KATE TERRY
Now that Ellen Terry has for a time said good-bye to the stage that so
sorely missed her, I may pause to glance at the brilliant career of her
elder sister Kate, who had been, as we have seen, the constant comrade
of her 'prentice days. Apart from her conspicuous successes in the
youthful Shakespearean characters at the Princess's, she had, before her
engagement at that house came to an end, made a profound impression by
the purity and pathos of her acting as Cordelia (she was a very young
Cordelia) to the King Lear of Charles Kean. This was in the April of
1858. Even at that early age she had, as the saying goes, "arrived," and
would no doubt have been promptly secured by any of the then existing
London managers. But, wise in his generation, and conscious of his
daughter's conspicuous talents, her father decided that she must have
more practice before taking that place on the boards to which she should
become entitled.
It is interesting to show here one of the Charles Kean play-bills in
which Kate Terry figured. To-day it reads curiously as the programme of
a fashionable West End theatre.
PRINCESS'S THEATRE,
OXFORD STREET.
Under the Management of
Mr CHARLES KEAN,
No. 3 Torrington Square.
_This Evening, Saturday, January 3rd, 1852_,
Will be presented Colman's play of the
IRON CHEST
Sir Edward Mortimer Mr Charles Kean
Captain Fitzharding Mr Addison
Wilford Mr J. F. Cathcart
Adam Winterton Mr Meadows
Rawbold Mr Ryder
Samson Mr Harley
Orson Mr C. Fisher
Gregory Mr Rolleston
Helen Miss Frankland
Blanch Miss Murray
Barbara Miss Mary Keeley
After which (8th Time), a Grand Operatico, Tragico, Serio-Pastoralic,
Nautico, Demoniaco, Cabalistico,
ORIGINAL CHRISTMAS PANTOMIME, entitled,
HARLEQUIN
BILLY TAYLOR
OR
THE FLYING DUTCHMAN
AND THE
KING OF RARITONGO
"Billy Taylor was a gay young fellow
Full of mirth and full of glee,
And his mind he did diskiver
To a maiden fair and free."
Scenery by Messrs Gordon, F. Lloyds, Dayes, etc.
Decorations & Properties by Mr Moon.
Dances arranged by Mr Flexmore.
Machinery by Mr G. Hodson.
Costumes by Mr Sefton and Miss Hoggins.
Overture & Music composed & arranged by Mr R. Hughes.
_The Pantomime by the brothers Sala and Mr George Ellis, by whom
it has been produced._
BILLY TAYLOR (the "gay young fellow"--first Mr F. Cooke
Schneider of his day & Knight afterwards
of the Shears--frequently hot Harlequin,
pressing, then pressed himself) Mr Cormack.
ADMIRAL SIR LEE (FIELD MARSHAL OF THE HORSE-MARINES AFTERWARDS
SCUPPER BLUE & TESTAMENTARY GUARDIAN PANTALOON,
BLAZES of the Buoy at the Nore, Mr Paulo.
hoisting his flag on board the
_Thundererbomb_, 999 Guns)
CALIMANCO the (King of Raritongo, the largest Mr Rolleston.
xxxiiird of the Cannibal Islands--a
slightly cracked sovereign, who, Mr Flexmore.
wishing for change, is transformed
into Clown.
VANDERDECKEN (The Flying Dutchman, a decided Mr Collis.
Voltigeur in pursuit of
his prey)
QUASHYHUBABOO (Prime Minister of Raritongo--Original Mr Edmonds.
"Bones" but rather
fleshy in appearance)
MASTER REEFER (MIDSHIPMAN AND POWDER MONKEY MR LLOYD.
RATTLIN in Ordinary on board the
_Thundererbomb_)
BACCYCHAW PIPES (Boatswain of the "gallant Mr J. Collins.
_Thundererbomb_," ever ready
with a quid for a quo)
HORROSAMBO (Aide-de-Camp & Black Stick in Mr Stoakes.
waiting to King of Raritongo)
SIGNOR (First Violin Extraordinary at Mr F. Hartland.
SIVORIENSTSAINTON the Nobility's Concerts)
BOTTESERINI
The PRINCESS (King of Raritongo's daughter, Mr Stacey.
SACCASUTTAKONKA black, sweet and beautiful)
PAULINA DI PANTO (popularly known as Pretty Poll Mr Daley.
of Portsmouth Point, sojourning
pro tem. in Tooley St.,--young, afterwards
lovely, & attached to Billy Miss Carlotta
Taylor--afterwards Columbine) Leclercq.
BRITANNIA (Tutelary Genius of "Old Albion" Miss Kate
continually ruling the Terry.
waves)
THE FAIRY (very well re(a)d in all branches, Miss Vivash.
CORALIA particularly in corollaries)
THE FAIRY (kept very close but determined Miss Desborough.
NAUTILA to shell out & be a naughty-lass
no more)
DATE--ONCE UPON A TIME
SCENE--NO WHERE PARTICULAR.
_Coral Grottoes of the Genii of the Ocean._
Affectionate meeting of Coralia and Nautila--Various propositions for a
"Fast" Fairy Spree, interrupted by the unexpected appearance of--
_Britannia enthroned on one of her "wooden walls."_
And attended by her trusty guard of Blue Jackets--Anger of Ocean
Queen--Billy Taylor's destiny determined on, and hasty summons of
dreaded Vanderdecken--Britannia issues her mandate, and Vanderdecken
proceeds to seize the luckless Taylor of Tooley Street.
_ROCKY PANORAMA OF INTERMINABLE GLOOM._
MONARCH MART OF FASHION
Otherwise _Billy Taylor's shop in Tooley Street_.
"Four and twenty tailors all of a row" (vide Old Song).
Entrance of the fascinating Paulina di Panto Portsmoutho.
"The course of true love never did run smooth." Preparations for the
Nuptials, interrupted by press-ure from without.
"Four and twenty stout young fellows,
Clad they were in blue array,
Came and pressed poor Billy Taylor,
And straightway took him off to sea."
TERRIFIC AND SANGUINARY COMBAT
Between Billy Taylor and the Bold British Boatswain. Billy
hors-de-combat.
"Soon his true love followed arter,
Under the name of Richard Carr;
And her lily-white hands were daubed all over,
With the nasty pitch and tar."
_QUARTER-DECK OF THE "GALLANT THUNDERERBOMB."_
Quarter-deck festivities, of which Paulina (disguised as Richard Carr)
partakes.
GRAND NAUTICAL DOUBLE SHUFFLE GROG & BACCY HORNPIPE BY ALL THE
CHARACTERS.
"The _Flying Dutchman_ on the weather-bow"--Decks cleared for
action--Bombarding, Boarding and General Blow-up!--and "Off we go to
Turkey."
_OEIL DE BOEUF IN KING CALIMANCO'S PALACE_
A Black King in a bad way--Glorious news--The White Man's come--Lombardy
and Raritongo united.
_JAMSETTJEEJEESETYERJIBBAHOY_. THE MARINE RESIDENCE of his MAJESTY OF
RARITONGO.
Sea Coast in the Distance.
Billy cast ashore on the Island--Proposition for the hand of Princess--A
crown of independence or a hard crust--and Portsmouth hard; the Crown
wins--A Revolving Denouement:
"When the Captain come for to hear on it,
He werry much applauded what she'd done;
And he quickly made her first lieutenant
Of the gallant _Thundererbomb_."
_REGAL AND FLORAL OVATION TO BRITANNIA._
MAGICAL METAMORPHOSIS.
Harlequin, Mr Cormack. Pantaloon, Mr Paulo.
Clown, Mr Flexmore. Columbine, Miss C. Leclerq.
_EXTERIOR OF THE PUNCH OFFICE AND PICTURE FRAME MAKER'S SHOP._
How to take a portrait--Drawing taught in one Lesson.
Light weights _v._ heavy weights--What d'ye take?--Port or sherry?--"A
Blot in the Scutcheon"--A "Punch" for Two--Polkamania Extraordinary, and
off we go to
_A MODEL FARM YARD._
How should you like some apples?--The real unmistakable Cat's-head
Codlin--Here's the Farmer--"An old man found a rude boy in one of his
trees stealing apples" (vide Dr Dilworth) etc. etc. A headless
tale--Eggs, and Young ones--Mr Cantelo outdone--Fowl robberies and foul
blows--When is a horse not a horse?--When it's a Mare--That Mare's a
hunter--No, that hunter's a Mayor--The Clown's introduction to the City
Dignitaries--Stocks is down.
_BRAHAM'S LOCK MANUFACTORY_
AND GENERAL OUTFITTER'S WAREHOUSE
MYRIOTERPSICHOREORAMA.
The meaning of which Mr Flexmore will take steps to explain.
Tables and stools in any given quantity--Prize dahlias & new blooms.
EXTERIOR OF THE COMFORTABLE CATCH'EM & KEEP'EM HOTEL
Here's the Policeman--"Hullo! what are you doing here?"
Love in the Kitchen _versus_ Cupboard Love.
PAS DE PARAPLUIE, by Mr Flexmore.
BIRD'S-EYE VIEW OF _LONDON BY MOONLIGHT_
We haven't "got home" till morning; Don't, please don't--I'm so
sleepy--Why, the sheets are damp--Never mind, the warming-pan's
hot--"Music hath charms to soothe the savage breast." Yes, but not after
two in the morning when you want to go to sleep, and have the
tic-toorallo--"The Light of other days is Faded"--A Squall from Don
Pasquale--Come gentil, anything but genteel--Mol-row! Mol-row! Puss!
Puss! Puss!--Bang! Fire!--Affairs take a rapid turn--Hush! Let's go to
bed! What a smell of fire! Smoke! fire! blazes! firemen! policemen! old
men! young men! boys! kids! row! rattles! riot! rumpus & revolution.
_INTERIOR OF A CONFECTIONER'S SHOP._
Love & Pastry--Send for a policeman--When 'em waters I sees, an' I
screems--Below zero--Up to fever heat.
A Christmas Polka Cake and a Trifle for Children, Old & Young.
_THE FLORAL REALMS OF LIGHT_
_THE NEW PANTOMIME_ Every Evening.
MONDAY . . THE MERRY WIVES OF WINDSOR.
TUESDAY . . THE IRON CHEST AND BETSY BAKER.
WEDNESDAY . . HAMLET.
THURSDAY . . THE MERRY WIVES OF WINDSOR.
Acting Manager, Mr Emden.
Musical Director, Mr R. Hughes.
Stage Manager, Mr G. Ellis.
Ballet Master, Mr Flexmore.
Dress Circle 5/. Boxes 4/. Pit 2/. Gallery 1/.
Second price: Dress Circle 2/6. Boxes 2/. Pit 1/. Gallery 6d.
Orchestra stalls 6/, which may be retained entire evening.
Private Boxes £2. 12s. 6d.; £2. 2s. 0d.; & £1. 11s. 6d.
Box Office open from 11 to 5 o'clock. Doors open at 6.30.
Performance to commence at 7.0. Half price will commence as near 9.0 as
is consistent with the non-interruption of the performance. Gallery door
in Castle Street. Children in arms cannot possibly be admitted. Private
boxes & stalls may be obtained at the libraries; & of Mr Massingham at
Box Office of the Theatre, Oxford St., where places for Dress Circle and
Boxes may be secured.
Applications respecting the bills to be addressed to Mr Treadaway, Stage
Door.
_VIVANT REGINA ET PRINCEPS._
* * * * *
The result of her father's wise policy was that Kate Terry was fully
equipped when, in 1860, she commenced her engagement at the St. James's
Theatre, under the management of Mr. Alfred Wigan, whose company
included Miss Herbert (who soon became the manageress of the house),
Mrs. Alfred Wigan, Miss Nelly Moore, Mr. Terry, Mr. Dewar, and Mr.
Emery. Young, beautiful, gifted, well practised in the art that she
evidently loved, Kate Terry was well calculated to secure the praise of
the critics and the heart of the public. At first the characters
entrusted to her were comparatively small, but she industriously tended
the firmly planted sapling that was destined to grow, flourish, and
yield glorious as well as abundant fruit.
Even the greatest of histrionic geniuses have to wait for their chances,
and Kate Terry's first real opportunity did not come until 1862.
A version, by Mr. Horace Wigan, of Victorien Sardou's fine comedy, "Nos
Intimes," entitled "Friends or Foes," was in course of presentation, and
Miss Herbert's company then included the honoured names of George
Vining, Frank and Mrs. Frank Mathews, W. H. Stephens, and F. Charles.
This play has been made familiar to later and present-day playgoers as
"Peril," the clever adaptation by Clement Scott and B. C. Stephenson,
which seems likely to hold the stage for many a long year to come. It
proved one of the trump cards of the Bancrofts at the old Prince of
Wales's Theatre, and its subsequent revivals have always been attended
by success. The Lady Ormonde of "Friends or Foes" was, of course, played
by Miss Herbert, and Kate Terry had to content herself with quite a
minor part; but she was the conscientious understudy of her manageress,
and, when that delightful artiste suddenly fell ill, the burden of the
piece--at a moment's notice--had to be borne upon the shoulders of the
younger actress.
Her triumph was instantaneous and complete. Bravely, and with consummate
skill, she went through her trying ordeal, and when the curtain fell it
was evident that her permanent popularity on the London stage was
secure.
It is ridiculous to depend upon that "will-o'-the-wisp" called "luck";
but there is no doubt that if we are ready for it, and promptly avail
ourselves of it, _chance_ will sometimes do us a good turn.
But no one can afford to neglect the truth of the old warning reminding
us that opportunities are very sensitive things, and that if you slight
them on their first visit you seldom see them again. Of that memorable
performance at the St. James's, Clement Scott says:--
"On that never-to-be-forgotten night this young girl, Kate Terry, made
an astounding success. Her name was scarcely known; no one knew that we
had amongst us a young actress of so much beauty, talent, and, what was
more wonderful still, true dramatic power, for the temptation scene
wants acting, and not the kind of trifling that we see in these modern
and amateurish days."
The next morning, Tom Taylor in the _Times_ let himself go, and blew the
trumpet in praise of the new actress, Kate Terry. Her fame was made
from that minute. She never turned back.
Quickly she became the stage divinity of her day, and she remained the
idol of London playgoers until, on her early marriage, she retired into
private life. Those who saw her will never forget either her personal
charm or the perfection of her art, and they will, I think, like to take
a glimpse with me into a cherished past. We are told that times of
special happiness should be regarded as a sort of reserve fund, to be
drawn upon in dark or cloudy days, and the evenings of long ago, when we
delighted in the acting of Kate Terry, were times of exceeding
happiness. The little world of the theatre in which we have revelled is
still open to us, and it is always pleasant to turn over the brightest
pages of its history.
Many of us know how old fox-hunters are never so happy as when they are
recalling the glorious "runs" of the past. How they met at Quinton Cross
Roads; found "one of the right sort" in Bamkin's Gorse; ran him at a
rattling pace over Lickford Common; had a check in Bowler's Wood; lost
him in Messer's Osier Beds; found him again, and followed him over that
dangerous water jump, Priddis Brook, low lying, as it broadly flows
between thick quick-set hedges; and finally ran him to earth in Linnecor
Coppice.
So are old playgoers supremely content when with congenial souls they
discuss the famous and favourite actors and actresses they have seen and
admired in bygone days. So they will follow them from their initial
efforts in the provinces, through their series of triumphs in this or
that London theatre. To such theatrical enthusiasts as these their
collections of old play-bills are as precious and replete with
pleasurable reminiscences as are the "pads" of many defunct reynards
nailed to the stable doors of the fox-hunter.
At about the time when Kate Terry made her unmistakable mark at the St.
James's, Charles Albert Fechter was the actor-hero of the hour.
He came to fulfil his trying ordeal in London with great credentials.
Charles Dickens had described seeing him first, quite by accident, in
Paris, having strolled in to a little theatre there one night. "He was
making love to a woman," Dickens wrote, "and he so elevated her as well
as himself by the sentiment in which he enveloped her, that they trod in
a purer ether, and in another sphere, quite lifted out of the present.
'By heavens!' I said to myself, 'a man who can do this can do anything.
I never saw two people more purely and instantly elevated by the power
of love. The man has genius in him which is unmistakable.'"
[Illustration: _Photograph by_] [_London Stereoscopic Co._
KATE TERRY.
_Taken when she was acting with Fechter at the Lyceum, and won the
admiration of Charles Dickens._
[_To face page 102._]
In due course Fechter, having made his triumph on English boards, became
the manager of the Lyceum Theatre. It was a great undertaking for a
French actor, for he had to contend against the conservatism of not
only our audiences, but of English actors and critics. That he was the
best "love-maker" our stage had seen was readily admitted, and the
fascination of his love-scenes was certain to be an attraction. But no
actor can make the success of a love-scene unless he is assisted by a
perfectly accomplished and responsive actress. Who was to be the heroine
of Fechter's reign at the Lyceum? She was found in Kate Terry, and she
right worthily shared in his notable victories.
One of the earliest productions was the first English version of the
French play that (in spite of many other and differently named versions)
has been made familiar to us as "The Duke's Motto." In this Kate Terry
appeared as Blanche de Nevers, and in speaking of the impersonation
Charles Dickens, who, for the sake of his friend Fechter, was inclined
to be very critical, said that it was "perfectly charming,"--"the very
best piece of womanly tenderness he had ever seen on the stage."
No doubt Kate Terry contributed largely to Fechter's Lyceum successes.
She could not only act, but she so threw herself into her characters
that she could _listen_ to those who acted with her, and let her
audiences not only see, but believe that she was listening with all her
heart and soul. The exercise of this rarely displayed histrionic gift
was invaluable in the beautiful love-scenes of Fechter.
But in her girlish days Kate Terry had shown that she understood the
value of action on the stage, and knew that when deftly handled it could
make an even deeper impression than words.
Speaking of Charles Kean's great production of "Henry the Fifth" at the
Princess's in 1859 the notoriously keen critic of the _Athenæum_
said:--"The union of England and France in one kingdom is the ambitious
sentiment of the play, and the heroism of the English character the
spirit that pervades the scenes. This is exemplified in the small as
well as the great incidents, and in none, in acting, did it come out
more significantly than in the little part of the boy belonging to the
Pistol group of characters at the end of the first act. Miss Kate Terry,
as the impersonator of the brave youth, in the heroic and pleasing
attitude with which he listened to the sound of the drum, and the
measured march with which he followed delightedly the spirit-stirring
music, showed us at once the sympathetic gallantry of the English lad
going to the wars. There was in it an intelligible indication of the
wonderful daring by which the battle of Agincourt was won. To men who
were once such lads as he nothing was impossible. The trait was well
brought out; and that little bit of acting, in regard to its
completeness, was the gem of the performance."
And so Kate Terry shared in Fechter's Lyceum conquests, and in "Bel
Demonio, a Love Story," adapted by John Brougham from the French drama
"L'Abbaye de Castro," she played Lena to his Angelo. A little later she
was the "pretty Ophelia" to the much discussed Hamlet of Fechter, and
again honours were divided.
How critics differed concerning the new Hamlet!
Writing long after the glamour of the impersonation has passed away,
Clement Scott has told us how Hamlet was represented "in a new way, in a
fresh style, with carefully considered new business; with a sweetly
pathetic face showing 'the fruitful river of the eye,' and in a long
flaxen Danish wig.
"'A Frenchman play Hamlet!'" he says. "There was a yell of execration in
the camp of the old school of playgoers, and the feathers began to fly.
Hamlet in a fair wig indeed! Hamlet in broken English! Oh! you should
have heard the shouts of indignation, the babble of prejudice! The
upholders of the mouthing, moaning, gurgling Hamlets--the Hamlets who
obeyed every precept in his advice to the players, and 'imitated nature
so abominably,' the Hamlets who strutted and stormed--held indignation
meetings at their clubs, and metaphorically threw their 'scratch wigs'
into the air with rage and indignation.
"I, of course, became the easiest convert to the new Fechter school, and
elected to serve under his brilliant banner. In fact, I will candidly
own that I never quite understood Hamlet until I saw Fechter play the
Prince of Denmark. Phelps and Charles Kean impressed me with the play;
but with Fechter I loved the play, and was charmed as well as
fascinated by the player."
I am among the many who yielded to that charm, and wish that the
delightful experience of seeing Fechter's Hamlet and Kate Terry's
Ophelia might be repeated.
When, early in 1870, Fechter left England for America, Charles Dickens
contributed to the _Atlantic Monthly_ an article in his praise. "I
cannot," said the great novelist, "wish my friend a better audience than
he will find in the American people, and I cannot wish them a better
actor than they will find in my friend." Charles Dickens, it will be
remembered, was one of the keenest of all dramatic critics.
His admiration for Fechter's much discussed rendering of Hamlet is
expressed in the following words:--
"Perhaps no innovation in art was ever accepted with so much favour by
so many intelligent persons, pre-committed to, and pre-occupied by,
another system, as Fechter's Hamlet. I take this to have been the case
(as it unquestionably was in London), not because of its
picturesqueness, not because of its novelty, not because of its many
scattered beauties, but because of its perfect consistency with itself.
Its great and satisfying originality was in its possessing the merit of
a distinctly conceived and executed idea. Fechter's Hamlet, a pale
woe-begone Norseman, with long flaxen hair, wearing a strange garb,
never associated with the part upon the English stage (if ever seen
there at all), and making a piratical sweep upon the whole fleet of
little theatrical prescriptions without meaning, or like Dr. Johnson's
celebrated friend, with only one idea in them, and that a wrong one,
never could have achieved its extraordinary success but for its
animation by one pervading purpose, to which all changes were made
intelligently "sub-servient."
And yet of Fechter's Hamlet in America, William Winter, that greatest
and most deservedly honoured of transatlantic critics and authorities on
things theatrical, has said:--
"About 1861 Charles Fechter appeared upon the English stage and gave an
extraordinary performance of Hamlet. It subsequently (1869-70) reached
America. It was 'the rage' on both sides of the sea. In a technical
sense it was a performance of ability, but it was chiefly remarkable for
light hair and bad English. Fanny Kemble tells a story of a lady who, at
a dinner in London, was asked by a neighbouring guest whether she had
seen Mr. Fechter as Hamlet. 'No,' she said, 'I have not; and I think I
should not care to hear the English blank verse spoken by a foreigner.'
The inquirer gazed meditatively upon his plate for some time, and then
said, 'But, Hamlet _was_ a foreigner, wasn't he?'
"That is the gist of the whole matter. We were to have the manner of
'nature' in blank verse. We were to have Hamlet in light hair, because
Danes are sometimes blonde. We were to have the great soliloquy on life
and death omitted, because it stops the action of the play.[1] We were
to have the blank verse turned into a foreigner's English prose. We were
to have Hamlet crossing his legs upon the gravestone, as if he were Sir
Charles Coldstream; and this was to be 'nature.' Mr. Fechter's plan may
have been finely executed, but it was radically wrong, and it could not
be rightly accepted. Some courage was required to oppose it, because Mr.
Fechter had come to us (to me among others) personally commended by no
less a man than the great Charles Dickens."
But if critics differed with regard to the merits of Fechter's Hamlet,
there was a perfect chorus of praise for the exquisitely portrayed
Ophelia of Kate Terry. It is interesting to note that this victory was
won on the same stage on which, in the same part, Ellen Terry was to
commence her stage history-making engagement with Henry Irving.
When Fechter's brief reign at the Lyceum came to an end, Kate Terry went
to support Henry Neville at the Olympic Theatre. This admirable actor
was then at the height of his still well sustained popularity.
Handsome, graceful, endowed with a beautiful voice, and a master of his
art, Henry Neville was an ideal hero of romance, and though to-day he
elects to play quieter parts, and to delight his audiences with his rich
appreciation of comedy, he looks as young and dashing as he did in the
days of 1864.
Kate Terry's first appearance at the little Wych Street playhouse was in
a piece entitled "The Hidden Hand," an adaptation by Tom Taylor, from
the French drama by MM. D'Ennery and Edmond, called "L'Aieule." She and
Henry Neville distinguished themselves in the characters of Lord and
Lady Penarvon, and the company included Miss Louisa Moore, Miss Lydia
Foote, Miss Nelly Farren, and Charles Coghlan. Later came Sterling
Coyne's comedy called "Everybody's Friend," which, under the title of
"The Widow Hunt," was destined in later years to be made famous by that
admirable American comedian, John Sleeper Clarke. Who, having seen it,
will ever forget the delicious drollery of his Major Wellington de
Boots? The Major of the Olympic days was Mr. Walcot, who, although
announced as an American actor, was an Englishman by birth. Kate Terry
was the Mrs. Swansdown, Henry Neville the Felix Featherley, and Mrs.
Leigh Murray Mrs. Major de Boots.
Other successes were made in Tom Taylor's five-act drama "Settling Day,"
and the same playwright's "The Serf." The production of the latter piece
being the "benefit" night of the gifted actress, she delivered an
address written for her by the grateful author.
In "Twelfth Night" Kate Terry doubled the parts of Viola and Sebastian;
and a notable hit was made in Tom Taylor's stage version of Miss
Braddon's novel "Henry Dunbar." In Leicester Buckingham's "Love's
Martyrdom" she again distinguished herself.
On June 20, 1866, she again took a benefit at the theatre she had served
so well, and on this occasion appeared for the first time as Julia in
"The Hunchback" of Sheridan Knowles, and once more delivered an address
specially written for her by Tom Taylor. But the great event of the
evening was the appearance (also for the first time) of Ellen Terry as
the sprightly Helen. In order that she might serve her sister she made
this brief departure from her retirement, and acted with great spirit
and animation.
A little later on she appeared at the Prince's Theatre at Manchester in
the first performance of a new play by Dion Boucicault originally called
"The Two Lives of Mary Leigh" but subsequently renamed "Hunted Down."
This proved to be a memorable evening. Not only did Kate Terry add to
her laurels as the heroine, but Henry Irving, in the character of Rawdon
Scudamore, made his first great impression. Hitherto he had only been
known as a very earnest actor in the provincial stock companies--but in
this play he found his chance, seized it, and made his mark.
Irving, who was then most anxious to get to London, made a stipulation
with Boucicault before he accepted the part to the effect that if he
succeeded he should have the opportunity of appearing in it in the
production of the play in the metropolis. This was acceded to, and on
the opening night the dramatist was so struck with his splendid
performance that he induced his friend and brother playwright, Charles
Reade, to travel to Manchester in order that he might see this
remarkable impersonation. It was then that these two experts decided
that in Henry Irving they saw the coming leading actor of his day.
On November 5, 1866, "Hunted Down" was produced at the St. James's
Theatre, with Miss Herbert in the character created by Kate Terry;
Rawdon Scudamore at once "took the town" and excited the admiration of
the critics, and so the name and fame of Henry Irving were made out of
material that has never faded. It is curious to remember that our famous
actor's first great success was made with Kate Terry, and that most of
his later triumphs have been shared with Ellen Terry.
Kate Terry's next London home was the Adelphi Theatre. There she created
the character of Anne Carew in Tom Taylor's evergreen play "A Wolf in
Sheep's Clothing" (a part that was in after years most beautifully
played by Mrs. Kendal at the St. James's), and won great favour in "A
Sister's Penance," by Tom Taylor and A. W. Dubourg. In the latter
production she was associated with Miss Fanny Hughes, John Billington,
and Hermann Vezin. "Good acting by Kate Terry" is the verdict
pronounced upon the piece in the pages of Edward Leman Blanchard's
happily preserved diary.
Probably Kate Terry's sojourn at the Adelphi will be best remembered by
her exquisitely tender rendering of the sweet character of Dora in
Charles Reade's happy stage version of Tennyson's poem bearing that
name.
We all know the touching story telling that--
"With farmer Allan at the farm abode
William and Dora; William was his son,
And she his niece--"
We remember how the stern old man desired that the cousins should marry,
and we know that while Dora would willingly give her heart to William,
he is cold to her. We recall his scene with his father and how he said--
"I cannot marry Dora; by my life
I will not marry Dora." Then the old man
Was wroth, and doubled up his hands, and said:--
"You will not, boy! you dare to answer thus!
But in my father's time a father's word was law,
And so it shall be now for me."
[Illustration: ELLEN TERRY'S COUNTRY HOME IN KINGSTON VALE.
_Its mistress is at the gate of her charming "Vine Cottage."_
[_To face page 112._
]
Then we follow William out of the house whose doors are mercilessly
closed behind him, see him marry his sweetheart Mary, know that all
things fail with him until despair brings him to his death-bed. Now
we realise the depth and unselfishness of Dora's love. She goes to
the aid of the woman who has really spoilt her life's dream of
happiness, and through her dead darling's child endeavours to secure
poor stricken Mary's prosperity by a reconciliation with the still angry
and always stubborn farmer Allan. Her simple, loving plan succeeds. The
child softens the obdurate heart--
"And all at once the old man burst in sobs:--
'I have been to blame, to blame. I have killed my son.
I have killed him--but I loved him, my dear son.
May God forgive me! I have been to blame.
Kiss me, my children.'
Then they clung about
The old man's neck, and kissed him many times.
And all the man was broken with remorse;
And all his love came back a hundredfold;
And for three hours he sobb'd o'er William's child,
Thinking of William.
So those four abode
Within one house together; and as years
Went forward, Mary took another mate;
But Dora lived unmarried to her death."
Yes, we all know the finely conceived and tenderly told story of love,
anger, self-effacement, and forgiveness, but I do not think that any of
us realised the manifold beauties of Dora's character until it was
interpreted to us by Kate Terry. The portrait was painted in the most
delicate tints, but beneath the surface of it the pure mind and devoted
heart were ever apparent. The impersonation must have been truly
satisfying to the poet who always had a longing to see the children of
his fancy on the stage.
The critic of the _Examiner_ was right when he spoke of Kate Terry's
Dora as "still a thoroughly country girl, simple, yet shrewd, with
depths of womanly feeling, and little feminine piquancies; meek as a
mouse, but with something in her of the power of angels, she trips on
her way of quiet loving-kindness in a shabby hat and cotton gloves, and
morsel of silk cape over a dress with a narrow skirt. Her uncle gives
her money for fine dress; but of that, and of all that she can call hers
to give, the utmost toll is taken for the sustenance of the unhappy
outcasts. How touching it all is, and true with the real poetry of life,
we feel throughout; the interest in the character rises steadily as the
play goes on, and culminates as it should in the last scene."
It would be very wrong to take leave of Dora without saying a word of
praise with regard to the Farmer Allan of Henry Neville. It was a
virile, as well as a pathetic, embodiment of a firmly drawn but not too
sympathetic, and, consequently, very difficult character.
Soon after this, the rumour reached envious playgoers that Kate Terry
was about to become the wife of Mr. Arthur Lewis--a gentleman very well
known in literary and artistic circles--and that her marriage would
involve her retirement from the stage.
Crowded were the houses that then assembled to see their favourite as
Juliet, Beatrice, Julia, Pauline, and in other great characters. On the
2nd September, 1867, she gave her farewell performance, and the occasion
was thus recorded in the _Times_:--
"It is seldom that the theatrical chronicler has to describe a scene
like that at the Adelphi on Saturday, when Miss Kate Terry took her
farewell of the stage as Juliet. Successes, demonstrations, and ovations
of a kind may be made to order; but the scene of Saturday was one of
those genuine, spontaneous, and irrepressible outbursts of public
recognition which carry their credentials of sincerity along with them.
The widespread feeling that the stage is losing one of its chosen
ornaments had been manifested by the full houses, more and more crowded
on each successive night, which, even at this deadest of the dead
season, have been attracted to the Adelphi by Miss Terry's farewell
performances. Their attraction came to its climax and its close on
Saturday, when the theatre was crammed from the orchestra to the
remotest nook in the gallery where a spectator could press or perch,
with such an audience as we have never before seen gathered within its
walls.
"At the conclusion of the tragedy, in the course of which Miss Terry was
called for at the end of each act, except the fourth, when the good
taste of the more intelligent part of the audience suppressed the
demand, Miss Terry came on before the curtain in obedience to a
thundering summons from every part of the house, and almost overcome
with the combined excitement of the part and the occasion, stood for
some moments curtseying and smiling under the showers of bouquets and
the storm of kindly greeting. Nor when she had retired with her armful
of flowers--looking in the white robe and dishevelled hair of Juliet's
death scene, as she used to look in Ophelia--was the audience satisfied.
Again Miss Terry was recalled, and again she appeared to receive the
loud and long-continued plaudits of the crowd. Then the stalls began to
clear. But the storm of voices and clapping of hands continued from pit,
boxes, and gallery, through the overture of the farce, swelling till it
threatened to grow into a tempest. The curtain rose for the farce; still
the thunder roared. One of the actors, quite inaudible in the clamour,
began the performance, but the roar grew louder and louder, till at last
Mr. Phillips came on, in the dress of Friar Lawrence, and with a
stolidity so well assumed that it seemed perfectly natural, asked, in
the stereo-typed phrase of the theatre, the pleasure of the audience.
'_Kate Terry!_' was the reply from a chorus of a thousand stentorian
voices; and then the fair favourite of the night appeared once more,
pale, and dressed to leave the theatre, and when the renewed roar of
recognition had subsided, in answer to her appealing dumb show, spoke,
with pathetic effort, a few hesitating words, evidently the inspiration
of the moment, but more telling than any set speech, to this
effect:--'How I wish from my heart I could tell you how I feel your
kindness, not to-night only, but through the many years of my
professional life. What can I say to you but thanks, thanks and
good-bye!' After this short and simple farewell, under a still louder
salvo of acclamation, unmistakably proving itself popular by its hearty
uproariousness, the young actress, almost overpowered by the feelings of
the moment, retired with faltering steps, and the crowded audience
poured out of the house, their sudden exit _en masse_ being in itself
one of the most flattering tributes to the actress whose last appearance
had drawn them together.
"We have to turn over the pages of theatrical history in order to find a
parallel to this demonstration of affection coupled to gratitude. And
after the excitement of it was over, we, who had learnt to love her
perfectly portrayed art and sweet presence, sighed to think that she
would no longer grace the stage." Continuing, the _Times_ critic said:--
"This remarkable manifestation of popular favour and regard is worth
recording, not only as a striking theatrical incident, which those who
were present can never forget, but because it proves that the
frequenters of even the pit and gallery of a theatre where, till Miss
Terry came, the finer springs of dramatic effect have very rarely been
drawn on, can rapidly be brought to recognise and value acting of a
singularly refined and delicate kind--so refined and delicate indeed
that some of those who profess to guide the public taste have been apt
to insist on its wanting physical power. On Saturday night it was made
evident to demonstration, if other evidence had been wanting, that Miss
Terry had wrought her spells over the frequenters of pit and gallery as
well as of boxes and stalls. In the interests of refined dramatic art
this is a cheering set-off to many indications that seem to make the
other way. It shows that if the theatrical masses--those who are roughly
lumped up as the 'British Public'--are unable to discriminate nicely
between diamonds and paste, and so take a good deal of coarse glassware
for real stones, they are nevertheless susceptible to the influence of
refined, earnest, intelligent, and conscientious acting when they have
the rare opportunity of seeing it. How well Miss Terry's acting merits
all these epithets has been abundantly proved, not only through her
recent course of farewell performances, in which she has filled a range
of parts so widely different as to show a variety of power in itself as
rare as the grace, refinement, intelligence, and feeling she has put
into her acting from four years old to four-and-twenty."
Surely few actresses have won such heartfelt and well-merited words of
praise as these? No wonder that the thousands to whom she had given
endless delight grudged her her early won freedom from the perpetual
anxieties of stage life.
The Romeo of that eventful evening was her long-time stage comrade,
Henry Neville. For more than thirty years Kate Terry was absent from the
stage, but her name lived as a sweet memory in the minds of those who
had been fortunate enough to appreciate her rare and perfectly cultured
gifts. In the spring of 1898 she was induced to emerge from her
retirement to support her old friend, John Hare, in Mr. Stuart Ogilvie's
comedy, "The Master," at the Globe Theatre. Unluckily, the part that she
had consented to play afforded her few opportunities, the lady she
represented being simply a sweet and gentle wife and mother, with a
pleasant presence, a delightful smile, and a voice (the sweet voice of
days gone by) characterised by very winning tenderness. In itself a
charming part, but not one that gave scope for acting. But in this piece
she had the intense satisfaction of seeing her clever and beautiful
daughter, Miss Mabel Terry Lewis, make a marked impression on critical
West End audiences. Indeed, this charming young lady was one of the
chief attractions of "The Master."
In the autumn of the same year it was my privilege to sit by Mrs. Arthur
Lewis (and to hear the ever-to-be-remembered Kate Terry voice) while her
daughter was playing with John Hare and his company at the Theatre
Royal, Birmingham.
The piece was T. W. Robertson's "Ours." John Hare was in his original
character of the Russian Prince Perovsky, and the Blanche Haye was Miss
Mabel Terry Lewis. The young artiste played the part with an unaffected
girlishness, imbued with true tenderness, that touched all hearts, and
it was evident that this latest recruit from the famous Terry family was
worthy to bear her honoured name.
It was pretty to watch the mother, the former heroine of a hundred stage
victories, as with the skill of an expert she noted how her sweet young
daughter won her way into the marked sympathy of her audience.
By way of interesting records of the early appearances of these famous
Terry sisters, I am able to produce here some matter that I hope my
readers will like to have brought under their notice.
The bills of the "Royal Entertainments" given "By Command" in 1852 and
1853 at Windsor Castle are now historic. It will be seen that in them
both Kate Terry and her father took part. The bill of "The Winter's
Tale" at the Princess's in which both of the sisters appeared was given
to me by Ellen Terry. It dates (after one hundred and two nights) her
first appearance as the baby boy Mamillius.
[Illustration: KATE TERRY AS "ARIEL."
_In Charles Kean's revival of "The Tempest" at the Princess's Theatre,
1856. The young actress was then twelve years old._
[_To face page 120._
]
I am permitted to produce _in extenso_ the letter in which Charles
Dickens, writing to his friend Macready, referred to the impression
made upon him by Kate Terry's acting with Fechter. There is a pleasant
little history attached to this letter of which, when he wrote it,
Dickens never dreamt. In due course, and in common, alas! with too many
household gods, it came under the hammer of the auctioneer. Henry
Irving, with that delicate tact and taste which distinguish his every
action (and which must mean much preceding thought in the life of an
over busy man), bought it, and, on a Christmas Day, sent it as the most
delightful of Christmas cards to the Kate Terry of those bygone times.
The letter from Tom Taylor to Ben Terry, in which he signifies his warm
approval of his daughter's acting in his greatest stage success, "The
Ticket-of-Leave Man," is very noteworthy.
The Manchester bill (October 4th and 5th, 1867) shows that Kate Terry
after her London farewell felt bound to say good-bye to her loyal
friends and admirers in Lancashire; that Charles Wyndham was among her
supporters; and that her sister Ellen (although she had declared that
she had retired from the stage) came to the fore in honour of her
sister.
The picture of Kate Terry as Ariel was taken in 1856 when she was only
twelve years old!
ROYAL ENTERTAINMENT--BY COMMAND.
Her Majesty's servants will perform at Windsor Castle,
_On Friday, February 6th_, 1852,
Shakespeare's Historical Play, in five acts, of
KING JOHN.
King John Mr Charles Kean
Prince Henry (his son, afterwards King Miss Robertson
Henry III.)
Arthur (son of Geoffrey, late Duke of Bretagne, Miss Kate Terry
elder son of King John)
William Longsword, Earl of Salisbury Mr James Vining
Robert Bigot, Earl of Norfolk Mr G. Everett
William Mareshall, Earl of Pembroke Mr Wynn
Geoffrey Fitzpiers, Earl of Essex (chief Justiciary Mr Stacey
of England)
Hubert de Burgh (Chamberlain to the King) Mr Phelps
Robert Falconbridge (son of Sir Robert Falconbridge) Mr Meadows
Philip Falconbridge (his half-brother, bastard Mr Alfred Wigan
son to King Richard I.)
Philip, King of France Mr C. Fisher
Lewis, the Dauphin Mr Stanton
Archduke of Austria Mr Ryder
Cardinal Pandulph (the Pope's Legate) Mr Graham
Chatillon, Comte de Nevers (ambassador from Mr C. Wheatleigh
France to King John)
Giles (Vicomte de Melun) Mr J. F. Cathcart
Peter of Pomfret (a Prophet) Mr Parsloe
Citizen of Angiers Mr Addison
English Knight Mr Paulo
English Herald Mr Rolleson
French Herald Mr F. Cooke
Attendants on Hubert Mr Daly & Mr Stoakes
Elinor (widow of King Henry II. & Mother Miss Phillips
of King John)
Constance (mother to Arthur) Mrs Charles Kean
Blanch (daughter to Alphonso, King of Castile Miss Murray
& Niece to King John)
King John's Pages Miss J. Lovell & Miss Hastings
Attendants on Constance Miss Maurice & Miss Clifford
Director Mr Charles Kean
Assistant Director Mr George Ellis
Theatre arranged & Scenery painted by Mr Thomas Grieve.
ROYAL ENTERTAINMENT--BY COMMAND.
Her Majesty's servants will perform at Windsor Castle,
_On Friday, January 7th, 1853_,
Shakespeare's Historical Play of
KING HENRY THE FOURTH.
(Part Second)
King Henry IV. Mr Phelps
Henry, Prince of Wales Mr A. Wigan
Thomas, Duke of Clarence Mr Stirling
Prince John of Lancaster Mr G. Everett
Prince Humphrey of Gloster Miss J. Lovell
Earl of Westmoreland Mr F. Vining
Lord Chief Justice Mr Cooper
Scroop, Archbishop of York Mr Diddear
Lord Mowbray Mr H. Mellon
Lord Hastings Mr H. Vining
Sir John Falstaff Mr Bartley
Poins Mr H. Marston
Pistol Mr Ryder
Bardolph Mr Wilkinson
Robin Miss Kate Terry
Justice Shallow Mr Meadows
Justice Silence Mr Harley
Gower Mr Graham
Davy Mr Clarke
Mouldy Mr Stacey
Shadow Mr J. Chester
Wart Mr Terry
Feeble Mr S. Cowell
Bull Calf Mr R. Romer
Fang Mr Worrell
Snare Mr H. Vezin
The King's Pages Mr Brazier and Mr Tomlinson
Dame Quickly Mrs W. Daly
Director Mr Charles Kean
Assistant Director Mr George Ellis
Theatre arranged & Scenery painted by Mr Thomas Grieve.
ROYAL ENTERTAINMENT--BY COMMAND.
Her Majesty's servants will perform at Windsor Castle,
_On Thursday, November 10th, 1853_,
Shakespeare's Historical play, in five acts, of
KING HENRY THE FIFTH.
The Chorus Mr Bartley
King Henry the Fifth Mr Phelps
Duke of Glo'ster (brothers to Miss Young
Duke of Bedford the King) Mr Rousby
Duke of Exeter (uncle to King) Mr Cooper
Earl of Salisbury Mr F. Cooke
Earl of Westmoreland Mr Belford
Archbishop of Canterbury Mr Henry Marston
Bishop of Ely Mr Lacy
Earl of Cambridge (conspirators Mr F. Vining
Lord Scroop against the King) Mr Meagerson
Sir Thomas Grey Mr Harris
Sir Thomas Erpingham (officers in King Mr Addison
Captain Gower Henry's army) Mr J. F. Cathcart
Captain Fluellen Mr Lewis Ball
Bates (soldiers in Mr J. W. Ray
Williams the same) Mr Howe
Nym Mr C. Fenton
Bardolf (formerly servants Mr Wilkinson
Pistol to Falstaff) Mr Harley
(now soldiers in same)
Boy (servant to them) Miss Kate Terry
Charles the Sixth, King of France. Mr Lunt
Lewis, the Dauphin Mr Leigh Murray
Duke of Burgundy Mr G. Bassil
The Constable of France Mr Graham
Governor of Harfleur Mr Josephs
Montjoy (a French Herald) Mr Mortimer
Isabel (Queen of France) Mrs Ternan
Katherine (daughter of Charles & Isabel) Miss T. Bassano
Quickly (Pistol's wife, an Hostess) Mrs H. Marston
Scene at the beginning of the play lies in England, but afterwards
wholly in France.
Director Mr Charles Kean
Assistant Director Mr George Ellis
Theatre arranged & Scenery painted by Mr Thomas Grieve.
PRINCESS'S THEATRE
LAST FIVE NIGHTS
OF THE SEASON
Which will terminate on Friday next, the 22nd Instant, when
THE WINTER'S TALE
Will have completed an Uninterrupted Series of
ONE HUNDRED AND TWO
Representations
_On Monday, August 18th; Tuesday, 19th; Wednesday, 20th;
Thursday, 21st; and Friday, 22nd, 1856_
The Performance will commence with (37th, 38th, 39th, 40th, and
41st times) a New Farce
MUSIC HATH CHARMS
Mr Alfred Poppleton Pertinax Mr David Fisher
(an Englishman, residing in Paris)
Captain Bremont Mr Raymond
Madame Mathilde de La Roche Miss Carlotta Leclercq
M. Rabinel Mr Brazier
Adrien de Beauval Mr Barsby
Lucille Miss M. Ternan
Victoire Miss Clifford
Guests--Mr Collis, Mr Warren, Miss Hunt, & Miss E. Lovell
* * * * *
After which (98th, 99th, 100th, 101st, & 102nd Times)
Shakespeare's Play of The
WINTER'S TALE
The Scenery under the direction of Mr Grieve, and painted by Mr
Grieve, Mr W. Gordon, Mr F. Lloyds, Mr Cuthbert, Mr Dayes, Mr
Morgan, Mr G. Gordon, and numerous assistants.
Music and Overture composed for the occasion by Mr J. L. Hatton.
Dances and Action by Mr Oscar Byrn.
Decorations and Appointments by Mr E. W. Bradwell.
Dresses by Mrs & Miss Hoggins.
Machinery by Mr G. Hodsdon. Peruquier, Mr Asplin (of No. 13 New
Bond Street).
For authorities of Costumes, see End of Book, Published and sold
in the Theatre.
Performance terminates by a quarter past eleven.
Leontes (King of Sicilia) Mr Charles Kean
Mamillius (his son) Miss Ellen Terry
Camillo } { Mr Graham
Antigonus } (Sicilian Lords) { Mr Cooper
Cleomenes } { Mr J. F. Cathcart
Dion } { Mr G. Everett
Two other Sicilian Lords Mr Barsby & Mr Raymond
Elder of the Council Mr Rolleston
Officer of the Court of Judicature Mr Terry
An Attendant on young Prince Mamillius Mr Brazier
Polixenes (King of Bithynia) Mr Ryder
Florizel (his son) Miss Heath
Archidamus (a Bithynian lord) Mr H. Mellon
A Mariner Mr Paulo
Keeper of the Prison Mr Collett
An old Shepherd (reputed father of Perdita) Mr Meadows
Clown (his son) Mr H. Saker
Servant to the old Shepherd Miss Kate Terry
Autolycus (a rogue) Mr Harley
Time, as Chorus Mr F. Cooke
Hermione (Queen to Leontes) Mrs Charles Kean
Perdita (daughter to Leontes & Hermione) Miss Carlotta Leclercq
Pauline, (wife to Antigonus) Mrs Ternan
Emilia (a Lady) Miss Clifford
Two other ladies attending on the Queen Miss Eglinton & Miss
M. Ternan
Mopsa } { Miss J. Brougham
& } (Shepherdesses) {
Dorcas } { Miss E. Brougham
Lords, Ladies & Attendants; Satyrs for a Dance; Shepherds,
Shepherdesses, Guards, &c.
* * * * *
SCENE:--_Sometimes in Sicilia. Sometimes in Bithynia._
_Thursday, 19th February 1863._
"MY DEAREST MACREADY,--I have just come back from Paris, where the
Readings--Copperfield, Dombey and Trial, and Carol and Trial, have made
a sensation which modesty (my natural modesty) renders it impossible for
me to describe. You know what a noble audience the Paris audience is!
They were at their very noblest with me.
"I was very much concerned by hearing hurriedly from Georgey that you
were ill. But when I came home at night she showed me Kate's letter, and
that set me up again. Ah! you have the best of companions and nurses,
and can afford to be ill now and then, for the happiness of being so
brought through it. But don't do it again, yet awhile, for all that.
"Legouvé (whom you remember in Paris as writing for the Ristori) was
anxious that I should bring you the enclosed. A manly and generous
effort, I think? Regnier desired to be warmly remembered to you. He has
been losing money in speculation, but looks just as of yore.
"Paris generally is about as wicked and extravagant as in the days of
the Regency. Madame Viardot in the Orphée, most splendid. An opera of
'Faust,' a very sad and noble rendering of that sad and noble story.
Stage management remarkable for some admirable, and really poetical
effects of light. In the more striking situations, Mephistopheles
surrounded by an infernal red atmosphere of his own. Marguerite by a
pale blue mournful light. The two never blending. After Marguerite has
taken the jewels placed in her way in the garden, a weird waning draws
on, and the bloom fades from the flowers, and the leaves of the trees
droop and lose their fresh green, and mournful shadows overhang her
chamber window, which was innocently bright and gay at first. I couldn't
bear it, and gave in completely.
"Fechter doing wonders over the way here with a picturesque French
drama. Miss Kate Terry in a small part in it, perfectly charming. You
may remember her making a noise years ago, doing a boy at an Inn in the
'Courier of Lyons'? She has a tender love-scene in this piece, which is
a really beautiful and artistic thing. I saw her do it at about three in
the morning of the day when the theatre opened, surrounded by shavings
and carpenters, and (of course) with that inevitable hammer going; and I
told Fechter 'that is the very best piece of womanly tenderness I have
ever seen on the stage, and you will find no Audience can miss it.' It
is a comfort to add that it was instantly seized upon, and is much
talked of.
"Stanfield was very ill for some months; then suddenly picked up, and is
really rosy and jovial again. Going to see him when he was very
despondent, I told him the story of Fechter's piece (then in rehearsal)
with appropriate action; fighting a duel with the washing-stand, defying
the bedstead, and saving the life of the sofa-cushion. This so kindled
his old theatrical ardour, that I think he turned the corner on the
spot.
"With love to Mrs. Macready and Katie, and (be still, my heart!)
Benvenuta, and the exiled Johnny (not too attentive at school, I hope?),
and the personally-unknown young Parr,--Ever, my dearest Macready, your
most affectionate
"CHARLES DICKENS."
"CANTERBURY, FOUNTAIN HOTEL,
_Saturday, 15th August 1868._
"DEAR MR. TERRY,--I am desirous of letting you know my opinion of Kate's
acting of May Edwards in 'The Ticket-of-Leave Man,' here.
"My impression, in the most general form I can state it, is simply this,
that I have never had any one character in any piece I have written,
from first to last, impersonated so entirely to my satisfaction. She
played with a grace, intelligence, and delicacy and truth of feeling
which completely carried away the audience, and what is more--the
author. If she had played the part in town I should think it would have
doubled the success of the piece.
"You are quite at liberty to make this opinion of mine known in any
quarter where you may think it useful to your daughter that it should be
known.-- Yours very truly,
TOM TAYLOR.
"Mr. B. TERRY."
PRINCE'S THEATRE, MANCHESTER.
_Proprietors_ The Manchester Public Entertainments Company Limited.
Beddoes Peacock, Thorncliffe Grove,
Chorlton-upon-Medlock.
_Friday and Saturday, October 4th and 5th, 1867_,
FOR THE
BENEFIT
OF MISS
KATE TERRY
And her last two appearances on any stage.
The Performance will commence with an Original Drama,
in Three Acts, called--
PLOT AND PASSION
Fouché (Duke of Otranto, Minister of Police) Mr J. G. Warde
M. Desmarets (Head of Secret Department of Police) Mr F. J. Cathcart
(first time)
The Marquis de Cevennes (a Legitimist) Mr R. Soutar
Berthier (Prince of Neuchatel, Grand Chamberlain) Mr J. G. Nicholson
De Neuville (Secretary to de Cevennes) Mr Charles Wyndham
(first time)
Jabot (House Steward to Madame de Fontanges) Mr P. Rae
Grisbouille (a Subordinate of Desmarets) Mr William Mortimer
Madame de Fontanges Miss Kate Terry
Cecile (her maid) Miss Ellen Leigh
SCENE.--_Acts 1st & 3rd, in Paris. Act 2nd, near Prague._
Between the First and Second Acts of the Drama The Band will play the
"Kate Terry Valse" (published by Hopwood & Crew)
Performed by command before the Sultan, Viceroy, & His Royal Highness
the Prince of Wales, by the Band of the 1st Life Guards.
Dedicated by the composer, Mr Henry King of Bath, to Miss Kate Terry.
* * * * *
On Friday to conclude with & on Saturday to commence with the
LITTLE SAVAGE
Major Choker Mr Shephard
Mr John Parker Mr Charles Wyndham
Mr Lionel Larkins Mr J. Robins
Jonathan Mr R. Soutar
Lady Barbara Choker Mrs Chas. Jones
Kate Dalrymple Miss Ellen Terry
Musical Director Mr Williams
Doors open at seven o'clock. Performance to commence at half-past.
Private Boxes £3. 3s. and £1. 11s. 6d.
Prices:--Stalls 6/. Lower Circle 5/. Upper Circle 2/.
Pit 1/. Gallery 6d.
Box Office open from eleven to two.