A ROYAL RECOGNITION.

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hear you." When the Prince and Princess of Wales paid their first visit to the theatre after their marriage, he rose with the rest of the audience upon their entrance. The Prince singled him out and bowed to him, and the Princess did the same, to the old man's intense delight, and for days he could talk of nothing else. Gradually he sank into a state of imbecility, and at times laboured under the delusion that everybody, especially his servants, was wronging him. More than once he hurried off to Bow Street to appeal to the magistrates against them; but ere he was at the end of the story, his mind became a blank, and he had to be led home.

It was now discovered that what with his love of roving and of litigation, his circumstances were in a very poor condition. Upon which Arthur Murphy suggested that his two best comedies, "Love à la Mode," and "The Man of the World," should be published by subscription. The proposition was eagerly taken up, and £1582 were realised, with which an annuity of £200 was bought for himself, and another of £70 for his wife. He wrote the dedication to Lord Camden himself; it is long and lucid in expression, showing very little sign of failing brain power. He lived until 1797. He was then, according to the computation I have chosen to adopt, one hundred and eight years old; but even taking the latest date assigned for his birth,

he was close upon one hundred.* He was buried in St. Paul's Covent Garden.

I cannot close this article without one more characteristic anecdote of the man whose story I have been telling. He could never endure, no matter into what society he was thrown, to be considered inferior in knowledge and education to others. One evening he was invited to sup with some scientific men. As may be imagined, Macklin knew but little of such topics as they were likely to be strong in; but he was resolved to hold his own by getting up a subject for the occasion. He took the first book that came to hand-it was a Treatise upon Gunpowder. The question was, however, how to lead the conversation to such an out-of-the-way subject. But he was equal to the difficulty. Just as the talk was flagging, he suddenly jumped up exclaiming, "Was not that a gun fired ?" Everybody answered that they had not heard anything. Yes, there it is again," he cried, "some accident has happened." The waiters and landlord were summoned, and, it need scarcely be said, protested that no firearms had been discharged. "Very well," said Macklin, after sending them "but although my away; hearing has deceived me, the properties of gunpowder are in many respects of a singular nature." And so went on to disgorge his cram.

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*See Appendix C.

CHAPTER IV.

SOME FAMOUS TRAGEDIANS OF THE GARRICK PERIOD.

Spranger Barry-His Great "Points"-His Sensibility-His Great Success-His Splendid Style of Living-Failing Health-A Picture of him in his Latter Days-Mossop-A Picture of his Acting-His Hapless Fate-Anecdotes of his Pomposity and Impecuniosity-Reddish-A Wonderful Instance of the Association of Ideas-Ross-The Moral Influence of the StageDavies-John Henderson-His Falstaff-How Johnny Gilpin first became the Rage- Henderson's Powers as an Actor-His Death and Burial.

G

ARRICK'S most famous rival in tragedy was Spranger Barry; but I have already given a sufficient account of their great artistic contests to render more than a brief notice of him superfluous. The excellences of the two actors were so distinct, that in reality there were no grounds for comparison. With a splendid physique, a handsome face, and a voice so melodious that he was called "silver-tongued;" Barry was the most irresistible of stage lovers, and in tenderness and majesty was as incomparable as Garrick was in the grand and conflicting passions of humanity.

The one was as great in the heroes of comedy
as the other was in such characters as Abel
Drugger and Sir John Brute.
Davies says

Cibber preferred Barry's Othello even to
Betterton's and Booth's, and was seen loudly
applauding it in the boxes-a most
most unusual
thing for the old cynic to do. So terrible was
Barry in the jealous scene, that his utterance
of the line "I'll tear her all to pieces," would
make the ladies shriek with terror; and Bernard
says in his "Recollections" he could not sleep all
night after witnessing this performance; while his
No, not much moved!" was equally fine in
its heart-rending pathos. In the apology to the
Senate he was so tender, so insinuating, that
when the Duke said, "I think this tale would
win my daughter too," there was a round of
applause, as though the whole house echoed the
sentiment. In "The Earl of Essex," when, upon
being taken prisoner, he pointed to his Countess
lying fainting upon the ground and exclaimed,

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Oh, look there!" the critics in the pit burst into tears, and then shook the theatre with unbounded applause and huzzahs. He felt his parts so exquisitely that his powers of expression were frequently weakened in consequence, while Garrick, when producing his most terrible effects in "Lear," could in a pause thrust his tongue into his cheek and utter a jest. Such sensibility in

SPRANGER BARRY.

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actors, however, athough it may heighten the effect at times, rather embarrasses than assists them upon the whole, since it weakens the power of the judgment, and that perfect mastery over the workings of the passions, the first essentials of great acting. The most indifferent actresses will at times shed real tears in pathetic situations and fail to move an audience, while others, dryeyed and unaffected, will by the mere perfection of art melt the very souls of the spectators.

Barry was born in Dublin in 1719, and brought up to the business of a silversmith. His first appearance upon the stage was at the Smock Alley Theatre, Dublin, as Othello in 1743. Like his great English rival, he met with immediate success. Such glowing accounts of his abilities were brought across the Channel-by Garrick for one, who pronounced him the most exquisite stage lover he had ever seen-that on Macklin's introduction, Lacy engaged him for Drury Lane, where he made his début on 4th of October, 1746, as Othello. London was enchanted, and crowds rushed to see the new actor in the Moor, Lord Townley, Macbeth, &c.

Well-connected, and a gentleman in private life, he was received in the best society and visited by the greatest people. He was called the Mark Antony of the stage, from his gay and splendid style of living. He gave entertainments to his