Chapter XLII: Act III: Sc. 2

238. ‘_Good Mr. Tokely_ [Master Brook],’ _etc._ _The Merry Wives of
Windsor_, Act II. Sc. 2.

‘_In the likeness of a sigh._’ _Romeo and Juliet_, Act II. Sc.
1.

239. _Mr. Meggett._ This actor from Edinburgh made his first
appearance at the Haymarket on July 19, 1815. Genest (VIII.
486) says that he was ‘cruelly used by the bigotted admirers
of Kean.’

_The Mountaineers._ By George Colman the younger, produced in
1795.

_Mr. Harley’s Fidget._ In _The Boarding House_, a musical farce
by Samuel Beazley (1786-1851), first produced on August 26,
1811.

_Mr. Harley._ John Pritt Harley (1786-1858) made his first
appearance in London at the English Opera House in July,
1815. Soon afterwards he joined the company at Drury Lane,
where he remained till 1835, and made a great reputation as a
comic actor and singer.

_The Blue Stocking._ Moore’s _M.P., or the Blue-Stocking_
(1811).

240. _Mr. Wallack._ James William Wallack (1791?-1864), a versatile
actor well known for many years both in London and America.

_Mrs. Harlowe._ Sarah Harlowe (1765-1852), a low comedy actress
who first appeared at Covent Garden in 1790.

‘_Warbled_, _etc._ Cf. ‘In amorous ditties all a summer’s day.’
_Paradise Lost_, I. 449.

‘_As one incapable_,’ _etc._ _Hamlet_, Act IV. Sc. 7.

_The Iron Chest._ By George Colman the younger, produced by
Kemble in 1796.

241. _The Squire of Dames._ _The Faerie Queene_, Book III. Canto
VII. The giantess was Argante.

_Mr. Capel Lofft._ Capell Lofft (1751-1824), a well-known
politician and miscellaneous writer, the patron of the poet
Bloomfield and Napoleon. The letter referred to by Hazlitt
appeared in _The Morning Chronicle_, August 3, 1815.

_Mr. Foote._ An actor from Edinburgh who had made his first
appearance in London on July 18, 1815.

242. _Mr. Gyngell._ Gyngell’s ‘Exhibition of the original
Fantoccini, the Microcosm, the Moving Panorama,’ etc. was on
view at this time at the theatre in Catherine Street.

_Living in London._ Attributed to Jameson, produced August 5,
1815.

‘_Want of decency_,’ _etc._ The Earl of Roscommon’s _Essay on
Translated Verse_,

114.

243. _Quod sit_, _etc._ Horace, _Ars Poetica_, 188.

_The King’s Proxy._ By Samuel James Arnold.

_Plato._ _The Republic_, Book VII.

244. _Mr. and Mrs. T. Cooke._ Thomas Simpson Cooke (1782-1848), who
composed the music for _The King’s Proxy_.

l. 23. _The Examiner_ proceeds to quote from _The Morning
Chronicle_ a favourable notice of a new musical farce (by E.
P. Knight) entitled _A Chip of the Old Block, or, The
Village Festival_, and adds: ‘This account is from the
_Chronicle_. It is much too favourable. The piece is one of
the most wretched we have seen. A statute fair would be more
entertaining. The political claptraps were so barefaced as to
be hissed. Matthews sung a song with that kind of humour and
effect of which our readers will easily form an idea.’

_The Maid and the Magpie._ Arnold’s version, produced August
21, 1815.

245. _The Hypocrite._ By Isaac Bickerstaffe, first produced in 1768.

246. ‘_Sleek o’er his rugged looks._’ _Macbeth_, Act III. Sc. 2.

_Major Sturgeon._ In Foote’s _The Mayor of Garratt_.

_Mrs. Sparks._ See Leigh Hunt’s _Dramatic Essays_ (ed. Archer
and Lowe), p. 177.

_Mrs. Orger._ Mary Ann Orger (1788-1849) appeared at Drury Lane
in 1808. She was the wife of Thomas Orger, a Quaker.

247. ‘_Has honours_,’ _etc._ Cf. ‘Some have greatness thrust upon
’em.’ _Twelfth Night_, Act II. Sc. 5.

_Mr. Decamp._ De Camp (Mrs. Charles Kemble’s brother) had
played Isidore in Coleridge’s _Remorse_ (January 23, 1813).
For another failure of his see Lamb’s _Letters_ (ed. W. C.
Hazlitt), I. 377.

_Mr. Edwards’s Richard III._ September 25, 1815.

‘_Sole sway and sovereignty._’ Cf. ‘Give solely sovereign
sway.’ _Macbeth_, Act I. Sc. 5.

248. _Mr. Incledon._ Charles Incledon (1763-1826), the tenor, a good
singer but a bad actor, appeared at Covent Garden from 1790
till 1815.

249. _Lovers’ Vows._ Mrs. Inchbald’s version of Kotzebue’s _Natural
Son_, first produced at Covent Garden, 1798, revived at Drury
Lane, September 26, 1815.

_Mrs. Mardyn._ Mrs. Mardyn had been very successful in Dublin.
A false report was afterwards spread that she had eloped with
Byron. See Byron’s _Letters and Journals_ (ed. Prothero),
III. 217, and Mrs. Baron Wilson’s _Our Actresses_, I.
198-207.

_Mr. Dowton ... for the first time._ October 5, 1815.

‘_Merry jest._’ _Titus Andronicus_, Act V. Sc. 2.

250. _Mr. Lovegrove._ William Lovegrove (1778-1816), who made his
reputation at Bath, and appeared in London in 1810.

_Wewitzer._ Ralph Wewitzer (1748-1825), who had had a long
career, chiefly in secondary parts. This was one of his last
appearances.

l. 18. _The Examiner_ article continues: ‘The new farce [at
Covent Garden, October 5, 1815], called _The Farce-Writer_,
has been very successful; we wish we could add deservedly so.
It is a happy instance of lively dulness. The wit consists
entirely in the loco-motion of the actors. It is a very badly
written pantomime.’

250. _The School for Scandal._ September 27, 1815.

_Little Simmons._ Samuel Simmons (1777?-1819), a regular member
of the Covent Garden company from 1796, and very successful
as a comedian. Moses in _The School for Scandal_ was one of
his parts.

‘_Cast some longing_,’ _etc._ Gray’s _Elegy_, St. 22.

251. _Fawcett._ John Fawcett (1768-1837), for many years manager of
Covent Garden.

_Mrs. Gibbs._ For an account of this actress, said to have been
the wife of George Colman the younger, see Mrs. Baron
Wilson’s _Our Actresses_, I. 83-90.

_Mr. Blanchard._ William Blanchard (1769-1835), one of the
Covent Garden comedians. See Leigh Hunt’s _Critical Essays_,
p. 122.

_Mr. Farley._ Charles Farley (1771-1859), actor, dramatist, and
stage-manager.

last line. _The Examiner_ continues: ‘Miss O’Neill has resumed
her engagement at this house, and plays her usual characters
to crowded audiences with even increased effect. We should
attempt to describe her excellency in some of them, but that
we feel ourselves unable to do her even tolerable justice.’

252. _Mrs. Alsop’s Rosalind._ Covent Garden, October 18, 1815.
Mrs. Alsop did not continue long on the stage. She was
the daughter of Mrs. Jordan and Richard Daly, the Irish
theatrical manager.

‘_No more like_,’ _etc._ Cf. _Hamlet_, Act I. Sc. 2.

_Her Nell._ In _The Devil to Pay_.

_The Will._ By F. Reynolds, produced in 1797.

253. _John Du Bart._ October 25, 1815. The piece, attributed to
Pocock, seems to have been founded on an exploit of the
French naval hero, Jean Barth (1651-1702).

_That which took place in Hyde Park._ Hazlitt refers to the
extraordinary thanksgiving jubilee, which took place in
London on August 1, 1814, and following days. Part of the
programme consisted of a sham fight on the Serpentine.

254. _Mr. Bishop._ Afterwards Sir Henry Rowley Bishop (1786-1855),
the composer.

‘_Guns, drums_,’ _etc._ Pope, _Satires_, I. 26.

_The Beggar’s Opera._ October 28, 1815. Cf. _ante_, pp. 193-5.

_Miss Nash._ Miss Nash had played Polly at Bath, November 4,
1813, a performance described by Genest as ‘very good.’

255. _Mrs. Davenport._ Mary Ann Davenport (1765?-1843) first
appeared at Covent Garden in 1794.

256. l. 15. _The Examiner_ adds: ‘A new farce has been brought out
at Drury-Lane in the course of the week, called _Twenty per
Cent_. It has succeeded very well. A voluble lying knave of
a servant in it by Mr. Harley, who plays this class of
characters well, is its chief attraction. It is deficient
in plot, but not without pleasantry. It is improbable,
lively, and short.’ The farce was by T. Dibdin.

_Miss O’Neill’s Elwina._ Covent Garden, November 11. Hannah
More’s _Percy_ was produced in 1778.

l. 15. _The Theatrical Examiner_ for November 12, 1815, on
Kean’s Bajazet, and Mrs. Mardyn and Mrs. Alsop in _The
Country Girl_, is clearly Hazlitt’s.

257. _There is one short word_, _etc._ ‘Fudge.’ See _The Vicar of
Wakefield_, chap. xi.

258. l. 24. _The Examiner_ continues: ‘Miss Stephens has appeared
twice in _Polly_, and once in _Rosetta_. She looks better
than she did last year, and, if possible, sings better. Of
the new Farce at Drury-Lane [_Who’s Who? or The Double
Imposture_], we have only room to add, that there is one good
scene in it, in which Munden and Harley made a very grotesque
contrast, with some tolerable equivoques; all the rest is a
tissue of the most tedious and gross improbabilities. The
author’s wit appeared to have been _elicited and expended_ in
the same moment.’

_Where to Find a Friend._ By Leigh, produced at Drury Lane
November 23, 1815.

260. _Johnstone._ John Henry Johnstone (1749-1828), a member of the
Drury Lane company from 1803 to 1820. He began his career as
a singer.

‘_The milk of human kindness._’ _Macbeth_, Act I. Sc. v.

261. _Cymon._ Garrick’s play was produced in 1767.

‘_Sweet Passion of Love_,’ Act III. Sc. 2.

‘_It is silly sooth_,’ _etc._ _Twelfth Night_, Act II. Sc. 4.

‘_Now I am seventy-two._’ _Cymon_, Act II. Sc. 3.

‘_Split the ears_,’ _etc._ _Hamlet_, Act III. Sc. 2.

262. _What’s a Man of Fashion?_ ‘An indifferent farce’ (according to
Genest) by Reynolds.

263. ‘_With pleased attention_,’ _etc._ Collins, _Epistle to Sir
Thomas Hanmer_, 59-63. Collins is referring to Fletcher.

‘_Where did you rest last night?_’ _The Orphan_, Act IV. Sc. 3.

‘_A cubit from his stature._’ Cf. _St. Matthew_, vi. 27.

_The Honey-Moon._ By John Tobin (1805).

‘_He still plays the dog._’ Cf. _Henry VI._, Part III. Act V.
Sc. 6.

last line. _The Examiner_ adds: ‘Mrs. Marden [Mardyn] played
_Miss Hoyden_ on Wednesday in the admirable comedy of the
_Trip to Scarborough_. She seemed to consult her own genius
in it less than the admonitions of some critics. There was
accordingly less to find fault with, but we like her better
when she takes her full swing.

‘If to her share some trifling errors fall,
Look in her face, and you’ll forget them all.’[65]

Mr. Penley’s _Lord Foppington_ had very considerable merit.

264. _The Merchant of Bruges._ A version by Douglas Kinnaird,
Byron’s friend, of Fletcher’s comedy, _The Beggar’s Bush_.

‘_That every petty lord_,’ _etc._ For this and the other
passages quoted see _The Beggar’s Bush_, Act II. Sc. 3.

266. l. 17. In _The Examiner_ the article continued as follows: ‘The
new musical farce, _My Spouse and I_, continues to be acted
with deserved applause. It is by much the best thing brought
out this season. It has a great deal of all that is necessary
to a good farce, point, character, humour, and incident. It
was admirably supported. Harley played a lively character of
the bustling Fawcett-cast very happily. He may now stick very
comfortably in the skirts of public favour, if he does not
chuse to fling himself out of them. The only faults of this
piece are, that it is too long in the second act, and that
Miss Kelly continues somewhat too long in breeches, for the
purposes of decorum. Mr. Barnard, as a country lad, played
very well, and was deservedly encored in a song, “But not for
me the merry bells.” This piece is described by Genest as “an
indifferent musical farce by C. Dibdin, Jun.”’

_Smiles and Tears._ By Mrs. Charles Kemble (Maria Theresa De
Camp, 1774-1838), produced December 12, 1815.

268. _Lucy Lockitt._ In _The Beggar’s Opera_.

_Deaf and Dumb._ A version (1801) of Bouilly’s _Abbé de
l’Épée_.

_Father and Daughter._ Mrs. Opie’s (1769-1853) first
publication (1801).

l. 29. In _The Examiner_ Hazlitt adds: ‘Mr. Liston spoke an
indifferent epilogue inimitably well.’

_George Barnwell._ Cf. _The Round Table_, vol. I. p. 154.

‘_A custom more honoured_,’ _etc._ _Hamlet_, Act. I. Sc. 4.

269. ‘_These odds more even._’ Cf. _Measure for Measure_, Act III.
Sc. 1.

‘_A good hater._’ See Boswell’s _Life of Johnson_ (ed. G. B.
Hill), I. 190, u. 1.

‘_He is the fitter for heaven._’ _George Barnwell_, Act III.
Sc. 3.

‘_Could he lay_,’ _etc._ _Ibid._ Act IV. Sc. 1.

270. l. 10. _The Examiner_ concludes: ‘Both Pantomimes are
indifferent. That at Drury-Lane consists in endless flights
of magpies up to the ceiling, and that at Covent-Garden stays
too long in China. The latter part was better where Mr.
Grimaldi comes in, and lets off a culverin at his enemies,
and sings a serenade to his mistress in concert with
_Grimalkin_. We were glad, right glad, to see Mr. Grimaldi
again. There was (some weeks back) an ugly report that Mr.
Grimaldi was dead. We would not believe it; we did not like
to ask any one the question, but we watched the public
countenance for the intimation of an event which “would have
eclipsed the gaiety of nations.”[66] We looked at the faces
we met in the street, but there were no signs of general
sadness; no one stopped his acquaintance to say, that a man
of genius was no more. Here indeed he is again, safe and
sound, and as pleasant as ever. As without the gentleman at
St. Helena, there is an end of politics in Europe; so without
the clown at Sadler’s Wells, there must be an end of
pantomimes in this country!’

_The Busy Body._ Mrs. Centlivre’s comedy (1709).

‘_His voice_,’ _etc._ _As You Like It_, Act II. Sc. 7.

271. _Barnes._ ‘Mrs. Barnes from Exeter.’ December 29, 1815.

‘_The divine Desdemona._’ _Othello_, Act II. Sc. 1.

‘_That flows on_,’ _etc._ _Ibid._ Act III. Sc. 3.

_Zanga or Bajazet._ In Young’s _The Revenge_ and Rowe’s
_Tamerlane_ respectively.

272. ‘_Then, oh, farewell!_’ For this and the other _Othello_
quotations see _ante_, p. 189.

_A New Way to Pay Old Debts._ Sir Giles Overreach was one of
Kean’s greatest parts. See Doran’s _Annals of the English
Stage_ (ed. Lowe), III. 390-1.

_It has been considered_, _etc._ Part of this passage was
repeated in _The Round Table_. See vol. I. pp. 156-7, and
notes.

273. ‘_Two at a time_,’ _etc._ _The Beggar’s Opera_, Act III. Sc. 4.

_Edwin._ John Edwin, the elder (1749-1790), one of the great
comedians of his day.

274. ‘_His fortune swells him_,’ _etc._ _A New Way to Pay Old
Debts_, Act V. Sc. 1.

‘_Come hither, Marall_,’ _etc._ _Ibid._, Act II. Sc. 1.

‘_I’m feeble_,’ _etc._ _Ibid._

_A Midsummer Night’s Dream._ As altered by Reynolds, and
produced January 17, 1816.

_We hope we have not been_, _etc._ Hazlitt probably refers to
the concluding paragraph of one of his _Round Table_ essays.
See vol. I. p. 64.

275. ‘_Injurious Hermia_,’ _etc._ _A Midsummer Night’s Dream_, Act
III. Sc. 2.

277. ‘_Is he not moved_,’ _etc._ _A New Way to Pay Old Debts_, Act
IV. Sc. 1.

‘_Lord,—Right Honourable Lord._’ _Ibid._ Act II. Sc. 1, and Act
III. Sc. 2.

‘_Do themselves homage._’ _Othello_, Act I. Sc. 1.

‘_It came twanging off._’ _A New Way to Pay Old Debts_, Act
III. Sc. 2.

278. _Love for Love._ January 23, 1816.

_Munden’s Foresight._ Cf. _ante_, p. 71.

_Parsons._ William Parsons (1736-1795), ‘the comic Roscius.’
Foresight was one of his best parts.

‘_School’s up_,’ _etc._ An interpolation apparently.

279. ‘_A great sea-porpoise._’ ‘You great sea-calf,’ Miss Prue says
to him (Act III. Sc. 7).

‘_And pray sister_,’ _etc._ Act II. Sc. 9.

_The Anglade Family._ _Accusation, or The Family of D’Anglade_,
adapted from the French by J. H. Payne, and produced February
1, 1816.

_The Maid and the Magpye._ Cf. _ante_, p. 244.

280. note. Lavalette, after the second Bourbon restoration in 1815,
was, along with Ney, condemned to death, but escaped by
changing clothes with his wife. Cf. vol. III. p. 157 and
note.

281. _The same drama._ The Covent Garden version (February 1) was by
James Kenney.

_Mathews._ Charles Mathews (1776-1835), one of the best
comedians, and the greatest mimic of his time. Hazlitt’s
admiration of him was not enthusiastic.

_Charles Kemble._ Charles Kemble (1775-1854), the younger
brother of Mrs. Siddons and John Philip Kemble, first
appeared in London in 1794, and retired in 1840.

_Measure for Measure._ Covent Garden, February 8, 1816.

_Lectures on Dramatic Literature_, _etc._ Cf. vol. I.
(_Characters of Shakespear’s Plays_), p. 346 and note.

282. ‘_The cowl_,’ _etc._ Cf. ‘All hoods make not monks.’ _Henry
VIII._, Act III. Sc. 1.

‘_If I do lose thee_,’ _etc._ _Measure for Measure_, Act III.
Sc. 1.

283. ‘_To lie in cold obstruction_,’ _etc._ _Ibid._

‘_Careless_,’ _etc._ _Ibid._ Act IV. Sc. 2.

‘_He has been drinking hard_,’ _etc._ _Ibid._ Act IV. Sc. 3.

‘_A dish of some three-pence._’ _Ibid._ Act II. Sc. 1.

‘_There is some soul_,’ _etc._ _Henry V._, Act IV. Sc. 1.

_Society for the Suppression of Vice._ See vol. I. p. 60, and
note.

284. ‘_The enemies of the human race._’ The phrase was applied to
Buonaparte. Cf. vol. IX. p. 321.

‘_Oh fie, fie._’ _Measure for Measure_, Act III. Sc. 1.

_Vetus._ See vol. III. pp. 57 _et seq._, and notes.

‘_Marall, come hither, Marall._’ See _ante_, note to p. 274.

285. l. 35. In _The Examiner_ the article concludes: ‘_Rosina_ has
been acted at this theatre to introduce the two Miss Halfords
in the characters of _Rosina_ and _Phœbe_. They have both of
them succeeded, and equally well. If they are not a pair of
Sirens, they are very pretty singers. Miss E. Halford is the
tallest, and Miss S. Halford the fattest of the two.’

286. ‘_The mob are so pleased_,’ _etc._ _The Recruiting Officer_,