 
 ticket outside the theatre. ,. , ' . , , \ 
 
 I once, saw an American actress pl^y Don Cce^c^r. de 
 Eaz'an in the drama of that name. The character is not 
 suited to a female, and in addition to that she played very 
 badly. I remember many years ago atCovent Garden seeing 
 Mr. Hackett, a celebrated American comedian ; I do not 
 recollect the char9.cter he, played, but it was in, a piece in 
 which he, portr.ayed some, America.h peculiarities; he was 
 considered very clever. ' , , , 
 
 I have' only seen three of Mr. Robertson's pieces : " M.P., 
 "Home," and '"Caste." "M.P." at ttie Prince of, Wales'' 
 Theatre some years back. I was n^uch' pleased with " M.P.,*' 
 and particularly with the acting of thp ladieis and Messrs. 
 C. Coghlan and Addison. "Home" I saw represented, at 
 the liaymafket, with the original cast, Sochern,' Chippen-^j 
 dale, Corhpton, and Miss Ada Cavendish. . I thought the 
 part of Captain Montraffe conipletely linsuited to Compton' 
 who seemed to me quite out of his eleihent. Miss, Ada' 
 Cavendish as the adventuress was ' excfellent. "Caste" I 
 hive' only seeti played by' the Camden Comedy Company, 
 but they one and all played well ; Folly Eccles was chariri-" 
 • ingly represented fcy Miss Burnelle, who acted with the skilj 
 of a professional actress; the Marquise de'St. Maure was 
 well 'played by Mrs. Rossi MoirtbiJ ; Captain liawtrey I 
 thought was not up to the mark;, the jEccIes of Mr! J. D. ' 
 Mitchell was very well done, and the' George JD'Alroy oi,' 
 Mr. ■ Williarri Baker was a first-rate perforrnance. I have 
 
RANDOM RECOLLECTIONS OF THE STAGE. 35 
 
 ;also seen Mr. Baker represent, at various times, John 
 Mildmay, Young Mar low, and Dick Dowlas, all of which 
 ;parts he played admirably. 
 
 Boucicault's " Colleen Bawn " and Edmund Falconer's 
 " P0ep o' Day " are doubtless the two most successful Irish 
 .dramas ever produced. I saw the "Peep o' Day" soon 
 after its production at the Lyceum. It is full of excitement, 
 with some clever scenic effects. There is a strong sensa- 
 .tional scene, which I thought rather revolting : a ruffian 
 attempting to murder a young girl, having first dug 
 the grave of his intended victim ready to receive her 
 body. However, her lover, who swings himself from 
 the branch of a tree which overhangs the spot where the 
 ruffian is struggling with the girl, arrives just in the nick of 
 time to save his sweetheart. This was considered the great 
 point in the piece, and the audience applauded accordingly. 
 Mr. Falconer played an Irishman with quaint humour, and 
 Mr. Addison an Irish priest with great effect. Miss Lydia 
 Thompson appeared in the afterpiece and her dancing 
 pleased me much. 
 
 " The Colleen Bawn " I liked very much better ; the 
 sensation scene is not so revolting and the characters 
 generally are more pleasing. I did not see it with the 
 original cast. Miss Edith Stuart was the Colleen, Miss 
 Rose Leclercq Ann Chute, and Mr. ,John Ryder gave a 
 graphic portraiture of Danny Mann. 
 
 .Soon after the Bancrofts opened the Prince of Wales' 
 Theatre I went to see Byron's comedy called " War to the 
 Knife." Mrs. Bancroft and Mr. F. Dewar played excellently, 
 and Mr. John Clarke in the low comedy part acted very 
 well indeed. Mr. Bancroft was also included in the cast. 
 
 I once saw a version of "Nicholas Nickleby," with Mr. 
 Montague as Nicholas, and Mr. Edward Stirling as Newman 
 Noggs, which was a very clever piece of character acting. 
 
 I rememlser seeing that king of light comedians, Mr 
 
 c 2 
 
36 RANDOM RECOLLECTIONS OF THE STAGE. 
 
 Charles Mathews, in the following pieces : — " A Bachelor of 
 Arts," "A Nice Firm," "Little Toddlekins, " A Phenome- 
 non in a Smock Frock," " Patter versus Clatter," &c. I 
 need scarcely say how inimitable his acting was. He was 
 excellently supported in several of the pieces by Frank 
 Matthews, a first-rate actor. Mrs. Frank Matthews was also 
 extremely amusing as Little Toddlekins. 
 
 I witnessed some splendid acting by Alfred Wigan, Mr. 
 S. Emery, and Miss Herbert at the St. James's Theatre, in 
 a piece I think called " The Isle of St. Tropez." Mr. Wigan 
 had to portray the sufferings of a man who was being 
 slowly poisoned. This he did in a very powerful and 
 artistic manner ; indeed, I do not think I ever saw finer 
 acting than Mr. Wigan's in this difficult character. I 
 remember a drama called •' Genevieve," taken from an in- 
 cident in the French Revolution, being produced at the 
 Adelphi, in which Wigan appeared as a polished scoundrel, 
 and played like a true artiste. The cast included Leigh 
 Murray, Benjamin Webster, O. Smith (celebrated for his 
 performance of villainous parts), Keeley, Paul Bedford, 
 Madame Celeste, and I think Miss Woolgar. With such a 
 powerful cast the piece went splendidly. 
 
 When a lad I saw a representation of "Robert Macaire ; " 
 E. F. Saville was Robert, and Mr. John Gardner, an excel- 
 lent low comedian, Jacques Strop. Saville was inimitable 
 as the bold, impudent, and yet humorous villain, and 
 Gardner, as his timid companion, was irresistibly droll. I 
 again saw the piece represented a few years ago, the part of 
 Macaire being sustained by a well-known West End actor, 
 who scarcely succeeded in raising a smile. 
 
 Some thirty-five years ago there was a leading actor at 
 the minor theatres, Mr. Henry Howard, a fine, tall, hand- 
 some man, with a good figure and a noble voice ; he was 
 an excellent actor and an immense favourite, especially at 
 the Standard and City of London Theatres ; after some few 
 
RANDOM RECOLLECTIONS OF THE STAGE. 37 
 
 years of popularity his health gave way, his lungs became 
 affected, and he had every symptom of a gradual decline. 
 He struggled on for some time, but was at last obliged to 
 relinquish his engagement. Some time afterwards (Septem- 
 ber 1852) his old friend E. F. Saville took his farewell 
 benefit at the City of London Theatre, and Howard, I pre- 
 sume feeling somewhat better, determined to play for him 
 and undertook to perform the part of Jack Rudderly, a 
 sailor, in a one act piece called " The Jacket of Blue." I 
 was present, and when poor Howard came on he was 
 received with round after round of applause which lasted 
 several minutes ; but it was painful to see the alteration in 
 his appearance, his tall gaunt figure, his hollow cheeks, 
 sunken eyes, and emaciated frame formed a picture truly 
 pitiable, and when he attempted to portray the jovial 
 sailor he had to pause for breath every few seconds, and it 
 was soon seen that his strength was not equal to the exer- 
 tion ; at length he finished the part sitting in a chair, and 
 when the curtain fell it was raised again in obedience to the 
 call of the audience, who again and again applauded their 
 old favourite. No doubt the applause was grateful to him, 
 it was the last he ever heard, for he died a few months 
 afterwards at the early age of 33. 
 
 In the summer of 1866 or 1867 I had the pleasure of 
 seeing the comedy of " Time works Wonders " at Sadler's 
 Wells. The principal part, that of Goldthicmb, was sustained 
 by Mr. Barrett, an admirable actor ; I had seen him many 
 times, but I do not think ever to so much advantage as in 
 this comedy. Mr. T. Swinbourne and Mr. George Belmore 
 were included in the cast. 
 
 Some eighteen years ago I was very much amused with 
 a little piece called " Margate Sands," the principal characters 
 were sustained by Mr. Belford, Mr. A. Wood, and Miss 
 Maria Simpson ; one scene was particularly good, a repre- 
 sentation of " Margate Sands," with Mr. Belford and a lady 
 
38 RANDOM RECOLLECTIONS OF THE STAGE. 
 
 sitting on a seat conversing, while the water was supposed, 
 to be almost at their feet. The lady becaftie somewhat 
 alarmed at the apparent insecurity of the seat; which seemed 
 to be slipping about, and she gave utterance to some 
 slight exclamation of terror ; Belford sought to calm' her 
 agitation, and, clasping his arm around' her ' waist, in his' 
 most winning accents assured her it was only the yielding: 
 nature of the sand. This observation pleased me much, 
 and I thought, "Can stage illusion go much farther P"-; 
 About the same time I saw another very laughable piece, 
 called " Turn Him Out," in which Mr. Belford played very^ 
 amusingly, and Mr., Turner and Mr. Vollaire caused shouts 
 of laughter. Strange as it may appear, I once heard at the' 
 Strand Theatre Barnett's opera of " The Mountain Sylph." 
 I do not remember the lady singers, but Mr. Donald W.' 
 King, the eminent tenor, played Christie, and Mr. H. Corri 
 the part oi Hela, the witch of the glen. I never heard any- 
 thing more beautiful than Corri's singing of " Farewell to 
 the Mountain." 
 
 At Drury Lane, during James Anderson's management, 
 " Rob Roy " was frequently played as an afterpiece, Hob Roy 
 was enacted by Mr. John Cooper, and Bailie Nicol Jai^vie 
 by Mr. S. Emery, but the great attraction was the music. 
 Mr. Rafter, who played Francis Osbaldistone, had a beauti- 
 ful tenor voice and sang the ballad of " My love is like the 
 red red rose" very sweetly. Miss Rafter was Diana Vernon 
 and sang very well ; I think Mr. Blartleman (a good bass) 
 was Major Galbraith. "The Beggar's Opera'" was also 
 played occasionally, and Rafter, who was a handsome 
 fellow, made a dashing Captain Macheatk. Rafter at that 
 time was quite a young man, but his name suddenly ceased 
 to' appear. I heard incidentally that he' had gone to Study in 
 Germany and was a great singer there in German opera, but 
 whether this is true or not I am certain' he has not" re- 
 appeared in England. ' ' , j/, ' : ■ .; 
 
RANDOM Recollections of the stage. 39 
 
 1 
 
 I heard the opera of " Maritana" very fairly performed 
 at Sadler's Wells some twenty years back ; the vocalists were 
 Madame Tonnilier, Mr. Henry Haigh, Mr. O. Summers', 
 arid Mr. Rosenthal. Mr. Haigh sang and acted very well 
 as Don CcBsar, and created great effect by his singing of 
 " Let me like a soldier fall." 
 
 There was a Mr. Collins, a celebrated Irish comedian, 
 who was exceedingly popular at several of the principal 
 theatres, and who sometimes appeared as a star at the minor 
 hoiises. I remember his perforniing at the Queen's Theatre, 
 now the Prince of Wales's, in a version of Bulwer's " Paul 
 Clifford," he of course sustaining the part of Paul, and 
 being a capital vocalist, caused quite a 'furore by singing a 
 song called " Hurrah for the Road." I saw him at the 
 Princess's in an amusing piece called " The Irish Ambassa- 
 dor;" in which he sustained the part of the Irish ambassador. 
 Sir Patrick G'Plenipo. The piece abounded in wit and 
 humour and Collins was most diverting. I remember one 
 scene in particular that was very funny. There were 
 Several ambassadors from various countries, all seeming to 
 be preternalurally solemn, and apparently having their 
 minds oppressed by state secrets. One of them, after look- 
 ing fautiously round, advanced with solemn step towards 
 Sir Patrick, and in a low tone addressed him thus : — " How 
 do you do ? " Sir Patrick, determined the inquirer should 
 not steal a march upon hiiii, walked cautiously round the 
 stage, listening at the wings and trying the doors to see 
 they were fast, and after a little further skirmishing ad- 
 i'anced with stealthy step towards his brother ambassador^ 
 and with a strong Irish accent almost whispered in his ear, 
 " I'm pretty well, thank you ; how are you ? " During the 
 piece Collins sang several songs, one called " Oh ! Love is 
 the Soul of an Irish Dragoon," and another "The Bould 
 Soger Boyi" He was enthusiastically applauded, and the 
 audience highly appreciated his' eflforts. 
 
40 RANDOM RECOLLECTIONS OF THE STAGE. 
 
 Edward Wright of the Adelphi, associated with his friend 
 and partner the mighty Paul Bedford, has often afforded 
 me a fund of amusement. After laughing at Wright's 
 drolleries in farces which in the bills were called " Adelphi 
 screamers," I have often asked myself the question — " ^hy 
 did you laugh ? " and I have mentally answered — " Because 
 I could not help it." To see Wright and Paul Bedford as 
 Mr. Jeremiah Twiddle and Mr. John James Chucks, with 
 Mrs. Frank Matthews and another lady as their respective 
 spouses, in a farce called " Going to the Derby " was to en- 
 dorse the description on the bill, and become a screamer 
 indeed. There was another amusing farce called " My 
 Precious Betsy," in which Wright and Bedford as Mr. 
 Bobtail and Mr. Wagtail excited the risible faculties in a 
 remarkable degree. Wright was rather a good singer, and 
 some of his comic ditties were very amusing. Most cer- 
 tainly the Adelphi was Wright's home. I saw him once at 
 the Lyceum during the management of Madame Vestris, 
 and he did not show to advantage there. His coadjutor 
 Paul Bedford, had at one time a very fine bass voice, and 
 made his first appearance in London at Drury Lane as 
 Hawthorn in " Love in a Village," and he subsequently 
 appeared as Caspar in the opera of " Der Freischutz." 
 From opera to the Adelphi might perhaps be considered a 
 step in the wrong direction, but Paul Bedford was warmly 
 welcomed in his new home, where he was an immense 
 favourite for many years. When Harrison Ainsworth's 
 " Jack Sheppard " was dramatized a version was produced 
 at the Adelphi, with Mrs. Keeley as Jack, Mr. T. Lyon as 
 Jonathan Wild, and Paul Bedford Blueskin. Paul contri- 
 buted not a little to its success by singing the Bacchanalian 
 song of "Jolly Nose." A very excellent version of this 
 play was produced at Sadler's Wells under Honner's 
 management, Mrs. Honner playing the hero in the first 
 part (the boyhood of Jack), and Mr. Honner in the latter 
 
RANDOM RECOLLECTIONS OF THE STAGE. 4! 
 
 part. I do not think it could have been acted better than 
 by Mrs. Honner. Mr. H. Hall was Jonathan Wild and 
 Mr. Charles Montgomery Blueshin. Yet another version at 
 the Surrey, with E. F. Saville Jack, John Neville Jonathan 
 Wild, and Cullen Blueskin. I do not think it a good thing 
 to make heroes of highwaymen and footpads, but certainly 
 there can be no question of the dramatic success of the 
 piece. 
 
 When Mr. Phelps played his great part of Sir Pertinax 
 Macsycophant in the " Man of the World " at Sadler's 
 Wells, Lord Lumbercourt was splendidly acted by Mr. 
 Barrett, who portrayed the elderly beau to the life and was 
 a strong feature in the piece ; he was also excellent in the 
 character of Sir Lawrence Paragon in " Perfection ; or, the 
 Lady of Munster," in which he sang " The Fine Old English 
 Gentleman " in a most touching manner. Mr. Barrett died 
 very suddenly in the summer of 1 872 ; he had acted Polonius in 
 "Hamlet" at the Princess's and complained of feeling unwell, 
 a cab was procured, and a brother actor accompanied him 
 home ; during the journey he became very ill, and on arriving 
 at his home he was found to be in a sinking state, and before 
 he could be carried into the house expired. Mr. Barrett was 
 sixty-eight years of age. 
 
 A version of Dickens' " Martin Chuzzlewit " was pro- 
 duced at the Lyceum in 1844 with the following great cast 
 of characters : — Martin Chuzzlewit, Mr. F. Vining ; Jonas, 
 Mr. Emery ; Mr. Pecksniff, Mr. Frank Matthews ; Montague 
 Tigg, Mr. A. Wigan; Tom Pinch, Mr. Meadows, Bailey, 
 Mrs. Keeley ; Mary Graham, Miss Fortescue ; Mercy and 
 Charity, Miss Arden and Mrs. A. Wigan ; Ruth Pinch, 
 Miss Grove ; Mrs. Todgers, Mrs. Woolridge ; Betsy Prig, 
 Mr. J. W. Collier, and Mrs. Sairey Gamp, Mr. Keeley. It is 
 needless to say how successful the performance was with such a 
 brilliant display of talent. Death has been busy since that 
 great company of actors delighted the town in their respective 
 
42 RANDOM RECOLLECTIONS OF THE STAGE. 
 
 ChdractiSrs, ' and Vining,' Frank Matthews, A. ■ Wi^an, 
 Meadows, Collier and Keeley, have passed away, and aS far 
 as I know Mi's. Keeley, arid Mrs. A. Wigan are the only two 
 now surviving. A sketchy' version of the above piece was 
 produced at the Vaudeville in 'i 881, Mr. T. Thorne madeup 
 well as 'Tom Pinch, Mr. William Farren was excell'ent 
 as Pecksniff, and Mr. Maclean Was very good -as. Old Martiri 
 Chuzzlewit. Mrs. Gamp, Tigg, Bailey, and all the greiai 
 parts were left' out and it was, as I said before, merely a 
 sketch.' ■ ''ifi 
 
 ■ There was an' excellent comic actor, Mr. George ,Witd', 
 who was thought to be very much after' the style of Johii 
 Reeve, of Adelphi fame. Wild was very popular, and was 
 for- some time lessee of the Olympic ; he played very success^ 
 fully in a piece called " The Artfiil Dodge," which I believe 
 Was written for him, he enacted the part of Demosthenes 
 Dodge, Esq., and sang a very humorous song called the 
 " Life of a Vagabond," the first four lines were as follows :— ^ 
 
 ;, "How joUily,;how merrily, my.life has passed along , , 
 
 With your express permission I'll inform you in a song. 
 My vagabond propensities began when quite a child 
 For even in my swaddling clothes / was a, little Wild." 
 
 Wild' was a very funiiy fellow, and a great favourite With 
 the public ; he died'Some twenty- six years ago at the age of 
 fifty-one. ' ' ■ ' ! . . ,, . . ;.. 
 
 A romantic drama, called "Marco Spada," was produced 
 at the Princess's about the year 1853'; it' Was placed up6n 
 the stage in a very -superior manner. Marco S/^ada,' 3l 
 brigand chief, was enacted by' Mri John Ryder, ' and Count 
 Pepinelli, an eccentric nobleman, was represented by Mr. 
 Walter Lacy, who played in his very best style and was 
 exceedingly atnusing. A version of the same was pro- 
 duced at the Olympic oii' Ea'ster Monday, 1853. I forget 
 the'e:iact'titlfe,'but the brigand chief was called Salvatori • 
 
RANDOM SECOLLECTIONS OF THfi' STAGE. 4,3 
 
 Mr. Henry Marston was 'the brigand, and played the part 
 admirably. Mr. Robson had the corresponding part tO 
 Lacy's, but played it in a totally different style, and was not 
 so effective. I liked the Princess's piece the test, principally 
 for the brilliant acting of Mr. Walter Lacy. ■' " ' 
 
 In my youthfu' days the pantomime at Christmas^ was 
 pl'eceded at most theatres by that gloomiest ' of pieces^ 
 "GeorgeBarnwell;" sometimes alternated with the equally 
 dreary play, " Jane Shore." I do not know why it was so, 
 unless perhaps' it was thought that a dish of horrors would 
 giVe the young folks more zest for the fun of the pantomime. 
 Fdr myself, when a boy my mental torture during the pro- 
 gress of either of these pieces is simply indescribable. Most 
 certainly the erring apprentice being led forth to execution 
 to the solemn tolling of the prison bell, or jfane Shore dying 
 on' a doorstep, is not a cheerful sight. 
 
 ' Many years ago, I was present at a very good per- 
 mance of the musical piece of " Midas," the part of Apollo 
 being represented by the popular vocalist, Miss Poole, who 
 sang very charrriingly. Midas was ' played by Mr. Harry 
 Widdicombe, a very good comedian, and son of Widdicombe 
 thie renowned of Astley's ; a Mr. Bruce Norton also sus- 
 taihed a principal part in the piece : Norton was a very 
 good actor, especially in Scotch characters. 
 
 I was very rtiuch pleased with a play called " Ambition 5 
 or, The Throne arid the Tomb," which was produced at the 
 Surrey Theatre some twenty-seven years ag^o.' It might be 
 cilled ah historical play, as it introduced Henry VIII. and 
 Catherine Howard, and ended with the execution of that 
 unfortunate lady. ' -.S««r)' VIII. was very finely acted by 
 Mr. Basil Potter, and Catherine Howard by Miss Margaret 
 Eburne ; but the principal part (that of Ethelwold) was 
 splendidly played by that admirable actor Mr. William 
 Creswick; Mr. George Belmore played a small part in the 
 piece. I have seen it performed' elsewhere with a different 
 
44 RANDOM RECOLLECTIONS OF THE STAGE. 
 
 cast, but with the remembrance of the original performers 
 in my mind I left the theatre disappointed. 
 
 Some years ago at Sadler's Wells I saw Mr. T. C. King 
 in " Richelieu." I did not care much for his acting, but it 
 is only fair to say that he appeared to be suffering from a 
 cold, which to some extent marred his efforts. Miss Marie 
 Henderson played Julie, and acted very well. Mr. F. 
 Shepherd was a good De Mauprat, and Mr. H. Dudley an 
 excellent Joseph, but the Baradas was wretched. 
 
 At the City of London Theatre, under the management 
 of Mr. Osbaldiston, I remember seeing a piece called " Rook- 
 wood," founded upon Harrison Ainsworth's work of that 
 name. Luke Rookwood was very well sustained by Mr. 
 Osbaldiston, and the part of an old sexton admirably played 
 by Mr. John Dale. Dick Turpin was represented by Miss 
 Vincent, who acted the character in a very graceful and 
 fascinating manner and without the slightest trace of vul- 
 garity. She looked very well in the dress of the period and 
 sang several songs in excellent style. 
 
 The musical piece of " The Waterman " was played at 
 the Surrey some years back, with Miss Esther Jacobs as 
 Tom Tug and Mr. Harry Widdicombe as Robin. Miss 
 Jacobs acted very well, and sang " The Jolly Young Water- 
 man " with much archness and vivacity, and " Fare thee 
 well, my Trim-built Wherry," with taste and feeling. 
 
 A very excellent piece entitled " The President's 
 Daughter," was produced at Sadler's Wells during Mr. 
 Honner's management. Mrs. Honner and Mr. Cathcart 
 acted the leading characters with great effect. Mr. Dry, 
 who was a favourite of mine, played a very important part. 
 Dry died in 1844 at the early age of thirty- three. 
 
 A piece called "Perourou, the Bellows Mender; or, the 
 Beauty of Lyons," which was really a fac-simile of " The 
 Lady of Lyons," was very popular at Sadler's Wells. Mr. 
 John Webster, an excellent actor and a very handsome man, 
 
RANDOM RECOLLECTIONS OF THE STAGE. 4S 
 
 played the leading part, the Claude Melnotte of the piece. 
 Mrs. Honner was the Beauty of Lyons, and played, as she 
 always did, admirably. 
 
 Mr. Honner, after leaving Sadler's Wells, became the 
 manager of the City of London Theatre, and in 1846 a piece 
 was produced founded upon Richardson's novel of " Clarissa 
 Harlowe." The piece was capitally put upon the stage and 
 well acted. Mrs. Honner was Clarissa, and Mr. John 
 Webster Lovelace, but the most striking character was an 
 Irish adventurer, one Patrick Macdonald, who protected 
 Clarissa and sought to save her from the machinations of 
 Lovelace. I remember one scene in particular, in which the 
 Irishman made a very telling reply in answer to a remark 
 that was made. Clarissa had been decoyed to a house in 
 town, and Macdonald was watching over her and acting as 
 a sort of sentinel whilst she slept. Lovelace and some of 
 his dissolute companions sought to draw him off by offering 
 him wine, which he indignantly refused, and Lovelace 
 sneeringly called him a " dog," upon which the Irishman 
 with sarcastic politeness replied, " The dog doesn't choose to 
 allow himself to be muzzled" I need scarcely say this re- 
 mark brought down the house. Mr. T. Lyon represented 
 the Irishman, and acted with great spirit and effect. There 
 was a very pretty little piece called " The Pedlar Boy " 
 produced af the City of London about the same period. It 
 was written by Mr. Richard Harrington, an excellent actor 
 who had played with Edmund Kean, and who also took a 
 part in Macready's farewell performance at the Haymarket. 
 Mr. E. Green played a good part in the piece and acted 
 very wellj but Mrs. Honner as the Pedlar Boy was the gem 
 of the performance. Mrs. Honner was really a hosr in her- 
 self, and whatever she undertook was always carried out in 
 a most artistic, manner. I shall always look back with 
 pleasure to the many happy hours I have spent in witness- 
 ing her acting. 
 
^^6 RANDOM; RECOLLECTIONS. I, OF THE STA&E. 
 
 In 1866 I was present at; a performance of "Rip Van 
 Winkle." Mr. Henry Forrester plaj^ed i?z^ excellently ; ^is 
 acting on returning to the village after his loijgi sleep pf 
 twenty years was\realiy very fine. 
 
 ._, , In 1866, at the Pr-incess'Sj I witnessed the representatipn 
 p|;a yersion of " Bainaby Rudge." Miss Katherine: Rodgers 
 Ipqked and acted Barnal/y, very well ; Miss Augusfa 
 Thomson as Dolly Varden was perfeqtjon ; but. Mrs, John 
 Wood, excellent actress, though she is, was totally unsuitpd 
 to the part of the shrewish Miggs. This is a very dis- 
 agreeable character, and requires an actress of a very 
 peculiar personal appearance to look, the; part, and 
 most certainly Mrs. John Wood could never look like 
 Sim Tappertifs persecutor and dreaded admirer. At 
 the close; of the piece poor Sim, in an agony of terror, 
 excl,^ims that he would rather be led to the scaffold than 
 xa.z.\xy Miggs. Had '(h^ Miggs of the book resembled Miggs 
 as represented by Mrs. John Wood, it is possible the little 
 apprentice might not have taken so gloomy a view. . Sim 
 Tfippenit w^s "well acted by Mr. Calhaemj who looked the 
 part to perfection. Mrs. Henry Vining was excellent as 
 Mrs. Rudge, and: i?«^i? was well acted by Mr. F. Villiers. 
 Mr. G. Vining and Mr.. Forrester played very well as 
 Maypole Hugh and Mr. Haredale, and Mr. J.:G. Shore 
 acted the old beau. Sir Edward Chester, splendidly.; The 
 duel between Sir JEdward and Mr. Haredale was capitally 
 rendered. ' , . .■ r , , n , 
 
 Some twenty, years back a, very good piece, 1 called 
 " Camilla's Husband," was represented at the Olympic. Mr. 
 Henry Neville was the. hero and played excellently. I like 
 Mr. Neville very much in romantic characters. Miss Rate 
 Saville, a niece of Miss Helen Faucit, was the heroine; her 
 acting was very good, and personally I thought her muchilike 
 her. aunt. Mr. Robsdn played a comic character, one 
 Dogbriar, a tinker ; he was evidently suffering from illness. 
 
RA:)ID0M, RECOLLECTIONS; OF THE.STAC^E. 47 
 
 and was but a shadoy\r of his former self; poor Robson, I 
 never saw him act again ! ,, ; ,, , 
 
 Of .all the, actors I have seen there is npnje whose aVilit,ies 
 Ijhpld in greater admiration and. respect than Mr. Henry 
 Marston. I have always looked .upon him 3,3 a thorough 
 Shakesperiani student, and one wl)o^e, , life has been devoted 
 to hj.s art. I have seen Mr. Marston in th.e mpst opposite 
 characters, and . w;hatever he represented was always done 
 well. Mr. Marston played a complete range of Shakesperian 
 characters for many years at Sadler'^ Wells, and was the 
 Tight hand of his old comrade, Mr. Phelps. Mr. Marston 
 is. happily still living, and I think, he. must be almost. the 
 last survivor of the glorious days at Sadler's Wells.* ■ 
 
 ; In rny young days nautical drama was always a special 
 attraction in the far East, .that, is to say, at the Pavilion 
 Theatre in the Whitechapel Road,.ancJ its chief exponent wa^ 
 a Mr. Harry Rignold. I went orice to that remote region to 
 see pignold, who played a thorough Jack Tar, and I certainly 
 tl)^ught him equal to the renowned T. P. Cooke. Many 
 playgoers foqlishly imagine that . no theatrical performance 
 can b,e gopd that is. given in Soiith or East Londfin,i,and 
 they totally ignore actors who play in tlfpse districts.. Lam 
 afraid \Y^st End actprs;do so likewise.; Npw this js a very 
 great mistake. I once heard of the following remark ma4e 
 by a jpopi^lar . East End actor to one of his professional 
 brothers, whom he haA known intimately,, and played, with 
 in; the provinces, and who was then in a good position af tfie 
 West End of London. He ,said: "You- West. End men 
 haj^e built a high wall, enclosing the Strand and West End 
 district, and if any of iis attempt to climb the.v^all we are 
 pushed dp>vn.": I hope this is not .the case; in fact I dp not 
 think it is at the present, time, but stiU, L jDelieye a prejudice' 
 
 ' *' Since writing the above Mr. Marston has passed away at the age of 'sevehtV- 
 
48 RANDOM RECOLLECTIONS OF THE STAGE. 
 
 exists. I have had no experience of East End theatres 
 since the year 1857, but from what I had up to that date I 
 am certain that the difference is not with the acting, but 
 with the style of audience; although many respectable 
 working men and small tradesmen, who live in the district, 
 frequent those theatres with their families, I have rarely 
 seen a stick of an actor on the stage of an East End theatre; 
 but I am obliged to say, that I have seen a great many of 
 late years on the stage of some of our West End houses, 
 especially among the walking gentlemen. 
 
 At an East End theatre I have often had the curiosity to 
 watch the effect of the acting of such a piece as " Black- 
 Eyed Susan ; " and I have seen many moved to tears and 
 thoroughly carried away by the scene ; this told me that the 
 acting was true and the audience sympathetic, and proved 
 that human nature is human nature all the world over. 
 
 I remember seeing Shakespeare's play of " A Winter's 
 Tale," at Sadler's Wells during a short summer season. 
 Miss Atkinson played Hermione excellently, she was 
 especially good in the statue scene, and Mr. Barrett acted 
 Autolycus with much humour. Miss Atkinson was for 
 some years a leading member of Mr. Phelps' company. I 
 have seen her play Lady Macbeth with great tragic power 
 to the Macbeth of Mr. Phelps. 
 
 Some years ago at the Princess's Theatre I had the 
 pleasure of hearing the celebrated composer and vocalist, 
 Mr. Henry Russell, sing his descriptive songs of " The Ship 
 on Fire," " The Maniac," and " Man the Lifeboat." He 
 sang them splendidly, and created quite a sensation. Mr. 
 Russell was exceedingly popular for many years. I have also 
 heard with much pleasure Mr. John Parry, the celebrated 
 buffo singer ; Mr. Parry's humorous songs were of a refined 
 character and suited to the drawing-room. He joined Mr. 
 and Mrs. German Reed in the latter part of his career, and 
 was a great feature in their entertainments ; Mr. Parry was 
 
RANDOM RECOLLECTIONS OF THE STAGE. 49 
 
 a very fine pianist. Mrs. Howard Paul was another excellent 
 singer whom I admired, her make up as Sims Reeves was 
 perfect, and she hit off that great singer's walk and manner 
 very cleverly, while her singing of " Good-bye, Sweetheart, 
 Good-bye " and " My Pretty Jane " was charming. I have 
 heard Reeves sing those songs and I liked Mrs. Howard 
 Paul quite as well. 
 
 In February, 1870, I witnessed a performance of 
 " Othello " at Astley's, not a congenial sphere for the 
 immortal bard. But the exponents were Mr. Phelps and 
 Mr. and Mrs. Hermann Vezin, and therefore the management 
 had taken a step in the right direction ; Mr. Phelps was 
 Othello ; Mr. Vezin, lago ; Mr. Charles Harcourt, Cassio ; 
 Mr. H. Dudley, Brabantio (and a better Brabantio I never 
 saw) ; Mrs. Hermann Yezm, Desdemona; and Miss Huddart, 
 Emilia. " Macbeth," " Richelieu," "The King o' Scots," 
 and the " Man of the World," were also played during Mr. 
 Phelps' engagement. 
 
 Dr. Westland Marston's poetical play of " Lamed for 
 Life" was produced at the Royalty Theatre in June, 1871, 
 the principal parts being sustained by Miss Ada Cavendish 
 and Mr. Henry Forrester, and they both acted admirably. 
 Mr. Forrester, who took the part of Dr. John Cleveland, a 
 lame man, had to act throughout the piece supported by a 
 crutch, which rendered his part doubly difficult. There 
 was an exquisite love scene between hira and Miss Cavendish 
 which was beautifully acted. 
 
 In the early autumn of 1871 I was staying at Margate, 
 and a London company was starring at the theatre, under 
 the direction of Mr. Henry Forrester. I went to see Albery's 
 comedy of "The Two Roses." Mr. Forrester greatly 
 distinguished himself as Dighy Grant. Miss Rose Massey 
 and Mr. W. Blakely were included in the cast. It was at 
 the Margate Theatre I first saw that talented comedian, 
 Mr. Thomas Thome, now the lessee of the Vaudeville 
 
so RANDOM RECOLLECTIONS OF THE STAGE. 
 
 Theatre, at which house "Our Boys " was produced and 
 had the longest run on record. In this comedy Mr. David 
 James had a good part as a retired blitterman, and made the 
 most of it. The entire cast was excellent ; the servant girl, 
 Belinda was perhaps, as good a ^iece of character acting 
 as was to be found id the piece. Mr. Farren (who also acted 
 in " Our Boys ") is in comedy a host in himself. I cannot 
 give him greater praise than by sayi'ng that his Sir Anthony 
 Absolute is worthy of his illustrious. father. I do not know 
 any actor of to-day who could excel Mr. Farren in this part, 
 nor, in fact, in any of the old comedies. 
 
 What can I write of Mrs, Stirling ? Words cannot 
 express the delight one feels at witnessing such a perform- 
 ance as her Mrs. Malaprop. In my young days I have bedn 
 fascinated by her charming impersorlations in conjunction 
 with the ever to be remembered Leigh Murray '; and now 
 after so many years have passed she is happily delighting her 
 audiences in a line of character which shb plays equally well 
 with those she was wont to delight us with in the past. 
 
 In the season of 1871 I saw a Mr. Fairclough enacti 
 Hamlet at Sadler's Wells, and he played it very well. ; He 
 had previously appeared at the Lyceum ; I think he came 
 from America. The Ghost was acted by Mr. H. Dudley, 
 who delivered his lines with great distinctness and goodi 
 elocutionary power. 
 
 "Henry IV." was produced at the Surrey in May,ii875y 
 with Mr. Henry Forrester as Hotspur. ■■ ■ His performance 
 was a brilliant success, as the following press notice Will 
 show : — 
 
 " Mr. Forrester's interpretation of the character of Hotspur was 
 in all respects excellent. The fiery, impetuous Percy, with his 
 boisterous valour, his arrogance, and what has very aptly been 
 described as boyish obstinacy, was portirayed in colours the most 
 striking, and there was hardly a sqene in which he was engaged 
 which did not fairly rouse the audience to something like enthu- 
 
RANDOM RECOLLECTIONS OF THE STAGE. 5 1 
 
 siasm. Mr.- Forrester must be said to have made the hit of the 
 evening; his description of the popinjay, who but for these vile 
 iguns would himself have been a soldier/ was given splendidly and 
 exacted a roar of applause, and for special commendation we may 
 select his conduct of the fight with the Prince, which resulted in 
 Hotspur's death." — Era, 30/5/75. 
 
 In February 1876, at the Lyceum Theatre, I witnessed 
 a performance which surprised and delighted me. The play 
 was " Othello ;" the lago, Mr. Henry Forrester, I cannot 
 do better than give the following notice of his performance 
 which appeared in the Times of February 17th : — 
 
 "The lago of Mr. Forrester is as fine a piece of acting as 
 perhaps any actor of to-day could show us in this character. With 
 boldness equalled by his judgment he discards altogether the con- 
 ventional idea of fawning craft and servile humility, which has 
 been so often and so erroneously made the prominent feature in 
 this wonderful character, and which could but have disgusted, and 
 never could have imposed on, such a man as Othello. He stands up 
 ■ before us square and fair, manly of form, pleasant of voice^ and face, 
 save when, with no companion but his own thoughts, he lifts for a 
 moment the veil of his villainy. ' This fellow 's of exceeding 
 honesty' throughout, till his purpose is served and he has done 
 with honesty for good and all, and it is precisely because he seems 
 of such honesty that we find nothing incongruous in the success ot 
 what we know to be so outrageous a piece of treachery. His 
 action and attitudes, which are most natural, and so most effective, 
 and his voice, go hand in hand with his words throughout. Some 
 of the best of his scenes are those with Roderigo, especially where 
 he counsels him, ' Put money in thy purse,' wherein with consum- 
 mate skill he fools his dupe to the top of his bent, and sends him 
 off well assured of his intention and anxiety to serve him ; but, 
 indeed, all the scenes with this petulant boy are most artistic. We 
 like him least in the speech at the end of Act i., 'Thus do I ever 
 make my fool my purse,' for we thought that for a soliloquy it was 
 something too loud, but at its loudest it was spoken, at least, with 
 clearness and precision. The actor in the last act compels us 
 almost to admire the man, when he stands unmasked before them 
 all. Heisa'damn'd inhuman villain' we have known all along ; 
 
 D 2 
 
52 RANDOM RECOLLECTIONS OF THE STAGE. 
 
 but at least he is a brave villain ; he never winces from Othello's 
 sword, and when he answers to the Moor's question why he hath 
 so ensnared his soul and body, ' Demand me nothing, what you 
 know you know, from this time forth I never will speajc word,' we 
 feel that he has spoken truth." 
 
 For myself I must say that Mr. Forrester's performance 
 came upon me as a surprise. I had always admired his 
 acting, since he first appeared in London, and carefully 
 watched his progress, for I could see that he possessed very 
 great ability, and only wanted the opportunity to do great 
 things; and when I knew that he was to play Fago at the 
 Lyceum, I was certain that he would be successful, but I 
 was not prepared for the brilliant success he achieved. I 
 was present at the ninth performance, and it is not too 
 much to say that he literally carried all before him. I have 
 seen many good lagos, but, from every point of view, I 
 have never seen one so good as Forrester's. " Othello '' was 
 beautifully put upon the stage. Mr. E. H. Brooke was an 
 excellent Cassia. I did not see Mrs. Crowe's Emilia ; the 
 night I was there Miss Paunceforte played the part, and 
 acted admirably. Mr. Mead was rather hard as Brabantio. 
 I did not like Miss Isabel Bateman as Desdemona ; and Mr. 
 Henry Irving's Othello was disappointing. After seeing 
 Mr. Forrester as lago^ I felt a special interest in his acting, 
 and availed myself of every opportunity of witnessing his 
 impersonations. Mr. Forrester seceded from the Lyceum 
 a few weeks after his brilliant success, and appeared at the 
 St. James' Theatre, in a drama by the late Shirley Brooks, 
 called " The Creole; or, Love's Fetters," first produced at the 
 Lyceum about the year 1844. The original cast included 
 Leigh Murray, Emery, Keeley, and Mrs. Keeley. Mr. 
 Forrester sustained the part created by Mr. Emery ; 
 Mrs. John Wood that by Mrs. Keeley ; and Mr. Edmund 
 Leathes that formerly played by Leigh Murray. The revival 
 was chiefly remarkable for the powerful acting of Mr. 
 
RANDOM RECOLLECTIONS OF THE STAGE. 53 
 
 Forrester as Antony Latour, a mulatto ; he was especially 
 good in the death scene at the close. Mrs. John Wood 
 caused much laughter ; but I cannot say I particularly cared 
 for the piece. In January 1877, Mr. Forrester appeared at 
 the Haymarket for a short time as Dan'l Druce, in place 
 of Mr. Vezin, and finished the run of the piece. Mr. 
 Forrester's performance of the 5/flC/^«;«zV^ was a very excellent 
 one, and the audience evidently thought so too, judging by 
 the number of times he was called before the curtain. I 
 liked him best in the pathetic parts, — that is to say, in the 
 two last acts. He had excellent support in Miss Marion 
 Terry, Mr. H. Howe, Mr. Forbes Robertson, and Mr. Odell. 
 Mr. Forrester afterwards sustained the character for 300 
 nights in the provinces, and in Scotland and Ireland ; he 
 was supported by Miss Florenca Terry, Mr. David Fisher, 
 senior, Mr. C. Vandenhoff and Mr. A. Wood. 
 
 At the St. James's Theatre, in February 1878, " As You 
 Like It " was produced. Miss Ada Cavendish vtz^ Rosalind, 
 and played in a very charming manner. I do not think she 
 could be excelled in this character in the present day ; I 
 liked her performance very much indeed. Miss Emmerson 
 was Celia, and gave a satisfactory rendering of the part. 
 Mr. W. H. Stephens (a very excellent actor in the old 
 comedies), was rather out of place as Old Adam, 
 but he went through it very carefully. Mr. James Stoyle 
 was a capital Touchstone; Mr. Lin Rayne was Orlando; 
 and Mr. Henry Forrester gave a very excellent rendering of 
 , Jaques ; his fine voice and skilful elocution told with great 
 effect in the " Seven Ages," and " I met a fool in the 
 forest." 
 
 In March 1878, Mr. Tom Taylor's popular drama of 
 " Clancarty " was revived, at the St. James's theatre, and 
 Miss Ada Cavendish and Miss Fowler, in their original 
 parts, played admirably. Miss Cavendish, in the bed-room 
 scene, and also in the scene with the king, where she pleads 
 
54 RANDOM RECOLLECTIONS OF THE STAGE. 
 
 for her husband, was splendid. With regard to Mr.i 
 Forrester's William of Orange, it was altogether a very 
 striking performance. I quote the following press notice : — 
 
 " At the present revival. Miss Cavendish and Miss Fowler 
 resume their old parts with great success : but the really striking' 
 feature of the perform ance is the adm irable sketch given by Mr. Henry ' 
 Forrester of William of Orangi. This is throughout a most artistic 
 study of the Soldier King in his days when, saddened by the loss 
 of his wife, he is in failing health, and constantly called upon to 
 meet the plots of the Jacobites, who plan his assassination. History 
 is, as a rule, rather a sterile field in which to seek for the minutiae 
 of a monarch's charapter, but evidently this has^ been well studied 
 and combined with the art of the period for the make-up and 
 appearance ; and the result is one that would do honour to any 
 theatre. Mr. Forrester has thoroughly caught the conception 
 suggested by the author, and he acts throughout like an artist 
 who understands his part, — every change of countenance, impatient 
 twitching of the hands, and nervous show of excitability was there, 
 while his illusions to his dead queen,^remarks liable to seem 
 ridiculous if badly uttered, here never jar upon the listener's ears. 
 Mr. Forrester's was an especially good performance." — EcH0,j 
 March 30th, 1878. 
 
 On the 8th April, 1878, "Othello" was produced at the 
 St. James's with Mr. Forrester as Othello ; Mr. Titheridge 
 lago ; Mr. W. H. Stephens, Brabantio ; Mx. E.F.Edgar, 
 Cassio ; Miss Emmerson, Desdemona ; and Mrs. Bernard 
 Beere, Emilia. I was present and can fully endorse the 
 following press notices of Mr. Forrester's performance: — 
 
 " On Monday last Mr. Henry Forrester was announced to make 
 his first appearance in London in the leading character of Shake- , 
 speare's grand tragedy of " Othello,'' and we must confess to some 
 surprise at the scanty nature of the attendance. This surprise arises 
 from a remembrance of thei universal chorus of approbation which 
 greeted Mr. Forrester's personation of lago at the Lyceum, when Mr. 
 Henry Irving was appearing as the Moor. The laudation heaped on 
 the first-named actor for a performance of surpassing merit was as 
 
RANDOM RECOLLECTIONS OF THE STAGE. 55 
 
 cordial as it was general ; in his lago was recognised all the 
 plausibility and earnestness likely to deceive the Moor. lago in 
 this instance did not wear his cunning on his sleeve, he could be 
 earnest, and he could feign a tenderness he did not feel ; his 
 expression of love for Othello bore the stamp — forged it is true — of 
 real sincerity. His blackest thoughts, even when spoken, were 
 half-concealed, and with the catastrophe of the play, there was an 
 outward show of cynicism and scorn covering the inward rage, 
 that commanded high praise, and helped to complete one of the 
 most able Shakesperian assumptions seen in recent davs on the 
 English stage. But the British public is proverbially fickle, the 
 idol of to-day is the neglected one of to-morrow. Playgoers 
 came upon Mr. Foi'rester's masterly rendering of a marvellously 
 drawn character by accident. They recognised it, they applauded 
 it, they talked about it, and they forgot it. At least, this is the 
 inference we think we are justified in drawing from the neglect 
 with which the same gentleman's appearance as Othello has been 
 treated. But the loss has been to the playgoer, who in missing the 
 embodiment now under notice, also missed a really splendid piece 
 of acting. Perhaps the highest praise we can give to Mr. Forrester's 
 Othello is to say that it is worthy to rank with his lago, although 
 perhaps for finish and excellence even in minutest details, we should 
 still be disposed to award first honours to the portraiture of the 
 subtle and devilish Ancient of the Moor. The most conspicuous 
 among the few faults noticeable in Mr. Forrester's Othello is a 
 tendency to excess of action, this fault being most apparent in 
 the scene where the irate Moor interrupts the midnight brawl 
 between Cassio and Montana, and where Mr. Forrester's sword kept 
 sweeping through the air as though in search of some deadly foe. 
 The address to the Senate was given with striking dignity and effectj 
 and called forth the first demonstration of the evening. The 
 Moor's love , for Desdemona was indicated in telling fashion, his 
 unbounded confidence in her purity and honour beamed forth in 
 the, smile with which he listened to the first strange words falling 
 from lago'si lips and to be followed by suggestion of dread import. 
 There was no sudden leap from confidence to jealousy in this 
 instance ; no instant bound from calm to rage. It is slow poison 
 that , lago < administers to Othello and this idea was thoroughly 
 grasped by the actor ; when, however, this poison had done its 
 
S6 RANDOM RECOLLECTIONS OF THE STAGE. 
 
 work, wiien the once tender husband, who had cherished a world 
 of love for Desdemona, was beard crying 'Damn her! I'll tear her 
 all to pieces ; ' when the storm of conflicting emotions was at its 
 height, when a suspicion that lago might be playing him false 
 crossed his mind and caused him to seize the villain by the throat, 
 then came the actor's triumph ; and as Othello hurling lago to the 
 ground, himself sank literally quivering with passion upon a couch 
 even the small audience assembled was fairly carried away by the 
 scene, and contrived to raise a shout of enthusiastic admiration, 
 which was repeated, when Mr. Forrester in obedience to an 
 irresistible call, made his appearance at the footlights. In other 
 scenes the actor reached a high standard of excellence. If merit, 
 rather than fashion, or accident, is to have an3'thing to do with the 
 advancement of an artist, such a performance as this ought certainly 
 to place Mr. Forrester a few rungs further up on the ladder, which 
 leads to fame and fortune." — Era, 14/4/78. 
 
 " Playgoers will remember that the most prominent feature of 
 the revival of ' Othello' at the Lyceum, some two years back 
 consisted of Mr. Henry Forrester's artistic embodiment of lago. 
 Last night the same actor appeared at the St. James's as the Moor, 
 and rendered the character with an earnestness and vigour that 
 commanded approval throughout, and once or twice roused the 
 audience to something very like enthusiasm ; indeed despite one or 
 two serious weaknesses in the cast, the Montana and Roderigo being 
 lamentably wanting in spirit, no Shakesperian play has been better 
 received for some time past. Mr. Forrester commenced admirably, 
 and secured attentipn by his admirable delivery of the address to 
 the senate. Later he appeared to indulge in an excess of action 
 occasionally, and deliberately passed over well-known points, but 
 in the third act he roused himself for an outburst of passion that 
 was genuine in character and thoroughly effective ; the tone was 
 well sustained to the close, though a little less elecutionary effort in 
 the final speech would be a decided improvement. After close 
 criticism, however, Mr. Forrester's Othello must be welcomed as 
 a consistent, and really good performance." — Daily Chronicle, 
 9/4/78. 
 
 "Mr. Henry Forrester, in the role of the noble Moor, was more 
 than usually successful ; indeed his performance had passages of 
 extraordinary excellence, and throughout was marked by an en- 
 
RANDOM RECOLLECTIONS OF THE STAGE. 57 
 
 lightened intelligence which knew how to avail itself of every 
 opportunity. There was one especially beautiful example of 
 appreciative acting in Act III. Othello has demanded a living reason 
 in evidence of his wife's disloyalty, and lago in return tells him of 
 Cassia's dreaming. The intense attention paid by Mr. Forrester to 
 lago's cunning tale, following with anxious lips every item of the 
 terrible relation, was really very fine." — Illustrated London News, 
 13/4/78. 
 
 " On Monda)' ' Othello ' was produced to afford Mr. Henry 
 Forrester an opportunity of appearing as the Moor. When Othello 
 was revived at the Lyceum for Mr. Irving it may be remembered 
 that a marked feature of the performance was the excellent imper- 
 sonation of lago by Mr. Forrester, who received well merited 
 laudation. Although we do not think Mr. Forrester's Othello is on 
 the whole as uniformly well sustained an embodiment as that of his 
 lago, it is in some parts, especially in the impassioned scenes of 
 Acts III. and IV., greatly superior, and is throughout a highly 
 finished and artistic assumption. In the first act before the senate, 
 there was a defii^iency of dignity in the Moor, and the deliveiy of the 
 narrative of his wooing and winning Desdemona was a little too 
 colloquial ; but in Acts III. and IV. Mr. Forrester absolutely rose 
 to greatness. Gracefully tender with Desdemona, then gradually being 
 moved to jealousy by the insidious promptings of lago, the 
 struggle between the noble Moor's confidence in his wife, and his 
 awakening doubts were indicated with fine subtleness by Mr. 
 Forrester. Full of pathos too, was his delivery of the famous 
 exordium to 'Glorious War,' and 'Othello's occupation,' but the 
 great triumph was achieved by the actor in Othello's final outburst 
 of passion with lago, which elicited enthusiastic applause, and Mr. 
 Forrester was at once recalled before the curtain." — Illustrated 
 Sporting and Dramatic News, 13/4/78. 
 
 In May 1878, Tom Taylor's play of " Arkwright's Wife " 
 was revived for a short period at the Duke's theatre. The 
 piece was capitally acted ; Mr. Sinclair played well as Richard 
 Arkwright, and Miss Helen Barry as Margaret Hayes was 
 very effective. Mr. Forrester completely lost his identity 
 as Peter Hayes ; it was as fine a piece of character acting 
 
S8 RANDOM R^COLLECTiONS OF THE STA&E. 
 
 as could be conceived. The following press notices fully 
 bear out what I have written : — 
 
 " Mr. Forrester seems to have made a most careful study of his 
 part, for one more truthful to nature it would be hard to conceive. 
 In the first act as the dreamy, tetchy inventor, harassed about 
 money matters, blamed even by his own child, and yet so wrapped 
 up in his work that nothing troubles him but the dread of losing 
 his models. Mr. Forrester's acting is really very fine, and the good 
 impression is strengthened through the second act, where the display 
 of gratified malice, on finding that he has compassed the destruction 
 of his rival inventor's machine, was one of the best pieces of 
 acting, we have seen for some time ; and again in the last act,: 
 where , PeUr Hayes is reduced to a tottering old man, faint and 
 weary, till the idea of fresh revenge lights up the. old spirit in 
 him once more, Mr. Forrester's acting was all that could be 
 desired. No greater compliment could be paid to it than the burst 
 of groans that greeted him from the gallery on his appearance after 
 the second act, each telling how he had moved his audience to 
 believe in his machinations."^ Echo, 13/5/78. 
 
 ' "The Peter Hayes of Mr. Forrester was capital, his face and 
 gestures, even when his tongue was silent, plainly spoke the terrible 
 power of venom that rankled within his envious mind, and in the 
 last act his shambling walk and fretful manner, together with the 
 bitter reproaches hissed through his teeth when he hears' of 
 Arkwright's success, forced the audience into applause against their 
 will."— Touchstone, 19/5/78. ' 
 
 " Mr. Forrester rose sometimes to real tragic power as Peter 
 Hayes, the broken-down old inventor, and, by his powerful and 
 picturesque embodiment caused the audience to sympathise with a 
 character which might easily have appeared somewhat repulsive. 
 In the scene with the rioters Mr. Forrester's acting was splendid." 
 —Era, 19/5/78. 
 
 At the Park Theatre in October 1878, I had a great 
 treat in witnessing the performance of " Richard III." Mr. 
 Forrester appearing in the role of Richard, and it would be 
 impossible for the character to be pliayed better. He was 
 the versatile villain) to the life, from his opening soliloquy, 
 
RANDOM RECOLLECTIONS OF THE STAGE. 59 
 
 which was delivered with fine elocutionary skill, to his 
 death, it was one complete triumph ; he was called before 
 the curtain after each act, and warmly cheered at the end. 
 I consider his Richard quite worthy to rank with his lago 
 and Othello. Mr. T. Swinbourne was an excellent Richmond. 
 A few evenings afterwards I saw Mr. Forrester impersonate 
 Macbeth, and, although it was a good performance, it bore 
 traces of hurried preparation, and was certainly not equal 
 to the above named characters. He subsequently acted 
 Macduff to the Macbeth of Mr. T. Swinbourne, and fairly 
 took the house by storm. The pathos shown in the scene 
 where Macduff hears of the murder of his wife and children 
 drew tears from the eyes of many, and this combined with 
 the rugged power he displayed at other points in the tragedy, 
 took a firm hold of the audience, and culminated in a com- 
 plete ovation at the close. Mr. T. Swinbourne was a very 
 good Macbeth. The Lady Macbeth was Miss S. Booth, 
 who gave a fairly good rendering of the character. 
 
 When Mr. Irving became the manager of the Lyceum 
 in December 1878, Mr. Henry Forrester was engaged, and 
 during Mr. Irving's temporary absence through indisposi- 
 tion, Mr. Forrester took his place as Hamlet for three 
 nights, in March 1879. I very much regret that I did not 
 see him in that character, but the press advertisements 
 remained unchanged, the programme also, and it could not 
 be known until the theatre was reached that there was a 
 change, consequently all who were there went to see Mr. 
 Irving and found Mr. Forrester ; so that Mr. Forrester could 
 not be said to have had the advantage of the presence of his 
 special admirers, but, curiously enough, I have seen a great 
 many persons who were there on one or other of those 
 nights, and they one and all speak of Mr. Forrester's Hamlet 
 in glowing terms. I have not seen Mr. Irving as Hamlet, 
 but judging from what I have heard of his performance of 
 that character, I am sure it is no easy task for any actor to 
 
6o RANDOM RECOLLECTIONS OF THE STAGE. 
 
 follow him at the Lyceum, but according to my informants 
 Mr. Forrester succeeded admirably, and the plaudits and 
 recalls he obtained showed that the audience felt that in 
 Mr. Forrester's hands the part had not suffered, and that in 
 him Mr. Irving had found a most efScient substitute. 
 
 In the summer of 1879 I had the great pleasure of seeing 
 Mr. Wills' play of " Charles I." represented at the Lyceum. 
 Mr. Henry Irving's Charles was a grand impersonation, more 
 particularly in what may be called the domestic side of the 
 character ; Miss Ellen Terry was an excellent representative 
 of Queen Henrietta ; Mr. Forrester a splendid Cromwell; 
 and Mr. F. Cooper and Mr. Pinero were good as Lord 
 Moray and the Marquis of Huntley j in fact the whole 
 performance was perfect. The performers were loudly 
 applauded, and Miss Terry, Mr. Irving, and Mr. Forrester 
 were called before the curtain twice. 
 
 I was never particularly fond of extravaganza or bur- 
 lesque, but many that I have seen I admired, notably 
 the extravaganzas produced under Madame Vestris's manage- 
 ment at the Lyceum, for instance, " The Island of Jewels," 
 and " King Charming ; or, the Blue Bird of Paradise," in 
 which the singing of Madame Vestris delighted every 
 hearer. Frank Matthews and James Bland also came to 
 the front in pieces of this description. " Alcestes ; or, the 
 Strong-minded Woman," produced at the Strand under the 
 management of Mr. Farren, was a very excellent burlesque ; 
 Henry Farren had a good part and Miss Marshall and 
 Compton were highly diverting. I remember Cornpton, 
 who was apparently in great grief, with the tears coursing 
 down his cheeks, slowly coming down some steps from the 
 back of the stage uttering the following lines : — 
 " Woe, woe, woe, 
 In vain I weep. 
 My tears will flow. 
 But I can't stop these coursers 
 With my woa'.'' 
 
RANDOM RECOLLECTIONS OF THE STAGE. 6 1 
 
 And as Compton had on wooden shoes, which came 
 down with a clumping sound at each repetition of the word 
 " woe," the effect was very ludicrous. " Timour, the 
 Tartar " at the Princess's very many years ago, with little 
 Oxberry as the Tartar Chief, was intensely funny, and the 
 "Miller and his Men," at the same theatre, with Compton 
 as Ch'indoff axiA Oxberry as Lothair, was equally droll. A 
 burlesque played at the Royalty some years ago, under the 
 title of " Turko the Terrible," with George Honey as King 
 Turko was very amusing ; and last, but not least, the 
 burlesque of "The Lady of Lyons" at the Strand some 
 twenty years since, with Charlotte Saunders as Claude, John 
 Clarke as Beausant, and James Rogers as the Widow 
 Melnotte. The make-up of Charlotte Saunders and John 
 Clarke as Napoleons I. and ///. was very realistic. All 
 these pieces were full of wit and humour, without the 
 slightest trace of coarseness or vulgarity, and the scenery 
 at the Lyceum was really splendid. 
 
 I have known actors do strange things on their benefit 
 nights to amuse their patrons. I remember a very popular 
 and somewhat eccentric low comedian at a minor establish- 
 ment announcing that he would sing a comic song in the 
 gallery ; as a youth this novel feature excited my curiosity 
 and I determined to be present. I secured a good place in 
 the pit and waited with some impatience for the promised 
 novelty .? at the conclusion of the first piece great excitement 
 prevailed in the upper regions, the gods were anxiously 
 expecting their favourite comedian ; at length, amidst 
 boisterous applause he made his way to the front of the 
 gallery assisted by the celestials, who were evidently proud 
 of the honour conferred upon them. The orchestra struck 
 up a lively tune and the comedian (who was attired as a 
 lubberly boy) commenced a song entitled, " Don't I love my 
 mother;" it was received with great enthusiasm and obtained 
 a double encore, after which he retired completely over- 
 
62 RANDOM RECOLLECTIONS OF THE STAGE. 
 
 whelmed by the excessive cordiality of his admirers, rtiany 
 of whom shook him by the hand, whilst some patted him 
 on the back and applauded to such an extent that he must 
 have felt greatly relieved when he returned to the stage 
 and contemplated his noisy friends from that safe retreat.' 
 
 "Les Cloches de Corneville," produced at the Globe 
 ■'Theatre a few years ago, is one of the best pieces of the kind 
 I have seen. The music was bright and sparkling, and the 
 acting of Shiel Barry as Gaspard, the miser, reallytragib in 
 its intensity. ■ <-' ■" 
 
 Some two years ago I went to see " The School for 
 Scandal" at Sadler's Wells; the cast included Messrs. 
 Hermann Vezin, E. H. Brooke, Charles Warner, and Miss 
 Virginia Bateman. The part of C^«i5^;'iS5 was sustained by 
 Mr. William Farren, jun., son of the present, and grandson 
 of the late Mr. William Farren ; he reminded me very 
 much of his grandfather, his make-upwas perfect and his 
 acting most artistic, and I believe he may do great things 
 in the future; Since then he has appeared at Toole's Theatre 
 in the character of an old Anglo-Frenchman, and' played it 
 most artistically. 
 
 In February, 1881, at the Princess's Theatre I saw Mr. 
 Edwin Booth, the American tragedian, impersonate lago to 
 the Othello of Mr. Henry Forrester. Mr. Booth is one of 
 the best actors I have seen; with' a good voice, and his 
 elocution is pleasing and true ; his conception of lago was 
 a very fine one and he played it very effectively. Mr. 
 Forrester was an excellent Othello, and it was a rare treat 
 to see such competent actors in two of Shakespearre's 
 grandest creations. Mr. Booth and Mr. Forrester were 
 much applauded and frequently called before the. curtain, 
 and fairly divided the honours of the evening. The two 
 actors played lago and Othello alternately. 
 
 At the Adelphi, a year or two ago, I saw Miss Wallis in 
 •a piece called " Ninon." I liked her acting very much ; she 
 
RANDOM RECOLLECTIONS OF THE STAGE. 63 
 
 •was well supported by Mf . Henry Neville, Mr. E. H. Brooke, 
 Mr. James Fernandez, and Mr. J. G. Taylor. The latter 
 played a character part admirably. 
 
 A piece called "The Colonel," which had a very suc- 
 cessful run at the Prince of Wales' Theatre not long since, 
 was evidently intended to hit off a craze of society. Mr. 
 Charles Coghlan played the principal character very well, 
 but I thought it a very poor piece. 
 
 In July 1882, at Drury Lane, the Lady Macbeth and 
 Queen EKzabeth of Madame Ristori, the great Italian 
 actress, were grand impersonations ; her pronunciation of 
 the English language being so exceedingly good, greatly 
 enhanced the attraction of her admirable acting. Her per- 
 formance of the above characters was worthy of Old Drury 
 in its palmiest days, when there were giants upon that 
 stage. The Macbeth was Mr. T. Swinbourne, a sound actor 
 and a capital elocutionist. Mr. Barnes was a good Macduff. 
 
 Much as I admired Mr. Forrester on the stage, I liked 
 him even better on the platform ; there he had the fullest 
 t)pportunity of shewing his great versatility. He was a 
 great favourite at the Birkbeck Literary and Scientific Insti- 
 tution, where he gave recitals for many years on Ash 
 Wednesday, and always received a cordial welcome from the 
 students and members of that valuable institution. I have 
 heard him in selections from most of Shakespeare's' plays, and 
 also from Tennyson, Aytoun, Poe, Ingoldsby, Hood, Macaulay, 
 and many other poets and humorists. Mr. Forrester's 
 fine elocution, and the fund of humour and pathos which 
 he threw into many of his pieces, told immensely with the 
 audience. I was present at his last recital on Wednesday, 
 February 22nd, 1882, and he really seemed to surpass all 
 previous efforts. A few weeks afterwards Mr. Forrester 
 passed away from this life, to the great grief of his numerous 
 friends. By his death the play-going public have lost a 
 tiighly gifted servant, and his professional brethren must 
 
'64 RANDOM RECOLLECTIONS OF THE STAGE. 
 
 deeply regret the departure of one, whose amiable dispos- 
 ition and good qualities as a man should not soon be 
 forgotten. 
 
 I will close my recollections of Mr. Forrester by giving 
 the obituary notice of his death from the South London 
 Press, of April 15th, 1882 : — 
 
 "We have to announce, with deep regret, the death of Mr. 
 Henry Forrester, the well-known actor, who for some years past 
 has been a resident in South Lambeth. His real name was Henry 
 Frost, the name of Forrester being assumed in professional circles. 
 He was born in the village of Capel, near Guildford, Surrey, in the 
 year 1827. At an early age a talent for reading and recitation 
 developed itself, w;hich subsequently led to his following the his- 
 trionic profession ; here his rise was rapid, and he eventually 
 obtained a position in its foremost ranks. There was about his 
 acting a true and genuine sympathy with the subject, and this, 
 aided by a native dignity of bearing, greatly assisted his progress. 
 With his professional ability we are not so much dealing as with 
 his residence in South London. 
 
 " Some eight or nine years since he was married to a lady 
 resident in Stockwell ; and here he fixed his location, gathering 
 around him a select and limited circle of friends, by whom he was 
 highly esteemed for his strict love of truth, and hatred of all that 
 was mean and base. Ardently attached to the Church of England, 
 he became a valued helper in the church of All Saints, South 
 Lambeth, ever ready to utilise his talent for the benefit of the 
 church and poor. The last time that he appeared in public, was for 
 the enlargement of the Church fund. About Christmas, after 
 appearing at the Crystal Palace, he entered into lucrative engage- 
 ments at Glasgow, Edinburgh, and Liverpool. At Edinburgh an 
 apparently slight indisposition assumed a more serious appearance ; 
 conscious that he could not recover, with heroic courage and won- 
 drous Christian patience he calmly awaited his end. In his illness 
 he manifested the utmostanxiety to spare the feelings and the labour 
 of all around, and he calmly breathed his last on Sunday evening, 
 the anniversary of his fifty-fifth birthday." 
 
 " At eleven o'clock yesterday (Friday) the body was taken into 
 All Saints, Devonshire Road, and at twelve o'clock the interment 
 
RANDOM RECOLLECTIONS OF THE STAGE. 65 
 
 took place at Norwood. A large number of eminent actors and 
 friends were present, the service being' performed by the Rev. 
 Allen Edwards, Jun." 
 
 I have brought my recollections up to the present time, 
 and in conclusion, vi^ould call attention to several matters 
 connected with the stage, which I think should as far as 
 possible be altered and improved. I would first mention 
 the neglect of elocution by the majority of our modern 
 school of actors. I think it most essential, that all who 
 have to appear in blank verse plays, should possess a 
 perfect knowledge of elocution, and most certainly no actor 
 should be cast for an important part in a Shakesperian play 
 without possessing this knowledge ; a man may be an 
 excellent actor, but if he cannot speak so as to convey the 
 full meaning of the text to his hearers the greater part of 
 the effect is lost. It is really most painful to any lover of 
 Shakespeare to hear the poet's beautiful verse often spoken 
 in such a manner as to be almost unintelligible. I quite 
 well know that many young playgoers affect to consider 
 elocution as of small importance, but I think this frequently 
 arises from their having pinned their faith to some particular 
 actor who does not possess that necessary qualification. 
 It is the fashion to speak of the acting of those who have 
 mastered the art of elocution as stilted, stagey, conventional, 
 and old-fashioned ; from the way in which some folks talk 
 of the modern style of acting, it would seem they would 
 have people believe that the acting of. such artistes as 
 Macready, John VandenhofF, Phelps, Elton, Henry Marston, 
 G. V. Brooke, James Anderson, and others was a great 
 mistake. I have seen both the old and the new styles, and 
 should any actor come to the front whose style is an improve- 
 ment upon those I have named I may change my opinion, 
 but at present I much prefer the giants of the past. To 
 hear the great John Vandenhoff deliver blank verse was 
 indeed a treat ; in fancy I hear his majestic voice filling 
 
 E 
 
66 RANDOM RECOLLECTIONS OF THE STAGE. 
 
 every corner of Covent Garden Theatre, not a word being 
 lost. The tragic talent we had some forty years ago was 
 almost startling ; in the present day our strength is in our 
 comedians. 
 
 I will now write a few lines upon theatrical advertise- 
 ments. It is really distressing to any true lover of the stage 
 to see the puffing advertisements in the public papers; 
 old playgoers read them, smile, and take them for what they 
 are worth, which is generally very little. Clap-trap may 
 bring money to the pockets of managers, who perhaps are 
 considered clever men of business, but it is certainly degrad- 
 ing to art. 
 
 There is another thing that seems to me objectionable, 
 and that is the starring of particular names, this is done 
 even in the ordinary newspaper advertisements which are 
 printed in the following manner : — After mentioning the piece 
 the names run, " characters by Mr. Belgravia, Messrs. Brown, 
 Jones and Robinson, Miss Montmorenci, Mesdames Smith, 
 Tompkins, Wilkins, &c." I am afraid that a great deal of 
 jealousy and heart-burning is often caused among actors by 
 this assumption of superiority. It is frequently done by 
 actor-managers, and with every respect for their idea of 
 what is best, I venture to think that anything likely to cause 
 unnecessary annoyance to their fellow-workers should be 
 avoided. It may be said by an actor-manager "My name is the 
 great attraction, and draws the public, and therefore must be 
 brought prominently forward," and a non-acting manager 
 might say the same of some particular actor or actress. 
 Well, this may or may not be, but I have known instances, 
 where when Brown or Jones have accidentally got the 
 chance (and they seldom get it otherwise), they have 
 shown that they possessed a capacity for acting that 
 has rather astonished those who looked upon them as 
 inferiors. Acting is Vfery up-hill work, and the strug- 
 gling artiste, although he may possess great talent, has 
 
RANDOM RECOLLECTIONS OF THE STAGE. 67 
 
 enormous difficulties to contend with. I sometimes think 
 it is possible for a man to be too good an actor, at least for 
 his own comfort, for I am afraid it often provokes the 
 jealousy of his more fortune-favoured brethren, who are in 
 the front rank, and who cannot bear the thought of a 
 possible rival. I think in many cases actors of ability 
 become thoroughly disheartened by the difficulty of obtain- 
 ing an opportunity to shew their capabilities, and are 
 compelled to drop into the rank and file of the profession. 
 
 I believe from my heart that, as a body, the theatrical 
 profession are generous and noble-minded to their less for- 
 tunate brethren in many ways, and gladly help in trouble 
 or pecuniary difficulty to the utmost extent of their power, 
 but I fear the dread of rivalry makes them less generous in 
 business. I should like to see the time (but I suppose I 
 never shall), when the actor who plays Richard or Hamlet 
 one night, will content himself with Richmond or Horatio 
 another, thus giving his fellow workers an opportunity 
 of showing what they can do. It must be a poor company 
 in which there are not three artistes able to play the leading 
 parts, now that long runs are the rule. It seems to me 
 detrimental to art that one actor, however clever or popular, 
 should be called upon to play such a part as Hamlet or 
 Richard night aiter night for a very lengthened period. 
 
 The more good actors the public have the better, and 
 though we do not expect' everyone to be a Macready, a 
 Phelps, or a John Vandenhoff, still there are doubtless some, 
 who could achieve such an enviable position if they had 
 the chance. I think such changes of character would excite 
 the curiosity of the playgoing public, and break the dreary 
 monotony of long runs. A manager or star-actor might 
 possibly see objections to this suggested alteration, but I feel 
 sure play-goers would like the. change. 
 
 Sometimes an actor' or actress has a part written 
 specially for him or her, and, the otfier characters in the piece 
 
 E-2 
 
68 RANDOM RECOLLECTIONS OF THE STAGE. 
 
 are generally mere nonentities ; this is highly objection- 
 able. The star system leads to false impressions, as the 
 following incident will show. I was speaking to a gentle- 
 man of a success in a great part that had been achieved by 
 an actor comparatively unknown to fame, and I related how 
 he had giained the unqualified approval of his audience and 
 taken first rank in the play, although another great part 
 was enacted by an actor of celebrity who was immensely 
 popular. The gentleman shook his head in doubt, and 
 mildly remonstrated with me, for daring to assert that the 
 actor who displayed such remarkable histrionic ability had 
 won the greatest share of the honours. After some further 
 conversation, it transpired that this wise man, who had flatly 
 contradicted me, had never seen either of the actors at any 
 time, but doubted what I said simply because the one I 
 specially commended had never been known as a star. I know 
 there are many playgoers who take the same view, — they 
 utterly ignore artistes who are outside the shining circle, 
 and lavish fulsome adulation on those who in some 
 instances are unduly exalted above their professional brethren. 
 Some time ago I was passing the stage entrance of a 
 West End theatre where a new piece was announced for 
 immediate production. Seeing the hall porter at the door 
 I enquired who would play in the piece ; he very courteously 
 replied, "Mr. So-and-so and the two Miss So-and-sos."i 
 " Well, but surely there are other characters, do they act 
 all of them ? " " Oh ! no, sir," answered the ofBcial, who 
 seemed rather astonished. " Ah ! " said I, " I thought not." 
 This remark evidently afforded the worthy fellow much 
 amusement, for with a significant smile and an expressive 
 shrug he retired. 
 
 Some bigoted people condemn the stage, who are utterly 
 unacquainted with it. The following case in point is 
 worthy of record. A friend of mine heard a gentleman 
 speak very strongly against theatrical entertainments, and 
 
RANDOM RECOLLECTIONS OF THE STAGE. 6g 
 
 after listening to many absurd and unfair remarks said, " I 
 presume you have had great experience of theatres ? " The 
 reply was, " I thank God I never was in one." It was 
 useless to argue with a bigot of such a pronounced type. I 
 trust there are not many like the above but if there are the 
 stage will not suffer . from their condemnation. A good 
 sound entertainment should command the support of the 
 public, and I hope such pieces will always be produced 
 as will not only amuse, but also elevate and instruct the 
 rising generation. 
 
 I will conclude with a few words on the prevailing custom 
 of preceding the piece of the evening with some weak 
 comedietta, often totally uninteresting, and generally acted 
 by inferior performers. I venture to suggest the desirability 
 of playing as a first piece a good farce supported by popular 
 favourites, instead of trashy productions, which are only 
 calculated to depress and annoy. It would seem that any- 
 thing is considered good enough for the pit and gallery folk, 
 who are obliged to arrive early, for since stalls were intro- 
 duced, a poor place at the best can only be obtained in the 
 pit; in many theatres it consists almost entirely of seats 
 under the boxes, in a most oppressive atmosphere. One 
 theatre has done away with the pit entirely, and in the 
 gallery of most houses several seats are fenced off and con- 
 verted into amphitheatre stalls ; so that the gallery visitor, 
 who pays one shilling for his admission, is relegated 
 to a position, where, if it is a large theatre, the actors look 
 like pigmie^, and very frequently the words do not reach the 
 ears of the isolated denizens of that remote region. How- 
 ever, as it is a commercial speculation, the manager has an 
 undoubted right to do the best he can to put money in his 
 purse ; but I think it is worth considering, whether it would 
 not be better to restore the gallery to its old position. I 
 have no doubt that many genuine play-goers stay away, 
 who would be glad to go if they could feel that they were not 
 
70 
 
 RANDOM RECOLLECTIONS OF THE STAGE. 
 
 shut off from the body of the house. " Going to the play " 
 is now a very expensive luxury, and unless you book seats 
 before-hand, there is really no comfort, and it is not every 
 one who can afford to do so. For myself, I must say, if the 
 present system had been adopted in my young days, fond as 
 I was (and am) of the theatre, my visits would have been few 
 and far between, and I certainly should not have been able to 
 subscribe myself 
 
 An Old Playgoer. 
 
 May, 1883. 
 
 DIPKOSE, BAIEMAJf & Co., Priuters, ShoHleld Street, Lincoln'g Ina Field». 
 
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