William Charles Macready. By William Archer. (Kagan Paul, Trench, and
Co.)—That Macready was a great actor, few who have seen him will dispute. That he ranks with the greatest, seems on a priori grounds unlikely, for he did not love his profession. No one, it is said, ever laboured more assiduously at his art; but industry will never do the work of love, and, as Mr. Archer admits, he regarded his profession as a galling yoke. His strong character and irritable disposi- tion made many enemies, but Macready knew how to win friends also, and they were true as steel. The best thing ever done for his reputation was the publication of his diaries, and from that day the public interest in Macready was not confined to his acting. Mr. Archer, in his well-written monograph, dwells for the most part on Macready's public life, and many of the details will be chiefly interesting to playgoers. Probably no great actor ever had a more steadily prosperous career, but he was not happy even in the brightest moments of success. His sensitiveness was extreme, and his pride made him suffer from affronts which men of coarser fibre would have disregarded. "The Duke of Wellington," Mr. Archer writes, " no slight autho- rity on the subject of manners, is reported to have said that George IV. was no gentleman, though an excellent actor of one for ten minutes ; 'like Mr. Macready, he could not support it longer.' Had it reached Macready's ears, this unkind comparison would probably have brought him to a premature grave." It will always be remembered to Macready's honour, that he did his utmost to purify the stage and to promote the legitimate drama. Unfortunately, the actor " who lives to please, must please to live," and the mass of playgoers will always prefer mere amusement to intellectual delight. Macready's effort was to raise the tone of his public, instead of falling to its level. Mr. Archer has performed his task with great care and judgment. His volume appears to be the first biography in a series of " Eminent Actors," and a better beginning could not well have been made.
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