204

MARRIAGE CERTIFICATE OF MALIBRAN.

a time as possible, and for which I will wait or call again at the stage-door,

"P.S.-I Have ventured to trouble you with the perusal of my announce bill.

“A. Bunn, Esq."

If I had wanted "a mouthful" myself I hope I should not have refused the request I had such pleasure in grantingknowing and regretting, alas! that while many a brainless fellow has a snug annuity from his fund, "Poor Tom's a cold," without any fund to lean upon.

An event occurred at this time in the final result of which the feeling of all the playgoing population of the world were deeply interested. The engagement which had been some time since concluded with Madame Malibran, was within a few weeks of its beginning; and from motives best known to herself, and of very little moment to any one but the parties concerned, she entered into the ceremony of marriage with Monsieur De Beriot, in ratification of the friendship that had long existed between them. As an item of some curiosity, a copy of the annulment of her former marriage, procured in the previous March, and extracted from the judgment of the Tribunal de Premiere Instance at Paris, is subjoined: “Déclare nul et de nul effet, le mariage contracté le 23 Mars, 1826, à New York, entre Marie Felicité Garcia, née à Paris le 24 Mars, 1808, et François Eugène Louis Malibran, né à Paris le 15 Novembre, 1778, devant Charles Louis d'Espinville, Consul de France à New York, y remplissant les fonctions attribuées à l'officer public chargé de constater l'état civil des Français Autorise, en consequence, la Demoiselle Garcia à faire insérer le present jugement en marge de tous actes, de tous registres, où aurait été inscrit le dit mariage.”

The result of her double engagement, theatrical and matrimonial, will soon have to be scrutinized and recorded, in the beautiful but fatal truth laid down by the poet,

"All that's bright must fade,

The brightest, e'en the fleetest."

Overclouding of the horizon-Refusal of a good part, and acting of a bad one-Difference between pageantry and performance-The Bridal contract-Breach of promise-Reading a new piece-An actor's benefit and a manager's benefit by no means the same-Various views of degradation-" The ruling passion strong in death"-Pieces and afterpieces-Temper, and the effects of a bad one-Practice and preaching -Mr. Macready's quarrels with all his managers-No one's opinion of him equal to his own-Mr. Grattan's nose-Mr. Sergeant TalfourdMr. Macready's appearance and speech at Covent Garden-Presentation of lon-Talfourd's law a libel-Difference of attraction between Malibran and Macready as great as between their talents-Talfourd's ideas of himself and his tragedies.

THE spirit of dissatisfaction had overclouded the goodly fellowship existing for many years between Mr. Macready and myself the greater part of this season. It began to manifest itself with the unprecedented success of the Jewess, (the leading character in which he had refused to play,) which was a source of not altogether unnatural annoyance to a performer, the public appreciation of whom did not keep pace with his own ambition. The total absence of all attraction in any pieces he played in, and the unequalled attraction of the one he had decined playing in, were matters of galling reflection. But a calm survey of the case ought to have convinced him, as I am sure it will every considerate mind, that no blame herein could by possibility be fixed on the management. Talk what you please, and write more than has ever yet been written, there are no means of maintaining the argument, that a manager can control the public taste. He may try to direct it, but it will return at last to its own natural tendency. That Mr. Macready is a man of considerable abilities is unquestionable; but (and I deliver my opinion without any feeling of acrimony arising from our altered position) that he is not an eminent Shaksperian actor, is equally unquestionable. His order of acting belongs to another school, nor will the public at large ever be made to think to the contrary, despite the profound eulogy of a few foolish parasites. The power vested in him by virtue of his recent station as a manager has not been able to substantiate VOL. I.-18.

206

"THE BRIDAL CONTRACT."

this aim of his professional existence, for the false credit attached to his production of some of the great bard's plays, betrayed the truth it was intended they should illustrate in a different manner. Coriolanus was prepared with elaborate care; but while thousands formerly flocked to see the late Mr. Kemble in that play, without such advantageous preparation, very few hundreds came to see Mr. Macready, though surrounded by all the glories of stage accomplishment. A perseverance in the representation of such dramas as were best suited to his feelings and his pride, would be fatal to any manager; and my own impression is, that Mr. Macready would have continued one, had he found it otherwise.

The uninterrupted "run" of the Jewess, and the opera it was played in conjunction with, naturally debarred from any participation in the nightly favour of the public those performers not included in the representation of either; and, as I have before observed, this extended to a period of thirteen weeks. I can understand that it must be annoying, especially to an irritable man, to see one-third of a season occupied with performances in which he does not assist, and which without such assistance are still highly attractive; and at the same time to know that all the pieces in which he did perform, possessed no attraction whatever. It was, beyond a doubt, a sore point, but not one of my establishing; for had Mr. Macready accepted the fine part of Eleazar, the complaint could not have been preferred. It will be recollected, in this person's* articles of engagement there is an express stipulation, that Beaumont and Fletcher's tragedy of the Bridal should be produced "immediately after Christmas," for the performance of which Mr. Macready, as the adapter, or in part arranger, was to receive 331. 6s. 8d. per night for the first nine nights, and 1007. more on the twentieth; a sum, I should imagine, about four or five times more than the great poets who wrote the tragady ever made by it. But let that pass. The cause of the marked expression "immediatly after Christmas," though as well known to all other practised stagers as to the one who made the stipulation, may not appear manifest to a novice; and it is as well therefore to state, that by playing a piece supported by the pantomime, (which would be sure to keep the people out of the house, without that support,) not only would "the twentieth night" be reached, and the sum of 400l. be realized, but the popularity of the actor would be maintained. Mr. Macready

* Those who are disposed to think this expression is a contumelious mode of defining one moving in the society of gentlemen, are referred to Mr. Macready's preface to the tragedy of the Bridal.

MR. MACREADY'S BENEFIT.

207

has, in the preface alluded to, stated that this agreement was not fulfilled-I will say wHY. I felt as assured as a man can feel of any thing, that if the performance of the Jewess were suspended, the fate of the season would be sealed; and that I should, in that case, be prevented altogether producing the play; whereas, by a slight delay until the fever for seeing that popular novelty had partially subsided, I should be enabled to do it every justice. On Mr. Macready's demanding the production of the Bridal, and consequent suspension of the Jewess, this state of things was pointed out to him, but he seemed disposed to have his "pound of flesh." It was subsequently “read”* towards the end of January, but afterwards withdrawn by Mr. Macready, to make way for The Provost of Bruges. That the precise agreement was not fulfilled, from the justifiable circumstance mentioned, is true enough; but as "immediately after Christmas" would imply the first week in January, and the Bridal was read the 26th of that month, the breach was not a very flagrant one. Although the occurrence excited a certain degree of ill blood, it subsided, and things went on tolerably smooth until the period of Easter arrived, when the receipts of the theatre had, as they then invariably do, fallen very seriously; and to prop them up as much as possible, every variety of entertainment was resorted to.

The national theatres of this country are not, like those of the continent, supported by government-they are matters of private speculation; and although a manager must defer as much as possible to public opinion and taste, he should do it in a manner most calculated to repay such speculation. Having had so many seasons to provide amusement for, at least, two hundred nights in each, I have frequently turned my attention to that kind of entertainment an actor provides on the only night of a season when his ingenuity is so taxed, viz. HIS BENEFIT NIGHT; and I did so at the present time. On the 25th of January, this year, 1836-(nothing like being particular)-Mr. Macready performed, for his own benefit at Bristol, in one act of Shakspeare's Second Part of Henry Fourth, and after the introduction of some trifling intermediate matter, in Knowles's play of William Tell as the afterpiece. In addition to my impression that what Mr. Macready had selected for his own advantage was likely to be conducive to mine, I knew that I should

* A stranger to the stage should know, that "reading" a piece in the green-room, previous to its production, was a plan originally adopted for the purpose of possessing every performer engaged in it of the general character of such piece: but "reading" one, now-a-days, affords an opportunity, seized upon by those performers, to decline the parts allotted to them, if they find that better ones are allotted to others.

thus be enabled to give this very play (then representing at the opposite house for 48. to the boxes) for 3s. 6d., by placing it as the second piece, instead of the first.

This order of things was by no means uncommon, for most of the plays Mr. Macready this year played in, were supported by the full Operas of Gustavus the Third, the Bronze Horse. the Corsair, Fra Diavolo, Der Freischutz, Masaniello, &c. &c. The point of degradation, therefore, which was attempted to be set up was "sheer nonsense"-it could be no more degrading to Mr. Macready to play after Mr. H Phillips, Mr. Templeton, Miss Shirreff and others, than it could be for them to play after Mr. Macready. Mr. Macready had, moreover, for his own benefit in this very theatre, in 1825, played in Rob Roy* (a part, it will be remembered, he now stipulated not to play) AFTER Henry Fifth, and for his benefit in 1834, the full opera of the Lord of the Manor was played after his attempt at the personation of King Lear. Put precedent upon precedent of such arrangement could be furnished, if necessary; and knowing that, it never entered my head, in announcing William Tell as the last piece-so recently performed by him as such that any objection would arise. Nothing, however, would induce Mr. Macready to perform the character in the situation announced, unless my stage manager undertook, in my absence, that he should never be called on to do a similar thing; which undertaking, to preserve peace and quiet, Mr. Cooper gave, and which determination Mr. Macready persevered in, although her Majesty expressed a wish for the Second Part of Shakspeare's Henry Fourth to be the second piece, on the occasion of her visit

*Elliston gave me a most humorous illustration of "THE RULING PASSION STRONG IN DEATH" with regard to this part, than I ever before laughed at. Macready was at one time alarmingly ill-indeed so ill, that the most serious consequences were anticipated, and the most desponding steps taken, such as the administration of the sacrament &c. Elliston called to see him, and was admitted into the chamber of the sick tragedian, who faintly implied a belief in his approaching dissolution. Elliston expressed a strong hope of his recovery; and, with deep regret at his prostration, an offer of his services, and a strong injunction to the family that he should be kept perfectly quiet, glided on tiptoe out of the apartment. He had not reached the bottom of the staircase, when a voice, in an audible whisper, reached his ears, saying, "Mr. Elliston, Mr. Elliston step up for one moment, Mr. Macready wishes to speak to you." He as. cended softly, and approached the bed of the dying man, in the conviction that some posthumous attention was about to be required at his hands. After Elliston had addressed him in the calmest and most soothing manner, he gave a slight indication of temporary relief, and then in broken accents he thus languidly delivered himself: "El-list -on,-do-you think that Rob Roy, re-duced to-two-acts, would be-a good-afterpiece-for-my-benefit ?"